General Archives | Page 10 of 21

Corrigan Sowman – Impact Story

Corrigan Sowman – 2016 Kellogg Scholar, 2019 Nuffield Scholar.

Corrigan is the owner, director, and business manager of the 400ha Uruwhenua Farms in Golden Bay, a family-owned dairy unit where technology is used to manage a large herd in a small herd way – especially in terms of attention to individual animals. He is a graduate of Massey University and has a Bachelor of Applied Science.

Corrigan is both a Nuffield and Kellogg Scholar who completed his Nuffield research on how to better understand the way pressure on farmers impacts decision making.

His Kellogg research looked at the critical success factors of an agriculture non-profit in knowledge creation and dissemination.

Corrigan is LIC Chair, succeeding fellow Nuffield Scholar Murray King, who says of Corrigan’s appointment, “He has a deep understanding of farming, its challenges and what farmers need both now and in the future in order to be more profitable and sustainable.”

He is a member of the Fonterra Sustainability Advisory Panel, a group providing independent advice to the Fonterra Senior Management Team and Board. He has been a former Consulting Officer with DairyNZ and a Farm Consultant with FarmRight, in Canterbury.

In the past Corrigan has been Chair and Independent Director of the South Island Dairy Development Centre (SIDDC), which operates the Lincoln University Dairy Farm. He has also been Deputy Chair of the DairyNZ Dairy Environmental Leaders Forum, an initiative fostering environmental stewardship and community leadership amongst New Zealand dairy farmers.

We look forward to seeing Corrigan continue to support work encouraging farm practices that strengthen the integrity of the food we produce.

Dr Alison Stewart – FAR and the role of arable systems in agriculture.

In this podcast, Dr Alison Stewart, CEO at the Foundation for Arable Research, talks with Farmers Weekly’s Managing Editor, Bryan Gibson, about the role of arable in agriculture, her role at FAR and the delivery of research that benefits growers.

Dr Stewart also discusses her involvement with the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme and the importance of exposure to diversity of thought for leaders in Food and Fibre.

Listen to Alison’s podcast or read the transcript below.

Bryan Gibson – Managing Editor of Farmer’s Weekly.

Kia Ora, you’ve joined the Ideas That Grow podcast, brought to you by Rural Leaders. In this series, we’ll be drawing on insights from innovative rural leaders to help plant ideas that grow so our regions can flourish. Ideas that Grow is presented in association with Farmers Weekly.

My name is Bryan Gibson, Managing Editor of Farmers Weekly and this week I am talking to Dr Alison Stewart, CEO at FAR, the Foundation for Arable Research, and a regular speaker on the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.

Bryan Gibson:
G’day Alison. How’s it going?

Dr Alison Stewart – Chief Executive Officer at the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR).
Yeah, great. Thanks for having me.

BG: Great to have you here. Now, you’re the Chief Executive of Far. What’s been happening in your world lately?

The current arable context.

AS: Well, we’ve just had a referendum. So, every six years, our levy peers vote to decide whether FAR is doing a good job and they want to continue paying their levy. So that happened just last month. I guess for the last year, we have been focused a little bit on the referendum and making sure that the growers know what we’re doing and what value it delivers. And fortunately, yes, we got good support.

Although I have to say getting growers to vote was the biggest challenge. They’ve just got so much happening in their lives at the moment and so much information being thrown at them that they’re almost in a situation where finding the time to vote in a referendum was not a high priority. That actually was the biggest challenge, convincing them to get onto their computer and vote.

BG: And running the organisation, what does your job entail? What do you do in a week?

AS: My job is to make sure that everybody else in the company is doing their job really well. I’m joining all the dots. We’ve got some amazing research staff who are out there doing applied research, trying to find new management systems, new tools, new technologies that will assist our farmers.

We also have a lot of extension people focused on trying to support them with all of the compliance regulations that are coming down the track. And then we also have to deal with the biosecurity incursions. We’re dealing with two at the moment.

Amongst all of that, we’re just trying to promote to the general public, to the other sectors, to the government, the value of arable systems and the value that they bring to New Zealand agriculture. I jump around a lot, getting involved in lots of things, across lots of areas, at different levels of responsibility. It’s never a dull day.

BG: Yeah. Our Food and Fibre Sector is dominated by the big two animal proteins. I guess, as you say, the animal sector is as big and successful of its own accord, but in some ways plays second or third fiddle sometimes?

AS: Oh, very much so. That frustrates me in the sense that we actually underpin the livestock sector because we produce all of the seed and the grass seed that they need to grow their pastures to feed their cows. If we go under, then the livestock sector is going to be substantially worse off.

We also produce a large amount of the animal feed the dairy sector and the beef sector and the poultry sector need. So, I’m not sure that we ever get full recognition for the important role we play, not only in our own right through producing milling wheat and quality seed crops, but also underpinning the livestock sector. I try to remind my colleagues in the dairy and beef and sheep sector that they need us as much as we need them.

World-leading seed production.

BG: I guess a lot of people do just think of fields of maize or barley or wheat, but that seed production part of things is really important, but also quite an opportunity and a success for New Zealand, isn’t it? We’re quite good at it.

AS: Absolutely. It does help that the big global seed companies can see that they can get out of Northern Hemisphere seasons and they can get seed crops being produced in New Zealand. We have really good environmental conditions.

We have good quality certification, verification and accountability systems. We’re seen to be a very important seed producer. That’s really good from the perspective of an arable farmer because it provides a really nice rotation.

We’ve got our foundational cereal crops, but then we’ve got the seed crops in the foundation of the rotation and that gives a nice diversity, but it also introduces the opportunity to capture another revenue source.

Dr Alison Stewart - A CEO’s career path.

BG: Now, how did you get to the position you’re in now? What’s your career been like? What did you do when you left school?

AS: Well, I mean, gosh, I’ve been around the block. I’ve always been interested in plants. Even as a child, I was always out in the garden with my mum planting and looking after plants. I did botany at university, and then I did a PhD in plant pathology, and then I came to New Zealand.

Obviously, I’m Scottish, and I came to New Zealand, got a lecturing job at Auckland University, and it was the old Botany department. That was how I started off my career being an academic, and I had 10 years at Auckland. Then I moved down to Lincoln University because I wanted to be doing more applied research and more closer to the actual farming sector. I was 18 years at Lincoln University as an academic, running a big research centre, looking at sustainable production systems.

Then I decided to challenge myself a little bit more and I went off to California and ran a biotech company. Then I came back to New Zealand and headed up forestry science in Rotorua with Scion. Then I moved from there and came to be the CEO of FAR.

I’m probably relatively unusual in the sense that I’ve been in academia, I’ve been in the CRI system, I’ve been in a commercial company and I’m now working in an industry body. I’ve worked across horticulture, vegetable cropping, herbal cropping, and forestry. So it gives me a nice broad perspective on what’s happening, particularly in the plant-based sectors in New Zealand.

FAR - delivering the arable research that benefits growers.

BG: Well, that’s quite a CV. I’m interested in your interest in applied science and knowledge transfer. That’s something that’s been talked about in our sector as something that works pretty well, but does need work, if you know what I mean. Is that something that you think is moving the dial over the years?

AS: Oh, most certainly. I mean, there isn’t much point in doing research if you’re not going to get the results of the research out, being taken up and used by farmers and growers. FAR in particular, over the last 25 years, has been an exemplar of an organisation that has effectively delivered its research to benefit the growers.

It’s becoming more difficult because the environment is so much more challenging for growers. I won’t say the good old days, because I never think that the old days are actually that good. But in the past, FAR would do research and it would be identifying a new plant growth regulator or a new fungicide or a better fertiliser programme. And you’d go out and you’d say, if you do X, Y and Z, that will deliver a one-ton increase in yield.

That’s a really easy story to tell. The growers will go, that’s a good idea. I’ll do that. The growers get a one-ton increase and they think, Oh, my levy is good value for money for us doing a good job. But we’ve driven yield optimisation pretty close to the optimum.

A challenging arable environment.

Now the challenge is, how do we maintain those optimum yields given all of the constraints that growers now have around input costs and compliance around fresh water and climate change. That’s a much, much harder knowledge exchange programme because you’re potentially, and quite often, telling the growers something that they don’t want to hear. So you’re always trying to find a way in which you can present that information in as positive a way as possible.

At this moment in time in New Zealand, farmers feel as if they’re really under the pump with people throwing compliance regulations at them, their cost of production is going up. So often their headspace is not necessarily that favourably inclined towards hearing some quite difficult messaging. It’s challenging. It’s a really challenging space for the growers, and it’s a really challenging space for the labour organisations.

FAR and the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.

BG: Very much so. Now, turning to Rural Leaders, you have a bit to do with the Kellogg Programme, is that correct?

AS: Yeah. I mean, they roll me out twice a year where I come and I talk to the new cohort of rural leaders. I’m one of these people that, and it causes me a lot of angst over the years, I tend to just say exactly what I think. That can get me into a lot of trouble!

I really enjoy challenging young people around what they’re thinking, why they’re thinking it, and what they want to achieve in their careers. I love having discussions around what leadership actually means, because leadership means quite different things to different people.

In New Zealand agriculture at this moment in time, with all of the challenges that are coming up, it’s really hard to be a leader because levy organisations, for example, are reliant on doing what their levy peers want them to do, and that sometimes prevents you from being able to take a true leadership position.

I really like talking about some of those challenges, and it’s a good environment because it’s not out in the public arena. You’re not going to get hung out to dry on social media, but you’re able to have some really honest and sometimes quite painful discussions about how New Zealand agriculture needs to move into the future and the changes that need to be made. And that young cohort of Kellogg leaders are up for those kinds of discussions, and I just love it.

BG: I mean, it’s an interesting group because most of them already have a career and then they have a day job, and then Kellogg is back to school. So I guess it’s different from your previous work in academia, where it was 9:00 to 5:00 learning. And that has some upside, I think, of the Kellogg Programme, do you think?

Kellogg exposes leaders to diversity of thought and opinion.

AS: I think it’s a fantastic programme because it provides an opportunity to bring multiple thought processes to the table. Scott Champion, who’s one of the key Facilitators on the Programme; he’s very well connected and he can bring quite disparate views to the discussion.

That’s really important because if you stay in your own industry, in your own space, in your silo, then all that happens is that everybody validates preconceived ideas and it’s really good to be challenged.

I think that’s what the Kellogg Leadership Programme does. It makes you realise that what you thought you knew and what you thought was a valid belief, there may actually be alternative viewpoints. You have to open your mind to different ways of thinking and different people’s perceptions of agriculture and different conclusions that you can draw from the vast amount of research that’s out there.

It’s a fantastic learning opportunity for young people to avoid getting into a siloed mantra of just believing the here and now and what people they tend to engage with think. It’s a bit like when you google something, the algorithm sitting in behind Google can work out what your preconceived ideas are, and therefore they tend to give you links to things that validate those preconceived ideas.

I think we’ve always got to try and make sure that we don’t get into that mentality of thinking that because we believe something now, that means it must be true.

BG: Cross-discipline research or work in real time, isn’t it?

AS: Absolutely, yeah.

BG: So, you’d recommend the Programme to anyone thinking about the big issues facing the sector, and thinking about leadership?

AS: I think you have to be prepared to put time and effort into it. It’s like anything in life that if you don’t commit and put your passion and energy into it, you’re not going to get the same amount of benefit out of it. I think you have to be prepared to come to the table and listen to those diverse views and be prepared to change your opinion about things.

If you come to the Kellogg Programme with a preconceived idea that you’re right and everyone else is wrong, you’re not going to get the benefit out of the Programme.

BG: Thanks for listening to Ideas that Grow, a Rural Leaders podcast in partnership with Massey and Lincoln Universities, AGMARDT and Food HQ. This podcast was presented by Farmers Weekly.

For more information on Rural Leaders, the Nuffield New Zealand Farming Scholarships, the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme, or the Value Chain Innovation Programme, please visit ruralleaders.co.nz

The Rural Reader book review.

