Nineteen-year-old Jessica Cameron completed her two year Growing Future Farmers (GFF) student placement course in November 2024 and secured her first farming job as experienced shepherd on a Te Akau farm in the Waikato.

Jess was brought up on a six-acre lifestyle block near Helensville, with “steers, sheep and goats”, and she studied horticulture at school.

She describes her last year at school as “a bit of a sham academically” as she was away a lot competing with the Aotearoa Waka Ama team.

“I spent a few days on my uncle’s Helensville sheep and beef farm through the Gateway programme at school, and found I really liked farming,” says Jess.

Getting into farming

“When I was looking at how to get into farming in 2022, I realised it was quite hard if you weren’t born into a farming family.

“My uncle had a student from GFF, and it looked like a really good way to enter the industry and be well trained and come out with NZQA unit standards.”

GFF is New Zealand’s largest farmer led vocational workforce training programme. It spans two years and is fees-free within the sheep, beef and deer sector.

Growing Future Farmers graduate Jess Cameron with her huntaway Cam (left) and heading dog Smoke (right). Photo / Catherine Fry

After being matched with Alastair and Ann Reeves of Waimai Romney Stud in Te Akau as possible farmer trainers for her two-year placement, Jess visited the farm and was offered a place.

“Waimai is a ram stud, and they also have their own breed, Chara Blacks. They are all about genetics, testing and selection, and that really makes your brain work and I enjoyed being part of that.”

Alastair and Ann are very supportive of sport at high levels and willingly gave Jess the time off to continue with her waka ama competitions. She competed with the Aotearoa Waka Ama Team at the 2024 World Championships in Hawaii, and she manages her training using a machine in her room.

Farm life

Jess lived with three other students from GFF who were on other farms in the area. Students are allocated to a student success adviser, and she describes her SSA Morgan Lilley as her second mum and says “she was great”.

Four days a week (32 hours), Jess worked on the farm and also attended courses one day a week covering topics like shearing, fencing, tractor driving, equine care, ATV driving, chainsaw and dog training. She says the curriculum covers an extensive list of courses and skills.

Jess Cameron shadowed the Reeves’ farm manager, Tom Lilley for nearly two years for her GFF placement. Photo / Catherine Fry

“At the beginning of the first year we get a heading dog pup to train, and we get a huntaway pup half way through the first year. I was fortunate enough to be trained by one of New Zealand’s top dog triallists, Leo Jecentho, who also hand-picked my pups.

“My heading dog Smoke has the genetics of Leo’s champion dogs, and I get to keep both my dogs when I graduate the programme.”

Fridays also included a Zoom call with tutors from the Eastern Institute of Technology, and completing her assessments which Jess admits she sometimes had to focus on.

“As part of the programme, our house, Wi-Fi, power and meat, and we get around $200 a week from our sponsorship money for food and anything else.

“I’ve got really good at budgeting, and we did a financial literacy course on budgeting with Rabobank.”

A Future Farmer

Jess’ new role won’t take her out of the area where she has just spent the last two years, and she will still be close to two of her former housemates who also have their first jobs in the Te Akau area.

“I’ll be on a 1000-hectare effective sheep and beef farm carrying 10,000 stock units with a 50/50 split between Romney breeding sheep and Angus steers.”

She is looking forward to starting work and applying her skills to a real farming job.

“Because of the GFF programme I’ve got qualifications and two years of industry experience allowing me to enter farming at a more senior level. I’m going to be working with a GFF student myself so that will be really good.”

Jess says she found the whole GFF experience to be very supportive and really enjoyed her time on the Reeves’ farm. She is grateful to her farmer trainers, Alastair and Ann, but also their farm manager, Tom Lilley, who she pretty much shadowed for the two years.