2026 Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship. Apply by 17 August 2025. Read More...

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kellogg

Recruitment for the future: Making the dairy industry the industry of choice.

Executive Summary

The dairy industry has for a long time been challenged to recruit sufficient people to fill vacancies and to meet the needs created by natural attrition.

Generation Z (Gen Z) are people born after 1995. The relevance being that Gen Z are aged up to approximately 20 years (as at 2017) and are starting to join the workforce, therefore are considered the workforce of the future. Either having recently commenced their working career or still within the education system, the characteristics and priorities of Gen Z when considering employment are largely undeveloped and will evolve and mature in time.

The objective of this research project was to identify if misalignment exists in the priorities of both perspective employees (Gen Z) and employers. Surveys were used to explore and gain insights as to the characteristics of employers and Gen Z, further to understand what they each prioritised when considering employment from their respective positions.

After compiling and analysis the information there was not a lot of misalignment between what employers and Gen Z when considering Gen Z’s top three priorities for employment. However, there is misalignment between what Gen Z prioritise and the realities of a career within the dairy industry where long hours and poor rosters exist. This is creating a real barrier to the dairy industry being the career of choice.

Farm businesses and/or employment systems within the dairy industry need to change if Gen Z are to find dairy farm work more appealing.

Navigating the unknown: Effective primary sector leadership for the 21st century.

Executive Summary

“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift” Kasanoff (2017). Although this might be a paraphrase of Albert Einstein’s work, it is a quote that has spread all across the world and is a great example of right brain intuition and left brain rationalisation.

It is no secret that traditional leadership in New Zealand’s primary sector, and many sectors for that matter, have been known to be very logical and analytical. These leaders enjoy familiar, accurate and practical ideas. These attributes stem from the left brain and allow a clear methodology of decision-making to take place. To ‘think big’ or to be creative are common attributes of right brain thinking.
For many, left brain leadership can be seen as a comfortable place. It includes statistics to guide decisions, risks are mitigated at every turn, processes are familiar and the business ticks along in a very orderly fashion. However, businesses today require fast pace changes, decisions made on gut feeling, flexibility and often going down the path of most resistance.

The fourth industrial revolution is upon us and the world stage looks completely different to five years ago. Robotics, AI, quantum computing, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and biotechnology are all examples of this revolution. Rural leaders will need to understand, embrace and foster these innovations as they become relative to the businesses in which they lead.

While the world is changing rapidly around us, we are also dealing with a specific issue within the New Zealand primary sector. We export over 90% of our primary production, Rotherham (2016), we have a major environmental issue on our hands, partially due to intensification, our markets are about to see a wave of synthetic products that could replace the need for much of our volume and the only solution I see to this issue is a mass shift to value-add production. So, how do you create added value in this rapidly evolving context? I believe you think differently, you think like your customers and you act fast.

Given this forecast of uncertain things to come, I explore the leadership capabilities that may be needed to manage this complexity in the 21st century.

My research not only explores the ‘why’ and the ‘what’, it also explores the ‘how’ and includes interesting case studies demonstrating what change might look like.

Regional changes in the New Zealand Dairy Industry: 1995-2015

Executive Summary

During the last two decades (1995 to 2015) the New Zealand dairy industry has undergone significant growth. Nationally, cow numbers have increased 70% from 2.9 to 5 million, the area in dairy has increased 45% from 1.2 to 1.75 million hectares and milk production has increased 129% from 8.1 billion to 18.6 billion milksolids (DairyNZ 2016).

There is significant public concern over the water quality of our streams, rivers and lakes. A number of reports indicate dairying contributes a disproportionate amount of nitrogen to waterways relative to other pastoral land uses. In areas with declining water quality it is easy to assume this is a result of increased dairying, given the overall growth. However, it is likely regional variation exists with some regions having static or declining cow numbers, in which case drawing a link between declining water quality and increased dairying may not be justified. Alternatively, water quality may not have changed in some areas where rapid growth has occurred.

The aim of this report was to present industry trends based on objective data for each region. This can be used to help develop effective regional policies and strategies for the dairy industry, including using knowledge of farm systems and farm demographics to increase effectiveness. For example, targeting a particular segment of the industry such as a certain locality or herd size. Due to time constraints it was out of scope to explore what drivers may have led to any regional changes identified.

Data were sourced from the New Zealand Dairy Statistics and the Dairy Industry Good Animal Database.

These data confirm significant changes in the New Zealand dairy industry between 1995 and 2015, which differ by region. Regions were classified into three sizes (by number of cows): large, medium and small; and into four groups by the scale and direction of the change in cow numbers: decreasing, static, slight growth and strong growth. Five regions, Taranaki, Northland, Wellington, Tasman & Nelson and Marlborough have had static cow numbers for a decade or more and some of these regions are now below their peak numbers. Auckland has fewer cows than it did in 1995. The remaining eight regions have had an increase in cow numbers, and are still growing or have been growing until recently. Waikato, Canterbury and Southland have experienced significant growth and are also large dairying regions.

The planned start of calving date has either stayed the same or moved earlier by up to 15 days, depending on region. This is likely to have resulted in increased feed demand on-farm and a shorter winter period, decreasing the time available to increase body condition. Northland had an increase in autumn calving cows in the late 1990s, as has the Waikato since 2013. The percentage of autumn calving cows was relatively constant or declined in other regions.

There has likely been an increase in feed demand on-farm since 1995 due to stocking rate, with biggest increases in stocking rate in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Canterbury has the highest average stocking rate at 3.4 cows/ha in 2015, but the area used in this report does not include the wintering areas used frequently in this region. The West Coast, Northland and Auckland have the lowest stocking rates at 2.2 to 2.3 cows/ha in 2015. The remaining regions all had stocking rates between 2.8 and 3 cows/ha in 2015, the majority of these have been relatively consistent for at least the last decade. There was a decline in the Friesian breed in herds since 1995. Overall, this means a likely decrease in liveweight per cow of between 5-15 kg/cow – thus decreasing on-farm maintenance feed demand per cow.

Increases in milk production per cow (and therefore feed demand per cow) has meant milk production also increased in regions with static cow numbers. In most cases the area in dairy declined (at least since 2003), so it would be important to determine the new land use of areas that have exited the dairy industry and drivers behind the increased milk production per cow to determine whether there has been a net increase or decrease in intensity of land use in the region. In the remaining eight regions the intensity of the dairy industry (cows/ha, milk production/cow) has increased, particularly in Canterbury, Southland and Waikato.

The key recommendations of the report were:

  • Each region should be treated individually; it should not be assumed that due to the national growth in the dairy industry that this has also happened in all areas. This also applies within regions. Blanket approaches are unlikely to achieve a desired outcome effectively or efficiently. Information/packages/policy should be tailored locally to increase effectiveness.
  • This study provides a strong foundation for further research, in particular, linking the regional and sub-regional changes in the dairy industry reported here with changes in water quality.
  • Further research could also explore the implications of the farm system changes reported here. In particular, determining the net effect of stocking rate, breed choice, calving date and milk production per cow on on-farm feed demand.
  • Quality spatial data and the ability to combine different industry data sources together to generate insight is crucial. No national, farm-level, datasets that cover all aspects of the farm system exist (nor can be created by combining different data sources). Without either comprehensive or reasonably representative datasets of farm-level data, the ability to create tailored solutions locally is severely compromised. Industry organisations, such as DairyNZ, could achieve better informed sector and catchment interactions by being able to verify existing, and collecting additional spatial data. This could be aided by negotiating access to data from MPI, and milk, fertiliser and feed companies.

Can we improve health and safety on kiwifruit orchards using software solutions.

Executive Summary

Following the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) and a fatality on a kiwifruit orchard in 2016, the New Zealand Kiwifruit industry has begun a journey on improving health and safety practices on orchard. There has recently been a proliferation of software solutions to support on-orchard health and safety. This study aims to investigate the opportunities for using software solutions on kiwifruit orchards to improve health and safety.

A literature review exploring the diffusion of innovations theory and safety culture was completed. Fifteen stakeholders from the kiwifruit industry were interviewed covering growers, contractors and packhouses to investigate the current state of health and safety in the industry and explore the industries appetite for adoption of software solutions to support health and safety. The questions investigated what was important in health and safety solutions and how software solutions were beneficial over paper systems as well as the perceived barriers to adoption.
 
It was found that there is an opportunity to improve health and safety on New Zealand kiwifruit orchards using software solutions. For these solutions to be adopted and the improvements realised several factors addressing culture, awareness and the solutions themselves must be considered.
 
This report makes five recommendations:
  1. Develop case studies of short listed software solutions to increase awareness
  2. Commission a specific kiwifruit industry health and safety culture campaign
  3. Explore best of breed software solutions for all aspects of health and safety on orchards
  4. Investigate the development of a common data sharing platform for health and safety information
  5. Investigate opportunities to facilitate the enforcement of improved health and safety practices without fear of commercial implications

Short term discomfort for long term gain.

