The Researcher

Miranda grew up in the small South Canterbury town of Pleasant Point. A love of sciences, animal health and learning new things led her to study Science at Lincoln University. She now works as a Research and Development Officer for Silver Fern Farms.

Where did you study:
I studied at Lincoln University. Lincoln offered papers which really appealed to my interests such as animal health, genetics, toxicology, physiology and biochemistry. It's easy to learn when you genuinely enjoy the topic.

What else did you gain at uni (as well as the degree):
I made some great friends who many of them work in the Agricultural industry now and are great contacts to have. Professionally I learnt the skill of project management and how to analyse literature and data and form judgements on the information.

What does it mean to be a Research and Development Officer?
My role involves managing and carrying out innovation projects - mainly based around meat quality. Understanding the variation in product quality is critical and there are many factors which impact on this. 

How does an average day look:
There is no average day for me. You could find me testing or collecting samples in the processing plant anywhere around the country, in the sheep yards/company farm, at an industry meeting (sometimes overseas), in front of the computer reading current reviews on new technologies, analysing data or planning future trials.     

Favourite part of the job:
There is always a new exciting challenge on the horizon. You never know what it's going to be. It is satisfying to have a good result with a trial which changes the quality of our product. I enjoy my position because I get to work with all parts of the chain e.g. farmers, processors, marketing and consumers.