Corrigan’s research started off as a technical problem and ended as a social one that farmers have perhaps been predisposed to over generations of high stakes, small margins, uncertainty and fast change, all leading to what he sees as ‘social judgement’.
Ryan O'Sullivan: Nuffield Farming Scholarship recipient (2017) - Major shareholder with wife Tina in a farm equity partnership, Fairlie, South Canterbury
Nuffield farming scholarships focus on the international perspective – where New Zealand fits in the global agri-food sector and what’s driving things. Through my scholarship travels and research, I’ve learned New Zealand is very well placed to produce food to meet consumer awareness and demands. Our milk is a fantastic product with great nutritional value and many diverse applications.
However, ensuring an ongoing demand for our milk means getting things right both inside and beyond the farm gate – and that takes quality leadership. Our sector needs to foster leaders and give them the tools to succeed, and grassroots farmers are the best people to navigate through the issues ahead.
That’s why money invested by sector organisations like DairyNZ to build that capability is well spent. Through Rural Leaders, the Nuffield and Kellogg programmes are providing a pipeline of potential leaders armed with knowledge and skills in the rural community. DairyNZ’s support is a big part of that.
On a more personal note, my Nuffield scholarship also gave me the confidence to get in front of audiences and share what I saw, and who I talked to helped me with my critical thinking and prompted me to go for some governance roles.
Nicky Barton’s research that she carried out on the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme revealed ‘some interesting interactions between age and health and safety behaviours on-farm.’ Read more in this ODT article : https://www.odt.co.nz/…/rural-l…/farmer-deaths-correlate-age
Nicky is the marketing and communications media manager for Worksafe and graduated from the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme in 2019.
Click here to read Nicky’s Kellogg research report ‘Old dogs, new tricks : An exploration of age and its influence on health and safety in New Zealand’s primary sector.’
Lisa Portas who is an Expansion Manager at Palliser Ridge, a Sheep & Beef Farm in South Wairarapa graduated from the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme in 2019.
Her research report ‘Farmer Storytelling : Navigating our Narrative‘ focuses on helping farmers to tell their stories to help explain to urban New Zealanders the realities of life on the land and the contribution the primary sector makes to the country.
Lisa featured on Global HQ’s OnFarm Story this week in her video “Showing People What We’re About.” Click here to watch the video.
FoodHQ is delighted to be able to offer a limited number of scholarships for young professionals and postgraduate students with food/agriculture related interests to attend the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) conference in Rotterdam in June 2020 (https://ifama2020.org/) and participate in the IFAMA Student Case Study competition.
The case study competition is held on the Sunday, June 23rd and involves teams from all over the world working on a given case study with very relevant global food and agribusiness issues, devising various solutions to its problems and then presenting the results of their analysis, the options and their chosen strategy to a panel of judges. It is a unique experience and one that previous participants from NZ have thoroughly enjoyed being part of. The opportunity to get to know the competition and see how different geographies unbundle the same case differently is a special global experience.
We are seeking high-calibre applicants who are future leaders in agrifood from a diverse range of backgrounds. Prof Nicola Shadbolt from Massey University and several Mentors with experience within the agrifood sector will coach the case study competition entrants as well as accompanying the group throughout their visit, providing insights and further learning as appropriate.
We will also be arranging an in-market experience consisting of visits to interesting agrifood businesses in Europe as part of the programme. It is likely that this will consist of 3-4 days prior to the conference. Scholarship winners will also have the option of extending their visit to Europe to pursue their own itinerary or joining some or all of the International Horticulture Immersion Programme that will be running a course in Europe and Asia starting shortly after IFAMA concludes.
The scholarship includes return flights to Europe, transport related to the in-market experience, accommodation and conference fees. Scholarship recipients will need to be able to cover other costs (including those related to visas/passports, meals, spending money) themselves.
Attached is a guide to the scholarships and an application form. If you or someone you know is interested then please check your eligibility using the flowchart within this document, and if you do qualify then please complete and return the application form and your CV by the 27th Jan 2020. Please note the requirement for Young Professionals to have completed their most recent university-level studies no earlier than June 2017 and for Postgraduates to have been still enrolled in a course in Dec 2019.
Please feel free to pass this information through your networks across NZ who you think may be interested – there is no restriction on where the applicants are or have studied.
If you have any questions please contact: Abby Thompson, 021 774 864, abby@foodhq.com.
The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust is pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Parsons, MNZM, DSD as their new Chief Executive Officer. Chris Parsons will replace Anne Hindson on 04 May 2020, following her stepping down as General Manager at end of April.
