title: Dairy farm system solutions that reduce nitrate leaching and their consequences for profitability: Using plantain, fodder beet and oats on a Canterbury case study farm

authors: Robertson, Charlotte

subjects: nitrate leaching

abstract: Dairy products provide nutrition, energy and income for much of the world. It is currently necessary to continue their supply albeit in a more environmentally sustainable manner. Excess nitrate (NO₃⁻) from dairy cow urine patches can leach from soils with significant consequences for receiving waters. Some potential on-farm management solutions exist, but can be costly to adopt.
The research aim of this thesis was to test prescribed management solutions for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching by 20%, in comparison to an existing farm management baseline for the 2017/2018 dairy season, whilst maintaining profitability. Nitrate leaching and profitability were estimated for a south Canterbury case study dairy farm using the models FARMAX Dairy and OVERSEER® Nutrient Budgets.
Prescribed management practices from the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching (FRNL) programme were modelled to achieve this target. The principles were: (i) reducing nitrogen (N) in cows’ diets through low-N feed (fodder beet), (ii) recapturing N from soils through catch crops (oats) and (iii) diluting urinary N (through ingested plantain). Two crop treatments were applied to the Baseline to address (i) and (ii). Plantain was included in pastures to address (iii). A number of key assumptions were made about plantain’s efficacy for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching. Plantain was not expected to persist in pasture swards without active management and so a persistence curve and maintenance treatments were incorporated. A sensitivity analysis investigated the influence of soil type and poorer persistence of plantain on treatment success.
Most treatments reduced NO₃⁻ leaching, but significant management inputs were required to achieve a 20% reduction from the Baseline. Plantain was identified as the key forage for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching. When plantain was included in pasture swards and undersown every second year to increase its presence, NO₃⁻ leaching could be reduced by 21-24%, however, profitability was reduced by 5-10%. Fodder beet and oats had little impact on NO₃⁻ leaching because the crop area was small in comparison to the rest of the farm (4%). There were no treatments that achieved a 20% reduction in NO₃⁻ leaching and maintained profitability.
The implications of this modelling study for real-life application are that if plantain can be maintained in the pasture sward at high enough levels NO₃⁻ leaching can be substantially reduced, though this would likely result in a loss of profit.

text: Dairy farm system solutions that reduce nitrate leaching and their consequences for profitability: Using plantain, fodder beet and oats on a Canterbury case study farm Dairy products provide nutrition, energy and income for much of the world. It is currently necessary to continue their supply albeit in a more environmentally sustainable manner. Excess nitrate (NO₃⁻) from dairy cow urine patches can leach from soils with significant consequences for receiving waters. Some potential on-farm management solutions exist, but can be costly to adopt.
The research aim of this thesis was to test prescribed management solutions for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching by 20%, in comparison to an existing farm management baseline for the 2017/2018 dairy season, whilst maintaining profitability. Nitrate leaching and profitability were estimated for a south Canterbury case study dairy farm using the models FARMAX Dairy and OVERSEER® Nutrient Budgets.
Prescribed management practices from the Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching (FRNL) programme were modelled to achieve this target. The principles were: (i) reducing nitrogen (N) in cows’ diets through low-N feed (fodder beet), (ii) recapturing N from soils through catch crops (oats) and (iii) diluting urinary N (through ingested plantain). Two crop treatments were applied to the Baseline to address (i) and (ii). Plantain was included in pastures to address (iii). A number of key assumptions were made about plantain’s efficacy for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching. Plantain was not expected to persist in pasture swards without active management and so a persistence curve and maintenance treatments were incorporated. A sensitivity analysis investigated the influence of soil type and poorer persistence of plantain on treatment success.
Most treatments reduced NO₃⁻ leaching, but significant management inputs were required to achieve a 20% reduction from the Baseline. Plantain was identified as the key forage for reducing NO₃⁻ leaching. When plantain was included in pasture swards and undersown every second year to increase its presence, NO₃⁻ leaching could be reduced by 21-24%, however, profitability was reduced by 5-10%. Fodder beet and oats had little impact on NO₃⁻ leaching because the crop area was small in comparison to the rest of the farm (4%). There were no treatments that achieved a 20% reduction in NO₃⁻ leaching and maintained profitability.
The implications of this modelling study for real-life application are that if plantain can be maintained in the pasture sward at high enough levels NO₃⁻ leaching can be substantially reduced, though this would likely result in a loss of profit.

year: 2020

title: Whose knowledge is of most worth? The importance of listening to the voice of the learner.

authors: Scratchley, Margaret J.

subjects: education

abstract: This paper discusses some of the data produced in the course of a research study that examined the perceptions that primary school aged children (7-13 year olds) had about their learning in health education. The study explored children's knowledge about their own health, their issues and concerns about health and health education and what they thought they should be learning about in health education at school. The research used mixed methods to collect data and several themes emerged that were central to listening to children and gaining their perceptions. The importance of understanding children and taking time to listen to what they were saying was the major theme and also the negation of children's views in favour of adult agendas. This study has shown that children have opinions and they also have something to say, and that what they have to say is worth listening to. Moreover, children possess knowledge that can contribute to classroom health lessons and health curriculum design.

