After our fantastically successful one day Summit alumni event in 2017 we promised you another one in three years (based on your preferred frequency). We are pleased to announce that our next Kellogg alumni event has been confirmed for 23 March 2020.
What is even more exciting is that we are combining this event with the Nuffield2020 International Event, as part of a one day International Summit being held in Christchurch and hosted by Nuffield NZ. With a theme of Fast Forward – this is a day focused on future solutions showcasing new business models. There will be lots of discussion and debate with International and New Zealand speakers who are leaders in change and business solutions, that will inspire, provoke and challenge your thinking.
We know as Kelloggers you also love to reKonnect – so we are organising some alumni networking events around the Summit with the help of Canterbury Kellogg alumni including a cocktail function on Sunday evening. The details of other events will be announced shortly.
United States – Czech Republic – Bulgaria – Romania – Qatar – Kenya
The Global Focus Orogramme (GFP) was an incomparable opportunity to see a diversity of agriculture in across a variety of countries. We were given candid insight into our hosts businesses, operations, motivations for being in agriculture and what they want to give back, even bringing our group of nine scholars into their homes for a cup of tea, meal or a drink.
These frank and open conversations were some of the highlights for me personally, where some hosts would openly discuss some of their business and personal challenges in agriculture. I found these moments golden, particularly in the middle of a leadership development opportunity as the Nuffield Scholarship. But it was gratifying to give back to some hosts in helping in their current challenges with the varied opinions and experiences of the nine scholars.
Travelling with the group of Nuffield scholars was invaluable experience and formed friendships that will last. After seeing some amazing and challenging aspects of global agriculture, the opportunity to discuss this with a diverse group of young agricultural leaders from different sectors and countries – Brazil, Canada, USA, Ireland and Australia (and Tasmania) – drew so much more out of the experience. We all had our different backgrounds, contexts and perspectives to bring to these discussions, and we need not agree – I’m writing this in the home of one of the scholars that we have some disagreements on fundamental elements of agriculture.
There was so much to see during the GFP through Washington DC, Kentucky, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania, Qatar and Kenya. It would be difficult to concisely describe just the highlights from each country so I have focused on a couple overarching observations from the two countries that were probably the most different from New Zealand – Qatar and Kenya.
Qatar
The context we were given on arrival to Qatar – other than the immense wealth of the small gulf state – was the shadow cast by the blockade. The blockade by many of Qatar’s neighbours has been in place since June 2017, impacting their previous food supply chain through countries such as Saudi Arabia. Food security was a major driver the majority food production and supply businesses we saw due to the very real and near threat of not being able to import food in a small desert nation.
After the initial awe of seeing some of these amazing agricultural feats – such as dairy farming and growing fodder in the desert – I got the impression that there was prestige than production in these operations. This was reinforced when we saw the largest grain importer and miller that had impressive logistical, processing and storage capability to maintain supply and volume – production was not a part it. Does livestock production count as food security when it is limited by the volume of imported feed? Would it not be simple to utilise the more efficient production from around the world and advance the logistical solutions and storage capability?
If you removed the heat and oxygen, some of the production might be what one would imagine farming on the moon may be. This pushing the boundaries of production are worth taking note as a demonstration of what is possible but, in the context of a variety of growing global social concerns around agriculture, may be limited in its impact.
However, in the position that Qatar has been put in, the prestige of these feats can be understood. Drawing a line in the sand, so to speak, to show what they can do despite of the imposition by their neighbours. Qatar’s response to this situation appeared to create a national pride and social inclusion in the achievements being made.
Kenya
An afternoon spent with Kenyan smallholders that are part of a collective, similar to our discussion group, set me straight on some of my assumptions that I had developed. We frequently saw some agricultural practices through central Europe and Kenya that would not be generally accepted in our own farming industries, but this group changed my view I had formed of smallholder and subsistence farming. The intensity and diversity of what they were able to do on such small plots was remarkable – but this may be also be a limitation – and were organised and actively seeking ways to improve their production and position.
We held a panel session with the smallholder collective and we were asked directly how they could become farmers that were able to travel the world like ourselves. A common view from our Nuffield group was simplifying their production to what works well and not trying to do everything and anything – one farm had dairy cattle, sheep, honey, pyrethrum, fruit, vegetables, chickens and fodder with the excess to be sold. However, as smallholders they were more exposed by a crop failure and require a level of diversity for security.
On reflection, I saw the infrastructure and economic limitations created by political climate was a significant hindrance on developing production and ability to trade. This is not a simple fix as impacts the wider economy and, despite some the frustrations we me have in our own countries, gave me a great appreciation for context we are able to operate and trade.
The second major eye-opener in Kenya also related to this political climate. We visited farming operations that had been established for a long time – whether multi-generational family farms, internationally funded agri-businesses or NGOs – which have invested in their local communities and introduce adapted and sustainable production methods to Kenyan agriculture. Each of these had either been or were currently involved in land invasions by graziers or land grabbers that can have violent or even lethal outcomes. The political climate often exacerbates or can drive these conflicts.
