Inside the Southland Dairy Farm Where Robots and Pasture Work Together
In Dacre, near Invercargill in New Zealand’s South Island, Bruce Dinnington is running a dairy operation unlike any other.
It will be hosted by the recently-formed Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ). The bid to host the conference was submitted in South Korea and New Zealand beat three other countries – Malaysia, India and Indonesia – for hosting rights. The conference is one of three large international conferences on precision agriculture (PA) held around the world each year. The 2013 conference was held in South Korea and attracted more than 150 attendees.
PAANZ Chairman Peter Barrowclough says the successful bid to host the conference is an early demonstration of the value of now having a national precision agriculture organisation up and running in New Zealand.
"And, with our changing export markets and increasingly strong linkages with South East Asia, this will be an excellent vehicle for New Zealand to improve its global networks," he says.
A host city for the conference will be decided in due course, and a committee will be formed from within the existing PAANZ membership to begin planning for the event. PAANZ was officially launched as part of a one-day workshop and field day in Methven, Canterbury in April this year. The primary role of the association is to enable land users to be more productive, efficient and sustainable – and therefore competitive – by providing a platform for information-sharing; networking; investment and innovation in the development and implementation of relevant PA technologies and systems for the primary sector.
Following the launch of PAANZ, it has now established a website. "The launch of the PAANZ website is a significant step in the development of the association and provides the perfect opportunity to link all those people and organisations with an interest in precision technologies and applications together," Barrowclough says.
"In the short time since the launch we are already seeing enquiries about developments in precision agriculture from people in New Zealand as well as individuals and companies registering as members of the association. This is a very encouraging sign of the high level of interest out there, and the association will be assisting with the growth of these developments in New Zealand."
www.precisionagriculture.org.nz
