The Walton farm demonstrates the commercial and environmental advantages of integrating technologies. While the approach appears best suited to large farms looking to fine-tune operations and further increase production, profit and sustainability, it's clear the approach will can be applied with useful effects for smaller operations as well; Farmers could select a subset of the available technologies to suit their farming systems and goals. It's likely as the advantages of the approach become obvious, manufacturers will work together and make it easier for consumers to integrate separate technologies and form on-farm systems.

The integrated approach demonstrated by the Walton model farm is likely to be applied to include beef, sheep and deer farms. These will require different mixes of technologies, but the underlying design philosophy remains the same – getting technologies to work together, rather than in isolation, to create a powerful management tool. Innovation Waikato has won a tender let by the government agency to develop a business case for what would be New Zealand's second ICT show farm to demonstrate the benefits of investing in technology.

The New Zealand dairy industry began in 1814, with the importation of two cows and a bull. For decades, New Zealand enjoyed natural competitive advantages over other dairy exporting nations. Our benign climate and lush pastures and technological savvy allowed us to overcome the disadvantage of our distance from major markets. But in recent years, the competition has caught up. We are no longer the world's lowest cost producer of milk. Argentina and Chile have this distinction. New competitors are rapidly evolving: Brazil recently became self-sufficient in milk production, and India and China are building their production capacity. Technological innovation is more important than ever. The Walton model farm is but one approach to keeping the New Zealand dairy industry ahead of the pack.