We’ve been invited to show our journey of electrification at the MicroFarm as part of the Electrify Hawke’s Bay Expo on 26 September. It is a free to attend event being held at McLean Park in Napier.

The base of our transition was installing rooftop solar which now provides the majority of our power requirements. That includes the Centre for Land and Water Farmhouse Offices building, the Green Shed seminar venue, and our workshed and equipment and irrigation.

The handy app shows us exactly what is going on, either instantly or over a chosen period.

We quickly understood consumption and could adjust what we did to maximise savings. For example, our hot water is timed to heat only after 11am, when the highest chance of solar meeting the power requirements.

Our irrigation pump generally runs in summer and on fine days, so most of our pumping is solar powered too.

Over the course of a year, our excess generation pretty much covers to cost of energy we buy in and our lines charges. We are not using our vehicle charging as much as we could because that tends to happen at home under a free 3-hours plan. If we do want to charge at work, we can use solar at up to 7 kW, or fast charge using grid power at a little over 20 kW.

We still have a petrol ute. Unless we need the loadspace, or are carrying dirty stuff, we use electric cars instead. Or an electric car and trailer.

To date, Dan’s EV6 has done 70,000km, at an average running cost including charging on road trips of 3c + RUC/km. Servicing costs are minimal – the total over the first four years was the same as one service on a petrol Hilux.

The car’s range varies with the weather – less in heavy rain and very cold or very hot conditions. In normal operation, the range is still around 520KM – the same as new. A recent battery health check reported 99.99% capacity.

Towing capacity is 1,750 kg, and we’ve happily taken a trailer with a couple of drying ovens to Albany in Auckland for servicing. Stops in Taupo and Bombay fitting bathroom and coffee breaks – the main issue was leaving the cafe too soon as charging was finished.

Our building water is mostly solar because we tend to be at work when the sun is up.

Other electrification options include swapping 2-stroke engines for electric motors. After years using battery powered drills and saws, changing to an electric chainsaw, weed-trimmer and leaf-sucker was a simple decision. Quiet, stink-free and next to no servicing!

Another big change is using small robotic electric lawn mower instead of the petrol ride-on. Not only does that save a lot of fuel cost, there’s also a huge time saving. We still have the old ride-on that we use for some rough areas but that reinforces just how good the robot option is!

Our 2026-2027 summer crop will be a crop of maize grown for Nicolle Grain. The ultimate destination is your plate of nachos, once the grain has been turned into corn chips. We’re grateful that Patrick and Tom Nicolle have agreed to work with us this summer, providing an alternative to the sweetcorn crop that had been planned prior to McCain Foods’ factory closure.

The plan for the coming season is an adaptation of the sweetcorn plan that was our first crop in the Carbon Positive trial. One change is that none of the treatments have been grazed over winter. We have sent soil samples to Hill Labs for Basic, Sulphur profile and potentially available nitrogen PMN testing. We will use those results and our regular soil nitrate monitoring to determine the crop nutrition programme for each treatment.

^{* fertiliser rates to be reviewed when lab test results received.
# use later in crop if needed for escapes. Maybe the interrow cover crop mulch in the strip-till plots will be enough.}

With rain in mid-August, we already missed our planned spray-out date! We wanted a 6-week interval before cultivation. Given the crop is maize and the harvest date is less important than for process crops, we are not overly concerned, but we do want to get the crop out early enough for good winter cover crop establishment in 2027.

Our latest soil nitrate testing showed that levels continue to be very low and often non-detectable (<5ppm) using the Nitrate Quick Test. They do suggest that the regenerative plots might be a little higher than the others, perhaps a reflection of the vetch component in the cover crop. It will be interesting to see if there are any differences in the PMN in the Conventional and Hybrid ryegrass, and Regenerative triticale and vetch plots.

We will have regular field walks so everyone has opportunity to view the trials firsthand. Make sure you’re signed up to receive notifications.

We recall that 2022-2023 was a la Nina year and 2026 -2027 is looking to be the opposite, an el Nino year. You may recall that our 2022 sweetcorn was impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. In the end, the yields in the treatments were good, but we don’t know how the flooding impacted any of our results.

Aaron Duncan is Director of Freenergy. He in an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the renewables and environmental industry. His earlier career involved project management and a role as offshore vessel superintendent supporting subsea construction and cable laying for the telecom and offshore oil & gas industries. He now focuses on the supply and installation of solar water heating, solar power & battery storage systems for residential and commercial customers using both grid tied and off grid power solutions. Freenergy is a SEANZ ‘Sustainable Energy Association of NZ’ winner of the ‘Small Business of the Year’ along with Aaron receiving the ‘Industry person of the year’.

Freenergy installed the MicroFarm solar power system 12 months ago. Aaron will discuss the system choices made, demonstrate the control and reporting app and how the system is managed. How much power has been generated in a year? How much was consumed, how much was exported?

Do you have a classifiable dam? Make sure you have notified the council and submitted your Dam Safety Assurance Plan to avoid an infringement notice.

Unsure if your dam counts? Check out MBIE’s new tool on Classification screening tools for Dams and Canals

New regulations to improve the resilience and maintenance of Aotearoa New Zealand’s dams have now been in force for a year.  This means owners of ‘classifiable’ dams are now subject to additional responsibilities to protect people, property and the environment from the potential impacts of dam failures.

If you own a dam that is 4 or more metres in height and stores 20,000 or more cubic metres volume of water or other fluid, you should already have submitted a dam classification certificate to the appropriate regional authority. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s important to begin the classification process as soon as possible. This includes engaging a recognised engineer to certify your dam. You should also notify your regional authority that you’ve started the process.

Owners of classifiable dams with a high potential impact classification (PIC) must submit a Dam Safety Assurance Plan (DSAP) within one year of the council approving the classification. These deadlines are quickly approaching and dam owners will need to engage a recognised engineer to audit and certify the DSAP. If dam owners do not comply with the regulations, Regional Authorities may issue infringement notices.

Resources to help you

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has published a tool to assist dam owners determine whether their classifiable dam is likely to be a low potential impact dam, or whether further judgement may be required to determine the classification.

Classification screening tools for Dams and Canals

You can read more about the definitions, regulations, and find resources to support you, on MBIE’s Building Performance website: www.building.govt.nz/managing-buildings/dam-safety/

Included in these resources is the Measuring and calculating the height and volume of agricultural dams resource. This is designed to help horticultural or agricultural dam owners calculate the volume of their dam and understand if they are impacted by the Regulations.

MBIE has also published another resource, the Potential Impact Classification checklist, which is a checklist to support dam owners to identify and collate information for a PIC assessment.

The Guide to complying with the Dam Safety Regulations has been updated to clarify some points.

The LandWISE Conference, Getting to Carbon Positive, attracted more than 80 people who heard speakers on a wide range of topics related to ongoing sustainability.

Day 1 discussed ways to assess our emissions levels, how we can reduce our environmental impact through diverse farming techniques including regenerative practices and soil health, and new research around pest management.

Pii-Tuulia Nikula opened with an introduction to emissions accounting, which was followed by Uttam Floray outlining how Toitu certifies emissions. Ron McFetridge from WaterForce said he was asked by key clients about WaterForce’s emissions, which set them on a journey to reduce their emissions and environmental impact. Olivia’s take:

“I enjoyed listening to Ron discuss how WaterForce has been installing solar panels on their offices, putting in electric vehicle chargers, and deploying electric and hybrid vehicles for their staff. Given that they travel 4.5 million kilometres annually as a company, WaterForce saw electrification as an effective way to reduce emissions and environmental impact. By doing this, they are setting a precedent for other companies.”

Dan Bloomer presented results from the Carbon Positive trial including the 2024-2025 cropping programme and a Carbon balance for each of the treatments, which showed nitrogen fertilisers and diesel were the largest CO₂^-e contributors. The introduction of livestock added significantly to overall emissions, even if on farm for a relatively short time. Matt Norris presented results from regenerative cropping trials, including use of composts, at LeaderBrand in Gisborne, Angus McKenzie described how Wairuna Farm is applying the principles in Canterbury, the various things he had been trialing on his farm, and how they created a wetland to treat drainage water. Sam McNally addressed ways to increase soil carbon and explained fundamental changes in our understanding of soil carbon sequestration and carbon pathways. Photosynthesis feeds the whole system!    

Three speakers discussed beneficial non-crop plants. Dan talked about the lessons from growing multispecies cover crop mixes in the Carbon Positive trial. Charles Merfield provided information about cover crops for regenerative cropping and the need to ask what functions you wanted cover crops to perform. Jeff Smith presented lessons from biostrip and insectaries research through the A Lighter Touch project.

Day 1 was wrapped up with Asha Chhagan talking about new technologies to assist pest and disease management, and Bethan Shaw reporting on work done looking at earwigs recolonising orchard sites that had been devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle. Daniel Sutton and Chris Lambert reporting on trials with a camera equipped AI enabled pest trap.

Olivia’s take:

“The conference was a good opportunity for me to do my first conference presentation! I talked about the Slakes app and things we have learned from using it to assess soil aggregate strength, and I spoke about the Nitrachek device project that I have been running as a part of my Te Ahikawariki/VICE internship.”

Many thanks to all our sponsors, speakers and delegates!

The cover crops were direct-drilled by Mike Kettle contractors on the 7th of April. There was good moisture, but hot dry winds rapidly dried the soil out. Annual ryegrass was drilled in all treatments. The Hybrid plots also had two clovers added, and the Regenerative plots had two clovers and vetch.

After planting, the plots were aerated and rolled by Patrick Nicolle, and we aim to stay off them until October, prior to planting butternuts for Heinz-Wattie’s.

After 28 mm of rain and a few days of warm temperatures, the cover crops began emerging on the 18th of April. Both the annual ryegrass and vetch were well out after a few days, although the clover is slower. We drilled slug bait with the seed, and will apply a surface dose by quadbike after the rain and now emergence is underway. The amount of surface residue is apparent in the images below, and we suffered damage in such conditions with previous crops.

We expect the cover crops will be at a good stage for viewing at the LandWISE 2025 Conference Horizons Regional Council Field Session on 22 May.

As part of my Te Ahikawariki/Vegetable Industry Centre of Excellence (VICE) internship I have been helping Dan run workshops in Pukekohe, Palmerston North/Levin and Gisborne. As apart of these workshops we have been demonstrating how to use a Nitrachek device.

The Nitrachek device produces a nitrate parts per million (ppm) result based on the colour of a nitrate test strip. The Nitrachek is designed to use the MQuant Nitrate test strips to produce an accurate reading.

There is an international shortage of MQuant nitrate test strips at present, so we wanted to know if Quantofix test strips can be used instead.

The Quantofix test strips were compared to the MQuant test strips in the Nitrachek (set to lot 5) using nitrate solutions with different concentrations: 500, 250, 125, 62.5, 31.25, 15.63, and 7.81 ppm.

The Quantofix Nitrachek readings were much lower than the MQuant Nitrachek readings.

Quantofix vs MQuant Nitrachek readings on lot 5.

Conclusion

Based on the trend line equation, it was determined the Quantofix test strips can be used in the Nitrachek device on lot 5 and can be corrected by multiplying the Nitrachek ppm reading by 2.2. This will produce a similar result to a Nitrachek reading on lot 5 with a MQuant nitrate test strip.

Download file

– Olivia

To adopt a new Constitution for LandWISE Incorporated

There will be an on-line Special General Meeting held at 4:30 pm on Thursday 1st May 2025

Full Members (currently registered financial members) have been sent an on-line meeting invitation and links to more information and an on-line ballot form directly.

Background

The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (the 2022 Act) came into effect on 5 October 2023. To reregister, our society must provide a constitution that is compliant with the 2022 Act, which sets out what we must include in our constitution.

Details of changes to legislation are viewable at
https://is-register.companiesoffice.govt.nz/law-changes-for-societies/key-changes/

The New Zealand Companies Office is responsible for Incorporated Societies. It provides an on-line Constitution Builder that sets our mandatory, strongly recommended and optional components for a constitution to meet the requirements of the new Act.

The LandWISE Board has met frequently to review our old constitution and draft a replacement that meets the new requirements. The Board considers the attached draft Constitution suitably describes our Purposes and Rules for operation. It asks that members approve this draft as the LandWISE Constitution 2025. With membership approval, the Constitution will be submitted to Incorporated Societies and to Charities for their acceptance.

In June this year, I was chosen for one of two teams attending the 2024 International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) Case Study Competition and Conference in Almeria, Spain. The theme of the conference was Food Security Through Innovation & Sustainability. We were then invited to attend a weeklong food and agri-innovation tour to Bologna, Cologne and then through the Netherlands.

