Who we are

Beef+Lamb New Zealand is the farmer-owned, industry organisation representing NZ’s sheep and beef farmers. We invest farmer levies in programmes that grow the sheep and beef industry, and provide sustainable returns now and for future generations. Our vision is profitable farmers, thriving farming communities, valued by all New Zealanders. Our sector needs to provide opportunities to continually develop its people and also ensure sheep and beef is an attractive career path. We're doing this through leadership, education and skills programs, various types of scholarships, career information for students, and higher level agricultural curriculum for high schools.

DairyNZ invests in a wide range of programmes on behalf of dairy farmers to support a sustainable future. Having talented people in our sector is crucial to our success. We highlight the opportunities that will challenge and grow young minds, and offer them local and global career prospects. We support the development of students with scholarships and mentoring, career events, and resources to encourage them to pursue a career in dairy farming, agribusiness and agri-science.

The Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is funded by farmers involved in the arable industry. We work on a range of crops including grains: eg wheat, barley, maize and seeds: eg clover, grass and vegetable seeds. All our crop research has a strong focus on business and environmental sustainability. We can host student or teacher visits at our research sites around the country. We are members of Future in Tech who can arrange school visits from recent graduates. Our website has a number of resources written for growers which may be suitable for classroom use.

The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (FOA) members manage 1.2 million hectares of New Zealand’s plantation forests and more than 70% of the annual harvest. The association and its members are committed to the highest standards of sustainable silviculture, environmental practice and workforce safety. Plantation forestry is science-based and highly innovative. Forest product export returns are comparable to those of the meat industry, and forestry is a major regional employer with the potential to transform New Zealand into a carbon-neutral economy where all land-based industries are environmentally sustainable.

Lincoln University is New Zealand’s specialist agriculturally-based university. The University’s qualifications range from certificate level through to PhD – and our teaching and research covers all activity associated with the agriculturally-based sectors to meet the needs of not only New Zealand but also the world. Helping students grow is what we are all about, with diverse learning that fits their ambitions in an environment that allows them to flourish. We partner them with industry to prepare them for the real world, so when the time comes, they are ready to go out there and grow the future for themselves and others.

The Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) vision is for New Zealand to be the world’s most sustainable provider of high-value food and primary products. One of our priorities is to partner with the food and primary sectors to lift participation and provide high quality career pathways. We have worked with industry organisations to develop resources like our online teacher resources, Te Te Ao Tūroa. We also provide funding and support to help boost skills and capability through a range of initiatives and investment programmes, such as Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures and the One Billion Trees Programme.

Primary ITO facilitates on-job training for people working in over 30 sectors - including Horticulture & Viticulture, Dairy, Meat & Fibre, Seafood, Equine and Sports Turf. We encourage the educational and work-life aspirations of trainees and support the productivity and profitability of organisations employing them. In 2016 we worked with more than 28,000 trainees and more than 7,000 employers. We also work with industry to develop training and qualifications that align with best practice and to meet current and future skills needs.

New Zealand Young Farmers excites, connects and nurtures young people in the food & fibre sectors. We offer primary and secondary schools: contextualised learning activities (www.agrication.co.nz)); teacher support and professional development (Teacher Days Out); EOTC activities; visiting speakers; and career support. We organise school competitions (Junior Young Farmer of the Year and Agrikids) and through secondary school TeenAg clubs, we offer Leadership Pathway programmes and Raising the Standards Leadership camps.

The National Council of New Zealand Wool Interests Inc. Our sector needs talented people who can think differently and explore new ways of introducing wool to the world. Growing, processing, marketing and exporting wool takes a whole team of people who care about sustainability, have a passion for working with a natural material and have a diverse range of skills – either gained in other fields or on the job and ranging from expertise in wool preparation through to those with imaginations and technical skills to create new uses.