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How Can We Help?

Rosalie Hyslop Kellogg report image
Rosalie Hyslop Kellogg report image

Executive summary

This report sought to understand how the groundspread industry can support the New Zealand food and fibre sector during a period of increased regulation and reform.
In trying to understand how the groundspread industry could help, it was necessary first to establish the following:

  • How imposed regulatory change impacts the food and fibre sector.
  • What the groundspread industry is currently doing well (and should keep doing).
  • What areas the groundspread industry could improve to support the sector.
  • Why the New Zealand food and fibre sector requires trusted partners to support them in meeting
    their challenges.

Ki te kāpuia e kore e whati.
We succeed together.

Key Findings

This report identified key challenges for the food and fibre sector that the groundspread industry needs to be aware of:

  • Increased production (economic activity) has negatively impacted on the natural environment (Cassells & Meister, 2001).
  • Environmental policy attempts to reduce these negative impacts (Cassells & Meister, 2001) (Pannell & Rogers, 2022).
  • The emotional response to policy change and the five stages of grief experienced during periods of imposed change (Friedrich & Wustenhagen, 2017).
  • Trust is critical for supporting the food and fibre sector through change (Savage, et al., 2018).
  • Rural New Zealand require trusted partners to support them.
  • The groundspread industry shares concerns with the food and fibre sector (rapidly increasing costs and sustainability issues/compliance) and should seek solutions to help them mitigate these concerns.
  • The groundspread industry supports their rural clients well but must ensure that this support is more consistent on every farm where Groundspread NZ members undertake nutrient placement.
  • The groundspread industry should share its part of the paddock-to-plate journey by increasing marketing and education about the efficient and accurate work they undertake in applying nutrients.

Furthermore, change generates an emotional response, and each individual or organisation will progress through the stages of grief towards acceptance of imposed change at varied pace (Friedrich & Wustenhagen, 2017). While navigating this change process, members of the food and fibre sector require varying support dependent on their stage in the grief cycle as it applies to sustainability policy changes:

  • Information and communication are important for people during the denial and anger stages of grief.
  • Emotional support is required for people who are transitioning into the bargaining phase of the grief cycle.
  • Guidance and direction are critical for supporting people as they move through the depressive and acceptance stages of grief as it applies to sustainability policy changes.

Recommendations

The recommendations included in this report aim to increase awareness of the professionalism of the groundspread industry. Groundspread NZ members can support the primary sector through increased engagement and by better sharing their skilled and essential role in New Zealand’s food and fibre production in the following ways:

Implement Educational initiatives

  • Ensure all groundspread operators, and their clients, are aware of the latest in-truck technologies, such as tracking/mapping technologies.
  • Ensure that all groundspread operators, and the rural sector, understand the benefits of the Spreadmark scheme.

Develop a Marketing strategy

  • Develop a marketing strategy to share the precision work undertaken by the groundspread industry.
  • Promotion of an efficient groundspread industry to policymakers, farmers, and urban New Zealanders.

Build meaningful Partnerships

  • Create meaningful relationships with companies developing technology for the industry to ensure they will fulfil the needs of the food and fibre sector.
  • Establish meaningful relationships with policymakers to increase awareness of the precision work undertaken by the groundspread industry on behalf of their rural clients.
  • Continue meaningful relationships with fertiliser manufacturers/suppliers to ensure that developed products can be applied as intended.

The research methodology included an extensive literature review focused on the converging importance of economic growth and environmental harm reduction. Data was collected through two focus groups of Groundspread NZ Association members: nine for the first focus group and 27 in the second focus group. An online survey of the New Zealand rural community was also conducted; 22 responses were collected.

The data was then analysed using the transcript-based method prescribed by Krueger & Casey (2002). Subsequently, data was grouped for thematic analysis using Braun & Clarke’s (2006) method and has highlighted many things that are being done well by the groundspread industry, but also that few people know about them. Increased engagement is at the heart of better supporting New Zealand’s food and fibre sector.

Thriving Early Career Development.

Sarah McKenzie Kellogg report image
Sarah McKenzie Kellogg report image

Executive summary

There is great potential and high demand for our Food and Fibre sector graduates. Even with a high focus on sector initiatives to attract and retain people, the rural talent shortage continues to challenge the industry at all levels. Businesses are facing the likelihood of more frequent new staff turnover (every 18 months – 3 years) with many direct and indirect costs that have flow-on effects. Integrating new staff into their roles as soon as possible is highly desirable to minimise disruption.

This study looked at what is important for thriving early career development for rural professionals in skilled technical support roles in agribusinesses. It aimed to understand the options and designs for early career development and the key features of a successful graduate programme. The methodology included a literature review, followed by semi-structured interviews with 12 early to mid-career employees and eight agribusiness support companies to understand expectations and perspectives from their experiences.

Key findings:

A career is a process, not a destination, with constant moving parts and balancing priorities. Early career experiences are one factor in retaining new talent or attracting them back later in their career. Support, connections, proactive development conversations and providing graduates ownership of certain tasks
are all key factors for a positive experience.

Graduate programmes can help provide structure, but it is often the individual experiences with an employer, with considerations of balancing lifestyle, development and career aims. Businesses need to look at their situation and roles to understand the specific turnover challenges, and how to address these.

Most students at university do not have clarity of their career path. They have general themes of perceived importance that can change with experience. Companies need to do more to promote options for summer work and internships to assist students with their career direction and provide examples of sample career paths.

Graduate programmes can attract new talent, but they must be well considered for talent retention. Graduate roles not part of a structured programme can be just as successful and sought out by students.

Awareness of the opportunities can be a limitation, as it is often through personal connections and word of mouth. It is important to take the time to understand what both the business and the employee need to ensure there isn’t a difference between expectations and reality. Do not overpromise and under-deliver. Companies are often pleasantly surprised by the value graduates can add to their business, regularly exceeding expectations. It is important to ensure this value is realised and that the
“new graduate” title doesn’t limit employee’s responsibilities or opportunities.

Recommendations for businesses:

  • Have proactive open conversations on career progression.
  • Describe example career pathway options, to allow employee visibility and consideration to their career aims and interest. Promote open feedback and reflection from this.

  • Invest early in learning and development in communication and soft skills as well as technical skills.

  • Undertake a strategic review of graduate roles within companies. Considering the structure, core tasks, and what else can be done for opportunities as a career package.

  • Explore options for a collaborative event for Agri-graduates and early career employees within regions to foster and support early networking, promote connections, and build relationships.

  • Investigate improved sector options for formal or informal early career employee training and consider supporting networking and providing mentoring support.

  • Align more with university courses and have early and mid-career employees participate in networking events to share experiences and potential sample career pathways.

Recommendations for early career employees:

seek out industry networking groups for stimulation and support, particularly if not receiving development or support within current role or company.

A health check of women in the Kiwifruit workforce.

Yvette Jones Kellogg report
Yvette Jones Kellogg report

Executive summary

The Women in Kiwifruit group has a goal of inspiring, connecting and elevating women in the Kiwifruit Industry. To understand the current status of the representation of women in the Kiwifruit industry this report was conducted. It aimed to answer if women are well represented across the Kiwifruit workforce (paddock to plate) through completing a ‘health check’.

A literature review identifying documented benefits and barriers of women in the workplace and the greater themes of diversity and business culture. A diverse workforce is not a nice to have, it is morally, ethically, social and financially beneficial business decision. Women contribute to increased levels of innovation, and better risk management.

A series of semi structured interviews were completed with a variety of Kiwifruit industry leaders, followed by a thematic analysis highlighting common themes. A lack of women was identified across senior leadership levels and certain roles like grower services and orchard management.

Although it was highlighted that the industry has greatly improved as it has grown, common barriers for women succeeding in the Kiwifruit industry were unconscious bias, lack of flexible working conditions and business culture. All leaders highlight great opportunities for change if a team or manager had a mind-set attuned for embracing change, or who personally valued diversity.

When a statistical analysis was completed on employment data from a Kiwifruit postharvest organisation it showed that although on average women were well represented there was an imbalance across roles identified by industry leaders. More women were employed in Admin, HR, Finance and Quality roles and less in Grower Services, Orchard, Senior Leadership and Forklift positions. As levels of leadership were increased fewer women were seen due to a varieties of internal and external factors.

Recommendations to address the imbalance of women across the increase include collecting more data and monitoring to provide analytical metrics and reduce speculation. Being bold with leadership decisions to create change and expect change from the team around you.

