Branden joined the AgFirst Taranaki team in 2024 as an Agribusiness and Environmental Consultant, bringing a strong practical farming background together with experience in land resource assessment, soil conservation and farm advisory.

Before moving into consultancy, Branden operated a dairy farming business in Taranaki and was named the 2020 Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards. His experience in the dairy industry led to a broader interest in farm business performance, land management and the challenges facing New Zealand agriculture, which he developed further through a Bachelor of Agribusiness at Massey University.

Branden previously worked as a Soil Conservator with Taranaki Regional Council, undertaking farm-scale soil and Land Use Capability (LUC) mapping, and preparing comprehensive farm plans. This developed a particular interest in understanding the land resource and how different land uses can be matched to the capability and limitations of the land. Combined with his farming background, this provides a practical basis for considering land use decisions from both an operational and environmental perspective.

At AgFirst, this interest extends across rural land use and productivity assessments, forestry and alternative land use analysis, NPS-HPL assessments, LUC and soil mapping, farm environment planning and resource consent work. Branden is particularly interested in helping landowners understand their land resource and consider how different land uses can contribute to productive, practical and environmentally sustainable farming businesses. He is also proficient in spatial analysis using ArcGIS Pro and uses GIS, S-Map, LiDAR and other land resource information to support this work.

Branden is accredited in Farmax Dairy and Farmax Red Meat modelling and provides practical on-farm and farm systems advice across dairy and pastoral businesses.

Qualifications:
• Bachelor of Agribusiness (International Business) – Massey University
• Land Use Capability Certification – Simon Stokes Consulting
• Certificate in Livestock Feeding
• Farmax Dairy Accredited
• Farmax Red Meat Accredited
• 2020 - Taranaki Dairy Manager of the Year, New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards
• L.A. Alexander Agricultural College Trust scholarship

Key Skills:
• Land Use Capability (LUC) & soil assessment - farm-scale LUC mapping, soil interpretation and understanding land limitations and productive potential.
• Land use & productivity analysis - assessing how land capability, physical constraints and farm systems influence practical and sustainable land-use options.
• Farm systems analysis & advisory - practical dairy and pastoral advice, feed planning, productivity and farm system decision-making.
• GIS & spatial analysis - proficient in ArcGIS Pro, including spatial analysis and interpretation of LUC, S-Map, LiDAR and other land-resource data sets.
• NPS-HPL assessments - productive capacity, land-use constraints and primary production assessments supporting subdivision, consenting and land-use change.
• Farmax modelling - accredited in Farmax Dairy and Farmax Red Meat for farm-system modelling and scenario analysis.
• Farm environmental management - farm environment planning, soil conservation, nutrient and effluent management.
• Resource consenting & technical assessment - rural consent applications, AEEs and supporting technical land-use assessments.