Farmers leading the drive for Resilient Pastures

In Northland, where dry spells are hitting harder and pastures feel the pressure, dairy farmer Chappy McKenzie is looking ahead. He’s hopeful a new DairyNZ-led research programme will help his farm adapt and thrive as the climate continues to change.

Chappy has joined a growing network of farmers, DairyNZ and research partners driving the Resilient Pastures programme. It’s a chance for farmers to share their on-farm experiences with pasture persistence and productivity, while shaping practical solutions to help farming businesses stay resilient in a changing climate.

“The summers are quite tough up here in Northland, real low rainfall and quite hot,” says Chappy, who milks 220 cows on 88 hectares in Aratapu.

“I’ve noticed that seems to be more of a trend now, that the summers are becoming drier.”

Chappy (Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou) is a third-generation dairy farmer who’s sharing feedback on how increased dry spells have resulted in the need for extra re-grassing to compensate for poor pasture persistence and production.

Building pastures that last

The Resilient Pastures programme aims to identify pasture species that are more resilient to climate and weather events, thereby improving pasture productivity.

In the quest to create more profitable forage options, the programme is also looking at identifying pasture species and mixes, and developing management practices that enhance pasture resilience now and into the future.

“Pastures are absolutely central to how we farm in New Zealand,” says DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.

“They’re crucial to maintaining global competitiveness, and are a key part of our $27 billion dairy sector in New Zealand.

“DairyNZ’s new strategy has really been about bringing focus to the organisation, and much of what we do now is looking out into the future, about the challenges that are coming at us and what we need to do to support farmers to lean into those challenges. This programme of work is a really good example of that.”

The project brings together farmers, sector researchers, Beef + Lamb New Zealand, Māori, rural professionals and government partners.

Elena Minnee, a senior scientist at DairyNZ, says changing weather patterns are reducing pasture growth, quality and persistence.

“Increasingly hot days and flooding events are putting real pressure on how much pasture is grown, its quality, and how long it lasts,” she says.

The programme focuses on Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, where these impacts are being felt most strongly.

“Our lessons from the upper North Island will be able to extend to regions further south, as they start to face similar challenges to their pasture persistence and productivity in the future.

“And the insights and solutions that are developed in the upper North Island will become relevant nationwide over time, as climate challenges become more prevalent.”

The programme aims to find multiple solutions to fit farmers’ diverse systems and needs, with farmers gaining improved returns from spending on seed as a result.

Homegrown feed is the backbone of New Zealand dairy farming, and there is concern that increased reliance on imported feed could undermine this significant advantage.

Pasture has traditionally been essential to NZ’s low-cost, low-emission food production, with over 80% of the diet of livestock coming from pasture. DairyNZ data analysis shows that pasture harvest has been reducing per hectare, at a rate of one tonne of dry matter per decade in Northland, and half a tonne of dry matter per decade in Waikato.

To compensate, farmers may need to re-sow pasture more frequently or bring in supplementary feed.

A key aspect of the Resilient Pastures programme is to ensure that solutions can be adopted on-farm and still support profitable and sustainable farm practices.

On-farm insights driving solutions

Te Marie farmers, Allister, Maree and Kieran McCahon, who’re also taking part in the programme, value the fact that the project is based on farmer experience.

“I guess it's an opportunity for other regions to look to us to provide some of those solutions,” says Kieran, who contract milks 900 cows on 430ha near Dargaville.

“Northland is naturally variable, which is helpful to the project. It allows us to capture some of that variation in soil and climate, which I think is really important for a long-term trial.

“We have a history of long, extended dry summers. Other parts of the country are starting to see that more frequently now too, so the benefit of doing this research in Northland is that we're ahead of the curve, in that we've adapted, and we've already been working through solutions that have been road-tested,” he says.

“As the climate warms, the conditions we already experience may become more frequent further south.”

Kieran says for the next few years, he’ll be diligently measuring pasture growth before and after every grazing in the project plots.

“I quite enjoy working with alternative pasture species, because I get to see how they react differently to weather conditions, and see the change throughout the seasons.

“Part of this project, to me, is giving other farmers confidence that there are alternative species out there and that other people are giving it a go. We’ll be comparing the growth of different species over the life of the project.”

Allister notes that, typically, the role of artificial nitrogen, silage and, more recently, palm kernel extract has masked the impact of declining pasture productivity.

“There’s unlikely to be a silver bullet solution,” he says.

“We need a range of tools for a range of climatic conditions – and that’s the big driver of this project. Rather than focusing on a single solution, we will need to explore a range of solutions to help us navigate more challenging or frequent adverse events.

“If climate change is going to erode our profitability around the margins, we have to strive to look for solutions to push back against that. And homegrown feed is the key to profitable pastoral grazing systems in New Zealand.”

Allister supports a renewed focus on pasture management, and well-timed supplementary feeding will be key to success, particularly as changing rainfall patterns make short-term decisions more critical than ever.

The Resilient Pastures programme is a DairyNZ-led, seven-year, $17 million cross-sector research and extension initiative, jointly funded through the Government’s Primary Sector Growth Fund (PSGF), administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Programme funding partners include Beef + Lamb New Zealand, TR Ellett Agricultural Research Trust, Hine Rangi Trust, Northland Dairy Development Trust, Barenbrug, and Fonterra.

Find out more and stay up to date with the research at dairynz.co.nz/resilientpastures