Farm Management students gain real farm experience

Farm Environmental Planning was top-mind for 20-year-old Macey Hunter, a Year 2, Diploma of Farm Management student at Lincoln University, when she arrived home for her term break.

While also keen to do a spot of hunting and help with docking on the family farm, the friends she brought with her were warmly welcomed.

But it wasn’t long before she sat down at the kitchen table with her uncle, Ian Stuart, to work through what a plan looks like and to track progress on farm objectives, riparian work, nutrients, and emissions management, weighed against land-use capability, impacts of climate events and declining income.

Macey says while every farm situation is different, it’s hard for landowners to decide where to put their effort, there’s so much to do.

“I suppose,” she thoughtfully suggests, “at the very least it’s a record for tracking the good things you are doing on the farm to help reduce emissions or climate measures.”