A project coordinated by the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) got off to a flying start last night with more than 35 young arable farmers, farm staff and industry personnel in attendance.
Those who attended this inaugural event have formed the basis for a group which will be known as ‘Arable Y’s’, New Zealand’s next generation of arable farming.
The workshop which took place at the Hotel Ashburton presented three topics: growth stages and what they mean for developing yield, the Wheat Calculator and personality/communication.
Richard Chynoweth, FAR Project Manager says “for arable farming to remain a critical part of the New Zealand farming scene, the next generation of arable farmers need to up-skill on information as early as possible and keep asking questions of researchers and agronomists; project Arable Y’s aims to kick start this process.
“The problem is more than 90% of growers who attend FAR field days and events are over the age of 35; we saw an opportunity to attract younger farmers and staff to workshops which can be tailored to the audience.”
Daniel and Natasha White, Farm Managers from Wheatstone were in attendance. They say the Arable Y’s initiative is an ideal opportunity for younger growers, staff and industry representatives to up-skill in a comfortable and sociable environment. Daniel commented “having attended FAR field days/workshops which are open to all growers, Arable Y’s certainly provided a great opportunity to come along and learn from resentations specifically tailored to our audience. Those in attendance appeared to be at a similar learning level, and most agreed that the reason for not attending FAR field days was due to feeling intimidated by the more experienced creating confidence in, and opportunities for the next generation of arable farming growers out there. I felt confident to ask questions and participate in discussion. I believe there is great scope for this project and have little doubt that it will continue to grow from strength to strength as it evolves.”
FAR, with funding from MAF SFF will roll out a series of workshops which will cover topics such as succession planning, disease identification, the basic principles of chemical application, record keeping, health and safety, weed identification plus many more. An overseas trip is also planned for 2009 in order to allow Arable Y’s to become more familiar with what their overseas counterparts are doing.
The meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of every month for the next 12 months and will primarily take place at the Hotel Ashburton from 7pm – 9pm with time at the end to socialise over a drink and nibbles. The occasional meeting will be planned on-farm. All meeting details will be available on the FAR website.
This is an excellent opportunity for all you younger arable farmers, staff and industry personnel to up-skill in a comfortable environment whilst also having the opportunity to socialise with your industry counterparts. The meetings are free to attend, however numbers are limited so you do need to register. For more information contact Richard Chynoweth or Rachel Greenwood at FAR on 03 325 6353.