“We were thrilled by the quality field of candidates and consider ourselves fortunate to have someone of Chris Parsons calibre and experience step up to lead New Zealand Rural Leaders through its next stage of growth,” said Andrew Watters, Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Hailing from the Far North, Chris Parsons has a sheep and beef background and co-owns Ashgrove Genetics Ltd. He is also a decorated Army Officer, Certified Member of the Institute of Directors and holds master’s degrees in management and in strategy.
As part of the Board’s transition plan, Chris Parsons will attend the Nuffield Triennial Conference programme in March 2020.
Andrew Watters went on to say that “the New Zealand farming and growing sectors are at a pivotal moment; more than ever we need rural leaders who can perceive the challenges and seize the opportunities presented by rapid technological, environment, consumer and policy changes.” Chris Parsons expertise in strategy design, delivery, international relations and leader development will be important as Rural Leaders expands its offering and impact to keep New Zealand at the forefront of global agribusiness.
Parsons said, “I am honoured and excited to lead to New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust. I believe finding, developing and mentoring future rural leaders matters to the prosperity of New Zealand and New Zealanders, the protection of our environment and to thriving rural communities.”
Speaking on behalf of the Trust, Andrew Watters said, “We very much appreciate Anne Hindson’s efforts and her service to New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust since her appointment in 2014. Anne has been crucial to the establishment and development of New Zealand Rural Leaders which runs the iconic Nuffield Scholarship and the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programmes. These programmes select, develop and help accelerate the leadership potential of New Zealand’s exceptional rural talent and the alumni of which contribute significantly to the food and fibre sector across New Zealand.”
Our final E newsletter for the year is slightly later than planned and will hit you as you are winding down for the Xmas break. We hope that this later timing might mean you have some holiday reading!!
With the year now completed for the Nuffield Scholarships and the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programmes, focus is now on 2020 with the Kellogg programmes starting on 21 January, closely followed by the largest event we have ever hosted, the Nuffield2020 Triennial in March.
We have reviewed our intention to combine our two e-newsletters and decided to remain with separate communications due to targeted interests and potential level of content. So you can expect to continue to receive the dedicated programme updates as well as this generic operational update.
Quarterly Update (Sept – Dec 2019)
Management
We are thrilled to introduce a new addition to the team with the appointment of Tamney Hoyle, our new full time Marketing Manager, responsible for driving all our internal and external marketing and communications. Tamney’s most recent role was with PGG Wrightson where she led the marketing efforts for PGG Wrightson’s Livestock, Wool and Standardbred business units. Since starting in October she was immediately seconded into the marketing of the International Agribusiness Summit on 23 March, to our Kellogg alumni and the wider NZ agri food sector.
Our future strategy and work plan has been a key focus in the latter part of this year with Scott Champion from Provenanz, (and Kellogg Programme Leader), working with myself, and Louise Webster (Independent Trustee) on refining our strategy and action plan for the organisation for the next 24 months. To be presented to the Board in January, the focus has been on further developing current programmes, new initiatives, alumni, sponsor and stakeholder engagement and delivery.
The search for a replacement for my role of CEO, has started. As already communicated, I will finish up at the end of April 2020 after the Nuffield2020 event with a replacement coming on board earlier for a handover. I look forward to farewelling Nuffielders at our conference in March.
Scholars
Alumni received an early preview of the new 2020 scholars as they were announced in Parliament on 5 November to 78 guests comprising of investing partners and industry leaders. The 2020 cohort (scholar names and bios here) have already started their 15 month programme with a full two days on 4 & 5 December in Wellington receiving their NZ and Industry briefing, in preparation of their role as NZ Ambassadors.
Meanwhile the 2019 Scholars (featured in this newsletter) delivered a fantastic forum to sponsors and Board on their global insights followed by a teaser of their research topic outcomes in a short presentation at Parliament as part of the Awards function. Recent scholars will remember the pressure of ‘that’ summer writing the Nuffield report, but this group are under a little more pressure having to deliver to the Nuffield NZ Conference on 20th & 21 March. (See the list of topics to be presented by 2018 & 2019 Scholars here).
Nuffield Alumni Recognised
Our recent scholars have been doing us proud with some impressive appointments and acknowledgements. Firstly Mel Poulton (Nuffield 2014 alumni) was announced as the replacement for Mike Peterson (Kellogg alumni) to the role of NZ’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade & Export. Lucy Griffiths was appointed to the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures), Independent Investment Advisory Panel who have a big job distributing $40m of government funding.
2017 Scholar, Mat Hocken became the first kiwi to receive the Rabobank Emerging Leader Award at a formal function in Auckland on 28 November. Watch Mats video here. Mats recognition came after that of Jim Geltch who was awarded the 2018 Rabobank Leadership Award so again putting Nuffield ‘in lights’.
