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...

Toxicology and the New Zealand Farmer.

Belinda Cridge

Executive Summary

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 is toxic at some level which makes the study of toxicology relevant to a number of areas including human health, the environment, public policy, drug development and human safety.

This booklet covers some of the chemicals found around the common New Zealand farming environment. The information on what to include has been based on analysis of statistics from the New Zealand National Poisons Center.

Belinda Cridge

Download and read the full report here:

Grow. Advance. Lead.

Do the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme.

More Kellogg reports:

2024

Can we add value to non-replacement calves?

The management of non-replacement calves, or bobby calves, is a constant challenge for the NZ Dairy industry. This report investigates potential options for reducing bobby ...
Read More →
2025

Leadership Qualities Needed for First-Time Managers

Leadership in NZ agriculture now values people management. This report conducted a study of farm leaders and found trust, empathy, and reflection are key traits, ...
Read More →
2025

The Soils Gap: Interactions Between Science, Commerce and Culture

Soil lays the foundation of all farming productivity. Farmers’ soil management is influenced by multiple factors, especially scientific perceptions. Studies on soil function and productivity ...
Read More →