Nature and Farming – Sustaining biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. By David Norton and Nick Reid (2013).

This collection of New Zealand and Australian case studies discusses a wide range of native biodiversity-enhancing options and tools used in different farming systems in
both countries.

The book, written by two New Zealand and Australian professors, contains an excellent mix of technical and general practical information enhanced by many photographs, charts and other images.

Readers who are farming or working with the agricultural sector should find this 300-page book a useful reference to dive into those sections that are of most relevance to you. In my opinion, one of the most useful chapters, “Management Planning and Goal Setting”, should be of particular interest to those involved in or with catchment groups. Overall, this publication is a good tool to have in your toolbox.

As the book is ten years old now, interested readers are most likely to find it through the New Zealand library system. However, I am aware that there are Kelloggers who have copies and you may even find them in second-hand bookstores.

Patrick Aldwell
September, 2023

Independent Trustee – New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust.

The New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (NZ Rural Leaders) is seeking an Independent Trustee to join its board. This is an exciting opportunity for a food and fibre leader with strategic and governance experience, strong industry networks and a passion for leadership development, to build on their governance journey.

Background summary

NZ Rural Leaders is a registered charitable trust. The Trust’s purpose is to: Establish and operate leadership programmes for New Zealand’s food and fibre sector, advance education in agricultural practices, and contribute to the general welfare of New Zealand’s rural population.

In pursuit of this NZ Rural Leaders aim to grow world-class leaders for our country.

Board meetings

The Board meet up to 8 times per year with some meetings coinciding with longer events. 4 “in person” meetings are typically held in Christchurch or Wellington, with video conferencing utilised for the balance.

Meetings are scheduled where possible around Kellogg and Nuffield programme events to enable Board members to be introduced to each cohort of both programmes and contribute as per above role. Meeting dates for the year are set at least 6 months in advance.

Please note, this is an unpaid, voluntary role. Air Travel, accommodation, and meals are covered (where required).

The core competencies sought in all Board members are;

Strategic focus and experience.
Previous governance experience.
Innovative thinking and entrepreneurship.
Professional expertise in one or more of the following areas: food and fibre sector, adult education or training, business skills, marketing.
Passion for and understanding of leadership development.
Strong industry networks and connections.

Applicants with one or more of the following attributes are particularly sought;

Strong financial skills and understanding.
Affinity for leadership in Māori and Pacifica agri-business.
Horticultural, forestry or aquaculture industry knowledge.
Regional capacity building.
Partner engagement including local, regional, and central government.
Global perspective.

You can find more information on the Terms of Reference here.

Applications close on 15 November 2023.

CV and cover letter should be sent to Lisa Rogers, Rural Leaders’ Chief Executive at lisarogers@ruralleaders.co.nz

For any questions, please feel free to contact Chairperson, Kate Scott at kate@landpro.co.nz

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Executive summary

With growing demands for sustainability in the food and fibre industries, there is mounting pressure from consumers to produce environmentally responsible products. This report addresses the necessity for the New Zealand dairy industry to prioritise climate change concerns and associated greenhouse gas emissions to secure a sustainable future.

The report aims to understand the motivations behind the adoption of new innovations by dairy farmers and learn how to accelerate the uptake of practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby ensuring the long-term sustainability of farming in New Zealand. Additionally, the report aims to create a resource to inform government, industry bodies, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) about alternative approaches to motivate farmers in reducing greenhouse gas emissions positively.

The research question guiding this study is: How can we motivate New Zealand dairy farmers to embrace practices that effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

A literature review was conducted to gain insights into the significance of greenhouse gases in the New Zealand dairy industry. The review examined the impact and relevance of greenhouse gases within the New Zealand dairy industry. 23 semi-structured interviews were used to uncover the motivations that would drive New Zealand dairy farmers to adopt practices aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions on their farm. Responses were categorised into the following high-level themes:

• WHY (belief): Explored the aspects of purpose, motivation, social structure, and trust.
• HOW (actions): Focused on leadership, communication, and pathway implementation.
• WHAT (result): Addressed knowledge acquisition, problem definition, and barriers encountered.

