Nicole Wheadon

Nicole joined DairyNZ as a farm systems scientist in 2022. Her research focuses on investigating the impacts of nitrate leaching and mitigations on whole farm systems. Nicole helps design and run farmlet trials to demonstrate how farms can take practical steps to reduce nitrogen losses while maintaining profit. Nicole also works with partner farmers to develop strategies for successfully including plantain in their farm systems.

Nicole enjoys the combination of research and direct contact with farmers. “It's very rewarding working with passionate and engaged farmers carrying out practical on-farm research. Getting on the ground and asking for their opinions is very important, as is making sure we develop solutions that are feasible and profitable for farmers to implement,” says Nicole.

Nicole’s time spent working as an environmental consultant has provided a diverse understanding in a range of farm systems knowledge. Nicole has worked with farmers across a range of sectors, helping with their regional environmental compliance requirements, such as Farm Environment Plans. For several years, she also held Nutrient Management Adviser Certification and is involved in the New Zealand Institute of Primary Industry Management (NZIPIM).

Nicole comes from the UK where she completed her Bachelor of Animal Science with first class honours from the University of Reading. She went on to gain a PhD, looking at nitrogen use efficiency in cattle, from Lincoln University where a scholarship allowed to her to spend half of her time at Teagasc in Ireland.