Argyll East School had the distinction of being the first Hawke's Bay school to take part in a national project that will put kids from 100 schools onto sheep and beef farms.
Funded by the Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) and delivered by NZ Young Farmers' school engagement team, the aim of the joint project is to introduce primary school pupils to the career opportunities available in the agri-food sector.
New Zealand's red meat sector says it will need to find an extra 33,000 workers by 2025 to replace those who will retire or exit the industry. In 2012, 36 per cent of workers in the red meat sector had post-school qualifications.
![The pupils get close to the sheep during the visit.](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/TBNFPDLVCZFH2MFIV5YOGGLDOA.jpg?auth=187c204b04090a7da096088ac79f8fd152c1fd177e4ee6cdfc5d5dbd6b0d97fd&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
By 2025 that figure will need to increase to 55 per cent. CORE Education has developed a resource for the project, which teaches primary school students about how science and genetics are being used to boost productivity and profitability in the red meat sector.