The Hurunui Legumes Action Group visiting Fraser Avery at Bonavaree in Seddon
The AgriBusiness Group is involved in the Red Meat Profit Partnership – Action Groups, seeing the value the initiative adds to individual farm businesses and the red meat sector as a whole, improving performance, efficiency and upskilling the sector.
Getting involved with forming and facilitating action groups fits well with our vision of ‘Achieving Outcomes by Building Capability’, giving farmers access to the tools, resources and information to build their confidence and business performance to reach the goals they have set for themselves.
We have six groups across the Canterbury region each with its own focus area, whether it be to improve on farm livestock production, introduce a new system through the addition of irrigation or gain a better understanding of outside influences on their farm business. Through the whole process we ensure the farmer group members are the ones who are driving the information they want when they want it. We build activities to suit the group focus from small workshops to on-farm field days. Monitoring and evaluation play a an important role in ensuring the delivery of our work is effective and beneficial to each of the individual members of the groups.
Darfield Action Group discussing the parasite life cycle
The Hurunui Legumes Action Group in the RMPP ‘Taking Ownership of Your Financials’ workshop
Being a part of these groups also ensures that we are keeping up to speed with what the industry is looking for and moving towards, with motivated farmers pushing their boundaries and asking the curly questions.
The Red Meat Profit Partnership Action Network is a nationwide industry led programme to increase sector productivity and profitability.
For more information contact Sarah
Current Action Groups facilitated by Sarah O’Connell
Hurunui Legumes
Group Established April 2018
Group members come from the Scargill Valley, to Hawarden and up to Hanmer Springs. The main focus of this group is to increase the legume content of their pastures with the right legumes for their farming system. The group’s objective is to have profitable farming businesses by growing and feeding productive dry matter, achieving or exceeding stock weights and production levels while ensuring good time spent with family.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Simon Thorne (Frame Grain and Seed), Lawrence Field (Farm Business Accountant), Fraser Avery (Marlborough Farmer), Ben Allot (North Canterbury Vets), Dick Lucas (Lincoln University), Tony Davoren (Hydroservices), Craig Williamson (Rabobank), Sam Lucas (Farmlands Agronomy)
Darfield
Group Established August 2018
The members of this group farm mostly around the foothills and flats of the Darfield area with the addition of one from Springston and one from Harewood. A number of the group members are new irrigators with Central Plains Water stage 2 with a focus to work out how to make the irrigation investment pay off. The group’s objective is to optimise stock and pastoral production under new irrigation systems that fit into the current farm system and make changes to the farm system where needed; and to understand their farm businesses from a financial and business planning perspective using tools such as benchmarking and farm software programmes.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Tom Fraser (Fraser Pastoral), Craig Weir (Barenbrug Agriseeds), Tim Cookson (Hororata Farmer), Ben Allot (North Canterbury Vets), Valerie Walpot (Central Canterbury Farmer), Craig Williamson (Rabobank), Sophie Barnes (Lamb Rearing), Derrick Moot (Lincoln University)
Windwhistle
Group established September 2018
The members of this group are from the Windwhistle and Methven area and are a mix of flat land, rolling hill country and high country farmers. Their general focus is to improve on-farm performance and efficiency with a few of them being in their first 10 years of farming. The group’s objectives are to improve overall farm profitability and efficiencies on-farm while being aware that we are farming in the spotlight especially on the environment front; and to ensure that farm, family & life balance are well lined up.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Allister Moorhead & Glenn Judson (Agricom), Tom Fraser (Fraser Pastoral), Mark Zino (North Canterbury Farmer), Ants Roberts (Ravensdown), Peter Anderson (Marlborough Vet), Garth Nielsen-Vold & Helen Searle (FarmIQ)
Greendale
Group Established September 2018
This group came together through their arable farming connections. These farmers are predominantly arable farmers who finish livestock within their systems. Most of them are new irrigators in the Central Plains Water scheme and like the Darfield group, are looking for ways to make sure their farm system can pay for the irrigation development. The group’s objectives are to be farming within the limits of the Selwyn/Te Waihora catchment and be profitable; and to grow and feed productive dry matter to stock at the right time and to improve production levels while ensuring we have good time spent with family.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Sylvia McAslan (Environment Canterbury), Fiona Crombie (Central Plains Water), Steve Berenger (Irrigation New Zealand), Blake Holgate (Rabobank), Veronica Penny (Landcare Research), Valerie Walpot (Central Canterbury Farmer)
Canterbury Sheep Production
Group established May 2019
This group is very specific. They are all milking sheep or about to start milking sheep. They are a diverse group of farmers who are the leaders of the emerging industry in the Canterbury region. They are looking to improve their own production and performance while setting some standards and guidelines for new entrants into the industry. The group’s objectives are to grow and share knowledge between one another while building a profitable and sustainable sheep milk industry in Canterbury working the industry towards success with good management practices in place; and to help each other out.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Mark Ferguson (NextGen Agri), Ginny Dodunski (Totally Vets), Charlotte Westwood (PGG Wrightson Seeds), Tom Fraser (Fraser Pastoral)
Business Performance Canterbury
Group established June 2019
This is a group who is spread across Canterbury from Banks Peninsula to Kirwee and Oxford. Their main focus is to work on the business rather than in the business. Taking the opportunity to get a better understanding of business and financial performance while still looking at some on farm performance improvements. The group’s objectives are to improve the profitability of the businesses while ensuring decisions and practices are viable; to ensure we have confidence to carry out our business plans, to be working smarter not harder; and to help each other out with the skills, experience and knowledge in the group.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Graham Brown (Farm Business Accountant), Mandi McLeod (Farm Succession), Trevor Cook (Totally Vets), Mark Ferguson (NextGen Agri)
Sustainable Dryland Farm Systems
Group Established August 2018
This group of farmers has a priority to develop and grow sustainable farm businesses in a dryland North Canterbury environment. Sustainable for them encompasses being profitable, productive and financial, having environmentally sound systems that adhere to good management practices and providing for a work life balance for them and their staff.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Lachie Grant (Land Vision), Ben Allott (North Canterbury Vets), Graham Brown (Brown Glassford and Co), Charlotte Westwood (PGG Wrightston Agronomy)
Hawarden Irrigation Development
Group Established August 2018
An impending irrigation scheme bought this group together in the early stages with their aim to support one another with sound planning and decision making to develop profitable irrigated blocks within dryland farms in North Canterbury. With changes to the irrigation scheme, some farmers in the group are unable to get irrigation so the group slightly changed the focus to improving on farm performance within the existing farm systems and is planning to pair up with the Sustainable Dryland Farm Systems group for some future activities.
Some of the experts they have had access to are: Jansen Travis (Tambo Consulting), Anthony Davoren (Hydro Services), Local Farmers who are already irrigating.
