Red meat: Network draws students

Rabobank analyst Emma Higgins with Massey students at an RMN meeting.

A tertiary network aiming to inject high-achieving graduates into the sheep and beef industry is hitting the mark in just its second year.

The Red Meat Network enables 20 leading students from six tertiary institutions to listen to high-calibre speakers from the red meat sector.

Funded by the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP), a Primary Growth Partnership Programme, the network is helping the partnership achieve its goal of increasing the productivity of sheep and beef farmers.

RMPP general manager Michael Smith says encouraging young people into the red meat sector is a key part of increasing productivity.

"We do this by showcasing a range of pathways for them to take by bringing in inspiring and diverse speakers."

Mr Smith said it was encouraging to see so many students engage with the speakers. "And those students are often studying in fields as diverse as commerce, arts and food safety."

RMN South Island facilitator Patrick Aldwell says the network provides students with an important industry network while studying.

"They are exposed to a wide variety of domestic and international roles in agribusiness and are shown the many pathways available to take those roles on."

Mr Aldwell says students quickly learn that 'who you know becomes just as important as what you know', and the programme offered plenty of networking opportunities.

Massey University bachelor of agri-commerce student Cameron Walker said the speakers had passed on invaluable advice.

"As I leave university I realise how important networks such as the Red Meat Network are."

Massey senior lecturer Nicola Schreurs agrees the RMP is a great initiative.

"It has been brilliant to see the students step up and engage with industry representatives and I believe the students are getting useful information and advice from people working right through the red meat value chain," Dr Schreurs says.

"In the process they are becoming increasingly excited about the potential of meat production in New Zealand"

RMPP work closely with NZ Young Farmers who co-ordinate the RMN and are looking to increase the number of training providers and students involved in 2017.

It operates in Otago, Lincoln, Massey, Waikato Universities, Telford and Otiwhiti Land Based Training and is co-ordinated by New Zealand Young Farmers.

- Natalie Bowie is communications manager for the Red Meat Profit Partnership