Tag Archives: Agro-ecology

Book Review: Hugh Campbell (2021) Farming Inside Invisible Worlds: Modernist Agriculture and its Consequences

The declining state of the rural lands – and their communities – is a growing concern for policy makers and researchers globally.  The concerns are real, more especially relating to the trends to high energy input intensification and industrialism, and … Continue reading

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Industrial Farming: The Deeper Roots of Animal Cruelty

My father was a gentle stockman, and he cared for people the same. He taught us how to hunt up and how to use presence and eye when mustering, and how not to push cattle too hard. He had a … Continue reading

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Seeing the World System of Weeds – Or – Do Androids dream of Intelligent Sheep? A Compleat Ramble

An anecdote about our research focus on ‘weeds’.  I was a little mischievously provocative about our ‘weed’ research at Otago University.  I remembered an Aldo Leopold article in one of my books of his essays (no, I can’t be bothered … Continue reading

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Future Goals and Options in NZ Land Management – A Transdisciplinary View

A brief argument from some years ago to rethink land use in New Zealand “If we go through a list of some of the main problematiques that are defining the new Century, such as water, forced migrations, poverty, environmental crises, … Continue reading

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Building Land Systems for Drought-Flood Resilience

A few notes from a morning rant “Although rainwater harvest has been accomplished by humans in virtually every drought prone region of the world for millennia, our society seems to have collective amnesia about the utility, efficiency, sustainability and beauty … Continue reading

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Two strategic directions for Land Use in New Zealand: Where do we stand?

I wrote this what seems light years ago.  I think it was 2007 or 2008. This is very rough, a mind dump.  It was done quickly, and is more to do with me getting thoughts out of my mind and … Continue reading

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Land and Water Concerns of Federated Farmers and Irrigation NZ

Federated Farmers and Irrigation New Zealand Questions Chris Perley Ngaruroro Ward, Hawke’s Bay Regional Council Federated Farmers and Irrigation NZ provided the following questions (italicised within text).   Here is my response. Introduction I am passionate about the potential of our … Continue reading

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