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Rural Leaders News

Brazil Global Focus Programme 2017: Ryan O’Sullivan

Ryan O’Sullivan, 2017 Nuffield Scholar

I was fortunate to be part of a relatively small group of 8 Nuffield scholars, of diverse farming backgrounds and visit 6 countries on the ‘Brazil GFP’.  Countries visited were well developed or mostly developed in terms of their economies and agricultural industries and included Brazil, Mexico, US, Ireland, France and NZ.
One of the key benefits I believe the GFP offers is the context it gives of the global agri-food business and therefore the perspective around NZ as a producer and marketer.  As one large scale US, dairy farmer producer put it ‘NZ is small and cute’ which is pretty hard to argue with. 

As many scholars have noted before me, the GFP is also provides a personal challenge in terms of mental stamina, getting some sleep and relationship management among your fellow scholars.  This in itself is a valuable exercise personal development and self-awareness, as is driving a rental van in a mega-city full of motorists in a hurry.  I am sure the post GPS guidance era of scholars have it so much easier than the ones who went before trying to read road maps.

Common Themes

As one travels through multiple countries and talks to farmers, there are many common issues and themes that begin to emerge.  It is a universal thing, whether it is a group of farmers, bakers or candlestick makers, when they get together, the conversation eventually reverts to what are the challenges and issues, and despite different geographies, cultures and enterprises the themes were remarkably similar.  Some of them I will pick up on here.
Not many primary producers are getting well paid for what they do or earn a respectable return on capital.  There are of course exceptions that have a different strategy and they are were the ones well worth listening to.  Some examples, but not an exhaustive list of the businesses achieving higher returns included:
Farm to consumer businesses, or cutting out the middle men/vertical integration.  Requires large local consumer base and appears difficult to scale up.
Organic premiums on enterprises where yield drag was not too high, e.g. Soy bean production at 3 times the conventional price with only 25% yield drag compared to conventional.
Scale, high volume outputs with good economies of scale achieved on inputs and infrastructure, e.g. Large-scale US containment dairy or arable.
Niche production of a product where there are barriers to entry or a unique comparative advantage due to location, climate etc.

Urbanisation

Urbanisation continues to be a growing trend in all countries visited and results in more disconnect with farming and further diminishes attraction of farming to young people due to shrinkage of rural communities.  This disconnect also places more obligation on farmers to produce sustainably and improve environmental and animal welfare performance as the more urbanised a country becomes, the higher the expectation around these issues seems to be.

Succession Issues

Lack of effective farm succession is widespread and this results in older farmers operating businesses that keep getting smaller relative to the ever- increasing size of an economic unit.  Lack of scale and fresh energy in the business then leads to underperformance in output, returns and investment.

Labour

Labour and staff was predictably a regular issue that came up for discussion.  In many countries, available immigrant labour was more willing, but this is not a popular political solution.  Automation solutions are going to help, but not going to change the game in farming in my view.

Having a large domestic consumer population does not translate into higher returns and arguably at present, exporting countries like us are enjoying as high returns as anywhere.  The closer farmers get to the supermarkets, (with their inherent business model of lowering prices on the shelf), the tougher it gets.  As one producer said, the supermarkets make sure they keep us alive, but only just.

Changing traits

Consumer trends and the way food is retailed is very fluid and changing at an astonishing rate.  Producers and retailers of agri-food are presented with multiple consumer desires including conventionally produced/low cost, non-GMO, antibiotic free natural free-range grass fed, certified organic, locally produced and more recently plant based/synthetic.  It is difficult to pick an individual trend from the above list that is certain to deliver volume the best and value in the long term.  This list of traits was shorter 5 years ago and one wonders what other food traits will emerge in coming years?  In addition to this, there is the question of how most food going to be retailed through large stores, small ones, purchased via e-commerce delivered by a drone or eaten out of home.  The spend on out of home eating is either now ahead of almost catching up with in-home spend on food depending on country so as farmers we need to think about this. 

The rhetoric around the challenge of feeding 9 billion people within the next 2 decades has been a bit overdone as the world has the physical farming resources to feed many more than that right now.  It just requires a viable farmgate return for farmers to engage the land into production that is currently sitting idle or undeveloped.  While this observation might be defendable now, there are some very large water scarcity, land degradation and climate change issues on the horizon which will have an impact.  Focus is also moving to nutrition rather than food.  The obesity trend and an aging population, signal massive future healthcare costs to government, so quality nutrition will be the focus either through education or if that doesn’t work, regulation.

Political Climates

Politically, Trump and Brexit have raised genuine concerns from a lot of farmers we met.  US farmers are worried about budget cuts to Ag support and immigration clampdowns.  Academics are concerned about reduced R&D budgets and the post Brexit landscape is of concern to anyone producing in or exporting to Europe, including NZ and Ireland.

In closing, a highlight of the GFP for me personally was hosting the group through the South Island of NZ.  Despite my own familiarity with what we saw, it was great to receive the views and perspectives of the Aussies, Canadian, American and Dutchman in the group.  Hearing the group constantly ask where all the well-publicised environmental degradation was, how impressed they were with the knowledge, efficiency and capability of the hosts and the overall experience of friendly people, great food and stunning landscapes.  It was a good way to finish an amazing experience and a reminder how blessed we are to live and do what we do in NZ.

