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Rural Leaders Reports

Nick Giera

Changes in dairy farm ownership and overall industry growth has occurred at a rapid pace in the past 25 years . This has largely occurred due to strong returns from dairy farming driving a “dairy boom” in most regions of New Zealand. The dairy boom has been particularly evident in the South Island where farmers … Read more

Nick Pollock

This report looks into Gisborne navel orange production and investigates why a product (Gisborne navel oranges) with world class attributes fails to deliver reasonable returns to producers, and what can be done to improve, not only this industry, but also likely to be applicable to other products or industries that may find themselves in a … Read more

Grant Payton

The report titled: Beyond the borders of Nelson – The opportunity for growth of the New Zealand hop industry sets out to establish the following key aims: To investigate the key dynamics influencing the New Zealand hop industry and understand the key drivers encouraging growth within the sector To understand the key growing requirements for … Read more

Angela Leslie

Whilst travelling through Europe and China in 2015, I saw great examples of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) being undertaken by organisations, both in their countries of origin and through global pursuits. Applying this concept to the New Zealand primary industry, I questioned whether more value would be possible for business when conducting CSR in conjunction … Read more

Leyton King

“Groundhog Day (noun): A situation in which events are or appear to be continually repeated” (Collins dictionary) I grew up with a dog whistle around my neck, a handpiece in my hand and a knife and pouch around my waist. Farming was always going to be my journey. Yet after seventeen years of management and … Read more

Lisa Kendall

Animal welfare in New Zealand agriculture is a vital part of our “brand” as an exporting country. Both nationally and globally, consumers are expecting more and more transparency throughout the food supply chain. With society’s collective conscience adapting an increased focus on the ethical treatment of animals, we as members of the agricultural community have … Read more

Amanda Jordan

The future of our primary industries relies on the wealth that we, as farmers, can create by having safe and integral products that we can export and market to the world. We also need to have a ‘second to none’ provenance story to command a premium price per unit from our increasingly conscious consumers. The … Read more

Jason Hoyle

From my time researching my chosen Kellogg’s topic, I have found it very easy to say something is broken.  We need to change.  This needs to be done by aiming for those low hanging fruit that shock and challenge us as dairy farmers. I have since come to the realization that great leaders can inspire … Read more

Mark Hooper

Federated Farmers is a strong lobby and advocacy organization that has proudly represented New Zealand’s primary production sector since 1946. In the period from 2014 to early 2018 Federated Farmers experienced a 7.5% decline in membership subscriptions. While much of this decline can be attributed directly to a significant downturn in dairy farming returns in … Read more

Robbie Hill

Soil carbon is a key indicator for the health of the land. Arguably, the long-term agrarian wealth of a nation is determined by whether soil is being formed or lost. If soil carbon is being lost, so too is the economic and ecological foundation on which production and conservation are based. Soil carbon provides the … Read more

Jason Grant

Currently, the environment and water quality are at the forefront of New Zealanders minds. There is a general consensus that our environment is suffering from the strain modern society has put on it. As a consequence of this, the agriculture industry is coming under increased pressure and scrutiny to find solutions to address this problem. … Read more

Nick de Ridder

The New Zealand Agricultural Sector makes up about two thirds of the exported goods from New Zealand and as such remains the most important industry for New Zealand’s economy. Agricultural farms span from Stewart Island in the South to Cape Reinga in the North, some 1600 km away and from one coast line in the … Read more

Hayden Dunne

Leadership is one of the many fundamental components of a successful business. Understanding and appreciating what makes up leadership can ultimately drive success. No matter what the business size, sector or turnover, a successful business requires great leadership. To be a great leader requires a particular skill set; not everyone is naturally a leader. However, … Read more

Emma Crutchley

In New Zealand (NZ) freshwater management has become a top political issue with most New Zealanders having an emotional attachment to freshwater and how it is managed. The question is, how do we manage freshwater and respect diverse interest and complex environmental interactions? The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of freshwater … Read more

James Courtman

The decision by Fonterra to implement TAF (Trading Among Farmers) back in 2012 was a major decision in the history of the co-operative and was predominantly to address an issue know as Redemption risk. This redemption issue was something Fonterra conceded to in the process of forming Fonterra in 2001. Government at the time wouldn’t … Read more

Monica Schwass

Blockchain is a digital platform that stores and verifies transactions between users. It is different from other digital databases in the following ways; it allows peer-to-peer transactions rather than relying on an intermediary to facilitate the transaction; the information is distributed throughout the network rather than being held in one central database; data is encrypted … Read more

Gary Massicks

The purpose of this study is to look at what options exist for owners of farm businesses in the sheep/beef sector to ‘exit’ either; their role or ownership in the business. This is not an investigation into the overall succession topic, more a look at one of the key parts of the process. Where are … Read more

Pablo Gallegos

“If anybody anywhere in the world can use small amounts of energy, water and nutrients to create the same quality food as we can here then why would anyone buy from New Zealand?” That’s the question that Lance Wiggs director of several New Zealand high-growth companies (www.lancewiggs.com) asked to his readers back in February 2016. … Read more

Craig Trotter

Change is constant and the change of pace for the global supply of protein and its make up is going to alter considerable over the next 20 years. Alternative protein sources such as through the rise of plant based and synthetic meat products will take place of the current traditional commodity meat market across the … Read more

Justin Geary

An industry founded by entrepreneurs and innovators, the deer industry is relatively young. Farming the most recently domesticated animals, deer farmers have experienced all of the highs and lows that markets can deliver. With boom and bust cycles a regular occurrence, industry leaders developed a strategy to create an appellation for premium New Zealand Venison … Read more

Allister Holmes

It is naïve and self-centered to even consider our selves the owners of land. Land has existed for millennia before we “own” it, and will continue to exist for millennia after we no longer “own” it. We are simply occupiers, users and stewards of it for a fleeting time. Current land stewards should undertake succession … Read more

Annabel Craw

Family farming businesses contribute to a large proportion of the total number of agricultural businesses in New Zealand. But given the level of their significance very little focus is put on how family businesses function to remain harmonious, strengthen and grow. The small amount talked about is largely focused on governance and succession planning and … Read more