Focus Orchard and Trials

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.