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28 July 2008
E-news Number 22 for project teams and all those interested in Sustainable Farming in New ZealandDear all He mihi nui ki a koutou Welcome to the new readers of this email newsletter of the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund. New project team members have automatically been added to our database to receive this email - however, if you ever wish to unsubscribe please contact Amanda Hall. In this edition of E-news:
New SFF teamWe welcome the new members of the SFF team! We are now back up to "full strength" and looking forward to getting out and involved with new and existing SFF project groups. Fund Manager - Denis PackerBased in the Wellington SFF office, Denis was previously an Investment Manager with Dairy InSight with responsibilities for investments in the areas of Environment, Animal Welfare and Biosecurity and a number of policy issues impacting the dairy industry. Most of his career has been in the agri-business sector including several years at AgResearch in various commercial roles. He is qualified in agricultural science and commerce.
Phone (DDI) 04 894 5650 Project Adviser - Janine AlfeldJanine is in our Christchurch office and will be the project advisor for a range of South Island projects, particularly in the Canterbury region. These projects are mainly in the dairy farming, irrigation, pastoral farming and land management domains. Prior to joining the SFF team Janine has been completing her PhD. Her research is based on the sustainability of dairy farming in Canterbury. Janine has 15 years experience within the financial management area and has lectured at Lincoln University. She has a farming background with her parents operating the family farm.
Phone (DDI) 03 943 3802 Project Adviser - Louise AskinLouise is based in Wellington and is responsible for projects in Taranaki, Manawatu, Wellington, Nelson and the West Coast. These include a particular focus on berryfruit, organics and parasitic worms. Louise graduated with a BSc (Hons) and BA from Victoria University. Her previous role at MAF was in strategy and planning. This involved a broad view of New Zealand's primary sectors and what sustainable development means on the ground.
Phone (DDI) 04 894 0446 Project Adviser - Nic NewmanNic is responsible for projects in South Canterbury, Otago and Southland. He has responsibility for projects in the sheep and beef sector, sustainable land management, community water management and for environmental and social sustainability. Nic is based in the Christchurch office. Nic has a Master of Development Studies from Victoria University and P.G. Diploma in Agricultural Science from Lincoln University. He has worked with the implementation of Integrated Catchment Management for a community trust, managed education programmes for a development NGO, worked on Integrated Pest Management with AgResearch, and completed his thesis on Technology and Sustainable Rural Development in the Andes.
Phone (DDI) 03 943 1784 Your other SFF contacts remain the same:
Results of the 2008/09 funding roundThe projects recommended for funding from the 2008 SFF round and the 2008 SFF-CC (Climate Change) round can now be viewed on our website by clicking here. Note that in some cases, contracts still need to be finalised which is why the final dollar values are not yet listed. The contact person listed on the website was the person provided on the original application, and may change in future. In addition to the projects listed here, three projects on Life Cycle Analysis were also recommended for funding out of the Climate Change budget. These funding recommendations are made through a rigorous process by independent panels. As always the SFF was oversubscribed, which meant that many worthy projects were not able to be funded. SFF reporting and project adviser allocationsA reminder that all SFF project reporting for the period ending 30 June is now overdue. Please email your report and request for payment through immediately so that we can process it. We need your request for payment every reporting period even if you are not making a claim for funds. If there is a valid reason why you have not submitted your reports yet then we need to hear from you. With the additional SFF project advisers starting, some existing projects will have a new project adviser allocated to them. Your new adviser will contact the project manager as soon as possible, or you can contact Amanda Hall if you need to know which of the SFF team is your contact person. Indigenous beech drying workshopNew Zealand's indigenous beech species are perceived to be difficult to kiln dry and process on a commercial basis. The Indigenous Forestry Advisory Group, in conjunction with the University of Canterbury, are investigating the use of advanced overseas technologies for drying and processing of hardwoods and applying these to New Zealand beech species. The group will be holding a workshop in Christchurch on 14 August 2008, that will cover practical methods of drying beech timber efficiently to produce a high quality product. For more information about the workshop (including registration details) click here. Interested in finding out more? For more information about the project "Enhancing the viability of red and silver beech production through improved kiln drying, steaming and colouring technology" on the SFF website click here. Other SFF-funded projects relating to sustainable beech production: "The beech species: ecology, establishment, growth and management" This will result in a bulletin to be produced by the Tane's Tree Trust. "Expanding Economic Viability and Sustainably Managed Indigenous Beech Forests & Industry" The research will provide management guidelines for indigenous beech forest landowners and the manufacturing industry including clients with information on the best economic return possible from these forests and forest products. Kikuyu information on-lineKikuyu is among the four most important pasture species in Northland. It continues to spread both within Northland and in other areas of New Zealand, including the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki - indeed farmers as far south as Nelson are now finding kikuyu growing. This situation will only be exacerbated by current climatic trends. Loss of production from poorly managed kikuyu pasture can be significant. Formed in 1999 the Northland Kikuyu Action Group (KAG) comprises farmers, advisers and researchers who have conducted trials and commissioned research on the management of kikuyu-dominant pasture. The objective has been to develop a "tool-box" of options that will help improve the productivity from kikuyu pasture according to individual circumstances and farm policies. The SFF has funded three projects in conjunction with the Northland KAG. Much of the information generated from the trials and knowledge to date has been summarised as a series of booklets which are now available as downloadable pdfs from the SFF website. In their current project, the KAG is investigating options for the management of kikuyu on steeper sheep and beef farms where methods that rely on a tractor (for example, mowing and mulching) are not necessarily an option. Trials are established on three commercial Northland sheep and beef farms which are generating some interesting results. Regular field days and email newsletters are being well-received by local sheep and beef farmers and by the end of the project in 2009, they are looking forward to some more options to add to the "tool-box" for the management of kikuyu pastures.
