We're here to mark the 75th anniversary of the first cadets coming to Smedley Station.

The origin of the station lies further back than 75 years. It lies back in the early part of last century when the disastrous First World War had just ended. That was when, on the fifth of January 1919, the owner of this station -- Josiah Howard -- died

Back then, life in this part of the country was still hard. A flu epidemic the year before had killed more than three hundred people in the Hawkes Bay.
Electricity hadn't yet arrived in Hastings. It seems a long way back in time.

For all the years that have gone since then, we remain closely linked by Josiah Howard's dying gift of his farm to the Crown. He wanted his farm to be used for agricultural education. By October of 1919, the Howard Estate Act was passed by parliament and Smedley Station was handed over to the care of Public Trust.

It took almost another twelve years before the first five cadets arrived to begin their training in 1931.

In the three quarters of a century since then... more than five hundred cadets have come to Smedley and left with the skills for a career in the primary industries.

Tonight then is a celebration of this training station's achievement as a valuable education service -- and as a commercial farm.

The original farm holding of less than three thousand hectares has increased to some four and a half thousand.

There has been a small increase in the numbers of new cadets coming here each year looking to start a rural career.

In the 1960s, the intake was increased to eight. Today, ten cadets a year enter the facility and there is an aim to increase this to twelve.

The skills they learn here are vital to our primary sector. They get a hands-on introduction to the skills required by young farmers. They work with sheep, beef, deer, horses, dogs, as well as with crops.

Young New Zealanders are trained to become astute farm workers, managers and owners. And Smedley cadets these days graduate with a National Certificate in Agriculture, Level Four.
Graduates take on roles right across the agricultural sector ranging from pure farming roles, to rural property advisors and rural finance experts.

Our primary sector needs skilled young recruits.

I've spent the last six years working on revitalising New Zealand industry.
One of the top issues employers tell me about is the difficulty they have finding staff with the right skills.
It's a constraint on their growth.

And now I'm the minister with responsibility for all of our primary sectors, I can tell you the skills shortage is as acute here as it is in any industry.

One barrier to bringing young people into the primary industries is the need to convince them this is a good sector for a career. It is a relevant and prospering sector. Agriculture has been the backbone of our economy for much more than the seventy-five years Smedley Station has been taking cadets.

It is continuing to grow faster than the average of the rest of our economy.
Our primary industries contribute over half of our export earnings.

There is a famous story about a management consultant who walked into NASA one day and asked the cleaner, 'what do you do here?'The cleaner replied, "I'm helping to put a man on the moon."

Just as everyone at NASA is working to put a man on the moon, everyone in the New Zealand primary sectors is helping to ensure that the New Zealand economy succeeds.

Primary sector workers are helping to put cars on our roads and planes in our skies, complex medical equipment in our hospitals and the latest TVs and DVDs into our homes.

How are they doing this?

Everything we buy from the rest of the world has to be paid for by our sales to the rest of the world. And our sales are dominated by the primary sector group. Over 60% of our total export earnings come from our agricultural, forestry and fisheries sales. They literally pay for our living standards.
If we want to buy high value global products, then we have to sell them too.

And the only way to earn global incomes is to continually improve our productivity - we need to have a skilled workforce to do it.

We need skilled individuals on the land just as we need skilled individuals in our laboratories. Skills underpin the service industries around the primary sector, and they always will.

So the success of Smedley Station over 75 years, in improving the skills of the agriculture sector workforce has lifted the well-being of New Zealanders, and not only of the cadets who come through here. It provides our primary sector with graduates who are qualified and competent employees.

What does make Smedley unique in the farming sector is that it is not only a training facility, but also a trading commercial entity. How cadets farm Smedley impacts directly on Smedley’s bottom line. Cadet training is self-funded from Smedley revenue.

I want to acknowledge also the role of Public Trust. It administers thirty active farms and Smedley Station is the jewel in the crown.

I'm proudly minister in charge of Public Trust – have been for 7 years now. Like Smedley, Public Trust, is an enduring organisation with a rich history of contributing to New Zealand.
For generations, New Zealanders have relied on it to protect and manage their property and assets during their lifetime.

Its service to New Zealand is as relevant today as it was when Josiah Howard gifted this station to the Crown, and in the century before that.

Operations like this are a good example of why we need Public Trust and why it has been an important contributor to New Zealand over many years.

It is difficult to think of another way we could hold a generous legacy such as Josiah Howard's for the people of New Zealand - and run it both as a successful commercial operation as well as a quality training facility.

The success of the station takes also the dedication of the station's managers. In this context, I would like to acknowledge the station's managers, Terry and Judy Walters, who last year won the PPCS Richmond Hawke’s Bay Farmer of the Year competition. The win is a tribute to their expertise. We’re fortunate that this station has such high quality management.

Smedley Station has a unique position within the greater New Zealand agricultural scene. It makes a valuable contribution to New Zealand’s primary sector. It is a history everyone involved can feel proud of.

So I have much pleasure in congratulating all contributors to the 75th anniversary of Smedley Station.