New Zealand...A Place Where Talent Wants To Live & Proudly Farm

“New Zealand…A Place Where Talent Wants To Live” this was the NZ strategic vision that Sir Paul Callaghan(New Zealander of the year 2011 & ex Massey University Scientist) spoke so passionately about before his death last week. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhCAyIllnXY&feature=related  Sir Paul Callaghan was a world class scientist, leader & a passionate advocate for a better more prosperous New Zealand. He was a great orator & he had a vision of a “knowledge driven economy” based on excellence & research & development. He was critical of NZ R & D spending being so low at 0.5% of GDP. He was critical of NZ continuing to exploit our natural resources & argued that we need to change the way we live in NZ. http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/6636847/Sir-Pauls-death-is-huge-loss-Massey 
 In the YouTube video clip (which everyone should watch & listen to) he suggests that: - “The Best Leaders (are the ones that)….the people do not notice their existence, when the best leader’s work is done the people say “We did it ourselves”.

I was privileged to sit beside another visionary NZ dairy leader, Gordon Stephenson recently to hear & understand how the NZ Farm Environment Awards begun & what Gordon envisaged when the original concept was created back in 1993. Gordon was instrumental & a key instigator in the establishment of the QE11 National Trust Act 1977. http://www.openspace.org.nz/Site/About_QEII/News/QEII_celebrates_its_35th_anniversary.aspx  “ At a time when environmental sustainability has become an increasingly important factor in consumer decisions, the QEII model demonstrates that production and protection can co-exist very comfortably on New Zealand farms. Gordon wanted “NZ farmers doing it (protecting the environmental “special places” on their farms) because they want to, not because they have to, or because they are paid for it or be forced by regulation to do it”.

He has a 100 year rule..”When you are doing something, consider what would happen if I was doing it for 100 years”. The best farms Gordon believes involve & consider the community in which they live. “Sustainability is a thought process as much as how you do it”.

By encouraging the best farmers to be judged (Balance Farm Environment Awards), there is mutual learning. “These leading “best by example” farmers are so proud & they are willing to talk about it, so germinating & encouraging ideas that are just below the surface, (other farmers keen to learn)” Gordon told me. So from small seeds & the energetic visions of one man we have today a network of regions & farmers throughout NZ competing & learning from world best practice. http://www.nzfeatrust.org.nz/content/51/default.aspx 

 I sat transfixed in Gordon & Celia Stephenson’s house looking out on an amazing farm vista of native NZ trees & frequent views of NZ native birds flying around the house. This dream like environment didn’t just happen of course! Farmers everywhere would love to live on farms that epitomise their environmental caring efforts. Leaders live the dream as well as walking the talk. It is highly fitting that Gordon Stephenson’s name appears on the supreme Farm Environment Award trophy. http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/farming/5046559/Environment-trophy-bears-farmers-name  Throughout NZ the regional winners are being announced & field days organised for the Balance Farm Environment Awards. http://www.doc.govt.nz/about-doc/news/media-releases/2011/conservation-icon-acknowledged/ 

 How fitting of my visit to this truely beautiful Putaruru farm, that as I drove out the gate I am able to witness Gordon encouraging, coaching & mentoring his grandson to appreciate & care for a better environment.

Are You Using Farm Business Management "Apps" on Your Farm?

The Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management is a joint virtual centre of the Farm Management Departments at both Massey & Lincoln Universities in New Zealand. The Centre is conducting a number of research projects in Farm Business Management. One of those projects is investigating what Apps (Applications) are available for IPhones/IPads & Android mobile phones. Apps or “Applications” are clever or smart little computer programs that run on these new Smart Mobile Phones. Smart Phones are really hand held computers. Not only can you make the usual phone calls & text messages but you can receive emails, connect to social media & use these Apps to calculate or replace many of the tools you would otherwise have to carry separately or go back to your computer in your house or farm office. It will amaze you what can now be done on a Smart Phone!

