scholarly journals Developing a Landscape Design Approach for the Sustainable Land Management of Hill Country Farms in New Zealand

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 185
Author(s):  
Duy Tran ◽  
Diane Pearson ◽  
Alan Palmer ◽  
David Gray
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Landscape Design ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Landscape Modification ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
The Face ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Future Landscape

Landscape modification associated with agricultural intensification has brought considerable challenges for the sustainable development of New Zealand hill country farms. Addressing these challenges requires an appropriate approach to support farmers and design a better landscape that can have beneficial environmental outcomes whilst ensuring continued profitability. In this paper we suggest using geodesign and theories drawn from landscape ecology to plan and design multifunctional landscapes that offer improved sustainability for hill country farm systems and landscapes in New Zealand. This approach suggests that better decisions can be made by considering the major landscape services that are, and could be, provided by the landscapes in which these farm systems are situated. These important services should be included in future landscape design of hill country by creating a patterning and configuration of landscape features that actively maintains or restores important landscape functioning. This will help to improve landscape health and promote landscape resilience in the face of climate change. Through illustrating the potential of this type of approach for wider adoption we believe that the proposed conceptual framework offers a valuable reference for sustainable farm system design that can make an important contribution to advancing environmental management globally as well as in New Zealand.

scholarly journals Towards the integrated assessment of New Zealand pastoral farm systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 103-108
Author(s):  
M.B. Dodd ◽  
D.R. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Integrated Assessment ◽  
Complex Adaptive System ◽  
Natural Capital ◽  
Resource Owner ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Complex Adaptive ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
Farm System ◽  
The Impact

Land use and management change is a feature of New Zealand farm systems, driven by a range of factors including volatile markets and exchange rates, variable weather and climate patterns, continuous policy evolution and the inherent innovation of New Zealand farmers. Yet the common indicators used to evaluate the impact of change appear to be limited to the link between productivity (of land/labour/capital) and profitability. However, if farm system "owners" seek truly sustainable systems they should consider a wider set of indicators to guide investment. Sustainability is considered in terms of the ability of the pastoral farm system to fulfil its primary purpose in the long-term, i.e. "to derive value from the natural capital of a land and water resource that is sufficient to support the objectives of the resource owner" and fulfil secondary objectives considered important by other stakeholders (e.g., product and environmental quality). The objective of this study was to develop an integrated assessment framework for sustainability indicators that was useful for guiding change decisions at the farm system scale, a key determinant of regional economic, environmental and social outcomes. The approach is based on the fundamental properties of a complex adaptive system: existence, effectiveness, freedom of action, security, adaptability and coexistence, applied to six key system drivers (financial, environmental, social, cultural, technological and regulatory). This framework could support decision-making in terms of the investment of human, natural and financial capital at the farm system scale and contribute to larger scale information imperatives (e.g., value chains, catchments). Keywords: integrated assessment, pastoral farm systems, sustainability, systems properties

scholarly journals Indigenous Lessons about Sustainability Are Not Just for “All Humanity”

2018 ◽  
pp. 149-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Whyte ◽  
Chris Caldwell ◽  
Marie Schaefer
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Indigenous Planning ◽  
The Face ◽  
Colonial Oppression ◽  
Planning Concepts ◽  
The U.S

Indigenous peoples are widely recognized as holding insights or lessons about how the rest of humanity can live sustainably or resiliently. Yet it is rarely acknowledged in many literatures that for Indigenous peoples living in the context of settler states such as the U.S. or New Zealand, our own efforts to sustain our peoples rest heavily on our capacities to resist settler colonial oppression. Indigenous planning refers to a set of concepts and practices through which many Indigenous peoples reflect critically on sustainability to derive lessons about what actions reinforce Indigenous self-determination and resist settler colonial oppression. The work of the Sustainable Development Institute of the College of Menominee Nation (SDI) is one case of Indigenous planning. In the context of SDI, we discuss Indigenous planning as a process of interpreting lessons from our own pasts and making practical plans for staging our own futures. If there are such things as Indigenous sustainability lessons for Indigenous peoples, they must be reliable planning concepts and processes we can use to support our continuance in the face of ongoing settler colonial oppression.

scholarly journals Moving from exploring on-farm opportunities with a single to a multi-year focus: Implications for decision making

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 57-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.M. Rendel ◽  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
P.N. Smale ◽  
I. Vogeler
Keyword(s):  
Annual Variation ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Small Difference ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Optimisation Model ◽  
On Farm ◽  
Farm System

