Projects

Horticultural tile drains are used to divert excess moisture from the soil which can help waterlogged land become more productive. The purpose of this project seeks to understand whether this diversion of water contributes additional nutrients to our waterways that may impact water quality.

This report discusses factors impacting the price and supply of IPF, quantifies the New Zealand livestock sectors which feed it and examines the consequences of global supply shortages.

Funded by the Fertiliser Association of New Zealand This study was undertaken by a consortium of; AgFirst, Groundtruth Ltd, and Market Economics. This modelling study was undertaken to understand the opportunity to farm better class farmland more productively while planting forestry on poorer class land farmland, with blanket forestry planting as a comparison. It also considered the wider regional economic impact of such forestry planting.

This project focuses on three Māori Collectives, and investigates: (i) The impact on greenhouse gas emissions, farm profitability, and nitrogen leaching levels at an individual farm level for six farms within each Collective; (ii) The opportunity to operate the farms at a Collective level to enhance greenhouse gas emission reductions while maintaining or improving profitability; and (iii) The opportunity to operate at a pan-Collective level to further achieve the goals of reduced greenhouse gas emissions/maintenance of business profitability.

Over the past 5.5 years our consultants Kim, Gareth, Bob Thompson and Tafi have been involved in the Extension 350 project that completed in June this 2022. The farmer-learning-from-farmer programme was launched with the aim of helping the Northland region’s farmers to achieve their goals and objectives including profitability, environmental sustainability, and wellbeing.

AgFirst has developed a methodology to undertake Pond Drop Tests (PDT) in the Waikato, Auckland, BOP & Taranaki regions. Contact AgFirst Waikato to book your testing: waikato@agfirst.co.nz or +64 7 839 2683

This project has been developed in response to recent interest from Waikato landholders to diversify their businesses through land use change.

 Under the recent changes, those farmers who cannot meet the permitted activity standards will require a consent before the 2023 winter grazing period.

Farmers will face a price on their biological greenhouse gas emissions (methane, nitrousoxide and CO2 from N fertiliser) from 2025. Erica provides context in a summary and webinar in partnership with ANZ.

An AgFirst study confirmed that lamb weaning weight is king when it comes to sheep profitability.

This report looks at the costs and benefits of mitigation options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

This research finds pine trees have the same effects on soil as native trees (except kauri), no more, no less. Read the full report.

AgFirst were asked to provide a view on the place of forestry on pastoral land and an overview of the economic advantages of planting production forestry on behalf of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Investment Company.

Orchards worldwide are dealing with the impacts of changing climate. The late John Wilton from AgFirst outlines what current research reveals on how to manage the impacts of milder winters and warmer spring.

Our consultant Phil Journeaux and Scion scientist, Tanira Kingi have produced a report covering the results of the modelling component of the Farm Systems Modelling for GHG Reduction on Māori Farms project, a project funded by the New Zealand Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Research centre (NZAGRC).

AgFirst consultant, Erica van Reenen has completed a plan and report that aims to bring the relevant values associated with Molesworth together to provide an integrated land use approach. This approach recognises that history, culture, place, people and the natural world are all connected and interrelated.

This report discusses the drivers and barriers to land use change as they currently exist, as well as potential drivers/barriers starting to emerge.

This report covers a project funded by Our Land and Water, to investigate the challenges faced by landowners when they seek to diversify via land use change. The project itself involved interactions with 11 farmers within the Waikato who were investigating various options for land use change on their properties.

This research project looks at how farmers can mitigate and adapt to climate change with a focus on the Northland region in New Zealand.

Horticultural tile drains are used to divert excess moisture from the soil. This can help waterlogged land become more productive.This project seeks to understand whether this diversion of water contributes additional nutrients to our waterways that may impact water quality.

This report covers a project to assist the Māori pastoral sector to improve its collective capacity to increase resource efficiency, farm productivity, while reducing GHG emissions. The project was based around the establishment of a network of 29 Māori farms, and intensive modelling on four of these farms to investigate and demonstrate the impact of mitigation strategies on farm profitability and GHG emissions.

Nitrogen fertiliser is an integral component of farming systems within New Zealand, as it is around the world. It significantly aids the economic viability of many of those systems. As a result, usage of nitrogenous fertilisers has been increasing over recent decades.

The Catch Crop Sediment Mitigation Group is developing mitigations and sustainable solutions for reducing sediment and nutrient losses in winter crops.

This project compares a farm that does not import any supplement (Pasture Only farm, 2.7 cows/ha) with a farm that only imports PKE (PKE Only farm, 3.1 cows/ha) and a farm that imports PKE and other supplements (PKE Plus Farm, 3.1 cows/ha).

The Focus Orchard Trials are an ongoing project consultants from AgFirst often contribute to. This project allows you to view a collection of reports AgFirst has been involved with.

Each year AgFirst pulls together data across the industry to put together a report and benchmarking stats of financial performance for Sheep and Beef operations.

AgFirst carried out an economic evaluation of reticulating stock water on hill country sheep & beef farms in 2016. This showed strong positive financial returns, as well as environmental gains.

This project investigates the relationship between the price of dairy and sheep and beef land in New Zealand, relative to the three main determinants of land value, and then considers how environmental constraints could affect these determinants and hence flow through to affecting land values.

This report explores the latest trends and statistics relating to sharemilking, and then examines the issues that the milk price volatility is creating, and finally providing some thoughts on how the industry may need to react to ensure viable progression pathways continue.

This project looks at the economic and environmental factors of utilising barns on dairy farms across 14 different case studies.

This report was written by consultant Lycinda Lett in submission for the Kellogg Rural Scholarship. The purpose of this study was to investigate how current roster systems on Waikato dairy farms were established and to seek information on areas for improvement

This report summarises the results of a financial survey of dairy farms across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, carried out by AgFirst through June 2024. A description of the model farm is at the back of this report.

This project focused on how Northland beef farmers might improve farm profitability and sustainability through growing cattle faster and finishing them at a younger.

This report has been commissioned by the Centre of Excellence in farm management. The purpose of this report is to compile a list of farm management tools available to farmers and farm consultants (rural professionals) in New Zealand.

To maximise the ability of NZ growers to change to more profitable new apple varieties and reduce the timeframe between planting and the point of profitable production.

This report summarises the results of a financial survey of sheep and beef farms across the central…