B+LNZ says farewell to Future Farm

B+LNZ general manager farm excellence Dan Brier says the decision to end the lease on the North Canterbury property was the result of consultation with the B+LNZ Board, the local Farmer Council, and its national executive.

He says a lot has changed since the lease for the property was acquired back in 2018 and B+LNZ needs to ensure its priorities align with those of levy payers.

“The organisation is dealing with a number of other priorities, including supporting farmers dealing with climate change, an unprecedented number of new environmental regulations and changing market dynamics so there was a risk that the Future Farm could become a drain on resources,” Brier says.

He adds that the Future Farm now sits outside of B+LNZ’s core business and while it is starting to generate a profit, more input and resources are required in the future to realise the farm’s full potential and deliver for farmers as an extension tool.

He says during the lease of the 1,0310ha property, B+LNZ hosted numerous field days, ram buying and quad safety workshops, developed internal parasite resources and demonstrated the use of low methane genetics in a commercial environment.

Much of the material included in B+LNZ’s Farm Plan was trialled on Lanercost, as was B+LNZ’s GHG Calculator.

“We saw vastly improved farm and livestock performance over the period of the lease and most satisfyingly, we helped develop two talented young farm managers, one of whom will transition into his own farm business,” says Brier.

He says B+LNZ has worked hard to ensure there is a well-planned and successful change of management back to the farm owner, with the farm manager planning to stay on the farm.

The current projects being run or demonstrated on the farm (parasite management, farm planning and low methane sheep breeding) will be wound up before the end of the lease and the outcomes communicated to farmers.