AgResearch ‘changes face of farming’

AgResearch chief executive Dr Tom Richardson says it's 20 years since the organisation, along with the other seven Crown Research Institutes, was established.

"Our stand will feature some of AgResearch's achievements over the last 20 years which have helped the face of farming to change, and also profile current research which will help enable farmers to adapt to changes in markets, climate, regulations and farming practice."

He says farmers have always been keenly interested in research and how scientists' work can help improve the productivity and profitability of their farms.

"Here in the Waikato in 1880 farmers met at the Cambridge Club to hear from Major John Wilson read a paper on 'The Cultivation of Grasses' which was based on a grassland fertiliser trial started in 1856 in England. Last month approximately 700 farmers attended the DairyNZ Farmers' Forum at Mystery Creek to hear from both DairyNZ and AgResearch scientists – and pasture was one of the topics covered."

Forage, genetics, biocontrol and animal health are all categories which feature in the on-farm achievements highlighted on this year's AgResearch Fieldays stand.

"The biocontrol story is particularly good one," says Dr Richardson. "In 1991 we released a parasitoid wasp for the control of Argentine stem weevil, in 2006 we released another parasitoid, the Irish wasp, this time to tackle the clover root weevil. By 2017, when both the Irish wasp and clover root weevil are likely to be established in pastoral areas throughout the country, we estimate the benefits from the biocontrol agent at $150 million per year.

"And the biocontrol work is ongoing – we're now looking at the possibilities of using it for giant buttercup."

One aspect of AgResearch's current work in forage on display at Mystery Creek is called 'The Hidden Half' – the story of roots. Dr Richardson says historically, forage plant breeding has been based on above ground research.

"Over the last 20 years, DairyNZ estimates that profits of dairy farms have increased $400/ha due to forage. For AgResearch to continue to enhance the value, productivity and profitability of New Zealand's pastoral sector, we need to continue to improve our understanding of forages," he says.

"Roots deliver nutrients to the plants, and if we can improve nutrient efficiency, that means less nitrogen and phosphorus is lost to waterways and that helps protect water quality. As well, deeper rooted plants have better drought tolerance."

Also on the AgResearch stand will be a mini-replica of what's the first large scale hill country research in many years. In a trial funded by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, AgResearch is researching forage and forage systems to design farm systems to finish young stock without flat country. The work involves trials on uncultivatable hill country sites in Waikato, Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Canterbury, where they are planting up to 30 species of novel legumes at each site.

Maximising your animals' potential through understanding their needs is another key feature on AgResearch's stand. This area will showcase the work of the Animal Welfare and Behaviour specialists, and shows how scientists are decoding heat signals to understand health, welfare and productivity using an infra red thermal imaging camera.

"Working with Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada and Massey University we have shown that the technology can be used to pick up, very sensitively, changes in eye temperature that indicate pain and stress in cattle, sheep and deer, for example during painful procedures. More recently, we have realised its potential to assess other health and welfare states by development of automated image collection systems.

"We're doing a significant amount of work in this area, and it will help position farmers to cope with increasing compliance standards around animal health, welfare and sustainability."

Also featuring on the stand is Farmax, a software tool used by sheep and beef as well as dairy industries. AgResearch scientists originally developed the technology and the organisation retains a share in the business. Farmers visiting the AgResearch stand will be able to get a supply vs demand graph for grass growth over the year on their farm, and model the change in responses with a change of inputs (eg increasing/lowering stocking rate/supplements/fertiliser).