Conrad Smith: Farming and sport share similar demands
The challenges of high-performance sport and farming are not as dissimilar as they may first appear.
Opening the event, DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown says at events like the Farmers Forum in New Zealand, dairy farmers have charted their own path forward.
“Today we stand here, many of us, as dairy farmers, who are also businesspeople, soil scientists, agronomists, technologists, economists, geneticists, vets. We know we must keep learning but also rely on prior knowledge.
“We must do our analysis but also trust our gut.”
Brown says throughout the ages New Zealand dairy farmers have quietly built not just enormous skillsets to optimise their individual operation, but they have built industry-good assets that everyone relies upon today.
“The highest standards of animal welfare in the world are an asset to us all, as are the strides we make each day in environmental performance while maintaining business viability.
“We operate systems that are among the most emissions-efficient on the globe.
“The lowest cost producers of dairy because we are pasture fed – with a grass to glass efficiency story like no other.
“We have always created and adopted new tools, new solutions, had new ideas and we have always ensured this all works in the paddock, not just on paper.”
Two more Farmers Forum will be held in the South Island.
