Organics: Past Present & Future - 2023 ODPG Conference

A packed Two-Day Organic Farming Conference with six knowledgeable speakers and two fascinating field trips. A chance for all those with an interest in organic, regenerative and biological farming to get together, learn together and share ideas. We hope you can join us!

Day one: speakers
Dr Christine Jones | Soil Ecologist
Dr Andrew Smith | C.O.O Rodale Institute
Matt Gallagher | Asure Quality
Jono Frew | Natural Performance/Quorum Sense
Philippa Jamieson | Writer/Editor in the Organic Community
Nic Conland | Verdi (MRV)

Day two: field trips
Gavin Fisher's Farm (Te Aroha)
Zealong Tea Estate (Hamilton)

More about day one:
At The Narrows Landing, near Hamilton Airport, we’ll be hosting a wide range of excellent speakers, headlining with renowned soil ecologist from Australia, Dr Christine Jones. We're looking forward to a video-conference with Dr Andrew Smith, the C.O.O of the great Rodale Institute in Pennslyvania. Matt Gallagher (AsureQuality) will be discussing all things to do with his speciality of certification, Jono Frew (Natural Performance & Quorum Sense) will present on aligning farming with nature for the future, Philippa Jamieson (Writer/Editor in the Organic Community) is researching Meat and Milk: Fake vs Real for the conference, and NIC CONLAND's (Verdi) presentation will be about calculating carbon on the farm. Katrina O’Connor will also be present from the Mpi National Organic Standard team to give us an update on progress with Matt Gallagher.

The day is fully catered at our wonderful venue - set in gardens and only 3km from Hamilton Airport - with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, and a delicious buffet dinner to take us into a sociable evening.

MORE ABOUT DAY TWO:
We have two fascinating field trips planned, and we'll be chartering coaches and organising packed lunches for a great day out. Delegates will be split into two groups to visit the destinations, and swap venues halfway through the day.

GAVIN FISHER was one of the original instigators behind the formation of ODPG. He has been farming organically for decades and the fruits of his labour are visible in every corner of his property.The cow races are bordered with trees of every description, fruit, nuts and medicinal varieties for the animals to graze adlib. Gavin is an inspirational caretaker of the environment. 'Seeing is believing'. He himself would reverse that to 'believing is seeing'.

ZEALONG TEA ESTATE is widely regarded as a Waikato icon. It is the only commercial tea estate in New Zealand, producing 100% organic award-winning tea, and a world-leading destination for tea, art and hospitality. We have booked a behind the scenes tour to learn how Zealong grows tea organically in New Zealand, and much much more.

We'd like to thank our sponsors. Our conference could not go ahead without them:
True Health, Bactivate, Penergetic, Fertco, Homeopathic Farm Services, Southern Humates, Roots, Shoots & Fruits, Wesco Seeds, Biosea, Soil Connection

Conference tickets include:
access to all presentations
morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, evening buffet on conference day
access to field trip venues
coach transfer between field trip venues
packed lunch