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Its more than just Kiwifruit: The impact on regional New Zealand as we try to meet the growing demand for Kiwifruit development – Te Kaha case study.

Executive Summary

  1. If our regions are not thriving the prosperity of our people declines. Half of New Zealand’s population live in the regions. It is our regions that generate our economic output through the primary industry. Kiwifruit is the largest horticultural economic contributor and is targeted for significant growth.
  2. This research is about the impact on regional New Zealand as we try to meet the growing demand for kiwifruit development. In my opinion, very little research exists about the impact of kiwifruit development that is people centric and flavoured with regional perspectives.
  3. The Government’s regional economic strategy to foster regional prosperity aligns with global growth opportunities in Kiwifruit, Zespris growth strategy and market demand. The common denominator is that the regions are key to achieving their strategy.
  4. 52 individuals participated in the survey over a three month period. A combination of in-person interviews, postal and online surveys were conducted. All respondents were located in Te Whanau Apanui, a thriving kiwifruit community north of Opotiki. The survey questions were designed to capture demographic data for regional context; and gain personal insights about the impact of kiwifruit development on their community.
  5. The people centric approach that I have undertaken has enabled me to gain, on the ground personal insights which will be used to help guide industry thinking about kiwifruit development in our regions, particularly the more remote areas.
  6. Three key themes emerged from the research that captured the essence of the voices of the people in this region:
    • the impact on our People;
    • the impact on our Land;
    • the importance of Social Investment
  7. The following recommendations have been prepared to guide and support key industry stakeholders about working in our regional kiwifruit communities.

THAT a multifaceted strategy is required when growing industries in our regions. This will require collective involvement from the communities, industry and Government. MULTIFACETED STRATEGY

THAT the voice of the people is critical in the development of any strategy, therefore any strategy needs to include and allow time for meaningful engagement. MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT.

THAT a knowledge gap currently exists in our regional communities about on-orchard kiwifruit practices. INFORMATION COMMUNICATION

THAT a Maori grower participation strategy needs to be developed to increase participation within the kiwifruit industry. MAORI PARTICIPATION

Preparing a team to manage a severe storm/flood across multiple dairy units: How do you prepare your business.

Executive Summary

Severe storms and flooding are occurring in New Zealand more with more impact to our people and environment. How prepared for an Emergency is critical to how an event impacts your business is significant to a profitable farming system. Methods used for this report is a comprehensive analysis into regional emergency response giving the understanding of the complexity’s involved in levels of response, process behind declaration of local state of emergencies, structure and roles of decision makers. Analysis also looked at industry bodies recommendations giving this report trends of common themes in response plans.

Research into the regional response system highlighting structure and roles within community’s emergency response such as the (CIMS) model to build a robust business plan show that with reoccurring weather events Household emergency plans, Personal workplace emergency plans and thorough reviewing the plans with staff and updating getaway survival kits is key to being prepared in your household and your business.

With research that extreme weather events are becoming much more common not only in New Zealand but across the world, between 1990 and 2014 there were more than 8,000 weather related disasters with floods, hurricanes and epidemics being the most common. (IMF Blog insights and analysis on economic and finance- climate change) shows 25 years of research proves 38% of natural disasters are severe floods with 16% Tropical cyclones.

Declaring state of local emergencies is made up of a number of Authorities or Mayor and Local Councillor. A state of Emergency is declared when the special powers within the Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM) Act 2002 are required to coordinate the emergency. The special powers can only be used if the event meets the definition of an emergency as defined in the Act. The CDEM defines an emergency situation where flooding, storms, tornados earthquakes and many other natural disasters. Also where there is significant risk to injury or life or in any way endangers the safety of the public or property in New Zealand.

There are five levels of response with level one being a local incident or response activities dealt with by an emergency service, Local Authority or other responsible organisation without the activation of an EOC (Emergency Operations Centre).
Level 5 being National Coordination with a regional level response being activated to direct, coordinate and support incidents with regional or national implications at the National Crisis Management Centre (NCMC).
Analysis of industry recommendations has picked up the trend of three key areas Preparation, Response, Recovery. Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, businesses have an obligation to be prepared for an emergency. Workplace Emergency Plans which includes communicating my get home plan, work get home group, my get home plan, personal and family information are a successful way to prepare your teams and need to be communicated frequently so all staff understand what the plan is when preparing for a storm or flooding.

Safety of stock is protecting a significant asset to your property when preparing for weather event some common trends through analysis have been stock on highest ground, shelter is extremely important as stock lose body temperature when wet, access to fresh stock water.

Response during a severe storm of flood it is highly recommended by industry bodies and Civil Defence to listen to your local radio stations as emergency management officials will be broadcasting advice for your community and situation. Filling bathtubs, sinks and storage containers with clean water in case water becomes contaminated, consider using sandbags to keep water away from your home, ensuring you and your staff have household emergency plans in place, do not attempt to drive or walk through floodwaters unless it is absolutely essential.

Recovery from a severe storm or flood can be a significant job. Making sure family, staff and neighbours are all ok is priority. Checking and securing stock with fresh stock water and report any power or phone faults. If power is out, look for trees over lines, fallen poles. Treat all lines as live. Check farmbuildings and infrastructure including roads and races.

Research suggests long term mitigation strategies on your property such as strategic planting of willows or poplars, having adequate supplementary feed on hand, having all pumps above flood levels, having an older styled telephone that doesn’t require power, having a car charger if you have a cell phone, having stock in good condition as healthier stock are more resilient which gives you more management options during difficult times, reviewing your insurance cover regularly, is it economical to buy a generator? Potentially in partnership with one or two neighbours.

So how Prepared is your Business?

Pathways to farm ownership.

Executive Summary

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 and investors have converted dry-land sheep and cropping farms to irrigated dairy making use of a supportive banking sector and low interest rates, availability of reliable water for irrigation and a statutory requirement on Fonterra to collect all new supply.

The dairy boom and the conversion of farm land to dairy has led to significant wealth creation through a change in land values (e.g., from dry-land sheep and cropping to irrigated dairy) that exceeded the cost of conversion. These one-off gains are tax-free and despite the high levels of debt that many took on, there was, in general, an expectation that land values would continue to rise long enough to resolve the low equity position that many farmers had during this period.

Some regions have proven more popular with dairy farm investors than others. There are a number of reasons for investor preference however, high debt levels (financial risk) were managed by investing in areas with reliable production and lower business risk. Essentially, areas that could reliably grow enough high quality feed each season (such as irrigated Canterbury and Southland) were favoured over regions with more variable performance. Demand for farms in the premium regions continued to rise over other regions and this demand was reflected in price premiums.

Since 2008 farm gate milk prices have been volatile and included periods of low payouts when most farmers ran their farms at a loss. Those farm businesses with high debt levels had to manage costs and production very carefully or risk breaching bank loan covenants. The down turn also increased dairy farm debt levels. In the ten years from 2007 to 2017 dairy farm debt increased from $18.8 billion to $41.2 billion as a period of land development, business growth and investment in farm conversion was followed by record low milk prices. The graphs below depict the effects of the dairy boom and dairy downturn on rural debt and scale of growth in the dairy industry and equates to $22 a kilogram of milksolids (Woodford, 2017).

During the recent downturn, bank lending to the dairy sector increased by $5 billion or 15 percent, mainly for working capital purposes. Farms also borrowed almost $400 million through Fonterra Co-operative Support Loans. With leverage in the dairy sector already high, this growth in debt has left the sector more vulnerable to another period of low dairy prices.

The dairy boom also saw a change to the type of investor in the industry. Corporate and institutional “type” investors were attracted by the strong returns from the tax-free capital gains that were available through the change in land use, from land development and from farming cash flows. This interest increased the demand for existing dairy farms and their support farms and also for those farms with potential to convert to dairy helping to underpin the market for farmland.

While there is no official data on the proportion of New Zealand farmland that is now owned by “corporate” type companies (vs traditional family owner operated farms), Foregin Direct Investment (FDI) can be used as an indicator for this type of investment activity. NZIER reported in 2016 that FDI in New Zealand almost doubled between 2001 and 2015 from $55 billion to $100 billion and while FDI in farmland represented only 5.9 % of all FDI in 2015 , this share has risen from 1.3% in 2001. Th is represents an increase of 16% per annum and is above rate of the 13.5 % annual rise in farmland values over a similar period (Gawith, Andrew, New Zealand Herald 2010). Since 2001, 15% of agriculture and forestry transactions have involved some form of FDI of which 58% was forestry (ANZ Agrifocus December 2017).

Historically, dairy farming has provided viable pathways for farmers to create wealth over time enabling many to achieve farm ownership. The development of the industry over the past 20 years has increased land values at a faster pace than cow values and, as a consequence, is reducing the use of traditional structures such as 50/50 share-milking favouring instead the use of other arrangements such as equity partnerships, contract milking and variable-order sharemilking. The low milk prices of 2015 and 2016 seasons added impetus to this trend as farm owners were forced to consider all options to reduce operating costs. This has included a move away from sharemilking to directly employing farm managers and contract milkers. The table below shows that there are approximately 800 less sharemilking jobs (from 4.044 to 3,208) in New Zealand than 10 years ago. O her data from DairyNZ shows that in 2017 82% of all sharemilking job were on farms of less than 3 600 cows, indicating that farm owners prefer straight management roles for large scale farms. Anesdotal evidence also suggests that large scale farms are preferred by corporate investors.

The changes outlined above meant that herd owing share-milkers lost ground to land owning farmers on a proportion of asset value that was contributed to a traditional share-milking partnership and could no longer expect to share in 50% of the milk income ( less their costs ). Historically sharemilkers had been able to grow their equity at over 30 % per year (DairyNZ Economic Survey 2017). This compared with owner-operators return on equity (from 2008 – 2017) averaging 6%. More recent entrants to the industry are having to work with land owners to develop new models for wealth creation to achieve farm ownership. For others, farmland values have reached such high levels that the goal of farm ownership seems attainable and have exited the industry.

While farm ownership through dairy farming is becoming harder in high land value regions and where the dairy land development cycle is at a mature stage, there are regions that have suitable land for dairy farming although have attracted less interest from corporate investors. One such region is the West Coast of the South Island. Land values on the West Coast haven’t reached the same levels as in premium regions such as Canterbury on a per hectare and per kg milksolids basis. There are a number of reasons for the difference and this study seeks to identify how this has affected investment returns for investors and emerging farm owners.

Understanding and comparing investment returns for both Canterbury (as an example of a high value region) and the West Coast (as an example of low value region) is important to farmers exploring new ways to create wealth in the dairy industry. As a recent entrant to the dairy industry (less than 10 years) it is an area of particular interest to me and I hope that this study will contribute to the pool of knowledge for many other farmers in a similar position.

The future of Gisborne navel oranges: sweet or sour.

Executive Summary

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 similar position.

Using both Porters Five Forces and SWOT analysis this report looks at core issues facing the industry. The industry is made up of a large number of small producer’s most of whom have no connection with the consumer.

With the exception of the shoulders of the season, typical grower returns are only sufficient to cover expenses. This is a long standing issue and previous attempts to improve grower returns have been short lived. Recent attempts by the industry to lift consumer acceptance through the introduction of a voluntary maturity standard has improved fruit in the market, but falls short of making sufficient change to lift grower returns.

The biggest natural advantage of Gisborne Navel oranges is their ability to taste better than any other navels if left to reach their maturity potential; yet fruit entering the market is inconsistent and growers typically pick fruit very early in the maturity cycle, long before they are at their best. There is little to no differentiation in the market and consumers typically don’t know one navel orange from another.

There is a need for Growers to focus more on the consumer, and work together as an organised group to get sufficient control of the supply to make a significant impact on lifting quality and coordinating volume through the supply chain. Without significant change, returns to growers are likely to remain low.

Beyond the borders of Nelson: The opportunity for growth of the New Zealand hop industry.

Executive Summary

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 hops and determine if opportunity exists for hop production in alternative regions to Nelson, New Zealand To seek a balanced point of view a multi-faceted approach was taken including
  • Reviewing national and global literature on hop production, marketing and selling methods
  • Undertaking a higher-level overview of the global craft beer market and more in-depth review of the US craft beer market to appreciate the drivers of hop demand
  • Informal discussions and in person meetings with various people from within and around the New Zealand hop industry to determine the dynamics of the market, approaches to selling product and how they aim to maximise returns for New Zealand hop growers
  • Speaking with local and international brewers to understand market dynamics, and key decisions around sourcing hops when determining a ‘brew’.
  • Review and present a case study on a soon to be released market investment opportunity to understand the capital requirements and forecast returns for this investment

The key findings from the report show:

  • The global craft beer dynamics will support continued growth of the New Zealand hop sector
  • Hops can grow in other regions of New Zealand with some regions exhibiting remarkably similar growing conditions to the larger international hop growing areas of Yakima in Washington State and Hallertau in Germany
  • New Zealand grown hops have several redeeming features to make them more attractive to brewers such as their aroma and flavour profiles unique to New Zealand
  • Capital cost of entry is considerable
  • Forecast returns support continued investment in this sector

The conclusions and recommendations in this report are targeted at any party wanting a greater understanding of the New Zealand hop sector.

Looking forward to 2030: the un-sustainable development goals – corporate social responsibility and the New Zealand primary sector.

Executive Summary

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 with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s), and it immediately became apparent that these two things needed to work hand in hand to enhance social and environmental outcomes for business.

Through discussing the concepts with organisations I became conscious that awareness of CSR andthe SDG’s was lacking.

The aim of this paper is to create awareness of the subject of CSR and to reinforce and challenge the need for the New Zealand primary sector to have a unified approach to the challenges of conducting business sustainably.

I aim to explore the SDG’s and discuss the benefit to integrate them throughout an organisations culture to form the basis of a unified approach to meeting the needs of society and the environment.

Having had an interest in how CSR can be best integrated into the New Zealand primary industry for some time, I have put this report together with knowledge and concepts gained during that period.

To continue on from this I have conducted a literature review to explore concepts to extend the knowledge gained.

With consumers becoming more informed of how businesses operate and choosing to purchase goods and services based on their ethical beliefs, the power of the consumer is greater than ever. Seventy-two percent of people globally say business is failing to take care of the planet and society as a whole (Accenture and Havas Media Group, 2014) and are adapting their spending habits to support businesses that are actively working to improve the life of society.

Corporate Social Responsibility is a movement aimed at encouraging companies to be more aware of the impact of their business on the rest of society, including their own stakeholders and the environment. (Financial Times, n.d.)

The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of global goals adopted by the governments of the United Nations in 2015 to help improve societal standards.

When both CSR and the SDGs are integrated into business together the following benefits can happen for an organisation.

  • Driving growth
  • Positive effects on company image and reputation
  • Positive effects on employee motivation, retention, and recruitment
  • Revenue increases from higher sales and market share
  • New revenues from innovative products and services
  • Lowering cost
  • Reducing risk
  • Being able to continue to operate in countries where future policies and legislations will be shaped by the SDGs
  • Building trust
  • Forging partnerships with other companies, governments and non-government organisations (NGO)

The framework for engaging the SDGs into the CSR function of an organisation may look like…
Identify relevant SDGs – Select SDGs that are relevant to the business and its supply chain
Goals – Set targets around what the organisation wants to achieve comparative to the baseline in relation to the SDGs
CSR engagement – CSR philanthropy aligned with the SDGs
Embed – Communicate a new way of thinking throughout the organisation
Implement – Specific projects engaging with the SDGs
Monitor – Utilise tools to assess impact
Report – Annual report written in line with Global Reporting Initiative or similar.

A primary industry approach to this would be beneficial to all of society including stakeholders.

Tackling the effects of groundhog day in farm ownership.

Executive Summary

“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 more recently ownership, I feel my passion for the day to day work dwindling…. I’m bored.

The daily chores on my 1000ha sheep and beef property at Porangahau in Hawke’s Bay are no longer the challenge they once were, development on Senlac Station was predominantly done over 10 years ago, with fencing, water systems, metalling and an aggressive regrassing programme keeping my passion burning at the time. And while there is still plenty to do, I feel like the project that is Senlac Station is complete. But high debt levels, and an emotional attachment (that is only experienced once you have poured your heart and soul into a business) toward my property hinder the decision-making process and before long I find myself stuck in a rut, constantly looking over the fence for the stimulation I crave.

Initial research suggested I was not alone. I have many friends and acquaintances that themselves have made changes to their farm business just to combat the boredom in their daily lives. Some bought diggers and went contracting, some invested heavily into sheep and cattle studs, while others leased out the farm and joined the corporate world in search for more stimulation.

This report endeavours to:

  1. Ascertain whether Groundhog Day is an issue for farm owners
  2. If so, why is it an issue
  3. What tools can be employed to deal with it and prepare for it.

Unfortunately, although the agriculture industry has overlooked boredom in farming as an issue, the corporate world sees boredom in entrepreneurs as a contributor to low productivity and stress leading to depression, yet the question is rarely asked in any farming sector. As a young person about to enter farm ownership, it would be beneficial to know that keeping the passion for farming alive is not as easy as it may seem and to have some tools in place to tackle the issue if and when it arises may make any transition much easier.

As not much has been written about boredom in farm ownership, I had to look at the corporate world for my literature review. Here articles regarding boredom in entrepreneurship could be directly related back to the farming sector. I also conducted a survey on social media which had 86 respondents and gave me the basis of my research. Meeting with leaders in the field of rural mental health highlighted the importance of exposing an issue not yet considered relevant.

Most wellbeing experts believe in the five ways to wellbeing.

These are:

  • Connect with family, friends, neighbours.
  • Give to charities, donate your time.
  • Take notice of the little things.
  • Keep learning and developing.
  • Be active at work or in sport.

My survey also sought to find out how much time farmers set aside for these five behaviours and whether there were any correlations between these and those farmers that are struggling with the effect of Groundhog Day.

Out of the 86 people surveyed:

  • 30% said they often felt stuck in a rut at work
  • 42% reported that they felt stuck in a rut only sometimes
  • 28% stated that they did not feel they were stuck in a rut.

This backed up my initial hypothesis that Groundhog Day is an issue to some extent for 72% of farm owners, and a key contributor to low productivity and stress for 30% of farm owners.
The main causes appear to be monotony of routine, long hours/hard work, and profit/debt. And other reasons such as weather, inability to progress, compliance, and staff issues having a lesser impact but still worth noting.

Other interesting trends include:

  1. Farm owners that are not affected by boredom tend to have other paid jobs outside of their core farm business (e.g. Council/board work), showing they have realised they require more stimulation than what the farm can offer.
  2. Farmers that have been managing/owning for more than ten years are more affected by Groundhog Day showing that the longer you’re farming the bigger an issue this is.
  3. Farmers that are unaffected by Groundhog Day are much better at utilising the five behaviours to wellness.

There are many tools available outside of the five behaviours of wellness, most of which I shall detail in the report. These include:

  • Take time off
  • Create the role you want within your business
  • Invest in yourself
  • Have a strategic plan
  • Notice the envy in others
  • See the art in your work

Groundhog Day, boredom, seven-year itch, lack of passion – however you choose to describe it, can be an issue for any business owner. The difference with farming is that often there is millions of dollars tied up in property, stock, and plant, not to mention the sentimental value that can go with owning property, especially if it has been in the family for generations. Also, we normally live on the property, meaning the pressures of business are with you 24/7.

Animal welfare in livestock production systems – how well do New Zealand farmers perform and where can we improve.

Executive Summary

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 more and more reason to ensure that our whole industry is aiming to be above reproach on this matter. However, as there continue to be articles in the media exposing cases of animal neglect or abuse, we must acknowledge as an industry that there is room to improve. The problem the primary sector faces is: how can we collectively improve animal welfare in a practical, collaborative and sustainable way? In doing so, the aim is to meet the values and needs of our global consumers and maintain our social licence to farm. With access to information at an all-time high, any abusive or negligent behaviour leaves the whole of New Zealand agriculture vulnerable, as distressing videos can make it around the world to our consumers in seconds. Similarly, poor communication from our sector or an inability to give scientific evidence to consumers on why we continue with certain farming practices could lead to their distrust for our brand. The goal of this study was to identify what we are currently doing well in the sector as a whole, what areas we need to work on, and how best to practically effect change.

This study is a combination of a literature review, interviews and two surveys. The literature review focused on scientific research, global perspectives and media releases in relation to animal welfare. Interviews were conducted with representatives from industry bodies on their stance on how best to improve animal welfare and what they believe the biggest issues to be, and what action their organisation is taking on this front. I conducted two surveys – one from a farmer/rural professional perspective and one from an urban consumer perspective, to gauge whether there were any shared opinions and concerns between the two demographics.

The literature review enlightened me to the fact that animal welfare standards will always be evolving as society changes. This means that New Zealand must be keenly aware of what our overseas markets expect of us, and we must ensure we align with their values. Increased public scrutiny means that farmers need to be cognisant of how our agricultural practices are being viewed by the public.

Throughout the farmer survey, many respondents showed that they put a high priority on animal welfare, and many desired harsher punishments for those that showed disregard for their animals’ wellbeing. Farmers recognised the need in the sector for increased education on animal welfare, and a desire for urban consumers to not judge their farming practices so harshly without first understanding the reasoning behind it. Many urban consumers also identified within their survey that the urban population is not very well informed in relation to common farming practices. However, the majority did want information to be easily accessible to them on the welfare status of the animal- based food products that they buy. In general, they showed distaste for “factory farming” of chicken and pork, as well as for the production and slaughter of bobby calves.

The key recommendations from my research centered around the need for promoting open dialogue around animal welfare, in a “farmer to farmer” format. This would improve the exposure that young people and new entrants of the industry have to topics and resources around animal husbandry practices. Increased knowledge of best practice animal care could also be improved by better marketing by some of the key industry players in the animal welfare space. This research has also shown that as a sector we need to put increased focus on reducing the number of bobby calves.

I also believe that the industry would greatly benefit from national animal welfare awards, which would be a great way to celebrate and incentivise best practice animal welfare, in the same way that the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have incentivised best practice environmental stewardship.

TB freedom in New Zealand’s domestic cattle and deer herds by 2026: Is this an achievable goal.

Executive Summary

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 aim to have a national cattle and deer herd that can boast freedom from Mycobacterium Bovis (Bovine Tuberculosis, TB) by 2026 will contribute to our beef, dairy and venison national product integrity story and eliminate risk to our international trade security in some markets.

Now is not the time to let complacency take us back to epidemic levels of TB. A well known farming cliche is ‘don’t let your foot off the throat’ and this applies now, more than ever. Too much time, sweat and tears have been put in to the cause – not forgetting the huge monetary investment that farmers, the taxpayer and other contributors have poured into this effort to let our ‘foot off the throat’ now. Our fight against TB needs to remain a committed, national effort where money and resources are to be used as efficiently as possible to see the goals achieved that were set out in the latest National Disease Management Plan, 2016 (NDMP).

The latest NDMP (2016) has provided us all 3 clear goals to work towards over the next 37 years:
● 2026 TB freedom in domestic cattle and deer herds.
● 2040 TB freedom in possums.
● 2055 Biological eradication of TB from New Zealand.

We must be mindful that an intergenerational mission statement, ‘to eradicate bovine tuberculosis from New Zealand’, needs strong pathways of communication and knowledge sharing for it to be realised.

These ambitious goals, that are recognised to be achievable, require trusted and dedicated collaboration. Personnel must be attracted, and continue to provide expertise, in order to keep advising farmers on the most efficient ways to achieve this goal. New solutions need to be devised so we can achieve this. An engaged, levy-paying farmer base that understands why we are doing this is also fundamental to success. Enough highly-skilled, ‘on the ground’ experts, enough human capability and enough technology to gain efficiencies is also key to our achievement. Our Government and Ministry of Primary Industry needs to be approachable to recognise target successes, and offer a consistent funding model. Above all else, the governance and stewardship of this eradication plan must lead us seamlessly through the years, steering us towards an environment free of Mycobacterium bovis.

The health of our national herd has come into the spotlight as farmers face another significant national disease incursion. Although a different microorganism to the one that is the cause of bovine TB, it has sparked debate. General risks factors need to be taken in to consideration when farmers are making decisions around stock origin and history before purchasing. Activities that need special consideration include the grazing of animals off farm (separate or commingled), breeding bull accreditation processes and the purchasing of (and feeding of) pooled milk to calves that could contain disease. It has also raised discussion about the sacrifice of diseased animals for good of the national herd. These are all areas that need exploring continuously. We must investigate if there is a need for tighter restrictions to be enforced to stop the drift of the disease and to ensure the 2026 goal of TB freedom in domestic cattle and deer herds is achieved. This is not a time to ‘let the foot off the throat.

The Habit of engaging Human potential, Teal.

Executive Summary

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 and lead change.  The point of this project was not just to start a conversation and become more knowledgeable, but to challenge my own beliefs, innovate and lead through action.

‘The light bulb wasn’t invented by continuously improving the candle.’ Oren Harari

It was about understanding the job to be done and then stepping back to look for solutions to solve this.

Only a few years ago the statement ‘Pasture to Plate’ was created.  Now with that rate of change required to hold onto our licence to operate as a farmer, I feel it should be changed to ‘Ecosystem, transparent to customer with an emotional connection in-between.’

To even adjust to the complexity of what I feel is now required, I find myself relaunching my dairy farming career with what I suspect will happen at least three times within my working time frame, if I am to remain competitive.  At each point requiring to fully up-skill, or in today’s words – capability rejuvenation. To achieve this, can we do what we’ve always done and just improve or adjust? Or as farmers do, we innovate?

For years gone by and even still today, we as Kiwi’s believe that we are great innovators through the ingenuity of the “No.8 wire” mentality, with a can do resourcefulness attitude, that comes from a country such as ourselves at the bottom of the world.  We are a long way from February 15th 1882 when our first frozen meat shipment left New Zealand’s shores.  Although these are incredible feats in their own right, as we moved towards the industrialised age, the question has to be asked:

Are we as Kiwis still great innovators?  How can New Zealand shift from this idea of ‘feeding the world,’ to ‘being great for the world?’

Furthermore within an industry such as the dairy industry, why is it that we struggle to attract and retain quality staff members?  That across the board we have an increased number of people struggling with mental health and well-being. To a point now, I’m left wondering, who’s next?  Who will be the next fellow dairy farmer crippled by depression and/or anxiety?