Reflections on the past and links to the future

Abstract

My presidential address is not going to follow the traditional format of the last decade or so where the president reflects on where in the world New Zealand agriculture sits, or how we can transform New Zealand agriculture. Rather I am going to reflect upon my own research career which spans 50 years of mainly field studies and how I see some of the early research being relevant even in today’s very different environment. When I look back and reflect on my 50 years as a researcher, both field technician and scientist, one thing stands out. The first 25 years was mainly spent
researching production increases via increased and more efficient fertiliser usage. The second 25 years were spent investigating and mitigating the environmental impacts of this increased production. In doing this I can see several themes that have re-occurred, some for the better and some not. There have been incidences of research appearing to repeat some 20 + years after the first study. I will give an example of this and why I feel that in the right situation this is not always a bad idea. I have also been involved with farmers doing on farm research as well as working on research stations. Both have their place.