Welcome to my Nuffield Study topic-
The Opportunities and Threats of a Professional Society for Managers of the Land - the NZ Perspective.

Project Brief:  Global agriculture is facing significant challenges as it positions itself for the future. The New Zealand experience shows there are currently insufficient new agricultural entrants to meet workforce demands, there is a poor public perception of agriculture and a declining understanding of farm systems amongst legislators and urban audiences. This is occurs with increasingly volatile climatic conditions and commodity prices while global demand for safe and secure food continues to grow.

The farmers of tomorrow need to be equipped to successfully operate their businesses within these environments.

An alliance of NZ industry good organisations are developing a range of initiatives which aim to engage with both rural and urban people and provide a personal and professional development continuum for those within the agricultural industry.

One of the new initiatives aims to establish a Professional Society for Land Managers. In general terms, the Professional Society will evaluate an individuals reputation in a community, assess their business operations according to a recognised code of ethics and have appropriate educational qualifications. Membership to the Professional Society will be undertaken on a voluntary basis.

The concept of a Professional Society has been well received by NZ farmers though few details have been developed. To provide transformational change for agriculture, participation in the Professional Society needs to be widespread and therefore, a compelling value proposition needs to be established.

The purpose of this Nuffield Scholarship project is to gain a better understanding of existing farmer based Professional Development programmes and how they drive positive behavioural change. The project is seeking to gain an understanding of the value proposition associated with the Development Programmes, and identify the resulting behavioural change in participants. A farmer focused view of the question "what's in it for me' is at the heart of the matter, and building the Society around answering that question is key.