Public articles

In this episode, Sarah Perriam-Lampp talks with Lincoln University’s Professor Hamish Gow about the Value Chain Innovation Programme, run by Rural Leaders.

Hamish explains how the programme takes participants inside New Zealand’s dairy, kiwifruit, apple and red meat sectors to understand how value is created, captured and shared, and why the real learning happens on the bus as farmers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders connect and challenge their thinking.

The Turnwald family in Waikato have invested in composting barns and a feedpad to lift feed efficiency by reducing feed waste and ultimately helping cows hold condition year-round. Words Sheryl Haitana.

After a wet winter September is the only window of opportunity you have to fix damage from pugging to avoid an explosion of weeds and a major drop in pasture production. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.

Hank Volger started ranching in 1971 in Spring Valley at the tip of Nevada, south of Las Vegas, near the Arizona border with two cows and seven sheep. His business Needmore Sheep Co has over 7,000 merino ewes shorn mostly by Kiwi shearers.

Jo Hay farms near Herbert in North Otago on 260ha plus a lease of 410ha at Moeraki with husband Ross and children Charlie, Phoebe and Archie. She is also an elected director of North Otago Irrigation Company Ltd.

George Moss is a Waikato dairy farmer at Tokoroa. He examines the issue of ageing infrastructure through the lens of an ageing population of farm owners who must devise a successful succession plan.

In an open letter to New Zealand farmers, Aro Hā Wellness Retreat Co-Founder Damian Chaparro says it’s good to be hardworking, but not privately exhausted. Words Damian Chaparro.

Many ageing rotaries can benefit from a facelift at a fraction of the cost of installing a new farm dairy. Words Sheryl Haitana.

A Taranaki farmer has embraced all of MSD Animal Health’s SenseHub Dairy Technologies to allow his high-producing cows to continue being milked beyond a typical dry-off date based on accurate, real-time information from wearables, sensors and drafting tools. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Photos Brad Hanson.

In this episode, Sarah Perriam-Lampp talks with Jasper van Halder, Ravensdown’s General Manager of Innovation, about how Agnition is connecting global agri-tech with New Zealand farmers.

Jasper explains how the Farm Innovation Network is testing technologies like drones, satellite imagery and soil testing, and why proving real value on farm is key to building a more connected, data-driven future for agriculture.