31 March 2004 Strong Agricultural Enrolments at Lincoln Good News for Primary Sector

A 20 percent-plus increase in agricultural enrolments at Lincoln University this year is a welcome signal for the future of New Zealand agriculture and its service industries, says Charlie Pedersen, Vice-President of Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc.).

"There are plenty of good employment opportunities for graduates in agriculture, which contributes roughly 17 percent of New Zealand's $126 billion gross domestic product," he says.

"We encourage people to study agriculture, where there are thousands of self-employed people running million-dollar-plus businesses."

Agriculturally based businesses agree.

"Tertiary qualified staff – scientists, technicians, business managers, IT personnel, advisory staff and field officers – are the backbone of companies like ours," says Ravensdown Fertiliser Co-operative CEO Rodney Green.

"The demand for field officers has doubled in the past five years and we now have over 70 men and women in the field who have either agricultural or horticultural degrees.

"Shareholder demand for robust technical advice is ever increasing along with the complexity of farming.

"There is tremendous value gained by our shareholders in being advised on the right nutrients to apply and which farming systems to employ to maximise the benefit from those nutrients. To deliver that advice we need staff who understand soil chemistry, plant physiology, livestock nutrition, and the business side of farming.

"A strong pool of tertiary qualified personnel with expertise in these areas is absolutely essential to our success as a company and to New Zealand's land-based economy as a whole."

The link between a steady supply of tertiary qualified personnel and the health of New Zealand's land-based economy is a point made too by the chairman of AGMARDT (Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust), Alistair Betts.

"We're very pleased to see this year's lift in agricultural enrolments at Lincoln University," he says.

"It's good news in national terms given that agriculture is a major driver of our economy which is based on bioproduction.

"It's of national significance in terms of the growth and wealth of the country as a whole."

It's good news too for the rural banking sector which relies heavily on a steady stream of graduates to fill its specialist positions, many of whom come from Lincoln University.

ASB Bank's Area Manager for Rural Banking in the Northern South Island, Kelvin Hore, says that with rural banking now nationally a $20 billion industry it needs an ever growing stream of talented people with a passion for agriculture.

"At ASB Bank our people provide our advantage in the marketplace and are largely responsible for our continued growth and success.

"It is encouraging for us to see an increasing level of enrolments in agricultural courses at Lincoln University as that will enable us to continue to source talented people for our staff."

Lincoln University has a strong and successful tradition of matching its teaching and research programmes to New Zealand's agriculture-driven economy and adding value to it all the way along the production, marketing and consumption chain.

"The demand for Lincoln agricultural graduates has often outstripped the supply," says Vice-Chancellor Professor Roger Field, "but with this year's strong intake potential employers can hopefully look to the future with some optimism when two, three and four years down the track the classes of 2004 graduate.

"Our task at the University now is to keep the momentum going because obviously one good enrolment year must not be left to stand on its own."

Senior Plant Science Lecturer Dr Derrick Moot, winner of a 2003 Lincoln University Excellence in Teaching Award and nominee for this year's national Tertiary Teaching Awards says that for good graduates the employment opportunities have never been better.

"Last year, for example, all of Lincoln's Plant Science honours class – excluding those going on OE or with other prior plans – were recruited, some of them being headhunted and offered positions even before graduation.

" A common pattern is for graduates to start in one industry, get three or four years’ experience under their belts then move up to a more senior position, or go overseas on OE or perhaps return to the family farm. This movement means that their positions open up for others coming on to the job market to fill.

"Often these openings never make the Situations Vacant columns and positions are filled on personal recommendation and reputation, or by head hunting or direct on-campus recruitment."

Professor Field says that it is very gratifying for staff to see their students well placed in employment and the University as a whole takes pride in this too.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand