Nuffield Blog & News

FARMING the world over as much as the context, production and scale vary, shows, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

After nearly six months on the road of my Nuffield journey I was struck by the similarities across continents and farming systems.

So many of the issues we face in New Zealand can be translated to our counterparts around the world.

This highlights that we have allies in dealing with the challenges we face and that we’re not in this alone.

In many developed countries there are the same concerns of the widening gap between urban and rural communities and the challenge of attracting people into their agricultural sectors.

At an agri-tech symposium in the American mid-west, plenty of cutting-edge ideas, gadgets and technologies were proposed and introduced to solve a myriad of issues. After two days of the symposium a panel of mostly young and engaged farmers was asked what their main concerns were. They repeated a familiar concern: finding staff, especially good staff.

The dairy farmers in Kenya I visited were concerned about connecting with their consumers though the connection is a more literal one – the actual logistics of getting their product to consumers elsewhere in Kenya, regardless of whether they are small subsistence farmers or larger more commercial operations.

A reliable supply chain is of more concern than perceptions of production.

Even so, their perception in the community still helps when the almost inevitable threat of land theft approaches.

Frustration in having a political voice is a common theme in many countries and agricultural sectors.

Within a few minutes of meeting the owner of a packing house in California he asked what I thought of President Donald Trump but he didn’t want to hear what I thought. He wanted to tell me what he thought. So much of what he vented was born out of frustration of not being represented in state or federal politics or in the general public.

So how does New Zealand differ?

New Zealand does have a great reputation and it has been enabled by our government and regulators.

The trust in our production systems and goodwill in terms of how New Zealand is perceived and behaves on the international scene is an asset for our industry.

The five Nuffield scholars benefitted in our travels from New Zealand’s international reputation.

The Christchurch massacre occurred while we were in the United States. Often the perceptions of New Zealand’s reaction from locals was one of sympathy for what had happened but also an appreciation of the community’s response and Government decisiveness.

Our nation’s reputation is more important to New Zealand’s agriculture than elsewhere. Take the red meat sector. More than 90% of what we produce is exported. Our reputation matters.

After a long day riding in the back of a van across nearly the length of Romania our group of scholars reached Bulgaria. Rather worn out and hungry we found a nice enough place to eat. Lo and behold, there was New Zealand lamb on the menu.

Nothing else on the menu hinted as to where it came from. Somewhere on the border between Romania and Bulgaria our reputation still carried weight. Perhaps it was the only thing any locals would know of New Zealand.

It really hit home that our community is here, our customer is there. The appreciation for New Zealand’s image and all that it entails is valued by our customers. Yet a lot of the headwinds that are buffeting New Zealand’s agriculture sector and rural communities are generated locally.

I saw some perverse outcomes of government involvement in industries and, though I’m reluctant to admit, there might be some benefits.

For example, in Ireland, if society decides an action such as conservation or environmentalism is a priority that benefits wider society at a cost to the producer, wider society contributes in some form – whether through taxpayer-funded support or at the local checkout.

On returning to New Zealand it feels as though the support and validity gained through regulation has changed. The inundation of regulatory and societal pressure is wearing on rural communities. However, we’re not alone in this. There are seismic shifts happening globally.

The detachment between the community and consumer means the cost of demands on production are difficult to meet. Ultimately, though, the Garden of Eden can’t be demanded without someone needing to pay the full price for having that shiny apple.

AFTER almost half of this year travelling the world there are a lot of thoughts in my head regarding agriculture and farming.

The biggest take-home for me is the universal problem of people wanting what they haven’t got simply through believing the grass is always greener over the fence and genuinely not understanding agriculture and what is involved in food production.

This fact was spelled out very clearly to me when two environmentally minded vegans in Germany told me the problem with German agriculture was that the cows were inside a lot of the time and farmers should put their cows outside all year like New Zealand farmers do.

Of course, that bought a smile from me because in NZ the green movement wants us to put our cows inside to be more like Europe.

So, who do we believe and who is right?

It is the same argument with synthetic meat, this seemingly new food on the block is going to save the planet and the people.

My question is how can a multi-ingredient, heavily processed, made-in-a-factory product even be compared to ruminant protein?

Nutritionists and health professionals all talk of whole, nutrient-dense foods consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet.

Animal meat is the ultimate whole food, laden with nutrients and, best of all, it can be eaten without any process intervention.

In the 1980s and 1990s everyone was going to die prematurely from heart disease from eating too much butter and the alternative and golden ticket to eternal life was margarine. Now, in 2019, there is very little margarine sold as the apparent health benefits actually never came to be.

Genetically modified plants are almost enemy number one world over through misinformation about pesticide use and apparent food safety concerns.

The marketers and lobbyists will have you believe GM has led to huge increases in chemical use and it has been a campaign to sell agrichemicals by large, multi-national companies.

In truth GM was designed so farmers would apply less chemicals, both insecticides and herbicides, and the companies would make their money selling the patented seeds.

GM corn, for example, contains a naturally occurring fungus (Bacillus thuringiensis). BT, as it’s known, is registered as the safest organic insecticide in organic and biological farming when used on its own and yet because it has been bred to occur in corn it is labelled as hazardous by the very people calling for safe food.

At some point all western countries are going to face a wall of loud, anti-farming noise and governments will respond to the voters.

In the Netherlands, France and Germany we are seeing populations calling for more regulation to limit productivity.

Farmers, personally, will be the collateral damage in what will result and this will happen in NZ at some point.

What the people making the noise fail to grasp is the effect they have on people.

Recently, I was asked by a panel about my thoughts on morale in agriculture considering how good prices are.

My response was simple. Morale is extremely low and will remain so as farmers feel targeted.

They are made to feel responsible for a multi-generational production model that successive governments and regulators have promoted.

They feel targeted by a media seemingly interested in a story and they feel targeted by groups that understand only small parts of what are very complex systems.

I can tell you first hand when you criticise what a farmer does you criticise them, their home and their very reason for being.

It is not like criticising a company that can hide behind a name. The effects are real and they are very personal. Farming is a very emotional-laden occupation and farmers feel genuinely responsible for producing a good product for those who choose not to do it themselves.

The regulations facing agriculture will not go away and they they will almost certainly change in form and the way they are administered but regulation is probably here to stay if what is happening in other countries happens here.

It seems the life of any regulation begins as noise that gets louder regardless of the facts.

We have to remember our farms are outdoor factories and what we do can be openly seen by anyone who drives down the road.

By default that makes us targets unlike any indoor factory where trucks go in one side and out the other and something mysterious happens inside.

In general, people talk only about small components of our farming systems but talk as if they are experts and you have to think that just because I have teeth, it doesn’t make me a dentist.

The challenge for agriculture is to find a way through by understanding what the people want and in doing so try to explain why farming is so complex, diverse and at the same time the noblest occupation.

29th November 2019

Mat Hocken was announced as the 2019 Rabobank Emerging Leader at the Rabobank Leadership Awards on Thursday night (28th November). Our congratulations go out to Mat who is the first kiwi to receive this award!

The Rabobank Leadership Awards are held annually recognising the contribution of leaders from across New Zealand and Australia’s food and agribusiness sector. The 2019 event marked the 20th anniversary of the awards and the first occasion the awards dinner had been held in New Zealand. Find out more.

Find out more about Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarships

14th November 2019

Ben McLauchlan, from Marlborough has been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship and has plans to study how to help agriculture reduce its use of fossil fuels. Read more about Ben’s Scholarship research plans over the next 12 months .

Find out more about Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarships

Media Release, Tuesday, 5th November 2019

Waikato based, Dairy Environment Leader, Dairy Farmer and recently appointed Dairy NZ board member, Tracy Brown is one of five scholars from across industry sectors awarded a Nuffield NZ Scholarship.  The scholarships were announced on Tuesday, 5th November at parliament by Hon Stuart Nash, Minister of Police, Fisheries, Revenue, and Small Business.

Alongside Tracy Brown, the recipients of Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarships for 2020 are Shannon Harnett, Whakatane based Agriculture and Horticulture Director; Waikato based Phil Weir, Dry Stock Farmer and Agri business Consultant; Southland based Edward Pinckney, director/owner of a dairy farm and sheep, beef and grazing farm, Marlborough based Ben McLauchlan, owner of a 102 H vineyard and 30 H beef finishing unit in Rapaura. 

The Nuffield Scholarships with the three core components provide new Scholars with an opportunity to travel abroad in groups and individually and study the latest developments in a number of leading agricultural countries. 

“The reputation and prestige of a Nuffield Scholarship opens the doors for new Scholars to access international businesses like Amazon, John Deere and Blue Apron – businesses that are behind and beyond the farm gate.  No other programme can offer this type of access to these globally recognised companies” says Nuffield NZ Chairman Andrew Watters.

Ms Brown who is a champion for sustainability, and has been leading environmental change in the dairy industry for nearly a decade sees the Scholarship as an opportunity to gain insight into the policies and processes other countries are using to create positive environmental change.

 “While I have been active in the NZ environmental space, this experience will enable me to gain the international networks and experience that will add to my effectiveness in the roles I have or will have in the future” says Ms Brown.

The five new scholars will join more than 160 Nuffield alumni who have been awarded Nuffield Scholarships over the past 70 years. The 2020 research topics are likely to cover issues such as – Understanding the international policies and processes that have created positive environmental change; How Plant Variety Rights provide growers the opportunity to successfully develop new business internationally; Exploration of the NZ primary sector to determine if there are fundamental barriers restricting collaboration; developing and growing our young people entering the agricultural sector; Enhancing the sustainability of Viticulture by lessening its reliance on scarce resources.

New Zealand farmers are “more environmentally engaged” than their European counterparts, a North Canterbury dairy farmer says.

Cam Henderson, who farms in Oxford, has just returned from eight weeks visiting the US, Mexico, Brazil and the Netherlands as part of an agricultural scholarship programme.

Expecting the Netherlands to be ahead of New Zealand on environmental protection, he found they were less concerned about their farming impact.

“Their reputation is very clean and green, but I felt quite the opposite when I was there,” he said. 

“I saw drains running through to rivers with cropping right to the edge. There were no setbacks or sediment traps…

To read more about Cam’s travels, find the full article here – https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/113822842/global-tour-suggests-kiwi-farms-outperforming-europe-on-environmental-protection 

It is with great sadness that I share the news that 2000 Nuffield Scholar and former Chairman of Fonterra, John Wilson passed away aged only 54yrs. He is survived by his wife Belinda and four daughters, Sophie, Victoria and twins Tessa and Libby.

In July last year, John made the difficult decision to step down from the role of Fonterra Chairman to focus on his health. He then retired from the Board at the Fonterra Annual Meeting last November.

John was a man whose dedication and commitment to our Co-op ran deep. Outside of his family life, he dedicated most of his time to farmers, Fonterra and farming.

We owe John and his family a debt of gratitude for all the time, energy and sheer hard graft he gave us as a farmer-owner, inaugural Chairman of the Fonterra Shareholder’s Council on merger, as a Farmer Elected Director from 2003, and as Chairman from 2012.

John always brought dedication, commitment and deep dairy knowledge to each of the representation and governance roles in which he served. On behalf of his fellow farmers he was the ultimate advocate for what we stand for. He’d never back down from going at something head on if he believed it was important.

John was one of us – a dairy farmer through and through.  He always looked ahead and focused on finding a way through the tough times that would protect Fonterra’s farmers, sharemilkers and their families. Bringing farmers solutions, not problems was always his mindset.

We have lost a friend, colleague, leader and champion for our industry much too soon. Nuffield NZ has lost an amazing leader who has demonstrated the commitment of Nuffield. John has always made every attempt to attend the Nuffield NZ Conference
and has been a contributor as a presenter to both the Nuffield and Kellogg programmes

Our thoughts and deep gratitude for all that he contributed go to his family and friends.

Andrew Watters – Chairman Nuffield New Zealand

Geoff Mathis a Nuffield Scholar has focused his energies into an amazing project in Tanzania – East Africa. With the support of many individuals (including Nuffielders) MFAT, Rotary NZ World Community Service, The Rotary Foundation and numerous other people, this NZD1.1m project is changing lives.

The goal: Moving farmers and the community off the poverty line in Mwika, Tanzania.

In 2008, I started helping the village of Mwika on the foothills of Mt Kilimanjaro with sufficient funding for 36 biogas digesters (converting cow manure to methane gas)?.

We have funded over 90 on-farm biogas digesters, 200 stainless milk cans, 1,000 good farming booklets – very basic, a 600 ltr per hour processing milk plant replacing the old copper boiler, 150 rising 2yr old milking cows and a lot of other equipment to support the community. Most were made available on a shared basis – the locals had to take ownership of the assistance – in most cases (but not all) the farmer made a 25% contribution to each part of the project – ownership!

It has grown considerably from that point to where we are at now – the final stage of that project.The Kondiki Dairy Co-op is very similar to where the first NZ Co-op was born in Otago in the 1880’s, a fledgling company growing with plenty of constraints …It is in desperate need for a second reliable small truck (ute) to assist in collection and distribution of dairy product. I have undertaken to do our best to fund the NZD$30,000 required.

I have setup a Charitable Trust with Rotary New Zealand (all donations receipted) – my hope is that this will be shared with your family, friends and colleagues.If you are willing to forward this domain page onto 20 persons I am sure we will achieve our goal.

Visit www.farmersinneedtanzania.org to view the story and donate if you so wish.

We heard repeatedly about the growing world population and the related demand for food driving the need for bigger, better yields of commodity products (sound familiar?!).

America has always been known of the land where bigger is better. We saw that on show in Ames, Iowa for the 2019 Nuffield Contemporary Scholars Conference. The week served as a celebration of US agriculture and the role corn and soybean production has in feeding the world. We heard repeatedly about the growing world population and the related demand for food driving the need for bigger, better yields of commodity products (sound familiar?!). This is a message from policy makers, researchers and farmers alike. Throw in a question about the current trade disagreements and their effect on ag exports and the response is surprisingly positive. Trade needs to be fair so, despite the current blip, it will be better in the long run – rural support for the current administration is strong.

Research and Technology

Iowa State University hosted the conference. It has one of the best agri-colleges in the country with some impressive projects such as individual plant level crop management, animal vaccination by drone and genetic products. They collaborate with industry to bring products to market quickly and have a well organised extension service that ensures research reaches farmers at pace.

Iowa is also the home of John Deere who showed us a vision of the farming future with automated cropping, sensing and decision making.

Innovative Farmers

Joe Sweeny of Eagle’s Catch, a 27 year old entrepreneur, has built a $16 million glass house to farm Tilapia, a tropical fish often served whole in Hispanic cuisine. A brave move considering his glass houses are often under two feet of snow in a tornado prone area. But with a well constructed business plan and local backing, it demonstrates the willingness to ‘just do it’ here.

Ben Riensche of Blue Diamond Farming saw the inefficiency in his fleet of cropping machinery sitting in the shed for most of the year so bought a farm in a state further south growing different crops and ships his gear backwards and forwards.

Environmental Standards

The few farms we visited were very proud of their environmental work. There is a growing recognition of farming’s impact on the environment however the policy and mitigations still lag that in New Zealand. Climate change is often seen as an opportunity to grow higher yields but a threat long term.

Learning from Other Scholars

The other scholars added the most value during the week, sharing their stories, insights and many laughs. We are all struggling with similar issues of labour, public perception, succession and the environment – an insight that is both a relief and a worry. Our new global network of friends will help as we continue on the Nuffield journey. Next stop – Washington DC.

Finally – a big thankyou to all the organisers and sponsors in NZ for your support and Kia Kaha Christchurch.

If you asked any of the five scholars from this year they will all say the same I’m sure, our preparation was the key to our success not only in our pre CSC travel together but also at the CSC in Des Moines.  We must thank the board for three key pieces of personal training they allowed us to undertake.  Juliet Maclean, Hamish Gow and Corene Walker all spoke to us at length and we gained a lot from them.

Juliet Maclean, past chairperson of Nuffield New Zealand and Nuffield Scholar was able to not only impart a lot of her knowledge from her own experience but strategies we could use when dealing with other people in situations that always arise in groups.  Juliet also spoke with our partners about their expectations and what the 12 – 18 months was probably going to be like and walked us through some of those.

Hamish Gow’s insights into what is in store for us in the year ahead have been invaluable and reassuring. The explanation and classification of the stages of our journey being initially a divergent phase as we explore the world of many agricultural businesses, practices and views on the world.  The concept that you can’t solve the issue on day one until you have fully understood and defined the actual problem. The idea and encouragement to keep our topics broad and the skills imparted around reflective thinking really set us apart in keeping an open-minded approach. Often the Kiwi scholars were leading those reflective practices with small groups after various discussions or field trips.  “What did you see, what did you hear, what didn’t you see, what weren’t you told?” These skills were touched upon in the CSC but nowhere to the extent that we had from Hamish. New Zealand really cemented those skills prior to the CSC which allowed us to get a lot more out of it than some other countries.  This fact we know from the feedback throughout the CSC. As an example we visited a beef farm during the CSC, it was the middle of winter, snow on the ground, muddy and very cold.  It wasn’t the best advertisement for feedlotting cattle but it was where we went on the day.  A large number of scholars were less than impressed and could see no benefit in the visit.  However, the New Zealand contingent saw the potential in simple management decisions such as EID’s for weighing and feeding, regular marketing channels both in and out.  Some take homes, cattle can obviously survive outdoors in -25 deg C and its not wrong, just different. Hamish’s advice was always in the back of our minds, “what is the one take home from every visit you go on?”

Corene Walker spent a day with us detailing the science of getting along with people. The first phase being you must know yourself, your strengths, your weaknesses and how you deal with these things.  The second phase involves knowing and dealing with other people’s personality traits and the strategies to use these to everyone’s advantage. These soft and yet subtle skills certainly came to the fore at the CSC when faced with 80 strangers. It gave us the confidence not only in self-regulating our own feelings but also recognising the signs within the others in the group.

We also had a range of trade and government briefings prior to departure from New Zealand which helped us greatly. Even in such a short space of time, it is incredible how often people are interested in what goes on within New Zealand and how it is managed politically. Briefings from KPMG, Wakatu Farming, NZTE, MFAT, MPI, Wine NZ, Fonterra, Kiwifruit NZ, Hort NZ, FAR and Beef and Lamb NZ all helped to paint a picture of where New Zealand sits in the world.

The outcome of these meetings was that we left New Zealand as a very tight unit and we were set up well for what we encountered and what we will encounter throughout the year.

As a group, we must acknowledge and thank the Nuffield Board and also the tireless work of Anne Hindson and Lisa Rogers. Our pre-work and our travelling to date have exceeded our expectations and I know we are all very much looking forward to what happens next.

My interest in biosecurity started with the harsh lessons of the PSA incursion into kiwifruit in New Zealand. My small orchard was only 500m away from ground zero and like all growers, I got a crash course in the importance of basic biosecurity and hygiene practices.  

I started my Nuffield travels around the world hoping to look at examples of on farm biosecurity practices. It was disappointing to see a total lack of preparedness worldwide, and the only farmers engaging in biosecurity had done so after an incursion had already established.  

The worst example of this was, after visiting farms in Qatar which is known to have foot and mouth, we could fly directly to France and head straight from the airport onto a dairy farm with no questions asked. Its little wonder that worldwide we are seeing an increase in exotic pest incursions taking their toll on agricultural production.  

Even with world class biosecurity protecting our border, we cannot stop everything. Once we accept that, then it becomes critical what happens inside the border and how we as individuals protect our own border – the farm gate. 

After 20 weeks and as many countries it was great to finally meet a farmer that got Biosecurity. He was a banana farmer from Queensland facing the threat of TR4 – a devastating banana disease. One of his comments that really struck me was biosecurity wasn’t about the things you do – the procedures the footbaths. Biosecurity is about culture. It’s about creating a culture that encourages everyone to accept responsibility for their own biosecurity.  

 The challenge is where will the drive to change this culture come from. Farmers in Britain have forgotten the lessons of foot and mouth and in the kiwifruit industry after only 7 years we are already losing the lessons we learnt. The only way to overcome this is to create a culture where biosecurity is just a part of everyday life – it becomes business as usual. 

 It’s pleasing to see the launch in New Zealand of Biosecurity 2025’s campaign Ko Tatou – this is us which is about trying to start a national culture of biosecurity awareness. The key is how do we build on this and how do we create this culture within the primary industries.