Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures projects

This project focused on installing, testing and monitoring a variety of oyster farm infrastructure in the Chatham Islands coastal marine area. The industry partner now plans to use the knowledge and results from this project to develop working farms in suitable locations in the Chatham Islands as the first stage of establishing a local flat oyster industry.

The project developed and tested to prototype stage a free online tool for farmers to help them meet the new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets that will come into effect in 2025. The market ready version of the tool will help farmers and communities apply landscape planning and farm land-use modelling to produce farm plans and land use changes that tackle known GHG and other environmental issues, including water management.

Integrated Farm Plan

This project explored Māori perspectives on the use of animals in research. The researchers published articles on the topic and created teaching resources for secondary school students. The findings were also presented at the Australian & New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) conferences.

Māori Concepts in Animal Ethics: Implications for the Three Rs – Taylor and Francis Online

The project seeks to enable Māori landowners who are working collaboratively toward new horticulture establishment of their land assets. Water availability is a major barrier in Te Tai Tokerau and this project supports the investigation of water that is required for horticulture ventures.

This project investigated the feasibility of establishing a New Zealand almond industry. It looked at how to grow a premium quality product using sustainable agronomic practices. It researched optimised light utilisation for higher yields and quality, as well as lower water and nutrient footprint and integrated pest management approaches to reduce the use of synthetic crop protection compounds.

Almonds a new high-value nut to crack – MPI media release

This project will assess the economic and environmental impacts of adopting regenerative diverse pastures in a Taranaki dairy farming system. It will develop an evidence base to prove any links between diverse pastures and reduced nutrient loss, improved milk macro and micronutrients, increased soil water retention, soil carbon sequestration, and increased production and profits.

This project aimed to validate test procedures and recommendations for management of nitrate in New Zealand process vegetable crops. The trial sites were significantly impacted by the effects of Cyclone Hale and Cyclone Gabrielle in Year 2 of the trial, so final harvest measurements could not be completed during the project timeframe.

This project successfully determined variances in pork eating quality based on Ph levels and using the immunological medicine Improvac. This information aims to encourage practice change within the industry and increase the amount of quality pork processed. NZPork plans to investigate other practices in the supply chain that could also be addressed to improve eating quality. 

Determining the variability in eating quality of New Zealand fresh pork report [PDF, 537 KB]

Pork workshop consumer study presentation [PDF, 7.5 MB]

Boar taint indicators of selected pork samples from entire and immunocastrated Improvac® males report [PDF, 470 KB]

This project aims to support a cluster of Māori landowners in Aotea/Taranaki region to advance work to establish kiwifruit orchards, including consultation with landowners, orchard design plans and developing investment memoranda. The project follows a prior phase 1 MABx project to understand the suitability of the whenua to sustain productive and viable kiwifruit operations.

This project developed a Global Dairy Distortions Model to help identify implications of international dairy agricultural domestic support policies. The tool allows the New Zealand dairy industry to assess the impact of overseas farm subsidies on dairy markets and predict the effect of new and emerging issues. Three case studies were used to test the model. This evidence has enabled industry to advocate with greater confidence and back up its assumptions.

Subsidies and Dairy Trade: The Global Dairy Distortions Model

This project sought to address on-farm connectivity, which remains a significant barrier to farmers widely adopting agricultural technology solutions. It tested a collaborative delivery model for a nationwide, rural-focused LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network). The project successfully completed a network deployment and tested in-field coverage. It produced a business model for scaled development.

Boosting rural connectivity aims to deliver sustainable benefits to Kiwi farmers – MPI media release

The project delivered a science strategy to grow mamaku and develop high-value applications for mamaku extract. Three Māori landblocks were surveyed and provided a best practice guide for growing mamaku to establish supply. Digital tools were also built to establish the provenance, authenticity, and traceability of supply.

Open Farms is a nationwide series of on-farm events designed to reconnect urban Kiwis with the people and places that grow our food. Seventy-one events were held during the open day events in 2023 to 2025, attracting more than 12,000 visitors. The 2025 event experienced the greatest number of visitors, just over 4,500, supported by a significant number of returning hosts, event communications, and project partners.

Open Farms website

This project enabled an efficient and successful transition from the Strong Wool Action Group (SWAG) to Wool Impact, the industry service delivery body for strong wool. Wool Impact launched on 1 July 2022. Wool Impact aims to create new demand for New Zealand strong wool brands, products and services that meet sustainability driven consumer needs.

