For the first time females outnumber men studying at Lincoln University, helped significantly by female enrolments at its Telford campus in Balclutha. Hamish MacLean finds women are on the rise on the farming front.
Farming is increasingly becoming a thinking person's job and the women at Telford: A Division of Lincoln University say that gives them the edge.
For some students in agriculture training at the school's Balclutha campus the battle of the sexes is alive and well.
Eighteen-year-old Emma Harding, of Tauranga, said she was surprised by the number of ''girls'' at Telford when she started her studies this year.
She had learned some farming on the job, but enrolled in agriculture to learn ''the theory behind it''.
''I was a bit worried coming down here that I would be the only girl ... It's good.''
She is one of several students at Telford who think women can be just as good at farming as men ''if not better''.
''Girls stop and think about things, but boys just do it.''
Annelise Dyer (22), of Auckland, enrolled in the certificate of agriculture course because she enjoyed the outdoors and animals and met friends who were into farming. She said women could be just as good or better farmers than men.
''We're more into 'why' and we care about the animals more.
''Guys, especially if they grew up on the farm, just do everything their dad does.''
Telford's head of programmes, Roy Gawn, said the variety of career options in agriculture allowed for more women in the field, but farming was like any industry and had changed with the times.
''It's a general movement in employment statistics and we're just part of it. I wouldn't say that there's a standout statistical change; it's just gradual over the course of the years.''
At Telford, 44% of students in 2013 were female.
That dropped to 42% in 2014 and climbed to 54% in 2015.
In the 1970s career choices for women were limited, but they could do anything now, he said.
''I went to Lincoln in 1975 and in our class of 140 ... there were six girls. Over the course of time that's come down to now there's more than 50% at Lincoln.''
The female population at Telford had been trending up for some time.
Telford's equine programmes were typically 100% female.
The introduction of rural veterinary technician training had resulted in an increase in the number of females on campus, but also industry pressures had meant some male students who had registered found employment before they began training.
This year 10 males who enrolled in Telford's certificate in agriculture did not show up at intake because they had found work.
''They decided they'd rather get a job than a qualification, which means that they've got a job, they're getting paid - they'll stay getting paid at quite a low rate for a long time, probably.''
Students were given the tools to do the physical farm work, but were also exposed to the industry as a whole and recognised their career options sooner.
About 5000 jobs in agriculture were created each year and agriculture schools ''would be lucky'' to fill half the positions, Mr Gawn said.
''About 60% of [jobs] are not behind the farm gate, they're not milking cows and they're not shearing sheep and they're not driving tractors. Their jobs are in the industry but they're not actually physically farming.
''They might be management positions, but there's heaps and heaps and heaps of employment.''