However, Kenya has a young population that is more and more educated, and, while there was some significant signs of poverty – such as the largest slum in Africa – there was large growth in relative affluence. The combination of increasing wealth and a young educated population coming through generates huge potential for their economy – if they can overcome some of their institutional handbrakes.
The GFP has been transformative for myself. It has raised more questions than were answered of my understanding of global agriculture, but my understanding and empathy of the situations in which these questions are formed has expanded immensely. While not perfect, I have a greater appreciation of the circumstances that the New Zealand agriculture sector can operate in and that we can deliver to the world.
Singapore – Philippines – Hong Kong – China – Germany – United States
Reflecting on six weeks traveling
around the world with our China GFP group and the opportunity to contrast Asia,
Europe and America, I am struck not by the differences between countries or
continents but more importantly the similarities. I observed relationships and
trust are common to success anywhere in the world and the importance innovation
and adaptability has for surviving and thriving.
Singapore
On the 5th of June I
joined nineteen other scholars in Singapore for a brief introduction of South
East Asia and it was quickly illustrated the size and impact the region has on
our current and future markets. Singapore has and is positioning itself as an
independent and secure hub to facilitate trade in the area. It was also the
start of forming a bond with a group of diverse individuals from different
backgrounds spanning different production systems and seven different
countries.
Philippines
Manilla and the Philippines was the
breakaway, providing our smaller group of ten a brief but exciting stop, not
only for the cheep beer and food but a quick insight into what much of the SE
Asian region is still like, managing its way through developmental projects as
it lifts population out of subsistence. Visiting the International Rice Research
Institute we learnt that over four billion people every day rely on rice as a
stable challenging me to consider my own lack of knowledge of such a
significant part of the worlds food equation.
Hing Kong, SAR China
Hong Kong into the middle of Human
Right protests gave an insightful view of the main event China, and our building anticipation continued. Our
group had begun to form into a cohesive unit, efficient use of public
transport, coordinated logistics, more concentrated questioning and inquiry and
the ability to adapt to the challenges presented, showed we were becoming a
great team holding us in good stead for the remainder of our travel.
China
Having visited Shanghai once
previously it was exciting to see many of the groups perceptions shattered on
discovery that it is a clean, organised and developed city (albeit with
26million people).
Introductions with MLA, ADM etc amongst
the others from the ANZ, Cotton Inc, JWM, CBH and Syngenta over the last ten
days had given the obligatory introductions so with the excitement of kids is a
toyshop we rode a bullet train at 315km/ hr for Qihe in the Shandong province.
The size and scale of China became
evident as we witnessed the changes moving north and inland. Highways with
several lanes in either direction, multi number high rise complexes popping up
and the efficiency of nearing 30,000 km of high speed rail network built in the
last decade were all on show making the fact that China has used more concrete
in the three years than the USA the did in the entire 20th century
very real and relevant.
The realisation that there are two
separate economies in China, became evident as we confronted the existing
subsistence of small holdings in rural areas contrasted with enormous dairy
farms and processing facilities. This acted as a metaphor illustrating
difference between the large developed coastal cities and large parts of rural
China growing at quite separate rates. We learned that in 40 years China has
gone from 17.9% to 58.5% urbanised meaning a shift of some 640 million people
to urban areas. Following a similar trend of urbanisation, another 15-20% means
approximately another 220-250 million shifting to Cities in the ten years
(equal to about two thirds of the current US population).
Seeing the importance of trade
within China between its people and regions, and accounting for the fact China
has approximately 1.4 billion people and only 7% of the worlds arable land. It
became evident we need China as much as China needs the world. We encountered
willing and open people, doing good business in the ways similar to all of our
countries. Sharing a formal meal with a group of officials it became obvious
the importance of relationships and how they are formed. Like anywhere in the
world the level of that trust facilitates the exchange, however it is the
cultural diversity or rituals around the way in which that trust its formed
that differs between people.
European Union, Germany & Ireland
Inner Mongolia and Beijing rounded out China before jumping into Europe and the precision and efficiency of Germany. We were fortunate to see some of the contrasts between east and west as we travelled from one to the other. This allowed us to gain some insight into the challenges facing further eastern bloc countries and when overcome their potential for large scale production of food.
The role of the EU was evident as we toured Germany and Ireland but what became obvious was that successful enterprises has mastered their production in a two to three areas and continued to innovate at the edges. I was particularly impressed by the way these successful businesses demonstrated fast feedback loops created providing useful information to launch or pivot when changes arose.
Washington, DC
Our two GFP Groups combined once
again, this time in Washington DC to come face to face with the position the
USA has and continues to play on a global geopolitical spectrum. It was cool to
catch up with a similar Nuffield group and share our experience as it
highlighted how much we have seen and how close the experience of a Nuffield
GFP brought our particular group together. A welcomed rest day could have been
used to recharge or some time to ourselves but we unconsciously chose to come together, spending the time riding lime
scooters visiting the sites of the Capitol!
I will never understand the
complexity of the US and its political system, especially in three short days
but some context from meetings with Senators, lobbyists and the USDA allowed
insights not many get the opportunity to have. However, I came away thinking
again that USA is an enormous engine with many hierarchical layers, entrenched
views and complex processes of government so that like an aircraft carrier it
has very little ability to change direction and when it does only one degree at
a time.
Texas, United States
If Iowa was the start of our
Nuffield in March, Texas provided the perfect book end. Over six weeks we met
many proud and passionate people sharing their businesses and stories. None
more so than Texans which highlighted an observation that a strong sense of
identity provides real power in a market. The Chinese had very a strong sense
of being Chinese despite incredible diversity, the truly Irish – Irish brand
capturing value for what we recognise from Ireland, and Go Texan slogan all
illustrating shared history and values for those regions. My observation is
that we are all individuals but get a real sense of motivation and engagement
from belonging to a team and in these last two cases has translated to market
positioning from combined effort.
Over six weeks visiting farm businesses, industry bodies and political institutions were heard talk all over the world of the challenges being faced with environmental regulation, the growing disconnect with agriculture, human resource limitations, no succession planning, undervalued food or lack of profitability in our farming enterprises just to name a few, which brings me back to where this started. I am struck by the similarities the agricultural world is facing.
The problems and challenges all over the world over are the same, just they are dressed in different clothes.
I have been very fortunate to contrast seven countries and three continents in six weeks with a group of intelligent agriculturalists. They have helped me to look at things from different angles and to process what we have seen, at each stage challenging me to ask a better question with new information gathered!
We could never hope to have understand the world in that time, or find the answers to questions but what I am incredibly grateful for is the knowledge, experience and insights gained to continue learning and asking better questions!
GFP Brazil: Seven International Scholars, Six Weeks, Five Countries
Washington DC
At the conclusion of the Nuffield conference in Iowa, our
GFP group left the melting snow and ice for Washington DC. The political engine
in the US is both impressive and scary. We met with many agricultural lobby
groups and the US Department of Agriculture. Trade is at the top of the agenda
with many still supporting the full fair and free trade message despite the
pain inflicted on the rural communities by the current trade war with China.
Interim subsidy programs are in place to keep farmers happy but on the day of
our departure the administration announced cuts to farmer support programs,
including crop insurance, in an effort to cut spending. My key learnings came
from the experienced Washington players.
Focus
your messaging on the ‘movable middle’ population
Having
experience being lobbied makes you a better lobbyist.
Politics
is all about networks
The NZ
Embassy in Washington has a great bar in the basement for networking.
Florida
Down the coast in Florida we saw a state that is aiming to
take over from California as the produce capital of the US. We saw blueberries,
carrots, tomatoes, sweetcorn, nuts all grown on large scale and timed to fit
into a value window where, for a few weeks each year, Florida is the source of
produce for the major US supermarkets. Most family farmers are at the mercy of
brokers and manufacturers for pricing but a few are looking to innovative
marketing ideas of their own (Satsuma chapstick anyone?).
I was very impressed with the community extension service
of the University of Florida. Their experienced agents have created outstanding
demonstrations, facilities, programs and guides to pass on the University’s
research and knowledge to farmers and the general community. Despite the US
administration’s current views on climate change, the University is performing
research on GHG mitigation, particularly with animals, that we should watch
closely. Key Florida lessons
Controlling
more of the value chain is more profitable but requires more capital, risk and
knowledge.
Focus
on your window of value in the market.
Don’t
be afraid to try something completely new
Farm
near a beach – it helps with managing stress
Mexico
The visit to Mexico was very short with two days spent at
CIMMYT, the wheat research facility near Obregon. The farmer run facility is
completely a not-for-profit that develops parent genetics of wheat to breeders
around the world. They also run plant breeder training programs and help the
local farmers of Sonoma State with everything from agronomic advice to irrigation
infrastructure. We also visited a local grain cooperative and finished off with
a walking tour of Mexico City. The history of this city is amazing having being
built on the ruins of the Aztec empire. The blending of the native bloodlines
with the colonising Spanish is creating a modern challenge in defining the
nations identity not unlike our own.
Key Mexican lessons:
Farming
doesn’t always have to be about making a dollar (or peso).
There
is a bright future for well-run cooperatives.
Pride
in your identity is a powerful marketing message.
Brazil
Our Brazilian leg started in the capital Brasilia, a city of 4 million people that was just farmland sixty years ago. It was founded as the development of Brazilian land headed east away from the coast during a time when much of central and northern Brazil was opened up for agriculture. In the 1970s Brazilian farming families from the south moved north to open up farmland for cropping with new technology and financial incentives. With so much land available, family farms in this area now often exceed 50,000 ha.
With land development came pressure on natural resources, particularly the rainforest and soils. Brazilian farmers and government have responded quickly to these issues with 60% of all crops in Brazil now using no till systems and a Forestry Code that protects large tracts of the native rainforest. There is also a great awareness among farmers of how the Amazon forest contributes to the highly valued rainfall patterns in Brazil.
We saw a range of highly developed, innovative and massive
farming operations that are held back by a lack of political stability and
logistics to move produce to port. If these two issues were to be resolved,
Brazil would rival any country in the world as an agricultural powerhouse.
Key lessons from Brazil:
Our
natural environment is important for our own success and for our public
reputation. We must work harder to protect it. If Brazil can do it so can we.
NZ
exports competing on price or volume has a limited life
Genetic
engineering is at the core of Brazilian agriculture development. Would we be
left behind without it?
Netherlands
Our tour of the Netherlands focused on the centre of the
country with visits to pig, dairy, flower and vegetable farms. To me the
country was one big garden and a testament to the innovative thinking of the
Dutch – intricate drainage networks, reclaimed land, robotic dairies, wind
turbines, fields of glass houses (even a university inside a glass house).
Digging into the success of Dutch agriculture two key
factors emerge.
Animal
based agriculture in the Netherlands relies on cheap imported (GE) grains
through the local port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport.
A
European customer base of over 500 million people all within easy trucking
distance of the Netherlands and all within a single customs market (EU).
The Netherlands has an input based environmental regulation
(e.g. stocking rate and fertiliser rate limits) compared to New Zealand’s
output based regulation (you can do what-ever you like so long as you don’t
leach above a certain number). The result appears to be a tick box exercise to
get the environmental subsidy without a deeper understanding of why the
practices are important or what else farmers could be doing to improve
environmental outcomes. For example soil moisture monitoring was not common
under irrigation nor were buffer strips used to prevent sediment runoff.
Key lessons from the Netherlands:
Technology
and innovation can overcome nearly any obstacle
Look
for your unique advantages and exploit them.
Be
wary of statistics – Netherlands is Europe’s largest ag exporter but only
because it imports a third of that produce through Rotterdam (the Netherlands
exported $500 million of bananas last year but didn’t grow a single one.)
Output
based environmental regulation is a greater challenge to implement but creates
a better long term outcome than input based regulation.
New
Zealand
The final week of the GFP was spent in the Nelson and
Marlborough regions touring previous Nuffielder’s innovative farming
operations.
Andy Elliot (2018 Scholar) introduced us to aquaculture at
the Cawthron Institute and Wakatu. Cawthron Institute is a pioneer in shellfish
spat production. Wakatu, a shining example of the booming Maori economy, grows
out the shellfish in the Marlborough Sounds and has developed its story into a
successful brand and 500 year business plan.
Julian Raine (1997 Scholar) showed us Wai West
Horticulture, a multiple family owned business growing apples, kiwifruit and
boysenberries near Nelson. He is currently exploring nutraceutical applications
of the fruit in China. Julian’s other projects include his role on the Primary
Sector Council (a concept the other scholars were very impressed with) and
Oakland Dairies. Oakland Dairies milks a small herd on the Nelson city boundary
and provides most of the food service outlets in Nelson with A2 milk in glass
bottles. There are also a few local vending machines which are very popular
with the locals. His Aunt Jeans brand is distributing the milk nationwide.
Murray King (2003 Scholar) has strong ties to dairy and is
particularly proud of his latest joint venture Appleby Farms, an ice cream
producer in Nelson. Appleby has clocked up a string of successes since
launching in 2017. A New Zealand gold medal ice cream award within 12 months
and is now available in 380 stores in
New Zealand. I would recommend the Bad Boys and Berries (Boysenberry) flavour!
John Palmer (1989 Scholar) has had the odd governance role
in New Zealand but is now focused on his family farm growing pip fruit, hops
and kiwifruit in Nelson. He also introduced us to the McCashin family hop
operation, an inspiring story of growth and innovation in a niche market.
Hamish Murray’s (2019 scholar) family farm Bluff Station
near Kekerengu suffered massive damage in the Kaikoura earthquake but is
rebuilding into a strong, multigenerational family business. As is John Murphy
(2014 Scholar) who is growing family business Marlborough Garlic into a
producer of high quality garlic and shallots while always looking for new
opportunities (keep an eye out for Garlic Noir).
A flying visit to Wellington to visit Ministers O’Conner
and Shaw to talk the future of farming, and stops at MPI’s economic research
unit and Beef and Lamb to discuss strategy and Taste Pure Nature left us all
feeling very impressed with the state of NZ ag and the other GFP scholars
looking at the local real estate ads in the hopes of moving here!
Key lessons from New Zealand
Farmers
tend to like working on their own but the success of the business we saw relied
on strong partnerships and teams.
Tell
your story using six words (Thanks for the advice Julian!)
Kiwi
hospitality is second to none.
The GFP experience highlighted to me the diversity in opportunities and challenges that exist in agriculture around the world. Ultimately most agricultural markets were trying to do two things – at a macro level, feed 9 billion mouths by 2050 while at a micro level, add value to produce to generate greater profitability. And achieve both while minimising environmental impact.
New Zealand is as well placed as any nation to achieve this goal.
Many thanks to the many farmers, businesses, organisers and
sponsors who made this experience possible and to my GFP travel mates who
shared many insights, experiences and laughs along the way.
