The 'Future Dairy: Living Lab' is a teaching and research initiative designed to explore future dairy farming options that meet today and tomorrow's farmers' environmental, social and economic challenges.
The lab consists of two mini farms or farmlets (currently 12 ha each) within the larger LURDF. Both farmlets have strategic goals to reduce inputs and improve recycling of nutrients and reduce waste whilst maintaining or improving profitability. The farmlets have established a future need to enhance the landscape, promote biodiversity and resilience in soils, plants, animals and people, and reflect New Zealanders' values. The two farmlets have adopted either a conventional best practice approach (Best Now) or alternative future design approach (Dairy Future) to achieve these outcomes. Decision rules on both farms apply science-based principles or, where the science is limited, test new approaches and measure the outcomes.
Some of the science on which the strategies are based is still emerging (Dairy Future), while other practices are well established (Dairy Now). Students, researchers and public and private enterprises are encouraged to engage with the initiative to propose, test and monitor ideas and solutions which solve real-world problems on a platform which allows for monitoring and extension of those outcomes. Current resources for the Living Laboratory include 24 hectares of irrigated, silt loam soil subdivided into two farms.
Join us to hear from Racheal Bryant as she shares the work the Future Dairy Living Lab is undertaking and how you can be involved.
The B.linc VIBE event series is an opportunity to hear from one of the wider Lincoln precinct companies about their business and to touch base, reconnect and build connections across the precinct.
Tuesday 15th August
4.00pm - 5.30pm
B.linc Workshop, Lincoln University
We hope to see you there!
Timings
4.00pm - Networking and Drinks
4.15pm - Presentation from Keynote
4:45pm - Q&A Session
5.00pm - Networking
5.30pm - Event finishes
About Our Speaker
Racheal Bryant, Lincoln University
Racheal grew up on a dairy farm in the rural Taranaki town of Manaia. Her interest in animals and farming took her to Massey University where she completed a Bachelor of Applied Science in Agriculture.
Inspiring teachers there encouraged and developed her appreciation of plants and pastures resulting in an honours project which investigated the response of tall fescue genotypes under different defoliation regimes. She carried on to complete her PhD at Lincoln University (LU), developing a selection index to improve perennial ryegrass nutritive value.
Nowadays, Racheal is a senior lecturer for the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Lincoln University. She supervises a number of PhD students and collaborates with farmers and industry partners to tackle the many challenges facing the agricultural sector. One of her past collaborations with DairyNZ in the Pastoral 21 project, demonstrated the value of farmlet studies as a resource for teaching and collaboration. And so, the Dairy Futures: Living Laboratory farmlets were born.
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