Free advice from a farm business expert

The Northland Agricultural Research Farm, where the focus is on producing for profit.

Farm business commentator Pita Alexander will speak at a Northland Agricultural Research Farm (NARF) Profit is a Decision field day on Thursday.

Mr Alexander, a farm accountant based in Canterbury, has spent the last 39 years dealing with farm businesses, giving him a well-informed perspective of the ingredients for success and common pitfalls.

Pita Alexander.

Over the years he has addressed more than 550 conferences, seminars and field days, his style being described as humorous, candid and informative.

He also is a regular column writer, and has received a number of awards for his contribution to agriculture, including being named an Officer of New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).

He is widely travelled, his fascination with rural USA leading him to drive around the country four times. He is a highly sought-after speaker in Australia.

The Northland Dairy Development Trust (NDDT), which will host the field day, has sponsored Mr Alexander as the keynote speaker, the list also including Dr John Roche (DairyNZ), on the subject of 'Money from Milk or Milk from Money?'

Other topics on the agenda will include a recent investigation into alternative legumes and learnings from study currently under way at NARF on reducing reliance on imported feed.

NDDT science manager and field day organiser Chris Boom said the event would be a great opportunity for farmers to gain an insight into some of the key drivers of their farm businesses.

"Production is important, but at the end of the day it is profit that will determine the sustainability of the business," he said.

"We have sought to put together a field day that will help people focus on things that really matter within their business. Much of the day will have a dairy flavour, but there will also be information for sheep and beef farmers to apply."

The current farmlet trial at NARF was showing interesting results, he added.

The farm was split up into three farmlets, the most productive last year being the cropping block, where turnips, fodder beet and maize silage were grown.

However, the most profitable was the grass-only farmlet.

In the middle, in terms of both production and profit, was the PKE farmlet. Mr Boom said this year's climate and a lifting pay-out would turn those figures around.

The field day starts at 10.30am at 531 SH12, just north of Dargaville.

All welcome, no cost, no RSVP required, barbecue lunch provided.