Tegan Mitchell says there is so much more to agriculture than "just farming".
Tegan Mitchell says there is so much more to agriculture than "just farming".
Tegan Mitchell says choosing to study a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at Massey University was “the best decision I ever made”.
The 20-year-old is in her second year of the degree and is interested in soil science and agronomy.
She is keen to share her enthusiasm for the primary sector with the next generation. In her second year as the chairwoman of the Massey Young Farmers Club, Mitchell visits schools to inspire kids to pursue a career in agriculture.
She has received an Animal and Plant Health NZ agricultural scholarship worth $2500.
Without farm inputs, one-fifth of the Wairarapa farm where Mitchell was raised would have been rendered ineffective after Cyclone Gabrielle hit, she says.
Kotu Station - a 1400-hectare sheep and beef farm at Tīnui east of Masterton - was looking “lush, green and promising”.
“Overnight, the Whareama River rose higher than it has ever been known to, wiping out fences, washing away stock and burying the flats, woolshed and yarding in a layer of silt and debris.
“Having a surplus of feed one day and waking up the next with bare hills that had slipped right down to the parent rock was completely devastating.”
Fortunately, agrichemicals can “turn a bad season, such as the one we have just experienced, into one that can still be productive and profitable”.
Climate change and an increase in freak weather events are also affecting crops. “Humidity provides the perfect growing conditions for weeds and pests which can damage yield and quality.”
The use of agrichemicals is “crucial for the sustainability of a farm and the livelihood of the farmer”.
Tegan Mitchell helps with docking, weaning, dipping and shearing on her family farm near Masterton.
Mitchell is applying to go on an exchange to Wageningen University in the Netherlands next year. She then wants to complete post-graduate agricultural research papers or a Master’s degree before returning to work in the Wairarapa.
“I am super-excited about the endless opportunities in the agricultural sector and can’t wait to see where it will take me,” she says.
When she hasn’t got her head in a book, Mitchell can be found on the hockey field or volunteering for Wellmates, a Lincoln University programme that focuses on rural wellbeing - something that speaks to her, having lost a childhood friend to suicide.
