Big U.S. grant for Lincoln College

Press, 24 June 1981, Page 2

Big U.S. grant for Lincoln College

i Lincoln • College's farm management unit has received a thr,ee-year grant totalling $195,000 from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, of the United States.

The principal of Lincoln College, Professor J. D. Stewart, announced the grant of $65,000 a year at the college council meeting yesterday. The foundation has also funded courses at the college to give high-calibre management training to potential farm and rural leaders, and to develop computer management programmes for New Zealand's farming needs.

The programme's director, Mr J. G. Pryde, said that the additional funding would enable the courses to expand and to attract more international expertise. Mr Pryde said that one new programme would give several days of intensive leadership training to leaders from all sections of rural communities and encourage them to develop their particular areas of expertise. The programme would also study the reasons behind the success of some farmers, and publish the information. The college has already run two management courses, with 42 people participating, which covered communications, the economy, bargaining and negotiating, decision-making and the political process. The Kellogg Farm Management Unit, which was established at the college last year, has been developing "computer programmes for farmers to use on their own machines to improve farm management.

Travel awards Hop growing, afforestation and animal health are some

of the areas which will be studied by.the six New Zealanders who have been given Lincoln College Foundation travel awards.

A Motueka hop and tobacco farmer. Mr T. E. Inglis, will visit Britain, West Germany and the United States later this year to study hop havesting and processing.

Mr Inglis said that New' Zealand filled less than 1 per cent of the world hop market and the industry could experience “a major horticul- . tural boom.” An officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries .at Christchurch, Mr B. L. McCloy, is already in Europe studying the feasibility of adapting spring management of wheat crops to New Zealand conditions, which could raise the average wheat yield.

r Another Ministry officer, Mr K. H. Giles, of Rotorua, will study husbandry prac- ; tices used in North America to farm high quality fur.

A Government scientist, , Dr B. J. Wills, will also be in 1 North America to study development of trees and ‘plants for high altitude areas, such as Central Otago. • Dr J. T. Mclntosh, of the Ruakura Animal Research Station, at Hamilton, will spend a year in Britain studying ways of breeding cows With a low susceptibility to bloat, a problem which costs New Zealand’s dairy farmers about $l4 million in lost exports each year.

The last award will enable a retired North Canterbury, farmer, Mr E. J. Whyte, to visit irrigation schemes in Europe and California, which could be used as part of the Glenmark irrigation scheme.