Business Rural North Summer 2021

24 | ‘We succeed or fail by our training’ Trainee shearer in the making George Rigden (top). Dog training is Isaiaah Edwards AKA Oz (below). Richard Loader S ince its foundation in 2007, 160 cadets have successfully graduated through Otiwhiti Sta- tion Land Based Training Agricultural School, the vast majority of which continue to work in the sheep and beef industry. A not-for-profit charitable company, the educa- tional facility is a partnership between the Duncan family and Land Based Training. The station is owned by the Otiwhiti Westoe Farming partnership, and is managed by Blair and Rachael Rhodes. Sixteen kilometres inland from Hunterville, Otiwhiti Station has plenty to offer students by way of experiential learning. Encompassing 1700 hectares, along with a further 400 hectares used for finishing of which 120 hectares is irrigated, Otiwhiti Station ranges from steep to very steep. A working sheep and beef breeding and finishing operation, the farm is home to 4500 ewes, 1500 hoggets and a 250 Angus cows plus their replace- ments. From its inaugural intake of nine students, Otiwhiti now takes between sixteen and eighteen students a year from the fifty applications received each year from hopeful candidates throughout New Zealand. Owner/operator Charlie Duncan says the intake is limited by accommodation facilities on farm and a strict policy of maintaining one staff member for every 3 – 4 students to ensure each and every student receives the very best training. “They come to us to learn the skills of being a shepherd and getting employed in the industry. In the first year they complete a National Certificate Level-3 in Agriculture and every Monday they are in class. We don’t promise them jobs at the end of it, but we do promise opportunities. Graduates employed locally the following year will return on Fridays to do Level-4.” Otiwhiti’s experiential training encompasses every aspect of farm work, with a philosophy of learn-by-doing and repeating the task so that it is mastered and remembered. “We succeed or fail by our training. If someone employs one of our cadets and they can’t do a task that we say they can then it’s Otiwhiti that dies – not NZQA. So we have to ensure the skills we’re teaching are being taught correctly so that the student is both competent and confident.” Otiwhiti embraces five pillars of practical skills – shearing, fencing, killing and cutting up a sheep, riding a horse and breaking in and working a dog – and believes if those five pillars can be mastered, its students will always be employed. “In the first three months we concentrate on a lot of regulatory knowledge,” says Charlie. “We do ATVs, UTVs, tractors, chainsaws, shearing and RURAL PEOPLE » Otiwhiti Station health and safety across the board. We also have ten farmer partners with about 550,000 stock units and they support us by taking our students out to their businesses doing farm labour work, while also helping with the five pillars.” Otiwhiti’s students rotate through the school’s farmer partners during the year, exposing them to other farms and ideas and providing a fast introduc- tion to the red meat network. “Every student must arrive here with one head- ing dog. Right now our students for next year are sourcing the pups that they will bring with them in January. For us that is probably the most rewarding thing that happens here; watching the students get a handle on how to train a dog, put sides on their dogs, teach the dogs to read the sheep, and mature with their dogs as the year goes through.” By farmers. For farmers supporting OTIWHITI STATION LAND BASED TRAINING SCHOOL Learn more about B+LNZ’s investment into growing people in our sector at www. beeflamb nz.c om / people-and-t r ai n i ng Any Terrain, Any Season, whether it’s working the forestry or farm, Can-AM is there to make your life easier. From the toughness of our engines and all-terrain traction, to our steadfast, classleading payload and towing capabilities. We have the vehicle to suit your needs. So put your trust into your local NZ no 1 CAN-AM dealer. Call us to book your free onsite demo today. Servicing the whole Wanganui, Taranaki, Ruapehu, Taihape and Hunterville Areas with pick-up and delivery service available ®TM and the BRP logo are trademarks of Bombardier recreational Products Inc. or its af liates.