Beef&LambScholarships

Two young New Zealanders are pursuing their dream of working in the sheep and beef industry, thanks to a helping hand from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ).

Each year, B+LNZ offers scholarship support to one or two young people wanting to study at Taratahi Agricultural Training College – through either one scholarship of $4000, or two of $2000.

This year’s recipients are Cologne McKinstry and Nicholas Fabish, who are both in their second year of study at Taratahi.

Nick is from a dairy farm in the Taranaki and arrived at Taratahi in 2009 to study dairying. But he found himself drawn to the sheep and beef course and this year is studying towards his Level 4 Certificate in Agriculture.

“I’ve taken the opportunity and it’s going awesome. I like getting up in the hills and, at the moment, I’m working at Kaituna, near the Tararuas.”

The farmer has offered Nick a job at the end of his course and he has jumped at the chance. He’s also thinking about further study at Lincoln, but with two dogs and a third on the horizon, he says he’ll need to think carefully about his plans.

Cologne is in her second year of study at Taratahi, also studying towards her Level 4 Certificate in Agriculture. “I was only 15 when I left school and had no qualifications, which I didn’t think was a good idea. I come from a small farm near Taumarunui and thought I’d study agriculture.”

Now 17, Cologne has not looked back and was top of her class (of about 70 students) at Taratahi last year – the first female to take the top spot. She has a job lined up for later this year, then plans to go to Australia to try her hand at cattle driving. Near the top of her wish list is to work on the large Canterbury station, Molesworth, before ultimately returning home and setting up a Perendale stud with her father, Chris.

She is grateful for the scholarship, particularly given her young age. “The Beef + Lamb New Zealand scholarship is really important. Because of my age, I’m too young to get a student allowance.”

In the meantime, Nick and Cologne were part of a 19-student study group that recently travelled to the UK as part of a Taratahi-organised tour of alternative farming systems.

Cologne says it was an eye opener. “It was an amazing experience and we made a lot of good contacts. Everything was so different. It really opens your eyes to how lucky we are here in New Zealand, with regard to rules and regulations.”

Both students also spent two days in Wellington at Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s head office recently, where they heard from industry professionals and met 19 other B+LNZ scholarship students from all over New Zealand.

B+LNZ Chief Executive Scott Champion says the scholarships are a long-standing part of Beef + Lamb’s people programme.

“Over the years, we’ve supported many young people through Taratahi, not to mention the university-level scholarships and Telford in the south. We are constantly delighted to see these individuals pursue their dream of working in agriculture and feel a pride, as they progress through both their education, then career paths.”

B+LNZ Extension Manager for the Eastern North Island, Richmond Beetham, facilitated the selection of this year’s scholars. “These two presented and interviewed exceptionally well. It’s exciting to see young people of this calibre coming into the industry and I will be keeping an eye on their progress in years to come.”

Applications for the scholarships open in November each year and close in March. Details can be found at www.beefandlamb.com.

Scholarships encourage a future in sheep and beef farming

Past B+LNZ Taratahi Scholars include:

Other B+LNZ Scholars from the Wairarapa, currently studying elsewhere: