“We are a group of farmers solving a problem for farmers.”

Meet the team on a mission to make FAP (+) accreditation simple, cost effective and achievable.

In 2022, Fiona and Jon Sherlock, Sarah and James Glenn, Richard Lawrence, and Ann and Alistair Reeves – all Waikato farmers – began regularly meeting to navigate the FAP (+) accreditation landscape, aiming to support and learn from each other.

“There’s a lot of information, and it can be hard to know where to start and what farm data is and isn’t necessary. The process can feel cumbersome and daunting,” shares Fiona.

The group also recognised the importance of this accreditation: “Our customers, trade partners, financiers, regulators, and communities are sending strong signals that they need more evidence of farmers’ social, environmental, and ethical credentials. Farm planning and record keeping is key to how farmers tell these kaitiaki and provenance stories.”

So, they decided to dive in and “do the university assignment” together.

It turns out, working together and supporting each other was an attractive option to other farmers feeling the same way. As word spread, more and more people asked to join in.

With so much interest, the group applied for the MPI Integrated Farm Planning Accelerator Fund with the goal of helping 70 farmers achieve accreditation.

They initially researched current integrated farm planning and extension tools to find the best programme to use – but what they found surprised them.

“During this research stage, we realised there is a lot of duplication in the farm planning extension space with various groups developing their own programmes and templates,” says Fiona.  “These are often manual, time-consuming workshops that aren’t tailored to each farmer’s journey, and often aren’t applied in the day-to-day context of the farm, after the workshop.”

 “We decided the most efficient and effective way to turbo-charge farmer uptake is to develop an online programme ourselves – a cost-effective, simple software tool that becomes a ‘living plan’ based on each farmer’s context and needs.”

While MPI funded the early research stage, AGMARDT stepped in to fund the proof-of-concept phase for the software development.

“What struck us about this application was that it was a simple but clever grassroots solution,” shares AGMARDT GM Lee-Ann Marsh. “Many tools developed for farmers often miss the opportunity to co-design with farmers which in my experience always leads to better outcomes.

This group of farmers came to us with the skills and expertise and we support the leadership they’ve shown to not only solve a problem for themselves but help others on their farm planning/accreditation journey.”

For the Otorohaea team, this funding has been crucial!

“The AGMARDT funding has enabled us to take our initial concept and build the tech application which will be necessary for us to have a modern, scalable extension programme.”

What does that tech application look like? While the team are finalising the proof-of-concept phase, they’re excited to share some of its features and what it will allow farmers to do:

• The app provides clear step-by-step instructions that make it clear where the user is up to in the accreditation process – making it easy to do on their own time and at their own pace.
• Tasks and notifications prompt farmers to keep the plan “living,” so they can adapt as needed.
• And, it can fit with other farm-planning tools, so that farmers and rural planners can use it as a complement to any existing programmes they currently use for managing their farms

Ultimately, the team want to make this software widely available at little-to-no-cost to farmers across the sector, so that they are equipped to seamlessly complete their own integrated farm plans, taking ownership of telling their stories.

“If farmers are creating the plans themselves then it empowers them to live the plan and gives more authenticity to the accreditation programmes.”