'Big farming' day for Wairarapa students

OUT IN THE FIELD: Year 12 and 13 agriculture students from Rathkeale St Matthew's Senior College took an invaluable field trip to Wairakei Estate in Taupo. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Rathkeale St Matthew's Senior College students pulled on their gumboots and day-glo safety vests for a class in agriculture on a larger scale at the Wairakei Estate in Taupo.

Last month the nine students travelled with agriculture teacher Alan Grant to the 26,000-hectare Central Plateau estate, home to businesses including Fiber Fresh Feeds, a geothermal power operation and Landcorp, which manages dairy farming on the property.

Mr Grant said the one-day trip gave the Year 12 and 13 students "a close-up look" at a large-scale farming operation and the efforts made to mitigate the effects on the environment.

It was the first long-distance trip Mr Grant had led at the school and the focus on the impact high-intensity farming has on water quality and quantity was expected to help students facing NCEA Level 3 exams this year.

He said: "We had the offer to come and see operations on a large scale and we looked at the environmental side of things, like the allocation of water.

"We expect environmental issues like water management to be part of the exams this year, while next year it could be nutrient management or greenhouse gases," he said.

"There is a full-time environmental officer at Wairakei and the trip also showed students the potential careers in agriculture that are in management and logistics ... Some at Wairakei are only three or four years out of high school and with a degree have entered management early. There was a 21-year-old Lincoln graduate managing logistics in fencing and irrigation systems at the estate and it was his first job."

Mr Grant said the day at Wairakei began with a classroom session with representatives of Wairakei Estate and Landcorp, including a farm business manager, business analyst, relationships manager, environmental consultant and beautification supervisor.

The group also saw a milking shed in operation, riparian planting sites on the Pueto Stream, and a centre pivot irrigation system with Landcorp business manager Matthew Johnson.