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Science New Zealand Awards honour Plant & Food Research scientists

A team that has developed a ground-breaking wildfish harvesting system, a leading environmental scientist and an emerging plant geneticist from Plant & Food Research were amongst the 21 scientists and research teams recognised at Science New Zealand 2018 National Awards at Parliament in Wellington. The Precision Seafood Harvesting (PSH) Team* is the recipient of the Plant & Food Research Team Award. The team has created and developed a world-leading technology that is changing the way New Zealand fishes – the Modular Harvesting System (MHS). It answers the need for a more environmentally-sustainable way of fishing that maximises quality and limits impact to non-target catch. The development of the system put the needs of the fish at the centre of the design process, using the team’s deep understanding of fish physiology and behaviour to allow fish to be landed alive. This allows non-target catch to potentially be returned to the sea, and delivers fish that are less stressed and fatigued in better condition for export. Through the PSH Primary Growth Partnership, a collaboration was formed between Plant & Food Research, three seafood companies (Moana, Sanford and Sealord) and the Ministry for Primary Industries to commercialise the MHS. The MHS has since received landmark approvals from Fisheries New Zealand for use in some inshore and deepwater fisheries with species that account for 57% of the country’s $650 million finish exports. Dr Brent Clothier has been presented with the Plant & Food Research Lifetime Achievement Award. As a world-leading soil and water scientist with 44 years of research experience, Dr Clothier has enhanced our understanding of the natural capital that the environment provides to grow our crops and to make informed land use decisions. His work on water footprinting, soil science and climate change has prepared our primary production systems for tomorrow’s challenges. […]

Shot by James Griffin of Edgeline Photography | www.edgeline.co.nz

High recognition of strong contribution to the dairy sector

DairyNZ congratulates passionate environmentalist, Taranaki dairy farmer Trish Rankin, on becoming the 2019 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year. “This is a very well-deserved recognition of Mrs Rankin’s commitment to dairying, her passion for environmental work on farm and the multiple roles she plays in the sector and community,” DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says. “We are very lucky to have Mrs Rankin involved in a number of key initiatives with us that are making a difference.” Mrs Rankin is a DairyNZ Dairy Environment Leader (DEL) – a group of farmers who work to achieve better outcomes for the environment and farming. They make things happen in many areas such as water quality and assist other farmers to improve their environmental performance. They are active in their communities at grass-roots level in different ways, such as on boards and local committees. Mrs Rankin is the chair of the Taranaki DEL group. Among a wide range of roles, Mrs Rankin is a contractor to DairyNZ as a Dairy Women’s Network module developer, a NAIT technical user advisor, and is involved in the Dairy Industry Awards. In 2018 she was elected onto the National Executive for the NZ Dairy Awards and last year was selected as a DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassador as part of the Dairy Action for Climate Change. DairyNZ Climate Change Ambassadors are a group of 15 farmers throughout the country who work with farmers to build their understanding of climate change, and they also provide a farmer voice. “Mrs Rankin is always involved in things that are going to benefit the dairy sector, the environment and the community,” Dr Mackle says. “She is also keenly interested in contributing to the public perception of dairying.” As well as being a part-time teacher, Mrs Rankin and her husband Glen sharemilk […]

The Instagram effect

How social media is changing the food and beverage plant Starbucks recently sold a limited edition unicorn frappuccino for five days. Companies wouldn’t expect such a short timespan to have a significant impact on their customers, but the brightly colored beverage had more than 1.3 billion impressions on Twitter and 150,000 posts were tagged with #unicornfrappuccino on Instagram. Here, Darcy Simonis, ABB’s food and beverage industry network leader, looks at how the impact of social media is changing the priorities of food and beverage managers. Anyone who uses social media will know how prevalent pictures of food are. With 178 million photos tagged with #food on Instagram and research showing that a third of millennials regularly post pictures of their food on social media, food and beverage companies are waking up to the idea that the aesthetic of their food counts. Taco Bell’s chief innovation officer Liz Matthews says that now, when considering a new menu item, the food development team considers how the item will look in photos. With trends such as freakshakes — milkshakes with obscene amounts of cakes and cookies on the top — spreading across many restaurants, the more Instagram-friendly the item, the better it is for the promotion of the company. This change in the food and beverage industry is not only having an impact in cafes and restaurants, but also in the factory. More and more food and beverage manufacturers are now considering the social media aesthetic of their products. While they may not be mass producing rainbow bagels to sell at supermarkets, manufacturers may now be reconsidering the visual appeal of their products, including the packaging products are sold in, to promote more images on social media. As manufacturers start to reconsider their approach to the appearance of their products, they will expect […]

