SIDE, which takes place in Invercargill June 23-25, is the South Island's premier dairy conference run by farmers, for farmers.
SIDE event committee chair Paul Marshall says this year, the introduction of the free smartphone app will make the event more accessible to attendees.
"The app means farmers can quickly and easily access the conference schedule and view it by day, topic, speaker or activity," says Marshall.
"Attendees can also bookmark presentations they want to see and create a personal schedule for each day. And it's great for networking – attendees can see who is at the conference, share contact information and connect with one another.
"We're very excited about the introduction of the app, it'll really help farmers get more out of SIDE than they have in previous years. Being able to connect with other attendees, provide workshop feedback and share their experiences will enhance the conference experience, not to mention how much easier it will be having the schedule on a phone rather than a folded piece of paper."
The app's map feature also helps delegates find their way to the Stadium Southland venue. Speaker and exhibitor information, businesses at the event and the ability to take and share notes are also on the app.
This year SIDE features over 30 practical workshops and has a range of keynote speakers, including Rabobank director of dairy research Hayley Moynihan, 2013 Dairy Woman of the Year Justine Kidd, Landcorp's Steven Carden and New Zealand Olympic rower Rob Waddell.
The SIDE app is free to download in the iTunes and Google Play app stores. See www.side.org.nz for more details.
