The young farmers of New Zealand face many of the same challenges as those in Ireland, according to NZYF chief executive Terry Copeland

“Getting started, getting an opportunity to get a foot on the ladder is the big thing for a lot of our members. Access to capital isn’t an issue for us [compared with Ireland] but it is just that opportunity to get set up in an operation.

“For dairying, for example, the key question is always how do young people get quality share-milking setups,” Copeland told the Irish Farmers Journal on the third day of the Fieldays 2016 event in Hamilton.

Farming not for ‘bright people’

According to Copeland, other issues concerning NZYF members include how “to encourage early adoption of tech on farms”, environmental constraints and ensuring there is a “youth voice around decision boards”. The association is also working on developing a curriculum for schools to get the best people into farming.

“There was this mentality that farming was not a career if you’re bright ... that smart students should be a lawyer or doctor ... we need bright people [in farming],” Copeland said.

Association structure

NZYF, which was formed in 1927, represents three age groups: Agri Kids, Teen Ag and NZYF full membership. Teen Ag members are charged NZ$30 (€18) while full members are charged an annual fee of NZ$70 (€43), with half of the membership returned to the member’s club to help fund it.

Subscriptions constitute 2% of the association’s total funding, with the remaining 98% coming from industry bodies such as adviser group DairyNZ, promotional body Beef + Lamb and agri lender ANZ.

Like Macra na Feirme, NZYF runs a young farmer of the year award, which is broadcast on national television. The last three winners have been made up of a dairy and a beef farmer as well as banker.

Watch the qualifiers for this year's edition in the videos below:

“We’ve had winners from every sector, but the only thing we haven’t had is a woman farmer winning it ... That’s a goal that hopefully we can achieve,” Copeland said

Unlike Macra, NZYF is not a lobbying organisation and will offer the young farmer perspective on local and national government on issues as they arise. The NZYF also feeds into the Federated Farmers of New Zealand

Record attendance

The Fieldays event is on course to break its record attendance set in 2008. While still considerably short of the attendance seen at Ireland's National Ploughing Championships each year, this year’s Fieldays is expected to break 132,000. After the third day of the four-day event, approximately 100,000 had entered into the 42ha site to see the 1,000 exhibitors.

Saturday is traditionally the day in which families and urbanites attend the event.

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Full coverage: Fieldays 2016