An early convert to the value of using technology to streamline farming efficiency, his own career and success underlines how transformative - both financially and environmentally - precision agriculture can be.
Craige and his wife Roz own and run a 200ha arable cropping property near Methven, are partners in a 1150 cow dairy farm nearby and also run PA solutions specialist company Agri Optics NZ Ltd.
Capping a list of earlier awards and industry acknowledgments, the Mackenzies won the Supreme title in the Ballance Farm Environmental Awards in 2013, with judges describing them as a "progressive couple ... (who) utilise state of the art technology to maximise production in a sustainable manner".
"We were always trying to do the best we could with what we had but a Nuffield Scholarship (in 2008, leading to publication of a paper 'Understanding the Farming Footprint in Farming Systems') opened my eyes to what was going on in the rest of the world," Craige says.
"We brought techniques, knowledge and thought processes back into the business and it certainly accelerated the journey we were already on.
"Precision agriculture is a tool for us. It's not the whole decision-making process but it has certainly taken us to a completely different level, both financially and environmentally."
Ask Craige how many Kiwi farmers are using PA techniques and he'll reply that it comes down to how you define it.
"If you're doing things like measuring production per cow, you're doing it. I would have said probably 40-50 per cent are into it one way or another.
"Stepping into that higher level, when you're doing things like grid soil sampling, variable rate irrigation, soil moisture monitoring ... it's certainly an increasing trend. We've seen quite a large increase in pick-up in the last 12-18 months."
These days shrinking agriculture's environmental footprint is as important as boosting the bottom line.
"That's the thing with PA, if you're a greenie, you can say 'this stuff fits'. If you're focused on profit and production, it also fits.
"That's the key for farmers today, we've got to find as many things that work for us financially while looking after the environment," Craige says.
"I think farmers own up to the responsibility we need to be better than we are ... just as people in the cities have challenges too. Whatever happens with the next government, the pressure is on."
Asked for examples of where PA can help, Craige says across all farming/growing sectors, savings on fertiliser gets a tick from the accountants and environmentalists.
"Whether it's organic, biological or conventional farming, if you can save 30 per cent of your fertiliser because you're only putting it where it needs to be - not in drains, not in trees, but only the zones where it's required - that's a helluva good story for every farmer.
"There's a real opportunity for fertility to be managed better: the knowledge and systems are there, and the technology is better than ever."
Craige says big advances are also available in the telemetry space; "Lower-Power Wide-Access is going to be a game-changer, with more and more sensors and connectivity."
While the ROI (return on investment) can be huge when a farmer puts significant money into technology - "variable rate irrigation has given us a massive ROI" - it's a fallacy that utilising PA techniques is automatically expensive. A sheep and beef farmer on hill country who does some basic zone sampling and re-directs fertiliser application can make significant savings.
"It's the same in dairy and cropping. All you need is an attitude of 'I want to do this', and then enough systems in place, contractors and some professional advice to get you on the bus, get you started and then you can make the call from there.
"Investing in the knowledge is the first thing and that doesn't cost you anything."