Information gathered from the literature review and semi-structured interviews, highlighted the importance of understanding the “WHY” behind motivations and the utilisation of effective communication strategies (“HOW”) to drive the adoption of sustainable practices within the New Zealand dairy industry.

Recommendations:

Leverage the intrinsic values and purpose that farmers already possess. When developing GHG related communications to dairy farmers, industry partners should inspire farmers towards transformative change by building on farmers’ existing intrinsic values and encouraging mastery to drive toward continuous improvement.
Emphasise the importance of the economic benefits and social licence to operate. Milk processors need to communicate to farmers and rural professionals the potential advantages of being market leaders in greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the consequences of falling behind.
Create a single location for information regarding greenhouse gas related resources. Ministry for the Environment should provide and manage a resource location (i.e. website) for reputable GHG related literature, policies, regulations and general resources related to climate change specifically for the dairy sector.
Provide greenhouse gas emissions resources for veterinarians. New Zealand Veterinarian Association (NZVA) should curate a list of reputable sources of information regarding greenhouse gas emissions regulations, mitigation strategies, and the economic advantages of adopting practices that reduce GHG emissions. As a trusted source of information, veterinarians can disseminate this information to dairy farmers.

Download and read the full report here:

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Executive summary

Leverage the intrinsic values and purpose that farmers already possess. When developing GHG related communications to dairy farmers, industry partners should inspire farmers towards transformative change by building on farmers’ existing intrinsic values and encouraging mastery to drive toward continuous improvement.
Emphasise the importance of the economic benefits and social licence to operate. Milk processors need to communicate to farmers and rural professionals the potential advantages of being market leaders in greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the consequences of falling behind.
Create a single location for information regarding greenhouse gas related resources. Ministry for the Environment should provide and manage a resource location (i.e. website) for reputable GHG related literature, policies, regulations and general resources related to climate change specifically for the dairy sector.
Provide greenhouse gas emissions resources for veterinarians. New Zealand Veterinarian Association (NZVA) should curate a list of reputable sources of information regarding greenhouse gas emissions regulations, mitigation strategies, and the economic advantages of adopting practices that reduce GHG emissions. As a trusted source of information, veterinarians can disseminate this information to dairy farmers.

Download and read the full report here:

Staging post two

Staging post

Executive summary

Leverage the intrinsic values and purpose that farmers already possess. When developing GHG related communications to dairy farmers, industry partners should inspire farmers towards transformative change by building on farmers’ existing intrinsic values and encouraging mastery to drive toward continuous improvement.
Emphasise the importance of the economic benefits and social licence to operate. Milk processors need to communicate to farmers and rural professionals the potential advantages of being market leaders in greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the consequences of falling behind.
Create a single location for information regarding greenhouse gas related resources. Ministry for the Environment should provide and manage a resource location (i.e. website) for reputable GHG related literature, policies, regulations and general resources related to climate change specifically for the dairy sector.
Provide greenhouse gas emissions resources for veterinarians. New Zealand Veterinarian Association (NZVA) should curate a list of reputable sources of information regarding greenhouse gas emissions regulations, mitigation strategies, and the economic advantages of adopting practices that reduce GHG emissions. As a trusted source of information, veterinarians can disseminate this information to dairy farmers.

Download and read the full report here:

Staging post

The search for 2024’s Nuffielders is nearly over.

The magnitude of the decision to apply, to commit to a year or more of study, travel, and growth is significant. Most applicants are on farms, working in agribusiness – sometimes both. They are busy people, even without a Nuffield Scholarship.

In the search for 2024’s Nuffield Scholars Rural Leaders received approximately 30 applications. Here’s an approximate breakdown of this latest applicant group.

The search for the next Nuffield Scholars: the path to receiving an application.

Here’s a brief summary of what is involved in the search for our Nuffield Scholars.

