Participants in the 2019 Rabobank Global Farmers Master Class in Brazil.
An Ōtamarākau dairy farmer is mixing with more than two dozen others from five continents and 12 different countries.
The farmers are spending 10 days taking part in the latest Rabobank Global Farmers Master Class around New Zealand.
The master class is a state-of-the-art agri-learning programme established in 2012 to bring together leading farmers from around the world to address global food security.
The 2023 event started in Hamilton this week and will finish in Queenstown on December 6.
The master class’ content-dense programme will feature presentations from top agricultural thinkers and business experts, interactive workshops and case studies, as well as visits to a range of flagship agribusiness operations in both the North and South Islands.
Rory Bragg’s Ōtamarākau dairy farm runs 630 cows on 213 hectares. There is also 20ha of kiwifruit.
Te Puke Times spoke with Bragg ahead of the programme.
Why did you apply to be considered for the master class?
It is important to invest in yourself, challenge existing beliefs and continue to learn. Through this programme, I am hoping to gain a global perspective on issues faced in agriculture and learn first-hand what progressive and innovative farmers and growers are doing to overcome the challenges they face.
Selection for the master class used criteria such as being innovative and environmentally progressive - how does the way you farm fall into those categories?
With the help of MilkMap Consulting we have implemented a number of changes on-farm aimed at improving the cows’ feed conversion efficiency. The goal is to keep improving per-cow production on a pasture-based system, gradually reduce total cow numbers while maintaining overall milk production levels, and continue to reduce our environmental impact.
Another criterion was a willingness to learn and share - so what do you hope to bring back from the master class and what do you anticipate will be your contribution - especially for the overseas farmers?
I am looking forward to discussing the challenges and opportunities that overseas farmers are seeing and how any potential solutions can apply to New Zealand farming systems and in particular to our own farming operations. PSA in the early 2010s and the dairy downturn in 2015 and 2016 seasons has shown the value of personal resilience and economic sustainability and I can hopefully bring some insights to the conversation as both are key topics within the programme.
Have you got any pre-conceptions about what you might learn from the overseas farmers?
Potentially we are all facing very similar challenges regardless of what and where we farm. There is such a diverse range of farmers and growers that have been selected from all around the world that I am sure they will all have unique experiences, ideas and points of view to share. I am looking forward to the open sharing of a wide range of ideas within the topics that will be covered throughout the programme.
What, in your view, are the most important reasons for agricultural operations to be sustainable moving forward?
For their operations to be sustainable farmers first need to ensure personal and economic resilience. Meeting environmental sustainability goals will help New Zealand farmers attract and retain customers, maintain access to capital, and ensure continued market access.
Have you been involved in anything of this nature previously?
Over the course of 2022, I completed the Rabobank Executive Development Programme and this year I have completed the Fonterra Governance Development Programme.
This year’s Rabobank Global Farmers Master Class has attracted farmers from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ecuador, Ireland, Kenya, the
Netherlands, Peru, the United States and Zimbabwe.
The other four New Zealanders are Gisborne-based horticulture, sheep and beef farmer Tam Jex-Blake, North Otago-based sheep and beef farmer Grant McNaughton, South Taranaki-based dairy and beef farmer Mark Stevenson and Northern Southland-based livestock and cropping farmer Michael Wilkins.
The participating farmers have been handpicked based on selection criteria, which targeted innovative, environmentally-progressive and passionate decision makers willing to share ideas, learn from others and invest in a sustainable future for agriculture.
This will be the sixth Rabobank Global Farmers Master Class and the second to be held in New Zealand, with the 2016 version co-hosted with Australia.
Rabobank NZ general manager for country banking Bruce Weir said it was incredibly exciting to have the event returning to New Zealand this year.
“The feedback I’ve had from New Zealand clients who have attended previous GFMC has been really positive and they all got a lot out of the experience.
“So when the New Zealand business was asked earlier this year if we were interested in hosting the next event, I was quick to flag our interest, and was really rapt when New Zealand was confirmed as the location for the 2023 event.
“Not only does the GFMC provide a chance for the New Zealand business to host some fantastic farmers and growers from right across the globe, but it also gives us an opportunity to highlight some of our country’s outstanding agricultural operations and to demonstrate why New Zealand is a global leader in farming best practices.”
Weir said the programme would nudge attendees out of their comfort zone and provide them with a platform to work on their strategic planning.
“It’s a platform for rural entrepreneurs to become even better, to increase their strategic planning, management and farming skills and develop their innovative power to produce more with less,” he said.
“It’s also a great forum to make global connections with like-minded farmers, and I know that many of our master class participants from our previous events still stay in touch and bounce ideas off each other when they’re after another perspective.”