West Otago grazier heads to global agri master class

 Hancox says he is particularly keen to explore the challenge of increasing returns going back to farmers, which he believes is one of the biggest issues facing the sheep and beef sector in New Zealand.

"I'm very interested in learning how the sheep and beef sectors in other parts of the world are managing the margins that are being received by processors, marketers and retailers, and how we can try to see gains in the value that is going back to farmers in our sector," he says.

"It will be inspiring to be networking with the other international participants and finding out what we can learn from how other industries are doing things around the world."

Hancox says, that along with reduced farmer margins, constraint on production was another big challenge facing sheep and beef farmers in New Zealand.

"Because of changing land use in agriculture and the move to dairying, we've seen sheep and beef pushed into the higher, colder country where pasture growth is limited and this means it is harder to supply the northern hemisphere for 52 weeks of the year," he says.

New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of lamb and farmed venison, and the fifth largest exporter of beef. With only three to four per cent of New Zealand agricultural production going to the domestic market, Hancox says the country's producers have to be firmly focused on how best to supply their export markets.

"New Zealand really needs to develop ways to produce so that we can hopefully align with the northern hemisphere requirements and be a stable and reliable supplier," he says.

The week-long program is to be held in Victoria and will cover key topics in the context of global agriculture, including social enabling, sustainability, succession, supply chain, science, social media and silicon farming (big data).