Friday, March 29, 2024

Surplus research farm gets chop

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More than 70 years of agriculture history will go under the hammer when AgResearch sells its Mid Canterbury research farm next month. Bought in 1946 to provide local research into the use of border-dyke irrigation with long-term fertiliser trials started in the 1950s, the Winchmore research farm has contributed to more than 500 science publications.
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But AgResearch has called time on its 72 years.

National farms manager Ron Pellow said no substantial research has been done there for 15 years.

The last permanent scientist left in 2003 and the buildings and associated infrastructure were abandoned.

A change in how research is done these days is behind the sale, Pellow said.

Projects and priorities have changed with more research on commercial farms or in small-scale, intensive projects. 

“The plan is to make sure we have facilities able to determine research that will develop and enhance agricultural prosperity in New Zealand.

“The focus now is the redevelopment of campuses at Lincoln and Massey Universities to ensure we have the right team of people and the right facilities to achieve the agricultural research needs for NZ,” Pellow said.

“We need to make sure we put our limited resources in the right place and that doesn’t necessarily mean the picture now will be the right picture in the future.”

AgResearch has invested with DairyNZ and southern farmers in the Southern Dairy Hub.

Winchmore has primarily focused on long-term fertiliser trials and the 4.1 hectare fertiliser test in place since the 1950s and signed up last year with the Fertiliser Association for a further 35 years, will continue.

Association chief executive Vera Power said the site has provided extremely useful information for almost 70 years.

“This has allowed us to track changes to pastoral land as agriculture evolves and supports our evidence base for sustainable management.”

Those trials, which complement the others on North Island hill country near the Manawatu Gorge, are NZ’s longest running fertiliser trials under pasture.

Pellow said the sale won’t compromise research work.

“Depending on how you determine parcels of land we currently have 12 farms from Southland to Waikato used for livestock and cropping research.

“We will also have the greater focus now on research hubs in Lincoln, Massey and Southland that are focused on key research areas as determined by demand in the industry.”

Ultimately AgResearch investment is influenced by how and where it can best contribute to industry outcomes of transforming agriculture.

While supportive of the Lincoln Hub proposal, Rangitata MP Andrew Falloon is concerned about the consequences of losing both irrigation and fertiliser research in Ashburton District.

“The sale of the farm is effectively the end of research at a time when fertiliser use and the effects of irrigation are two of the biggest environmental issues facing farming in NZ.

“There’s no guarantee of research once current contracts have run their time and no more now than ever does agriculture need assurance of good irrigation and fertiliser research.

“The sale of the farm in a key district hub for that research will mean there won’t be the ability for research to the level of need.” 

“It’s another example of the Government pulling funding and resources from regional areas like ours to instead focus on the big cities,” Falloon said.

The 308ha farm is leased in two parcels, one to a dairy farmer and the other to a cropping farmer.

Crops on the farm this season include potatoes, wheat, barley, maize, peas and specialist seed crops with a small area in lucerne and permanent pasture. 

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