From Kapiti coast to East Coast

Waipaoa Station farm cadet Nikita Cameron-Bennett found her feet when she secured a place in the training scheme. Picture by Liam Clayton

In the steep hills that surround the East Coast lies Waipaoa Station, a 1760-hectare sheep and beef property.  It’s where the Waipaoa Station Farm Cadet Training Trust, a registered charitable trust, has been running since 2007.

Nikita Cameron-Bennett reckons she found her feet when she secured a cadetship. She is now into her second year of the programme. Last year she won the Junior Academic Award, the Biggest Transition Award and the Junior Practical Award for General Farm Work — and she was also named Top Junior Cadet.

Those victories are something she is very proud of.

“I’m the only one not from a farming background, and the first girl to win it,” she said.

Growing up on the Kapiti coast, 18-year-old Nikita wasn’t sure which direction to take after she completed her schooling, but working “with animals”, was something close to her heart.

During a course with NZ Primary Industry Training (Primary ITO) – an organisation providing training and qualifications to over 30 primary industries, it became clearer farming was where she wanted to be.  Gaining entry to the Waipaoa cadetship was something she described as “a very good decision made”.

Since early last year Nikita has been the only female in a group of 10 cadets. “The guys were really helpful, knowing my lack of experience,” she said.

“It was a big move coming up here, from not having any sort of experience on a farm, but within a few months you start getting into the swing of things.”

On their first day at Waipaoa each cadet was given a five-month-old pup. Nikita’s was a heading pup she called Beau.  Later in the year they were tasked to source their own huntaway pup and she added Rua to her team. Moving stock, drenching in the yards, fencing and learning how a working farm operates are among the skills she has gained.  Nikita’s father Mike grew up on a farm, “so he’s very interested in how my days are spent”, while her mum Julie is just happy her daughter is doing something she likes.

The two-year cadetship requires four days working on the farm and one day in the lecture room at EIT Tairāwhiti, or a tutor will drive out to the station for a more hands-on approach. Visiting guest speakers have included former New Zealand cricketer and New Zealand champion sheepdog triallist Murray Child. Top sheepdog triallist and local farm manager Bob Bryson was another guest and Nikita has kept in touch with him. “He has given me a lot of tips and helped me on lots of aspects.”

At the end of the course, Nikita will graduate with Level 4 NZ Certificate in Agriculture.  She is considering going on to achieve a Diploma in Agriculture at university, which will be a one-year course.

“I love being out on a horse every day and learning how to break in a horse, and training dogs.”  Not a complete novice when it came to horse riding, she was a regular showjumper back home, although a “completely different style of riding”.

“School’s not for everyone,” she said. “There’s been a lot of horse work here, more one-on-one and structure.”

The future of Waiapoa Station’s Cadet Training Trust is uncertain as a strategic review is under way, and no new cadets are being taken on for the time being.  The course has produced 75 successful farming graduates and trust chairman Tim Rhodes is proud of these achievements.

Future goals for Nikita include shepherding “somewhere on the East Coast”, an area she has found to be very welcoming.  She plays netball for Ngatapa and is about to join the Wainui Surf Life Saving Club.

Managing a sheep and beef farm is her ultimate goal.