AgResearch has taken a dynamic approach to strengthening New Zealand’s international position as one of the world’s most advanced pastoral-based economies.

AgResearch, New Zealand’s biggest Crown Research Institute and an acknowledged world leader in pastoral science, has confirmed plans to participate in the creation of three national centres of science collaboration for the benefit of New Zealand.  Each centre will involve a ‘critical mass’ of scientists and science teams from different disciplines and a range of organisations over time. These will generate a substantial rise in the quality and range of scientific discovery in each centre’s focus areas.

The establishment of the three national centres will significantly boost the leadership role of AgResearch and its partners and of the broader New Zealand scientific community, in plant and animal research and development.

New Zealand’s animal products are one of our top sources of export earnings.  The national centres will boost the protection, viability and development of our animal-based pastoral industries.

The centres will be based around Palmerston North, Upper Hutt, and Dunedin. Dedicated science teams will work alongside each other, all with easier and swifter access to related expertise and state-of-the-art facilities. 

The Chief Executive of AgResearch, Dr Andrew West, says, “The three national centres will help ensure that New Zealand retains the science backbone of its  pastoral based overseas earnings. They will reinforce the countries reputation as a global leader in pastoral science.”

The three centres of science collaboration

• The Institute of Animal Health is now being formed, and by 2006 will be consolidated on site at Massey University.  About 50 AgResearch staff will move from their current base at Wallaceville, Upper Hutt to a new $14 million purpose built research facility at Massey where they will work with Massey’s renowned animal health experts. New animal facilities will also be built at the AgResearch Grasslands campus to support the Institute.
• AgResearch’s Infectious Diseases diagnostic team will stay at Wallaceville where they will become part of the National Centre for Biosecurity and Emerging Diseases proposed by MAF and ESR. That will bring together researchers on infectious diseases, disease outbreaks, investigation and diagnosis.
• An institute of reproductive research is proposed for Dunedin, in conjunction with the University of Otago, bringing together New Zealand’s top  reproductive scientists. However, AgResearch’s strong reproductive science team will stay on at Wallaceville until 2008 to minimize disruption to its current research programmes.

The changes are complex and far-reaching in their scope – it has taken many months to reach this stage. Science teams and many individual scientists are affected, and many will have to shift families to other cities.

Dr West says, “It has been a difficult and uncertain time for many staff, however we will do our best to minimise any difficulties ahead for individuals, for the company and for our customers. However, our whole focus here is to, in the long term, benefit the pastoral sector and thus benefit New Zealand.”

The Upper Hutt community has been concerned that Wallaceville would close altogether. Clearly, that will not now happen in the foreseeable future.  AgResearch will sell its Wallaceville land and facilities, but plans to lease some of it back to accommodate its reproduction group.  The proposed National Centre for Biosecurity and Emerging Diseases will also require facilities at Wallaceville.

Background facts
AgResearch first proposed plans to turn its major campuses at Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin into Science Innovation Centres in May last year. 

The proposal aimed to optimise infrastructure while building a critical mass of science capabilities and highly developed facilities around three key campuses.  This was to ensure that the best value from science will be extracted for the benefit of New Zealand. 

A key aim was to take maximum advantage of the potential synergies with other research providers such as universities, building AgResearch’s, and New Zealand’s  world-leading research capabilities, and providing sustainable benefits to the New Zealand rural community, the economy, and the career development of individual scientists. 

This proposal included a plan to close its Wallaceville site in Upper Hutt, sell the land, and move the science teams to Palmerston North and Dunedin.

After two months of extensive consultation with Wallaceville staff, and with other stakeholders and interested parties, the Board confirmed the plan at the end of July last year.  Since then, discussions have continued with staff and with external agencies, including Massey and Otago Universities, MAF and the ESR, and other science providers, about the best ways of implementing the decision.

Wallaceville staff will relocate over the next few years, and AgResearch’s land and facilities at Wallaceville will be sold.  AgResearch will establish its strong Immunology/Parasitology science team on the Massey University campus by June 2006 as part of a joint institute for animal health. A group in the Infectious Diseases science team involved with diagnostic and surveillance work applied to biosecurity will remain at Wallaceville to become part of a proposed new National Centre for Biosecurity and Emerging Diseases as AgResearch employees.  The rest of the Infectious Diseases team will move to Massey.  It is proposed that the Reproduction science team will move to Dunedin during 2008, to build a world-class reproductive science capability with similar reproductive science researchers from the University of Otago. The Kaitoke farm will be retained until at least 2008, partly to provide support to the reproduction science team.

Plans are now well advanced for a purpose-built Animal Health research facility based at Massey University, which will house parasitology and animal health research. The emphasis of the research will be on infectious diseases endemic to New Zealand which threaten productivity of the pastoral sector, animal welfare, the sustainability of farming systems, food safety or market access for animal products.  Research outputs will contribute to veterinary and biomedical knowledge, and lead to products and technologies which improve animal health and welfare, and benefit the environment.    Initially research will be aimed at:

• Developing new solutions for the control of parasitic disease.
• Developing new, more effective vaccines for mycobacterial diseases - chiefly tuberculosis in cattle and possums, and Johne’s disease in ruminants. 
• Identifying and predicting the occurrence of food poisoning threats in New Zealand and devising strategies to minimise their prevalence and impact.

Research by the Reproduction science team will continue to focus on fertility, specifically on understanding genetic processes in the ovaries that affect sheep and human reproduction.

The Infectious Diseases diagnostic team will be part of a National Centre for Biosecurity and Emerging Diseases proposed by MAF and the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR).  MAF already has its own containment facility at Wallaceville, but is looking at bringing ESR disease investigators on-site to combine exotic animal disease investigation and outbreaks into a national centre. 

Consolidating links with these other science organisations has many advantages for AgResearch and for the country.  In particular, it will keep infectious disease research and diagnosis together, which is vitally important for maintaining New Zealand’s biosecurity. 

AgResearch Limited is New Zealand’s largest Crown Research Institute, focusing on pastoral research and development. ‘Pastoral’ refers to farm-based animals and the plants they eat.

It currently has four main research campuses and ten research stations located around the country, employing over 1000 staff.   The AgResearch Group comprises AgResearch Science, Celentis Limited (a wholly owned commercial science company), and several subsidiary business units.

As an internationally renowned pastoral sciences research organisation, AgResearch strives to advance science for the benefit of New Zealand. We are world leaders in the science of forage plants and ruminant animals. We use these research capabilities to help New Zealand’s existing and new industries to increase their global reach and transform from a commodity to a customer-focus.