Why Travel Can Be the Most Unexpected Form of R&D
- Ann Due
- Aug 29, 2025
- 2 min read
When you genuinely love what you do, it’s hard to switch off completely — even when you’re halfway around the world.
For many in the rural sector, travel often becomes more than just a break. Whether you realise it or not, you start noticing things: a different way of managing pasture, a new product on the shelf, a smarter piece of gear, or a simple trick that makes a system run more efficiently.
It’s not that you set out to work while you’re away — it just happens naturally. That quiet curiosity never really turns off.
Observation Without Intention
Maybe you’re visiting family overseas, attending a mate’s wedding, or finally taking that long-overdue holiday. But somewhere along the way, you're drawn to a local market, a nearby farm, or a small-town agricultural store. You start to spot things:
"They plant that crop in autumn?"
"What’s that attachment on the front of the tractor?"
"I’ve never seen that fencing system before…"
Even just walking through a supermarket overseas can spark thoughts — different packaging, product placement, or added value offerings that haven’t yet hit New Zealand shelves. Inspiration is everywhere when your mind is wired to notice.
Informal R&D, Big Impact
Without calling it “research,” what you're doing is exactly that. Travel gives you a fresh lens. It lets you compare, contrast, and think outside the everyday rhythm of your own operation.
You might come home with a new product idea, a connection to a supplier, or a better understanding of where the global market is heading. Or maybe just a scribbled note in your phone about a clever solution to a problem you didn’t realise others had solved.
The Value of Distance
Stepping back—literally—can give you a perspective that’s hard to find at home. When you're deep in the day-to-day of running a farm or agribusiness, it’s easy to get tunnel vision. Travel offers a reset. It clears mental space and makes room for fresh thinking.
And sometimes, that space is where the next breakthrough quietly appears.
Bringing It Home
Whether it’s a formal agri-tour, a trade expo, or just a family trip with a side of curiosity, travel has a subtle but powerful way of feeding your growth as a business owner and decision-maker.
Because at the end of the day, innovation doesn’t always come from a whiteboard or a meeting. It might come from a conversation in a vineyard in Spain. A machine spotted in a paddock in Canada. A food product sampled in Tokyo.
When you love what you do, the world becomes your research lab — and you don’t even realise you're taking notes.
Have you travelled recently and spotted something that made you think differently?
We’d love to hear your story — and who knows, it might just inspire someone else's next great idea.
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