Executive Summary

This case study looks at the changes seen over the first eight years post conversion to organic viticulture and covers the first 150 hectares of converted vineyard area on a vineyard in Marlborough, New Zealand. The motivation behind this case study has come wanting to know what changes have happened on the vineyard in question since the conversion to organic management. The best way to understand and examine these changes, is to look back to before conversion and track the changes to see if there have been any trends forming. This case study has focused on the cropping, soil and plant changes for the period of 2002 to 2017 with the process of organic conversion starting in March 2009. Not all information has been available for this length of time, however consistent information was available from before conversion with regards to all of the parameters studied. This report has not gone in to the financials of the business.
 

With continued growth in the organic sector all over the world, and the increasing restrictions on new and existing agrichemicals, the direction towards future proofing vineyards, environmental stewardship and increasing quality go hand in hand with organic production principles. These have all been implemented on the vineyard covered in this study.

Cropping data was available for total yield of each individual block and yield per hectare, from 2003 to 2017. A reduction in yield is one of the most concerning factors for growers wishing to convert to organic production, however there was no decrease in yield on the vineyards studied. The main reason for there being no decrease is that the focus on quality, from conventional to organic management, has not changed. Quality is distinctly influenced by crop load, so crop thinning is carried out in years where there is excessive crop, either by shoot thinning early in the season or bunch thinning later in the season. This has happened in every season covered in this study.

Soil data analysis for some parameters was available from 2002 to 2017, where other parameters data was only available from 2008. Analysis of the biological parameters was not undertaken. There was no change in the pH or the Bulk density over the study period, however increasing trends were observed in the CEC and Organic Matter values, starting from around the time of conversion to organic management. One of the most interesting results was the increasing trend in available K from around the time of conversion, even though no K fertilizers have been applied. Potassium can be a major limiting factor in ripening of grapes later in the season, so this increase is very encouraging. Increasing trends have also been shown in Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B, though the data for these results were only available from 2008, one year before the conversion to organic management.

Plant tissue analysis data was consistently available from 2007 to 2017 and shows a definite decreasing trend for petiole Nitrate-N, right down to unreportable levels. This is directly related to the pale green leaves seen across most organic vineyards. However, the pale green leaves and the reduced canopy size has had no effect on the ability of the grape vine to fully ripen the crop retained by the management. Even with the decrease in petiole Nitrate-N, the total nitrogen percentage within the leaf blade remains constant. Increasing trends have been shown in the trace elements Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu and B though results are only from 2008 to 2017.

One of the key out comes from this study does not directly relate to the analysis of the data collected, but comes from the lessons learnt on the journey through conversion to organic management. Many of the techniques used for combating weeds and pests can be used, and have been used, in the areas of the vineyard that are still considered to be under conventional management, which is a major positive outcome for environmental stewardship.

Financial rewards within a sustainable kiwifruit business.

Executive Summary

This report was written with the aim of exploring how other successful businesses within the Primary Industry can gain a higher premium on their products to give a competitive advantage and exclusive brand positioning. I wanted to see if there are any lessons that can be learnt and adopted by Zespri and Growers to gain an even higher premium on their produce for being a Sustainable supplier.

The research methods included:

  1.  A literature review
  2. An interview with three Primary Industry based operations
  3. A case study review of three Primary Industry based operations
  4. An online survey of Growers and Post-Harvest Kiwifruit entities

Key findings included:

  • Many New Zealand businesses are taking tentative steps into the world of sustainability
  • Businesses see competitive benefits from acting sustainably
  • Many leaders are aiming to seize sustainability leadership within their sectors over the medium term

This report was compiled with the help of many different people within the Primary Industries within New Zealand.

The potential role of trading systems in the allocation of nutrient discharge allowances.

Executive Summary

Trading systems, as a tool to reallocate nutrient emissions are currently underutilised in New Zealand. This is primarily due to the under development of the underlying water management policies and regulations required for a trading system to operate effectively.

Water quality must be more proactively managed if we are to reach the goal of having 90% of New Zealand’s rivers and lakes swimmable by 2040.

As water management policies are developed the use of trading systems to manage discharge allowances is expected to become more prevalent. But a trading system alone is not a viable solution. A trading system can be used as part of a wider structure for managing water quality. It is also not the only solution available to councils, but it is one that is favoured by economist due to its ability to efficient price and allocate scarce resources.

