In this series, the team reflect on what the Olympics mean for NZ ag.
Sitting down with a cup of tea and a Superwine biscuit (time’s too poor for baking and too tight for toffee pops) and surfing the Olympic channels, it is hard not to get caught up in the Olympic movement.
Every four years and despite all the very real conflict and turmoil in the world, we come together and compete.
As New Zealanders, the Olympics reminds us that we do a number of things very well, like rowing, pastoral farming, canoeing and women’s rugby. We are reminded that while we are a little fish in a big pond, we can move fast and bite back when the contest and conditions are to our favour.
On a per capita medal basis, we punch a long way above our weight – sitting alongside our pastoral pals Ireland and Australia but, as expected, behind the places where our exports mostly go: China, the United States and Europe.
It’s the variety of the nations (and possible export destinations) competing that excites me as a farmer. Despite the Olympic Village’s attempts to promote a plant-based diet, I am sure the 10,500 Olympic villagers would have a strong interest in naturally produced beef, lamb and dairy products, in addition to the fruit and veg on their plate.
Our great Kiwi missions – diversifying our markets and winning more golds, silvers and bronzes – share some similar traits. Medals in the easy-to-understand and well-traversed sports, like track and field’s 1500m or the marathon, bring significant kudos but won’t be where our future medals are won.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, we’ll naturally keep our grip on rugby sevens, cycling, canoeing, sailing and rowing excellence. But an increased haul will likely come from small pivots to the obscure and the niche sports.
The addition of cricket and squash will provide opportunity with our heritage and tradition – but to earn more golds, silvers and bronzes, we should aim our effort and high-performance investment at the niches.
BMX and mountain biking could be a start, and Emma Twigg has suggested already that ocean sprint rowing could be her next venture – an obvious low-hanging niche for a nation of oarsmen and -women.
In looking to these niches, we will need to remember that the medals count, even where there is little hype or superstardom. While we may aspire to the sports that attract global pop icon Snoop Dogg donning an equestrian suit carrying an Olympic torch (in a parody of his love of smaller cylindrical things that burn), actually competing in these arenas will likely be a long way out of our depth. We are still a small fish, after all.
Our bling in new niches will likely come from the sports we have hardly heard of. And to reap the benefits of these sports or markets we will need to do more than make an armchair effort to understand judo over three late nights of tea and biscuits.
To compete in new sports, and new markets, we will need to immerse ourselves, we will need to understand deeply the culture and customs that might initially seem peculiar but which provide the life force to the sport and any trading relationship.
In learning these disciplines and the art of the new sport or business culture, we will have invested the time and earned the right to compete for gold. It will be this discipline and respect for the custom that will keep us out of an MMA cage or a race-to-the-bottom commodity auction, where we can certainly make a dollar but no Olympic medal will be won.
Let’s not be distracted and flick to Snoop at the gymnastics. Let’s focus on the small pivots that can yield better results. Let’s continue to do what we are good at, playing where we can win, and be brave enough to take a calculated risk and enter news fields of play.
Ideas That Grow Podcast | Rachel Baker: Insights from the Nuffield Global Focus Programme
Halfway through the 2024 Scholarship Programme, Scholar Rachel Baker gives us a unique perspective from inside Nuffield. Rachel speaks with Bryan Gibson, Farmers Weekly managing editor, about some of the similarities and differences between the farming systems in the countries visited so far with New Zealand’s.
She discusses insights from Indonesia’s farming industries, France’s love of food, Denmark entering an emissions scheme, California’s water challenges and Chile’s low rates of Research and Development.
This is a must listen for anyone considering a Nuffield Scholarship.
