increase font size
Craige and Roz Mackenzie
WINNING THE national winner title in the 2013 Ballance Farm Environment Awards has opened up a whole world of opportunity for Canterbury farmers Craige and Roz Mackenzie.
The Mackenzie's intensive arable farm near Methven has played host to a series of national and international visitors over the last 18-months and held several field days, which displayed the use of technology in lifting farm performance and improving sustainability.
"We invited the Green Party to come and see what we are doing. We also reached out to the wider community because we feel it is our duty to engage urban people and help them understand what farmers are trying to do."
The couple themselves have also travelled widely. As ambassadors for sustainable agriculture, they have spread the sustainability message throughout New Zealand and overseas. Tours to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay gave them the chance to study arable farming, dairying and beef production internationally. A key aim of the trip was to exchange views on topics of interest to New Zealand farmers and to showcase New Zealand's stance on agricultural sustainability.
In October, Craige was part of a group of 16 farmers attending the Global Farmer Roundtable in Iowa. Held as part of the World Food Prize meetings, the roundtable addresses the challenge of providing enough food for 9 billion people by 2050.
Craige, the only Kiwi invited, says the experience was humbling.
"It certainly made me realise how lucky we are to have what we have in New Zealand. In terms of agriculture, we have some huge advantages climatically and technologically. But the whole aim of the forum was to brainstorm how we can work together globally to increase agricultural productivity and be more efficient in what we do."
He and Roz look back on their involvement with the Ballance Farm Environment Awards with pride and affection.
"We really enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the other regional winners. Being involved in the competition gave us a real shot in the arm and provided added drive to keep us innovating and improving our farming systems."
OPINION: If farmers poured just a few litres of some pollutant into a stream, the Green Party and the wider wooden bicycle enthusiast community would be on their soapboxes screaming about dirty farmers and demanding a harsh penalty, which regional authorities would be gagging to administer.
OPINION: Your old mate has long dismissed the Greens as wooden bicycle enthusiasts with their heads in the clouds, but it looks like the ‘new Greens’ may actually be hard-nosed pragmatists when it comes to following voters.
OPINION: If David Seymour's much-trumpeted Ministry for Regulation wants a serious job they need look no further than reviewing the rules and regulations governing members of the so-called House of Representatives.
OPINION: The Greens have taken the high moral ground on the Palestine issue and been leading political agitators in related protests – and that is to be expected, but the diplomatic efforts and wisdom of Winston Peters in this area should not be overlooked or ignored.
OPINION: The Greens aren’t serious people when it comes to the economy, so let’s not spend too much on their fiscal fantasies.
While the District Field Days brought with it a welcome dose of sunshine, it also attracted a significant cohort of sitting members from the Beehive – as one might expect in an election year.
Irish Minister of State of Agriculture, Noel Grealish was in New Zealand recently for an official visit.
While not all sibling rivalries come to blows, one headline event at the recent New Zealand Rural Games held in Palmerston North certainly did, when reigning World Champion Jack Jordan was denied the opportunity of defending his world title in Europe later this year, after being beaten by his big brother’s superior axle blows, at the Stihl Timbersports Nationals.
AgriZeroNZ has invested $5.1 million in Australian company Rumin8 to accelerate development of its methane-reducing products for cattle and bring them to New Zealand.
Farmers want more direct, accurate information about both fuel and fertiliser supply.
A bull on a freight plane sounds like the start of a joke, but for Ian Bryant, it is a fond memory of days gone by.
OPINION: If you ask this old mutt, the choice at the next election isn't shaping up as a contest of…
OPINION: A mate of yours says we're long overdue for a reckoning on what value farmers really get for the…
