The Hill Country Futures Partnership programme, which officially wrapped up in December, focused on future-proofing the profitability, sustainability and wellbeing of New Zealand’s hill country farmers, their farm systems, the environment and rural communities.
Co-funded by Beef + Lamb New Zealand, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, PGG Wrightson Seeds and RAGT New Zealand, the programme had a strong emphasis on forages and providing decision-making tools to help farmers select the best forage option for different land management units.
As part of the programme, the Hill Country Futures team partnered with broadcaster Sarah Perriam to record a series of short podcasts on aspects of the project.
The series includes:
- An overview of the Hill Country Futures Partnership programme.
- Understanding the Mātauranga Māori of native shrubs.
- Value of the programme to farmers.
- The FarmSalus resource package designed to help support our farmers.
- The Agricultural Production Systems Simulator model.
- The thermal time-based (TGM) model.
- How legumes can help farmers tackle greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
- The different hill country study sites within the programme.
Look out for further podcasts over the coming weeks.
The Hill Country Futures programme is just one of the ways B+LNZ’s research and development team is supporting levy-payers and the primary sector.
You can find links to the podcasts on the Hill Country Futures website or the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub.