FAR conducted an online grower survey at the end of 2016 to gauge feedback about FAR, the research and extension that we undertake and different issues and priorities for growers and their farm businesses. The majority of responses were from the Canterbury and Waikato regions which could impact on the findings shown below.
Three key findings from the summary were:
- Growers felt that the most important issue for the future sustainability of their arable farm businesses was environmental compliance. This was followed by long term availability/effectiveness of agrichemicals and access to new crop options.
- Growers felt that the three most important areas of crop research that FAR undertakes are grass seed, wheat and barley.
- Weeds, diseases and crop nutrients were the top three important issues on farm.
It is important to note, that the survey respondents are only a small proportion of all growers that we represent. We value feedback from all growers so if you want to have your say in the future, please make sure your contact details are up to date.