Tangaroa Walker on his New Zealand social media success

With his zest for life and quirky take on agriculture, Tangaroa Walker has given Kiwis an insight into modern dairy farming

HUNDREDS of thousands of New Zealanders love having a laugh with Tangaroa Walker via social media.

Now Kiwi dairy farmer turned social media star has visited Australia to discuss the new ways of communicating the benefits of agriculture to a mostly urban audience.

Only three years ago, Mr Walker launched the Farm4Life Hub – an online dairy farming education platform.

He told The Weekly Times he was amazed by the connections it had made not only in NZ but worldwide.

“Farmers know that farming can be the best job in the world. But Facebook, Instagram — they give you the ability to tell the rest of the world how good it is. No one knows until you show them (online).”

New Zealand dairy farmer Tangaroa Walker

Mr Walker was a guest of Dairy Australia and spent time with farmers in Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia in the past fortnight.

He has told audiences about his formidable upbringing.

By the time he was six years old, he had lived in 16 houses and attended six schools.

The long-time rugby player now operates a 500-cow dairy farm in Southland.

“It doesn’t matter if its back home or in Australia, there’s huge opportunities for young people in dairy farming,” Mr Walker said.

“I’m just having a laugh and showing the fun side of what it’s like to be a farmer. It’s great that people who have no connection to the country have really got interested.”