I look forward to my personal travel where the real work begins!
Penny Clark-Hall is passionate about helping rural communities.
Ms Clark-Hall is the founder of New Zealand’s first social licence consultancy, helping farmers and agri-businesses earn and maintain their social licence to operate.
She is excited about speaking at the Women’s Enviro Evening in Clinton later this month, saying meaningful change had to come from grassroots, or “the ground up”.
That had a domino effect and, if everyone did their “own little bit” then it all added up to something big, she said.
The evening, which will be held in the Clinton Town Hall on Tuesday, July 30, has been organised by local woman Sandra Campbell.
Mrs Campbell, who with husband Chris is in an equity partnership on a 500-cow dairy farm between Clinton and Balclutha, attended a food and fibre conference in Christchurch a few years ago.
She left feeling enthused both about their own business and also about sustainability. The aim was of this month’s meeting was to bring top speakers back to community level and make it accessible, she said.
It was a warm, sunny afternoon in Takaka in Golden Bay.
As daylight beamed through a window only to hit the back of a curtain, Kellogger, Wayne Langford found himself bedridden in a cool, dark room. He had been flat on his back every afternoon for more than a week to escape his constant mental anguish.
But this day was different.
“I had like an out-of-body experience.
“It was as though I was hovering above myself looking down and saying ‘what the hell are you doing in bed?’”
It was 2pm on March 18, 2017.
It was his 34th birthday.
“I couldn’t help but think I should be out and about celebrating with people, not stuck indoors….”
To read more about Wayne Langford by Luke Chivers, click here.
Enthusiasm for a digital future key asset for Dairy Women’s trustee role 1 July 2019
Enthusiasm for a digital future is a key asset Auckland based tech enthusiast Sophie Stanley feels she can bring to the Dairy Women’s Network as the newest member of its trust board.
“I’ve worked with the Dairy Women’s Network in the past and have always admired what they are doing in the community to support women in the dairy industry,” she said. “I thought it was an organisation I could add a lot of value too and opportunities like this don’t come along that often.”
Stanley, 32, felt her youth and enthusiasm for a digital future was the key asset that she would will bring to the role.
“Having lead an agtech company in the US for the last two years I bring experience from the technology sector with agile and design thinking, and also have international experience working with farmers in the Midwest, USA.”
She said her experience travelling as a scholarship recipient of the prestigious rural leadership programme Nuffield New Zealand where she researched social media in the agricultural sector highlighted the importance of community and good use of technology, but stresses the importance of face to face connections.
“Used well, technology should be leveraged to enhance knowledge, community and connection, but real human interaction remains very important.”
Chair of the Dairy Women’s Network Board of Trustees Cathy Brown said Stanley had a strong understanding of strategy development and execution.
“Her digital knowledge will be an asset as the Dairy Women’s Network tells the story of the amazing women who work in the industry. We look forward to having Sophie on the team,” she said.
Stanley spent a year as an Associate Director on the Rural Leadership Consortium board (Nuffield NZ) following travelling overseas and has worked extensively in the banking and technology sectors.
“I feel excited to join a team who are committed to enabling transformational change in agribusiness, particularly with women,” she said.
“The agricultural sector has long been a passion of mine, and I believe that grassroots organisations such as Dairy Women’s Network provide so much value to its members by providing a community and access to tools and knowledge that can help them thrive.”
With strong rural roots resulting from growing up on a sheep and beef farm in Rangitaiki, in the Bay of Plenty, Stanley has always had a strong passion for agriculture and food production. She graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of Science (Agricultural Science) and Bachelor of Business Studies (Economics) and went on to spend five years working as an Agri Manager for ANZ Bank with dairy farmers in Morrinsville.
In 2013 when she won the Nuffield Scholarship to research the impact of social media in agriculture she was one of the youngest scholars to ever be awarded it.
She joined cloud software company Figured in 2014 to build the vision for a cloud based agri accounting software, spending four years helping grow the company that included moving to Omaha, Nebraska to launch the business in the United States.
The call of New Zealand’s beaches and mountains saw her return home earlier this year to take up a role working on building app partner programmes for the global ecosystem at Xero.
An avid reader, podcast listener and traveller who says she loves learning about food systems, politics, economics and climate change, she has found time to run her first 50 kilometre ultramarathon in February and is training for her next ultramarathon in Taupo in October.
Stanley’s first Dairy Women’s Network Trust Board meeting will be in September.
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…
The government has introduced a Research and Development (“R&D”) Tax Incentive, to support and further promote R&D in NZ businesses.
The R&D Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament and we expect legislation to be enacted in May/June this year, allowing businesses to access, and make the most of the incentive from the start of the current tax year (typically 1 April 2019).
The incentive is a great opportunity for businesses to access support for R&D – It’s expected that over 2000 New Zealand businesses will be eligible to claim the incentive.
KPMG invite you to join one of their sessions where R&D experts will present – alongside officials from Inland Revenue, and Callaghan Innovation – on the R&D Tax Incentive, providing insight into how the incentive will provide broader access to R&D funding for New Zealand businesses.
