Professor Colin Holmes (retired Professor of Dairy Production Systems at Massey University, New Zealand) passed away on Tuesday 7 June aged 74, after a long illness. Renowned for his teaching, research and practical approach to grassland farming, Colin was highly respected nationally within New Zealand and internationally by all who were fortunate to come into contact with him.

Colin William Holmes was born in Columbo, Sri Lanka, in December 1941 where his father (a Northern Irishman) was in the Colonial Civil Service. The family moved back to Co Antrim in 1951 and continued to farm there until 1975.

Colin went to Portora Royal School, Enniskillen, where he was head boy and also a noted cricketer, and from there to Queen’s University, Belfast, where he completed a Bachelor of Agriculture degree, followed by a PhD in 1966, which he undertook at the Agricultural Research Institute of Northern Ireland.

Colin and his wife, Dorothy, then emigrated to New Zealand in 1966, following a telephone interview which secured his first academic position – a five-year lectureship in the Department of Dairy Husbandry at Massey University. This led to his appointment as Professor of Dairy Production Systems at Massey, in a career which spanned over 40 years.

In addition to teaching diploma and degree courses and postgraduate students, Colin initiated and led a series of research projects, including the development of the Massey rising plate pasture meter, comparison of high- and low-breeding index dairy cows and development of once-a-day milking systems.

Professor Holmes and a group of expert colleagues published Milk Production From Pasture in 1986 and then a new enlarged version in 2003. This textbook is regarded internationally as the authoritative textbook on milk from pasture.

He was also extremely passionate about the need for researchers to communicate clearly and effectively with farmers, and was instrumental in establishing the Massey Dairy Farmers Conference.

During his career, Professor Holmes was a firm advocate of grass-based dairy systems, promoting the benefits of grazed pasture as the lowest cost feeding system in the world. He was also a frequent visitor and invited speaker to NI and the rest of the UK and Ireland.

Professor Holmes will be sadly missed by family, friends and colleagues and all those who knew him as a gifted scientist, communicator and international dairy leader.