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Engage Programme

Developed with

Lincoln University

With support from

Engage Programme - featured images

Your food and fibre sector skills and knowledge builder – or refresh.

Engage equips participants with the food and fibre sector skills and knowledge to engage with food and fibre stakeholders.
The next Engage Programme (Pilot 3) will run 30 October – 1 November 2024.

3

day intro
to agriculture

2

farm
field trips

!

multiple
'A-ha' moments

About the Programme

Engage is a 3-day immersive introduction designed to help participants develop a deeper understanding of the NZ Food and Fibre Sector and how it is connected to the global economy.

Engage is as much for those without a background in agriculture as it is those who seek to refresh their sector knowledge. Engage is particularly suited to people entering or connecting with the Food and Fibre Sector in advisory, regulatory, or farmer-focused policy roles.

The Engage Programme was designed and developed by Rural Leaders in conjunction with Lincoln University, and with support from the Ministry for the Environment.

Tailoring Engage to your business's needs

Engage can be tailored to suit your rural team’s specific needs. Talk to us about designing a bespoke Engage programme for your business.

A bespoke programme for ASB

Find out how ASB used a tailored Engage Programme to help grow their rural team’s sector skills and knowledge.

Who is the programme for?

The Engage Programme is for food and fibre professionals who seek to grow their sector knowledge, skills and confidence – quickly. It is ideally suited to people entering or connecting with the primary industries in advisory, regulatory, or in farmer-focused policy roles.

Previous participants have included: Rural bankers and banking teams, rural real estate professionals, agriculture teaching professionals, rural policy advisors, environmental regulators, regional council members and more.

Content summary

Objectives and learning outcomes

Engage will help you gain a deeper understanding of New Zealand food and fibre and the global context it operates within.

Through participation in classroom discussions with industry leaders and two half-day field trips to working farm operations, you’ll build the skills, knowledge, and the confidence to engage with farmers and stakeholders. And along the way, you’ll build a connection with a valuable network of food and fibre professionals.

Grow your knowledge on:

  • NZ farming systems.
  • NZ agri markets, challenges, NZ trade opportunities.
  • The regulatory and policy environment.
  • Māori land ownership/perspectives.
  • Rural communities and their wellbeing.
  • Farm environmental consulting/farmer policy support.
  • Implementation of insights into a work context.

Delivery team

Your Engage delivery team expertly facilitate the 3-day programme, steering discussions and debate between programme participants and industry leaders. Dr. Scott Champion and Phil Morrison apply their leadership workshop and facilitation experience along with extensive sector knowledge to this inspiring experiential programme.

Dr Scott Champion

Dr. Scott Champion is an experienced leader and strategist passionate about connecting with communities and clients to create effective products and services that impact the primary sector…

More about Scott

Scott has worked across tertiary education, innovative organisations in the private sector, and industry service delivery and advocacy for more than 20 years. He has also held governance and technical advisory roles in the primary sector, not for profit and community organisations. 

In April 2016, he completed a decade working for the national sheep and beef industry body, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the last 7.5 years as Chief Executive Officer. He was also concurrently Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Meat Board for this period.

Since May 2016, Scott has been consulting across food, agriculture and natural resources. In June 2017 he co-founded the consulting practice Primary Purpose, drawing on a mix of disciplines, and combining data and information with human centred insights for clients in the primary sector.

Scott has been Programme Director and Facilitator for the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme since 2017. 

Phil Morrison, ONZM

Phil Morrison was a Regular Force officer with the New Zealand Army for 25 years, progressing through a variety of command, staff, instructional appointments, and deployments…

More about Phil

Scott has worked across tertiary education, innovative organisations in the private sector, and industry service delivery and advocacy for more than 20 years. He has also held governance and technical advisory roles in the primary sector, not for profit and community organisations. 

In April 2016, he completed a decade working for the national sheep and beef industry body, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the last 7.5 years as Chief Executive Officer. He was also concurrently Chief Executive Officer of the New Zealand Meat Board for this period.

Since May 2016, Scott has been consulting across food, agriculture and natural resources. In June 2017 he co-founded the consulting practice Primary Purpose, drawing on a mix of disciplines, and combining data and information with human centred insights for clients in the primary sector.

Scott has been Programme Director and Facilitator for the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme since 2017. 

Programme dates and cost

Based at Lincoln in Canterbury, the next Engage Programme (Pilot 3) will run 30 October to 1 November 2024. The cost of Pilot 3 is $500 +GST per participant (part-funded by Ministry for the Environment). Places are now limited.

While Engage will run in 2025, no dates have yet been confirmed.

Need to get your team sector-smart? Talk to Rural Leaders about designing a tailored Engage solution for your business’s needs.

Contact us to find out more about a bespoke Engage Programme.

How to apply

Applying is easy. Simply contact us by using the button below to secure a place on our next programme.

Ready to grow your knowledge, skills and confidence in agriculture?