More than 70 farmers across the North and South Islands have recently spent a day-and-a-half learning new business management and planning skills at Rabobank Ag Pathways Programmes held in Invercargill, Ashburton and Hāwera.
The programme provided participants with tools to help them move forward with their agricultural careers, RabobankUpper South Island Client Councillor Amanda Bowie said.
Bowie was at the Ashburton event, with 24 attendees, and said they heard from a range of speakers, covering topics such as personality profiling, financial management, succession planning and business strategy.
There was also a “war stories” segment, she said.
“Four local farmers shared their personal farming journeys and how they’ve developed their businesses over time.”
“You could almost see some of the attendees’ brains ticking over as they listened in to the more experienced farmers and considered what they needed to do to progress their own agri-careers.”
Bowie, who runs a 6000 stock-unit sheep and beef business in North Canterbury, said another major benefit of the programme was the opportunity it provided young farmers to network with others at the same stage in their farming careers.
“This can be incredibly powerful as it provides attendees with a chance to bounce ideas off each other and to hear what has and hasn’t worked for those in a similar boat to them.”
Bowie said attendees would get together again in June, as a follow-up to the programme.
Here, they would present a business plan on what they wanted to achieve in the future.
She said the follow-up meeting was “hugely important”.
“It helps ensure participants are immediately acting on the lessons from the programme and incorporating them into their roles on-farm.”
Eli Vollebregt was at the Hāwera Ag Pathways and said the programme exceeded his expectations.
“My wife Susannah and I are contract milking in Ōpunake, and we both decided to attend the programme because we are always keen to learn and to push ourselves out of our comfort zones as this helps us grow as individuals and as a team,” he said.
Vollebregt said the agenda was well-rounded with sessions that targeted subjects he was keen to learn more about.
The Ashburton Ag Pathways Programme was held on April 8 and 9.
“Things like communication, financial management, business planning, farmer journeys to farm ownership, leadership, governance and succession.”
“The first was the communication session, which started with a personality test.
“I learned which personality type I am and therefore learned what makes me tick and why it makes me tick, and how each personality type is so important and how to navigate and understand different personality types.”
He said the second was the business planning session.
“[This gave me] a better understanding of how business plans, goals and visions, good habits, consistency, revised budgets and determination can propel you forward in achieving your aspirations.”
More about Ag Pathways
The Ag Pathways Programme in Invercargill.
First run in 2015, and developed by Rabobank’s Lower South Island Client Council, the Ag Pathways Programme aims to develop young farmers’ skills and contacts to advance their careers in the agricultural sector.
The programme has run annually in Otago/Southland across the last decade, with the ninth Lower South Island edition in Invercargill earlier this month.
The ongoing success of Ag Pathways in the Lower South Island has prompted Rabobank’s Client Councils in the Upper South Island and Lower North Island to replicate the programme in their areas, and the recent events in Ashburton and Hawera were the first of their kind in the Canterbury and Taranaki regions, respectively.
This follows inaugural Ag Pathways events in the Manawatū region in 2023 and on the East Coast (Gisborne) last year.
