What's Next from AgResearch

Episode 5: Is there a place for mātauranga Māori in farming?

Is there a place for mātauranga Māori in farming? Is mātauranga the same as and equal to western science and how does it work to weave it into our current farming practices and processes? Māori agribusinesses are a large part of the Māori economy which is on track to grow to $100 billion per year by 2030. Māori agribusinesses continue to grow and are a significant contributor to Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy as a whole. In this episode, we discuss what mātauranga is, how it has evolved, and its place in pastoral agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand with AgResearch Kaiārahai Matua/Director Māori Strategy, Research and Partnerships, Ariana Estoras (Ngāti Maniapoto). We look at how mātauranga forms part of an ao Māori worldview and how that can provide opportunities for innovation with Daniel Carson (Ngāi Tahu), founder of Alps 2 Ocean Foods, a Māori agribusiness working on innovating with dairy beef and a product that doesn’t just benefit his business, but everyone in the process including New Zealand Inc. To learn more about anything you’ve heard in this episode, visit: www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/] Ariana Estoras on embracing mātauranga Māori: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/embracing-what/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/embracing-what/] and adding mātauranga Māori to Aotearoa New Zealand’s toolbox Mīti’s website: https://miti.nz/ [https://miti.nz/] Daniel Carson talks to Farmers’ Weekly about his product, Mīti: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/markets/miti-sees-opening-in-bobby-calf-problem/ [https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/markets/miti-sees-opening-in-bobby-calf-problem/] Learn more about how AgResearch works with Māori partners: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/partnering-with-us/our-maori-agribusiness-unit/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/partnering-with-us/our-maori-agribusiness-unit/] Statistics on Māori businesses: https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/tatauranga-umanga-maori-statistics-on-maori-businesses-2021-update/ [https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/tatauranga-umanga-maori-statistics-on-maori-businesses-2021-update/]     See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 4: Is there room for livestock farming in the future?

What does the farm of the future look like and how do we get there? New Zealand exports over 90% of our red meat and over 95% of our milk. Our main customers have increased expectations for environmental standards and animal welfare. This means making changes to maintain access to international markets while also farming sustainably. In this episode we’re discussing how those expectations, alongside adapting to a changing climate, will impact how farming in New Zealand looks in the future. AgResearch Senior Scientist, Robyn Dynes explains what she thinks our farms could look like in fifty years and what we need to tackle as a country to adapt. Senior Social Scientist, James Turner talks about how these changes affect people, whether it’s actually achievable and how we can support farmers to face our coming challenges. To learn more about anything you’ve heard in this episode, visit: www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/] Watch a series of webinars hosted by AgResearch, DairyNZ and Fonterra on the potential of digital technology to measure, predict, and improve animal wellbeing, and aid in farmer decision-making: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/digital-technologies-in-an-animal-centric-dairy-industry/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/digital-technologies-in-an-animal-centric-dairy-industry/] Read our scientists’ reactions to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s ‘Going with the Grain’ report, released earlier in 2024:  https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/land-use-report-reaction/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/land-use-report-reaction/]   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 3: Are alternative proteins going to wipe out the dairy industry?

Alternative proteins such as dairy proteins produced through precision fermentation are now a reality globally. But what does it mean for New Zealand? Is this stuff grown in industrial vats a genuine threat to our livestock industries? In this episode, our expert AgResearch senior scientist Scott Knowles outlines what precision fermentation is, how it might fit alongside conventional dairy production and what opportunities could be seized by New Zealand to add value to its existing markets (including the interesting role forestry waste might play). To round out the episode, we’ll also hear about other technological advances that are driving research and innovations in agriculture. Our IT infrastructure and security manager Ben Taylor talks about the challenge of handling large volumes of data and the computing power now available; while senior data scientist Sam Hitchman discusses how new tools are making it much faster and easier to investigate issues such as methane output from animals. To learn more about anything you’ve heard in this episode, visit: www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/]. Find out more about research happening in the precision fermentation space, visit: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/precision-fermentation/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/precision-fermentation/] Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Authority approved an application from Daisy Lab Limited to produce dairy-identical proteins using genetically modified organisms in a contained facility. Read more here: https://www.epa.govt.nz/news-and-alerts/latest-news/epa-approves-precision-fermentation-of-milk-proteins/ [https://www.epa.govt.nz/news-and-alerts/latest-news/epa-approves-precision-fermentation-of-milk-proteins/] More about use of new technologies in research, such as Artificial Intelligence, here: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/artificial-intelligence/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/artificial-intelligence/]   See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 2: Does biosecurity even matter?