New Investing Partner Announced
In conjunction with the recent Rabobank Awards, Rabobank NZ announced a new partnership with Rural Leaders as a Programme Partner. This finally secures a banking partner for the organisation. Rabobank was the logical and best fit as a banking partner as a truly agricultural focused bank and a cooperative with a strong history of association. Both parties are looking forward to growing the relationship and alumni support.
Meanwhile MPI have also recently re-signed as a Programme Partner of Rural Leaders and a partner with the Triennial and we thank them for their support and that of the Minister, Damien O’Connor.
Alumni Regional Event Plans
After the six successful Regional Alumni events held this year we have plans to extend this next year into 6 different regions in May and June. The seminars connect together our alumni across both programmes, our investing partners and potential new scholars as well as provide an opportunity to hear some recent research from a local Kellogg or Nuffield scholar.
Alongside the 6 new regions we will be trialling locally coordinated seminars in 1 – 2 regions from last year, expanding the focus.
Update on the Triennial is included in this newsletter. We are thrilled with the level of support of NZ alumni and industry as we host this large event. A key focus for Chairman Michael Tayler and myself has been in securing sponsor partners for the Triennial. An event of this size requires significant industry support and it has been fantastic to see this coming from our existing and some new partners.
2019 Year Highlights
As we finish 2019, it is great to reflect on the highlights of the last 12 months.
‘Behind the Scenes’
Continued support and contribution of our investing Strategic and Programme Partners to our programmes and their promotion which has meant a financially sustainable organisation.
Exciting new appointments to the Board and Management team
‘Delivering on our Purpose’
Graduated 54 industry leaders with 54 new pieces of rural research for industry
Delivered 6 regional alumni events as a first up initiative to engage ongoing thought leadership and connection at regional level
Hosted a Nuffield International GFP New Zealand leg in Nelson & Marlborough in April and scholars rated it the best part of their 6 week programme – thanks to our alumni hosts John Palmer, Julian Raine, Murray King, Andy Elliot, John Murphy and Hamish Murray and family.
A year’s activity putting together an incredible 11 day Nuffield2020 programme that includes 27 separate field trip options, access to iconic stations and an international Summit by Michael Tayler and his Organising team
‘In the Public view’
Current and recent scholars active in Industry presentations and industry advisory groups including a Global Insights Forum with investing partners from 2019 Scholars
Increased significantly the media coverage and exposure of Kellogg & Nuffield projects supported by our media partnerships with $145,000 value
Ongoing features of Kellogg and Nuffield alumni in On Farm Stories
Kellogger Lisa Portas, scheduled for Country Calendar programme early in 2020.
Recognition of the Team
Our vision of “Confident Rural Leaders Fit for the Future” and the achievement of the steps toward this could not be achieved without the ongoing contribution and dedication of the following:
Rural Leaders Team: CEO, Anne Hindson, Programme Coordinator Lisa Rogers, Marketing & Comms Manager Tamney Hoyle, Kellogg Programme Leader Scott Champion, Kellogg Project Advisor Patrick Aldwell & Nuffield Advisor, Hamish Gow.
The Trustees: Andrew Watters (Chair), Hamish Fraser, Michael Tayler, James Parsons, Craige Mackenzie, Louise Webster, Associate Rebecca Hyde
WE ARE not alone as New Zealand farmers, feeling the weight of change bearing down on us.
It is a global trend.
It has many different, complex drivers but two stand out – consumers’ willingness to pay for sustainability and farmers ability to capture it.
The resulting pressure is evident in a recent survey of Canadian farmers that found 45% have high levels of perceived stress, 58% met the criteria for anxiety classification and 35% met the criteria for depression.
A United States survey found 30% of farmers say mental health is a major problem for them, 48% of rural residents have more mental health challenges than a year ago, younger people are the most vulnerable and 91% of farmers/farm staff say financial issues and fear of losing their farms affect their mental health.
Recently in New Zealand a Ministry of Health Report presented to MPs showed suicide is up 20% in rural areas.
Across the world this year while doing my Nuffield Scholarship, I have seen incredible technical mastery in agriculture with yield increases, novel genetics, automation and precision and regenerative soil practices on a massive scale.
But the stats don’t lie. Farmers are under increasing pressure like never before.
To understand pressure I think there is no better place to start than with excellent Kiwi author and psychologist Dr Ceri Evans. In Evans’ book, ‘Perform Under Pressure’, he talks about pressure as high stakes, uncertainty, small margins, fast changes and judgment.
And after my travels I’ve added a sixth, ‘losing one’s identity’.
I would like to highlight the last three because I think that is what is different right now and not just in New Zealand. Farmers are feeling overwhelmed by the pace of expected change and we are feeling judged like never before. It all contributes to questioning our identity as farmers.