In pastoral grazing farm systems there is growing awareness of the importance of including year to year variation in pasture grown when analysing and designing appropriate and more profitable systems. Few authors have clarified how an optimal farm system incorporates inter-temporal variability. This paper shows for a Whanganui hill country sheep and beef farm, that inclusion of inter-annual variation in pasture growth rate results in a more dynamic farm system than when only average pasture production data are used in a new, multi-year farm optimisation model. The variation in stock numbers, sale dates and pasture covers were quantified, as was the variation in farm profitability (measured as Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation, EBITDA). Interestingly, there was only a small difference in Net Present Value between the two approaches over 10 year's simulation. Keywords: farm systems, variability, INFORM, multiyear

Inferring the effect of individual trees on slope stability in New Zealand’s pastoral hill country

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Spiekermann ◽  
Sam McColl ◽  
Ian Fuller ◽  
John Dymond ◽  
Lucy Burkitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Slope Stability ◽  
Landslide Susceptibility ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Spatially Explicit ◽  
Sustainable Land Management ◽  
Root Reinforcement ◽  
Sediment Control ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Individual Trees

<p>Silvopastoralism in New Zealand’s highly erodible hill country is an important form of erosion and sediment control. Despite a long history in improving sustainable land management and soil conservation since the enactment of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941, there has been little quantitative work to establish the effectiveness of space-planted trees in reducing shallow landslide erosion at farm to landscape scales. This is largely due to the lack of spatially explicit data on individual trees and their influence on slope stability. Therefore, it is difficult to determine the extent to which plantings have targeted slopes susceptible to landslide erosion. Furthermore, root data collection for multiple species and age classes is very time-consuming and costly, which limits the development of root reinforcement models for different species and partly explains the paucity of quantitative data on the effectiveness of space-planted trees.</p><p>We present an empirical approach that aims to fill the gap in scale between 1) physical models that integrated root reinforcement data of individual trees into slope stability models and 2) landslide susceptibility modelling at regional scale using land cover data. First, we delineate individual tree crowns (ITCs) at landscape scale and classify into dominant species classes found in New Zealand’s pastoral hill country. The resulting rural tree species classification achieved an overall accuracy of 92.6% based on 9,200 samples that were collected from two farms within the study area. We then present a spatially explicit tree influence model for each species class developed by means of inductive inference. The tree influence models represent the combined hydrological and mechanical influence of trees on slopes, which is inferred through the spatial relationship between individual trees and landslide erosion. The resulting tree influence models largely agree with the shape and distribution of existing physical root reinforcement models.</p><p>Of exotic species that were planted for erosion and sediment control, poplars (Populus spp.) and willows (Salix spp.) make up 51% (109,000 trees) in pastoral hill country at a mean density of 3.2 trees/ha. This large number of poplars and willows reflects the efforts made by landowners and soil conservators over several decades to mitigate erosion processes and adopt more sustainable land management practices. In line with previous studies, poplars and willows have the greatest contribution to slope stability with an average maximum effective distance of 20 m. Yet, native kānuka (Kunzea spp.) is the most abundant woody vegetation species in pastoral hill country within the study area, with an average of 24.1 stems per ha (sph), providing an important soil conservation function. A large proportion (56% or 212.5 km<sup>2</sup>) of pastoral hill-country in the study area remains untreated, i.e. has no added soil shear strength due to the presence of trees. The tree influence models presented in this study can be integrated into landslide susceptibility modelling in silvopastoral/agroforestry landscapes to both quantify the reduction in landslide susceptibility achieved and support targeted erosion and sediment mitigation plans.</p>

scholarly journals Consumers, farmers and the future of New Zealand hill country farming

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 95-99
Author(s):  
A.K. Mcdermott ◽  
F.G. Scrimgeour
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Average Consumer ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Good For ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Domestic Values

The future of hill country farmers depends on constructive engagements with international consumers and domestic values and politics. Antifragility, being at worst unharmed by or benefiting from stresses or shocks, involves both reducing system downside and maximising the upside potential. Antifragility is enhanced by farmers selecting partners with which they align in transparent relationships. Farmers should consider integration or collaboration rather than selfsufficiency. Maintaining an element of flexibility within the farm system is also essential. In addressing the market it is not appropriate to focus on the average consumer. New Zealand producers should target those who care about what is good for them with what is good for the world and good quality; listen to them and deliver what they want. Delivering on what is wanted requires farmers to "farm like they are watching you". They are. Farmers and companies need to be able to verify what they claim and celebrate an honest story. Keywords: antifragility, consumers, flexibility, honesty, quality, transparency Key messages • Establish aligned, transparent partnerships

Farming systems research: purpose, history and impact in New Zealand hill country

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
D.R. Stevens ◽  
M.J. Casey ◽  
K.A. Cousins
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Complex Adaptive Systems ◽  
Adaptive Systems ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Farming Systems Research