I am lucky to have been in a team with four clever individuals from across the New Zealand Agri-Food sector. Our team included Dan from Silver Fern Farms in Dunedin, Fatima from ANZ in Auckland, Braydon from Perrin Ag in Rotorua, and Katie from Auckland University. We brought a diverse range of skills to our case study analysis, as well as a diverse range of opinions and perspectives on agriculture.

We were incredibly excited to learn that we won first place in our division, with the other New Zealand team coming in second place. Not bad for a little country at the bottom of the world!

While travelling together after the conference we were able to explore food provenance and food culture in Bologna, agricultural research and development in Cologne, and agricultural and horticultural innovation in the Netherlands. We will all be spending the next few months digesting what we have seen, discussed and learnt, and how our experience links to food production back here in New Zealand.

Many thanks to LandWISE (Dan & Phillipa) for allowing me the time away to learn, grow and explore the agri-food sector at a global level.

Applications are open!

Applications are open for the 2024 STAMP intake so if you have talented young people in your business (under 27 at the time of application), encourage them to apply! Click here for more information. Applications close 31st Aug 2024.

The last few months has seen us researching and confirming management strategies for our spring tomato crops. A major component is crop protection planning for conventional, regenerative, and hybrid treatments. In a conventional tomato growing system, the 135 day crop typically receives about 15 spray applications, all with several active ingredients. Regenerative principles seek to reduce agrichemical additions. We have been working with the Watties team and industry advisors to prepare a minimum crop protection programme that should provide an acceptable level of risk to the crop, to people, and to the environment and the soil biological community.  

Measuring any potential agrichemical impact and comparing systems is a complex task. There are different types of harm to consider i.e., harm to humans, harm to insects, harm to birds, harm to soil life, etc. How do we describe and rank “harsh” or “soft chemistries? Is our proposed regenerative cropping programme “better” than the conventional one?

McCain’s Agronomist, Ben Prebble proposed the Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) model to rate and compare programmes. The EIQ formula was developed at Cornell University by Kovach et al., (1992) to inform growers and advisors wanting to make more environmentally friendly crop protection decisions. The model considers a range of effects (Figure 1), which are categorised into three components: 1) Consumer EIQ, 2) Farm Worker EIQ, and 3) Ecological EIQ. The Environmental Impact Quotient EIQ is a weighted numerical score that allows different active ingredient choices to be compared.

An online tool for calculating EIQ is available through Cornell University (Grant, 2020). This tool uses the base product EIQ value to calculate a Field Use EIQ based on the applied rate of each product. Figure 2 provides an example of the calculator for glufosinate-ammonium (Buster).

Note that regardless of selected application area units, the Field Use EIQ is given in acres (Figure 3), so answers need to be multiplied by 2.47 to give Field Use EIQ per hectare. It is the Field EIQ values that can be used to compare options.

We have used the EIQ tool to calculate a ‘Total Field Use EIQ per hectare’ value for our tomato treatments. The proposed Field Use EIQ for the regenerative treatment is about half that of the conventional treatment. Of course, our production plans are subject to change based on seasonal events! Major contributors to a higher EIQ in the conventional treatment are the use of the pre-emergent herbicide Prosulfocarb, more frequent use of the fungicide mancozeb, and the use of copper hydroxide. We planned a regenerative crop protection programme for growing 100 T/ha, but which has a lower impact on the receiving environment, those handling the chemicals on farm, and those consuming the tomatoes.

We used the University of Hertfordshire Pesticide Properties Data Base (PPDB) for additional information on each active ingredient (University of Hertfordshire, 2023). The database provides information on soil degradation, soil mobility and adsorption, ecotoxicity (including harm to earthworms and honeybees), and risk to human health. A traffic light system is used to indicate risk to environment, ecotoxicity and human health Figure 4.

We are pleased we have a more objective way to assess each of our programmes and their components. The EIQ system is the result of three decades of research and modelling by many people in many organisations, who also incorporated decades of accumulated knowledge – it is not something we could have come up with overnight!

References

Grant, J. (2020). Field Environmental Impact Quotient (EIQ) Calculator [New York State Integrated Pest Management Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell University.]. Calculator for Field Use EIQ (Environmental Impact Quotient).

Kovach, J., Petzoldt, C., Degni, J., & Tette, J. (1992). A method to measure the environmental impact of pesticides. New York’s Food and Life Sciences Bulletin, 139.

University of Hertfordshire. (2023). PPDB: Pesticides Properties Data Base. PPDB: Pesticide Properties DataBase.