Our Nuffield alumni critical in helping prospective scholarship applicants get to grips with the process of applying and the Nuffield Programme itself. Alumni are also active in referring those in the sector they feel would benefit personally and professionally from a Scholarship. Rural Leaders follow referrals up with personal emails and phone calls.

Alongside the referral activity, Rural Leaders run a modest, traditional paid media campaign, both paid and unpaid social media, as well as some digital placements. All activity here asks for registrations of interest. This activity is rounded out with help from partners and networks.

The registrations of interest build over time and these are nurtured with a 3-4 month email campaign featuring podcasts, testimonials, links to articles and details on the Scholarship.

It’s a rewarding experience for all involved. To see the first indications of interest develop into an application. Some have applied before, some are not well known to us, and some may have had Nuffield on their minds for many years.

The applicant demographic profiles shift and change over time, while such leadership traits as: pragmatism, passion, courage, and self-awareness remain constant.

In early November we’ll be in a position share who our 2024 Scholars are. For now, we’d like to thank all the incredible, dedicated people who applied. We know it was a decision that likely involved partners, family, work colleagues and friends.

The final submitting of an application is just the start of the story. It’s also the end of this one.

Inspiring value chain change – book your place on 2023’s Value Chain Innovation Programme.

The Value Chain Innovation Programme is ideal for those looking to give their strategic and entrepreneurial mindsets a boost.

Want to start a new business on-farm, lead value chain transformation, or start an entirely new value chain on, say, cherries? Or simply bolstering our value chain and farming and food production systems knowledge, then the Value Chain Programme offers high alignment to those.

Since 2020 Nuffield Scholars have had the opportunity to participate in this unique value chain immersion, whether that was 2021’s ‘World Tour of New Zealand’ pilot programme, or the first Value Chain Innovation Programme, held last year.

Fellow participants will be a mix of mid to senior level leaders, with some looking to develop new businesses.

2022’s cohort found the Programme inspiring and informative. Here are comments from Allan Richardson and Satwant Singh, 2022 Value Chain participants.

The Value Chain Innovation Programme was an action-packed week with highly motivated people from every industry in the sector. We saw the leading adopters of value chain innovation, they told us their pathways to success, often with one-on-one contact.

Just as important has been the new network of industry leaders that I travelled with, and now keep in contact with. Allan Richardson

And from Satwant Singh,

The Programme was a great opportunity to connect and re-energise with likeminded industry leaders and learn more about our own backyard. We can sometimes get narrow minded to our own industry (speaking for myself as dairy).

This programme showcased multiple successful NZ value chains first hand from farmer to market, providing some great insights and learnings.

The greatest value I took from the Programme though, was the people who all still keep in touch regularly.

This one-week immersion tour runs from 12-18 November (Auckland to Napier) and focuses on North Island based dairy, red meat, apple, and kiwifruit value chains.

Facilitators Prof. Hamish Gow and Phil Morrison bring a wealth of knowledge, experience and approachability to the Programme. They enjoy debate, discussion and the exploration of ideas. There’ll be plenty of that on the coach (aka the Think-tanker) in-between panel discussions, operation visits, and in conversations with business leaders and owners.

You can read both facilitators’ bios by clicking below. You’ll also find an application form below – just get it to us before midnight Sunday.

If you are interested in joining mid November’s fast-filling tour, just reach out to Matt Hampton at matthampton@ruralleaders.co.nz

The Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme has been developing leaders for the rural and agri-food sector since 1979.

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The Nuffield New Zealand Farming Scholarship is one of the most valued awards in New Zealand’s primary sector.

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Innovating for our fast-changing value chains.

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Fast-track your food and fibre skills, knowledge, and confidence.

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Corrigan Sowman – 2016 Kellogg Scholar, 2019 Nuffield Scholar.

The current arable context.

World-leading seed production.

Dr Alison Stewart - A CEO’s career path.

FAR - delivering the arable research that benefits growers.

A challenging arable environment.

FAR and the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.

Kellogg exposes leaders to diversity of thought and opinion.

Nature and Farming – Sustaining biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. By David Norton and Nick Reid (2013).

Executive summary

Executive summary

Executive summary

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