LIC is to collaborate with Scandinavian breeding co-operative VikingGenetics to improve the genetic links between New Zealand and Nordic Jersey cattle populations.  

The two breeding companies will work together on a pilot project that will bridge the genetic strengths of the two regions’ dairy industries. 

This involves exchanging sexed semen, which allows LIC and VikingGenetics to identify new bloodlines that perform well in their own dairy farming environments.  

LIC chief scientist Richard Spelman said they are deeply committed to safeguarding the future of the Jersey breed in New Zealand and worldwide.

“This forward-thinking solution will create stronger genetic connections between the Nordic and New Zealand Jersey populations and reduce the risk of inbreeding. 

“We look forward to being able to offer more genetic diversity to our New Zealand Jersey herds in the coming years.”   

 VikingGenetics is owned by more than 16,000 dairy and beef farmers in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. They focus on animal welfare, food security and reducing climate impact in the entire production chain.

VikingJersey product manager and VikingGenetics senior breeding manager Peter Larson said the collaboration is a step forward in the overall genetic landscape of the Jersey breed, offering breeders a sustainable way to enhance herd health and profitability.

The collaboration will help address concerns over inbreeding within the two populations. 

Selected cows will be inseminated with sexed semen from top genomic sires, using stringent selection criteria to achieve the best genetic results. 

All progeny will undergo comprehensive testing, verifying their parentage, data from milk recording, health registration and classification, and more. 

Between 10 and 20 bulls from each company will be enrolled in the project annually. The ultimate goal is to have the best sires forming part of future breeding schemes.

Dutch dairy farmers will from next spring have access to the first of possibly two new tools that could potentially reduce methane emissions from cows by around 30%.

Next breeding season they can access semen from low methane emitting bulls, the result of an eight-year programme run by Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

For the past four years researchers have collaborated with Dutch dairy company FrieslandCampina and genetics company CRV to establish breeding values for methane.

This measure alone is estimated to reduce average emissions by 1%  each year, accumulating to more than 25% by 2050.

University scientists are also working on a project to utilise rumen fluid from cows that are naturally low enteric methane producers.

This rumen fluid is fed as a probiotic to newborn calves in a five-dose course.

It has been found to permanently adjust the recipient’s microbiome, providing a further 10% reduction in methane emissions.

Scientists are by nature conservative, but the team at Wageningen are encouraged their work could make a tangible reduction in livestock methane emissions.

“I am quite optimistic,” said senior researcher Léon Šebek.

“It is quite difficult, if not impossible, to reach methane reduction goals that have been pledged without any interventions other than feeding strategies.

“It shows the need for extra interventions.

“What we have shown here is that additional interventions through breeding values and steering microbiome will become available.

“If so, most Dutch dairy farms will have a suitable intervention meaning that we can achieve an average reduction of around 30% in methane by 2050.

“If we only used feed strategies and relied on the efficiency of the herd, we will only get a 15-20% reduction.”

Significantly, these one-off interventions provide permanent gains.

The project team, led by Professor Roel Veerkamp, focused on breeding values in Holsteins, which make up 92% of the 1.6 million-cow Dutch dairy population. 

They measured emissions from 9000 cows on 100 Dutch farms and linked their methane emissions to their DNA, which confirmed heritability of the trait of around 25%.

Correlations with other desired breeding values were found to be maintained.

From this reference population they were able to estimate the first genomic breeding values for methane emissions, which will be rolled out next year.

The project will be extended and international collaboration will enable the reference population to be enlarged to increase the reliability of the breeding values.

This is at least a year ahead of New Zealand, where LIC expects to have a methane-emitting breeding value in the market by 2026.

In parallel to the genetics research, work has been underway since 2017 looking at the whether the natural development of a cow’s rumen microbiome can be manipulated to reduce enteric methane production.

Šebek said initial work established that while feed and feed efficiency are influential factors in emissions, there was still a 20-24% variation between cows when feed was accounted for.

This indicated other factors were in play.

For two years they worked with dairy farmers studying gut microbiome fluid samples, which related back to feeding and management.

From that analysis they established the role of the microbiome.

Šebek said they also established there was no link between the microbiome of a cow and her calf – in other words the environmental factors were dominant over possible genetic transfer.

They introduced to calves microbiome from low enteric methane producing cows and found five doses sufficient to permanently alter the production of methane in the gut of recipient calves.

To prove their encouraging hypothesis, they analysed 60 calves – 20 given microbiome from low methane producing cows, 20 from high producing cows and 20 as a control.

The average methane emissions of the selected microbiome donor groups was 17.2 and 24 grams methane/kg/DM for low and high methane producing cows respectively.

Satisfied the process will provide tangible benefits, Šebek said work is now focused on how to source the targeted microbiome and how and in what format to deliver it.

There is also the issue of securing public support or a social licence given the nature of the product.

Adopting the technology also has to be cost effective and provide sufficient benefits or incentives for farmers.

Programme manager Elian Verscheijden said recent meetings with some of the Netherlands’ most progressive dairy farmers who have used mainly feed and management measurements, showed they were able to achieve methane reductions of 10-15% but could not improve beyond that.

She said this research sends a message to the Netherlands government and the public that the sector is taking the issue seriously and it is making progress. 

Both research initiatives are part of an integrated approach programme launched in 2018 to address methane emissions from livestock farming.

The program is funded by the Netherlands’ Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature with a budget of least NZ$16 million a year.

Besides research to enteric methane, the programme also includes finding solutions to reduce methane emissions from manure, a significant issue for Dutch farmers.

The first goal of the programme is to comply with the government’s 2030 goal to reduce methane by 30% compared to 2020.

Ultimately the government has a goal of close to carbon neutrality by 2050.

More: Wallace is visiting seven countries in six weeks to report on market sentiment, a trip made possible with grants from Fonterra, Silver Fern Farms, Alliance, Beef + Lamb NZ, NZ Meat Industry Association and Rabobank.  Read more about his findings here. 

In Focus Podcast | Selling lamb to a new generation of Brits

Reporter Neal Wallace checks in from London, where he’s spent time with the Alliance Group’s UK team. They’ve hired a chef to come up with new recipes for those consumers who don’t want the traditional lamb roast and learns that a football stadium is a key part of the strategy.

A central North Island Māori trust is partnering with geothermal experts and New Zealand scientists in a world-first project to develop livestock feed from geothermal gases.

Funding of nearly $5 million from Tauhara North No 2 Trust and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will support Rotorua-based Upflow and partners to progress laboratory-scale research that has shown how two microorganisms – a bacterium and an algae – can be used together to convert carbon dioxide and methane into a protein-rich biomass.

This biomass is created when microorganisms feed off greenhouse gas emissions captured from geothermal power stations, such as those used to generate electricity in the central North Island. The biomass produced is made up of several potentially commercially valuable components, including protein for animal feed.

The four-year research project will be the first in the world to pioneer biomass feedstock production from gases and robust microorganisms that thrive in the extreme conditions found at geothermal sites.

Tauhara North No 2 Trust has significant investments in geothermal assets at the Rotokawa geothermal reservoir and is seeking more than financial outcomes. 

“Having geothermal assets in our rohe (region) gives us the opportunity to unlock potential new industries and leverage our existing knowledge to create new jobs and revenue for mana whenua and regional communities,” said Trust group chief executive Mana Newton.

Geothermal consultancy Upflow is the delivery partner for the project, providing leadership and expertise, partnering with researchers from Crown Research Institute Scion, the University of Canterbury and algae experts from Cawthron Institute.

Early-stage research looks promising. 

Industrial biotechnology processes were jointly developed by University of Canterbury researchers, Scion’s biotechnology team and Tauhara North No 2 Trust. The technology uses a methane-eating bacterium, and a carbon dioxide-eating microalgae to capture the gases and use them as a food source for growth.

This process generates a biomass rich in protein, which is being explored as an animal feed ingredient, use for human nutrition, or to produce high-value nutraceuticals or pigments. The initial focus is on the protein component to benefit New Zealand’s primary industry, while also investigating the potential for premium products.

The MPI’s investment of $2.49m in the project comes from the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. 

The MPI’s director of investment programmes Steve Penno said it is an exciting project.

 “If successful, this could be the start of a new biomass feedstock manufacturing industry for New Zealand, worth an estimated $500m per annum by 2045, creating new skilled jobs.

