Simon Woodward

Simon began his second tenure at DairyNZ in 2022, bringing with him expertise in applied mathematics and experience in agricultural and environmental systems modelling.

Simon works alongside DairyNZ’s pasture and animal scientists to extract maximum value out of the data they produce from their research, including “big data” drawn from wearable devices, weather monitoring systems, and mapping technologies. He has investigated the impact of climate change on heat stress risk, and the use of wearable technologies to more accurately measure shade seeking and oestrus behaviour in dairy cows and heifers. He has also contributed to research on the movement of nutrients through catchments and stream water quality.

“I like having a niche where I can add value to farmers by contributing to other people's work,” says Simon. “My background in mathematics gives me a deep understanding of how to handle numbers. Coping with the uncertainties connected with data collected from agricultural systems is quite challenging and you have to discover what is actually going on.”

Simon holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Massey University and has published many papers in international journals. Before joining DairyNZ, he worked at AgResearch, Lincoln Agritech, and NIWA, enhancing his skills in agricultural and environmental modelling.