You might question “why use your phone to do these tasks?” and I think there are two main answers to that question. Most farmers now carry their mobile phones everywhere they go, so the phone is always in your pocket. Secondly, the technology is becoming incredibly sophisticated.

Hamish Hammond a young recent Massey University Agricultural graduate is conducting the Apps research for the Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management. Hamish is a very promising young NZ athlete,(World Champion 20-24 age group Triathlete at Beijing 2011) http://www.triathlon.org.nz/news?id=342 so between training runs he is hard at work on his Iphone searching for Apps that might be useful for dairy farmers. http://tvnz.co.nz/contact-tri-tv/s2011-ep2-video-4697732?fb_ref=facelike&fb_source=profile_oneline 

Hamish has linked up with Nico Lyons & Rene Kolbach at University of Sydney's Camden Campus who are conducting a very similar search for Farm based Apps. They presented a very lively session (sponsored by the Gardiner Foundation, Dairy Australia) at the recent Australian Dairy Conference. http://www.gardinerfoundation.com.au/attachments/GF%20FlexBusProgram.pdf 

At a recent dairy farm Discussion Group I attended about a third of the group already had either an iphone(Apple product) or an Android(Google system) phone.  The majority of the rest of the group expected to upgrade to a smart phone within 12 months. If this is the pattern across all Discussion Groups & farmers in general it will mean that the vast majority of farmers could potentially be using Smart Phones within a 1-2 year horizon.

Hamish has been researching ipad/iphone and android applications that could be relevant for dairy farmers (in particular New Zealand farmers). He has compiled a list below of some of the Ipad/Iphone applications that he has found. Most are free but some are not. Feedback about the applications would be beneficial for his research and therefore I encourage everyone to download these, have a go. Please post your comments at the bottom of this blog. Please search the name of the app on your device app store. Most of these are available on both android and ipad devices.

F-Track Live

Protrack

Pro Dairy event

Pro Cattle Breeding

TankMix Calculator

Crystalyx: CowBCS

Geo Measure

Map Measure

Coopers Animal Health

MetService Weather

Agricultural Glossary

Fertility improvement profit calculator

SumIt

Ranch Calculator

AgriMoney

Dairysource

Farm Manager

Farm Contractor

IFarmer: Inventory

Pocket Wedge

LandView

Iareacalc

Lemon

The Smart phone technology is changing daily, so too are the Apps that are being written & released. Most are available for both Apple & Google systems & most are free. If you have been using an App that’s not on Hamish’s list perhaps you would leave a comment (see below). Thank you that would be very helpful for us & ultimately all dairy farmers. Try the above list & give us your feedback.
Soon the Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management will have an interactive website to be known as "OneFarm"

If You Don’t Measure You Can’t Control...Basic Pasture Management!

What’s going on? Have New Zealand dairy farmers taken their eye off the ball…..or even worse “lost the plot”? What has happened to their famous pasture grazing skills?

 Throughout the low cost pasture dairying world NZ farmers have a reputation of being expert grazing managers & very efficient users of low cost pasture. Is this still true? From my observations I’d say it’s no longer the case that NZ farmers are the best in the world.

In fact I’m appalled at what I’m seeing on most dairy farms. Most NZ dairy farm pastures I’ve seen are a total mess with little evidence of good pasture husbandry practices or care.

There is blatant evidence that few NZ dairy farmers do regular weekly measurements.

Therefore it follows that few are using the pasture management tools. The “Pasture Wedge Graph Concept” was developed back at Matamata in 1976 with NZ Dairy Board Discussion Groups & the clever mathematics worked out at Lincoln University Dairy Farm decades later. Drs C. P. McMeekan (From Grass to Milk), John Hutton, Arnold Bryant & Des Clayton from Ruakura would be equally shocked to see the state of today’s pasture management skills, as would Dr Ray Brougham (ex Director of Grasslands) & Dr Colin Holmes (ex Massey University). These gentlemen were the “Research Pioneers” who built NZ’s reputation as global best practice in dairying pasture management. People like Mac McKenzie & Don Johnson demanded of the Consulting Officer team that the extension focus of every Discussion Group was efficient pasture utilization, low costs & farm profit.

