June 11, 2012

Hot topics to come under scrutiny at Fieldays

Foreign land ownership, food prices and super farms are all hot topics at the moment – and they all hinge on the vital importance of agriculture and land-based industries to the New Zealand economy.

Visitors to the National Agricultural Fieldays at Mystery Creek this week [13-16 June] will have the opportunity to hear about these and a range of other topics at daily seminars, being held in the Premier Feature area.

The University of Waikato is in its sixth year as a strategic partner of Fieldays, and the University’s inaugural Chair of Agribusiness, Professor Jacqueline Rowarth will be playing a key role in delivering the Fieldays Seminar Series.

She’ll be facilitating a series of panel discussions with speakers covering topics such as farm ownership, gender, ethnicity, land use, and regulations in food production -- as well as food prices.

“These are topics of interest to all New Zealanders,” says Professor Rowarth. “It’s the exchange of ideas and information that is the foundation for advances in agriculture. It’s also the basis of understanding.”

To discuss the issues, she’ll be joined by speakers including Peter Buckley of the Waikato Regional Council, Willy Leferink of Federated Farmers, and Chris Kelly of Land Corp.

Also speaking at the seminar series is population economist Professor Jacques Poot of the National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis, based at the University of Waikato.

Professor Poot is currently examining data on population trends in rural New Zealand, and says it’s a complicated picture.

He says some rural areas on the fringes of urban areas are experiencing population growth as lifestylers move in, others are benefiting from growth in the primary sector or tourism, while yet other more peripheral rural populations are hollowing out as young people leave to find work.

Ends

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