A software package that will help prove New Zealand farmers are indeed ‘clean and green’ has just been launched.

Developed by AgResearch, from plans and disciplines developed and tested by a group of fifty farmers from varied environmental conditions around the North Island, the Whole Farm Planning and Reporting Package provides farmers with the means to fully document how they are managing their farm’s resources, including  animals, land, water and  their environment.

AgResearch Scientist Alec Mackay says “the package is a powerful tool in an environment where farmers are under increasing pressure to practice sustainability to satisfy the requirements of customers and our own regulatory authorities”.

The software has been developed for the Project Green Charitable Trust, established some years ago with a view to establishing a voluntary New Zealand standard for sustainable production on sheep, beef, deer and goat farms.

It’s Chairman, Rod Pearce, says the farmers involved recognised then that the day was coming when the market and politicians would need to be satisfied producers were managing their land and animals in line with certain expectations.

”This line of thinking is coming into increasing focus around the world, particularly in the OECD countries.”

Dr Mackay says the problem for New Zealand farmers has always been that “while we feel we are practicing good environmental management – we have no way of proving that”.

“We simply haven’t had, until now, a mechanism that would enable us to defend our environmental management practices on the world stage.”

Mr Pearce says the software package changes all that.

“It provides a critical defence tool at a time when farmers are facing increasing compliance pressures from our own government and scrutiny from international customers…to now verify we are meeting standards for sustainable land management and animal welfare.”

Around fifty farmers from Hawkes Bay, Manawatu, Wanganui, Taranaki, King Country, Waikato and Bay of Plenty are involved in Project Green – about half have developed a set of draft management plans for their own farm.

Dr Mackay says the new software will not only now make the process easier in the future, but it will also enable those who’ve made some progress on paper to now capture that data in electronic form.

“Where concerns or questions may be asked in future about farm practices, they can be readily answered, at the click of a mouse.”

The software revolves around three key plans: an Animal Management Plan, Land and Environment Plan, and Social Responsibility Plan.

Users, with the help of advisors, which includes a veterinarian and land management professional, simply log all relevant information on resources and management practices pertinent to their individual property.

The programme can then be used to identify yield gaps, map future projections, identify cost savings and potential development opportunities.

It will also provide a tangible demonstration of the farmer’s commitment to sustainable development of his land and how that will translate into business practices for the future.

The software development was financed by AgResearch Pre-Seed Fund. This fund invests in science projects with commercial potential.  The Project Green Charitable Trust has created a company called NZ Farmsure and the software has been sold to them to promote and deliver to farmers. Margaret Bowditch, AgResearch’s Pre-Seed Fund Manager, is delighted with the sale to NZ Farmsure with it being one of the first Pre-Seed projects to become ready for commercialisation. 

Mr Pearce believes the software has ‘huge’ potential – especially “given increasing demand from international customers who want to know about the environmental management of the area their food is coming from”.

“We also know some people are prepared to pay a premium price for organic product because they believe it to be ‘safer’.

If this package enables kiwi farmers to show their product is just as ‘safe and clean and green’ then there is no reason why our products can’t command the same sorts of prices.”

The science programmes underlying the software have been funded by the MAF Sustainable Farming Fund, the New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development, Richmond PPCS Limited, as the lead meat company and significant support from Regional Councils throughout the North Island.  . 

AgResearch Research Associate, Ross Gray, Veterinarian Trevor Cook, Consultant, Bob Thomson, and a number of key staff in Regional Councils in the North Island, including Lachie Grant and Simon Stokes, as well as AgResearch Software Developer, Greg Peyroux, have been instrumental in developing the software package.