Year 11 Woodford House student Harriet Grant was right at home when she helped run the NZ Young Farmers site at Fieldays a couple of weeks ago.
The 15-year-old was one of 18 NZ Young Farmers who seized the opportunity to volunteer at the four-day event.
"I did it becauseI love attending Fieldays and I thought it would be a great way to meet other young people who are interested in farming," Harriet says.
Fieldays plays host to almost 1000 exhibitors and attracted more than 133,000 visitors last year. Timing has prevented Harriet from attending on a few occasions but answering a post on Facebook ensured her a spot this year.
"They were looking for volunteers so I signed up."
Harriet has been a member of the school's TeenAg club for the past 18 months. "The clubs are a key part of the work being done by NZ Young Farmers to attract students into the agri-food sector.
"In our club we have guest speakers who come in and talk to us about farming and agriculture. We also have other modules, activity events, quiz events within the club and other schools in the region. There are also other opportunities to compete in the future sheep competitions."
Harriet's family has dairy farms at Tutira and Putorino — she is passionate about farming and keen to work in the agri-business sector.
She says attending Fieldays is an opportunity to learn about "cool new jobs which I didn't even know existed".
Harriet has been a member of Young Farmers since April and says she joined because she enjoys agriculture and "doing activities based around farming and all aspects of farming".
"I grew up on a farm so I love the animals, outdoors and the big open space."
Manning the Young Farmers' site lived up to all expectations. There was even a surprise in store.
It was a great experience. I really enjoyed talking to the different people because they all had different backgrounds which was interesting. It was a surprise when Jacinda Ardern came to the site."
Harriet managed to get ahead of her schoolwork before she attended the event and says a career in the industry is something she looks forward to.
"I have always known that I what to do something in the agriculture industry around farming and Fieldays made me want to even more."
