Buckets of knowledge at Grassland conference

01-09-2010 | Sandra Taylor

This year's Grassland Association conference is giving cropping and pastoral farmers a once-in-lifetime opportunity to glean knowledge from some of Australasia's best and brightest agricultural scientists.

For the first time the conference, being held at Lincoln University from November 15-19, has a strong farmer focus with attendees able to select from 220 papers being presented on a range of subjects pertaining to farm systems, farm management, crop production, pasture and forage production, dryland management, energy opportunities and natural capital.

This year the event is being held in association with the Australian Agronomy conference, giving farmers an opportunity to hear from Australian scientists about the work being done across the Tasman, as well as the work being done in New Zealand.

The chairman of the organising committee, Professor Derrick Moot, who is renowned for his pragmatic and applied approach to agricultural science, says that for pastoral farmers there will be a huge amount of information around on-farm production, while cropping farmers will have the unique opportunity to hear about the latest developments in arable production from Australian scientists.

"What appeals to me about the Grassland conference is that it's not scientists talking to scientists, it's about scientists presenting information for farmers and agribusiness people to hear.

"It is a fantastic opportunity for farmers to see the latest in research and application from across Australasia, all in the one place.

"This is only time we will get to see this happen in New Zealand."

The theme of this year's conference is "Food Security from Sustainable Agriculture" and the global issues around this topic will be addressed at the daily plenary sessions.

Plenary speakers include Australian-based New Zealander and international maize expert Greg Edmeades, who will give a global perspective of feeding the world, while Perth-based research scientist Michael Robertson, also a former New Zealander, will highlight the issues and challenges facing farmers in both countries.

Other speakers will address issues as broad-reaching as climate change and the place of ruminants, peak phosphorous and water from a global perspective.

Moot says these broad ideas will underpin the in-depth discussion of local and on-farm issues at interactive workshops and field days which are a big part of the four-day conference.

This is the first time the Grassland conference has featured workshops. These will enable farmers, scientists and agribusiness professionals to explore the latest information on topics such as lamb finishing, dryland pastures, nutrient efficiency, crop production, insect pests and pasture utilisation.

On the Wednesday, delegates are given a choice of one of five field trips to view either intensive arable production, the integration of dairy and arable, intensive lamb finishing, viticulture and conservation and a sheep breeding and mussel farm.

Moot says field trip numbers will be limited to two full buses for each destination to allow more in-depth and robust discussion to take place.

While it is a four-day conference, there is a choice of two and four-day conference packages depending on areas of interest.

For more details visit the New Zealand Grassland Association website at www.grassland.org.nz or contact moot@lincoln.ac.nz.

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