Craigmore’s farming scholarships are designed to support the next generation of agricultural leaders by funding postgraduate study and hands‑on research in New Zealand’s primary industries. Since 2014, the flagship Craigmore Sustainables Farming Scholarship in partnership with Lincoln University, has helped students whose research aligns with Craigmore’s sustainability principles, often providing opportunities to conduct practical research on Craigmore dairy farms. In recent years, Craigmore has expanded its commitment with the addition of the Craigmore Sustainables and Wilson Family Sustainability for Primary Industries Scholarship. This newer scholarship continues Craigmore’s focus on innovation, sustainability, and long‑term sector impact, offering financial support and access to real‑world research environments across Craigmore’s farming operation. Scholar Spotlight: Kati Hewitt 2024 scholarship recipient, Dr Kati Hewitt graduated with a PhD in Insect Biological Control from Lincoln University in March 2025, made possible thanks to the support provided by the Craigmore Sustainable Farming Scholarship. Kati is now working as a Scientist in the Plant–Insect Interactions team within the Bioeconomy Science Institute at the Ruakura Research Centre. In this role, she continues to advance her research into pasture health, pest management, and the role of Epichloë endophytes. Her long‑term career goal is to establish herself as a specialist in plant–invertebrate interactions, with a focus on improving pasture resilience and pest management in response to climate change. PhD Research Summary Interactions Between Insect Pests, Grasses and Their Endophytes Under Resource Limitation Kati’s research examined how increasing environmental pressures – particularly more frequent droughts and changing phosphorus (P) availability – are likely to affect pasture performance and insect pest pressure in New Zealand farming systems. Her work focused on ryegrass and fescue pastures commonly used in grazing systems, and on the role of Epichloë endophytes, which are an important component of modern pasture management. Her findings show that drought stress can change pasture quality in ways that increase damage from key pests such as root aphid and African black beetle. As soils dry, grasses can become more attractive to some insects, increasing the risk of production losses. Phosphorus management also played a key role in her research. Higher soil P levels improved pasture growth and reduced the impact of damaging pests such as grass grub, particularly when combined with selected endophyte-infected grasses. Her work demonstrated that P fertilisation can reduce the survival of grass grubs, improving pasture growth and resilience. Dr Kati Hewitt engaging with Waikato farmers during a field day at the AgResearch Ruakura Research site. She demonstrated how to identify key pastoral insect species within multi species pasture swards and discussed practical, integrated pest management approaches to support resilient, sustainable pasture systems on farm. Learn more about Kati’s research here: https://www.ellett.org.nz/forages-project-1-1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLD999AoXeg https://www.agresearch.co.nz/news/meet-our-people-kati-hewitt/ Published: 5 March 2026
