Conference dishes the dirt

18 November, 2014

Conference dishes the dirt

Researchers will be digging the dirt on soils next month when the University of Waikato hosts the New Zealand Society of Soil Science (NZSSS) Conference.

About 180 delegates will gather over four days to hear from some of the world’s foremost soil experts.

Keynote speaker is Oene Oenema, a professor in nutrient management and soil fertility at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, who will speak about the intensification of agricultural production in the European Union and the policy and public response to that. Professor Oenema’s keynote address is open to the public and takes place at 10.45am on Monday, 1 December in room S1.04 at the university.

Also open to the public is the Norm Taylor Memorial Lecture - being delivered by AgResearch principal scientist Dr Stewart Ledgard - at 1pm on Thursday, December 4 at the same location. His speech is titled Nitrogen Efficiency – From Plant to Planet.

Other top speakers at the conference include Ravensdown chief scientist Ants Roberts, Dr Carolyn Olsen, senior scientist form the US Department of Agriculture climate change programme office, Taupo farmer Mike Barton and the university’s AgriBusiness Professor Jacqueline Rowarth.

It will be the first NZSSS conference since 2008 and has a theme of Soil Science for Future Generations.

In-line with the theme, organisers hope to attract and encourage the next generation of soil scientists by making the conference both accessible and relevant to students.

AgResearch senior scientist Dr David Houlbrooke is the conference convenor and says soil resources are becoming increasingly important for New Zealand as it aims to increase primary industry exports at the same time as improving its environmental footprint.

“This conference offers an excellent opportunity to take stock of our progress to date and to define future needs while raising the awareness of the wider community to soil science,” he says.

The NZSSS was formed in 1952 with the aim of increasing the understanding of soil and promoting its study and management while providing national and regional guidance.

Alongside the conference will be a display of soil art, with examples of the Japanese art form of dorodango on show. Dorodango are perfectly round and polished balls made by hand from soil.

For more information on the conference, visit: http://www.nzsssconference.co.nz/

ENDS

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