Flexiseeder Travelling Workshop to New Zealand

                           February 2010

(Pre- register Now!)

Pre- Registration

* History of Our Logo


* You will see live birds -


* perhaps in the wild

You will meet Aaron, the artist of our cartoon Kea figures and after the tour, some of you may wish to go to the mountains with him.

Tour Organizer and Host

The Flexiseeder Group invites  participation in a traveling workshop in New Zealand during February, 2010. The workshop will take place in the South Island. Participants will have the option to go to Australia before, and to New Zealand North Island after this. The tour will be a 50/50 mixture of technical / professional interests plus tourist highlights. In this way, participants can combine visits to Australia and New Zealand as well as combine professional visits with sightseeing. There are many flight connections to Sydney, Christchurch and to Auckland.

Pre-registration closes 15 September 2009

The theme will be seed and field experiment and mechanization/methods including plant breeding/out of season nurseries and specialist seed increase for the northern hemisphere to assist with the identification, development and extension of sustainable agricultural practices including but not limited to: drilling technology, plot equipment/instruments in forage trials, GPS application to farming systems, seed treatment equipment/analyzing, nutrient scheduling.

Target groups: People and organizations working with field experimentation, extension services and general agriculture, crop production and agronomy, seed industry, seed technology and academic training. 

 

Spouses are most welcome as paying tour members, for which additional special venues will be organized / offered parallel to the technical / professional venue, to ensure a successful outcome for all participants.

AA MAPS

Professional activities will include the South Island Field Days, Agricultural Universities and research and plant breeding stations / institutes / centres and field sites, out of season seed nurseries and seed enterprises plus, a cross section of progressive farms and several vineyards using small-scale zero tillage equipment on very difficult soils.

 

Tourist activities will include iconic world acclaimed coastal and mountain areas and activities. After tour venues can be organized for small parties who wish to stay on, if required. Home stay options will be available.

 

We are a small group and expect to be able to cater to some individual requests from participants made well in advance of the tour, to investigate / visit specific sites and activities. Therefore, please quickly search the web and send me relevant URLs / names / contacts. Help plan the tour – both technical and tourist content!

 

Tour papers / posters are welcome.  Details to be provided later.  Papers / posters selected will be subject to external review and be published on-line.  Some will be selected for oral key note presentation during the tour.

 

Best regards, John Stevens (PhD Agronomy)

Tour Organizer and Host

Email: stevensj@flexiseeder.com   Mobile : International 64 27 24 25 707  Local 027 24 25 707

Proposed Itinerary                

 

Farm Dogs

Introducing New Zealand

* Farming News

     - Straight Furrow

     - Rural News

     - Country-wide

* Agricultural Statistics

* Tourism Guide "a"

* Tourism Guide "b"

* Wineries - we will visit some  

* Wool - a major product of N Z
      - General

      - "Icebreaker" - special merino wool

* Submit your links for consideration

Welcome to the  Southern Field 
days - we are going there! 

The Southern Field Days is a major agricultural event that is held every two years near Gore in Southland, New Zealand. On show over three days 10th to 12th of February 2010 will be the latest in rural technology, equipment and ideas from around the world. Drawing increasingly large crowds and with most leading rural businesses exhibiting, participating in this significant event is now regarded as essential if you have a product or service with a farming component.

  • Technologies for modern sustainable agriculture a speciality.
     

  • While visiting, Tour Members will seek out and amongst themselves identify and vote to establish the best NZ made example of modern technology supporting sustainable agriculture, with global application. Once identified, a tour member will be asked to present a trophy, to be donated by the Flexiseeder Group and thereafter held and awarded annually by the Field Day Committee.

We hope that you will find the information you need on their website.. please feel free to contact them at any time. Please visit their website regularly as there will be many updates between now and next February.

 
 

 

Preliminary dates / Activities:   Individual web areas being developed for each day - as your online programme

 
Main Tour

(Drive Time and Distance within brackets)
Feb 5/7 Arrival / receipt of guests / registration / jet-lag adjustment - range of  1/4 and 1/2 day pre-tour scenic venue within Christchurch - spread over two days to cater for range of / delayed flights. Full day out-of-town options also available for early arrivals at cost.
Feb 8 Sea-side welcome breakfast / orientation  weather permitting, combined with skyline crater rim tour of Port Hills looking north to Kaikoura, west to main Divide and east to inner harbour. Lunch at local vineyard. Afternoon at Lincoln University / Plant Research NZ Ltd / NZ Plant and Food Research Institute. Evening free in Christchurch.
Feb 9

