Busy local research firm takes another big step
An independent contract research organisation that started in Canterbury with just one person has got so busy and diverse it has now bought its own 10 ha trial farm.
The first trials will be sown on the new block in coming weeks.
Pasture First Research took possession of the land, on prime irrigated soils near Leeston, in early December and will start planting trials there in late summer or early autumn, once the block has been set up.
Founder Nigel Johnston, who heads a national team of seven, says it’s an exciting move that will allow the firm to consolidate trials in one place, cutting down on travel and giving it more control over containment and access.
“We will still need to use other areas for some trials, but we won’t have them all on commercial farms spread far and wide across Canterbury, as they have been up until now.”
Finding the right block of land, in the right location, took time, but he says the result is worth the wait.
Johnston, a research agronomist, created the company in 2011, after several years in the industry both here and in Australia, working for Cropmark Seeds and Dow AgroSciences (now Corteva Agriscience).
“At the time I saw a need for an independent business focussing first and foremost on pasture research. There were a lot of arable research specialists, but no-one was working purely with pasture.
“So that was where most of our efforts were directed for the first few years.”
Fast forward to 2024, and the scope of the business has broadened considerably, he says.
With three research agronomists based in the North Island, and four in the South Island, they can and do work on a wide range of crops, including maize, grapes, apples, vegetables, kiwifruit, forage brassicas and cereals.
“We run trials for all the major crop protection companies, as well as the seed companies,” Johnston explains. “We also run National Forage Variety Trials for the New Zealand Plant Breeding and Research Association.”
Other clients include suppliers of bio-stimulants, biologicals and fertiliser as well as European and North American seed companies requiring contra-season field research capability.
Independent contract research organisations play a valuable role in supporting agri suppliers in many product categories, Johnston says.
Cereals are now part of the business, along with other crops like grapes, apples and maize.
One reason is that the industry itself has changed in terms of companies employing their own research staff.
“This is particularly the case in crop protection. Ten to 15 years ago the main crop protection companies had four to five field staff running trials. Now the majority may only have one or two at most, meaning a lot of work gets contracted out to the likes of our team.”
The NFVT is another good example of this value in action.
“The data we generate from these trials are totally independent from suppliers’ own in-house research and, therefore, should give farmers greater confidence in the results.”
Pasture First has been involved in the NFVT programme since 2016, first in Canterbury and now in Manawatu, Taranaki and Waikato.
“Currently we are running four individual trials in Waikato and Taranaki,” Johnston explains.
This entails responsibility for everything from source suitable farms and trial sites to sowing, harvesting and looking after trial plots to keep them healthy and weed free.
In 2016 the company also established itself across the Tasman via a separate business, Pasture First Research Australia.
“Our focus there is mainly on pasture seed trials, having run trials for the retail network as well as for the PTN which is the Australian version of the NFVT program.
“In recent years we have been conducting a number of nitrification inhibitor trials for a US technology company as well as other fertiliser and biostimulant trials.”