Source: Radio New Zealand
Taiwhakaea Osborne is in the second year of the Pāmu scheme. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham
Teenage farmers are getting put through their paces in a new scheme helping youngsters enter the industry.
Government-owned company Pāmu has 19 apprentices learning the ropes at its farms, which many will go on to work for.
After experiencing dairying and livestock, the apprentices – who are already well into their work – can specialise in their chosen field.
Five of this year’s apprentice intake are at Rangitāiki Station, about 40 minutes southeast of Taupō, ready to start their day when RNZ turns up.
Sixteen-year-old Tori Cheetham has just moved out of home to join this year’s apprentice intake. Supplied / Pāmu
Sixteen-year-old Tori Cheetham has just moved from Gisborne, and 17-year-old Ryan Sayers has come from Hamilton.
“I moved in on 10 January and we started on the 12th. It’s pretty cool. It’s such a cool experience being able to learn the different trades of it – doing the dairy and the livestock,” Cheetham said.
“I’ve done a bit of both. I’m interested in the dairy aspect but also I’m beginning to like the dry stock, but beef more than the sheep,” Sayers said.
In a shed, the apprentices are killing sheep and preparing them for dog tucker, as practice for getting the cuts right for human consumption.
It is just their third time doing this, but apprentice scheme manager Gary Brady said they were already getting a handle on something they were likely to do a lot as junior shepherds.
“They’ll get a shed full of sheep and they’re told that’s your job for the day, and they’re dog tuckers, so it’s important they learn these basics.”
Brady said once they fully knew what they were doing, it should take about 30 minutes a sheep.
Alex Iremonger says he doesn’t come from a farming background, but wants a career in the industry. Supplied / Pāmu
Alex Iremonger, 18, from Whakatane, worked quickly through his first sheep.
“We’ve just been doing some dog tuckers, so some not-as-well-off sheep – we captive bolt them, pull them out, cut the throat and then proceed to break them down from the shins to brisket.
“Then we take the skin off, open them up – that’s basically the finished product.”
Iremonger said he did not have much of a farming background, apart from working for a few months on a dairy farm.
But now he had chosen it as his career, he wanted to one day be a farm manager, and he said he had learnt plenty in his first few weeks as an apprentice.
“We’ve learnt to crutch, do dog tuckers, muttons, drench, give animals shots, just learned animal stockmanship, how to treat animals in the yards, how to move and shift animals.
“Also, we’re just learning a lot of people skills, how to budget, how to finance, how to deal with other people.”
Gary Brady says more than 100 people applied for 10 apprentice places this year. Supplied / Pāmu
The apprentices’ efforts impressed Brady.
“Ewes are a little bit tough, but they’re really good to learn on. If you can get the pattern and get everything tidy on these then the house meats come out really good.
“You can see a bit of wool and stuff on the leg there,” he said, pointing to one of the sheep carcasses.
“It doesn’t matter so much with these. I’ve never had a dog say, ‘I’m not eating that.’ It’s good learning.”
There was high interest in the scheme, with more than 100 applicants for the 10 places this year, he said.
After a three-week induction, the first years are then straight into work training, each getting a chance to look at dairying and livestock farming. Second and third years get to work in their areas of specialisation on Pāmu farms.
While the first years continue with their dog tucker, Taiwhakaea Osborne is hard at work loading bulls on to a stock truck.
He also gets to work with and train farm dogs – which he calls using Te Reo Māori, Osborne’s first language.
The second-year apprentice is working at Rangitāiki Station while still studying for his industry qualification.
“This year I’m focusing more on the feed allocation for stock. I’m currently working in the bull unit. It’s a 375-hectare block. In the summertime we’ve got about 1000 to 1200 bulls on farm.
“In that time I’m learning feed allocation and animal welfare and animal health.”
The 19-year-old, from Whakatane, also wants to be a farm manager.
When he speaks to RNZ, he’s fresh of an encounter with an angry animal.
“I noticed a bull that wasn’t moving so I decided to try to use my bike to give it a helping hand. It did not like that.
“It charged at me. I thought maybe that was a one-time thing, so I tried it again. He chased me.
“I though this is an unsafe situation for me and my bike, so I left it in the paddock.”
Osborne said that was all part of the learning.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/23/new-teen-farmers-get-a-shedful-of-sheep-to-learn-the-ropes/
