Well-placed to weather conflicts
Shipping disruption caused by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea has so far not impacted fertiliser prices or supply on farm.
Ravensdown has named Tom Wilson as this year’s recipient of the Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship.
The Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship was founded to commemorate the late Hugh Williams, a Ravensdown director from 1987 to 2000. The scholarship provides $5000 per year for the duration of a student’s agricultural or horticultural studies at Lincoln, Waikato or Massey University.
Currently in his third year at Massey University, Wilson is studying his Bachelor of Agricultural Science. He is actively involved in the agricultural sector and presented his research on the feasibility of an updated Spreadmark test at the annual Fertiliser and Lime Research Centre conference in 2019.
Wilson has a keen interest in precision and digital agriculture which works well with his passion for food production and the environment. He believes that the solutions to feeding the world’s growing population without risking the environment will come from variable rate application and site-specific management.
“Geographic Information Systems, or GIS, has become my favourite subject,” says Wilson. “GIS software lets you spatially map data, such as soil texture or organic matter content of topsoil and then from this data you can form site-specific management zones for variable rate application. I’m very much a visual learner and being able to visualise spatial data in map form gives me a greater appreciation for the possibilities of precision agriculture.
“In the future, I want to be a leading figure in the mass adoption of precision agriculture,” says Tom. “I think it’s an exciting time to be in the agricultural sector, and I aim to do my part to bridge the gap for precision agriculture between research and on-farm practice.”
South Waikato farm manager Ben Purua’s amazing transformation from gang life to milking cows was rewarded with the Ahuwhenua Young Maori Farmer award last night.
Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.
The 2023-24 season has been a roller coaster ride for Waikato dairy farmers, according to Federated Farmers dairy section chair, Mathew Zonderop.
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) director general Ray Smith says job cuts announced this morning will not impact the way the Ministry is organised or merge business units.
Scales Corporation is acquiring a number of orchard assets from Bostock Group.
Family and solidarity shone through at the 75 years of Ferdon sale in Otorohanga last month.
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