May 27, 2014
Six young NZ farmers heading to global master class for ‘agricultural leaders of tomorrow’
Six young New Zealand farmers have been invited to join a group of 40 emerging farm leaders from around the world at the
first Rabobank Young Farmers Master Class.
To be held in the Netherlands in the first week of June, the gathering will bring together forward-thinking young
primary producers, from a range of countries, who have been identified to be among the next generation of ‘agricultural
leaders of tomorrow’.
Staged by global agricultural banking specialist Rabobank, the Young Farmers Master Class is an initiative which
recognises the important shared role the coming generation of farmers will play in the future challenges of global
agriculture and feeding the world.
Rabobank New Zealand CEO Ben Russell said it was vital to support and develop this next generation of farmers, who face
increasing challenges in agriculture. These issues include farm succession, environmental sustainability, the increasing
need for innovation and the challenges of operating in an increasingly complex and sophisticated market.
“The next generation of farmers coming through are crucially important to the future. The world will be relying on these
young farmers – and those who come after them – to play a vital shared role in providing food security for a growing
global population,” Mr Russell said.
“Much of the success in achieving a food-secure future for the world will depend on the development of those younger
farmers – their abilities to innovate, their farming skills and their capability to produce more sustainably, with less
impact on the environment.”
Following on from the success of the world’s first Global Farmers Master Class, staged in 2012, the Rabobank Young
Farmers Master Class (YFMC) will focus on some key topics impacting young farmers in the sector, including innovation,
‘big data’ and the role of technology, succession, social media and best farm practices.
The master class will encompass an intensive program, including presentations from food and agriculture researchers and
leading global innovators, interactive professional and personal development sessions and visits to flagship
agricultural companies.
Sessions will include visits to the world-renowned Wagening University Research food and agri knowledge centre to learn
about successful agricultural innovations, to a global dairy company’s state-of-the-art dairy research centre to review
developments in the dairy value chain and to a flagship sustainable, diversified dairy farm. In addition, participants
will learn from global social media expert Danny Mekic on the potential and significance of social and online media for
the agricultural sector, while soil and crop research entrepreneur Henri Hekman will share his experience in leveraging
‘big data’.
Participants also have the option of a farm stay, to learn from, and network with, other leading young farmers in the
Netherlands.
The six participants selected to attend from New Zealand are:
• Ashburton dairy farmer Will Grayling
• Grasslands CEO Gareth van der Heyden
• Blenheim sheep and beef producer, and vineyard operator Richard Laugesen
• New Plymouth dairy farmer Jacques Le Prou
• Masterton sheep and beef producer George Tatham and
• Rotorua dairy farmer Kirsten Watson.
They will join other leading young farmers from across Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
Will Grayling, who is equity partner in share-milking operation Ashpouri, in Canterbury, says he is particularly looking
forward to the opportunity to learn from, and share knowledge with, his counterparts in other parts of the world.
“It will be really beneficial to know and understand what our equivalents are doing and how they are dealing with the
challenges they are facing, because even though we are all from different countries, so many of the challenges in
agriculture are the same throughout the world,” he said.
Mr Grayling said he hoped to gain insights from both the Master Class program and the other international participants
that would help him with the further development of his expanding farm business.
“As a young farmer, it’s important that you are informed about the direction of agriculture so you can make decisions
now about how you set up your business for the future. You can’t be waiting until you get to 40 before you think about
what you are going to do, because then you will have missed so many good years of growing your operations. You don’t
have to do everything all at once, but you need to get an understanding of what you want to do and start working towards
how you will develop your own business and the wider sector.”
Mr Grayling, 28, grew up on his family’s dairy farming operation on the North Island, near Hamilton, before completing a
Masters of Applied Science in Agriculture at Lincoln University, and beginning his own venture in dairying on the South
Island in Canterbury in 2009.
Ashpouri has now grown to a 3200 cow sharemilking operation run over two farms and employing 12 permanent and three
casual employees.
Mr Grayling recognises the importance of succession in family farming, but says the onus is also on young people to take
responsibility for their own career path in the industry.
“There are definitely opportunities out there for young farmers, but it’s a matter of finding out what is applicable and
how you can take advantage of them. That’s where initiatives like the Young Farmers Master Class are so useful in giving
you different ideas, so you can look at your options and work out a clearer pathway of what you can achieve and how to
create that change,” he said.
Mr Russell said, as a global specialist agricultural bank, Rabobank believed farm succession and the issue of retaining
and attracting talented farmers to agriculture was one of the most important challenges facing farming today throughout
the world.
“We need more young people helping to map out the future of farming and agribusiness, and we are very excited at the
calibre of the New Zealand participants in the Young Farmers Master Class, and what ideas they will develop over the
course of this program,” he said.
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the international Rabobank Group, the world's leading specialist in food and
agribusiness banking. Rabobank has more than 110 years' experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to
businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 42
countries, servicing the needs of approximately 10 million clients worldwide through a network of more than 1600 offices
and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of New Zealand's leading rural lenders and a significant provider of business
and corporate banking and financial services to country's food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 branches
throughout New Zealand. Rabobank also operates RaboDirect, New Zealand’s first internet-only bank specialising in
savings and deposits.
ENDS