25 years on - where are they now?
To celebrate 25 years of the Hugh Williams Memorial Scholarship, Ravensdown caught up with past recipients to see where their careers have taken them, and what the future holds for the industry.
Their farm near Taihape is one of 18 farms involved in a pilot for Ravensdown's HawkEye Pro - a software that uses AI, decades of soil data, and cutting-edge mapping software to create detailed maps of soil nutrient levels across an entire farm without the need for a fresh round of soil testing.
The pilot began on the Churchward Trading Co Ltd farm in April. The farm is mostly hilly country with some flat areas, and run 130 breeding cows, 50 weaner heifers, 4000 ewes and 250 weaner red deer.
Kristin says fertiliser is normally applied using "a blanket approach" to some areas of the farm while application to other areas was varied.
She says in May this year, Aerowork, using HawkEye Pro, applied superphosphate in May 2025. The aerial variable rate map showed seven rates, marked in different colours, applied across the farm.
"There were areas in the map where there is no variable rate colour, showing exclusion zones to prevent wastage and a more efficient application," Kristin told Rural News.
"The variable rates show fertiliser being put exactly where it needs to be."
While the Churchwards will see the benefits of this fertiliser application next summer they believe HawkEye Pro and AI can be a game changer for every farm.
"It takes away excessive use of fertiliser and is really a no-brainer," Kristin says.
The HawkEyePro pilot involves 13 dairy farms across both islands, and five sheep and beef operations in North Island hill country.
Ravensdown head of product and service development Mike White says it has combined deep expertise in soil science with the latest in digital technology to produce a tool that will make a tangible difference for farmers and growers.
The patent pending software ties into the existing HawkEye platform and uses data already in the system including previous soil tests to predict soil nutrient levels down to a 10x10m cell for livestock farms.
HawkEye Pro uses the soil nutrient status predictions to produce maps of where fertiliser should, and importantly should not, be placed - calculating the right product and rates.
"We've been working towards this software for 20 years and now the emerging technology has allowed us to deliver on our vision," says White.
White says the precision fertiliser plans could deliver a total cost reduction between $50-$150 per hectare through efficient placement and rate selection of fertiliser and resulting increase in land productivity where soil fertility is holding it back.
The goal of the pilot was to ensure the enhanced fertiliser plans produced are practical, and usable.
"The feedback we have already received from those using the pilot-software has been positive.
"One farmer told us they were under pressure to combine information for NZFAP audits, and this tool has really helped. It does that environmental thinking automatically as part of the fertiliser plan," White says.
Livestock farmers can access HawkEye Pro from September this year. Dairy farmers will need to wait until autumn next year followed by the arable sector.
