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Project to improve farm management

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Farmers are looking at their land and businesses differently following a sustainability trial piloted by sheep and beef farmers.
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The Red Meat Profit Partnership (RMPP) project pilot is aimed at testing continuous improvement practices for making on-farm management decisions that will prepare farmers for the coming regulatory environment.

Building on the success of the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP), the piloted NZFAP Plus Standard covered land and water management, greenhouse gases (GHG), biodiversity, biosecurity and people management.

The pilot programme was carried out by 33 farmers to determine the achievability, cost, and benefits of the draft standard. The results highlighted support for the initiative and potential gains.

Project manager Alan McDermott says the farmers also provided valuable insights that will help with the implementation of the programme.

The draft standard gave many of the pilot farmers the confidence to act, including reinforcing and validating they were on the right track, opportunities for improvement and a clear direction and framework to follow for making decisions about resource management.

“This is something farmers have been seeking, with farmers saying it is necessary and timely,” McDermott said.

“Farmers reported the standard provided a foundation for clear, precise and consistent communication with their farm team, including their bankers, advisors, employees and communities, while supporting proactive and planned decision-making.”

It also provides a clear means for farmers to underpin the Fit for a Better World and Te Taiao strategy, as well as processors’ marketing strategies.

The standard supported the farmers to make farm system changes to protect and enhance their natural resources, which will ensure sustainable production in the future.

“It meant they felt much more prepared for the coming regulatory environment,” he said.

As a result of the trial, McDermott says most of the pilot farmers are now looking at their land and business differently. 

“The existing knowledge of farmers must be acknowledged, there are many examples of excellence highlighting that many farmers are well down this path already,” he said. 

“This includes relatively mundane things such as siting water troughs to avoid negative impacts, but also connecting all the various aspects of natural resource management of land, water, GHG and biodiversity and seeing how addressing those in an integrated manner makes good business and environmental sense.”

The areas in which farmers have the most progress to make include biodiversity management, GHG management, nutrient management, and having detailed and precise base understanding of their natural resources through comprehensive farm mapping and biosecurity management.

The pilot assisted several farmers to identify additional biosecurity risks, especially from plant pests, and new ways of managing those. 

Biosecurity procedures were rarely documented in the past beyond an animal health plan. Documentation was the main area requiring attention.

“This requires digital solutions that farmers can use to simplify planning, record-keeping and monitoring,” he said.

“Establishing such solutions needs to be a high priority for the sector.”

Farmers made good progress on soil health assessments using the Visual Soil Assessment (VSA) approach and winter management recording, reflecting the value farmers saw in these activities.

The cost to farmers in preparing for NZFAP Plus varied widely from several hundred dollars up to $16,000, where farmers needed to bring in professional support to map their farm, complete a nutrient-GHG budget and develop a comprehensive action plan covering land, water, GHG and biodiversity.

There will be ongoing costs associated with outcome monitoring, but the greatest cost for farmers will be the continued implementation of their environmental action plans.

“There is no doubt that constructing such a comprehensive farm plan is a challenge, will take time, and many farmers will require significant support,” he said.

“However, it is the best pathway through which farmers can create a legacy and own their future. 

“Farmer ownership of farm planning is essential for widespread uptake and success.”

The RMPP programme will finish on March 31, with the NZFAP and NZFAP Plus programmes now transitioned to New Zealand Farm Assurance Incorporated (NZFAI), an incorporated society comprising 15 meat processing companies, a wool company, a dairy sheep milk company, Beef + Lamb NZ, and Deer Industry NZ.

NZFAI is further developing and refining the standard into an operational assurance programme.

 

Alan McDermott | February 10, 2021 from GlobalHQ on Vimeo.

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