Friday, March 29, 2024

FAST FIVE: Himanshu Patel

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The Dairy Farmer team is always out and about looking for dairy industry workers going about their business. Keep an eye out, you just never know when one of our team might tap you on the shoulder. This month we catch up with Ngatea farm manger Himanshu Patel.
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Himanshu Patel is originally from India’s westernmost state of Gujarat, north of Mumbai. He grew up in the small town of Prantij near Ahmedabad where his father worked as a bus driver for the government.

As a child he often spent his summer holidays visiting his uncle and aunt who reared cattle, which got him interested in agriculture.

Leaving school he studied agricultural engineering at Anand Agriculture University. As soon as he graduated he started thinking of how to further his studies. While talking to a family friend he learnt that in New Zealand dairy farming is on a large scale.

He came to NZ in 2013 and studied applied technology levels 4-5 at Wairaiki Institute of Technology in Rotorua. 

He says coming to NZ was tough with no family support and he also found it difficult to cope with the accent.

He completed his course and started training on a farm near Tokoroa as farm assistant. Over the years he has learnt a great deal and gained a lot of experience leading to him progressing. This season he will take on his first role as sole charge manager at Big Sky farm near Ngatea.

He believes that if people do a good job then good things will come their way, especially in the dairy industry where there are lots of opportunities.

Away from the farm he enjoys spending time exploring NZ with his wife and friends and is a movie buff. 

1. Why did you go farming? What attracted you to the industry?

I choose farming because I spent a bit of time in India around cattle and enjoyed working with them. I was attracted to farming because it is an open work environment, flexible and also there are lots of opportunities in dairy farming. It has a bright future.

2. What do you enjoy the most about role/farming and why?

I enjoy milking cows and working with them, looking after their health and maintaining pastures. I am keen to learn new things and improve my knowledge in dairy farming by attending discussion groups. 

3. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced as a migrant?

The biggest challenge being a migrant was the language barrier as the Kiwi accent is different from the Indian English accent. Searching for a job was difficult as people were looking for NZ experience but when all goes well, it ends well. It was also difficult being away from family and friends.

4. Future goals

I am looking forward to starting in the manager’s role and hope to take the step up to contract milking in the near future.

5. If you weren’t farming what would you be doing? What would be your dream to do or job to do?

I love movies so I would love to have been a Bollywood movie star. Since I have done agricultural engineering in India, if I wasn’t farming in NZ, I would be probably working in the agriculture banking sector in India.

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