Reitumetse Langa (27) hails from the northern area of the Eastern Cape, born in Aliwal North. She attended primary and high school there and then moved to Pretoria to to attend Tshwane University of Technology where she obtained a National Diploma in Animal Production and an Advanced Diploma in Animal Sciences. We caught up with Reitumetse from Fishermen's Bend farm in Kokstad to hear more about her experiences so far.

Q: Who is Reitumetse?

I am a really, really quiet person. I like smiling a lot. A lot of people compliment me for my smile, I think that's the thing you will most hear about me, is that I smile a lot. I like reading, although I don't do that much of it lately, I like watching a lot of TV, and I really like documentaries. And animals of course!

Q: Please can you tell us about your placement and what your job entails?

I am currently placed in Kokstad at Fishermen's Bend on a dairy farm. It's not really big, it's a developing farm, which is very interesting for someone that is learning, because there is so much to learn! And there is so much to grow from. I currently do cows, calf rearing, and I feed cows, dehorn, castrate, treat sick cows, I do anything cow related. That's my job description. I also do milking here and there for learning purposes mostly. I also do pastures, I do pasture work so I am learning a lot on that part as well, the types of pasture. We are also currently breeding, so I am learning about that with thawing semen, and when to breed, which cows to breed. I also do data capturing, I capture cows that have calved, check days and milk, basically all the software side, I also do that.

Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your job so far?

I would say the most rewarding thing about my job is that I got to learn a lot in a really short period of time, and then because I was very interested, my manager took me to two trainings about dairy processing so I was exposed to that as well, which was very rewarding for me because not only did I get to learn about dairy processing, but I got a new skill added into my resume, so that has been really great. And also watching calves grow and becoming better, and our mortality rates declining, that has been really rewarding and exciting to see.

Q: What are you most proud of about your performance at work so far?

I would say one thing that I am proud of about my placement was how quickly I learned about pastures because when I first came in I didn't really have much information on pastures, what types of grass are good, what grass is bad, how should they grow, rotation and all of that. I didn't really know much about it, but I have been doing so well in that regard so I am really proud of myself because I didn't really spend a lot of time learning but I was able to grasp so much information in a really short space of time.

Q: What has been the most challenging aspects of your work so far?

I would say the most challenging thing was that because I am really quiet and shy I was struggling to communicate with my colleagues, the staff. That has been really challenging, but because I have been working on my communication quite a lot and also Future Ready has been very helpful with the articles, I have been getting very confident in advising and getting out of my shell and speaking to the staff and communicating with people. That has been challenging but I believe that I am doing good now, it's getting better.

Q: What advice do you have for the next generation of Future Farmers starting apprenticeships?

The advice I would give to the next generation is to be humble, be willing to learn, and also ask a lot of questions, do not be afraid to ask a lot of questions, ask, ask, ask and learn! Do not be shy. Also every job is important no matter how small it is. Learn, because you do not know how it might help you in the future and be interested and be kind to people. When you are kind to people they are much more keen to teach you, so it's very important to be kind, and just smile!

Q: What are your plans for the future? Where will you be in five years time? 😀

My plans for the future, I hope that I become one of the best dairy managers in the next five years. I hope I'll be working and managing a bigger farm with a big staff and being great at what I do. Because I believe I am great at this, and I can learn and be greater!