Christchurch: Breakfast in the Square / Antarctic Centre. Lunch - differrent vineyard. Afternoon: PGG-Wrightson Research Farm, Ovenden Seeds, Southern Seed Technology. Evening - Dinner on Port Hills in Historic Building - nice views / alternataively tour vote on-line pre-tour for evening venue - from selection of links

Feb. 10

Christchurch to Dunedin (5 1/2 hrs 362 km)

FAR Research Site (Near to Ashburton)

Lunch at Timaru

Afternoon Tea Break at Oamaru / interesting beach stop - seal colony

Evening meal Dunedin

Feb. 11

Dunedin / Waimumu / Invercargill (3 1/2 hrs 230 km)

Southern Field Days 1/2 Day

Evening - Invercargill

History of Dunedin Port

Dunedin - New Zealand's Oldest University

Invercargill -  Manufacturer of Early Steam Engines

Feb 12

Invercargill / Waimumu / TeAnau (3hr 220 km)

Southern Field Days 1/2 Day

Breakfast Invercargill plus local tour on way to Field Days.

Evening - TeAnau

Some Historic New Zealand "World Firsts" (by Location)

*  Hamilton Jet Boats (Lake Tekapo)

*  Sir Ernest Rutherford (Nelson)

*  First  Sea Shipments of Refrigerated Meat (Dunedin)

* Perhaps first flight in the World  (Temuka, Timaru)

* Others of possible interest including some "local firsts" (various)

Feb. 13

TeAnau/Milford Sound/Queenstown (6hrs 420 km) Milford Sound Evening Queenstown - evening meal on lake front.

Historic Steam Boat

 
Feb 14

Queenstown /Arrowtown/Cromwell/Alexandra (1 1/2 hrs 100 km). Breakfast on lake shore. Interesting combination of  tourism - mountain landscape / gold mining /gorges plus extended lunch at enjoyable venue along the way for couple of papers to be presented.

Evening Alexandra

 
Feb 15 Alexandra / Wanaka environments. (3hrs 200 km) Farm / vineyard visits / hydro dams / gold mining - focus on no tillage and organic culture - work will be pleasure, believe me! McCrostie Parts and Machinery will host this section - no better host in the world - this will be a day to remember. Their motto for the day will be "social science". Evening (perhaps late) Wanaka (all you will want to do is sleep!)

 
Feb 16 Wanaka / Twizel (2hr 140km). Leisurely start after a hard day - including several 10min adhoc light-hearted presentations from randomly selected tour participants, on what has been their scientifi and tourist highlights, so far. Lunch at Omarama after scenic drive through Lindus Pass. Afternoon, visit to high-country direct seeding sites on sheep station, a salmon farm and evening milking at very large dairy unit. Evening Twizel.  
Feb 17 Twizel - Simons Hill Station - Mt Cook and Tasman Glacier - Tekapo evening. (Mt John world-class observatory night visit possible for limited number of enthusiasits)  
Feb 18 Tekapo - breakfast presentations of papers.  Mt John observatory late morning. Lunch Tekapo. Depart afternoon for Christchurch (3 1/2 hrs 230km)  

Feb 19

 Christchurch - Brunch & wrap up of  formal part of Tour including key note presentation. Afternoon / evening departures for those not continuing to North Island

 
Feb 20/21/22 Completion of departures - free days for those continuing - selection of local trips wil be available in additon to tour cost.  

After Tour

Option

 2/3 tourism plus study tour / farm visits.  

By road/ferry approx 5 days

 Christchurch - Picton - Wellington - Palmerston North (Massey University) - Taupo - Rotorua -Auckland  
28 Feb End of schedule / departures.  

Travel, accommodation during Week-1 to Week-3 will be arranged as a tourist package including also some meals. International flights should be reserved by the participants themselves. Reservation of additional hotel nights in Sydney, Christchurch and/or Auckland can be arranged upon individual requests from the participants.  

Indicative prices (preliminary estimates, will also be dependent on the interest / No. of participants) will be EUR 100 / 120 per day including single / double room accommodation with good breakfast. Some costs for transport/tourist entry fees and daily meals will be added. Details / budget to follow. This is a non-profit undertaking. Providing value for  money is our objective, but not at the expense of quality scientific venue and visiting iconic tourist sites.

Please note that the number of participants will be limited and that there are no obligations with registering your preliminary interest, searching the web and offering links / suggestions.