2026 Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship. Apply by 17 August 2025. Read More...

Apply for 2026 Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship by 17 August 2025. More details...

2016 Reports

Corrigan Sowman

The South Island Dairy Development Centre (SIDDC) is a non-profit set up through a collaborative effort of seven dairy industry partners: Lincoln University, AgResearch, Plant and Food Research, DairyNZ, Ravensdown Fertiliser Cooperative, LIC, and SIDE (South Island Dairy Event). Founded in 2001, it has operated the Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm (LUDDF) as a means … Read more

Alice Reilly

T he New Zealand dairy industry is constantly evolving with changing practices, expectations from beyond the farm gate increasingly affecting farm practices, and consumer demands shifting – both in terms of product quality and the method of production. These issues are particularly noteworthy when looking at the Golden Bay population where this study is based, … Read more

Sarah Bell

This report explores leadership in New Zealand agriculture, emphasizing the need for diverse, collaborative, and resilient leadership to navigate future challenges and ensure industry success.

Angela Halliday

The aim of this research project was to understand the main issues that growers perceive are (or will be) affecting their businesses and industry. A survey with 233 responses and four focus groups (two focused on vegetables and two on fruit) were conducted to get a snapshot of the industry and to help guide the … Read more

Sam Lang

There is a new frontier of food and farming emerging. Its emergence is in part a response to the limitations and negative impacts of our current farm systems, and in part driven by a realisation that ‘regenerative farming’ is opening up a new world of possibility. Many of our current farming systems are being ‘squeezed’ … Read more

Bede O'Connor

China is currently the most important market to the New Zealand Dairy Industry. I first visited in 2014 and soon realised there were some large differences to the information New Zealand Dairy Farmers believed to what was actually happening on the ground in China. Rapid development was occurring in the Chinese Dairy Industry and the … Read more

Richard Fowler

Synthetic food (SF) is being touted as a revolution in food production that could replace animal products. While the industry is more bark than bite at the moment, it’s rapidly gaining awareness and attracting significant funding by being portrayed as a solution to many of the global problems associated with conventional agriculture. As the pressure … Read more

Jessica Bensemann

Jessica Bensemann

New Zealand agriculture must unite under a clear kaupapa to overcome market dislocation, balance efficiency with market focus, and thrive in a changing global trade landscape through purpose-driven collaboration.

Tom Skerman

Tom Skerman

Michael Skudder

For the last 15 years I have been involved with the dairy industry in the capacity of a rural bank manager . Prior to this I worked as an accountant, property valuer and seasonal farm worker. Ironically I started with another topic in mind “key factors to staff retention in Northland dairy farms”, however after … Read more

Hamish Clarke

New Zealand (NZ) has the largest population of farmed deer worldwide and the invention of deer farming is a great innovative agricultural success (Anselmi, Taylor, Good, Hansen, & McHugh, 2012). Recently, NZ velvet has developed a premium product reputation and prices have been high. However, on the 1st March 2016 the National Animal Identification and … Read more

Wayne May

The use of paddock recording by farmers is still very much done by traditional methods. The popular method of paper recording ie. In a farm diary, has many limitations and although the benefits of using technology are clear, not many NZ farmers have been brave enough to take up the challenge and use paddock recording … Read more

Zach Mounsey

The objective of this study was to investigate the aspects of production systems in the New Zealand dairy industry with profitability as the key driver, along with resilience to volatile price swings, international competiveness and an environmental enquiry. Existing data was used for this analysis . Over the past 10 years there has been a … Read more

Sam Riley

This report aims to identify the advantages and disadvantages of fodder beet (FB) as a feed option for lactating cows in the dairy industry. In this report I analyze the cost to grow, harvest and transport fodder beet. In addition, I compare similar stock feed that includes: palm kernel expeller (PKE), and grain. I pay … Read more

Hamish Easton

The New Zealand government has set a goal of doubling the value of exports by 2025. In order to achieve this, the Irrigation Acceleration Fund (IAF) was allocated $35 million over five years to support the development of irrigation infrastructure.  Rangitikei local government had employed Catalyst Group an environmental management consulting company to conduct case … Read more

Farrell Chrystal

I will be exploring the topic of Maori leadership that has come from a Maori boarding school since the 19th Century. Te Aute College holds a proud heritage of Maori leadership and this is viewed through stories and generation of students who have attended Te Aute a Maori boarding school for males in Hawkes Bay, … Read more

Jamie Cunninghame

Foreign Ownership of New Zealand farm land is an ever evolving topic that is of interest to a large number of us and a discussion that many people are uneasy to have or have a strong feeling either way. People fear for loss of ownership of our great land and consider the implications it will … Read more

Aaron Wilson

The focus of this project is to explore the potential design of a nitrogen attenuating feed pad for dairy cattle that are wintered on fodder crops in the lower South Island. I hope to explain some of the reasoning behind how important cost effective environmental sustainability is to the New Zealand dairy industry, and attempt … Read more

Brad Saxton

Why are females underrepresented in the role of Rural Manager at ASB Bank Limited? In what has traditionally been a male dominated industry, more and more females are occupying Rural Manager roles with ASB competitors. The other divisions within ASB also have a high number of females and there is a large number of female … Read more

Solis Norton

Farming practices in New Zealand will need to change in order to comply with nutrient management regulation. This regulation is broadly described in the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (2014). It is then addressed more specifically at the community level through Regional Council and stakeholder engagement. There are almost two thousand farms throughout the … Read more

Chelsea Millar

This report and associated research asks the question: ‘How could NZ Inc use Social Media to support the Primary Industries?’ Social Media can no longer be ignored as a tool for your brand strategy. In a recent Dominion Post article, (Ranekleiv 2015) said ‘Online retailers are seeing rapid increases in the number of competitors. To … Read more

Paul Crick

With almost one in six jobs in New Zealand and over 70% of product exports dependent on the Primary Industries, there is an unequivocal need for skilled employees to make this happen. Some indications from the farming sector are that concerns over skills and recruitment of skilled employees is decreasing although remaining in the top … Read more

Reuben Carter

The Peanut (Arachis hypogaea), also commonly called ground nut is a summer growing legume that has been identified as a potential cash crop for Northland Farmers. Peanuts have been grown in New Zealand in the 1980’s but the enormous labour needs at harvest have prevented large scale production. With the availability of modern machinery large … Read more

Ange McFetridge

With debate surrounding the structure and strategy of the New Zealand red meat industry, the time is right to explore constructs around the market orientation and performance of New Zealand sheep and beef farmers. Market orientation was determined by studying customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter-functional coordination. These factors were considered alongside cooperative membership, level … Read more