Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures projects

The project explored the most sustainable treatment method to treat wastewater being discharged from the Cedenco vegetable processing factory in Gisborne. Work undertaken included assessing the environmental effects on a wetland, examining opportunities for water re-use, and ensuring the methods adopted met compliance requirements and could be incorporated into the processing system.

The project surveyed the composition and potential bioactivity of mono and multifloral honeys from Rēkohu/Wharekauri (Chatham Islands) and presented findings to industry stakeholders. This research into the properties of locally grown honey will potentially enable unique products to be developed by the Chatham Islands apicultural industry.

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.

This project investigates the opportunity for a cluster of Māori landowners to create a Māori sheep dairy industry. Sheep milk has the potential to provide health, environmental, employment and commercial benefits to landowners and New Zealand. The project includes building confidence and capability to convert from bovine to ovine platforms and exploring partnership opportunities.

Collaboration Tai Tokerau brought together 70 representatives across 11 sectors to identify projects that could achieve a co-designed vision of food, fibre and beverage industries and communities in Tai Tokerau that are resilient, prosperous and thriving. This resulted in 3 projects linked to the long-term goals of Tai Tokerau optimising its land use; developing food and beverage products and experiences that are in demand; and developing food, fibre and beverage industries that are workplaces of choice. The project laid the foundation for ongoing, mutually beneficial relationships between all parties, and a collaborative approach to shared challenges.

Collaboration Tai Tokerau macro strategy logic model [PDF, 69 KB]

This project aimed to make ZealaFoam available as a viable, sustainable packaging alternative for the seafood industry (and other primary producers), which mostly uses Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) packaging for transportation of fresh produce currently. The project successfully moved ZealaFoam products to commercial-speed production and provided packaging samples for primary producers. This proved that 100% plant-based packaging can be used to safeguard primary produce while meeting strict insulation and impact resistance requirements. This milestone has enabled the company to attract additional investment, which will accelerate the commercial production of the plant-based packaging in New Zealand and overseas.

Eco-packaging for seafood industry

In a previous SFF Futures project, Woolchemy worked with overseas nappy manufacturers to see if neweFlex, their sustainable wool material developed for personal care products, could be produced at scale using existing manufacturing technology. This new project will work on optimising manufacturing of neweFlex wool material to the desired thickness required by nappy producers and subsequent commercial testing. Woolchemy will also develop a pilot plant for washable absorbent wool textiles to enable scaled-up consumer trials and determine commercial viability.

This project aimed to substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through a seaweed-based cattle feed supplement. Cawthron Institute is continuing to research the lifecycle of Asparagopsis seaweed to inform the development of an early proof-of-concept of the production systems needed to develop the feed supplement at pilot-scale.

Methane reducing cattle feed one step closer – Beehive

The project seeks to trial commercial scale nanobubble technology in a range of irrigated farms with differing soils and climates. It will do this by integrating nanobubble technology within existing pivot irrigators on-farm, and will study the effects on growth rates of pasture and water usage, as well as nitrogen leaching.

The tiny bubbles helping farmers save water - The Post

This project aims to turn locally grown kānuka into high-value gourmet products, bringing new jobs to Ruatōria and giving a boost to the local economy. Nuka Charitable Trust, supported by University of Auckland researchers, will establish a pilot plant producing liquid smoke and juice from kānuka. The liquid smoke could be added to foods ranging from cheese to mussels, while the kānuka juice could be used as an ingredient in the nutraceutical industry for wellness-oriented beverages such as kombucha.

Kānuka tree products potential boon for Tairāwhiti – Government media release

This project will develop a prototype tumbler to dry pinecones for seed extraction. This new way of processing pine nuts aims to reduce the carbon and environmental impact of traditional drying methods and offer increased profitability for growers.

This project will assess non-copper/low-copper alternatives for efficacy against walnut blight. It will share research findings and general best practice with walnut growers, with the goal of industry-wide improved blight control using less copper.

Mainland Kiwi, supported by Start Afresh Ltd, led a grower-funded storage trial to understand the implications of on-orchard storage performance. The trial found that picking fruit at optimum maturity enables maximum storage potential. It also identified good harvest practices that are critical to fruit quality. As a result of this project, kiwifruit loss in storage reduced from more than 4% to below 1% in the Nelson region. The best practice guidelines created have been shared with kiwifruit growers.

Start Afresh Best Practice Guidelines [PDF, 998 KB]

The project aims to validate growing systems that involve ‘stacking’ a cover crop with a cash crop in larger field trials. The project will investigate the effects on soil productivity, including reducing soil and nutrient loss. It will also examine commercial viability and develop management decision tools.

This project investigated whether daffodils could be cultivated in New Zealand for the production of Galanthamine, a compound used to treat Alzheimer’s. A variety of daffodils were grown in New Zealand conditions across 10 trial sites in various locations to enable a range of data points to be collected. Results from the trials have concluded that there is potential to produce Galanthamine in New Zealand conditions at a commercial scale.

This project aimed to develop an online platform to support innovation in the supply chain and support local produce sales during Covid-19. The concept was to enable local producers to trade food they had available rather than it going to waste due to the loss of domestic trading opportunities.

This project aims to create a prototype for an online mapping and information tool that draws together existing data and knowledge about low temperature geothermal resource availability in the greater Auckland, Northern Waikato, and Bay of Plenty regions, and how to use it for temperature control of covered crop operations. This will provide growers with accessible and understandable information on geothermal potential when considering energy decarbonisation options for their operations.

This project investigated lameness in dairy cows across the country. It aimed to define the problem, identify preventative strategies and improve lame cow treatment. The study was the first of its kind to report the prevalence of lameness from dairy farms across the country. It investigated farmer barriers and motivators to lameness control, and provided a systematic review on claw-horn lameness treatments. It was the first in the world to investigate a lameness control treatment in pasture-based heifers, and used unique methodology to look at lameness duration. 

The project has successfully raised farmer awareness of lameness on dairy farms and options for reducing its impact. It has resulted in veterinarians and farmers actively working together to identify lameness on-farm and making plans to reduce it.

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

This project aims to develop and implement a new business model to strengthen NZYF membership structure and ensure ongoing financial sustainability.