Te Whare Wānaka o Aoraki Lincoln University and McCain Foods have announced an eight-year collaboration to convert part of the Lincoln University Research Dairy Farm (LURDF) into a future-focused arable and cropping farm.
Named ‘Lincoln University McCain Foods NextGen Regenerative Farm’, the project will establish a 20-hectare regenerative agriculture demonstration farm at LURDF, adjacent to the Lincoln University campus.
The collaboration will involve trialling leading regenerative agriculture practices combined with advanced technology on high-value crops in a 1:8 potato rotation.
The 20-hectare trial block allows for three replicas of both the conventional and regenerative treatments, with each replica designed to support scientific evidence while maintaining industry-relevant scale.
Results will be compared with the current standard agricultural practices in Canterbury, and reported back to the sector. The trial will last eight years and be open to other collaborative partners.
Professor Alison Bailey, Head of Lincoln University Farms, said the NextGen Regenerative Farm will test the impact of arable farm management on soils emerging from pasture, comparing standard farm management to regenerative agricultural practices.
“Canterbury is at the heart of arable and cropping in New Zealand, and bringing it back to Lincoln University is a great opportunity for our students, and the industry as a whole, to test the two farming approaches, while at the same time developing a talent pipeline of work-ready graduates to future-proof the sector,” she said.
Agriculture Director for McCain Foods, Josh Opas, said, “We are building evidence of the benefits of regenerative agricultural practices on soil health, ensuring farm resilience under real-life commercial cropping conditions using the McCain Regenerative Agriculture Framework”.
The McCain Regenerative Agriculture Framework is a farmer-centred framework developed in consultation with growers and other agricultural experts.
The eight-year trial will compare regenerative practices with conventional cropping methods in a mixed farm system. It will examine soil health, soil carbon, farm inputs, integrated pest management, water use, crop yields and profitability.
The research team, led by Lincoln University’s Dr Pieter-Willem Hendriks and Tika Schellevis (McCain Foods), is supported by a steering group with farmer and sector representatives ensuring practical applicability.
“Our team’s strength lies in its multidisciplinary expertise, global research experience and strong industry connections, positioning us to tackle the complexities of modern arable farming,” said Dr Hendriks.
“By integrating agronomy, soil and plant sciences, animal health, regenerative systems, farm management, economics, microbiology and Māori knowledge, we aim to deliver high-impact, sustainable solutions for resilient, future-proof agricultural systems.”
The first crops are expected to be planted in the autumn of 2026.