For a trading system to operate efficiently it must be designed in a way that it is fit-for-purpose and is embraced by potential users. Education plays a huge part in the success of any trading system. This education needs to encompass the underlying purpose or problem which the system is attempting to mitigate, as well as the practicalities of how the system itself operates.

The Agricultural Lure: Understanding the awareness of the red meat sector at high school level.

Executive Summary

Each of the sectors within the primary industry has an ageing population of employees. These people are going to need replaced by 2025 (as Julian Raine spoke about during the panel discussion, phase one of course 36 the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme). The red meat sector is New Zealand’s largest manufacturing employer and provides jobs for 25,000 people.

This research looks into whether the awareness of careers within the red meat sector at high school is having an impact on the overall employment rate within the sector. Thematic analysis is used to identify different perspectives and answers – to discover the understanding across the education sector. An interview data set of 70 people was used to understand the awareness of the red meat sector at high school level.

Promotion of careers across the sector is constrained due to low overall career awareness and lack of exposure at both a teacher and student level. Awareness of the red meat sector is primarily focused at farm level and not on the big picture, as reflected in the stigma of agriculture and practical occupations. More emphasis on telling our story and pathways through the sector are needed to help clarify awareness and understanding.

As generational change continues, communication methods and resources supplied need to be considered, while continuing to be positive and confident as an industry.

The main findings from this research are

  • More emphasis on telling our story and pathways through the sector are needed to help clarify awareness and understanding.
  • We need to continue embracing changes for positive rewards and take advantage of the skill set of the next generation of workforce.
  • The stigma of agriculture and practical occupations remains. They are not seen as prestigious.

There is a need to rebrand the term ‘red meat sector,’ change the mentality of our industry, and tell our story more effectively. Educating educators and creating clearer career pathways through apprentice programmes is needed for success into the future. Collaboration for more exposure opportunities and simplifying systems and resources are key recommendations.

Balance: Successfully managing concurrent on and off-farm roles.

Executive summary

New Zealand’s increasing property prices, corporatisation of farming, improved communication and transportation infrastructure, coupled with continuously improving farm practice and rapid disruptive technological innovation, creates both increased need and opportunity for rural families to engage in on- and off-farm work concurrently. Modern work enabled by the aforementioned advancements, particularly the rate of digital technology change, is becoming increasingly accessible around the clock, which results in a progressively blurred line between work life and home life, with the concept of a work life balance under significant challenge. 

This challenge is exacerbated when farming households are engaged in pluriactivity. Pluriactivity is the situation when family members invest time off-farm, which is not a temporary situation responding to changed circumstance or shock, but rather a permanent and accepted feature of farming societies globally, that is driven by a range of diverse factors, including household, farm and spatial drivers.

The methodology employed for this research was a combination of semi-structured interviews and a detailed literature review. All interview participants were involved in both on- and off-farm work concurrently, and had professional or highly skilled off-farm employment. With the exception of one respondent, interviewees were farming sheep or beef, or grazing dairy stock, and all participants took an active/hands – on role in the farm business.

The literature research showed a strong theme that “work life balance is bunk,” and that those engaged in on- and off-farm work concurrently should rather seek “work life harmony.” Harmony was preferred on the basis that it does not create the same inherent sense of trade-offs or the over-prioritising of work in comparison to ‘life.’ Harmony was seen as a better construct to break down the element of “life” into categories of family, community and self. Taking a more granular approach to life allowed individuals to bring together a number of elements in a be spoke manner to achieve success. Respondents conveyed that work life harmony had a temporal component, i.e. the importance of work and life (self, community and family) would change over time.

The research identified that to achieve work life harmony there are three key success factors and one key change in mental state that can facilitate success, they are as follows:

1. Communication and the importance of family

A success factor identified in the research was that of placing importance on relationships with loved ones when working both on- and off-farm concurrently. A consistent, although reluctant, interview response was “happy wife is a happy life” and that you can’t participate in pluriactivity alone. Family team work was supported by a focus on communication, with application of a ‘business communication’ rather than ‘family communication’ for managing multiple work interests being key to success. Family communication involved conversations about the farm business being a planned and deliberate action, rather than an “over the fence” or “over breakfast” conversation. The need for “doing the business” was contrasted by a requirement to know when to “box off” the various work components, so as to prevent either the family farming business or the off-farm work becoming an encroachment on the important business of family.