 “It would reduce our reliance on imported livestock feed, and decarbonise these industries, while also reducing the cost of carbon emissions for geothermal companies that adopt the system.”

 According to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, as a nation of 5 million people, New Zealand feeds an estimated 40 million people worldwide.

 “We’re looking to futureproof this legacy by providing a decarbonised food production option using Aotearoa’s abundant geothermal resources. We’re making animal feed from greenhouse gases,” said Andy Blair, director of business and innovation at Upflow.

Over the next four years, Upflow will work with researchers to progress development of the technology from its satellite office on Scion’s campus in Rotorua.

 Only small quantities of the biomass have been cultivated and tested so far from pure gases. In the next step, scientists will support Upflow to plan and build a pilot-scale facility. This will aid the transition of fermentation conditions to real geothermal gases to generate yields at pilot scale (1000 litres). 

 More work will determine markets for the biomass, including agriculture, aquaculture and the potential for human nutrition.

 Inghams Enterprises NZ is a keystone industry partner in the project, bringing insights to navigate its animal feed market spaces.

 Scion’s portfolio leader for distributed and circular manufacturing Marc Gaugler said the groundwork was a collaboration through the cultivation of specific bacterial strains at Scion and algal strains at the University of Canterbury.

 “With our research colleagues and Upflow, we look forward to seeing this novel technology contribute to regional economic development, create new value from waste and benefit the geothermal sector by helping it decarbonise.”

 Blair said the project is an example of visionary individuals and organisations taking a risk and coming together to incubate an emerging New Zealand-led scientific discovery.

 “Many great research ideas struggle to find real-world application, and to bridge the gap between laboratory-scale concept and application at scale. We’re giving this technology the time and support it needs to be shaped for commercial reality.”

The Ministry for Primary Industries is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry and other land uses.

The annual funding round for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund is now open, with $2.9 million of funding available for new projects in the 2024/25 financial year.

“The GHGIR focuses on improving our knowledge of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure we have the best possible data to help manage New Zealand’s emissions and inform policy decisions,” said the MPI’s director of programmes and planning, policy and trade, Stephanie Preston.

“This year we’re looking for very specific research proposals in 10 priority areas, ranging from improving liveweight estimation of sheep and beef to exploring remote sensing methods of collecting data, such as using satellite data to measure feed type and quality.

“The outcomes will inform MPI’s reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Climate Agreement.”

Applications close on  October 30 2024, with successful proposals expected to be announced by the end of February 2025.

A new electric tractor has been unveiled for use at the Lincoln University Energy Farm.

Sourced from the Netherlands, the Knegt 404G2E 55HP tractor will be a critical component of the Lincoln University Energy Farm, and will be key to the farm achieving its goal of being fossil fuel-free.

The Energy Farm will comprise a solar array of around 2800 photovoltaic (PV) panels generating ~2.3 GWh of renewable energy per year. The installation will be the first in New Zealand to demonstrate high-value agrivoltaics, with the production of premium horticulture crops like blueberries alongside the generation of commercial-scale solar energy.

The purchase of the Knegt 404G2E tractor was made possible by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Demonstration Fund, Meridian Energy and Power Turf New Zealand.

Lincoln University presented the tractor at the Lincoln Community Day hosted on campus on September 22 and it will also be on show at the Smart Christchurch Innovation Expo being held at Te Pae on September 27 and 28.

Introducing automated 3D-scanning robots to vineyards could be the secret to unlocking the “Holy Grail” of the wine industry. 

A project using Lincoln University viticulturalists and led by the University of Canterbury (UC) aims to develop the robots and use them to get far more accurate yield estimations, which would tell growers exactly how much fruit their vines will bear.

The five-year $6.1 million project is supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Endeavour Fund.

Lincoln University Department of Wine Food & Molecular Biosciences Associate Professor Dr Amber Parker said being able to accurately predict yields could be a huge shift for the industry.

Having accurate yield estimation meant growers and winemakers could better prepare for harvest in every step of production. It affects everything, including how much fruit would be harvested, the labour and equipment needed, and what the winery would receive.

“Every step along that chain there’s a financial cost benefit.

“How many tractors do you need? How many drivers? How many people in the winery? How many tanks? Do you need to make changes?”