Applications Invited for a tour of East Africa: June 2018

Dear Nuffield Scholars,At the recent Nuffield Triennial Conference held in the UK, delegates were given the option of participating in a tour of East Africa in June 2018.
We would like to give all Nuffield Scholars the opportunity to register their interest and provide 1-2 brief paragraphs on why they wish to participate and what value they believe they can add to the tour.
Details on this tour can be accessed via the link below.
Please submit your Expression Of Interest by 5pm GMT on Monday 31st July.
Regards
Jim Geltch
CEO Nuffield International
PO Box 586 Moama NSW 2731
Direct Ph: (03) 54800755 Fax: (03) 54800233
Mobile: 0412696076
Email: jimgeltch@nuffield.com.au
Skype: geltch1315
Internet: nuffieldinternational.org
Document Link: http://www.nuffieldinternational.org/db/attachments/596819970fa60_2018EastAfricanNuffieldTour.pdf

Reg Dalzell

(April 1926 – March 2017)

Reg was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship in 1963. He travelled on his Scholarship during 1964, spending 6 months in the United Kingdom then the United States of America, looking at wheat and meat production. He took the opportunity to go to France looking at fodder radish, and sugar beet production.After his Scholarship, he returned to the farm at Browns, Southland, where he stayed for the next five years.

In 1968, he was appointed as the New Zealand Department of Foreign Affairs Farm Management Expert to the Thailand Land Development Department for a two year term. This was extended in 1970 with working stints following in Sabah, Sarawak, Singapore and West Malaysia.

He and wife Doris set up their own business based in Singapore, as Dalzell & Associates, agriculture consultants. A few of the projects over the next 14 years included; time on an oil palm estate in Kluang, Malaysia, using the waste products of oil palm manufacture to make feed for swamp buffalo; revegetating a bauxite mine in Sungai Rengit on the south tip of Malaysia; and also established a flock of sheep – Coopworths crossed with local sheep.
Reg’s contribution to the Southland community was through Rotary, being a member and official with Cromwell & Invercargill clubs as well as various community associations.

In true Nuffield fashion he & Doris hosted and retained strong links with many internationals, particularly from his Nuffield studies.
Doris died 10 days after Reg a few days short of her 95th birthday.

Chile Global Focus Programme 2017: Mathew Hocken

Mathew Hocken, 2017 Nuffield Scholar

While the Lions tour has arrived in NZ, I am about to leave again. It is halftime on my Nuffield study tour. For me it has been a pulsating first half full of excitement, education and by the end, exhaustion. It’s time to catch my breath, suck on an orange or two, hear a word from the coaches and reflect on an action-packed first half.

The team and tour

I’ve just completed the Global Focus Program (GFP). It is an intensive six-week tour through five countries with a group of nine other scholars. I was very fortunate to have an excellent group made up of five Australians, an Irishman, a Dutchman, a Welshman and a Brit who lived Belgium. Our GFP tour started in Chile.

We made our way up to Washington DC, across to Kentucky, then up to Prince Edward Island in Canada, before heading across to the Netherlands and finishing in Italy. We went to 110 meetings or presentations during an eight-week period, including our conference in Brazil prior to the tour.

I will look back on this time as one of the most interesting and extraordinary times of my life due to the people I travelled with and the excellent hosts we had in each country.

We met some great people who gave their time willingly and spoke openly about their farms and businesses. Many of them will provide me with inspiration well beyond my Nuffield tour.

The highlights package

The idea of the GFP is to give a board perspective of international agriculture. In this short report I’ll focus on some of the major themes, or ideas that struck a particular chord with me.

 

Feeding more with less

We frequently heard we must feed 9 or 10 billion people by 2050, with 60% growth in demand for food. It is clear we are heading toward a world of more people, less farmable land and pressure on resources such as water and the effects of climate change. There will be offsets: farm productivity will continue to increase and food wastage is ripe for tackling; people are growing food in cities, ‘vertical farms’ are springing up and synthetic food may well play a role in the future.

Consumers are changing

In the last 50 years consumers wanted food that tasted good and was low cost. Today consumers want food that tastes good, is nutritious, is produced locally, and in an environmentally and animal friendly way.

This is a strong trend that has been underway for a while. It will gather pace driven by higher incomes, ready access to information on the web, resource allocation pressure, and societal issues like obesity and associated diseases.

Environmental pressure

In many parts of the world there is strong pressure from environmental and animal rights groups. In some places, such as the Netherlands there are programs for farmers to alter production, change infrastructure or processes to achieve specific environmental outcomes.

Where the consumer will not pay more for a product produced in an environmental way, rather than load more cost on to the farmer, society as represented by government, is prepared to pay the costs.

Market volatility

Agricultural markets have been volatile since time immemorial. However, since the 1980s there has been deregulation in NZ and progressively in the 2010s in Europe and the US. There is significant subsidy and safety net programs remaining for farmers in the US and Europe, but our free(r) world market will make for better resource allocation but increased price volatility.

Reasons why these global themes don’t matter

You might ask why should we worry about these global themes? Do our consumers really care about what we do in New Zealand? Don’t consumers in the developing world just want access to cheap food?

The case can be made that we are going to have a big job feeding 10 billion people. Why would we hamstring ourselves worrying about environmental issues?

You could argue very convincingly that farmers don’t have the skills, time or knowledge to worry about the consumer. There’s an opportunity cost of farmer’s time and money. That’s why we have cooperatives and companies selling our products. It’s worked for over a hundred years. Why change?

It would seem to the reasonable person that pandering to the 10% of the population who are “greenies” will increase costs, destroy international competitiveness and drive farmers out of business. When a farmer makes a concession, the NGOs shift the goal posts and want more, and the ultimate end game for the animal rights lobby is for no animals to be farmed.

NZ would become a wildlife park and what would happen to our regional communities and national economic wealth?

Reasons why these global themes do matter

We should not make a moral issue of whether we believe these themes matter, or that the way we react determines whether we are good or bad people.

