Young Farmers Club wants more members

Simeon Cook wants to get more students interested in agricultural careers.

A 15-year-old who has his own cattle stud is driving a popular initiative to get more students interested in agricultural careers.

Simeon Cook is the new chairman of Stratford High School's Young Farmers club, which has 25 members.

"I really want to grow the club's membership and ensure we have a full busload of students for field trips," says the passionate Year 11 pupil.

"I'm studying Level 1 Agriculture this year. I hope Stratford High School will offer agribusiness as a subject next year because it'd help me with the financial side of my stud," he says.

The Mangatoki farmer started breeding Santa Gertrudis beef cattle in 2011 and now has 14 cows and calves.

"My goal is to get accepted as a cadet at Smedley Station in the Hawke's Bay when I finish high school."

Stratford High School's head girl Olivia Slater, who lives on a sheep and beef farm at Toko, is also involved in the club.

"I'm currently doing Level 3 Agriculture by correspondence and I want to end up working in the primary industries sector," says the Year 13 student.

"There aren't enough students studying agriculture and hopefully our school's club will help change that."

The club's run by NZ Young Farmers and is part of TeenAg, which aims to show the fun side of agricultural careers.

"We encourage any students who want to give it a go. You don't have to be off a farm," says field officer Megan Bates.

"The students organise guest speakers and field trips to get a bit of practical experience."

Brandon Andrews, 14, has just signed up to the club and is keen to become an agricultural contractor.

"I live in town, but I like machinery and I'm interested in planting and harvesting crops," he says.

Year 9 student Rory McGill would like to be a dairy farmer, which he says seems like an exciting career prospect.

"I hope being involved in Young Farmers will give me more opportunities to visit a farm to see what it's like," says the 13-year-old. TeenAg has grown rapidly since the first clubs started in 2009.

"When I started in this role in 2014, there were just three TeenAg clubs in Taranaki. Now there are 10," says Megan.

"They've really helped increase students' awareness of the career options available in primary industries."

Students from across Taranaki will converge on New Plymouth on March 21 for a Get Ahead day.

It will give them the chance to take part in practical modules run by rural businesses like Ravensdown and LIC.

"It's about building knowledge. It's a bit like test-driving a career in 15 minutes," says Megan.