At present, being within 5-10% in a yield estimation is considered very good, but still leaves a huge amount of room for variation.

Part of the problem with determining yield estimates is that growers are working on averages from other years, but the climate fluctuates annually.

Using the autonomous robot, the actual number of fruit on every vine can be measured without supervision, putting growers in a much better position to deal with those fluctuations, Parker said.

The robot estimates yield by creating a 3D scan with the exact number of flower structures on the vines, called inflorescences.

The current method of estimating yield is to count these in person, whether it be in the vineyard or by removing samples from the vine.

It is more accurate to remove them, but that means a loss in potential fruit.

These are expensive, time-consuming processes and can only be used to work out a rough average, as it is impossible to do every vine, she said.

The robots are being designed by a team at UC, led by Professor Richard Green.

The one metre by one metre device zips down the rows at “a fast walking pace” capturing thousands of images, Green said.

It is loaded with cameras with wide-angle lenses, each taking about 10 pictures per second. The current arrangement features 12 cameras, collecting images on both sides as it moves through the vineyard.

Those images are then fed into an artificial intelligence program that pieces them together into a highly accurate 3D model of the plant, including everything behind the leaves.

Developing the AI to reconstruct the images was the most difficult part of the process, but now that it works the result could be revolutionary for the industry, he said.

“We have access to way more information than ever before.”

The technology is groundbreaking, but it is up to Lincoln’s viticulturalists to make sure it can meet the industry’s needs.

Every few weeks the robot goes through Lincoln’s vineyard scanning the vines. Lincoln’s viticulturalists then collect data manually to compare.

That data was used to determine the practical value the technology had, Parker said.

They were also looking at the bigger picture, as the 3D images collected provided a lot of data that was previously lacking in the field.

“How we go from flowers to fruits is not really well modelled. Part of the work is can we look at that better and understand that in a predictable power better.”

There is potential for it to be used for other purposes, such as determining vine balance, which estimates how the vegetation is growing in comparison to the fruit.

That information is useful for understanding how the vineyard set-up is working and for finding vines that are struggling.

The current method of measuring balance is by weighing the pruned material from the vines, but the robot has the potential to provide far more accurate measurements as part of its automated yield scans.

“We have these balance metrics, but they don’t necessarily work well. They’re also quite time-consuming to measure.”

A second robot will soon be deployed in Marlborough in commercial vineyards and this year will be the first full season of testing.

The New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre and AgriZeroNZ are backing biotech venture Lucidome Bio with funding as it spearheads the next phase in research to create a methane vaccine.

AgriZeroNZ is providing $8.5 million and the NZAGRC $5m to Lucidome Bio. The company’s interim chief executive, David Aitken, said the funding will allow them to build the team, carry out field trials in animals and progress development of the vaccine for farmers.

Lucidome Bio builds on research led by AgResearch’s team of globally renowned immunologists and microbiologists.

It was established by AgriZeroNZ to bring together New Zealand’s vaccine technology, intellectual property, team and funding into a compelling, investible entity and help deliver a world-first solution to market.

Prior to this, the research had received support and funding from multiple organisations including the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium and the New Zealand government (Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment; Ministry for Primary Industries) through the NZAGRC.

AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee said a vaccine that reduces methane from ruminant animals would be a transformational tool for the agricultural sector “as it’s a low cost, high-impact solution which has the potential to be adopted into all farming systems”.

“We’re really pleased to be backing Lucidome Bio, alongside the NZAGRC, in a shared effort to get a vaccine to farmers sooner,” said McNee.

A successful vaccine would trigger an animal’s immune system to generate antibodies in saliva that suppress the growth and function of methane-producing microbes (methanogens) in the rumen, significantly reducing the quantity of the potent greenhouse gas it burps out.

NZAGRC executive director Naomi Parker said the reliance on antibody production in saliva and the complex nature of the rumen make the work incredibly challenging, however the progress to date gives confidence it can achieve success.

“We’re proud to be long-standing supporters of this work and help Lucidome Bio achieve a world-first by turning the vaccine’s research legacy into a safe and effective tool for farmers.

“This is no easy task, but the research team has made significant progress over the years and achieved many groundbreaking advancements which provide critical foundations to support future success.”