I think “Global Best Practice Dairy farm Pasture Management” now belongs to the low input pasture based dairy farmers in the UK & Ireland. The world’s best pastures are to be found either in the UK or France NOT New Zealand. In more difficult climates the dairy farmers in Victoria Australia are outstanding.
So why are the Discussion Group farmers in the UK & Ireland now world leaders in pasture management? Firstly the vast majority measure pasture every week & the data is recorded in Pasture Wedge Graph programs, many of which now are “internet cloud” based, so groups can share the information & gain extra efficiencies. Group members wouldn’t dare attend group days without pasture measurement data including growth rates, daily demand & of course their pasture wedge graphs. Farmers take enormous pride in their pastures & the care of those ryegrass/white clover pastures. Many organic dairy farmers lead the way in understanding why soils & soil organic matter in particular is so important to good pasture management. Many farms are under environmental restrictions (read enforced lower stocking rates) yet still produce outstanding pasture. Most would fully understand Danny Donaghy’s “Three Leaf System” of Ryegrass grazing & how this changes throughout the year. Many would monitor soil temperatures during the year to better understand leaf appearance rates & how it is changing. Danny has recently arrived at Massey University & is now Professor of Dairy Science.

The work of the NZ Dairy Consultants working in Ireland & the UK has been critical to those farmers now being global leaders in grazing & pasture management. People like Alastair & Sharon Rayne, Leonie Guiney (nee Foster), Lynaire Ryan, John Simmonds, Mark Blackwell, Carol Doak (nee Gibson), Paul Bird & more recently Adrian van Bysterveldt have had a massive impact.
Crucial to their success has been a strong network of Discussion Groups & vigorous "Championing of low input farming" leadership & focus on grazing management. http://www.agresearch.teagasc.ie/moorepark/Publications/pdfs/Open%20Day%20Moorepark%202009%20Grazing%20Manual.pdf 
 In Ireland there has been a real effort by researchers, extension staff & consultants to get as many farmers measuring & monitoring pastures weekly. This is supported now by internet cloud providers like “AgriNet” http://www.agrinet.ie/  which has excellent pasture wedge graph capability. Strong consultancy groups like the Grazing Musketeers are pushing on with Discussion Groups & honing the pasture management skills in both Ireland & the UK. http://www.grasstec.ie/sub.php?page=10&panel=3  

What I don’t understand is what has happened in NZ. The past research at No. 2 Dairy Ruakura & the Lincoln University Dairy Farm http://www.siddc.org.nz/index.htm  & past Consulting Officer efforts http://www.dairynz.co.nz/file/fileid/26914  have focussed on good pasture management & high utilization. I’m told that now fewer than 20% of dairy farmers regularly measure & monitor (pasture wedge graph) pastures. Why? Why don’t NZ farmers passionately care for their pastures? Where’s the pride in having spectacular pastures gone?

Let’s be clear about my criticism…..”If you don’t measure you can’t control” eyeballing pastures simply isn’t good enough. You need to know growth rates & daily demand. You need to know what’s going to happen next week & 2 weeks out. You need to know the current ryegrass leaf emergence rate by looking into pasture regularly to check the tillers. You should in my view be monitoring soil temperature regularly on your farm.
 Pasture measuring be it with a Plate Meter or CDax http://www.c-dax.co.nz/  should be done in my view by a senior Manager or the Farm Owner....the Pasture Wedge Graph is a communication tool for all Farm Staff or Consultants. Walking the farm has huge benefits if done weekly. To be honest I haven’t seen much evidence of any of these “Global Best Practices” in NZ lately. I’m sure there are some people & some advisers who are doing this every week & these comments are obviously not aimed at you.

 I suppose it’s nothing to do with the saying “Production is Vanity. Profitability is Sanity”…………..no surely not! Yeah Right!

