Marton Young Farmers chair Samantha Tennent to take on WelFarm role

Samantha Tennent is now the general manager of WelFarm, which provides a herd welfare programme for dairy farmers, in conjunction with vets. Photos / Supplied

After two years chairing the Marton Young Farmers Club Samantha Tennent has "aged out" and moved to a new job in the Waikato.

She took over as general manager of WelFarm, a business that provides a herd welfare programme for dairy farmers, on February 7. It was ideal timing, she said,

She moved to Tirau to live with her partner, and her son was changing to a new school at the same time.

Tennent was the chairwoman of the successful Marton Young Farmers Club last year, when it celebrated its 80th year of existence with a formal dinner and speaker in March. She had been involved in Young Farmers Clubs for 10 years.

She grew up in Whanganui and her parents had a lifestyle block at Westmere. She wanted to be a vet, but got pregnant at 17 and opted for a Bachelor of Veterinary Technology degree instead.

She has found her own opportunities since.

"I have been made redundant three times. I have learned that nothing is guaranteed and you just have to make the most of what you've got."

Since finishing her degree she has worked for LIC (the Livestock Improvement Incorporation) while living in Marton and covered Whanganui, Rangitīkei and northern Manawatū. She has also worked for a farming publication and as a freelance agricultural journalist.

Cows have been a passion for Samantha Tennent, since she first met dairy heifers during a six-month placement. Photo / Supplied

In 2019 she was the New Zealander chosen by the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists for a trip to the United States in the Alltech Young Leaders programme.

For the previous two years Tennent was based in Palmerston North and worked for DairyNZ, as a developer in its animal and feed team.

Her new job is exciting, she said, at a time when New Zealand farmers need to convince overseas buyers that their food is safe and their animals are healthy and have good lives.