PNBHS YOUNG FARMERS
On Friday 23rd June, 37 members of the PNBHS Young Farmers club, lead by president Ben Wood, headed past Hunterville to Otiwhiti (Farming) Cadet Training School. Upon arrival, we went into the hall and were briefed about what we were going to be doing over the next few hours of that day. As we left the hall to get changed, we were numbered off and split into 4 groups. We then headed for the woolshed for the activities to begin.
My group started with the shearing activity which was led by Jed McAlley (the Farm Manager). Jed showed us how to set up a hand piece properly and where to oil it. After the handpiece was all oiled up and ready to go, it was time for action. Jed and one of the cadets started by belly crutching the ewes, then the first few blows of the leg, and then it was our turn to have a go at shearing.
Activity number two was a dog tucker tutorial. We were shown how to kill a sheep humanely and quickly, then how to very cleanly skin and gut a sheep.
Activity number three was fencing skills, where one of the cadets demonstrated some fencing knots. From his demonstration, we had to copy the knots. For some of the boys it was difficult to do, but for others, particularly those who had won the Land Based Training Agricultural Competition a few weeks earlier, it was a straightforward, trouble free task.
Activity four was three-way drafting. This task was very difficult for some as they had never used drafting gates or three-way drafting gates before so you could imagine there were many mistakes.
After completing the activities, all the groups jumped back onto the bus and went back to the farm house area where we had a presentation from Charlie Duncan and got a full run down on Otiwhiti and how it runs. Charlie also spoke about the skills required of an experienced farm hand, these included shearing, fencing, dog work and horse riding. Charlie informed us that if we attended the Agricultural course that he runs, not only could we gain these skills but we could also come away, at the end of the first year, with a Level 3 in Agriculture. He also said that if we did a second year, we could gain a Level 4 qualification. After the presentation, the boys had an opportunity to ask some questions, which they did and got some great feedback. Once this was over, Ben Wood said thank you on the behalf of the club and school and then we gathered our gear and jumped back onto the bus for the trip back to Palmerston North.
Overall, I certainly believe that this was an awesome trip for all the boys involved as it opened up another option for their future. I’m also sure everyone on the trip, including the teachers, learnt something new or at least were able to get in a bit of practice at perfecting their skills. On behalf of all the students involved I would like to thank Charlie Duncan and all his staff and cadets for looking after us on the day. I would also like to thank Mr Johnson and Mr Jochem for taking us up to Otiwhiti Station and also Mr Atkin and Mr Bovey for making this all possible.
- By Clay Simpson-Smith.
