Cadet Experiences

Smedley was hugely valuable for me. Obviously, it was the set of skills and practical skills that you learn. But I think equally important was the life skills that you learn around work ethics, around standards, working with other people. It really reinforced that farming is what I wanted to do. And then those connections and those networks that you build from attending Smedley has served me pretty well for the last 20 odd years.

When I was still in primary school I knew someone who attended Smedley and from there on out it was always my dream. Alongside the practical skills I gained that I will always carry with me, what has stood out since leaving Smedley is all the other skills that weren’t necessarily front of mind while I was there – things like resilience, learning to work with so many different personalities, and confidence. It really does set up the foundation for the rest of your career. Having that background helped me throughout my degree as I was able to apply the practical to theory. Now I use those skills day-to-day at Rabobank interacting with clients. The foundation helps me to relate with them, and have genuine discussions about the farm – it is one of my favourite parts of the role.

At school, all my mates, none of them were into farming. I was sort of the odd one out. I met people along the way that helped get me into it. In my first year at Smedley there were 11 cadets accepted. I met so many cadets from all over the country that I still keep in contact with now. The big goal is farm ownership. It’s one of my dreams to share that exposure and help young people get into it… Farming is the best job.

I’ve grown up on farms and have always dreamed of having a career in the industry. I was lucky enough to be selected for Smedley in my last year of high school. Back then I would never have imagined what Smedley would do for me. It taught me the importance of having high standards, a good work ethic and to work with a range of people. It also gave me many practical skills and lifelong mates. I’m currently studying a Bachelor of Agribusiness at Massey University. The theory work I did at Smedley has given me a good starting point for my degree and I believe the practical skills will help me later on down the track. After university, I’m pretty keen to go shearing, but in the long run my goal is to get back into farming and manage a large scale sheep and beef breeding operation in the hill country.

I’ve always been on a farm and always wanted to be. And then I was fortunate enough after high school to get into Smedley and do my cadetship there and I’ve been farming ever since. I was really lucky to know what I wanted to do at a young age. That’s all I wanted to be. People say it’s hard work and long hours and all that. But if you’re passionate about it there’s nothing easier in the world.