Farmers
Why get involved with
Farmer Time for Schools?
Farmer Time for Schools is an exciting opportunity to communicate directly with students, educating them about where their kai comes from and how it is grown.
It can also help inspire our young people to consider career opportunities across farming and food production.
A research project by Rabobank showed that 81% of the urban-based New Zealand teenagers surveyed, know only a little or nothing about farming and food production.
Farmer Time for Schools tackles this lack of knowledge by giving you the opportunity to tap directly into a primary school classroom and share all the wonderful work you are doing.
By talking about what role you play for the soil, plants, animals, people and the environment, you are helping children understand more about the food system they are part of.
It’s the simplicity of Farmer Time for Schools which appeals to farmers and teachers alike. Farmers connect online with their matched class for 15-20 minutes every two weeks, keeping students up to date with what’s happening on the farm.
Children can ask questions, discuss ideas and gain a real-time understanding of life on a farm across the course of a school year.
Getting involved is easy! The process in a nutshell:
Fill out this form to register your interest.
Farmer Time for Schools Coordinator will match you to a class.
Liaise with your matched teacher to agree on schedule and content.
Fortnightly calls begin.
Help inspire our future workforce!
Fill out this form to register your interest today.
“I’m super excited about the programme. I’ve spent the last few years trying to work out how I could record life on our farm over the course of a year and share what we do with others – Farmer Time seems like the perfect answer to this.
— Marie Burke, Farmer, Puketira Station
Frequently Asked Questions
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All you need is a mobile phone or laptop and a good internet signal to connect with your class for the Farmer Time sessions. You and your matched teacher will decide on a virtual platform (Zoom, FaceTime, Google Meets etc.) that works best for you both.
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As long as you have signal around the house or farm office, you can still connect with a class for live virtual sessions and showcase pre-prepared content (for example, send your matched teacher short video clips prior to the call). Some farmers find they have locations on the farm with better internet signal, these may become a preferred spot to make your calls from.
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Many farmers use headphones to better hear the students. This is particularly helpful if you are connecting on a location out on the farm and especially in windy conditions.
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Check out the Tips for Farmers resource here.
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It’s important to keep your sessions to around 15 minutes long (max 20 minutes).
While there may be a lot you are keen to share, keeping it brief will ensure students remain engaged and allow the teacher’s classroom timetable for the day to stay on track.
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A bi-weekly communication with your teacher can assist you in planning content for the next Farmer Time session. This communication could either be a phone call, video call or emails (whatever works best for both of you).
This communication is an opportunity for you to float content ideas. Your matched teacher can advise you on what the students are currently learning, and this might be an opportunity for you to link in practical on-farm examples where relevant.
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You will liaise directly with your matched teacher for session scheduling, however fortnightly sessions are advised and more sustainable for the long term.
Remember, as well as your fortnightly session there is still a bi-weekly communication with your matched teacher to discuss content for the next session and there may be times you will send a follow-up email with extra information after a Farmer Time session.
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Don’t worry about questions, you know your farm. It’s okay not to know the answer, just let the class know you’ll find out and get back to them in the next session or email the teacher with the answer once you’ve looked into it. You can also ask the Farmer Time Coordinator for advice – kiaora@farmertime.co.nz
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It’s okay not to answer immediately and say you’ll provide a response to this question next session or email an answer to the teacher when you have time to process it. Taking a breath and repeating the question back to the student can also give you extra time to formulate an answer.
If a student is being impolite in their tone, hand back over to the teacher for direction. If you need further advice contact the Farmer Time Coordinator – kiaora@farmertime.co.nz
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Contact the Farmer Time Coordinator on kiaora@farmertime.co.nz
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We are currently developing more resources/videos to help with this but for now contact the Farmer Time Coordinator for helpful information – kiaora@farmertime.co.nz