There is always a broad spectrum of morality and time helps people to understand where they sit on that spectrum. In any case, I believe there are a few points we should consider carefully.

Whether we aim to feed the richest 40 million, or some other market segment, societies and governments will be increasingly focused on how their food is produced and what resources are used.

Consumers may care, but may not pay for what they say they care about; however, society broadly, as distinct from consumers, will demand that resources used to produce food such as land, water and air are being used sustainably.

In NZ we produce high quality products. And in my view, we farm, more so than any other place I have seen, in a way that works with our animals, land and people. We have important things we need to get right, however we are starting well ahead of most places.

We also have a tremendous amount of entrepreneurial and innovative capacity within our country. We have the ability and tools to develop a compelling story that resonates with consumers about how we produce our food. That does not mean we need to throw our current systems out, but the actions that we take today will set ourselves up to be successful tomorrow.

We should be aware that simply telling our story is not enough; we must educate ourselves and understand our consumers and how they relate to our products. There are good examples out there. We saw farmers in the US, The Netherlands and Italy telling their story, with transparency and confidence; opening their farms and explaining how they produce food. In NZ this is a matter of absolute urgency. If we don’t tell our story, somebody else will do it for us.

We have got to a bad place if a farmer does not feel proud to say he is a farmer at his local BBQ, or his kids are bullied at school because their Dad is a farmer.

In the age of ‘fake news’ and the inversion of trust, where people trust the Facebook group ahead of the scientist, we must be proactive and meet our detractor’s square on. NGOs are good marketers who use emotion to tell their stories; we must be better marketers. We must be confident in what we do, and be prepared to defend the way we do it.

I have no doubt farmers want to improve their environmental footprint, but there may be substantial cost in doing so. What are the costs of a ‘stick approach’ to regulation or industry agreements? Some would say delay, less than full implementation, and negative impact to our international reputation.

Well-constructed environmental incentives can give farmers the impetus to get the job done, and society the environmental outcomes it seeks.

Culture – quotes and learning

“Right now there are 7 guns around the table.” – Chatting with our hosts over dinner in the USA. In all other respects they were nice and quite normal.

“I calved my cow and the calf was almost dead. I tried to revive the calf and as I did this I explained to the class of children what I was doing and that sometimes calves die while the cow is in labour. The kids were fine as they could see I was doing everything I could and I had explained what was happening.” – Openness and transparency on a Dutch dairy farm.

“Anything you could say about good whisky had already been said about bad whisky…you can’t bore people into buying your product.” Maker’s Mark, Kentucky. – We must beware the trap of thinking we are unique and that we simply need to tell our story better to engage consumers.

“Americans are like teenagers. They think they can change the world. They know everything. They are loud. They are quick to pick a fight.” – perspective on the American psyche.

Chilean farmers we met were very focused, export oriented and internationally competitive. They also made a point of making time for family and friends.

The second half

And now it’s time for a deep breath before the second half kicks off. I will be focusing on deeper study on my research topic agri-innovation. I will visit the US and Ecuador. I will be back home for calving and later in the year I will visit

Japan Global Focus Programme 2017: David Kidd

David Kidd, 2017 Nuffield Scholar

As part of my Global Focus Programme, I was fortunate enough to join scholars from Australia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, the Netherlands and Brazil on a six-and-a-half-week tour of Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Israel, England and the US. 

The result of such an intense tour is a greater understanding of the global trends in agriculture and the part that agriculture plays in societies around the world.

Throughout the course of the tour, we were hosted by ‘in-country’ hosts who worked to provide us with a broad and valuable range of experiences.  These experiences included but were not limited to visits to the Indonesian Puppet Museum in Batavia, Jakarta, a Buddhist monastery in Japan, Jerusalem in Israel on a Jewish holy holiday, York Minster Cathedral in England, and a series of monuments and buildings in Washington DC. 

These visits gave not only a high level of appreciation of the culture and history of the people/places visited, but also assisted in providing an introduction and background to the various business visits completed in each location.

Singapore

Singapore is a melting pot of Eastern and Western culture, reflecting its history of formerly being a British colony in Asia and now a key port for trade between the East and the West. 

Singapore has a GDP in-excess of $300bn USD which is impressive given it is only 130sq km in size.  It is the 4th largest hub in the world for energy trading and the 2nd largest for metals and agriculture. 

It is a finance hub, with over 200 banks financing shipments of vast volumes of agricultural products, some of which will never touch the ground in Singapore.  Due to it being regarded highly for low levels of corruption, it is used as a major trading hub for agricultural products into Asia, particularly into China. 

Singapore constantly seeks to add value to services and products to generate further returns including processing fresh food into finished product to add value.

Locally, it services a high net-worth population with a trip to a local supermarket showing almost exclusively imported products.  All food is labelled by country of origin, with premium produce sold at high margins.  It was particularly noticeable that some companies proudly branded which country their product came from and extolled its virtues. 

NZ products however were generally not as well marketed or branded.  Our products did not appear to ‘leap out’ from the supermarket shelf in the way other countries/companies branding had achieved.

Indonesia

Indonesia provided me with new insights into the politics of agriculture, a theme which continued during our tour in Japan.  The agricultural industry is heavily regulated in Indonesia. 

Current government policy is targeted towards Indonesia being self-sufficient with food production, although with a growing economy and more money to spend on food, this is unlikely to be achieved.  

Whilst the government regularly reviews and changes policies and procedures to limit supply or cap market prices where they can, there continues to be a significant amount of imported food products. 

For example, the retail price of beef is controlled by the government to assist in ensuring that people can afford to buy meat.  Indonesia currently consumes around 730,000t/annum or approximately 2.8kg beef/capita/annum. 

A proportion of beef is imported live from Australia under very strict conditions (due to a scandal around the slaughter of animals in the 2011).  Due to the price of animals currently rising (alongside relatively high global beef prices), Indonesia has been importing less live beef cattle from Australia, and instead importing buffalo from India. 

They are also looking to ship live cattle from Mexico due to this option being slightly more cost effective than equivalent Australian animals. 

Government policy also dictates that the Indonesian beef industry must import 20% of the live animals as breeding cattle (in-calf cows), in an attempt to build their own herd.

Japan

Japan was an absolute highlight of this trip.  Our group was lucky enough to view a wide and varying range of businesses from the Kobe beef auction to a wagyu beef farm, green tea plantations and processing facilities, a dairy and ice cream business, small horticultural businesses selling high end produce, and even a popcorn farmer selling his own product in microwave popcorn bags!

The Japanese people are very polite with long established business structures and an extremely formal manner in which they conduct business. 

Farmers are held in a very high regard as they are perceived as the people responsible for feeding the nation.  Consumers will typically pay 20-25% more to purchase Japanese product over similar imported products.

Farms tend to be quite small (average around 2ha) with vast subsidies paid to keep the sector profitable (these subsidies total more than the GDP generated by the sector).  In agriculture, most of the farming inputs and outputs are controlled by a business called ‘JA’, a government established, farmer controlled monopoly. 

JA has huge control over the sector and is averse to any change in subsidies or reduction in tariffs on imported food.  Despite this, the Japanese Government is starting to try and change the sector with a view to loosening the trade barriers and allowing more imported food into Japan, a real opportunity for NZ.

Japan has a major issue with ageing farmers now retiring from farming, with not a lot of young people looking to enter the industry. 

The average age of farmers is approximately 67, with some farmers we spoke to being unsure regarding who would farm their land following their retirement. 

In order to bolster the sector, a program has been developed to allow some foreign workers (particularly from China) to assist with working the land.

Israel

The Israeli people are incredibly resourceful, innovative and world leading in some of the technology they use to generate agricultural production from what is generally a very harsh environment. 

We travelled extensively through Israel, looking at research institutes and farming operations to gain an understanding of some of the technology used to cope with the challenges they face.  Due to the climatic conditions, all livestock are housed in sheds and open side barns, with the result being very intensive operations that must be efficient to be profitable. 

Water usage is a major concern with most recycled water used to irrigate high value crops with large amounts of desalinated water used due to the lack of fresh water availability. 

Of particular note, was the fact that some of the water being used for irrigation of crops contained high levels of dissolved salts, making the salinity of the water higher than would otherwise be expected in a horticultural environment. 

Despite this, they are still managing to harvest above average yields, a feat that impressed the horticultural farmers on our tour.
Israel is well known for its kibbutz arrangements (groups of families that live and work in a semi-socialist structure where the community rather than individual people own and operate the assets for the benefit of all). 

However, they are not averse to the change in society, with many kibbutz members now becoming older and a number beginning to struggle with succession issues.

Agriculture is not viewed with the priority it once was and large numbers of young people are focussing on entering technology industries, with less choosing to work within agriculture.  However, we did see some interesting technology being used within agriculture from milk meters in a dairy shed (that split high value milk from low value milk at the cluster) to Bio Bee (a business where bumble bees are grown in boxes to develop colonies which can then be sold to horticultural businesses for pollination of crops).

England – The Triennial

The Triennial was an amazing opportunity to catch-up with not only the other groups who were also travelling on their GFPs, but also to meet and interact with a range of scholars from all countries and years. 

They provided a fascinating insight into the Nuffield Scholarship and the opportunities and discussions that have resulted following completion of their scholarship programmes.

Although several impressive businesses were viewed, many of which were using new technology to improve their profitability, sustainability and environmental impact, discussion was very much influenced by the upcoming BREXIT and what this will potentially mean for these businesses. 

Some appear to be embracing the opportunity, while others were quite apprehensive about the challenge of competing against lower cost or more efficient operators from other parts of the world (NZ very much included). 

There was considerable discussion regarding the potential for subsidies in farming to be reduced or removed, and NZ was discussed at length as a model as to how this could work.  Many of the businesses that we were shown relied heavily upon manual labour which invariably came from Eastern Europe, a challenge that the UK government will face as they work through discussions with the EU.

Some of the businesses that we were fortunate enough to visit really focused on two key points of interest, the first being the provenance of the food they were selling and ensuring the quality of that produce. 

Consumers are becoming increasingly focussed on the ‘story’ of their food.  They want to know how it has been made, where it comes from and what makes it unique. 

We cannot underestimate the importance of this, however any ‘story’ must be supported by a strong and secure supply chain that backs the integrity of claims on the packaging. 

I was also struck by the high importance of consistent quality and the impact of this quality on the price that is received.  At Hall Hunter Partnership, the managing director Harry Hall was only interested in supplying berries of ‘A’ quality.  Berries that did not meet ‘A’ quality standards were discarded regardless of any income that could be received from them. 

Together with his level of supply, this meant he had the ability to engage in meaningful discussions with his in-market partners (Waitrose and Marks & Spencer) when it came to Marketing his products and achieving the highest possible price (and therefore the best return on his assets).

USA: Washington D.C and Wisconsin

The chance to visit Washington, D.C. was an absolute highlight.  The number of historic events that have occurred in this city and the influence that it continues to have on world affairs is immense.

The impact of decisions made here can have a significant impact on NZ agriculture (for example, the withdrawal from TPP by President Trump). 

However, with the slow process of appointing his Secretary for Agriculture and the fact that the rest of the agriculture cabinet is yet to be appointed, it swiftly became apparent that President Trump does not have a major focus on the agriculture sector. 

