They are:
Economic
In a volatile world, a strong farming tool box increasingly relies on having hands-on review and analysis to strengthen our skills relating to strong financial and economic gymnastics and scalability! Gone are the days of farming on and then letting the accountant tell us how things turned out (wouldn’t that be nice .)
It has never been more important to have a clear understanding of the short and longer-term margins and return on investment of every dollar and the time you spend both "on" and "in" the farm. But this needs to have a clear connection of how this relates to New Zealand and world market movement.
This isn’t just about controlling costs, this is about a strong financial strategy.
From planning, to the continual review of changing input returns, looking for lazy assets, and identifying other ways of doing things more efficiently to meet the changing market needs.
Integrated cutting-edge technology on NZ farms
We are world leaders in creating and adopting new technologies. However, the key shift needed now is not just in the tech we choose, but in how well it integrates with existing tools to deliver system, wide improvements across the farm.
At Landpro, we always ask our clients if they’re using platforms like Resolution or other farm management apps. This allows us to design farm environmental plans, farm maps, and other outputs in a way that integrates directly into those tools.
By doing this, information can be directly uploaded into these apps adding real power, value, and usability to the systems they already rely on.
Some other key things that are evolving quickly are:
- Robotics and automation: autonomous tractors, robotic harvesters, and ground-based weed-spraying bots are already being used. These tools need to have a commercial time and quality advantage and, where this occurs, we are seeing great leaps forward.
- Drones, aerial data and smart sensors: drones and planes or satellites equipped with multispectral cameras and LiDAR can now provide outstanding information to make decisions on. A number of our key clients are already using this technology and using some of our Landpro drones, planes and sensors to get outstanding results.
- AI and data platforms: once you’ve collected the data, processors and AI systems can analyse imagery, LiDAR, weather data, and IoT sensor inputs to predict yields, detect pests, optimise planting schedules and work out key targets for key outcomes. We are only at the start of this journey and are seeking quantum leaps forwards in this space, with our clients.
Environmental
We are starting to see some good progressive thinking where environmental outcomes don’t have to be at the cost of good financial outcomes. In my world, both things have to co-exist in the same space (which, by the way, is one of the reasons why we have our company tag line of "better environments, better returns"). This became saliently clear to me when I once travelled to Zimbabwe years ago and they were shooting animals in the nature parks to eat because the economy was in shambles. They said to me, "Jason, if we can’t afford to eat and our people are dying, how can we afford to have a nature park?".
In my mind, good environmental outcomes must also intrinsically seek a return. This doesn’t always have to be strictly economic; it could be political, social, ethical or, as we often see in our line of work, it can simply be peace of mind. Knowing that you’ve done the right thing, that your operation is future-fit, and that you can continue to run your business legally and sustainably for years to come, is a return in itself. A great example I’ve been involved with recently is solar farming on lower-producing land to integrate as income and offset costs (under high-use scenarios, this can have a payoff time of three years!).
Social
Our rural communities are strong and look after each other. However, some of our challenges will be:
- Labour challenges: automation is helping address labour shortages, especially in orchards and dairy farms, but to ensure we thrive we need to continue to attract and keep the best people in our industry.
- We are getting a bit better at sharing information as a country, but we still need to lift our game as the tall poppy syndrome combines with our "that’s my information" mentality which limits our ability grow as an industry and country.
Political and global leadership potential
New Zealand is uniquely positioned to thrive as a global leader in sustainable, high-tech, natural, system-based farming:
- Our pasture-based systems are ideal for integrating smart tech, and providing inputs other parts of the world can only dream of.
- Our commitment to sustainable farming positions us as an ethical and premium choice for consumers. We need to ensure we keep that.
- Our innovation seems to stem from our smaller private companies, so let’s take stock of that and realise the big guys are good at scale and economy and let’s support innovation where it lies.
- The government plans to support growing the food and fibre workforce by 2030, with a focus on tech-savvy and environmentally conscious farming. Let’s hold them to account, but also support what we can do on the ground to make sure this happens so we can meet the market.
As these economic, technological, social, environmental, and political forces continue to accelerate, our ability to adapt with integrated strategies, innovative tools, and sustainable practices will define the success and resilience of New Zealand farming well into 2050 and beyond.
— Jason Harvey-Wills is chief executive at Landpro.
