Young Stock Assistant (Fixed Term through to December 2026)
Apatu Farms Ltd
A rare opportunity to work with livestock every day while enjoying the convenience of being close to Hastings and Napier.
A rare opportunity to work with livestock every day while enjoying the convenience of being close to Hastings and Napier.
Apatu Farms is a leading Māori agribusiness recognised for scale, performance, and operational excellence across Hawke’s Bay. We’re passionate about producing quality food, caring for our animals, and developing great people.
We are looking for a Young Stock Assistant to join our team near Hastings, supporting the care and development of up to 1,000 dairy and dairy-beef calves.
This is a fixed-term position through to December 2026, with the opportunity to return for the next calf-rearing season commencing in April 2027.
Opportunities like this are rare. You’ll spend your days working outdoors with livestock, building practical stockmanship skills and helping raise the next generation of our herd, all while being located between Hawke’s Bay’s two main centres, Hastings and Napier. It’s a genuine farming role without the isolation often associated with rural jobs.
About the role:
Working alongside our Young Stock Manager, you’ll play an important role in the day-to-day care and development of calves, ensuring they are healthy, well-fed, and thriving.
This is a hands-on role suited to someone who enjoys being outdoors, working with animals, and contributing to a high-performing livestock operation.
Key activities of the role include:
Feeding calf milk replacer (CMR) and calf meal daily.
Monitoring calf health, wellbeing, and growth.
Identifying and reporting animal health concerns.
Assisting with stock handling and animal movements.
Maintaining clean and hygienic calf-rearing facilities.
Supporting day-to-day young stock management activities.
Working closely with the Young Stock Manager to achieve excellent animal welfare and performance outcomes.
About you:
Previous livestock experience is essential.
Experience with calves, dairy young stock, dairy-beef, or dairy farming is preferred.
Good stockmanship and animal handling skills.
A caring, patient, and nurturing approach to working with animals.
Physically fit and capable of handling 20kg bags of calf milk replacer and calf meal.
Reliable, hardworking, and willing to work as part of a team.
Good attention to detail and strong observational skills.
Must have your own reliable transport.
What we offer:
A predominantly outdoor role working with animals every day.
The opportunity to help raise up to 1,000 dairy and dairy-beef calves.
Support and training from an experienced Young Stock Manager.
A positive team culture and supportive work environment.
Competitive remuneration.
Fixed-term employment through to December 2026.
Opportunity to return for the next calf-rearing season from April 2027 for the right candidate.
A unique location offering a genuine farming lifestyle while remaining close to both Hastings and Napier.
You must be a new Zealand Citizen/Resident to be considered for this position.
If you’re passionate about livestock, enjoy working outdoors, and want to be part of a great team, we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now and join Apatu Farms.
Apatu Farms
We Grow | Ka tipu tatou
To find out more about us, visit our website: www.apatufarms.co.nz