23 April 2024 Busy hands and a bright future for upcoming agriculture graduate

Handy Landy, Future Leader Scholar, and silver medallist in IFAMA's International Student Case Competition. While Fergus may be on the brink of graduation, leaving Lincoln isn't on his agenda yet.

Set to receive his Bachelor of Agriculture degree in May, Fergus Lee is already stuck into a Master’s in Agribusiness Management, aiming to set himself up in the agribusiness sector one day.

Even though he grew up in Auckland, he’s not just another city slicker. With both of his parents coming from farming backgrounds and cousins already at Lincoln, he followed in their footsteps.

And he got right amongst it, becoming no stranger to lending a hand when and where it was needed.

“I was an active member of the UCD Ag Science Society, which ran events like a welly walk, charity boxing match and a mystery tour, all raising money for charity.”

As part of the ‘Handy Landys’, a volunteer student club that assists in the rural sector in times of need, he went to Hawke’s Bay last year to help out in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

It was a highlight of my time at Lincoln, getting to spend a week helping out farmers who were hit with one of the worst storms in NZ history.

“The year before, we went to Rai Valley to clean up farms in August 2022. The previous year we cleaned up farms in Canterbury after the July floods.”

Their efforts earned them a Gold Award for voluntary service to the community.

Reflecting on his final year of undergraduate, Fergus remarks, “Last year was a big one for me.”

“I finished up on the Future Leaders Scholarship by running my third-year project ‘Agri-ventures’ along with Danielle Bain and Campbell Barclay. We brought 17 high school students in from all over the country and took them out to various farms and agribusiness for two-and-a-half days.”

“It was pretty rewarding organising and seeing the project all come together and showcasing many career opportunities in the primary sector. We visited Rakaia Island dairy farm, PGG Wrightson HQ and Wool room, FMG HQ, Cleardale station, PGG Wrightson seeds research farm and of course Lincoln University.”

Throughout the year he was also preparing for the IFAMA student case competition, where he placed second. 

“That was another great opportunity. The competition gave our team of five a real-world problem relating to agribusiness, and we then had a few hours to come up with a practical solution and deliver a presentation to a set of judges.”

Following that, he jetted off to the lush fields of Ireland to complete his undergraduate studies on exchange at The University College of Dublin.

“That was probably the best time of my life to date. I met so many people who are now friends for life.”

Of course, his Lincoln cohort sticks out to him too. 

“As I look back on my time at Lincoln, possibly the greatest assets are the connections I’ve made, from working as a summer student on farms in Southland to various Lincoln grads in different agribusiness and of course the friends I’ve made while studying here.”

Watch this space, as there is sure to be more he can fit in during his postgraduate study. 

Fergus – what a journey you’ve already had and what a bright future ahead.

Congratulations.