We All Cast Our Shadow on The Environment..NZ Landcare Trust Conference

  “We are born into the shadow of our parents & eventually we create our own shadow”. Powerful story telling from George Matthews (a NZ Landcare Trustee) opened the NZ Landcare Trust Conference in Hamilton NZ.

Although his Maori proverb has to do with life itself….we all do cast our shadow on the environment in which we live & farm. Our Earth’s environment is in trouble. It was Albert Einstein who said that …” Insanity: was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

 We need to see farmers as the solution rather than the problem. A cultural change of attitude is now necessary to stop accelerating deterioration in water quality of our rivers in New Zealand. The blaming game needs to stop as its creating rifts between city & country. We need to view improving the environment as a joint responsibility.

We need to work together as communities both city & country/European & Iwi (Maori) together side by side.

Last week at the NZ Landcare Trust conference they appointed 6 “Landcare Ambassadors”. Their task is to help move communities both rural & urban to change to a better environment with better water quality & more biodiversity where we live & farm. http://www.landcare.org.nz/  These new Ambassadors have all excelled in their own rural communities in leading by example, to show that if the whole community can work together improvements are possible & the environment will respond to the care & attention. These outstanding Landcare Trust leaders have made big changes on their own farms but equally they have led their local communities to all contribute & “come onboard”. The worldwide Landcare movement is about rural & urban communities working together in small groups such as landowners in the same water/river catchment. Landcare is a wonderful model for improving & creating a sustainable environment. The challenge is to change farmer’s mind-set from one of “Stoic Independents” to a shared community responsibility & engaging with the non-farming sector. “Collaboration not Conflict”!

Landcare provides an opportunity for those who care & want to contribute to a better environment. I'd like to see many more farmers attend the NZ Landcare Trust Conference.

The majority of farmers in Australia belong to a local Landcare group & I’d like to see this happen in New Zealand & in fact in every country throughout the world. It’s about getting people to act, not because they have to but because they really care.

The six NZ Landcare Trust Ambassadors are: - Helen Moodie (a DairyNZ Consulting Officer) & her partner Todd Hamilton- Whangarei Heads, Andrew Hayes (Waikato Dairy farmer), Sue Brown (Aorere Dairy farmer), Fred Lichtwark Whaingaroa Harbourcare Raglan, Doug Avery Malborough, & Geoff Crutchley from the Upper Taieri River.

 It’s great that this list includes two dairy farmers, one DairyNZ Consulting Officer & the Whaingaroa Harbourcare project at Raglan involves a lot of local dairy farmers. Those who are quick to criticise dairy farmers should take note that dairy farmers are also leading the way to work with their communities in innovative ways to improve the quality of water in lakes, rivers & harbours. http://www.landcare.org.nz/Landcare-Community/Whangarei-Heads-Landcare-Forum  This is a good news story for NZ dairy farmers!

However NZ dairy farmers can’t rest on the laurels of the NZ Landcare Trust Dairying Ambassadors.

All NZ dairy farmers need to smartly fence off all waterways & it is important that these are planted with appropriate trees. This is to prevent it becoming a weed problem, to protect the stream banks & finally to help keep the water temperature cool. This is only the start of a long journey to improve the environment.

NZ dairy farmers need to accept that intensification & increased dairy cow numbers in many parts of NZ is having a detrimental impact on the environment through the Nitrogen loading.

One positive step all dairy farmers can take is to organise a whole farm plan which identifies the different soils & combine this with land capability maps. This will identify which areas of the farm you may need to change the land use e.g. plant trees on some steep slopes or fence off wetlands. These steps are not a backward step but rather will enhance the aesthetic appearance, protect & increase the long term land values of the farm.
At the NZ Landcare Trust Conference the Northland Totara Working Group presented a compelling argument for dairy farmers using Totara on many of their steeper poor pasture areas on farms throughout NZ as Totara is an incredibly versatile species.
http://www.nzwood.co.nz/species/totara Information on how to use Totara, which trees to plant on stream banks & how to create wetlands can all be gathered from your local Landcare Trust Officer. http://www.landcare.org.nz/Contact-Us  

Since I worked in Australia when the Australian Landcare movement http://www.landcareonline.com.au/  started back in the 1980s I have been a huge fan & advocate for all farmers to join or form a local Landcare group. Today there are many urban groups as well & this is fantastic!
So do you belong to a local Landcare group? If not you need to as your farm will benefit & you will be helping to change the environment for the benefit of everyone especially your grandchildren!

