Luke Posthuma has joined the LandWISE team as our Precision Agronomist.

Many LandWISE members and followers will know Luke from GrowMaps, a precision mapping and consulting company he formed in 2016.

At GrowMaps, Luke has been helping horticultural and arable farmers identify and manage spatial variability in their crops to improve their farm profitability. A large portion of this work has involved soil mapping, yield data analysis and soil sampling to create VR fertiliser and planting recommendations to go into a range of tractor GPS controllers. Having a passion for sustainable land use, Luke focused on improving farm profitability through more efficient utilisation of inputs including fertiliser, seed and irrigation.

This and previous experience  makes Luke ideal to help Georgia and Dan with the Future Proofing Vegetable Production and Smart Tools for Orchard Drainage projects we have underway. 

Having a reasonably hands-on practical approach to farm advising, Luke enjoys getting involved with farmers and using data to improve practical management decisions on farm, whether it be identifying side-wall compaction from a maize planter, nutrient deficiency issues or soil type challenges. A key part of his work has been to identify and quantify agronomic issues, and create a management plan with the farmer and their farm adviser.

Luke graduated from Massey University with a Bachelor of AgriScience (Horticulture) degree. He gained a number of scholarships and is a recognised Massey Scholar.