Sunday, 17 April 2016 18:08

25 new projects for SFF

Written by 
$6.9 million will be invested over three years in to 25 new projects through the Sustainable Farming Fund. $6.9 million will be invested over three years in to 25 new projects through the Sustainable Farming Fund.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has announced a $6.9 million investment over three years in to 25 new projects through the Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF).

Some of the problems or opportunities being looked in to:

• Optimising pollination of Gold3 kiwifruit under hail netting;

• Resource development for new entrant deer farmers;

• Reducing use of antimicrobials when managing mastitis;

• Understanding and managing grain storage pests;

• Increasing the market share for New Zealand olive oil.

The SFF supports farmers and researchers involved at grass-roots level to tackle shared problems or to develop new opportunities says MPI Director General, Martyn Dunne.

"Every year we receive a very high calibre of project applications, and this year was no different. This year's projects cover nine primary sectors including horticulture, forestry, dairy and meat.

"Each project has a number of milestones to reach over the three years. As milestones are reached, information is shared among the community who benefits from the project. Through the fund, we are able to support industries and communities to help each other carry out applied research and field trials.

"Our investment programmes team supports each project through their milestones and each year we are pleased by the quality of projects, and the results they produce."

More like this

Dairy, hort lead bounce back

The latest Ministry for Primary Industries report on the state of the primary sector shows that things are starting to look up after a rough 2023-24 season.

Vineyard Monitoring Report

Lower yields and a reduced grape price for Sauvignon Blanc, along with a 6% rise in operating expenses, saw a major fall in profitability in the Marlborough vineyard model in 2023/2024.

Winter grazing warning

Every time people from overseas see photographs of cows up to their hocks in mud it's bad for New Zealand.

Help available for flood-hit farmers

The chair of the Otago Rural Support Trust, Tom Pinckney, says he believes that they will be especially busy in the coming months as the enormity of the floods hit home.

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.

Farmer confidence flowing back

Confidence is flowing back into the farming sector on the back of higher dairy and meat prices, easing interest rates and a more farmer-friendly regulatory environment.

National

Machinery & Products

GEA launches robotic milkers

Milking technology provider GEA Farm Technologies is introducing its first automatic milking system (AMS) in New Zealand.

More front hoppers

German seeding specialists Horsch have announced a new 1600- litre double-tank option that will join its current Partner FT single…

Origin Ag clocks up 20 years

With roots dating back to 2004, Origin Ag was formed as a co-operative business model that removed the traditional distributor,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Dark ages

OPINION: Before we all let The Green Party have at it with their 'bold' emissions reduction plan, the Hound thought…

Rhymes with?

OPINION: The Feds' latest banking survey shows that bankers are even less popular with farmers than they used to be,…

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter