Farm advisory services date back to the 1920s –
but technology transfer now needs a new approach
By Geoffrey Moss
Moss Associates Ltd
The New Zealand Institute of Agricultural Science – the horticultural component came later of our organisation - stems from suggestions by Margot Cowen, an Australian Institute of Agricultural Science member, about 1950 after she arrived in Palmerston North to set up a new seed research centre at the Department of Agriculture Seed Testing Station.
The idea was readily taken up by the late Doug Campbell, an unsung hero of soil conservation in New Zealand. With his usual messianic zeal he called a
meeting of interested people at Victoria University. This was followed soon after by a meeting in Wakefield House in Wellington. I came from Wanganui to attend this foundation meeting.
At one stage membership numbers were strong enough for the institute to employ an organisation, Agriculture Promotion Associates, to run the secretariat and produce our publications. This was headed by a retired Director-General of Agriculture, Neil Webb. He had been director-general of the Lands and Survey Department before joining Agriculture. His business partner was David Yerex, who served as NZIAS secretary and edited the publications.
David had been a member of the UK Guild of Agricultural Journalists. He was working in Fleet Street when he was headhunted to become the Editor of the Dairy Exporter and later Director of Information for the New Zealand Dairy Board.
David recommended we set up a similar Guild in New Zealand. He was enthusiastically promoting this idea when he stayed with us in Wanganui when he returned to New Zealand iabout 1955.
FARMER DISCUSSION GROUPS
In the horse-drawn days of the dairy industry, farmers would go to their local factories and queue to deliver their milk and collect whey for their pigs. They would chat and talk about seasonal farming tasks and share experiences.
When the milk tanker was introduced to the industry, farmers no longer took their own milk to the factory. This created the social need in the industry for farmers to share information and ideas and to discuss seasonal problems.
Sir Arthur Ward first introduced discussion groups into New Zealand after seeing similar groups operating successfully in Britain in the town milk industry.
The first groups were set up by Dairy Board consulting officers. Some time later the Department of Agriculture picked up this worthwhile idea.
One of my roles was to introduce discussion groups to non-dairy farmers in the South Island. We started by running a workshop at Flock House near Bulls for South Island farm advisers. Flock House at that time was used for training lads in agricultural skills and for in-service training for staff of the Department of Agriculture. Alastair McArthur from Lincoln College, Alan Hughes from Massey and Mac McKenzie from the Dairy Board were the facilitators. We also produced an advisory aid booklet titled Organising Discussion Groups.
RURAL FIELD CADETS
No one nowadays much mentions the man behind the scene who selected and trained people like Wilson Whineray, Ron Trotter, Kelvin Tremain and many of the successful agricultural business leaders in both New Zealand and Australia.
Herbert Caselberg was the Supervising Valuer for the State Advances Department when he and Dick Bevan, a lecturer in Farm Management at Lincoln started the Rural Field Cadet Scheme in 1940.
After Dick came to Wellington to head the Economic Service of the Meat and Wool Board he became president of the NZIAS.
Herbert Caselberg demanded high standards and selected his cadets with care. He ran a five-year training programme with cadets working on farms and attending residential courses at both Lincoln and Massey Colleges. Many government departments employed these rural field cadets, giving them a professional status.
The Diploma in Valuation and Farm Management at Lincoln was set up to meet the demands of the rural field cadets. The first two cadets in 1940 were Murray Findlater, from Hawera, and Tom Molesworth. One of the first non-cadets to do a VFM was Henry Schapper.
Henry was my scout master in Hawera and cadeted me on farms for the Taranaki Farmers’ Co-op in 1942. The manager of the co-op was Clem. Trotter, father of Ron (later Sir Ron) Trotter.
Henry became Professor Schapper and headed the Agricultural Economics Department at the University of Western Australia. He initiated farm management clubs in Australia in 1960 employing Lincoln College VFM graduates.
FARM IMPROVEMENT CLUBS
In 1949 the Department of Agriculture was approached by Waikato Federated Farmers to provide an intensive advisory service to 40 to 50 farmers. A modified scheme was set up in 1950.The first farm improvement club, as we know them today, was set up in 1952 with the incorporation of the Franklin Farm Improvement Club.
In an article in the February issue of AgScience Dr Doug Edmeades stated: “There was a time when New Zealand had one of the best agricultural technology systems in the world. It was much admired by overseas visitors. It began with Farm Improvement Clubs and developed into the Department of Agriculture Extension Services and then, ultimately to the Ministry of Agriculture Advisory Services.”
In fact the Department of Agriculture was operating an advisory service in the early 1920s. The annual report of the Director of the Department of Agriculture’s Field Division states that 28 agricultural instructors were working in the department in 1928.
In later years the Department of Agriculture extension service consisted largely of B.Agr.Sc. graduates. In those days to do a professional degree at Lincoln or Massey
Colleges it was necessary to have completed science intermediate examinations at one of the major colleges (Auckland, Victoria, Canterbury) or at Otago University. There were only two universities in those days, The University of New Zealand and Otago University.
One of my heroes must be Paul Lynch, a strong institute supporter, and a past president of the NZIAS. Paul was director of the Department of Agriculture’s field research.
Farm advisory officers carried out hundreds of fertiliser and plant variety trials on all types of soils and in different micro- climates. These were analysed by Jean Miller and her team of statisticians. The farm advisory officer was the link between research and the farmer.
In 1969 a simple system using fact sheets (AgLinks) was introduced to support this government agricultural extension service. Hundreds of topics were covered to help farmers implement latest research findings. Professional journalists with rural backgrounds were employed to pass on the latest practical information. AgLinks were low-cost and easy to update as new information became available. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries discontinued this useful service in 1986.
INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Another unsung hero was the late Professor Ron Schwass, FNZIAS. Ron was attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 20 years to help set up overseas agricultural institutions.
He set up many organisations including the South Pacific Regional College of Tropical Agriculture at Alafua in Samoa in 1960 (it later became the School of Agriculture and Food Technology for the University of the South Pacific.). Ron also helped set up the Food and Fertilizer Technology Centre in Taiwan.
His most remarkable achievement was to establish the first Faculty at the University of Khon Kaen in North East Thailand. It was set up in 1964. The university now has a staff of 2,110. He was awarded a Doctor of Science in Agriculture by the King of Thailand for this work.
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
It is obvious we need a stronger, objective, unbiased link between scientists and farmers. But we shouldn’t go back and reinvent the wheel. Other countries need to see that we do not subsidise farmers.
Perhaps we should follow the American example used by their land grant colleges and set up an agricultural extension service attached to universities. Waikato, Massey, Lincoln and Otago would be suitable.
Such an extension service could act as a link between research, teaching and farm production.
Universities should jump at the chance because this could help them to increase student numbers. The universities would need an increased budget but it would be a sound investment for any government to help stimulate export earnings.