text: Whose knowledge is of most worth? The importance of listening to the voice of the learner. This paper discusses some of the data produced in the course of a research study that examined the perceptions that primary school aged children (7-13 year olds) had about their learning in health education. The study explored children's knowledge about their own health, their issues and concerns about health and health education and what they thought they should be learning about in health education at school. The research used mixed methods to collect data and several themes emerged that were central to listening to children and gaining their perceptions. The importance of understanding children and taking time to listen to what they were saying was the major theme and also the negation of children's views in favour of adult agendas. This study has shown that children have opinions and they also have something to say, and that what they have to say is worth listening to. Moreover, children possess knowledge that can contribute to classroom health lessons and health curriculum design.

year: 2004

title: Chief Justice James Prendergast and the administration of New Zealand colonial justice, 1862-1899

authors: Morris, Grant Hamilton

abstract: The New Zealand legal system during the nineteenth-century was in a state of rapid change and constant turmoil. After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Maori and the British Crown in 1840, British immigration to New Zealand began in earnest. As a British colony, New Zealand gradually acquired the British legal system and adapted it to suit the colonial environment. These adaptations resulted in conflict with Maori and eventually the supremacy of British law in New Zealand. 

This thesis explores the role of James Prendergast in helping to create the colonial New Zealand legal system. Prendergast served as Attorney-General of New Zealand from 1865 to 1875 and Chief Justice of New Zealand from 1875 to 1899. Firstly, the English background of Prendergast is analysed and provided as a context for his actions in New Zealand. Then, Prendergast’s rise to power in New Zealand is explored, focusing primarily on his roles as Attorney-General and Chief Justice. Particular attention is paid to Prendergast’s relationship with Maori, his enduring legacy in New Zealand statute and case law and the relationship between English law and the colonial New Zealand legal system. The recent vilification of Prendergast by modern scholars is detailed, especially in relation to Prendergast’s decision in the case, Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington (1877). Finally, an assessment is made of Prendergast’s life, legacy and influence in New Zealand legal history. 

Several important conclusions are reached through the study of the life of James Prendergast. Through his words, actions and judgments, Prendergast played a highly influential role in the development of the New Zealand legal system. Prendergast is more than just the two-dimensional figure that he has become in modern scholarship. Many of Prendergast’s actions that were considered successful by contemporary colonial society are also the actions for which Prendergast is now criticised by modern New Zealand society. A clash has occurred between the standards of the past and the views of the present. 

This thesis also proffers the argument that the English legal system was of overwhelming importance in the development of the New Zealand legal system and the administration of colonial justice. The central problem in adapting the English system to the New Zealand environment was the inflexibility of the law in the face of indigenous people’s rights. Prendergast was a product of Victorian England and failed to come to terms with Maori society. While he was a competent judge who left a legacy of common law precedent, Prendergast’s main success was as an administrator and leader of the colonial legal environment. While the Wi Parata decision of 1877 was legally dubious, it is misleading to judge Prendergast's career solely by this one decision. 

James Prendergast is a pivotal figure in the study of nineteenth-century New Zealand legal history. He has left a legacy of legal precedent and jurisprudential controversy. This judicial biography provides an account of his successes and failures throughout his long and eventful life.

text: Chief Justice James Prendergast and the administration of New Zealand colonial justice, 1862-1899 The New Zealand legal system during the nineteenth-century was in a state of rapid change and constant turmoil. After the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Maori and the British Crown in 1840, British immigration to New Zealand began in earnest. As a British colony, New Zealand gradually acquired the British legal system and adapted it to suit the colonial environment. These adaptations resulted in conflict with Maori and eventually the supremacy of British law in New Zealand. 

This thesis explores the role of James Prendergast in helping to create the colonial New Zealand legal system. Prendergast served as Attorney-General of New Zealand from 1865 to 1875 and Chief Justice of New Zealand from 1875 to 1899. Firstly, the English background of Prendergast is analysed and provided as a context for his actions in New Zealand. Then, Prendergast’s rise to power in New Zealand is explored, focusing primarily on his roles as Attorney-General and Chief Justice. Particular attention is paid to Prendergast’s relationship with Maori, his enduring legacy in New Zealand statute and case law and the relationship between English law and the colonial New Zealand legal system. The recent vilification of Prendergast by modern scholars is detailed, especially in relation to Prendergast’s decision in the case, Wi Parata v Bishop of Wellington (1877). Finally, an assessment is made of Prendergast’s life, legacy and influence in New Zealand legal history. 

Several important conclusions are reached through the study of the life of James Prendergast. Through his words, actions and judgments, Prendergast played a highly influential role in the development of the New Zealand legal system. Prendergast is more than just the two-dimensional figure that he has become in modern scholarship. Many of Prendergast’s actions that were considered successful by contemporary colonial society are also the actions for which Prendergast is now criticised by modern New Zealand society. A clash has occurred between the standards of the past and the views of the present. 

This thesis also proffers the argument that the English legal system was of overwhelming importance in the development of the New Zealand legal system and the administration of colonial justice. The central problem in adapting the English system to the New Zealand environment was the inflexibility of the law in the face of indigenous people’s rights. Prendergast was a product of Victorian England and failed to come to terms with Maori society. While he was a competent judge who left a legacy of common law precedent, Prendergast’s main success was as an administrator and leader of the colonial legal environment. While the Wi Parata decision of 1877 was legally dubious, it is misleading to judge Prendergast's career solely by this one decision. 

James Prendergast is a pivotal figure in the study of nineteenth-century New Zealand legal history. He has left a legacy of legal precedent and jurisprudential controversy. This judicial biography provides an account of his successes and failures throughout his long and eventful life.

year: 2001