World traveller trades snowboard for farm

WGP 18Jun14 - RIGHT: Second-year Taratahi student Mark Hopkins.

Mark Hopkins has been on an interesting journey so far in his life.

The 28-year-old has worked, travelled and snowboarded all around the world and is now back in New Zealand pursuing his dream career in agriculture at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre.

The second year dairy student is a born and bred Wellingtonian who left school at 16, spending 12 years working in hotel and restaurant kitchens, and travelling the world. This allowed lots of time for surfing and snowboarding, but he didn't want it to continue indefinitely.

"I'd done what I wanted to do with chefing, although I loved the job and the travel, it dawned on me that I did not want to still be doing this when I was 35 years old.

"I'd been working in kitchens since I was 15 years old and figured if I wanted to move up the ladder then I needed to get qualified."

He remembers spending time on the family farm during the school holidays.

"I got a sense of what the farming life might be like from an early age and I liked the fact that all my family was involved, from aunties to uncles and cousins. The opportunity to live in the country and enjoy New Zealand was a real bonus."

Last year he won the 2013 Dairy Theory Prize and the National Bank Cup for Top Dairy Student.

"I love the dairy industry because as well as the basics like being able to care for animals and being outside, there's also the potential to grow your own wealth and to create your own business," he said.

After graduating Mark will start his first job as training herd manager on an 800-cow unit in Taranaki.