The seminar will also cover what is, and what isn’t R&D, and how to start planning early to be ready to make a claim for this year’s R&D activities.
As well as KPMG, officials from Inland Revenue and Callaghan Innovation will be on hand to answer any of your questions on the new incentive in the Q&A section of the seminar.
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.
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.
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.
A look into the Land Grant University system and their education, research and extension work reminded me of the importance of strong institutions in our agriculture sector.
Travelling to the American mid-west in the middle of winter was a shock to the system. Stepping out after 6 weeks of 25-30 degrees into -5 was only the first, there were many more surprises instore as we explored the States of Illinoi and Iowa, the corn and soybean capital of the world for a week before joining the Nuffield 2019 Contemporary Scholars Conference in Ames.
A week together allowed the five kiwis to quickly acclimatise and the chance to use some of the work done in preparation for the year ahead. A meeting with the Chicago IDEO office in the first days of our visit, quickly challenged our thinking as it provided new insights in to the processes and insights from a professional Design Thinking Team. The idea of a broader design brief, multi-functional teams and the testing a small protypes with ever present feedback loops quickly became a theme for the week.
We went to the Fonterra head office in Chicago for a quick overview of their US operations, before heading to an Agritech Summit at the University of Illinoi. A look into the Land Grant University system and their education, research and extension work reminded me of the importance of strong institutions in our agriculture sector. The Summit illustrated both their role in innovation of ideas and the verification of data providing confidence in research. The public private partnerships were providing benefits to the all involved.
Students gaining real world experience, and reward for work rather than ever increasing student loans
Tech talent paired with innovated companies at a lower cost than Silicon Valley competition
A beach head for tech, engineering and biotech students into Ag which would previously not have been considered
Real world experience and innovation without the downside risk, providing a pipeline of ideas
Sharing data and ideas in collaborative ways between seemingly competing companies
Real importance of discovery teams for addressing the real need (ICOR teams)
De Moine, the global head office of John Deere and combine factory was a highlight, not only because like little boys in a toyshop we were excited to see the big gear, but for me it illustrated how the culture of a company flows right through from top to bottom. The guy on the factory floor had as much pride in his work as the tour guide showed and allowed us access to sit at the table in the board room. Examples of how they have instilled that culture and have been able to maintain it over 180 years were evident throughout and a good reason why they are one of only and handful of companies to sit within the Fortune 500 for over 50 years.
The five kiwi scholars hit the ground running as we joined 70 other International Scholars in Ames, however at this point it stepped up a gear again and we got a further shock to our already overloaded systems. We had built a tight group and some confidence amongst each other, but even as I sit and write this report on the plane home it is hard to explain what just happened. The intensity of the CSC, meeting so many other scholars, a packed programme of speakers and panels, field trips and social events kept pushing me to the edge all week. On reflection it is an incredible exercise in human capacity building, and I am excited for the next step in this year as I travel for GFP in June.
Three further brief points of interest – gleaned from the CSC and travels
America an example of big Ag – bigger, faster, stronger however this is slowing and beginning to shift more to thinking about smarter more efficient and lower impact.
Heard a lot about feeding the world – but it is no longer about growing more when 40% of the food grown is wasted. Consideration is shifting to the importance of providing the right nutrition to underfed and those overfed as everything in this later area is reducing our ability to tackle the 1st problem
Food trends breaking into three sectors – convenience now, convenience delivery and bulk buying of quality, natural and almost unlabelled product.
I would like to acknowledge the investment that the New Zealand Scholars received prior to leaving for the Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC). While the preparation covered a range of skills, personality assesments, and sessions with industry leaders and government officials, I would like to highlight two skills that have helped us hit the ground running at the CSC.
In particular, the reflective techniques got us off to a strong start. During our second meeting in Wellington, Hamish Gow went over some reflective strategies and gave us some material. With a little practice before we left New Zealand and our pre-CSC, we were well prepped before by the time we arrived in Ames, Iowa – though it will continue to be developed.
A noticeable example of this was during the CSC was after a fieldtrip where many scholars were focused on some of the negative aspects of the operation that wouldn’t apply in their own country. However, the conversation amongst the kiwi scholars had different tone that centred around the context and why he was farming in this manner, and why the CSC went there. My observations and reflection from this conversation helped me develop the background and why my research project area is directly relevant to primary producers.
My Global Focus Programme (GFP) group met during the CSC to plan our team rules and roles. The techniques that the New Zealanders were developing were noticed by other scholars and I’ve taken an lead in the initial reflective sessions and the format of these.
The second skill was the open questioning that Corene Walker and Hamish Gow coached us on. On our pre-CSC trip we practiced this technique often, whether expanding on the observations made in our reflection sessions, discussing how ideas could apply to our own systems, or developing our own research projects.
The coaching and practice prior to the CSC helped to internalise this skill, helping myself to think through presentations and visits, which feeds back into more concise reflective skills. I have been able to use open questioning in my own personal life outside of the Nuffield Scholarship and believe it will be helpful in farm succession discussions when I return to the Wairarapa.
