Manawatu farmer and Nuffield Scholar Mat Hocken believes innovation will help the agricultural sector unlock some of the issues and concerns it faces.
So when he received a Nuffield Scholarship in 2017 he chose agri-innovation as his research project.
The scholarship is a prestigious rural leadership programme with a global focus, designed to fast-track the development of emerging leaders in the agri-food sector. Each year up to five scholarships are awarded to people who are expected to assume positions of greater influence in their field in the future.
Scholars travel internationally for at least four months and participate in a Contemporary Scholars Conference with 60 Nuffield Scholars from around the world.
They also attend a six-week Global Focus Programme with an organised itinerary through several countries with other scholars.
During his travels Hocken visited 14 countries exploring how they make use of technology and innovation in agriculture. He learned about interesting things that could contribute to the sector in New Zealand.
“I have been fortunate as part of my Nuffield experience to visit places were innovation is flourishing – people, businesses, small and large companies and universities – to look at why it’s happening and what we can learn from these places,” Hocken says.
“I’ve seen farmers working with techies in Silicon Valley, the collaboration between Dutch universities, farmers and society and the focus in Chile on international competitiveness and research and development.
“As farmers we are pretty good problem-solvers and have a good entrepreneurial spirit.”
But he believes some of the challenges the agri sector faces need a broader approach.
That was a key motivator behind establishing the Rural Innovation Lab, a concept Hocken and fellow dairy farmer James Stewart launched with partners in Manawatu this year.
Stewart and Hocken originally connected through their involvement with Federated Farmers and had been thinking and talking ideas for several years. Research through a regional growth study, Accelerate25, and an AgTech hackathon in 2017 helped speed up their thinking.
Their aim is to help provide new ways to solve problems and get ahead of the changes and disruptions in farming.
“Farmers are facing a myriad of challenges. How do we move from our existing systems and succeed in an uncertain and challenging future?” Hocken says.
“The best way to get ahead of disruption is to innovate.
“We need new ideas of how to meet the challenges of producing food for the world sustainably and combat climate change.
“Our focus is bringing farmers and growers into innovation ecosystems and engaging with collaborative networks.”
The key take-home from his Nuffield Scholarship was the process farmers and growers go through to uncover requirements and define challenges as well as work with partners.
It was not a piece of technology or equipment that other countries were using that could be applied in NZ, it was the process of how they would come together to inform and elevate the discussion.
“It’s not just about new technology and ideas. Sometimes old technology can solve an issue but it’s bringing those challenges to light and working through the process.
“Innovation happens in a social and cultural context. What works in other countries may not necessarily work in NZ.”
The Lab got $400,000 in funding from the Provincial Growth Fund and worked with more than 150 farmers, growers and Maori landowners to identify the key challenges they face and develop solutions. They also formed partnerships with Massey University, Federated Farmers, The Factory, Maori agribusiness in the region and Microsoft.
The lab has a continual focus on generating new ideas and what can be taken onto the farm. They work across sectors, looking at good ideas and cross-pollinating.
“We have had a lot of support from a number of organisations. There are a lot of companies and start-ups that are interested in engaging with farmers and growers.
“It’s a platform for people to come and test their ideas and trial things. We are only the start of the journey.”
This year was the pilot and they have just completed the first cycle of grants to four rural innovation projects.
Earlier this year they put out a call for people to submit ideas to help solve burning issues in the rural sector, as identified by farmers and growers.
The four innovation projects were selected from a pool of 50 applicants. The successful projects include a 14-year-old entrepreneur looking to provide broadband access to isolated rural communities, a carbon calculator co-designed with farmers to estimate on-farm emissions, an online platform for farmer-to-farmer rentals and the development of a Maori agribusiness collective.
“We also have 80 third-year Massey University students working on another 10 projects.”
The projects received a support package from the Rural Innovation Lab and are being facilitated by start-up and company development experts through The Factory.
They have access to the partners in the collaborative network the Rural Innovation Lab has established as well as mentoring from leading farmers and growers in the Manawatu-Wanganui region and a contribution to project costs.
“We’ve been supporting the four project teams to engage with farmers and growers, to help shape their ideas and innovations, facilitating their development and providing them with mentoring.”