Despite this, agriculture remains well supported in the US with a vast network of universities across the country being primarily set up to support agricultural research.

Wisconsin is typically known as a ‘dairy state’ (due to the large number of dairy farms in the area) although they differ significantly from NZ in that they are largely indoor based systems with high volumes of crops grown to feed the stock. 

There were a range of automated and traditional parlour based systems, however with access to labour becoming a significant issue there is likely a trend towards automated parlours to reduce labour requirements. 

There is a focus on environmental impacts, with strict controls on the spreading of animal waste and some quite innovative farmers who are trialling different grazing systems with the aim of reducing their impact on the environment.

Key trends and how they relate to NZ

A few key trends and insights I observed/developed during the course of the GFP have been summarised below:

Provenance is of major interest to consumers
The most successful businesses and farmers that we engaged with on our travels make it a priority to constantly talk to their consumers about what is happening within their business, and the impact that this will have on production and when consumers will be able to purchase their products. 

An example was a high-end vegetable producer in Japan who sold all his produce on-line and had a huge twitter following.  He was consistently updating consumers with information about what was fresh and new, when products would be available, and keeping them updated with photos of his products.  The more we interact, the better the consumer understands our business and the ‘story’ behind our produce.

Quality and traceability is incredibly important
Consumers are becoming more and more interested in understanding the production story and exactly what that story entails.  People understand the “organic” story and are prepared to pay for it.

If we are to maximise the value of our product, we need to also demonstrate that we are being incredibly efficient with what we use to produce it and why it is necessary. 

It is also incredibly important to ensure that the quality of product is maintained at a high level, and that we are consistent in our interactions.

Constant innovation is key

The product created and sold today will not necessarily be what the consumer desires tomorrow. 

The horticultural businesses visited were constantly exploring new varieties and innovations to present to the consumer.  The technology implemented in Israel to reduce cost by separating milk at the cluster rather than at the factory will also assist in improving returns to the farmer in the long term.

Succession in agriculture is a global issue
Every country visited was experiencing difficulties with succession planning and encouraging young people to enter the agricultural industry. 

Attracting and retaining talent in the industry is a key issue, with land in some countries no longer being farmed due to nobody being interested in taking on the responsibility of such a venture. 

Increasing the interaction between urban people and rural businesses will not only improve the understanding of the issues that we face in this area, but also maximise the potential future ‘talent pool’ of people available and willing to enter the industry in the longer term.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the NZ Nuffield Trust and all the sponsors including AGMARDT, Beef and Lamb NZ, Dairy NZ and FMG for the opportunity to engage in this incredible journey. 

 

India Global Focus Programme 2017: Rebecca Hyde

Rebecca Hyde, 2017 Nuffield Scholar

I set off from Christchurch on the May 8th, 2017 to embark on a trip that would open my mind and change my views of how I perceived global agriculture and how we feed the world.

I selected the India Global Focus Programme (GFP) as I’d travelled there 10 years earlier. It was a place I didn’t particularly enjoy at the time but a place that has always stuck in my mind. I wanted to know more about what made this chaotic place function. The India GFP also included Qatar.

There were ten Nuffielders in our group which included scholars from Australia, UK, Ireland, Holland, Brazil and New Zealand. The group travelled through Singapore, India, Qatar, Denmark, UK and America.

Having done the post Contemporary Scholars Conference (CSC) tour, I was looking forward to the dynamics of group travel and the added value the diversity of the group would bring. The diversity of the group was great during our daily debrief, it was something we all looked forward to as it was an opportunity to harvest others thoughts and ideas and help develop our own thinking.

Singapore

We started our GFP in Singapore. It was great to catch up with friends I had met at the CSC but wouldn’t be travelling with. The foundation was set with some very good meetings in Singapore which showed the role that Singapore plays in global trade and how it is a hub for multi-national companies to be based from. It left me feeling that Singapore is the puppeteer of global trading logistics, especially for China.

India

The colours, smells and sounds of India hit you as soon as you arrive. Our time there, took us from the south to the north visiting vegetable growers, dairy farms, coffee plantations, vegetable processing plants and universities. Going forward India faces some huge issues with water supply. Water table levels in the north are reducing by three feet a year in some places and the south has seen once large rivers not flowing for the last three years. With a growing population expected to surpass China, I think they are being unrealistic about their ability to feed themselves which is a goal of the government. This is a great opportunity for New Zealand with a rising middle class who love to eat. A belly is a sign of prosperity.

Qatar

Qatar is well named as ‘The Sandpit’. The phrase ‘more money than sense’ came to mind a number of times. In a country where 99% of the food consumed is imported they are at the mercy of world trade. There has been hundreds of millions spent on farms that are inefficient to say the least. There are opportunities here for New Zealanders in consulting. For New Zealand, I think it’s a good entry to the Middle East. There is a very strong Australian presence, the same can’t be said for us.

Denmark

We were the first group to have Denmark included as part of the GFP. The key things that stick in my mind are orderly, efficient, high standards and high debt in family farms due to succession laws. The Danes are very patriotic and consumers will buy Danish products whereever possible, price is not the main driver. The same cannot be said about New Zealand. Do NZ consumers know our story well enough? I don’t think so.

United Kingdom

The UK had the 3 GFP groups meeting up again and join the moving Triennial conference. It was great to meet with Nuffield alumni from around the world. The topic of conference day was “Farming Fit for Food”. We need to remember we are producing food. I see an opportunity for New Zealand farmers and industry to link the environmental message in with the health benefits of the food we produce. Emotion will win over fact every time. The question needs to be asked ‘How much are we prepared to pay for a healthy family?’

