Setting up an innovation network: Public and private sector collaboration to solve pasture performance issues in the New Zealand dairy industry

Dairy farmers in the northern regions of New Zealand expressed widespread dissatisfaction with the performance and persistence of their pastures following drought conditions in 2007/08. Farmers were becoming disillusioned with the practice of renewing pasture as a means to introduce modern perennial ryegrass cultivars in their paddocks. This paper describes the formation and operation of an innovation network, consisting of private and public sector actors, that was formed in 2010 to improve the quality and consistency of advice provided to farmers. All parties sought to restore farmers’ confidence in pasture renewal and modern cultivars, and critically, commercial interests were set aside. 

This paper was presented at the 12th European IFSA Symposium (Workshop: "Developing agricultural advisory systems for innovation: Governance and innovative practices") in 2016.