Despite having no farming background, 17 year old Maxwell (Max) Havery knew that farming was the way to go for him when he decided to leave high school. “Working outdoors and not being stuck in an office is important to me. I enjoy being in big open spaces, so it made sense to give farming a go”.

Max quickly realised there was more to farming than he had originally thought. “Doing the programme has made me think differently about farming. There is a huge variety of directions I could follow in agriculture. I now know for certain that this is right industry and career path for me”.

Max was the recipient of the Brancott Farms Top Student Award at the 2014 Taratahi Graduation. Brancott Farms is one of the farms that students complete practical training on in the first 20 weeks of their level 3 programme. The team at Brancott choose the student they feel shows the most potential.

Max has enjoyed all aspects of the programmes so far, and in particular participating in the national Hoof and Hook event held in Fielding last year. Level 3 students work in pairs, over three months, to train a 600kg steer how to lead. Steers are judged on their condition and presentation, plus how well they lead. We won the Champion Steer prize! It was a great way for someone like me who had never been up close with cattle to build up confidence and learn how my body position can be used to communicate with the steers.”

Max is currently completing the National Certificate in Agriculture (Level 4) programme delivered by Taratahi in partnership with EIT. “At this level we are expected to start to think like farm managers. When my tutor Pricey is out here on the farm, he’s looking for me to discuss ideas and solutions around the work that’s taking place on the farm.”

Max would like to become a farm manager specialising in sheep and beef.