Towards the end of the CSC, we had a session when we were paired up to practice open questioning. My partner had not used this structured technique before, so I was to help coach him because of our earlier introduction and previous practice. In helping my partner, it made helped myself to view the process from another aspect and be more conscious of straying from the process.
An instance where these two techniques combined was a chance meeting with the owner of restaurant that employs recovering opioid addicts. While this business was not directly involved with primary production, the discussion provided aspects of this operation I was able to consider for my own research. For instance, a field of research used to engage individuals removed marginalised from society by addiction back into the community, which reduces relapses, that could possibly be applied to engage those removed from how their food is produced.
The investment in the scholars prior to leaving New Zealand enhanced my ability to get more out of the CSC and the week prior. Furthermore, these are skills that can be applied in my personal life and will be valuable going forward.
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.
Blake Marshall from Ngai Tahu Farming is completing his Kellogg Rural Leadership project on “The importance of developing positive stress management and mindset skills in young dairy farmers”.
He is wanting to survey dairy farm workers.
If you are a dairy farm owner or employer and want to be involved in this survey or receive a copy of the report on completion, please email him on Blake.Marshall@ngaitahu.iwi.nz
We are hosting three Q&A conference calls for anyone who is interested in completing a Kellogg Course. The calls are hosted by our General Manager Anne Hindson. We encourage you to attend even if you have no questions, this will help you gain a deeper understanding of what the programme is about.
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.
Kate Scott 2018 Nuffield Scholar - Global Insights.
I have come to the view so far during my travels that globally New Zealand Agriculture is punching well above its weight in terms of both its understanding of the impacts of its activities on the environment, but also in its recognition of the need to change.
This is not to say that we have achieved all that is needed, in fact we are still some way from this. However I believe that we have at least started along the path towards finding solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture, and to achieve this we need to overcome the following challenges.
The first challenge is goal setting. As I see it there is broad consensus on the need to change, however we need a game plan to guide us on our journey, otherwise how do we go about making this change if we don’t know where we are going? This plan must set out long term, ambitious goals that define what agriculture in New Zealand will look like in the future. Until we have done this any change to our approach remains piecemeal and is unlikely to reduce the footprint of agriculture.
The second challenge is about taking a holistic approach. The path we take must encompass holistic management that is outward looking. We can no longer continue to look at the challenges of agriculture as isolated component parts, and we cannot define our road map without bold leadership at all levels.
We must encompass holistic, community centric, collaborative decision making.
Engaging all of New Zealand will be critical to solving the challenges that we face.
The third challenge is enabling evidenced based decision making. This must play a lead role in shaping our road map.
The fourth challenge is enabling technology. We must continue to encourage innovation and find new tools that help guide our decision making and enable better environmental outcomes.
Information and data are the currency that will bring agriculture from reactive to revolutionary, and we must adopt these now at speed and at scale.
The final challenge is driving a shift to outwards looking policy. I think the answer lies in redefining our approach to policy. This requires a shift from a reactive regulatory approach to a proactive regulatory approach, where regulation and policy is the backstop rather than the front door.
We need to move towards capturing and monetising our sustainability, and to do this we need to address the five challenges:
Clear vision vs. Vague plan
Holistic Working Approach vs. Silos Working Approach
Evidence Based Decision Making vs. Thought Based Decision Making
Technology Uptake vs. Status Quo
Policy Incentives vs. Policy Punishment by Rules.
I encourage you all to get on board with making bold changes for the future of New Zealand, and New Zealand Agriculture.
Right now, farmers throughout New Zealand are confronted by a need to implement change to improve multiple environmental outcomes while still returning a profit.
Supporting them on this journey industry groups, regional councils and central government have developed the Good Farming Practice Action Plan for Water Quality, which acknowledges a range of Industry Agreed Good Management Practices. This has been useful in providing clarity and collaborative industry support for farmers around agreed standards. But I’ve found myself asking the question, “what happens when good practiceis not good enough’? By that I mean, what happens when farmers who in good faith have invested in changes to improve the environment to be considered operating at Good Farming Practice, still exceed community agreed limits? My Nuffield research seeks to explore this issue, considering farm and land use optimisation at both farm and catchment scale.
Farm Environment Plans (FEPs) are often hailed as a primary means to help farmers improve environmental outcomes – and I agree, they have a huge role to play in this space. A tool which farmers can take ownership of to drive tailored and farm specific actions targeting specific management objectives.
However, I really think that we need to utilize FEPs better, and I fear that as they are linked to compliance with an increasingly dominant pass/fail focus around Good Management Practice, FEPs are losing more of the aspiration of a living document and becoming more a tick box for minimum standards.
In the early stages of my individual travels I have been pulling apart different examples of Farm Environmental Planning in Canada, Australia and the UK, leaving me with several key insights – a few of which I’ve highlighted below:
We need to be encouraging farmer innovation with FEPs and provide real market linked incentives for their success.
