The healthy state of the agricultural sector has been credited with stimulating a lift in the number of university students enrolling for agriculture-related courses.
Earlier this week Massey University reported the number of new agricultural students signing up for three and four year degree courses has risen to about 150 this year, double the number of five years ago.
And Lincoln University says it's also seeing a significant lift in agricultural student numbers this year.
Lincoln's vice chancellor Roger Field says registrations are still being processed, but numbers have risen by 12% over last year and by about a third in the past two years.
He says there's also been an unprecedented lift in enrolments at Telford rural polytechnic in South Otago, which merged with Lincoln last year.
Professor Field says there has been some very positive promotion of agriculture.
He says the fact that commodity prices are maintaining their high level and that the Government and others are promoting agriculture as the backbone of the New Zealand economy is starting to reach those people making decisions about their undergraduate study.
Professor Field says he hopes that part of this trend is to entice more people from urban backgrounds, as well as rural backgrounds, into agriculture.
The same trend has been seen at Telford rural polytechnic in South Otago, which merged with Lincoln last year.
