More tools in the toolbox after leadership programme

Horticulture New Zealand Leadership scholar Reuben Carter says he graduated the 2024 programme equipped with more tools to deal with the challenges and opportunities in the sector.

He also took away a new understanding of the importance of really effective communication and strong connections to a network of other young industry leaders.

“The content was very good,” says Reuben. “I had completed the Kellogg Rural Leadership programme, through a Young Farmers Scholarship in 2015, and there were some similarities, but a lot of things were different.

“A lot of good information came out of it. There were very good presentations from many different growers from almost every part of the industry.

“It was also good to talk to them about how you could apply those learnings to different situations, so it was very relevant.

“We also heard from people who had been affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and how they dealt with that adversity.”

Reuben, a crop manager with Oakley’s Premium Fresh Vegetables in Canterbury, and his fellow cohort undertook the programme in two phases over nine weeks between August and October.

This included five days in Auckland in August and a further three days in Wellington during October.

The programme focuses on building an increased confidence to take the lead and influence into the future and a greater understanding of what leadership is really all about.

It supports development of ‘ready to use’ leadership and business skills such as communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving and a wider perspective around how to address industry issues now and into the future.

Participants work to develop a personal plan for how the intend to go forward in their leadership career.

“The programme gets you very enthused,” says Reuben. “You are in a really positive setting with like-minded people and it brings ideas to front of mind. Then you can bounce them off others in the cohort and know you are in a really safe environment to do that.”

Reuben was raised on a Northland sheep and beef farm and completed a mechanical engineering apprenticeship and worked in that field for several years.

“I just wanted to leave school and get on the farm, but Dad had seen the financial hardship of the ‘80s when the subsidies came off farming so he wanted me to do a trade I could also fall back on,” he says.

“I’m very glad I did because I am still using that mechanical background. Today, I was modifying a pumpkin drill.

“After five years I was made redundant, so I went to work in a farm machinery business. That was great, working with everyone from farmers and growers to contractors and doing everything from servicing to fitting out and delivering new tractors and machinery.”

At the same time, he joined Young Farmers and got involved in the Young Farmer of the Year competition and found he really missed the farming community.

“I had always been interested in growing, through my parents and my grandfather who had a fabulous orchard and vegetable garden. So, I went to Lincoln and did a Bachelor of Agriculture majoring in plant science and plant production.

“I really liked farming in Canterbury. There is fantastic soil in abundance and I really appreciate the machinery side – there’s a lot of big machinery here.”

After graduating he joined Barenbrug NZ in Canterbury, completed their graduate programme and worked as an agronomist for the company in Waikato and then as farm manager on their research farm in Darfield.

That was followed by nearly five years managing an arable and livestock research farm for AgResearch at Lincoln. He joined Oakley’s in 2023 and oversees broccoli, onions and arable crops.

“I enjoy it and it’s a good challenge,” he says. “There’s a lot of forward planning and forward thinking to be ahead of things.

“I had been looking at the leadership programme details in HortNZ emails and our general manager suggested I apply as they see it as a very good thing to build leaders in the company.

“It was awesome to be selected for a scholarship. I felt very privileged.

“One of the biggest things I took away from it and am putting into action is the importance of really good communication. Basically, if someone doesn’t understand something then it’s because you haven’t communicated it well.

“There are so many different types of people working in this industry and people from different cultures and different nationalities and people communicate in different ways. There’s face to face or by phone but some people find it easier to have something written down or in a text or WhatsApp.

“It’s also about clearly communicating our messages about what we want for the industry. There are big opportunities and big challenges, particularly around the regulatory framework and nutrient use and crop protection.

“People are not as connected with the primary industries as they were a couple of generations ago. HortNZ does a great job of lobbying on our behalf. So we need to be feeding good thoughtful information to them, via our grower groups, so they can inform policy makers at local and central government level.

“That needs to be not just about raising the problems but talking about we see as the potential solutions. I see my future leadership path as being involved in grower groups and supporting a good flow of information. “

Last, but not least, Reuben says he found the networking aspect of the programme really valuable.

“For me, it wasn’t just the friendships you make with the cohort but the positive interaction and the knowledge you share.

“That knowledge sharing is vital for the industry and having those contacts around the country makes it a lot easier. You can pick up the phone and ask if they have experience of something you are dealing with.

“Then there’s the mental health side. One of our cohort lives just across the river. You can call one another up and to see how they are getting on and how they are finding things. Just chatting with someone from outside your everyday circle can be refreshing.

“The programme gives you more tools and the more tools we have in the toolbox the better equipped leaders are with good information and practices, then better decisions and outcomes  can be made, to improve the industry and the wider communities we live and work in.”