An open invitation to dairy farmers to "beat their way to my door" has gone out from Lincoln University's newly arrived Professor of Dairy Production, Richard Dewhurst. (Started this month, June, 2005).
"Professor of Dairy Production is a new position at Lincoln University and I'm the first person in the job and newly arrived from Britain," says Professor Dewhurst, "so it's very much a clean sheet situation and we can all get stuck in and make something special happen here in New Zealand and particularly the South Island."
Born into a British dairy farming family, with three generations involved in the industry, Professor Dewhurst brings a strong dairy research background to the job. He holds a First Class Honours degree from Oxford University and a doctorate from the University of Bristol.
Before packing up and leaving Britain, enthused by the opportunity to balance his extensive Northern Hemisphere background with experience of New Zealand's globally known and respected dairy farming industry, Professor Dewhurst was a Principal Research Scientist and leader of the Nutrition and Microbiology Team at Britain's Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research in Wales.
At the institute Professor Dewhurst managed a team that brought together expertise in ruminant nutrition, plant biochemistry and rumen microbiology.
"One of my main research interests is forage options," he says.
"Obviously in New Zealand, with pasture farming so important, home grown forage is the basis of farmers income. The ready availability of forage means that spending on stock foods, concentrates, supplements and other manufactured feed supplies is minimal, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere."
"With forage as his 'income' and his stock's body reserves as his 'savings', the New Zealand dairy farmer is in quite a different position to his UK counterpart, but nutritional considerations are central to both operations."
That's where Professor Dewhurst's expertise come into the picture. In the UK his research was at the interface of nutrition/milk composition and rumen function, and he has a particular interest in the effect of body reserves on dairy cow performance and health.
"Monitoring the rumen ecosystem is essential in order to understand the relationships between feed composition and nutrient utilisation or product composition," he says.
"My dairy nutrition work has been directed at increasing forage intake, improving nitrogen utilisation, increasing milk protein content and increasing levels of beneficial fatty acids in milk."
Professor Dewhurst says he is a firm believer in the value of extension activities for farmers and he hopes to get out and about talking to farmer groups.
"It will be a learning curve for both sides as farmers get to know me and I get to know them."
"To assist that process, both here on the campus and out in the field, I invite farmers, industry personnel, members of agricultural organisations and other interested parties to get in touch with me at Lincoln University - by phone, fax, or email - so we can start working together in the interests of New Zealand dairying, which is what this new position at Lincoln University is all about."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ian Collins, Journalist
Lincoln University, Canterbury
Tel: 64 3 325 2811 ext 8549
Email: Ian Collins