Strong speaker line-up for Effluent & Environment Expo

The New Zealand Effluent & Environment Expo is on in Hamilton later this month.

Mystery Creek Events Centre will host a strong line-up of industry speakers at this year's New Zealand Effluent & Environment Expo next week.

The expo will be the biggest yet with over 90 exhibitors and six different educational seminars on both November 19 and 20.

The seminar line-up this year includes agribusiness commentator Jacqueline Rowarth and Manawatu dairy farmer and author of The Lean Dairy Farm, Jana Hocken.

The Lean Dairy Farm was written to help farmers learn how to run more efficient, profitable dairy units, Hocken says. Rowarth is a regular columnist in several rural publications.

Expo attendees can also hear from social licence consultant Penny Clark-Hall, who will discuss Social Licence — Rebuilding Trust from the Ground Up.

Expo organiser Amanda Hodgson says as well as browsing through the exhibitor sites, farmers can choose to attend any of the seminars running throughout both days.

"We wanted to deliver a combination of education on effluent management and something for the top few inches too in our speaker slots this year. Making sure farmers are sorted in terms of their own wellbeing and mental health is crucial."

Former All Blacks Coach Sir Graham Henry has been confirmed as the keynote for 4pm Tuesday afternoon. Sir Graham brings a wealth of experience in team and people management as well as culture and wellbeing.

This year's expo will follow a similar format to the highly successful 2018 event and remain free for farmers to attend thanks to the generosity of sponsors Fonterra FarmSource, Rabobank, DairyNZ, Waikato Regional Council, Mystery Creek, and official media partner, NZ Dairy Exporter.

The expo features education around effluent, environment and biosecurity and its management, practical seminars run by industry professionals, challenging everyday thinking seminars, live demonstrations and advice on futureproofing farm systems.