FEPs should reflect a holistic farm assessment which considers environmental, financial, social, and cultural priorities.
Environmental considerations should have a broad focus, more effectively incorporating aspects around native biodiversity, climate, and greenhouse gas emissions.
We need to be able to more effectively recognise cultural aspects and functions to our landscapes such as mahinga kai.
We should better inform FEPs with non-regulatory decision support tools considering the role and function of ecosystem services and land use optimisation at farm and catchment scale.
To help set farmers up to succeed in the long term, we need to enable effective Farm Environment Planning – linked to market and informed by non-regulatory decision support tools and farm systems modelling.
The impact on our primary production systems of our transition to a low carbon economy
Leader
Economic projections for our low emissions economy miss a fundamental physical challenge in our transition. Biophysical analysis and our primary food systems can address this. Here’s how.
Background
The transition from energy dense fossil fuels to far less dense renewable alternatives is the story of our time. We need a huge transition to low emission energy systems.
Urgency is growing so fast it’s now being hailed a war-scale mobilization of change.
New Zealand’s transition is outlined in our proposed Zero Carbon Act. An outstanding and enormous step forward, this document puts us on the front foot internationally.
But see it in context. Itsunderlying modelling is rooted solely in economics.
The problem
Economics does not reflect the physical impact of our transition, especially on energy.
Taxes, tariffs, interest rates, discounts, exchange rates, bonuses, deficits, etc etc. Strip them away to look purely and simply at the energy aspects of transition.
As a key part of my Nuffield study I did this for the data behind the Carbon Zero Act. I used a method from biophysical economics known as Energy Return On Energy Investment.
This method makes a ratio of the amount of energy our society uses (in coal, petrol, diesel, PV, wind etc) relative to the amount we invest in obtaining that energy (mining, refining, building wind turbines, and shipping fossil fuels etc). Simply put: a ratio of outputs to inputs on an energy scale.
Today, this ratio for our national energy mix is 20:1. Under our ambitious transition scenario for 2050, this ratio is 9:1. A drop of over 50%.
The impact on our economy and especially our primary food systems is unknown, completely unanticipated and probably substantial. Think of it like an alcoholic transitioning from vodka and whiskey to beer and wine. Surely there must be withdrawal symptoms. Where will they bite hardest?
We cannot afford to pursue a transition path on economic merits for several years to have it crash into physical constraints. Reversing back and changing tack would be a massive failure. A loss of resources, loss of trust, loss of direction, loss of time.
The solution
We need a ‘Transition Institute’ within the Independent Climate Body. It does these energy analyses and tackles other biophysical issues. We pioneer integration of its outcomes in our primary food chain, because these people have an immensely practical and innovative grasp of this very physical approach to system optimization. Besides the fact that they drive export revenue. Just the nuts and bolts of transition. No silicon valley. No virtual reality. No exotic financial instrumentation.
Linking our physical knowledge and our economic knowledge, we map out a transition that fits both our financial aspirations and our biophysical boundaries. We’ll lead the world by a good margin in achieving this.
My journey started with a quest to explore what a move to focus more on nutrition would mean for our Primary Industries.
If we diversified and invested into ingredients, extractable compounds and functional claims from our existing production could we increase value for export and develop new market opportunities?
In Canada I had an epiphany. There I met companies who were commodity producers of legumes and grains, within three years they have transitioned to different varieties to become ingredient companies and are now growing specialised crops for customers. These companies are now investing in their own breeding programmes and product formulation businesses, because their produce is no longer grown for visual consumer preferences, it’s grown for its nutrition or extractable value as ingredients.
This was a catalyst for me to think about how NZ could develop secondary income streams that focus on nutrition, micro-nutrients and dietary minimums, and develop a BACK STORY to our food, the environment, our waste, a more diverse, integrated food system.
Premium food should ultimately boost health, our mental health and our wellbeing…… as Industry we need to take a greater lead in developing this strategy around our food.
I believe it’s becoming too risky and expensive for us all to solely focus on end consumer.
Food fashion is far more unpredictable than nutrition, so why do we focus on trying to understand food fashion over nutrition.
If we chose to work with strategic customers already in market, customers who develop products such as formulated foods, nutraceuticals, vitamins, dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals.
If we co-design solutions and products for their existing customer base, we would be opening a new business model and opportunity for growth and export from our existing base.
By working with companies in market, we can utilise their science capability, their consumer research and knowledge, their technology, their Govts funding and their investment $$. We can double up. Our new customer in this space is a customer who already has customers.
We do not have to do everything in NZ anymore or own all the IP. It’s making us too slow and too unresponsive to market opportunities.
We have science and tech capability, but we need strategies that offer both value creation and solutions to environmental and health problems.
More engagement internationally would position us competitively with other countries who have a head start in Industries and market offerings we are just developing. With strong leadership we accelerate adoption of resilient agriculture models and build a more expansive Industry vision.
The opportunity that NZ’s Primary Industry has is an opportunity to create a new pathway.
A story around nutrition, transparency and the environment.
