20 November 2024 McMeekan Award winner recognised for significant research on mitigating nitrate losses

Dedicating her career to minimising the environmental impact of dairy farming, Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University’s Associate Professor Racheal Bryant was awarded the 2024 McMeekan Memorial Award by the New Zealand Society of Animal Production (NZSAP).

The McMeekan Memorial Award is in honour of Dr Campbell McMeekan, past President of the NZSAP and distinguished leader in animal production research in New Zealand and the world.

Associate Professor Bryant teaches ruminant nutrition and pasture agronomy. Through her research, she contributes to the body of work from Lincoln University focusing on practical solutions for improving sustainable practices on farms, particularly in reducing nitrate leaching. 

“Modelling estimates the impact of technology adoption and management changes on nitrate leaching in pastoral systems, while field research builds confidence in model predictions. By conducting farm systems research and demonstration we can support farmers to adopt changes. Lincoln provides these opportunities, allowing industry stakeholders to be involved through collaborations. By doing so, we can make real change to our farming community,” says Associate Professor Bryant. 

Reflecting on her career to date, Associate Professor Bryant says she is most proud of the collaborative relationships she has built throughout her career and of the students she supervises and mentors, without whom she says, the achievements would not be possible.

To discover new ways of mitigating nitrate losses in dairy systems, Associate Professor Bryant's research formed nutritional management strategies focusing on forages and herbs.

“Our agriculture sector in New Zealand is vital for our economy, communities and livelihoods. For intensive farming like dairy, its environmental impact is closely watched by society. My team’s research on cow nutrition and the development of monitoring tools such as the PEETER urine sensor, can provide information which supports the future sustainability of farming. Through this research, we are finding ways to reduce nitrate leaching into the soil.”

Alongside PhD student Christopher Mangwe and developers Dr Craig Bunt, Neil Smith and Nigel Beale, Associate Professor Bryant developed the PEETER dairy cow urine sensor. Only one of three sensors of this type in New Zealand, it measures the urination behaviour of dairy cows, providing important information on the role of forages in urinary nitrogen excretion.

The latest findings were published in October 2024 in the journal article “Validation of a Remote Sampling Sensor for Measuring Urine Volume and Nitrogen Concentration in Grazing Dairy Cattle” published in Animals.

Associate Professor Bryant is engaged in numerous extension activities that contribute to the impact of research in dairy science. She is a long-standing member of the organising committee for the Australasian Dairy Science Symposium which provides a platform to showcase novel research in dairy science.

In 2018, Associate Professor Bryant established the Dairy Futures Living Laboratory at Lincoln University’s Research Dairy Farm to encourage collaboration with industry and allow students to see science being implemented on a working farm first-hand.

“The Dairy Futures Living Laboratory research projects include efficient fertiliser use, calf rearing and low nitrogen input farm systems. With the support from various industry stakeholders, we have had huge success. We have shown that farmers can reduce nitrogen losses while minimising the impact on production and profit.

"My work as Chair of the South Island Dairying Demonstration Centre (SIDDIC) also represents my work linking science with commercial practices. Together, with our industry partners, Fonterra, Ravensdown, DairyNZ, AgResearch, LIC and SIDE, we are developing sustainable strategies New Zealand dairy farmers can introduce to their systems now and into the future."

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