[mesh2008]

My brother is studying Agriculture and he should select a field of specialty soon. He is hoping to move to NZ someday so he is keen to know which field of Agriculture is in high demand in NZ. Any suggestions?
Thank you
AM

[BkyMonster]

You can get bonus points for having a qualification in Biotechnology (future growth area), but it isn't really on the LTSSL. (Having this qualification I see very little in the way of jobs that don't require an additional NZ specific certificate. Biotech is somewhat related to agriculture, but while it is a future growth area NZ isn't there yet.) I do see a lot of jobs for food technologists. In the agribusiness area NZ is having a dairy boom (sheep are down, cows are up) so there are a fair amount of job opportunities for dairy managers. Other than that viniculture (grapes and wine) seems to be in demand.
Have a look on the LTSSL to see what things are in demand.

[Moorf]

Agree - viticulture and dairy are tops right now.

However, I'd be looking a few more years into the future, so perhaps he could contact somewhere like Lincoln University (http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/) - they have the best agricultural courses and researchers in NZ. They may be able to give your brother an idea on future trends... just a thought.

Moorf

[M&J]

I work in the agricultural field and our main focus is dairy. Deer is becoming more popular, but beef and sheep are having a tough time of it at the moment with low prices.

Have a look at the Agricultural ITO website http://www.agricultureito.ac.nz/RP.jasc?Page=Home might find some useful info.

[benandclare]

Plenty of jobs in dairying going and if you've a mind to go share milking your own farm is within striking distance, with a fair bit of hard work to get there tho ;)