We often hear our politicians and industry leaders talk about how critical strong biosecurity is to protecting New Zealand’s export industries. But when it comes to the crunch, as a country how far are we prepared to go to prevent a catastrophic incursion from overseas, or to tackle a threat from within? In this episode, we talk to two highly experienced AgResearch scientists who’ve spent many years working on research in the biosecurity arena, alongside the government and industry. Dr Axel Heiser, AgResearch’s chief scientist and a livestock health expert, talks about how New Zealand can protect itself from incursions of costly diseases hitting our farmed animals, such as bird flu and Foot and Mouth Disease, and what we have learnt from the experience of managing an outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis. It’s not just animal diseases that can harm New Zealand, and so our Emeritus Scientist Barbara Barratt joins us to talk about the threat posed by pests and weeds, tools to manage them in a changing climate, and how investing in the research can make us more secure as a country. To learn more about anything you’ve heard in this episode, visit: www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/ [http://www.agresearch.co.nz/podcast/]. For more details about some of the biosecurity research taking place at AgResearch, and as part of biosecurity partnership B3, visit: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/science-areas/plants-and-animals/weeds-pests-and-biosecurity [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/science-areas/plants-and-animals/weeds-pests-and-biosecurity]. It is estimated that an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease could cost New Zealand $16 billion over four to five years. Find out more at:https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5281-Foot-and-Mouth-Disease [https://www.mpi.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5281-Foot-and-Mouth-Disease]. AgResearch scientists have studied the massive economic impact of pasture weeds and pests. Find out more about this at: • https://agscience.org.nz/agresearch-finds-pasture-pests-costing-economy-billions/ [https://agscience.org.nz/agresearch-finds-pasture-pests-costing-economy-billions/] • https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/economic-impact-of-weeds-far-greater-than-billion-dollar-estimate/                 See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Episode 1: Can we do something about methane without ruining farming?

There’s a lot of talk about greenhouse gas emissions and the unique makeup of New Zealand’s emissions, due to our being a big primary producer of food. Is there a way to address this without slashing stock numbers and making farming virtually impossible? In this episode we’ll talk to two AgResearch experts to see what’s being done to meet this problem – firstly, Dr Suzanne Rowe, a geneticist based at our Invermay campus near Dunedin, who’s spent years researching the breeding of sheep for lower methane emissions, something it turns out is very achievable, without harming production. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. Listen as Suzanne explains how we test animals and how much of an impact it can have on flock emissions over time. And it’s not just methane we’re working on, nitrous oxide is also a concern in New Zealand – Dr Brent Barrett from our Grasslands campus in Palmerston North talks about why it’s a problem, how plants have evolved to change the environment around them and how exploring a trait that already exists in some of our ryegrass and other species could really help cut it down and make the most of nutrients we’re already using on-farm. For more details about testing your livestock for lower methane genetics, check out: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/partnering-with-us/products-and-services/agpac/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/partnering-with-us/products-and-services/agpac/] Learn more about the science behind breeding for lower methane emissions: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/low-methane-sheep/ [https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/low-methane-sheep/] Sheep breeder Alistair Reeves recently spoke about how he’s managed to lower methane emissions by 3.2% over the last four years, with no impact on production: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/farm-management/a-farm-where-every-day-is-an-open- [https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/farm-management/a-farm-where-every-day-is-an-open-]day/ Find out more about Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI): www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/bni/ [http://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/bni/]           See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.