Scientist's lifetime spent down in the weeds

But that would not be a true reflection of the progress made in the costly ongoing war against weeds for NZ farmers and growers, with the long-serving AgResearch scientist at the forefront.

“It gives me energy knowing that somebody’s asked a question, and I’ve been able to answer it. For me, that’s very fulfilling – to be able to help people,” James says.

That willingness to share his extensive weed knowledge is part of the reason that James was recently awarded the prestigious New Zealand Plant Protection Medal. It was instituted by the NZ Plant Protection Society to honour “those who have made exceptional contributions to plant protection in the widest sense”.

“The medal is awarded based on outstanding services to plant protection, whether through research, education, implementation or leadership. Trevor James fits those criteria in every sense of the word,” society president Hayley Ridgway said in presenting the medal.

A book James has coauthored, <em, has become “a legacy for the next generation in its knowledge”, Ridgway says.

Around 2002, when yellow bristle grass – a weed that spreads rapidly through pasture – emerged, James and colleagues worked on it for a long time to find some solutions.

“In the end, we published the Yellow Bristle Grass Ute Guide, which people are still asking me for copies of. It’s onto its fourth edition now, as we have got more knowledge.”

Similar “pocket guides” have been produced for grass and broadleaf weeds, to help guide farmers, growers, landowners and local authorities on how best to manage them. He’s lost count of how many field days and industry group gatherings he’s spoken at over the years.

Raised on a sheep and cattle farm in the Coromandel, James went off to university to do a science degree. Soon after he gave it up for a job loading railway wagons after his studies weren’t going well. It took a year of this work to realise that what James really wanted was a career in farming or science.

So in 1974, James looked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ (MAF) research division at Ruakura in Waikato, where two jobs were going: sorting offal in the abattoir; or working in the field with the weeds team.

“It was a no-brainer. I’d skinned sheep and worked with offal and gutted sheep before, and I did not want more of that,” he explained. “So, I started with the weeds team and I fell in love with it, basically. We worked with the problems that farmers brought forward – Nodding thistle, ragwort, gorse. At that stage, agchemicals were a newish thing and not widely used or understood.”

As he continued studying and learning his craft over the years that followed, “we were coming into a period where chemical residues were a concern for people”. James got his master’s degree with a focus on chemical residues, and later his PhD.

More recently, James has been leading a government- funded programme tackling the large and looming issue of weed resistance to herbicide in New Zealand. The programme has won plaudits for its progress and outreach.

in New Zealand. The programme has won plaudits for its progress and outreach.

“Nobody really wanted to talk about it. And when we started this (government programme) it was the same thing. When we set out, we didn’t think there was that much resistance out there – we thought maybe 5% of farms are impacted by some kind of resistance,” he adds.

“By the time we had finished the programme, we learned through our surveys that it was actually 44% of farms impacted by it.”

Looking ahead, James sees change coming in how weeds are managed by farmers and growers.

“It could be market access, it could be people not wanting chemicals, or it could be the technology in other forms becoming competitive in terms of costs,” he says.

Retirement is not on the cards yet for James as the 50-year career milestone looms. “I keep on findings things I want to do. And people, from the farmers and growers up, are such wonderful people to work with.”