Around 400 prisoners across the country are employed in Corrections Inmate Employment’s (CIE) agriculture and horticulture sector.
This number is set to increase as the sector expands to meet market demands and achieve Corrections’ goal of increasing the number of prisoners involved in employment or employment-related activities from 40 percent to 60 percent.
Dairy farming is New Zealand’s largest industry, accounting for around 20% of the nation’s export income. CIE Primary Sector Manager Scott Gretton, who is in charge of agriculture and horticulture, says that while the industry is thriving, there has been a shortfall in the number of skilled dairy farm workers. He believes Corrections is in a prime position to help address that issue.
“Prison dairy farms give prisoners practical training and experience which put them in good stead for securing jobs in the industry on release,” he says.
The Waikeria Prison farm is Corrections’ largest dairy farm. It covers 1000 hectares of land and runs a herd of 3200 cows which produce up to 1.3 million kilograms of milk a year.
“Compare this to the national total milk production for New Zealand, which is 1.3 billion kilograms, and it’s clear we make a significant contribution,” Scott says.
The newly established Otago Corrections Facility farm covers 130 hectares of land and will run a total of 400 dairy cows. Replacement calves will be trucked to Christchurch Men’s prison for rearing, thus giving Canterbury prisoners a useful training opportunity, as there is a demand in the region for qualified calf rearers.
“The new farm at Otago will bring the total number of prisoners employed in dairy farming to over 100. The new farm will obviously increase our total milk production, but we’ve also employed a specialist management group to examine how we can increase the performance per cow at the Waikeria dairy farm,” Scott says.
“The improving milk prices, which Fonterra are predicting to rise from $4.50 to $5.50, will ensure the farms remain viable, thereby ensuring that we can continue to train and upskill prisoners.”
Dry stock farms are based at Spring Hill, Tongariro and Hawkes Bay Prisons and are used to raise calves and heifers from Waikeria dairy. When the heifers are 18 months old and in calf they are returned to Waikeria for inclusion in the milking herd.
“Because we operate both dairy farms and dry stock farms, we’re in a good position to integrate them to operate as one large-scale business,” says Scott.
As the dairy industry continues to expand, the organics industry is also thriving.
“According to Organics Aotearoa New Zealand research, the organics export market is worth around $100 million a year for New Zealand and the market demand is currently outstripping supply,” Scott says
“Rolleston Prison organic garden in Christchurch has been our primary garden, but we have recently expanded with two new gardens at Christchurch Men’s and Women’s Prisons.”
Rolleston Prison garden yields 150 tonnes of crops a year and employs 20 prisoners. The new garden at Christchurch Men’s Prison is modelled on the existing Rolleston garden, whilst the new garden at Christchurch Women’s Prison will be used to grow seedlings for the other gardens.
The gardens will provide employment for up to 12 low security prisoners at Christchurch Men’s Prison and four low security prisoners at Christchurch Women’s Prison. Prisoners working within the gardens will receive training by qualified instructors and work towards gaining a NZQA National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 2).
“The two gardens are the first phase of organics expansion for CIE, with further growth opportunities being explored at North Island Prisons,” Scott says.
Scott says that giving prisoners a co-ordinated approach to achieving training qualifications is a key part of CIE’s work.
“Our instructors are working with industry bodies to look at how prisoners can build on current NZQA Units to work towards obtaining national qualifications,” he says.
“Aligned with this, we’re also in the process of setting up classroom-based training for prisoners who are unable to work in the prison industries due to their security classification. We will teach the theory and as their security classification goes down they will be able to apply this theory to practice within a prison industry.”
This approach is derived from the Prisoner Employment Strategy as part of the Effective Interventions package, which aims to increase prisoner involvement in employment and employment-related activities from 40% to 60% of the prison muster.
Scott says that while the focus is on the expanding dairy farming and organics areas, prison nurseries, sheep farms, piggeries and grounds maintenance should not be forgotten as they continue to provide a rich source of employment for prisoners.
“Our six nurseries across the country employ over 110 prisoners,” he says.
“We maintain sheep farms at Christchurch Men’s and Tongariro/Rangipo Prisons. Christchurch Men’s covers 800 hectares of land and grazes 4,000 sheep, and Tongariro/Rangipo covers 2,500 hectares of land and grazes 10,000 sheep. The farms provide employment for over 30 prisoners.”
The CIE piggery, which won awards this year in the Freshpork Carcass competition, also provides employment for up to 20 prisoners. It maintains approximately 800 sows for breeding and rears between 15,000 and 16,000 pigs a year.
“Our farms and gardens are a rich source of employment and training opportunities for prisoners who are eager to find employment in the agriculture and horticulture industries on release,” Scott says.
“Watch this space – as we continue to expand our ability to employ and train prisoners throughout the country.”
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Corrections Inmate Employment horticulture and agriculture sector operates:
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ISSN 1178-8453