They see Manawatu as a real key in the process.
“There is a lot of energy here. In October we also launched a regional agtech strategy, which is a hub of opportunity and connections. As the power of the network expands we’ll be pulling from further afield.”
The Lab aims to generate outcomes on top of the projects it directly supports. It wants to establish networks that can overcome barriers that form in agriculture such as communication silos and ease friction points such as reducing the time to engage farmers.
Hocken spends one day a week working on the Rural Innovation Lab and has recently concentrated efforts to secure funding for next year, applying to the Provincial Growth Fund again.
The strategy for next year is to embed the lessons from the pilot and improve processes. It will build the network with others involved in rural innovation in NZ and internationally.
It met Government representatives to report on progress from this year. The Provincial Growth Fund was the cornerstone to enable the work though the Lab did secure funding and other resources from the local network.
“We worked with Central Economic Development Agency, Palmerston North City Council, Accelerate25 and we kept track of hours from our partners.”
The Lab also got $750,000 from outside investment and in-kind work.
“This demonstrates to the Government the value in our work and they have been supportive of with our progress.”
They held a muster in the square in Palmerston North at the end of November with several workshops and a dinner.
“It was a celebration of what has happened this year and who has been involved and a sum up of where we’ve got to.”
As a farmer and a past Federated Farmers provincial president Hocken knows full well the challenges the rural sector faces and is confident it can find solutions to address them.
He grew up on the family farm, Grassmere, at Colyton near Fielding. The farm has been in his family for more than 125 years.
His parents encouraged him and his sister to get a good education before deciding their career paths.
Leaving school in 1996 he enrolled in a double degree in law and commerce at Canterbury University. But after graduating and working in a law office he decided it wasn’t for him. He won a scholarship to Cambridge University so decided to further his studies and did a masters degree in politics.
He moved to Brussels in 2004 where he put his degree to use and worked for a public affairs and communications company specialising in European Union policy.
He met Jana, who was also working in Brussels, in 2006. The couple moved to Sydney together and worked there for four and a half years before Mat felt the urge to head home.
“I decided I needed a new challenge and Jana was backing me.
“It was a big change for her, she was a city girl.”
Despite his rural upbringing he claims to be the least qualified member of the farm team and has had to work his way from farm assistant to herd manager.
There are two dairy farms, neighbouring each other, with 1000 Friesian cows supported by a nearby support block. The three farms total 450 hectares. The couple have since bought part of the farm, lease the rest of the dairy block and sharemilk on the family’s second dairy unit.
He wanted to get up to speed as fast as he could so he read a lot and did some courses. And his dad, Ross, has been a good sounding board passing on skills, wisdom and the history of the farm.
“Even though my studies weren’t in agriculture I can apply a lot of the skills I learned.
“Law helped me read a lot and read quickly and how to put things into context to understand.”
The communication skills he picked up come in handy and being able to work with others his studies help him understand a broader perspective.
With the challenges farming faces from the Government and regulatory change his studies give him a different way of understanding.
“You can understand what other people around the table are wanting to get out of something and how you can position your message to resonate with them.”
His background has supported his work with the Rural Innovation Lab through the writing skills he developed and his experience working with the Government.
He appreciates being able to talk to the collaborative partners and understand the broader perspectives others have.
“A successful ecosystem has outcomes that generate wins for everyone.”
He has concerns about the future of agriculture.
“Farmers are on board with the changes that need to happen but they want to work out how we can do it in a way that allows businesses to be sustainable.
“It affects more than the farmers alone.”
The couple have two young daughters, Annabelle and Gabrielle, and he focuses on what a future farm could look like, one that will attract his girls to come back and work on.
Outside of the Rural Innovation Lab and the farm, he is involved with MyFarm. He is a director on a few syndicates across various sectors and is on the Massey University business school advisory board.
He got a lot out of his Nuffield Scholarship and says it gave him the chance to learn from the best worldwide and the learning continues to grow each year and he continues to benefit from his experience.
“I see the Rural Innovation Lab playing a big part in updating technology and innovation in the NZ agriculture sector.
“NZ is an innovative country. We are also a powerhouse primary sector producer and this a great opportunity to build our agri-innovation sector.”
