Unsung heroes under the soil
Much of the scientific work being carried out at the Massey University led regenerative agriculture project, Whenua Haumanu, is below the ground.
This took place at the Palmerston North campus last week, with more than 200 people attending the event in person – along with many others who joined online.
FLRC director, Professor Chris Anderson says the aim of this year’s workshop was to promote robust discussions based on the theme of the event – Diverse Solutions.
More than 70 speakers took part in the workshop, including a Danish expert in catchment management Simon Rosendahl Bjorholm. Other keynote speakers included Jacqueline Rowarth of Lincoln University, John Roche of MPI and Richard McDowell of AgResearch.
Anderson says having overseas speakers helps enrich NZ science and develop valuable international contacts.
“Having overseas speakers gives us a different perspective and a chance to reflect on challenges overseas,” he told Rural News.
“We are looking at lessons from Europe because that is a critical export market for NZ. We need to be cognisant of what the trends and expectations are from our partners. That helps us develop new ideas on how we can deliver diverse solution.”
Topics covered at the FLRC event included diverse solutions for greenhouse gases, carbon, water, animals and soils and pasture. The way the programme is run could easily be described as ‘speed dating science’, with all but the keynote presentations limited in length to just ten minutes. However, while short, the presentations widened the scope of workshop giving participants plenty of information to digest and reflect on.
A feature of FLRC this year was the participants were given the option of attending in person or going on-line. Anderson says in changing times many people don’t want to or cannot travel and the online option has proved very popular.
