Projects

Northland Pastoral Extension - Extension of Past and Current Research to Increase Pastoral Productivity in Northland

The Pastoral Farming Development Group is co-ordinating a three-year project to help increase Northland's agricultural productivity by making research information more readily available to farmers.

The project is primarily funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's Sustainable Farming Fund but has also secured support from the private sector.

It is recognised that there is an opportunity to increase pastoral productivity in Northland by sharing results of research work in a way that will encourage farmers, both new and existing, and other farming professionals to utilise research information in order to improve farm management practices and increase farm production.

The three-year project will:

• Provide a stocktake of the most relevant previous pastoral research undertaken in Northland - a process that started with the Northland Farmer Information Services Index

• Provide a stocktake of current Northland research, and research with a high degree of relevance to Northland, being undertaken

• Establish a process to identify and prioritise Northland farmer research needs

• Provide and disseminate popular summaries of past and present research

• Provide an update of what extension material is available plus what current research is being carried out on an annual basis

Annual conferences will be held for the extension of the information that arises from this project.

The first "Our Superb Northland Spring!" was held in February 2005 and focused on major farm activities that influence or could improve spring pasture and animal production. Workshops were also held to identify and prioritise Northland research needs.

The second conference, "Our Perfect Northland Pastures!" held in February, 2006 focused on the challenges of producing and utilising pastures in Northland.

The 2007 conference held in May 2007 focused on challenges to animal production on Northland pastures.

Over 200 members from the farming community attended each event.

Proceedings from the conferences are available for download or you can contact Enterprise Northland for a copy of them along with a folder to keep them safe, at $65 per copy.

Northland Agricultural Research Library
The Northland Agricultural Research Library (NARL) is a collection of research and extension projects from Northland brought together in one place. Find out more here.

Research and Extension at the Northland Agricultural Field Days
The Group has coordinated and combined with other non-commercial research and extension groups, presenting the most recent and relevant work available for farmers at the 2007 and 2008 Northland Agricultural Field Days.

A "one-stop' shop where all contributors presents their research under one roof was created with the aim to better advise farmers on what information is available and where the gaps in our knowledge base lie.

Northland Farming Festival
The aim of the 2007 Northland Farming Festival was to promote the industry and its stakeholders, recognising the significant contribution that it makes to the regional economy, businesses and communities, and aims to lift the aspirations of those within the wider farming community and industry..

The Festival ran from 30 April to 6 May 2007. Find out more by clicking here.

Northland Pastoral Events Calendar
First published in June 2003, and monthly thereafter in the Northern Advocate's rural supplement and coordinated by Enterprise Northland, the calendar provides a forum for the promotion, at no cost to organisers, of pastoral farming related events in the Northland region. The calendar covers a range of events, from workshops and field days, seminars and conferences to informal events, and everything else of interest.

A tool to not only in keep Northland pastoral farming communities informed about what's coming up, but also by providing a point of reference for organisers when planning events and to assist them in preventing the duplication of dates.

To view the calendar, click here

Farmer Information Services
An index of pastoral research that has been carried out in Northland. Click here to download the report.