Australian Dairy Conference...The Use of Social Media by Dairy Farmers

“Consumers don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” This was one of the powerful messages from Charlie Arnot CEO of the Centre of Food Integrity (@foodintegrity, @charlie_Arnot) presented at the Australian Dairy conference (#ausdairy) in Warragul, Victoria, Australia. Charlie spoke of the need for all farmers to acquire a “Social License to operate” by building trust with not only the local community but in fact all consumers & customers of the food farmers produce.  http://www.foodintegrity.org/    
 Trying to defend farmers & farming practices by arguing with science or attacking the attackers is clearly failing. We need to demonstrate our commitment to practices that are sustainable, ethically grounded, scientifically verified & economically viable. To breakdown the urban disconnect with farmers will take a massive effort as well publicised environmental damage, breaches of animal welfare & negative public images of farming & farmers is very difficult to counter with genuine good news from farmers following “global best practice”.

Prof. John Ikerd, from University of Missouri, Columbia strongly debated the world trends of industrialisation of farming. Industrial scale farms have contributed he argued, to the financial crisis of many family farm businesses & impacting negatively on the environment & ecology. John believes this has enraged the mistrust of farming practices by non-farming people. Nor did he believe that most farmers & their families wanted to farm in that way, especially under corporate control. Perhaps it’s time to look at new relationships between farmers & consumers? John Ikerd suggested the audience at the Australian Dairy Conference (#ausdairy) seriously consider new models such as “Vertical Cooperation”….. That we look at the historical purpose of farming to move forward in a new direction. Farming has always had a multi-dimensional meaning: - a social dimension, an ethical dimension of sustainability (a genuine love of animals, pastures & soils) as well as providing healthy good quality food. Maybe it’s time to rediscover the “real culture of farming” & that “The past is the future”. These are challenging concepts to take on board as dairy farmers face increased volatility of milk prices & changing markets (the growth markets in the next decade are in emerging countries especially in Asia).

The ADC conference featured many discussions about farmer’s use of new technology & social media. There were sessions devoted to smart phone use & training in the use of twitter & blogging. Courtney Sullivan (Neilson, Australia) had surveyed Australian consumers about their knowledge of dairy farming & perceptions of how dairy foods are produced. This session about “Reconnecting the Disconnect” also included Nuffield Scholar Graeme Nicoll speaking about his efforts in “Agvocacy”.  http://montrosedairy.com/   (@hoddlecows) Graeme writes about his pasture based dairy farm in south Gippsland.

Marian MacDonald ( http://milkmaidmarian.com/   (@milkmaidmarian) on the last day led an interesting training session on twittering & blogs. She writes a very popular blog about her family dairy farm & she has considered ideas about how farmers can use social media such as twitter to become advocates for good farming practices. During the training she had helpful support from Ron Paynter (@payntacow) another dairy farmer using twitter.

Throughout this blog I have used the sign @(twitter names) and #hashtags (these are used by twitter to indicate grouping of similar discussion topics….or topics you can search on twitter. For example if you want to search discussion at the Australian Dairy Conference search using #ausdairy.

Finally I’d like to mention the brilliant “Cows Create Careers” Program run by Deanne Kennedy & John Hutchison. During the ADC Conference secondary school children from 5 Australian States presented Video TV Adverts aimed at getting a higher farmgate price for milk. I thought this was amazing! The Cows Create Careers program is run in schools to encourage employment choices in the dairy industry. It clearly has a very important role in Australia in Reconnecting the Disconnect between the urban consumers & dairy farmers. http://www.thepeopleindairy.org.au/projects.htm  

PS The best TV Video Advert was produced by Cessnock High school from NSW. I thought this was very clever & innovative……guys you were amazing!

