More reach through farm consultants

The aim of the More ‘Reach’ Through Farm Consultants projects is to better integrate farm consultants into the DairyNZ extension network. The project is part of a wider programme of work targeted at increasing the amount of metabolised energy (ME) eaten per hectare on New Zealand dairy farms through the increased adoption of technologies within the DairyNZ feed strategy.

The outcome of this project will be the development of an engagement plan to build collaborative relationships between farm consultants and DairyNZ. Initially, the plan will be implemented in four regions: Northland, North Waikato, South Waikato and Southland.

To aid the development of the engagement plan, two sets of semi-structured interviews will be conducted. The first set of interviews will be with DairyNZ Regional Team Leaders and their staff to identify how they could improve collaboration with farm consultants to better engage with dairy farmers in their region. The second set will be with farm consultants to better understand:

• How they support farmer decision-making around feed management,
• The tools consultants use to aid this decision-making process, and
• The drivers and barriers to them working with DairyNZ.

The results from these interviews will be used to develop a needs assessment, so the subsequent engagement plan can be better targeted to each region.

DairyNZ Regional Team leaders and their staff will be consulted throughout this process.