16 March 2009 Joint University DairyNZ backing for Dairy Production Professorship at Lincoln

Former Rhodes Scholar Dr Grant Edwards has been appointed Professor of Dairy Production at Lincoln University.

Dr Edwards, currently Associate Professor in Pasture Management at Lincoln University, succeeds Professor Richard Dewhurst, who has taken up an animal bioscience post in Ireland. 

The Professorial Chair in Dairy Production at Lincoln University is jointly funded by the University and DairyNZ Ltd.

Lincoln University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Roger Field, describes the appointment of Dr Edwards as part of a “double bonus”, joining the recent announcement that Lincoln University and DairyNZ are to develop a dedicated Dairy Research Farm at Lincoln University.

“The appointment of Dr Edwards to the Chair of Dairy Production at the same time as the announcement about the new Dairy Research Farm is no coincidence,” says Professor Field.

“They are twin pivots in Lincoln University’s drive to build critical mass in dairy research and teaching, combining the strength of the University and colleagues for the benefit of farmers.
 
“At a personal level, we are delighted for Grant that he has won this position. He was a top graduate of this University in his year and has stood out as a top performer at every point along the way of his unfolding career, both in New Zealand and overseas. We are confident he will bring great distinction to the dairy production professorship.

“I am also delighted that DairyNZ has engaged in a partnership with the University to support the Professor of Dairy Production position and create further collaboration in supporting education and research for the dairy industry.”

The Chief Executive of DairyNZ Ltd, Dr Tim Mackle, says the creation of this new post marks a shift in emphasis for tertiary dairy studies at Lincoln.

“DairyNZ’s investment in this reflects our desire to partner with Lincoln University to provide greater value to South Island dairy farmers and increase our presence in the region. Dairy farming’s growth in the South Island is significant and this position signals the intention to develop a world class capability for dairy research and higher education.

“Farmers can expect to see highly relevant research results that address their current issues while having access to a stream of graduates who will be better equipped to relate their scientific training to the practical context of dairy farm management.”

The Acting Dean of Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Dr Bruce McKenzie, says that the dairy production professorship provides a focus for enhanced research into dairying with an emphasis on ecological sustainability.

“One of the key objectives behind this position is to help ensure New Zealand can maintain on-farm productivity and profitability while minimising adverse environmental impacts. We have every confidence that as the new professor Grant will perform outstandingly well in this respect.”

Professor Edwards himself describes his appointment as “exciting” and says he is “looking forward to contributing through research, teaching and extension to the development of profitable and environmentally sustainable systems of dairy production”.

“I also look forward to fostering effective relationships with DairyNZ, other research providers and farmers to promote dairying in the South Island, and make dairy farming more efficient and more attractive to a wider range of people and land types.”

Biographical Background:

Like his predecessor at Lincoln University Professor Richard Dewhurst, Professor Grant Edwards is an Oxford University graduate. After completing a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree at Lincoln University in 1990, with First Class Honours in Agronomy, Grant was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he completed a doctorate with research on foraging behaviour and diet selection.

This was followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at Imperial College, London, a FORST postdoctoral fellowship back in New Zealand with AgResearch, Palmerston North, then a return to the UK to lecture at the former Wye College, now part of Imperial College.

While on his Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University Grant continued with the sport in which he was prominent in New Zealand, hockey (he played for the New Zealand Under-21 team). He captained Oxford University’s hockey XI, played in two European Cup finals for Reading (twice-runners-up), spent four years coaching in the English National League and also coached the national Welsh men’s team.

In New Zealand he has coached the Canterbury men’s team for the past three years and has been assistant coach to the New Zealand men’s team.

Grant was Lincoln University’s sixth Rhodes Scholar and, coincidentally, studied at Oxford’s Lincoln College.

In 2004 he returned to Lincoln University to take up a senior lectureship in Plant Science, the position vacated by his old honours supervisor and mentor Dick Lucas.

In 2007 he was promoted to Associate Professor and also won a Lincoln University Excellence in Teaching award, going on to represent the University in the National Tertiary Teaching Awards.  

He is Associate Editor of the journal Grass and Forage Science, was editor of the recent book Agroecosystems in a Changing Climate, and is a member of the Science Advisory Group for the  Implementation of the Biosecurity Science Strategy.

On the new Lincoln University Dairy Research Farm he will work with DairyNZ on a FoRST funded project examining animal breeding, feeding and pasture management strategies to reduce nitrate leaching while increasing production. Among other activities, he works on the Pastoral 21 project examining alternative forage crops and utilisation methods for winter feeding of cows, and is involved with DairyNZ in the development of a Forage Value Index.
 
Originally from a bull beef farm at Wellsford, north of Auckland, Grant is a past student of Rodney College.