The radical ideas presented in 2009 book Future Food Farming challenged thinking, predicted future technologies and shaped a collaborative vision for agriculture in New Zealand.
Transformative ideas often face ridicule before they are accepted – and this is exactly what happened in 2009, when a bold new book challenged New Zealand’s agricultural sector to imagine a different future. Future Food Farming: New Zealand Inc. Meeting Tomorrow’s Markets aimed to challenge conventional thinking and stimulate discussion about farming’s future direction in New Zealand.
The book introduced concepts like fenceless farming, which met with “huge resistance and eye-rolling” when presented at the Future Food Farming Forum, which culminated in the launch of the book, recalls co-editor Professor Jacqueline Rowarth, then director of Massey Agriculture. That chapter, by Professor Richard Archer, proposed wearable technology to control cattle grazing movements.
“Fenceless farming was a radical idea at the time, and that chapter created a lot of debate,” says Rowarth.
Widely dismissed as impractical in 2009, that chapter proved to be remarkably prescient. Sixteen years on, cow GPS collars are a billion-dollar industry used by thousands of farmers across New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. Halter, founded in 2016, has raised over NZ$600 million in total funding, with a Series E round in March 2026 valuing the company at NZ$3.43 billion.
Reflecting on the book’s impact, Rowarth notes it “made people think about the future possibilities for New Zealand agriculture”. The publication was donated to public and school libraries, and served as teaching material at universities. “We gave a lot of copies away to stimulate discussion with students, and prompt them to think about innovative opportunities and jobs of the future.”
AGMARDT provided a grant of $50,625 to support the publication of Future Food Farming, conceived by Wairarapa journalist-farmer Alan Emerson and Professor Rowarth. Emerson’s own contribution to the book called for an Agricultural “Green Table” similar to the Business Round Table, to improve Wellington’s understanding of the sector’s opportunities and challenges.
The book assembled contributions from over 30 experts across a wide variety of topics, many of which remain highly topical, such as soil carbon and water footprinting. It was edited by Tony Leggett, who was then managing editor of titles including Farmers Weekly and Country-Wide.
At the book’s launch in 2009, Dr Bill Kain, then-chair of AGMARDT, said he hoped the publication would “broaden and deepen public and professional debate regarding the future of agriculture”. Rt Hon Steve Maharey, then Vice Chancellor of Massey University, noted the book “brings to light possibilities not yet in public debate.” He also called for collaboration between researchers, practitioners and industry stakeholders as a prerequisite for transformational change – a call that AGMARDT continues to echo today.
“This book illustrates the collaborative model and sets the goals,” said Maharey. “Turning the vision into reality requires scientists, practitioners and industry to work closely together.”
AGMARDT continues to invest in thought leadership that challenges the status quo, says current general manager Lee-Ann Marsh. “Now, as in 2009, AGMARDT supports ideas that challenge comfortable thinking and push the sector to reimagine what’s possible. We’re focused on the long-term future, not immediate consensus. AGMARDT’s independence allows us to back bold ideas before they’re accepted.”
The enduring relevance of Future Food Farming demonstrates the importance of maintaining a long-term vision despite short-term resistance to change, and serves as a reminder that today’s “impossible” ideas may become tomorrow’s billion-dollar innovation.
Grant: 1023, $50,625 for D’Ath Emerson and Associates, 2009