Soil-Amending Technology, Grassland Farming, and New Zealand

Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis. Permission is given for a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and private study only. The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without the permission of the Author. SOI L-AMENDING TECHNOLOGY , GRASSLAND FARMING, AND NEW ZEALAN D ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A STUDY OF THE ORIGINS, APPLICATION, AND IMPLICATIONS OF AN INNOVATION STREAM IN NEW ZEALAND AGRICULTURE A dis sertation presented in parti al fulfi lment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Phil osophy in Geography at Massey University Douglas Bruce Tennant 1978 i i ABSTRACT This dissertation explores the rol e of soil -amending technology in the development of New Zealand's agri cultural sector. In a survey of the evolution New Zealand 's farmi ng systems it is shown that the use of soil amending emerged from a set of circumstances whereby the utilization of grassland farmi ng methods was favoured by the develop ment of refrigerated marine transport and governmenta l pol icy which fostered the formation of smal l, fami ly farms adapted to more intensive livestock production whose produce refrigerated ships could del iver to the Briti sh market. The re�ative shortages of capital and labour in thi s insti tution al structure led to the introduction of labour-saving technology which promoted grassland-based farming systems . The need to develop and ma intain consistently high level s of qual ity produce, parti cularly in dairying, entailed the investigation of Bri ti sh agricul ture 's soil-amending technology . Its successful adaptation and adoption, favoured by its highly divisible labour and capital demands, was a key element in stabilizing the 'smal l farm structure as it successful ly boosted agricultural productivity and enabl ed other innovations based on highly productive plants and animals to enter the farmi ng systems . The perfection of mechanical distribution methods from tractors to ground-spreading vehicles and aircraft al lowed this technology to be extended from the lowland pl ain dairy and fat-l amb farms into more rugged terrain areas producing wool and store stock. An agricultura l focus to scienti fic research was a feature supported by government in the establ ishment and funding of organiza ti ons investigati ng ways to increase and improve agricultural output. Successful research and development brought improved plants and stock which benefited from soil amending through the addi tion of soil nutrients and trace el ements and the control of soil acidity. Concern wi th the study of pasture as an ecosystem was a basic factor in the advances made. Pedological investigation and the adaptation of foreign research findings especially after 1945 induced rapid increases in livestock output as better dis tribution methods facilitated the use of the technology devised. Continued economic growth was the outcome of this expansion of output. The comparative stability of the Bri tish ma rket was a central element in the producti on envi ronment in which such technological l l l development occurred . The ability to focus attention on a smal l range of produce for which demand continued to increase through much of the 1890-1960 period meant that New Zealand producers could benefi t substantially from improvements of those innovations adopted . Research activity too could be concentrated , so max imi zing rel ati vely limi ted capital and personnel resources . Later deterioration of tha t market•s stability has led to increasing uncertainty and a search for new stra tegies in production, marketi ng , and economic planning. Government has been a central factor in agri cul ture•s devel opment through pol icy decisions and supporting research, and has become increasingly involved as its role in regulating the economy has grown. Its part in the production environment wi thin which soi l-amend ing technology developed has strongly infl uenced the pattern of that development. Noting the relevance of this combination of factors is essential to the geographic study of New Zealand agricul ture as a concluding review of a selection of such studies reveals. V i PREFACE This dissertation grew initially from an interest in the utilization of aircraft in New Zealand agricul ture for fertilizer distri bution . Investigation into the creation and evol ution of this technology began to point to a continuity in the use of fertilizer rather than a ma rked change occasioned by the appl ication of aircraft. The attempt to understand the progression in the use of fertilizer in New Zeal and farmi ng systems prompted a review of its evol ution . Such an historical approach was productive in that it began to furnish a number of insights into the interaction between the farming systems created and t�e technology empl oyed therein. Soil amending, the use of substances to al ter and improve the producti ve properti es of soils, appeared as a technology basic to the development of productive grassland . The grassland basis of . production was a prime character istic of the farming systems present. The util ization of grassl and developed in the particular capital and labour supply situation found in a smal l country special izing in animal product output for a ma�ket half a world away . The concern with soil amending emerged in the evol ution of New Zealand farming systems from extensive to more intensive forms sub sequent to transport technology innovation and a program of legisl ation which stimulated change in the insti tutional structure of farming. The producti on environment was apparently a factor in the development of soil -amending technology . The latter•s association with dairying in particular appeared to demonstrate how technol ogy could both enable a farm enterprise to exi st and induce change wi thin it. The extension of this soil -amending technology to the other livestock enterprises during the present century was a major source of the high productivity of New Zealand•s agricul ture. The use of aircraft could then be seen as but a later phase in the evolution of soil amending--a means of overcomi ng the slope constraint imposed on earl ier fertil izer distribution techniques. The above consideration highl i ghted the related rol e of resource appraisal and cultural values impl icit in the decision to employ a certain technology, particularly \'Jhere it was new . Continued contact with the source areas of the New Zealand farming systems and the emergence of the scientific study of agriculture in one of them , V the Uni ted Kingdom, evi dently facilita ted the transfer of information while, concurrently, the local pioneering envi ronment encouraged the testing of the techni ques proposed . Adapting foreign researc h to devel op technology of use locally was a pattern which persisted. Successful innovation resulted in the reappraisal of existing production resources in New Zeal and and prompted the extension of new farming enterprises . Such a situation is dynamic as the technology introduced creates a disequilibrium. The attempt to rectify the ini tial disequilibrium can contribute to disequi libria elsewhere in the system . Innovation is stimulated to offset the producti on diffi cul ties encountered and take advantage of opportunities presented . As productivi�y improvement is a possible consequence of such moves to more efficiently empl oy resources , and economic growth is an out come of improved productivit� fol lowing the Schumpeterian view (Sc humpeter , 1928 , 377-378), change in technology can be the basis for growth in the economy . From such growth, economic development, a change in the relative importance of the sectors of the economy and in the soci ety in which they operate , is thought to fol low. This profound change then influences the resource utilization patterns within the economy . This resource-appraisal consideration is not the central concern of this dissertation , however, and its el aboration is not pursued further. What is of concern is the effect of technological change. The interaction of technology, resource appraisal , instituti onal structure and economic change is mani fes t in both the spatial organization and the distributional patterns of farming sys tems . Patterns resulting from a particular combination of the above-mentioned elements shoul d be subj ect to adjustment once change is introduced to any one element in the sys tem and disequilibrium is created . An understanding of any such interaction is basic to explaini ng existing spatial patterns and ass ess ing the spatial outcome of ongoing change. Identifying changing patterns can indicate some alteration in the rel ationship of the interacting elements as they influence man's use of land. The analysis by geographers can thus be predictive and diagnostic and so contribute to pol icy-making. This dissertation is an overview of the operation of this interacting sys tem of technol ogy, resource appraisal , insti tutional structure and economic change in New Zealand agriculture with parti- vi cular reference to the part played by soi l amending. The latter technology was identified as one which proved basic to later develop ment by creating a success ion of powerful disequilibrium situations . This survey of the ensuing changes provides a framewor k wi thin which subsequent, more exhaustive studies of New Zealand agriculture can provide a greater understanding of development process es and their spatial manifes tati on. The questions addressed in the diss ertation are rel ated to the central problems of the soil amending •s place in agricul tural development in New Zealand and its rol e in economic change. Why has soil amending been an important technology in the overal l devel opment of New Zealand agricul ture and how has it played a rol e in change in the country •s economy? It is seen that innovation in transport technology stimulated the evol ution of more intensive fa rming sys tems and thereby fos tered the need for creating highly productive grasslands .

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