Encourage women to support women through connection and mentoring. Cultivate diversity values from the bottom up and top down across the industry. Adopt fit for purpose business cultures that values diversity and people. 
 

Opportunities to improve efficiency in the fresh produce supply chain.

Marcus Tietjen Kellogg report
Marcus Tietjen Kellogg report

Executive summary

The fresh produce sector in New Zealand produces some of the world’s greatest fruit and vegetables. There is a complex all-encompassing machine that connects the farms these products are grown on to the final consumer. This machine is the Fresh Produce Supply Chain (FPSC).

New Zealanders enjoy an excellent range of fresh fruit and vegetables that can be purchased through a variety of sales channels. The most dominant and effective channel is through supermarkets which have access to supply via fresh produce marketers and growers directly. These suppliers provide
fresh produce of good quality, at scale consistently and at a reasonable price throughout the year to meet the tastes and preferences of consumers.

This project has been completed to further understand the FPSC and seek efficiencies that can be made that reduce volatility in supply, reduce food waste and reduce the margin between what the consumer pays, and grower receives.

We aim to answer three key questions being: what are the challenges for the current fresh produce supply chain from the farm gate in New Zealand? What technology and supply chains exist today outside of fresh produce? And does a different, more efficient system fit in today’s fresh produce supply chain and would this be accepted by industry stakeholders?

The key findings were growers in NZ are aligning themselves with retailers and marketers in partnership style relationships. Growers with smaller scale struggle to compete in fragmented industries where information is less available and less direct from the consumer.

Over time there has been a shift in the paradigm from growing for the market floor auctions, to growing for consumer demand based on high information sharing from retailers and marketers. This has resulted in a more deliberate crop rotation and sustainable growing system, reducing wasted product and improving price stability.

Technology in FPSC has huge potential however supply chain participants are cautious and considerate on technology they invest in. Blockchain technology can support efficiencies by reducing reliance on trust on intermediaries. The internet of things can provide an interface between supply chain practice and software systems. This can log important information which can give retailers and consumers confidence in quality of product and appropriate handling.

Consolidation of fragmented industries will support greater efficiencies as grower scale increases and vertically integrate to control more downstream practices. We also see intermediaries investing in upstream practices such as farms and greenhouses.

Recommendations are summarised as follows:

  • Encourage vertical integration where supply chains are owned or controlled between grower and retailer. For growers that have the scale and access to capital they should build partnerships with retail entities and invest in infrastructure to reduce reliance on other supply chain participants.

  • Cooperate within sector to vertically integrate if scale is not achievable. This can be done by the establishment of regional cooperative organisations to allow smaller scale growers to pool resources, invest in infrastructure and supply direct to retailers.

  • Increase communication between FPSC participants with accurate data in fragmented product categories to share accurate crop details.

  • Drive increased consumer awareness of imported vs local produce with signage andbranding that clearly differentiates products.

  • Encourage investment in internet of things and Blockchain technology for import product to reduce volume of poor-quality import product brought to NZ consumers.

Early Implementation and the Future of Individual Cow Monitoring Technology in the New Zealand Dairy Industry.

Cameron Burton Kellogg report
Cameron Burton Kellogg report

Executive summary

The New Zealand dairy industry has a labour shortage from managers to farm assistants. This has pushed producers to look for automation options to reduce dependency on labour.

Recent and ongoing improvements have produced large-scale, commercially viable individual cow monitoring technologies that can significantly reduce the workload on farms as well as increase animal performance and health measures. Suppliers of these technologies report a positive return on investment and a reduction in labour
requirements.

The industry has seen significant growth in the uptake and implementation
of these technologies over the last 2-3 years. Implementation of emerging technologies is not always successful; challenges and limitations will exist in a commercial context that are not foreseen during the development or in early trials.
This report will explore the intended application for these technologies and how this
compares with current uptake and implementation at scale on commercial dairy farms.

It will explore areas of successful implementation and areas where obstacles have
reduced performance or prevented the technology to be utilised as expected. Current
and prospective users of the technology need to understand how different technologies in the market are likely to be implemented on their farms. This will help to make informed decisions around which technologies will achieve a more desirable outcome over the long term.

This report will help the suppliers and developers of individual cow monitoring technologies identify areas where their products are not being successfully implemented, and areas for further development to ensure the success of their technology in the New Zealand dairy industry.