This project developed a strategic plan to revitalise New Zealand’s honey sector and set it on a new, more sustainable and profitable path for the long term. The plan is based on three key pillars – Sustainability, Quality-Led and Consumer Focus – which support a goal of doubling New Zealand’s honey export value by 2030. That goal will be enabled by strengthening industry leadership, creating a sustainable industry reinvestment model, making sure regulatory needs are met to enable future growth, and creating a unique and differentiating New Zealand honey story. The strategy also considers what the industry needs to do to protect bee health and support beekeepers.

New Zealand Honey Strategy 2024-2030 – Thriving Together: Futureproofing New Zealand Apiculture

This programme will enable the forestry industry to switch to the latest silviculture technology. It will focus on developing mechanisation, automation, digital technology and robotics in the silviculture value chain. This will have a major impact on the key silvicultural areas of planting, pruning and thinning, as well as in-nursery activities.

Media releases

Technical innovation to revolutionise forestry – Beehive

Programme documents

Precision Silviculture Outcome Logic Model [PDF, 148 KB]

Quarterly progress report summaries

January to March 2025 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 280 KB]

October 2024 to December 2024 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 265 KB]

July 2024 to September 2024 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 244 KB]

January 2024 to June 2024 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 337 KB]

October to December 2023 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 202 KB]

July to September 2023 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 234 KB]

April to June 2023 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 224 KB] 

January to March 2023 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 331 KB]

October to December 2022 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 347 KB]

July to September 2022 – Precision Silviculture progress report [PDF, 257 KB]

This research programme will develop innovative solutions to reduce spray and agrichemical use in New Zealand’s apples and pears industry through new technologies, data, and information solutions.

Media releases

Spray-free target for New Zealand apples and pears to boost export growth – Beehive

Programme documents

Smart and Sustainable Outcome Logic Model [PDF, 416 KB]

Quarterly progress report summaries

January 2025 to March 2025 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 213 KB]

October 2024 to December 2024 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 213 KB]

July 2024 to September 2024 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 212 KB]

April 2024 to June 2024 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 195 KB]

January 2024 to March 2024 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 194 KB]

October 2023 to December 2023 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 191 KB]

July 2023 to September 2023 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 195 KB]

April 2023 to June 2023 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 195 KB]

December 2022 to March 2023 – Smart and Sustainable progress report [PDF, 194 KB]

This project will expand biosecurity readiness and response software developed by Onside Ltd. The software uses data from a range of sources to construct an intricate map of rural interactions that’s able to map potential disease pathways. It will be a faster and more efficient way of supporting biosecurity management activity.

Media releases

Govt invests in cost-saving biosecurity app to protect rural sector – Beehive

Programme documents

Outcome Logic Model – Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of bio-security incursions in the primary sector [PDF, 132 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector – final programme report [PDF, 6.9 MB]

Quarterly progress report summaries

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – January 2024 to March 2024 [PDF, 240 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – October 2023 to December 2023 [PDF, 227 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – July 2023 to September 2023 [PDF, 230 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – April 2023 to June 2023 [PDF, 224 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – January 2023 to March 2023 [PDF, 268 KB]

Network technology to optimise readiness, response and eradication of biosecurity incursions in the primary sector Quarterly Report Summary – July to September 2022 [PDF, 186 KB]

Allied Veterinary Professionals (AVPs) and paraprofessionals include veterinary technologists, nurses, technicians and assistants. This project provided evidence that AVPs and paraprofessionals are currently significantly underutilised in New Zealand veterinary practices. The main barriers to utilising AVPs more effectively were the inability to recruit and retain appropriately qualified AVPs, a lack of awareness around the clinical tasks that AVPs are legally allowed to perform, and not having a legislative framework to regulate AVPs as a profession in New Zealand. Once these barriers are addressed, there will be scope for veterinary clinics to explore different business models for better leveraging AVPs to address critical veterinary workforce shortages.

This project researched whether Floating Upwelling Systems (FLUPSY)s, traditionally used to grow oyster spat, could also be used to grow Greenshell mussel spat. This was initiated in response to large-scale spat losses in the Greenshell mussel industry. The project proved FLUPSY-reared spat can achieve significantly higher retention rates than non FLUPSY-reared spat.

A copy of the final report on growing Greenshell spat in FLUPSYs is available on request - email psgfund@mpi.govt.nz