Your smashing group of 2018 speakers.
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Susie Ferguson - Master of CeremoniesRadio New Zealand's Morning Report host, Susie Ferguson, is our Master of Ceremonies. Susie is a journalist and broadcaster, currently co-presenter of New Zealand's highest rating radio show, RNZ's Morning Report.
She was a war correspondent for 6 years and covered major world events including the 2003 invasion of Iraq. She's reported and presented from around the world, including numerous times from Afghanistan and Iraq, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and the Balkans. She's also covered the immediate aftermath of disasters including the 2004 Asian tsunami, 2005 Pakistan earthquake and presented rolling coverage on RNZ following the 2011 Christchurch and 2016 Kaikoura quakes. Susie's originally from Edinburgh, got her honours degree from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and a postgraduate diploma from the University of the Arts London. She's lived in Wellington with her family for 8 years. |
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Paul Crick - Director Farms, Taratahi Agricultural Training CentrePaul Crick is the Director Farms for Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre. He has an extensive background in agriculture both nationally and overseas; from working and managing large scale High Country properties in the South Island to farm consultancy throughout South America.
Paul is involved in various research projects and farmer learning groups in conjunction with Massey University, AgResearch, Beef and Lamb Genetics and has established one of Taratahi’s Sheep and Beef properties as one of the first Focus Farms for Farm IQ. Paul is also a fluent Spanish speaker. Paul oversees the five-high performing Taratahi sheep and beef properties (48,000 SU) and the three dairy farms (1,500 cows) along with the educational delivery and integration of Taratahi’s curriculum and programmes across the farms. Paul also has various industry roles including Chairman of the Eastern North Island Beef and Lamb Farmer Council, a member of the Beef and Lamb Farmer Research Advisory Group, Chair of the Massey University Farmer Learning Group and a member of a Wairarapa Farm/Business Discussion group. |
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Greg & Rachel Hart - Owner / Operators, Mangarara StationGreg Hart grew up on a family farm near Methven, Mid-Canterbury. After gaining a Bachelor of Agriculture from Massey University and working in the agriculture industry, he and his wife Rachel worked in partnership with Greg’s parents to develop Mangarara Station in the Hawke’s Bay. After the birth of their first child, Greg and Rachel began thinking about the world they would leave their children. As environmental awareness evolves, so too does spiritual understanding and the realisation of the interconnectedness of life.
Greg is now committed to being part of the positive change taking place in the world to bring us back within the boundaries nature sets for us. He is transitioning the traditional sheep and cattle station to a farm of the future that creates balance by developing diverse, integrated, regenerative farming systems, restoring ecosystems through tree planting, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and building healthy soil using holistic grazing techniques as a solution to climate change, and opening the farm to the public to enable others to reconnect to the earth that sustains us. |
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Julia Jones - Farm Enterprise Specialist, KPMGJulia Jones is a farm enterprise specialist at KPMG. She is part of the Agri-Food team who look at the changing global face of Agri-Food and connect food producing clients with long term sustainable business solutions. Julia is passionate about New Zealand’s Agri-Food industry and sees agility and change as the gateway to relevance and ensuring a better future for the next generation in the industry.
In 2007 Julia completed an Agri program through Harvard Business School in China, which fired her passion for international Agriculture. In 2012 she graduated from the Agri Women’s Development Trust Escalator Governance program. 2013 brought an opportunity to spend time working in Russia with the KPMG team, focusing on Agricultural strategy. Highlights for Julia in 2015 included being a co-author for the KPMG emerging leaders Agribusiness Agenda, and being a finalist in the Westpac Women of Influence programme. She recently received the MPI/Agmardt Emerging Leaders Scholarship which enabled her to attend the 2017 Stanford University Te Hono Bootcamp - a week long, intensive meeting where senior primary sector leaders work on how to improve the competitiveness of New Zealand’s primary sector on the global stage. |
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Alex Pezza - Climate Scientist, Greater Wellington Regional CouncilDr. Alex Pezza has been a climate scientist and lecturer for almost 15 years, since earning his PhD in atmospheric sciences from the university of Sao Paulo (Brazil) in 2003. Dr. Pezza worked at Melbourne University in Australia from 2004-2014, and moved to Wellington in 2015 to take up a senior scientist role in the Environmental Science department at Greater Wellington Regional Council. The department helps the regional government and stakeholders make decisions and protect our environment and quality of life. Alex had a leading role in the release of a major climate change report in August 2017 with high-resolution climate change maps and impacts assessment being offered for the first time for the Wellington region.
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Stephen Davies Howard - Chair, Centre for Space Science TechnologyThe Centre for Space Science Technology (CSST) is a regional research institute based in Alexandra. Established in May 2017, CSST is one of the first regional research institutes to get off the ground in New Zealand. We are building an agile company that can handle the entire Earth observation data life-cycle, from system design, data capture, data management, dissemination, through to training and support.
CSST is a limited liability company owned by a charitable trust. The trust’s mandate is to benefit regional industries across New Zealand and to educate those industries about the benefits of using Earth observation data in their operations and R&D activities. An Advisory Committee, made up of members from industry and the research community, will support and assist us with our research agenda. This includes using satellite, aerial, drone and in-situ data to provide a publicly available digital platform that facilitates the discovery and processing of raw Earth observation data, delivering usable, actionable information to drive smart, data-driven decision-making. |
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Dot Bissett - Farming & Retail, Wee Red BarnDot Bissett and her husband Alan started the Wee Red Barn north of Masterton in 2007. Before that, they managed soft fruit farms and 32 hectares of strawberries for several years in Scotland, including running successful farm retail shops. Dot and Alan brought their passion and enthusiasm for gate to plate production to the Wee Red Barn where they've transformed 8.1 hectares into a diverse farm of grapes, strawberries, raspberries, other berries and assorted vegetables - all of which is processed and sold on site from the namesake barn. Forty chickens provide eggs, and pigs have two litters per year. Nothing goes to waste at Wee Red Barn; left over veg goes to the pigs, ugly fruit provides the ideal ingredient for wine, vinegars and jam.
Selling what they produce from the farm shop, and hiring the barn to people looking for a venue with a difference, allows Dot and Alan to connect directly and transparently with their customers. Increased technology means increased scrutiny for producers, and the Bissetts use it to their advantage by staying closely in tune with consumer demand, turning shopping for produce into a destination activity, and inviting their customers to the very place their food comes from. |