Central South Island south extension manager Dean Sinnamon said after discussions with central South Island farmer councillors, Beef + Lamb New Zealand agreed to invest in "hub farms".
"These will be built upon the learnings of monitor farms that were successful throughout the region in the early 2000s and implemented into today’s current farming challenges and opportunities.
"These hub farms will be set up so people can see innovation and change throughout the farming calendar year."
The purpose of the hub farm was achieving a certain goal on an existing farm, such as increasing kilograms of meat produced per hectare or doubling earnings before interest and taxes per hectare.
"We are in the early stages of planning out this extension venture. For these hub farms to be successful we are going to have to find farmers that are willing to try system changes within their property and get the whole local community behind the concept," he said.
"The central South Island farmer council will be critical in identifying the focus, priorities and the topics that will be sought within a hub farm. This is a work in progress but an exciting development for our region."
