Farming needs people with many practical skills.

Many learn skills from their parents  – usually, it’s best to learn from others.

         We once had many solid training schemes from Young Farmers Clubs to farming cadet schemes. I started my career as a farm cadet working for the Taranaki Farmers Cooperative.

         In those days Lincoln and Massey had farming diploma training courses and places like Flock House in the Rangitikei ran a  year- long practical training course. It was boys only in those days.

         The best training, in my opinion, was carried out by a Government Department, the State Advances Corporation.

         Herbet Caselberg, a Senior Valuer, selected and supervised a rural field cadet scheme. He selected boys from school prefects and sports leaders.

         At that time there was dissatisfaction with the type of graduates Lincoln and Massey Colleges were turning out.

         This cadet training included three years of farm work, and two years at Lincoln and Massey Colleges, culminating with a Lincoln College Valuation and Farm Management Diploma. This qualification was granted professional status by the State Services Commission.

         Most of these cadets distinguished themselves by becoming commercial, government or sporting leaders. They certainly helped make New Zealand a better place.

         Flock House was a farm training centre  14km South of Bulls Village,  situated on 3,000 acres of land.

         Apart from the Rural Field Cadets course run by State Advances,  it probably gave the best practical training in agricultural skills in New Zealand.

         Flock House was set up in 1924 to train orphan sons of merchant navy seamen killed in the First World War. It later trained New Zealand lads in rural skills,  converting many city boys into farmers.

         Over 3,000 boys took this 12-month course.

         It also became the in-service training centre for the staff of the Department of Agriculture – when we had such an organisation. But in 1987 the gates were locked, all the staff were made redundant and it was closed down.

         Today the beautiful main building is listed as a Category 1 Historic Place with Heritage New Zealand, as is the memorial to Bess, the grave of Colonel Powel’s horse. Bess was special. During the First World War, New Zealand sent 10,000 horses with their riders into battle zones. Only four returned.

         The first Flock House Principle was Col. C.G Powles and the last was Mr J. John Stewart, the ex-All Black-coach.  

         It was outrage that the Government closed down Flock House when we needed trained farm workers.  Today we seek cheap labour from Asian Countries, instead of training more of our own young people to become our future farmers.

         This was done about the time Massey University stopped its Diploma in Agriculture programme.

         Shortly afterwards the New Zealand Government spent multimillions of dollars helping other countries set up their training centres,  such as the Mekong Institute in Thailand.  

         Many of our institutes, courses and extension services were closed down so we could tell others, “We don’t subsidise food production.” – but all other countries do in some form or other.

         In view of so much information now available online, there must be a strong swing back to practical rural skills, therefore it’s time to revert back to more of the Flock House type of training , and the rural field cadet schemes.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Training should be to inspire action rather than to fill with theoretical knowledge.”

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