Hosted by Royal Society Rotorua Branch.

$5 donation for non-members – please pay at the door.

Event information

Rural NZ media has been talking a lot about Regenerative Agriculture over the past 2-3 years. What does it offer? Is it compatible with conventional farming? Can you be a bit regenerative? The big international food corporates like McCains and General Mills are increasingly sourcing supplies from regeneratively farmed properties. This alerts us to the shifting environmental economics of rural food and fibre. This presentation traverses some of the shifting drivers of modern farming, food supply chains and environmental consequences of today’s land use heading into a hotter world.

Dr Edgar Burns grew up on a mixed farm near Hastings. He has degrees in psychology, sociology, and business. For some years he owned and operated a rural plant nursery. He recently came back from more than a decade at La Trobe University, Melbourne. His present role as Chair of Integrated Catchment Management is funded jointly by the University of Waikato and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council. The aim is to encourage new perspectives on the environment and climate change. He teaches papers on the geography and sociology of the environment. He is a member of the MBIE Technical advisory Group on Regenerative Agriculture.