School: Scot's College

University: Massey University

Degree: Bachelor of Agricultural Science

Even though I am from a semi-rural background, I have started to gain an insight into the numerous challenges facing the agriculture sector as well as the benefits of farming for New Zealand economically and on food production internationally. For me, dairy farming has a huge part in this being New Zealand’s biggest single exporter, employing over 40,000 people, offering many job and career opportunities as well as a great lifestyle.

I would like to contribute to dairy farming in the future through owning and running a farm that is environmentally sustainable. For me, this means taking care of water and waterways and using new agricultural technologies and data to support better decision-making in terms of water use and nutrient management.

The use of agritech will enable more effective production systems and includes precision agriculture, use of drones to collect data; gene editing for better seeds and pasture, and increased crop resilience which in turn enables famers to make better decisions about how to run their farms in more ecologically friendly ways.

Finally, to me, being a good participant in the dairy industry is about showing leadership and leading by example when thinking about and implementing practices designed to improve the environmental sustainability of this critical industry.