Evans talks about the red and blue parts of our mind in his book. He describes our red mind as the emotions side that helps us make quick decisions in the blink of an eye, the fight, flight or freeze skills we are conditioned with from birth. Our blue mind is the logical, systematic slower-thinking part. It helps us solve complex problems and communicate them to others.
The problem with pressure, like the situations we now face with freshwater and climate regulations is we feel the weight of expectations, scrutiny and consequences building up and it triggers our red brain.
We want to fight, we want to get out or just stop because we can’t see a future any more.
However, the focus needs on what we can control, not what we can’t.
As farmers we are well versed in managing around aspects we can’t control like the weather, trade distortions and currency and we have built robust systems to help influence the outcomes of this uncertainty the best we can.
How we think, however, is something psychologists agree we can control.
Twelve years ago New Zealand rugby realised it didn’t understand pressure either.
Today, I suggest our primary sector could take a lead from our ABs. We might have lost in the semi but even South African coach Rassie Erasmus recognises the All Blacks’ consistency makes them the team to benchmark off. Why? They have learned how they think is as important as their technical efficiency.
Our challenge individually and as a sector is to build on the great work started by FarmStrong and endorsed by the examples in Evans’ book. Can we build our ability to be more comfortable with the uncomfortable?
We have trained our All Blacks to become masters of better decision-making under pressure. Can we train ourselves?
The regulation coming at agriculture is the gap we must overcome. Considering the information that I have heard presented during my travels it’s not unrealistic given the demands of our customers and certainly tomorrow’s customers.
A good place to start and something every one of us can control is how we think under pressure. If you haven’t visited FarmStrong or seen Evans’ book, I recommend them.
PRICES are good and interest rates are low but farmers’ moods are down because the regulatory pressure gives them little hope for the future.
Researchers are furiously searching for more sustainable ways of farming food and fibre but what if there was a whole new sector that could provide a light at the end of the tunnel?
As Kiwis we are all rightly proud of having over 80% of electricity come from renewable energy.
But it’s a statistic that has made us complacent.
If you consider all energy sources in New Zealand – natural gas, oil, coal and other fuels used for industry and transport – we are only 40% renewable.
All that fossil fuel energy is responsible for about 40% of our total greenhouse gas emissions and that’s a discussion that gets lost in the shadow of the agricultural methane debate.
So, what if there are solutions that not only bring down agricultural GHG emissions but in doing so bring down our energy emissions too.
It turns out some of New Zealand’s largest ag-producing competitors have already figured this out.
In California every electricity user pays a levy that goes into a fund to support large, on-farm solar installations. Farms with 1MW of solar installed on about a hectare of panels are not uncommon, providing the farmer and the state with renewable power at a fraction of the capital cost to the farmer.
In Ireland, dairy farmers are incentivised to put solar on their roofs as are farmers across the European Union.
In Germany, Northern Ireland and California bio-digestors are being subsidised to take in slurry and excess food and crop waste to produce biogas that can be further refined into biomethane. It can then be injected into the existing natural gas network.
The opportunity that really shows promise is energy crops for biofuel.
New Zealand has a short, rocky history with biofuel but we are now lagging the world in biofuel development and are one of the few Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries without a minimum biofuel level in our fuel.
The International Energy Agency outlook sees biofuels as the major renewable transport fuel at least until 2050.
And yes, that beats electric vehicles.
Biofuel is already a big user of corn in the United States and of sugar beets in the EU. In New Zealand we have huge potential for energy crops – sugar beet and corn to get us started then tree crops of willow, pine, miscanthus and other high-volume cellulosic crops as technology develops.
So, as a dairy farmer I can picture having an acre of solar panels in an unused corner of the farm. Perhaps complemented with a wind turbine and a pipe or a tanker to take my slurry to the local bio-digester. The nutrients being returned in dry form to spread on my land and 10-20% of my dairy farm in an energy crop rotation that provides animal feed and allows me to economically drop my cow numbers, methane emissions and urine nitrates by the same amount.
And all using technology that is already available.
But the underlying success factor internationally might be hard to swallow here.
It will take more policy and regulation. But this time it would be to the benefit of farming.
The simple truth is fossil fuels will always be the cheaper option.
If we want change then we need the Government to intervene to create the right environment.
Policy makers in the EU and US are still trying to perfect that policy and it requires discussion from many sides but the US Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy are now working together to explore further renewable energy generation opportunities.
And that would be the first step here in New Zealand, a conversation that unites our national energy and agriculture strategies.
Wouldn’t it be great for New Zealanders to see agriculture not as the climate change problem but the climate change solution.
