Thursday, 22 February 2024 08:55

Science supports NZ's reputation

Written by  Peter Burke
Professor Chris Anderson, Massey University. Professor Chris Anderson, Massey University.

Farmers, scientists, rural professionals and policy makers from around the country last week converged on Massey University in Palmerston North for the 36th annual workshop of the Farmed Landscape Research Centre.

This event is a must for those seeking the latest scientific advances in the agri sector, and while the presentations are often quite technical, they are generally presented in a way that resonates with farmers.

The director of the Centre, Prof Chris Anderson, who describes himself as a soil chemist, says the workshop had plenty of content of interest to dairy farmers. This year’s theme was opportunities for improved farm and catchment outcomes and there were more than sixty presentations over the three days on topics related to this theme.

These included assessing soil carbon stock, optimising trace element provision, ways to improve the quality of soils, Overseer and opportunities for solutions at catchment scale. Professor Anderson says he was delighted with the programme and the quality of the speakers who gave presentations. He says they had some very good fundamental science on show, looking at water and soil and relating this back to the catchment.

“It’s science that is going to underpin the ongoing profitability and sustainability of our farms in NZ,” he says.

Anderson says while there wasn’t a specific focus on dairy, the fact is that dairy needs quality soil and water, so the presentations were clearly relevant to the dairy sector. He says NZ’s catchments are full of different land uses and it will be science that will ultimately drive land use.

“There was heaps of information in the workshops for dairy farmers and we are going to see this intersect of all these different land uses and how the science can support them,” he says.

The other focus at the workshop was regenerative farming practices and what Massey University is doing in this space to explore what this means. Professor Anderson says the idea of diverse pastures is coming through quite strongly.

“We are bringing land use changes into this as well and consequently we are trying to really profile what is going to be the best land use for our productivity and our international reputation for NZ’s economy. This was one of the threads we tried to pull together on the first day,” he says.

Anderson says it’s important that NZ retains its reputation as a producer of high-quality food and to continue to reassure consumer that we are closely monitoring our systems. The key to this he says is to have high quality science to support our claims.

More like this

Unsung heroes under the soil

Much of the scientific work being carried out at the Massey University led regenerative agriculture project, Whenua Haumanu, is below the ground.

Massey Research Field Day attracts huge interest

More than 200 people turned out on Thursday, November 21 to see what progress has been made on one of NZ's biggest and most comprehensive agriculture research programmes on regenerative agriculture.

New ag degrees at Massey

Changing skill demands and new job opportunities in the primary sector have prompted Massey University to create a new degree course and add a significant major into another in 2025.

Featured

'Female warriors' to talk ag sector opportunities

The East Coast Farming Expo is playing host to a quad of ‘female warriors’ (wahine toa) who will give an in-depth insight into the opportunities and successes the primary industries offer women.

Dairy-beef offering potential for savings

Beef produced from cattle from New Zealand's dairy sector could provide reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of up to 48, compared to the average for beef cattle, a new study by AgResearch has found.

Dairy buoyant

The Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmers' expectations for their own business operations had also improved, with the net reading on this measure lifting to +37% from +19% previously.

National

Farm Source turns 10!

Hundreds of Fonterra farmers visited their local Farm Source store on November 29 to help celebrate the rural service trader's…

Climate-friendly cows closer

Dairy farmers are one step closer to breeding cow with lower methane emissions, offering an innovative way to reduce the…

Machinery & Products

A JAC for all trades

While the New Zealand ute market is dominated by three main players, “disruptors” are never too far away.

Pushing the boundaries

Can-Am is pushing the boundaries of performance with its Outlander line-up of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) with the launch of the…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Milking fish

OPINION: It could be cod on your cornflakes and sardines in your smoothie if food innovators in Indonesia have their…

Seaweed the hero?

OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter