increase font size
Peter Kemp, Massey University.
Except for veterinary science, all Massey University agricultural academic courses are now in one school – the School of Agriculture headed by Professor Peter Kemp.
He says it is exciting to have got all the agriculture and resources and staff into one school, also including animal science.
The new arrangement has the components of the former school of agriculture becoming part of a much larger school including agronomy and farm management, soils, the Massey farms and all aspect of horticulture.
“So we are better integrated and able to be more strategic across the whole range of agriculture than perhaps in the past. It’s not like we’ve done a bad job, but by getting synergy across the whole range of agricultural activity it will be a better deal for students. There will be no reason why an animal science student won’t see agronomy and soil management as part of what they may be doing.”
Kemp says in the past a student may have had second thoughts about going into another ag related institute in another building, but no longer.
And the change will also be positive for the wider primary sector.
“It’s part of Massey improving its ability to deal with the primary sector – the one-stop shop approach if you like. Everyone including the environmental side will be in this new ag school. It will be a lot easier for all the sectors, be it horticulture, dairy and sheep and beef, to know who they are dealing with.”
Kemp says ag student numbers at Massey seem set to remain static this year: there is no sign of them being up and they may possibly be slightly down -- disappointing given that the agricultural sector is doing pretty well.
“Sometimes we get this knee-jerk reaction. People may feel dairy may be down a bit but the reality is that jobs don’t go away. The professional jobs you get with a degree from Massey are always still there.”
Farmer interest continues to grow as a Massey University research project to determine the benefits or otherwise of the self-shedding Wiltshire sheep is underway. The project is five years in and has two more years to go. It was done mainly in the light of low wool prices and the cost of shearing. Peter Burke recently went along to the annual field day held Massey's Riverside farm in the Wairarapa.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
Minister for Universities, Shane Reti, has opened the final new build in a ten plus year project to upgrade the veterinary facilities at Massey University.
OPINION: Is it now time for the country's top agricultural university to start thinking about a name change - something that has been mooted in the past?
The head of Fonterra's R&D facility in Palmerston North is set to literally cross the road and become the new vice chancellor at Massey University.
Legal controls on the movement of fruits and vegetables are now in place in Auckland’s Mt Roskill suburb, says Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner North Mike Inglis.
Arable growers worried that some weeds in their crops may have developed herbicide resistance can now get the suspected plants tested for free.
Fruit growers and exporters are worried following the discovery of a male Queensland fruit fly in Auckland this week.
Dairy prices have jumped in the overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction, breaking a five-month negative streak.
Alliance Group chief executive Willie Wiese is leaving the company after three years in the role.
A booklet produced in 2025 by the Rotoiti 15 trust, Department of Conservation and Scion – now part of the Bioeconomy Science Institute – aims to help people identify insect pests and diseases.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports into the US is doing good things for global trade, according…
Seen a giant cheese roll rolling along Southland’s roads?