USA

It was great to get behind the scenes in Washington DC and try to understand the complexity of American politics. It became very clear that agriculture is not a priority for the current administration. I was surprised to hear that 80% of the Farm Bill budget is spent on food stamps and nutrition, leaving 20% for farm related spending. Our time in Iowa was a highlight. The birthplace of global brands such DuPont Pioneer, John Deere and Noble Peace Prize winner Norman E Borlaug.

The farmers there just seemed to be getting on with what they do best which is farming and they do it well. It was refreshing to see a side of America that was humble and took pride in what they do. Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, needs a special mention. He popped up everywhere we went, he was so proud to be showing off his state and he knew about farming and farmers. He was appreciative of our group spending time in his home state. This was all during a time he was meeting with Secretary Perdue and President Trump to be part of the administration. We were hopeful of getting to meet the President but it wasn’t to be!

As always, I was proud to be travelling as a Kiwi. We are well respected but we are better known for our scenery then our great quality produce. A number of presentations we had didn’t even include New Zealand on the world map. We need to be shouting from the roof tops what we have because grass fed, GMO and antibiotic free food is on an upward trend. We need to spell out what we do in a simple message that plays on the emotions. If we don’t fill this space, someone else will.

China Global Focus Programme 2017: Jason Rolfe

Jason Rolfe, 2017 Nuffield Scholar

The China Global Focus Programme (GFP) group was one of the more diverse groups this year, with our group comprising of representatives from Australia, Ireland, Wales, Netherlands, England, South Africa, and myself from New Zealand. The GFP tour was a once in a lifetime experience made better by the diversity of our group, which created great internal discussion and debate following all our visits each day. I would like to thank Nuffield New Zealand (NZ) once again for this opportunity.

Our group was lucky enough to travel to seven different countries on our journey, which included: Singapore, Philippines, Hong Kong, China, Germany, United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA).

During our travels each country brought different themes to mind which I have highlighted in the title of each country overview. The overall theme I observed for NZ was that the rest of the world thought very highly of NZ as a beautiful country and a great food producer. However, this has led us to becoming complacent in many markets.

A key improvement for NZ in the international market could be to remain active in our export markets and continue to sell ourselves and our products. Just because we are selling a product in a market now doesn’t mean someone else won’t be tomorrow.

Singapore – “Emotional Branding”

Visiting a large supermarket in Singapore, it was great to see so much NZ product in the stores, however, this was met with disappointment that our products were some of the lowest priced items in the supermarket.

Our friends from Australia, Switzerland and the USA, were consistently gaining a premium across most primary products including red meat and milk. The biggest difference following a quick survey of some consumers in the store was the branding difference between NZ and our competitors.

NZ products were branded functionally with minimal fuss over labelling and a small ‘NZ made’ triangle on the packet. This was in contrast to other international products that used pictures and stories to advertise and brand their products. This played on the consumer’s emotions and they were more likely to pay for a dairy product with a picture of a happy family in front of a cow and a link to a farmer’s story.

New Zealanders are historically humble when it comes to ‘talking ourselves up’, however, in order to obtain premium we need to be ‘louder’ or more strategic in our branding to be noticed by the consumer.

Philippines – “East meets West”

The Philippines was a great example of where western culture particularly the USA was having an influence on the traditional eastern diets of the Filipinos. A large number of branded western products were sold in smaller packets to be affordable and the locals preferred these products as they showcased wealth.

The highlight of the trip was being hosted by the International Rice Research Institute, where we got to experience first-hand the different techniques employed by farmers to grow rice. We also had an update on GMO rice varieties and the scientific evidence that these new varieties could feed 13-14 billion people (if approved) with no impact on food safety.

Some of the debate centred around who was responsible to feed the world and it was agreed that New Zealand’s strength to this battle was our knowledge and farming skills that we could share rather than our produce, given our size and land limitations.

Hong Kong – “Changing the purchasing experience”

Hong Kong was a very interesting city with a large number of global businesses who do business in China basing their headquarters in the city.

Traditionally Hong Kong has been a port hub for China, but recently due to the creation of greater shipping lanes in and around China, this is now changing. Rather than dwell on this Hong Kong is embracing change and focussing on the service industries such as finance.

While in Hong Kong we were lucky enough to be hosted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and witnessed first-hand how a business had combatted the threat of online sales and changed the purchasing experience to increase ticket sales and income.

It was certainly a model that the New Zealand Racing industry as well as the New Zealand Rugby Union should investigate further.

China – “NZ complacency and guaranteed food source”

China was a real eye opener for me personally given the population base, it really did take some getting used to.

Three key themes that came out of our visit was the importance of ‘country of origin’ in China, how complacent NZ was in the market, and reasons why the Chinese were buying up land around the globe.

Everywhere we went it became very clear that the Chinese people did not trust Chinese food, and preferred imported product. NZ had managed with our free trade deal to get into china early, however, from what I witnessed in two examples we have rested on our laurels a fair bit.

First example was at the at the SIAL expo in Shanghai (which is China’s largest food expo) where I saw only two NZ companies in attendance in the Honey and Seafood sectors, and no show from the beef or dairy sectors.

This was in contrast to all other export focussed countries that had large stands at the show promoting both their countries and their products. The second example was in the local supermarkets where NZ infant formula was the lowest priced out of all imported formula.

The third major learning was around Chinese investment offshore in places like New Zealand. The acquisitions of land were all about guaranteeing future food for their growing population. Interestingly, the comment most Chinese businessmen made was that they would actually prefer to lease farmland in our countries on long term agreements of 20-30 years than take the risk of purchasing the property.

Germany – “Great hospitality and renewable energy”

The highlight of Germany was the people and the landscape, which was not dissimilar to NZ. We were lucky enough to be hosted by Stefan and Liz Teepker, mixed farmers from Western Germany, who went above and beyond to organise some great farm visits, and to ensure we enjoyed our time in Germany.

The key theme from the German farms was renewable energy; with most of the farms we visited having some form of wind, sun or bio generated power as the main income source for the property.

While the building of the turbines or bio digesters was largely government supported, the on-going cash flow from these power generators had allowed these farmers to invest in their original businesses.

Many of these original farm production systems were now just hobbies and this had meant many had lost efficiencies in cost of production compared to the likes of New Zealand.

United Kingdom – “Attitude towards Agriculture and Subsidies”


In the UK, we were lucky enough to attend the Nuffield Triennial Conference, where we got to mix and mingle with many previous Nuffield scholars from around the world.

This was a valuable opportunity to make some contacts for further travel and research later in the year. The common topic of the conference was around ‘Brexit’ and what the future looked like for British Agriculture as they transitioned out of the European Union (EU).

The debate naturally centred around farm subsidies currently received by farmers and whether these would continue and for what. Interesting for me was the large amount of Farmers, including UK Nuffielders, whose attitude was that they would not survive without subsidies and were very resistant to change.

Delegates at the conference were in agreement that due to Agricultures relatively small contribution to GDP that subsidies were going to be greatly reduced if not removed.

This potentially would create opportunities for the younger generation if older farmers chose to exit the industry. It was clear that the process of leaving the EU was going to be very long and drawn out. Due to this and the inward focus it brings, they may miss global market access opportunities.

United States of America – “Trump, Migrant labour and Water”

In the US we were fortunate to visit two areas; Washington DC and California. Washington was a great opportunity to meet a number of government officials including a Senator, as well as learning how the US political worked.

It became very clear early on that President Trump was not prioritising Agriculture at all with the Senator for Agriculture the last one to be selected in his team.

This was further reinforced once we arrived in California, where the majority of the rural labour force is migrant labour, mainly from Mexico, which was something Mr Trump very publically wanted to clamp down on.

In California the farmers were coming off a five year drought and water was the main topic of conversation. With ground water levels dropping 2.5 feet per year during the drought, many restrictions were in place and only the rich farmers were likely to be able to afford to farm moving forward.

More storage of surface water was the obvious solution; however, most farmers had their ‘heads in the sand’ over the issue and were content to flood their paddocks with excess water this year in an attempt to re-charge the ground water. When questioned they could not offer any scientific evidence to support this practice.

General Manager Update

Anne Hindson, August 2017

The countdown until the close of Nuffield applications for the 2018 scholarships has started with this year’s closing date on the 13th August, one week earlier than usual to allow more time for the selection process.  The announcement of the successful scholars will be held on the 2nd November, at Parliament. The returning (2017) scholars will present some of their key insights at this event also.
With the help of Denitsa Stoeva, who has been on a two month contract with us, we have been able to review the Nuffield Scholarship marketing programme. Denitsa has increased the social media marketing and reviewed the content and messaging on the website. Following up with those who have registered interest in the scholarship over the last three years has also prompted some renewed interest and requests for more information.

Taranaki Evening


We held one regional Nuffield recruitment event this year – in New Plymouth. Lisa Harper, with support from alumni, Phil Luscombe, Marise Stephens and Noel Schrider shared their Nuffield experiences and the impact on their leadership pathways and careers. The event was also attended by two successful Kellogg alumni –  Bronwyn Muir and Shona Glentworth who shared their experiences from that programme.  We had some very interested potential scholars for the programme this year and in the future.  These regional events provide an opportunity for alumni to catch up with each other, but also provide an opportunity to introduce future scholars, particularly farmers and growers who are our target market. 

Scholar Update


The six 2017 scholars are fully immersed in their study and travel programme with three of the six still away, and three just returned from part of their personal research. A feature of this group which I have found positive has been the close friendship and sharing of information and ideas which has consistently happened on their travels. I think we will get some great insights and challenges to current thinking when the group present back. Like most scholars, their topics have morphed over time and we should see some insights and recommendations that will build on the issues raised by Ian Proudfoot in the KPMG Agenda. In this E Nuff you can read their insights from their Global Focus Programmes – Nadine, Mat and Ryan completed their GFP in March/April, while Jason, Rebecca and David undertook their GFP in May/June. They all experienced very different parts of the world with a range of social, environmental, political and financial issues to consider and understand. The 2016 scholars are active in getting their reports and research discussed at forums and in media. They will have the opportunity to present at the Nuffield Australia Conference in Darwin at the end of September this year. If you have not read their reports, there are some interesting topics:

Jessica Bensemann        

Defining our Kaupapa:  New Zealand’s role in the future of global Agriculture

Tom Skerman 

Agribusiness Governance – Finding the Green Zone

Richard Fowler 

An Investigation into Synthetic Food and the Implications for NZ Agriculture

Sam Lang       

Community-Centric Innovation and the Regenerative Farming Frontier

Bede O’Connor   

China Dairy: the growth of an industry

Management Developments

New Entity

The transition from an informal partnership between Nuffield NZ and Lincoln University to an Incorporated Charitable Trust has now been completed and the new Trust began operations on 1 June 2017. There have been some challenges, as anyone recently setting up a Trust will know. The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust will manage both the Nuffield Scholarships and the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme and continue to provide effective and co-ordinated leadership pathways.  The office will remain on the Lincoln campus site, and will be totally independent of the University operations.

Staff Changes

With the transition to a new entity, Desley Tucker, our Programme Coordinator for three years, chose to stay in employment with Lincoln University (she was contracted by us from LU) rather than move to the new Trust.  We will miss Desley and her great people skills as many of you will appreciate having liaised with her over the last three years. However, we have secured a great new replacement for the role with Lisa Rogers who started in late June. Lisa comes to us from a recent contract in the IT sector, and has previously worked in a financial contract role for Nurse Maude, and in a similar role of project and event managing with a large Canterbury golf club. Lisa brings strong financial and administration skills to the role. Lisa is a keen golfer and skier and has two teenage sons.   

Upcoming Nuffield Events

Nuffield New Zealand Conference – 10-13 May 2018 Dave Hurst and his team have been working hard on confirming venues, visits and a detailed programme with dates & Tauranga location already confirmed – see overview in this edition of E Nuff. Further details will be sent out shortly including registration information. It is important that you put the dates 10-13 May in your diary now! Nuffield International Triennial 2020 The Nuffield International Triennial was held in the UK in mid June with more than 20 New Zealanders attending, including some of our younger scholars who were given some fee sponsorship to enable them to attend.  The three mid-year Global Focus Programmes for current scholars also included the Triennial as part of their schedule to engage them in this wider Nuffield event. New Zealand was confirmed as the host for the 2020 Triennial. The year also coincides with our scheduled biennial Nuffield NZ Conference so some creative thinking is being done to manage the outcomes for both. An organising committee is being set up to consider dates, venues, theme etc. The challenge for NZ is finding the right timing to showcase our fabulous corner of the World and also work with the Northern Hemisphere calendar. I wish to thank all Nuffield alumni for their ongoing support in recruiting future scholars, assisting with regional events and presentations.  Please continue to promote the programme to our sponsors who along with alumni, make it possible for the programme to continue as New Zealand’s premium award in the Agrifood sector.  Kind regards Anne Hindson Beef+Lamb NZ

Chair Update: Juliet Maclean

Those of you who have read the KPMG Agri Business Agenda will have noted the multiple references to leadership and its importance to the growth and sustainability of an innovative and resilient food and agri business sector for New Zealand.

In his introduction, Minister Guy made particular mention of the investment made by MPI into the Kellogg and Nuffield programmes. This is a respected and valuable contribution, both financially and as tangible demonstration of support for our organisation.

The KPMG survey asks agri-business leaders to rank a range of priority items depending on their view on the importance and urgency of action required by the industry. Not surprisingly, maintaining a world class bio security system is ranked number one.

Recent threats to the biosecurity of our cattle population is a reminder of why this is so crucial to our livelihoods. Creating New Zealand provenance brands featured at number two. Innovation with customers is number five and developing future leaders is number nine. It would be difficult to find any better endorsement for the relevance of Nuffield New Zealand, with our tag line of “Global vision, leadership and innovation”.

The KPMG Agenda is a future focused, interesting read. If you would like to peruse the contents further, you can find it via this link
https://home.kpmg.com/nz/en/home/insights/2017/06/agribusiness-agenda-2017-the-recipe-for-action.html

Regardless of this confirmation of the importance of our organisation, we mustn’t become complacent and I am determined that Nuffield remains appropriate and effective in an ever- changing global environment. Each generation of scholars has, and will face, new challenges and opportunities, even if they fall within consistent themes.

Technology, social media, the internet of things, transport, robotics, education – we are part of a rapidly evolving and exciting world and Nuffield must keep pace with this if we are to stay truly relevant.  The qualities and skills required to build relationships, navigate negotiations, demonstrate leadership, display grit and resilience will, I believe, remain invaluable for us as individuals and contributors to business and rural communities.

Focusing on how Nuffield can contribute to each scholars’ learning experience is an exciting challenge and one which both your Trustees and management consider regularly. If you have any ideas, please share them with me.

I’ve had enthusiastic and complimentary reports from those of you who attended the Triennial in the UK. With your feedback in mind, we are now underway with planning for the 2020 conference which we will host here in the South Island. Stay tuned for updates over the next few months.

Applications for this year’s scholarships close in mid-August, with selections and interviews taking place in September and October. Meeting our scholar applicants and considering their potential to contribute to Nuffield and New Zealand, is a highlight of the year for me. I look forward to announcing the successful applicants in our next update.

As the days lengthen and those mid winter Xmas celebrations become a fun but distant memory, the matters of calving, lambing, crop establishment and the elections focus our attention. These will bring different responsibilities and involvement for each of you. Whatever part you play, be sure to ‘get amongst it’, make a real difference and have fun too.

Kind regards
Juliet 

2018 Nuffield Scholars Announced

Simon Cook is a kiwifruit grower from Te Puke, owns an orchard a contracting business. 

Andy Elliot, working for Wakat? Incorporation in Nelson, has 20 years’ experience in New Zealand’s aquaculture industry.

From Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, Turi McFarlane works for Ravensdown Environmental utilizing his experience in agricultural systems and sustainable land management. 

Solis Norton from near Port Chalmers, Dunedin manages the industry funded national animal health and productivity  programme for the New Zealand Deer Industry.

With a background in dairy farming, Kate Scott, from Central Otago, owns her own environmental planning and surveying business which services a broad range of agri sector businesses.

The five new 2018 scholars join more than 140 New Zealand agricultural leaders, over more than 60 years, to have been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship – a highly respected and prestigious award in the primary sector.

The 12 month scholarship programme with up to 20 weeks spent overseas, allows participants to spend time away from their business and to travel to observe, immerse, reflect and learn about global agricultural practices and the contexts they are operating in. A research topic, which focuses on an issue /challenge for the New Zealand primary sector, will be a focus of individual travel and investigation.