Northland farms important part of research

11 November, 2003

PASTORAL: MEDIA RELEASES 2003

Farmers and representatives of organisations with an interest in increasing pasture-based production in Northland had a chance to get an overview of the future direction of farming-related research at a workshop organised by the New Zealand Landcare Trust and Enterprise Northland in Whangarei recently.

The workshop was also a chance for the fund manager of the Sustainable Farming Fund, Kevin Steel, who is based in Wellington, to see representatives of many of the Northland projects, which receive money from the fund.

"All of the projects are doing good work, but they are almost in isolation like parts of a jigsaw puzzle. The workshop helps to put the parts of the puzzle together to make a jigsaw,’’ Mr Steel says.

The Sustainable Farming Fund was set up three years ago by the Government to support projects that contribute to improving the financial and environmental performance of the land-based productive sectors.

"Sustainability is not just about the environment. It’s about the sustainability of the farming operation as an important part of the community. The pastoral sectors are still a key part of the economy in New Zealand.’’

Just how big a component of the economy was shown in a presentation to the group from John Squire of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The pasture-based production sector is still Northland’s largest, generating about $800 million per year for the regional economy. In comparison this is nearly $300 million more than the revenue generated by the region’s second largest sector, tourism.

Northland projects supported by the fund include the Kikuyu Action Group and the Northland Clover Pest Interest Group. These groups were formed by farmers who shared a common concern, and the results of their research projects are of interest to many farmers around New Zealand.

Mr Steel says a condition of the grants is that research results must be made available for others to use.

"About 80 percent of an issue will be affecting other farmers throughout New Zealand in a similar way. The remainder might be tweaked for the local conditions in Northland,’’ he says.

"Northland has particular problems because of its wet winters, which results in serious pugging of pastures, and its humid conditions which means there are a lot of problems with pasture pests and fungal diseases. Northland is also quite isolated from the scientific community, so these funded projects mean that scientists can work with the farmers on trials on their own properties.’’

Changes in the resourcing of research and trial work, highlighted by Sam McIvor of Meat and Wool Innovation, mean that a co-operative approach that aligns farmers, industry and policy makers is vital to ensuring Northland gets the required research done.

Laurie Copland, who is chairman of the Enterprise Northland Pastoral Development Group, sees such workshops as an important part of sharing information between the different pastoral sectors.

Mr Copland, who is also chairman of the Northland Beef Council, says there are many issues that are common to dairy and beef, and it is important that information is shared on any new products or research findings so that everyone can move ahead.

"It’s got to be a high priority.’’

He says the Enterprise Northland Pastoral Development Group was formed about two years ago out of a need to establish connections with other industries.

"There was new research being done in Northland and there was a real danger of research being repeated. One of the first things we did was to employ a student to find all the published research done in Northland, including a large amount that was taken to AgResearch Ruakura in Hamilton when MAF was restructured many years ago.

"Our researcher found there was a lot of unpublished research that was highly relevant to Northland as well, and we’ve got an undertaking from AgResearch to address that problem,’’ Mr Copland says.

At the meeting the Enterprise Northland Pastoral Development Group was charged with ensuring that the outcome of the day was more than an enjoyable talkfest. An expanded committee will meet before the end of the year to discuss a possible process to ensure that priorities for Northland-based research come from Northland as far as possible.

Workshop organiser Helen Moodie, northern representative of the New Zealand Landcare Trust, says the role of the Landcare Trust is to promote community involvement in Sustainable Land Management.

"This has a strong component of maintaining productivity from the land, as well as looking after the environmental and social aspects. The Landcare Trust supports a number of farmer research partnership groups in Northland that are working towards improved production. We will be supporting further initiatives in Northland also.”

For more information please contact:
Laurie Copland
Chairman, Enterprise Northland Pastoral Development Group
09 409-5547

Helen Moodie
New Zealand Landcare Trust Northern Representative
09 436-3170