The arrival of a BioRich sponsored tractor at the LandWISE MicroFarm will support precision farming research efforts.

The John Deere cropping tractor has been set to a 183cm wheel track to fit the onion beds planted in early August. It’s first role is to act as a carrier of sensors that are used to map crop development.

We are delighted with the tractor. After much investigation into options for a sensor carrier, we finally landed on a high clearance cropping tractor as the ideal machine. Then, after searching wide and long, we discovered there was one sitting on our back door.

BioRich Principal, Mike Glazebrook is a LandWISE founding member and past Chairman. He said he was keen to support  the work being done at the MicroFarm as he sees it as of benefit to the community. There is obvious alignment with LandWISE objectives for sustainable production.

BioRich Limited is an organic waste recycling company. It’s main activity is capturing organic material that would otherwise be wasted, or cause pollution, and turning it into rich compost. Where it is practical to do so it also seeks to extract stock food and energy from organic material that would otherwise be wasted.

Every year, throughout New Zealand, many thousands of tonnes of organic “waste” is dumped into landfills or is inappropriately discharged to land. Once dumped much of this material breaks down in an uncontrolled manner and releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and pollutants into our waterways.

Meanwhile most of New Zealand’s cultivated soils have been steadily deteriorating. This is due to both to a decline in soil organic matter and a depletion of minerals and nutrients.

Hence BioRich’s mission is to divert organic matter (carbon) from ending up in places where it can do a lot of harm – in our atmosphere and water – and putting it somewhere it can do a lot of good – in our soils.