A Northland KAG field day (photo: H Moodie, NZ Landcare Trust)Interested in finding out more? The Northland Kikuyu Action Group booklets are available as downloadable pdfs by clicking here. For a hard copy of the information, please contact Helen Moodie, New Zealand Landcare Trust, helen.moodie@landcare.org.nz For information about the project "Kikuyu management opportunities for steep land" from the SFF website click here. For information about the project "Research into, and demonstration of, new techniques to improve decisions for management of kikuyu dominated pasture on Northland farms" click here. Lettuce Integrated Pest Management tools now availableLettuce growers have a number of practical new tools at their disposal thanks to a large science programme that has developed a system of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) specifically for the outdoor lettuce crops in New Zealand. Since 2002, the SFF has co-funded a programme with the fresh vegetable industry, including Horticulture New Zealand, agrichemical companies and nursery companies, that has enabled the development and implementation of a lettuce IPM programme. Under IPM systems growers monitor crops regularly and manage pests and diseases in a manner which is sensitive to the environment by encouraging predators and other biological control agents. "We know IPM works and it is going to be the answer for an industry determined to meet consumer demand for sustainable produce", says Graham Walker, a Crop and Food Entomologist who has been involved in developing the lettuce programme."The IPM regime will ensure their crops can meet increasingly stringent market standards."
Scouting for insects and beneficials in the field (photo: G Walker, Crop and Food Research)A full information guide for the integrated pest management in outdoor head lettuce (available as a CDROM) has been mailed to all New Zealand lettuce growers, along with a pocket sized ute guide to enable the identification of insects, diseases and beneficials (natural enemies of the pests) in the field.
Hoverfly larva feeding on currant lettuce aphid (photo: G Walker, Crop and Food Research)Project leader, Stuart Davis, General Manager Operations at LeaderBrand Produce, says the project is a good example of how the industry can come together to work on common problems. "It has also been very encouraging to have the MAF SFF come on board to help with the development of the tools and particularly the implementation stage where they were tested and demonstrated to growers in commercial crops," Dr Davis says. Interested in finding out more? To read more about this project, including the final report, on the SFF website click here Copies of the "Information Guide for Integrated Pest Management in Outdoor Head Lettuce" can be ordered from Horticulture New Zealand on 0805 467 869 (there is a cost of $100 + GST for non-lettuce growers). Managing wilding conifersThe spread of wilding conifers affects many land owners and agencies in New Zealand, particularly in the South Island. Amongst the larger areas affected are tens of thousands of hectares on Molesworth Station, the country's largest farm. When the Farm Manager, Jim Ward and his Landcorp Farming "boss", Collier Isaacs, were considering solutions in 2005, they realised that the problems they faced were common to many others, and thought "why don't we all get together to seek solutions?" So, they asked Nick Ledgard, Scion's wilding conifer expert, to contact all the major players and talk to them about a collaborative project. From this beginning, the South Island Wilding Conifer Management Group was born, and in 2006 was successful in getting a 3-year project (2006-2009) funded by the SFF. The members of the Group are Landcorp Farming, Department of Conservation, High Country Federated Farmers, all the major forest companies (represented by the NZ Douglas-fir Research Co-operative), most South Island territorial authorities (Tasman, Marlborough, Canterbury and Southland), Land Information New Zealand and the Royal Forest and Bird Society. The Group's main aim with this Project is to collate and disseminate all existing data and information, as well as to explore new areas of wilding management. Apart from the major focus on improving wilding awareness and education, the Project has three core objectives:
By the end of the project, it is hoped that land managers will be accepting the prevention and management of wildings just as fundamentally as they recognise the need to contain farm animals within managed areas, and to remove them if they are found outside. Interested in finding out more? The South Island Wilding Conifer Management Group have established their own website click here to access. To read about "Commercial worth of wildings, plus possible "deforestation" liability - in a nutshell" click here. To read more about this project on the SFF website click here. Land Management Index tool - helping farmers manage their most valuable resourceA Land Management Index (LMI) computer tool to help farmers predict the consequences of management decisions on soil quality and future productivity is to be demonstrated at a workshop series around New Zealand. The tool has been developed over the last six years by a team of Crop and Food Research soil scientists with contributions from more than 400 farmers, as well as representatives of the arable, vegetable and pastoral industries, and regional councils. The LMI is a simple tool to help growers predict changes in soil quality based on soil and crop management information. It will help farmers to make decisions about the length and composition of their crop rotations, the intensity and frequency of tillage practices used to establish crops, and assist in calculating the benefits of incorporating winter cover crops into traditionally winter fallow systems. The LMI will be demonstrated to arable farmers and vegetable growers at a series of eight workshops beginning on 11 August. The main focus will be on showing farmers how to use the tool to benefit their business. The cost will be $35 (including GST) and will include:
The half-day workshops will be held in the afternoon at the following locations:
Registrations are essential as numbers are limited. Contact Erin Lawrence at Crop and Food Research for more information. Email: lawrencee@crop.cri.nz; Phone 03 325 9364; Fax 03 325 2074. Interested in finding out more? To read more about this project on the SFF website click here. EndingPlease contact us if you want to provide something for future editions of SFF E-news. Let us know if you don't wish to receive any more editions of E-news or if there is someone who should be added to our distribution list. Kia rongo korero ano matou i a koutou Kind regards |
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Contact for Enquiries
Fund Administrator
Sustainable Farming Fund
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
Tel: 0800 008 333
Fax: 04 894 0746
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