Bowing out of Future Farm

Discretely towards the bottom of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s E-diary on August 12 was the announcement that the organisation is exiting from its “Future Farm” venture at Lanercost in North Canterbury.

B+LNZ’s general manager Farm Excellence, Dan Brier said much had changed since 2018 when the property was first leased to the organisation. He cited demands of dealing with climate change, environmental regulations and changing market dynamics.

The irony of B+LNZ re-prioritising because of these challenges, all of which its levy payers are having to deal with, has not been lost on farmers who were sceptical of the venture from the beginning.

Many questioned the ability of the Future Farm to push boundaries the way it was set up – in partnership with local farmers who needed a return from the project. These doubts appeared well-founded when the farmers Beef + Lamb were working with left the project part way through. Since then B+LNZ continued the lease with oversight from farm consultants who work closely with the farm manager and staff.

One shrewd observer, who has been closely involved with the project, surmised that perhaps the language used by the industry group was a sign of the struggle ahead: “Does that mean the future of sheep and beef farming is exiting?”

Further information outlining the achievements at Lanercost will be published between now and March when the lease ends. Many farmers will be interested to see how much of what has been achieved could only have happened through the levy-funded organisation leasing a farm.