Riot Foods success defies doubters

In 2013 when Ryan Kamins took a brown paper bag with his home-made Paleo cereal to the local health food shop to see if it would sell, he had little idea that it was the beginning of a business that is forecast to sell over $2 million in product this year. Along with Art Green, Ryan Kamins has successfully established Riot Foods, a new generation food business, now in its 5th year. They have an unshakeable commitment to producing wholefoods that are free from harmful ingredients and making wholefoods accessible to mainstream consumers. Under the Riot Foods umbrella sits CleanPaleo, Poppy + Olive and WholeFoods Manufacturing. The flagship brand, CleanPaleo, has a range of 20 products, including breakfast blends, protein powders, biltong and bread, with more products set to launch in 2018 (most of which have been requested by their major retail partners). It’s a premium brand, characterised by products that are free from gluten, grains, dairy, preservatives and additives and is the leading Paleo brand in New Zealand. CleanPaleo is stocked Nationwide in Countdown as well as over 50 other independent stores. It is also selling to Australia, with 10 new stores coming on board every month, and Amazon U.S.A., who recently awarded CleanPaleo Manuka crunch breakfast blend their Amazon Choice award. Earlier this year Riot Foods purchased Poppy and Olive, a niche range of nut butters- which features Smooth Almond, Crunchy Almond, Cashew Almond and Chocolate Hazelnut. All the products are made using only wholefood ingredients and are high in protein and free from processed sugar and are of course gluten free, vegan and paleo approved! At purchase, the business was selling less than $2,500 per month of product. 9 months later, and after a re-brand, Poppy + Olive is now selling more than 6x that, with negotiations […]

Primary ITO launches new online study options

New Zealand’s largest industry training organisation will now offer business management qualifications online to help develop future leaders across all primary industries. The Primary Industry Training Organisation (Primary ITO) has announced five new NZQA qualifications which can be completed entirely online, including several national certificates and national diplomas in business plus a Bachelor of Applied Management. Primary ITO is partnering with the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) to provide the e-learning platform, giving greater study options to those who are working in New Zealand’s agriculture, horticulture, food processing, seafood, equine and sports turf industries. Primary ITO Product Manager, Sue Masson, says Primary ITO has been keen to provide online qualifications for quite some time, and more programmes will be available in the next 12 months. “Strategically we’re trying to expand the range of options that are available for our clients so we can better meet their different learning needs,” Sue says. “We are investigating more short courses, more online learning and are also looking to re-launch some of our core training programmes as we move towards the revised New Zealand Certificate Qualifications framework.” CPIT’s online delivery platform is innovative, easy to use, and has a proven track record, Sue says. “We’re excited to partner with them and leverage our joint educational IP to help Primary ITO clients embrace the flexibility that e-learning offers.” The five new business management qualifications will teach key skills that are transferrable across all primary industry sectors within New Zealand and OECD countries. “They’re ideal for someone who is a 2IC manager, supervisor, team leader, lead hand, PA, EA or already working in some type of leadership or office management position,” she explains. “It gives people who are aspiring to become a leader the opportunity to learn about issues such as performance management, conflict management, […]

Lincoln ticking all the boxes

There’s a lot pointing to Associate Professor Alison Bailey having made the right choice to come to New Zealand and become the new Professor of Farm Management in Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce early next year. She’s an avid rugby fan, has a strong interest in the outdoors, and is keen for a new challenge. Currently Associate Professor in Farm Business Management at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, she has authored over 70 publications in the field of agricultural management and environmental economics. She is also Director of Reading University’s Farm Management Unit, responsible for coordinating research, teaching and outreach within her subject area, been a speaker at Biennial International Farm Management Association Congresses, co-authored an influential climate change paper and has had 20 years in the agricultural sector. New Zealand is a country she has always aspired to come to and she has lots of contacts here already in the industry. Lincoln University Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Scholarship and Research, Stefanie Rixecker, says Associate Professor Bailey will lead in developing and promoting the profession of farm management in New Zealand and was happy to have secured her for the position. “She has a strong research background which is focused on areas relevant to Lincoln University, has a strong record in postgraduate supervision, and has a positive record working with the farming community.” Associate Professor Bailey says her research has been done primarily as a social scientist working within multi-disciplinary projects examining the relationship between agriculture, the environment and socio-economic criteria. She led a Royal Agricultural Society of England funded project ‘Water for Agriculture: Implications for Future Policy and Practice’ which reviewed and modelled the impacts of climate change on future food production in England. “Although a small project it has been successful in generating a large […]