Hugh Jackson (Sargood 2012-2016) first studied Agribusiness in high school in 2015 as a year 12 student when the subject was still in its infancy. As a year 13 student, he was a member of the group who won the 2016 Fieldays Young Inventor of the Year for a project they had to design in their Agribusiness class.
It was the first time Hugh and the group of 17-year-olds had invented anything, but their post hole borer holder, that attached to a trailer or motorbike to assist a single person to bore holes, attracted great interest from Fieldays attendees.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to design an agribusiness product and develop the concept through to prototype and present at the National Fieldays,” says Hugh. “The Agribusiness programme really encouraged us to be innovative.”
Hugh continued his study to tertiary level graduating with a Bachelor of AgriCommerce at Massey University, majoring in Farm Management and is now working at DairyNZ as an Extension Partner for the mid-Canterbury region.
“A big part of my role is to help farmers through change. I also share the latest research and development produced by DairyNZ and facilitate discussion groups with farmers, enabling them to learn from each other.”
Hugh loves networking and developing relationships with farmers.
“I am constantly learning from them and hope too, that I am helping them be better at what they do.”
Hugh attributes studying Agribusiness at secondary school level to igniting his career in the dairy sector.
“The programme definitely exposed me to the career opportunities available to us and what type of work is
on offer in the primary sector,” says Hugh.
