Region

Manawatu

Job

Ryan is currently doing his Honours degree in Applied Science (Agriculture) at Massey University. This degree has a focus on dairy production, ruminant nutrition and business. As part of his degree, Ryan has to complete a research project.

For this project, Ryan has chosen to investigate how different types of clover may affect the efficiency of protein use in the rumen.

When cows eat clover (an important food source for New Zealand dairy cows), they consume much more protein than they can use. This excess protein is excreted in urine, giving the urine a high nitrogen content. The nitrogen then gets into surface and ground water, damaging New Zealand’s waterways. Ryan’s research is looking at whether the different properties of different types of clover can affect the amount of protein that is used by the cows rather than excreted.

Ryan’s research is important because farmers are trying to find ways to decrease the impact their farming has on the environment, as well as increase the amount of protein that their cows can use from what they consume.

Career Pathway

Ryan did not grow up on a dairy farm, but he does have relatives who are farmers. He has also had increasing involvement in the industry through both employment and through his studies.

He graduated from Hamilton Boys’ High School in 2002, and had a strong interest in farming because it provided lots of opportunities to get ahead. However, his family and friends encouraged him to first gain a tertiary qualification in order to increase his career opportunities later in life, and to provide a new challenge before entering the workforce. Ryan decided to do a Bachelor of Applied Science majoring in Agriculture at Massey University.

He finished the undergraduate degree in 2005 and decided to move onto postgraduate studies, to further develop his skills, and increase opportunities in the work force.

Ryan is a recipient of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Undergraduate Scholarship (NZDIUGS) and has been since 2003 when he began university. All his tuition fees have been paid by the scholarship, which means that Ryan has not had to incur much student loan debt.

He has recently won a Fulbright Scholarship and will be studying overseas at Cornell University from August 2007.

Ryan’s future intentions include farming, consultancy or research.

Interests

Rugby, the outdoors (hunting and fishing), farming and the dairy industry.