{"id":100417,"date":"2025-10-25T12:29:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/100417\/"},"modified":"2025-10-25T12:29:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T12:29:11","slug":"from-city-life-to-farm-science-how-angie-chadha-built-a-future-in-agriculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/100417\/","title":{"rendered":"From city life to farm science: How Angie Chadha built a future in agriculture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt felt like the perfect fit for what I wanted to do in the future, especially around sustainability. <\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I wanted to study science, and while I originally thought I\u2019d go into research and developing new technologies, I\u2019ve ended up somewhere even better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite being raised in central Auckland, with no farming background or family connections to the ag sector, Chadha committed to a Bachelor of Agricultural Science<\/a> degree. <\/p>\n

She said it turned out to be the perfect foundation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe degree gave me a really strong base, especially in soil science. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become incredibly useful for understanding the details of pasture and plantain [the herb pasture plant that reduces nutrient loss on-farm] and different types of farm systems. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps me have in-depth conversations with farmers, and I\u2019m adding to my knowledge every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alongside her studies, Chadha completed practicums with Bayer Crop Science and Auckland Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to stay close to home for my practicums, and it worked out well because I knew I didn\u2019t want to be working directly on a farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chadha said she wanted to work with and support farmers instead. <\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with Auckland Council was interesting as I focused on a mixture of things, from environmental compliance to visiting covenants and QEII land to see how farmers were taking care of the protected areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the move to Palmerston North for her degree was a big step. <\/p>\n

Chadha said she wasn\u2019t sure what to expect from attending a university in a smaller city, but quickly found many key people who would shape her Massey experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cPalmy and Auckland are very different, but what made it for me was the people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to mix with a wide variety of people, which made it easier knowing they came from all over. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve made some amazing, life-long friends during my degree, and that made all the difference. <\/p>\n

\u201cI liked having everything rural so close, and I even found my partner in Palmy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HavingHaving no farming background didn’t stop Angie Chadha from committing to a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at Te Kunenga ki P\u016brehuroa Massey University.<\/p>\n

In her final year, Angie applied for the Fonterra Farm Source Agribusiness Programme<\/a> and got the news the very next day she\u2019d been accepted. <\/p>\n

She began her Fonterra journey in February this year, ticking off a long-held goal and representing Massey as one of three graduates selected for the two-year programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion is research, improving on-farm efficiency and helping farmers, which makes Fonterra the perfect fit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have an amazing role where I split my time between the office and the field, shadowing the Farm Source team. <\/p>\n

\u201cOver the last six months, I\u2019ve been doing farm visits, learning how we account for emissions and seeing how small changes can make a big difference on a farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chadha believes agriculture is for everyone, no matter where they started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t step on a farm until my first farm visit, as I started at Massey. <\/p>\n

\u201cI had no farming background at all, so don\u2019t let that put you off an ag career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chanda said it was important to bring new people to agriculture.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t just rely on farmers\u2019 kids to keep farming alive \u2013 succession is hard to plan for, and it isn\u2019t just a generational thing anymore. <\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand is a primary production nation \u2013 we have nothing without ag, so everyone can play a part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back, Chadha said her journey had taken her further than she had ever expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to create your own opportunities. <\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realise how much was out there.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said new jobs in agriculture, environmental work and horticulture came up every day. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about stepping outside your comfort zone and discovering what\u2019s out there for you. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I wanted to create new technology, but now I know my biggest passion is helping farmers \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly where I\u2019m meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having now moved to Christchurch, Chada said she was enjoying the close connections and hoped to remain in the region once the programme ended. <\/p>\n

Her long-term goal, however, is to work overseas and gain a broader understanding of agriculture around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to get practical, hands-on experience with what farmers around the world are doing in terms of efficiency and sustainability,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgriculture is so transferable, it gives you skills you can apply globally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIt felt like the perfect fit for what I wanted to do in the future, especially around sustainability.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":100418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6689,11771,56151,6726,6658,2046,73481,2199,73482,3233,71,2070,3273,1437,221,78,302,424,111,43,139,69,12968,1855,5202,59742,2170,24397,147,61,18324,6123,377],"class_list":["post-100417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-agriculture","tag-angelina","tag-angie","tag-become","tag-built","tag-career","tag-chadha","tag-city","tag-cityraised","tag-farm","tag-from","tag-full","tag-future","tag-global","tag-how","tag-in","tag-its","tag-life","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-opportunities","tag-original","tag-part","tag-pathway","tag-plan","tag-possibilities","tag-science","tag-to","tag-wasnt","tag-while","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}