Smart Onfarm Management is Good Risk Management

Simple low cost On farm management changes can substantially contribute to a better environmental outcome. This is a really powerful & positive message to come out of the Massey University’s Fertilizer & Lime Research Centre’s conference held last week at Massey’s campus at Palmerston North, NZ.

Over 3 days there were papers from researchers, consultants, farmers, Regional Councils, the fertilizer industry & environmental groups…..most papers focussed on issues related to efficient nutrient management & the environmental consequences of mismanagement. The most positive take home message was that if we all work together as a community (that includes farmers & town people) we can greatly improve the NZ environment including the much discussed water quality. That’s a powerful & positive message too!

There is no better example than the great presentation by Dr Richard McDowell from AgResearch at Invermay.
Richard stated very clearly that smart on farm changes to farm business management could reduce Phosphate (P) losses at little cost to a level near the “natural” baseline. The “natural baseline” is the level that would occur if there was no farming on or near the waterways.

Essentially it is a matter of identifying P losses, locating the “sources of P loss” & then understanding the transport mechanisms e.g. runoff causing the elevated water phosphate contamination. So there are losses in the soil related to excessively high Olsen P. This will be different for each farm & soil type based on the characteristics of the soil especially the P retention of individual soils. Grazing management especially immediately prior to or during storm rain events (pugging or poaching soil surface) can increase the runoff of phosphate….again controllable by good management practices. Using water soluble P fertilizers at or about storm rain events can also increase runoff. Effluent management is obviously a potential risk that can be managed by commonsense i.e. low dose rates over a larger area away from wet soils & storm events. All of these examples can be implemented at little cost before the event by some smart thinking & understanding the risks.

So 3 clear recommendations from Richard’s paper at the FLRC conference for farmers were:-
 1. There is NO reason to go above the recommended agronomic efficient Olsen P levels for soils on your farm. Check the recommendations.


2. There is sound argument for using low water soluble P fertilizers (reactive rock phosphate) if you have suitable soils & are in the right recommended rainfall band.


3. Fenced buffer strips/riparian strips along waterways & streams are essential & necessary. Stream fencing needs to follow recommended protection distances either side of the stream & ideally should include mixed tree planting to help stabilize banks & keep the stream water cool.

There were other suggestions like adopting low rate effluent applications & the possible use of constructed or natural wetlands.
Richard’s paper was clearly giving a message that smart farm management “acting carefully & anticipating possible risks” could minimise the potential environmental damage of P runoff into waterways. Identifying “critical source areas” is something every farmer can do….then seek advice as to how you can minimise the risk.
This is largely commonsense stuff but ultimately is smart “Risk Management”. The dairyfarmers I have met want to do the right thing for the environment so knowing that with phosphate most of the risk can be resolved by changes to daily management should be very reassuring.

Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Managment, Facebook & Uruguayan Agricultural Students

Hi from Massey University, Palmerston North, & Lincoln University, Christchurch, New Zealand where this blog will now be written & produced on a regular basis. http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/home.cfm
http://www.lincoln.ac.nz/
I have recently moved back to New Zealand after a 30 year period of working overseas as a dairy consultant in Australia, UK & France. The blog has been produced in Europe but will now come from the southern hemisphere.
I’ve joined the new “Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management” which is currently funded by the NZ dairy industry & both Massey & Lincoln Universities. Hopefully the other agricultural sectors in NZ will also be involved with the Centre shortly. The Centre is a virtual Centre of Excellence (no bricks & mortar) of the Farm Management Staff at both Universities working together (a joint project) to improve the capability in Farm Management within NZ. We aim to be a serious player in Global Best Practice in Farm Management Research & Education.

I will regularly write about progress in these Research Projects & the Professional Development courses we are developing. I won’t be waiting until they are completed but report on progress to date…..why? I believe it is really important firstly that agricultural research is effective in visible change on farms….for that to happen, farmers & rural professionals need to engage all the way through the process to buffer, blunt, reshape & constructively be part of what I call “The Widget Making Team”. Otherwise the research “widget” will be deemed useless by the farmers & sent to the rubbish bin. Farmers need to both voice their opinions & have their expertise recognised & clearly heard.
My role with the Centre (CEFBM) is partly research, some teaching but mainly communication from the Universities to farmers, farming families, staff & the rural professionals that deliver professional services to the farming communities.

Let me divert…..Yesterday I gave my first my very first lecture to a group of agricultural students #BUTyouhavetolearntolaughatyourself. The students were from the University of the Republic of Uruguay. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_the_Republic_(Uruguay)

I sadly don’t speak Spanish nor they much English. You might quite rightly think that was a recipe for disaster (for my first University lecture) but NO because we started to talk about Facebook. Facebook is the social media of the young (& not so young). A quick survey revealed that 100% of the students use facebook. Now we were on the same wavelength & both talking with passion…..we were now understanding each other!

I asked (through Massey University’s International student support team who translated) how many of their parents used facebook (Can you imagine the “what are you for real…..looks). The answer, about 10% of the Uruguayan agricultural students’ parents were on facebook! That clearly illustrates why today we need to use social media to communicate with the young agriculturists & young well educated farmers who are the face of today & tomorrows food through out the world.

The Uruguayan students & I discussed what role Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, google, wiki spaces might have in communicating global best practice farm management to farmers & the general public.

“IF I CAN TALK TO THE WORLD (by using social media) YOU ALSO CAN TALK TO THE WORLD ABOUT YOUR COUNTRY, YOUR AGRICULTURE, YOUR FARM & YOUR FOOD” In fact not only can you but you must as city separates from country & consumers become removed from farmers & food production.

Judge for yourself…..despite language differences DID we communicate with each other? Sorry Vice Chancellor….yes I did instruct them to turn on their mobile phones, cameras & make a hell of a lot of noise (probably against all the rules of the University) but it was a lot of fun….thank you fellow students! Great!

I have to confess also that when I was an AgSc student at Massey University back in the 1970s I got seriously offside with the then VC Dr Alan Stewart…..for erecting illegal ramps around the campus for disabled students access (in particular a fellow agricultural student who became a quad during his studies & struggled to get to lecture rooms because of poor disabled access (it was the 1970s)). The fact that our ramps looked remarkably similar to materials off the university farms was probably quite obvious to Dr Stewart too. However the good news is that I was allowed to complete my degree & the University erected proper Disabled Access everywhere…..& today would be very proud that they have good access for all students….little does the current admin realise it all started with fence posts knicked off the University farms!

I think it’s great that today, agricultural students get a chance to travel the world & come to NZ to look at our internationally respected farm business management. Both Massey & Lincoln offer postgraduate scholarships in Farm Business Management, so I hope some of my new best friends (NBFs) from Uruguay might consider studying here in NZ. Uruguay & NZ are already working together including AgResearch projects in Uruguay.

http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Countries/Latin-America/Uruguay.php

So getting back to my role at the “Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management”, it’s essentially communication. I’m the interface & we intend using every social media tool available to us to talk as often as we can with farmers. We will use Facebook, Youtube, Webinars, Wiki Spaces, Twitter….you name it…if it’s effective we will use it. The Centre CEFBM will have a website shortly.

By the way the Vice Chancellor at Massey University Steve Maharey also uses Twitter. @SteveMaharey.

I strongly believe that farmers need to become “advocates” for their own Global Best Practice, their farming industries & the food they produce. We can’t rely on outside PR agencies to promote or defend farmers & excellent farm management practices. We must do it ourselves. I want to help farmers become “Farming Advocates”. If I can talk to the world YOU also can talk to the world…..& you must!