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Completed Research

Smaller scale New Zealand dairy farmers: long term plans and key challenges

Farmer wellbeing has been defined as “a dynamic process that gives people a sense of how their lives are evolving” (Nimpagariste & Culver, 2010). In order to support and enhance the wellbeing of farmers in New Zealand, the farmers’ goals, future plans and challenges to their plans all need to be understood. A particular group of interest is smaller scale...

New Zealand Dairy Farmers and Risk: Perceptions of, Attitude to, Management of and Performance under Risk and Uncertainity

New Zealand dairy farmers are exposed to considerable uncertainty. However this uncertainty provides both opportunities and threats for New Zealand dairy farms and often it is the capacity of the farm manager to interpret and respond to external (and internal) information that determines the extent of the advantage or disadvantage that is eventually realized. The aim of this research was...

Dairy Farm Succession: Information Evaluation

A lack of quality information on farm succession was identified as being of concern to New Zealand dairy farmers. Participants at eight focus groups (4 with dairy farm owners and 4 with the younger generation) were asked for their opinions on resources available and those needed. This information is available to assist the Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management...

New Zealand Dairy Farming Novice Employers

Employment relations and/or human resource management (HRM) is an important and increasingly integral element of dairy farming for many New Zealand dairy farmers. In order to assist DairyNZ enhance their efforts to assist novice dairy farm employers develop capabilities and expertise in employment relations this research addresses two research questions: 1. How do novice dairy farm employers develop strategies for...

How Dairy Consultants Help Farmers Design Improved Farming Systems

There is concern in the farm management consultancy field about the aging population of consultants and the lack of succession planning. One of the factors constraining the employment of new consultants is the time and cost required for training in this field. To help overcome this problem DairyNZ have developed a training programme for new consultants based around the whole...

Dairy On-Farm Financial Risk Project: Cross-Case Report

In the last five years, New Zealand dairy farmers have increased debt-levels, while also experiencing increased price and cost volatility. Management ability is a key determinant of how farmers’ successfully manage risk in this increasingly volatile environment. Research indicates that farmer perceptions of attitudes toward and choice of tactics to manage both upside and downside risk are influenced not only...

Maori Farming Trusts

This preliminary scoping study investigates areas for possible improvement in the governance and management of large Māori dairy farm businesses. Building on the innovative practices of their tūpuna – including Rawiri Taiwhanga, the country’s first commercial dairy farmer – Māori are defining their own aspirations, realities and goals in the dairy farming world (Durie 1998, 2000). This report outlines these,...

Migrant Workers and the Growth of Dairy Farming in Southland

The New Zealand dairy industry has undergone a substantial period of growth over the last ten years as more sheep, beef, and crop farms have been converted to dairy farming. A major problem for dairy farm employers is sourcing quality and skilled New Zealanders to work on their farms. Migrant labour has been used to mitigate these labour shortages, but...

Future Farm Management Options for Smaller Dairy Farms

In the last thirty years the size of the average New Zealand dairy herd has almost tripled (Dairy Statistics, 2013). Despite this growth, 36% of herds are considered small with less than 250 cows, so it is important to develop an understanding of the goals, future business and farm management strategies of owners of small farms. Thirteen owners of small...