AgResearch will continue to be a partner, providing scientists to Lucidome Bio as well as access to research facilities. The Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium also remains a shareholder alongside AgriZeroNZ.

The funding follows the announcement in August from the Bezos Earth Fund to provide US$9.4m ($15m) for an international consortium to build scientific evidence for a methane vaccine. 

Led by researchers at the Pirbright Institute and the Royal Veterinary College, the AgResearch scientists (now seconded to Lucidome Bio) will provide expertise in rumen microbiology and immunology.

In Focus Podcast | Sheep outlook: the future of our flock

Sheep farmers are doing it tough right now, with farmgate returns dropping back after a few good years and input costs rising. Add to that the march of pine trees across the land, and there’s talk of an existential crisis. Bryan asked AgriHQ senior analyst Mel Croad to give him the lay of the land and asked her what the sector needed to do to find prosperity again.

A new, rapid and cost-effective test for bovine tuberculosis being developed by Otago University could cut diagnosis times from 72 hours to about an hour.

The three-year project has just received $1 million in funding in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Endeavour Fund investment round.

Tb is caused by Mycobacterium bovis and is a highly infectious livestock disease that costs Aotearoa’s primary sector $160 million a year. 

Otago University Rutherford Discovery Fellow at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences, Dr Htin Lin Aung, said the current testing regime for Tb requires a 72-hour turnaround, specialist equipment, skilled staff and laboratory infrastructure, which prevents diagnosis of the disease on farm and leaves infected animals in their herds while the results are pending.

He hopes the new test will reduce that time to one hour.

“This is a very lengthy process if you are the one doing the test or if you are the farmer waiting for the result,” Aung said.

It would also eliminate the need for skin tests, which can produce false-positive and false-negative tests, and the blood test, which confirms if the animal has Tb or not.

“I think it could be a game-changer because our test will be very quick, and it doesn’t have to be a vet or a skilled technician – farmers can do it as well.”

The test will also be non-invasive with no blood samples taken or injections, which the current testing system relies on.

Aung said they hope the test they develop will be similar to how people tested themselves for covid-19, which used a nasal swab, but based on a different technology.

Business development manager and patent attorney Tomas Ribeiro said that as well as providing farmers with a much faster diagnosis, it will be better for animal welfare.

“If you have a positive test in a large herd and you have to wait three to four days to get that result back, you have to cull the entire herd.”

A quick diagnostic test would allow the farmer to quickly separate those that test positive and those that are negative, and prevent the mass culling of herds, he said.

“There’s a massive economic benefit and there’s a massive animal welfare benefit.”

Aung said they will be working closely with stakeholders over the next three years as the test is developed and moves into the trialling stage.

It could also be used overseas to fight Tb and could serve as a platform technology for the detection of other pathogens in animals as well as humans.

“It has a lot of potential and we’re very excited by it.”

While it is a three-year project, the science behind it is well developed and the team is optimistic a prototype could be ready in 18 months.

Kiwi farmers stand to save big on energy bills, create new revenue streams and build resilience to power outages by investing in solar and batteries, Mike Casey says.   

“There is an opportunity on most farms in New Zealand to start saving money today by adopting at least some of the electric technology available,” the chief executive of Rewiring Aotearoa says. 

“By electrifying their machines and running them off solar and battery systems, farmers could save tens of thousands a year in operational costs. 

“And if they have enough panels and batteries, they can go one step further and make money by selling electricity back to the grid. 

“Generating and storing your own electricity also means you might not even notice grid outages during adverse weather events. It really enhances rural resilience.” 

Casey told the Federated Farmers Podcast the cost of solar panels, batteries and electric machinery is coming down all the time, so the barrier to entry is quickly falling. 

He says there are a couple of obvious places for many farmers to start on their shift to solar. 

“The first is those large irrigation pumps, which might run your pivots or even your K-Line system, and the other is those large chillers that exist on dairy farms. 

“Those are both electric already and I think just beginning to generate energy from solar to run those is one of the best, first steps you can make. 

“The great thing about this is it’s super modular: you can continue to add more solar panels and more batteries into a system over time, and you just grow organically.” 

Casey, well known for establishing the world’s first fully electric cherry orchard in Central Otago, says he’s not preaching that every farmer should go 100% electric right now. 

