On Wednesday the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR), established in 1995, will mark a number of arable industry milestones as the organisation reaches its 20th birthday.
FAR was set up primarily to do practical research for arable farmers.
Over the past two decades the levy-funded organisation has developed to actively do research and extension on a broad range of grain and seed crops in NZ and Australia.
Since its formation FAR has successfully increased research investment from $1 million of levy funds to $5.5 million of levy and grant funds.
FAR chief executive Nick Pyke, who has led the organisation since day one, said it would be difficult to single out any particular project or piece of research as the most important, given the organisation’s research focus was so broad.
The first achievement was the referendum that gave the industry the mandate to proceed and establish FAR.
“Initially our research focused pretty much within the farmgate on things like crop inputs and cultivar selection. From there grew one of our key achievements, our involvement in the Cultivar Performance Trials which provide growers with completely independent advice to help them select the appropriate wheat and barley cultivars to meet their production and agronomic needs.
“It has been pleasing in the past 12 months to see the development of a similar programme for the maize industry,” Pyke said.
Another key focus has been on the development of long-term research sites.
“We are very lucky to have maintained access to our Chertsey and Waikato arable research sites for 12 and eight years respectively.
“Location-wise they provide a focal point for our work and, importantly, they allow us to carry out long term research, comparing results over a number of seasons and years.”
Research was just part of what went on within FAR and would be of absolutely no use if it wasn’t partnered with a strong extension programme, Pyke said.
That extension work was a combination of meetings, field events and publications, all of which had developed over time as research projects had increased in number and scope.
A key development for FAR in recent years had been an increased focus on research into whole farm systems and managing the environmental impacts of cropping farms.
That, in turn, led to increased collaboration with other primary sectors, particularly the dairy industry, and with other research providers, notably the Crown research institutes and universities.
It had also led to an increase in external funding, with FAR levy funds being used to leverage contributions from central government agencies, Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Pyke highlighted the 20t by 2020 project as an example of collaborative approach.
The 20t by 2020 involved FAR, Plant and Food Research, Canterbury University and NIAB TAG in the United Kingdom.
It aimed to up wheat yields, increase productivity and improve farm profitability.
Each partner organisation contributed funding and or expertise and NIAB TAG replicated trials in the northern hemisphere to add knowledge to the programme.
A recent focus had been the identification and development of new, higher value products and systems for the cropping industry.
Development of a range of trans-Tasman collaborative research and extension programmes led to the establishment of FAR Australia in 2012.
FAR operates with a staff of 23 across four sites in New Zealand, Templeton near Christchurch, Ashburton, Hawke’s Bay and Waikato as well as in Victoria and New South Wales in Australia.
To encourage the next generation of cropping researchers and farmers FAR invests in student and post-graduate research and development,
FAR will celebrate its birthday with a conference in Ashburton in July.
The future visions for the arable industry event will focus on progress in the arable and cropping industry since FAR’s formation in 1995 and consider which technologies will drive development over the next 20 years.
