Stand tall and take pride in being a farmer, graduating students from Telford Rural Polytechnic were told at yesterday's graduation ceremony by one of the country's farming leaders.
Federated Farmers national president Don Nicolson told an audience of more than 300 the ceremony was not the end of the students' education but "the end of the beginning. We farmers never cease learning."
Farming was a profession with many exciting arms, Mr Nicolson said.
"We are all farmers. Farmers whose commitment to the land generates the wealth that keeps our country afloat."
Graduates were joining the farming industry at a time when the world economy was uncertain but he told students they should not be uncertain about their future for a single moment.
"We farm in a world where 800 million people are hungry right now. A world where global food reserves are at their lowest for nearly 35 years. A world that has 80 million new mouths joining it each and every year. The future of New Zealand is farming in a world that needs more food and not less."
Gore student Logan Wallace was named the best overall agriculture student during the ceremony.
