fbpx
Print this page
Thursday, 06 September 2018 08:33

Farming caught in net of poor perception

Written by  Peter Burke
Taratahi chief executive Arthur Graves. Taratahi chief executive Arthur Graves.

The construction industry is winning the hearts and minds of young school leavers who are heading for the big cities rather than a life in the country.

That’s the view of Taratahi Institute of Agriculture chief executive Arthur Graves who says the challenge for the agriculture sector is turning around this situation. 

He believes this and other factors are making for tough times in agricultural training institutes such as Taratahi.

At the heart of the problem is demographics with low numbers of school leavers right now due to the low birth rate some years ago. And young people are staying at school longer than they used to. 

Graves says many young people in that pipeline of early school leavers went into agriculture, but not now.

The other problem, he says, is the perception young people have of agriculture.

“Agriculture is not high in young people’s minds as an attractive career,” Graves told Rural News

“There are negative perceptions about agriculture because of how it presents itself -- the environmental and animal welfare stories. All those things create a mixed feeling about agriculture being a responsible industry. These are perceptions – fair or unfair – and these influence people’s decisions.” 

And there are perceptions out there about the nature of the work and employment conditions. These are reinforced to some degree by the fact that farmers have to work hard, long hours often in inhospitable conditions. Such conditions are not very appealing to young people, Graves says.

More like this

The model is broken – Govt

Minister of Education Chris Hipkins concedes the timing of the Taratahi interim liquidation is tough, especially for students and staff, and he says supporting them is a top priority.

Taratahi ag training left in limbo

The future of the major agricultural training institute Taratahi remains in limbo after it went into interim liquidation just before Christmas at the request of its board of trustees.

Taratahi set for growth

Agricultural training provider Taratahi says its efforts to attract new students have paid off with solid enrolments for 2018.

Telford enters new era

Lincoln University's transfer of its Telford agricultural training operation at Balclutha to Wairarapa-based Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre has been completed, on the payment of a token $1 for the campus and other assets.

Featured

Sheep drench resistance costly

Analysis by Dunedin-based Techion New Zealand shows the cost of undetected drench resistance in sheep has exploded to an estimated $98 million a year.

Dairy sheep and goat turmoil

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Hurry up and slow down!

OPINION: We have good friends from way back who had lived in one of our major cities for many years.

National

Knowing bugs means fewer drugs

A mastitis management company claims to deliver the fastest and most accurate mastitis testing available at scale for New Zealand…

Machinery & Products

AGTEK and ARGO part ways

After 12 years of representing the Landini and McCormick brands in New Zealand, Bay of Plenty-based AGTEK and the brands’…

100 years of Farmall Tractors

Returning after an enforced break, the Wheat and Wheels Rally will take place on the Lauriston -Barhill Road, North-East of…

JD unveils its latest beast

John Deere has unveiled its most powerful tractor ever, with the launch of the all new 9RX Series Tractor line-up…

Biggest Quadtrac coming to NZ!

In the biggest announcement that Case IH Australia/New Zealand has made around its tractor range, its biggest tractor is about…