A review of national and international literature was undertaken to confirm the accuracy and reliability of the technologies available to ensure they would improve or exceed the status quo of our performance in the New Zealand dairy industry. The review examined the commercial viability of these products and looked to the future of the development and application of individual cow monitoring technologies.

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews then took place with suppliers of the technologies, users, and non-users. Uptake, success and failure, and future development of the technology were examined.

Key Findings

  • The technology is highly accurate and viable for a profitable outcome in a
    commercial large-scale context.
  • All users agreed that the initial application has been successful and the return on investment has been neutral or positive.
  • There is potential for greater return on investment from ongoing training and
    implementation of the full complement of features the technology has to offer.
  • Challenges exist with the usability of the software and the sensitivity of health alerts specific to New Zealand’s outdoor grazing systems.

Recommendations

Producers

  • Develop a user-friendly interface as fast as possible, and regularly connect with users for improvements and future development.
  • Reduce the sensitivity of health alerts and integrate on-farm weather conditions with health alerts to limit false positives from weather events.
  • Ensure recruitment and the training of support staff can meet customer requirements as uptake increases. New support staff could double as sales staff to allow for early recruitment.
  • Outsource and fund third parties for technical support. Farm consultants, vets, farm advisors, and other rural professionals could be used to help educate and review the data.
  • Produce actionable reports/groups of cows from the data to minimise the interpretation and increase action taken on the farm. 

Current and future consumers

  • Prior to implementing any brand of individual cow monitoring technology, research the current and future access to after-sales support and technical specialists to ensure you will have ongoing support. Pay particular attention to your exposure to individual staff moving out of the role and limiting the technical support available.
  • Be prepared to put the time and effort into learning and understanding the software as there is an interpretation of raw data required.
  • Ensure the technology you implement is largely mainstream to ensure support from other users and increase the chances of new employees being familiar with the software.
  • Work with vets and advisors to create protocols and policies to shift from clinical diagnosis to subclinical investigation and diagnosis before clinical illness impacts production and profitability.

Capturing value on-farm.

Megan Fitzgerald Kellogg Research Report
Megan Fitzgerald Kellogg Research Report

Executive summary

More consumers are seeking food products that have credence attributes, such as improved animal welfare outcomes, lower environmental impact, and positive social impacts. Credence attributes cannot be seen or tasted, consumers only know they are being met by information being passed from producer, through the supply chain to them.

Commodity supply chains struggle to pass on accurate, complex information, leaving consumers who are seeking these attributes looking to buy their food through other outlets. Savarese et al., (2020) identified a real opportunity for New Zealand farmers if they are able to connect to these market segments. This research identifies the key requirements a family farm must have to successfully establish and maintain a short value chain.

Coinciding with the growing consumer market, is a risker macro-economic environment where farmers are subjected to tighter margins on commodity markets. Short value chains present opportunities to diversify risk through accessing alternative markets, equity growth without a dependence on acquiring more land, and a way to include more family members in the family farming business.


This research uses semi structured interviews to collect information from family farm businesses who are selling food products directly to consumers. A thematic analysis is carried out to identify the key requirements to consider when establishing a short value chain.

Establishing and sustaining a short value chain is a cyclic process that needs constant realignment between the resources the farm business has and the demands of the customer segment. Farm businesses must have the desire to connect to consumers and the ability to identify opportunities that allow them to connect with consumers in a cost-efficient way.

Success relies on mobilising the businesses resources and establishing a production system that creates a constant supply of quality product. Finally, the business must continually seek opportunities to realign with changing consumer demands and maintain their competitive advantage – which comes back to identifying opportunities.

The defining characteristics of family farm businesses who participate in short value chains is their ability to create and sustain consumer trust. This trust results in consumers who are willing to pay more for their product.

From the analysis of successful short value chains in New Zealand there are a number of recommendations for family farm business wishing to establish and participate in a short value chain.

The key recommendations are to 

  1. establish your family values and align these to customer segments to decrease costs associated with mobilising resources,

  2. spend time creating a production system that produces consistent, quality products that your consumer wants,

  3. connect with your consumers, provide transparency on product details through face-to-face and more permanent marketing such as websites, social media, etc., and

  4. constantly seek feedback and opportunities to better meet your consumer’s needs.