2. Visioning: know the end for a number of games

The importance of having a documented vision was another success factor to emerge from the research, and was a key contributor to the achievement of better work life harmony. Further, documenting the vision resulted in individuals having a clearer focus on what was important and what the end point looked like, while providing the ability to monitor progress towards time-bound, regularly reviewed goals.

It was also clearly identified that for a vision to result in increased work life harmony the goals needed to be as strategic and all-encompassing as possible, with visioning not limited to the farm business, corporate career or family goals individually, but broader in considering either the “Five F’s: family, fitness, farm, finance, fun” or Freidman’s ‘Four Circles’ of work, family, community and self. The focus of any vision needs to be strategic with a range of operational planning documents, such as 1 year and 5 year farm plans and personal development plans sitting beneath a holistic and all-encompassing vision that establishes the basis, or ‘the why’, upon which to make important decisions.

 3. Simplified systems, technology and creativity

A final success factor that came through consistently was deliberate simplification of on-farm systems, through either altering stocking rates, changing stock class or outsourcing tasks. In all situations the aim was to make the on-farm work easier given significant time pressures, and the additional income coming from the off-farm activity reducing the absolute need to be achieving maximum farm efficiency. While all respondents were very busy and often managed systems to reduce the number of mundane tasks, the research and literature suggested that they should not be eliminated altogether, particularly when engaged in pluriactivity, with simple monotonous tasks often being the time “eureka” moments occur, so the value of “tractor time” for creative or entrepreneurial thinking should not be under-estimated.

Building upon these three success factors, a key change in mental state was identified with a focus on “being” rather than “doing” key for those successful in pluriactivity. To embrace these states of being there is a requirement to take on the following:

  • Be deliberate: prioritise family as a non-negotiable time commitment – make this component equivalent to your most important appointment in the other spheres of your life.
  • Be pragmatic – simplify your farm system to make it work for your individual situation
  • Be holistic and strategic: develop a vision, include four circle granularity  Be an individual
  • Be present: avoid multi-tasking – aim for integration but restrict multi-tasking to where it does not affect the primary task.
  • Be realistic, be mindful – understand that you cannot achieve all of your life goals at once, there will be a requirement for some priorities to be fulfilled sequentially rather than concurrently
  • Be a ‘geek’ – embrace technology as appropriate to make your life more harmonious

Phil Weir

Improving communication of primary industries research, science, technology and innovation.

Executive summary

By the year 2020, over $1.6 billion of New Zealand taxpayer money will be invested in science and innovation per annum. What share will Primary Industries have of this investment? 

“With the coming of the fourth industrial revolution – fundamental change to our daily personal and professional lives from the combination of physical, digital and biological technologies – the primary sector will find itself at the center of change.”

Ian Proudfoot, Global Head of Agribusiness, KPMG 2016

The aim of this project was to understand what the benefits might be of improving communication of government – funded Research, Science, Technology and Innovation related to the New Zealand Primary Industries and how this could be achieved. stakeholders from a wide range of areas in the science and innovation ecosystem were interviewed and fin dings were related to literature and initiatives already underway in New Zealand. Benefits of improving communication include:

  • Attracting science and innovation talent to the primary industries and building future capability.
  • Positive engagement with the public ensuring social licence to operate.
  • Building New Zealand’s international reputation as an innovative country – to attract skilled migrants, build partnerships with global experts, and be seen as a trusted producer of safe, premium food and fibre products
  • Improved cross-sector collaboration and learning.
  • Faster and more advanced innovation in industry from research, science and technology uptake To achieve sustainable growth in New Zealand Primary Industries, attracting and retaining a diversity of talented people is critical.

Recommendations from this report for key stakeholder groups include:

Government:

  • Improve the New Zealand Story Business Toolkit information on science and innovation.
  • Government funding agencies could publicise their science and innovation investments more.
  • Include a section on the quality of the communication plan in assessment criteria for government. science funding

Research Organisations:

  • National Science Challenges could increase their focus on engaging school children in science and innovation (and the government could incentivise or reward them for doing this)
  • Universities and Crown Research Institutes could include positive public engagement in their promotion criteria for staff (likely if the government funding criteria changes).

Primary Industries:

  • Industry associations or businesses could develop more graduate programmes with a science and innovation focus to create career pathways for attracting talented young people.
  • Businesses could sponsor employees and their research providers to visit schools to talk about science and innovation being invested in and the future career opportunities in their sector.
  • Industry could investigate how to collaborate on opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution.

Kylie Phillips