New Zealand Journal of Agriculture

Aware of the economic importance of farming, in 1892 the government set up a Department of Agriculture to share scientific research and advice with the sector. As the number of published pamphlets and reports increased, the Department established a monthly publication to collate its output. The first issue of the Journal of the New Zealand Department of Agriculture was published in June 1910.

Department of Agriculture staff were expected to contribute articles and the first 78-page issue of the Journal included an article by biologist Alfred Cockayne about the effect of burning on tussock country, and one by dairy instructor William Gwillim about running a co-operative dairy factory company. The Journal also published test results from different agricultural methods trialled on the Department’s research farms.

The first editor of the Journal was George Bisset, who had managed the department’s publications since 1906. After Bisset’s death in 1911, his replacement Charles Cuming found that the Journal was struggling financially. There were only 3250 subscribers, compared with the Department’s annual report which had a distribution list of 8000. To avoid the Journal’s demise, the Farmers’ Union called on its members to subscribe and by 1912 circulation had nearly trebled. Cuming also boosted revenue by introducing advertisements.

Cuming made other changes before he left in 1915 to edit the New Zealand Farmer. He shortened the title to The Journal of Agriculture and simplified the cover design to make room for a list of the main articles. The publication grew to 132 pages, although a shortage of paper during the First World War meant that some issues had only 54 pages.

During the war the Journal was used by the Government to urge farmers to make up for labour shortages through greater use of technology. The economic climate that followed made it difficult for the new editor, Richard Hooper, to improve the presentation of the magazine and by 1934 it looked drab and uninspiring. The Journal, known from 1918 as the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, was also criticised for being too scientific.

In 1937 a journalist from Wellington, Henry Forde, was appointed editor. He set out to reduce the financial barrier for farmers by dropping the subscription from 6s to 2s 6d a year. He also broadened the readership by commissioning practical rather than technical articles and by including a section written for rural women. In 1941, a column called ‘The Good Neighbour by Mary’, was introduced. Written by Mary Kitching, and later by Enid Phillips, ‘The Good Neighbour’ was popular for the opportunity it gave country women to share anecdotes and advice. Articles about managing the rural household increased from 1945 when the Department of Agriculture began to employ women as extension workers in home science. One contributor, Eva Topping, was employed as a Rural Sociology Field Officer and her articles for the Journal drew from her own experience of farming life in New Zealand.

By the time the Second World War broke out, the Journal had substantially increased its subscribers and its advertising revenue. Although wartime shortages of staff and printing materials began to have an effect, the Journal managed to maintain its audience. It focused on providing guidance to farmers about increasing productivity, invaluable advice considering New Zealand’s role as a major supplier of food for the Allies.

Forde was seconded for war duties in 1942 and Roy Owen replaced him as editor. When the war ended, Owen made a number of changes to the design of the Journal. He invested in a higher standard of photography, introduced new layouts including montages, and re-designed the contents page. Forde had started using elements of colour for the covers in 1938, and during the 1940s Owen published reproductions of paintings by Wellington artists including Nancy Bolton, Leonard Mitchell and Allan Mitchell.

When Owen was appointed as the Government Printer in 1949, the assistant editor, Gilbert Neale, stepped into his role. Neale introduced striking full-page photographs for the cover. The Journal’s increasing use of colour not only supported farmers by illustrating responses to fertiliser or plant discolouration, it ensured the magazine remained accessible and popular. The Journal’s circulation peaked at 156,000 in 1951. 

However, the Department of Agriculture found that the Journal was no longer a suitable outlet for its scientific findings. The Department regularly published additional publications containing agricultural research that was too complex for the increasingly mainstream Journal. The role of the government as a publisher was also questioned and in 1965 the ownership of the magazine was transferred to Wilson and Horton. The Department continued to be involved in an editorial role until 1978, when it formally ended the arrangement with Wilson & Horton. When the last issue was published in 1988, the Journal was owned by Rural Press, owner of its main competitor, the New Zealand Farmer.