A review of the literature accessed 234 papers that referenced farm or farming systems research in New Zealand hill country. These were categorised into resource allocation/productivity, modelling, farm studies and sociology. Sociology was further categorised into social, cultural, resilience, policy and regulation, and system behaviour and change. Farming systems research developed over the 5 decades studied from 9 papers in 1960-1975, to a peak of 60 papers during the 1986-1995 decade. The number of papers accessed during the latest decade, 2006-2015, was 57. The focus of research has changed significantly from an initial emphasis on biophysical processes and productivity, peaking in the 1976-1985 decade and then tapering off. This provided data for the development of models that could generate many more comparisons at lower cost. Modelling of the biophysical farm and economic outcomes has been steady through the decades from 1986 to present. The impacts of policy and regulation have featured strongly in the 1986-1995 decade after agricultural deregulation, and again in the 2006-2015 decade as consumer and societal concerns about the environment have emerged. Resilience of the farming system, encompassing production, economic, social and environmental trade-offs, has emerged as a topic being most prevalent in the most recent decade from 2006-2015. The discipline of farm systems research has also matured over this time as a greater range of research techniques, over a wider range of subject matter have been applied. An evolution of the discipline has also seen the integration of the principles of complex adaptive systems into the work. Keywords: cultural, economic, environmental, farm systems, modelling, policy, production, regulation, resilience, social

scholarly journals Long-term changes in the biology of a livestock farm system associated with the shift to organic supply

2006 ◽  
pp. 133-137
Author(s):  
A.D. Mackay ◽  
B.P. Devantier ◽  
W.E. Pomroy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Livestock Farm ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Farm Systems ◽  
Farm System ◽  
Livestock Systems ◽  
Conventional Farm

A long-term replicated farm systems study (1997-2005) examined changes in the biology of mixed-livestock systems associated with the shift to organic production. Two farmlets were managed using conventional farm practices (Con) and two low chemical (LC) farmlets complied with the organic production standards of BIOGRO New Zealand. The Con farmlet had higher (P

Quantifying the value proposition for white clover persistence on a New Zealand summer-dry hill-country farm

2020 ◽  
Vol 82 ◽  
pp. 199-209
Author(s):  
Mike B. Dodd ◽  
Katherine N. Tozer ◽  
Iris Vogeler ◽  
Rose Greenfield ◽  
David R. Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Clover ◽  
Net Present Value ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
System Modelling ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
The North ◽  
Farm System

The improvement in forage quality and quantity of summer-dry hill country pasture resulting from the introduction of clover is well recognised. However, ensuring the persistence of the commonly availablecultivars is challenging, in the face of seasonal moisture stress, intensive grazing, competition from established well-adapted pasture species, low soil fertility and low soil pH – conditions typical of the East Coast of the North Island. Here we quantify the value proposition associated with the introduction of white clover into a case study on a Gisborne sheep and beef farm, using a six-step process. A topographically explicit approach is taken, using an understanding of the underlying spatial variability, based on a combination of soil and pasture measurements, APSIM simulation modelling of pasture growth and farm system modelling of enterprise performance. We show that from a baseline of a typical low-fertility, diverse species hill country pasture, white clover introduction can increase spring and summer forage consumption by 17%, enabling inclusion of an additional 6-month bull finishing enterprise generating a 32% greater carcass weight production and leading to a 49% improvement in farm system EBIT. This represents a positive net present value of over $360,000 for the original investment in white clover establishment into existing pastures.

Pathways ahead for New Zealand hill country farming

2016 ◽  
Vol 78 ◽  
pp. 73-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.G. Scrimgeour
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Hill Country ◽  
The Status ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Hill Farming ◽  
The Hill

This paper provides a stocktake of the status of hill country farming in New Zealand and addresses the challenges which will determine its future state and performance. It arises out of the Hill Country Symposium, held in Rotorua, New Zealand, 12-13 April 2016. This paper surveys people, policy, business and change, farming systems for hill country, soil nutrients and the environment, plants for hill country, animals, animal feeding and productivity, and strategies for achieving sustainable outcomes in the hill country. This paper concludes by identifying approaches to: support current and future hill country farmers and service providers, to effectively and efficiently deal with change; link hill farming businesses to effective value chains and new markets to achieve sufficient and stable profitability; reward farmers for the careful management of natural resources on their farm; ensure that new technologies which improve the efficient use of input resources are developed; and strategies to achieve vibrant rural communities which strengthen hill country farming businesses and their service providers. Keywords: farming systems, hill country, people, policy, productivity, profitability, sustainability

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