“That won’t be practical for many farmers because, for example, there are no 200-horsepower electric tractors on the market at the moment.
“But there’s a lot of other low-hanging fruit out there. 

“It’s just about looking at where the technologies are available off the shelf right now for you to save a lot of money and potentially create a new revenue stream.” 

By using solar power and diesel-free machinery on his Forest Lodge cherry orchard, Casey has reduced the cost of generating power down to about one-fifth of what it would cost from the grid.

“We probably spent about $450,000 more on machines putting this business together and making it fully electric, but we save about $40,000 a year in energy costs. 

“It stacks up with a reasonably good ROI (return on investment) of just over 10 years, and that was based on 2020 prices.

“The good thing is the price of all this technology has just continued to come down over the last couple of years, so it’s a pretty exciting space to be playing in now.”

One sticking point for farmers is that, at present, they can’t gain the full value from rooftop solar when they have multiple connection points on one farm, Casey says. 

“These electricity connections all have separate bills from retailers, so solar can’t be used across the whole farm without having to be exported on a low export tariff and then imported again on a much higher tariff. 

“This destroys much of the economic incentive for installing solar on many farms.” 

It’s an issue Rewiring Aotearoa hears about often from farmers, and the organisation has called on the Government to make some changes. 

“What we’d like to see is that farms with multiple connection points should be able to group them together for billing purposes,” Casey says. 

“There may be other valid solutions, but we think the most straightforward way to do this is to net the imports and exports across all the connections at one site and bill on this net basis. 

“This would require a change to regulation that means fairer incentives for farmers to install solar.”

Casey says this would help unlock a new renewable supply that would help push down high electricity prices, benefiting all Kiwi consumers.

If each of the roughly 50,000 Kiwi farms installed mid-scale solar systems, they could generate electricity equal to 63-75% of the country’s current total consumption.

Rewiring Aotearoa is also asking the Government to level the playing field so customers with solar and batteries can compete with the big generators. 

“Our 20th century energy system was one-way: from generators to homes, farms and businesses.

“But the system needs to be two-way. Customers need to be seen as a critical part of the infrastructure, and they need to be rewarded fairly for their contribution.” 

Bumble bees in Tasmania, Australia, are being fitted with micro radio transmitters and cameras to help scientists uncover their environmental impact and crucial role in crop pollination.

Delivered through Hort Innovation’s Frontiers investment programme and led by Western Sydney University, the $3.3 million initiative will produce a comprehensive large-scale study of the buff-tailed bumble bee.

The programme will use various cutting-edge technological solutions to efficiently generate a large volume of unique data.

Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield said this investment forms part of a multi-pronged approach to ensure the horticulture sector is prepared for the future.

“This investment is a prime example of using breakthrough research to strengthen industry’s readiness for existing and emerging opportunities and threats,” Fifield said.

“With the arrival of varroa mite to the Australian mainland, there is a sense of urgency for industry to explore other potential options for safeguarding crop pollination services across the country. This research will expand our knowledge of bumble bees in Tasmania, giving growers another tool in their toolkit.”

Western Sydney University postdoctoral researcher Dr James Makinson said incorporating state-of-the-art technology will result in significantly more comprehensive insights than previously possible.

“Radio transmitters will allow us to discover the daily foraging habits of bumble bee queens in different agricultural and natural landscapes and allow us to follow bees back to their nests. Transmitters can be easily recovered, allowing us to track dozens of individuals across multiple field sites in a single season,” Makinson said.

“The automated real-time analysis of video footage from our audiovisual monitors will allow us to collect long-term continuous data of the foraging activity of wild bumble bee and managed honey bee colonies, saving hundreds of hours of fieldwork and data analysis. 

“Monitoring cameras can be placed in the field and left alone, allowing a single researcher to monitor multiple locations of interest, passively collecting data for multiple experiments.”

Fruit Growers Tasmania chief executive officer Peter Cornish said the insights will help the Tasmanian horticulture industry plan effectively for the future.

“This research will answer important questions about bumble bees as pollinators. What are bumble bees doing in Tasmanian ecosystems? How are they interacting with different commercially-important crops? Can their populations be naturally manipulated to achieve conservation or pollination service goals?”