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...

2017 Reports

Pania Flint

Deer Industry New Zealand is currently involved in a Primary Growth Partnership and levy payer funded project called Passion to Profit (P2P). The overall aims are to improve market returns and on-farm productivity for deer farms. One of the contributing projects to P2P is the definition and recording of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and industry … Read more

Rhys Roberts

This report aims to identify a pathway for dairy farmers to move from land farmers to land owners. In this report, I single out a pathway known as lease farming and analyse the feasibility and financial pathway to farm ownership over a ten-year time frame. To begin I set the scene on trends formed over … Read more

Chris Sclater

The fundamental drive behind completing this research is to identify various key procedures and initiatives that successful New Zealand family businesses instrument to ensure their achievements and wealth are passed down through the generations successfully. I was also concerned in clearly recognizing some of the common issues which arise in family succession strategies and methods … Read more

Dave O'Sullivan

According to the UN, food production must double by 2050 to meet the demand of the world’s growing population. Innovative strategies are needed to help combat hunger, which already affects more than one billion people in the world. (un.org 2009) The world is changing and I believe the historical poor perceptions of the primary sector … Read more

Eva Harris

Water quality issues in New Zealand have become a top political issue, with the public demanding action be taken against the agriculture sector to ensure our rivers and lakes are returned to a “swimmable” state. Numerous policies and plans have been developed throughout the country to address these issues, with many regional councils creating rules … Read more

Anna Moore

Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK) commonly known as Pinkeye in cattle is a long established animal health problem in New Zealand. Pinkeye is a painful and debilitating condition that can severely affect animal productivity. It is a bacterial infection of the eye that causes inflammation and in severe cases temporary or permanent blindness. Most cattle producers … Read more

Grant McNaughton

With a national sheep flock that has halved in size over the past 25 years, yet maintained output the Sheep and Beef sector is bursting with innovators and top producers, full of passion and enthusiasm to improve profitability. A cornerstone that drives the profitability beyond the farm gate is the consumer’s decisions on what, when, … Read more

Wilma Foster

This project aims to assess what DairyNZ can do to improve the way it learns from other organisations. Thirteen interviews were carried out, seven with people from DairyNZ and six from organisations related to the kiwifruit industry (HortNZ, KVH, NZKGI, Zespri). The interviews were transcribed and then analysed. The key findings below are supported by … Read more

George Strachan

The future of the New Zealand Primary industries will rely on its ability to remain agile in the face of ever increasing change. Equally for success to be realised there is a call for the industry to know; where its current position is (and launch from this); how it lifts the level of innovation; increases … Read more

Jason Rolfe

New Zealand exported a total of $37 billion in agri-food products in 2015 – yet KPMG (2016) estimates those same products ultimately generated more than $0.25 trillion dollars in retail sales when sold to consumers around the world. The challenge was how we forge new pathways that will help us capture more share of the … Read more

Mat Hocken

The genesis for my Nuffield Scholarship research was a sense that farmers and growers have a number of significant challenges or problems, both on-farm and off that have not been solved, or we are struggling to solve. As we milk, shear, tend and harvest, thousands of farmer and grower-minds around the country turn to these … Read more

Rebecca Hyde

Rebecca Hyde

Environmental gains regarding soil, nutrients, irrigation, effluent and biodiversity can be made by each and every one of us. Each land based agricultural sector in New Zealand has a role to play and often, regardless of which sector you farm in, the same management practices will be applied to achieve these gains. We need to acknowledge the current model of collaboration is not working. The main findings of this report identify key themes that came from interviews with overseas organisations that are having success with collaboration which enabled them to tackle environmental challenges.

Ryan O’Sullivan

The NZ dairy industry has always historically enjoyed the advantage of being the world’s lowest cost producer of milk with our cheap pasture feed resource being the envy of the dairy industry globally. Despite this, farmers in the Europe and the US, the worlds 2nd and third largest exporters are eyeing opportunities for growth to … Read more

Belinda Cridge

This work is designed as a short introduction to common poisons found around New Zealand farms. It has been prepared to fulfill, in part, the requirement of the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.  Toxicology is the study of poisons. You may have heard the old saying “the dose makes the poison”. This means that actually, everything … Read more

Oliver Knowles

The growing trend in precision farming (PF) comprises technologies that combine sensors, information systems, enhanced machinery, and informed management to optimise production by accounting for variability and uncertainties within agricultural systems. Adapting production inputs site-specifically within paddocks and individually for each animal enabling better use of resources to maintain and improve the quality of the … Read more

Sophia Clark

50/50 Sharemilking as a path to farm ownership is a tried and true journey in the NZ Dairy Industry. Often, sharemilkers have to grow their herds quickly over a short period of time. For example, moving from a 270 cow farm up to a 500 cow farm. A sharemilker’s herd is their biggest and most … Read more

Cam Henderson

Dairy farmers are being encouraged to tell their story by leaders in the New Zealand dairy industry. This study surveyed opinions from fifteen New Zealand dairy industry and media leaders and discovered a need to share good stories with other farmers to improve uptake of on farm practice, with the general public to improve the … Read more

Joanna Greaves

Enthusiasm and passion for the Primary Industry, and it’s people, ignited an aspiration to understand how the Primary Sector is going to boost human capability to achieve it’s ambitions of doubling export earnings by 2025. Seismic market movements, international politics, technological advances and climate change all contribute to an unsettled and fickle business environment. Increasing … Read more

Grant Jackson

The New Zealand dairy industry, like many other primary industries, fuelled by market volatility is at a pseudo crossroads in its evolution. Does it look to secure its past dominance in global dairy commodity trade and optimise its investment into established commodity infrastructure? Or does it forego past heritage and investments, adopting a more singular focused strategic migration into revenue dominance from consumer value-add exports and secure the perceived provenance value of our dairy products?