Robyn Dynes, and Martin Espig from AgResearch talk to us about the drivers behind herbicide use on farms.
Robyn has a strong arable background and is currently working as a farm systems scientist and Science Impact Leader for Dairy Farming Systems at AgResearch. Martin is a social scientist in the Farm Systems and Environment team at AgResearch. Both him and Robyn are working on the second of four research areas within the Managing Herbicide Resistance programme.
Their work seeks to understand the drivers for why herbicides are used the way they are from a farm systems perspective. Robyn and Martin are aiming to see how research can support farmers and rural professionals in their strategic weed management, which is important for future-proofing New Zealand farming.
Martin explains three key areas to achieving change in practices that can increase the chances of Herbicide Resistance:
- Awareness & Knowledge
- Confidence & Support
- Motivation to Change
Farmers need to be aware of the level of risk herbicide resistance presents, and what strategies are needed to mitigate this risk. Support for farmers is also needed, and they need to have confidence in the advice they are being given, and in their own decision making abilities. In order for change to occur, their needs to be a driving factor – whether that is intrinsic to the farmer, regulatory, or coming from their growing contracts with seed companies.