ENVIRO CONFERENCE 2025 – FUTURE FARMING SUCCESS
15 July 2025 | 9:30 am – 4:15 pm | Ashburton Event Centre
Complimentary for Farmers | $100 for Rural Professionals
Join farmers, rural professionals, and industry leaders for a full day of ideas, inspiration, and innovation – designed to help you farm for a healthier environment, while protecting your bottom line.
Whether you’re managing water, thinking about your nitrogen use, considering diversification, or navigating future compliance, the Enviro Conference delivers real-world insights and practical tools to support better environmental and business outcomes.
Highlights Include:
- Engaging keynotes on the future of farming, freshwater and global trends
- Breakout sessions covering dairy, arable, water, and diversification topics—choose what’s most relevant to you
- Farmer-led case studies sharing what’s working on the ground
- Innovation Expo showcasing the latest tech, tools, and support
It’s about practical, profitable solutions—and things you can do at home, straight away.
For more information, continue reading below.
Don’t miss out – register now to secure your place.
SCHEDULE
Note: Break out sessions are a ‘Pick and Mix’ format – topics of attendees choice.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Keynote Speaker 1: Navigating toward future environmental success
This presentation will explore land use change as one of the most complex and long-term challenges facing the rural sector. While every region has its own unique mix of constraints and opportunities, the Canterbury context presents particular issues—especially around managing nitrogen levels in drinking water. Addressing this challenge will require more than on-farm solutions; it calls for a broader, region-wide conversation about land use, environmental limits, and shared responsibility. This session will provide insights into why a collaborative, long-term approach is essential for developing practical and durable pathways forward.
Keynote Speaker 2: Freshwater Quality and the Future of Farming
This presentation will reflect on the growing importance of freshwater quality in shaping the future of farming. As regulatory pressures increase and social expectations evolve, water quality is becoming a key factor in maintaining social license and long-term viability. Attendees will be invited to consider how the sector’s approach to freshwater stewardship influences not only environmental outcomes but also its freedom to operate and adapt in a changing landscape.
Keynote Speaker 3: Future Farm Systems: Planning for Resilience in a Changing Landscape
This presentation will examine the direction of farm systems in light of increasing environmental expectations and regulatory change. It will explore the environmental, management, and economic factors shaping the future, offering a view of the opportunities and challenges ahead. Designed to support informed forward planning, the session is relevant to both current and prospective farm operators navigating a more complex and performance-driven landscape.
Keynote Speaker 4: Environmental Integrity and Market Expectations: The Global Lens on New Zealand Farming
This presentation will offer a global perspective on the growing importance of environmental performance in shaping the value and competitiveness of New Zealand’s primary exports. As international markets and consumers place increasing emphasis on sustainability, transparency, and environmental integrity, the way our farm systems are perceived plays a critical role in maintaining market access and premium positioning. Attendees will gain insight into how expectations are evolving globally—and why strong environmental performance on-farm is no longer just a domestic issue, but a key component of New Zealand’s international reputation and economic success.
BREAK OUT SESSION 1
Diversification: What to Consider with Diversification – A Case Study of Apples
Thinking about diversifying your farm system? This session will guide you through what to consider when weighing up the opportunities and risks with diversification. Using apples as a real-life example, our farmer presenter will share insights into the decision-making process, including practical, technical, and financial considerations. Learn what questions to ask, how to assess the risks and rewards, and what are critical success factors.
Dairy: Continuous improvement in nitrogen efficiency – stacking nitrogen mitigations
This session will introduce a new tool (in development) using bulk milk urea and demonstrate how combining various mitigation strategies can result in more efficient use of nitrogen to reduce the risk of nitrogen losses. It will highlight current research within the DairyNZ-led Low N Systems programme including preliminary results from a multi-year farmlet trial at Lincoln University Research Dairy Farm, that is targeting 40 to 60% reductions in nitrogen leaching with co-benefits of decreasing greenhouse gas emissions while minimising potential impacts on profitability.
Arable: Innovation and Tools – A Look at What’s Around the Corner
This session will explore the current tools and technologies shaping the future of arable farming. With precision agriculture now part of the mainstream, we’ll take a closer look at how to maximise the value of technologies such as NDVI, EM mapping, and yield data. What benefits can these technologies deliver? What challenges do they present? And how can they be harnessed to drive productivity while reducing environmental impacts?
BREAK OUT SESSION 2
Water: Optimising Irrigation – Making the Most of Your Monitoring Data (Repeat – Session 1)
This session takes a big-picture look at how water monitoring data can support better irrigation decisions on farm. Rather than focusing on too many technical specifics, it will explore how farmers can use the information they’re already collecting to improve efficiency, respond to changing conditions, and get more value from their irrigation systems. It will also touch on the wider benefits—such as improved crop performance, cost savings, and meeting regulatory expectations. Whether you’re new to monitoring or looking to get more from it, this session will help you think differently about how data can support good irrigation practice.
Dairy: Tools That Benefit Both the Environment and Your Farm’s Bottom Line
This session will explore how new farming technologies can help improve environmental outcomes while also supporting farm productivity and profitability. Focusing on tools like cow collars, it will highlight the potential benefits these innovations offer, such as better resource management and improved decision-making. The discussion will provide a broad overview of how different technologies compare and what factors farmers should consider when choosing solutions that fit their goals. Attendees will gain insights into how adopting the right tools can create value for both the environment and their business.
Arable: Tools to Monitor Nitrogen Use Efficiency for Arable Farms
This session will feature simple, practical nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) indicators designed specifically for arable farms. These tools make it easier to understand how well nitrogen is being used and where there’s room to improve. By using these indicators, arable growers can gain clearer insights into their N management and identify ways to reduce waste while maintaining performance.
BREAK OUT SESSION 3
Diversification: Hemprino: Building a Value Chain from the Farm Up
This session will explore the journey of land use diversification through the lens of Hemprino—a unique fibre blend combining hemp and merino. Presented by a farmer involved in its development, the session will highlight how a new value chain was created from the ground up, and what was involved at each stage. It will cover the decision-making process, technical and practical considerations, and the challenges and opportunities encountered along the way. This is a valuable case study for farmers interested in considering new land uses and developing high-value, market-driven products that go beyond the farm gate.
Dairy: Good Practice Improvement – Multi-Species Pastures and the Role of Plantain
This session will explore how multi-species pastures are being used to support more resilient, productive, and environmentally responsive farm systems. It will highlight the growing interest in increasing pasture diversity and the potential benefits for soil health, feed quality, and climate resilience. A particular focus will be given to the role of plantain as a proven intervention to help reduce nitrogen losses. The session will offer a high-level overview of why farmers are adopting these approaches, what outcomes they’re seeing, and how multi-species pastures—anchored by tools like plantain—could support the future of good farming practice.
Arable: Effective Critical Source Area (CSA) Management on Arable farms – Case Studies
This session will provide practical case studies and clear guidelines to help farmers implement effective and scalable management of critical source areas (CSAs). It will highlight how farm knowledge, supported by the right tools and advice, can lead to better environmental outcomes. With a focus on arable systems, the session will explore how targeted interventions can reduce nutrient and sediment losses, and how these approaches can be adapted to suit different farm landscapes. Attendees will leave with useful insights and examples they can apply on their own farms.
BREAK OUT SESSION 4
Water: Optimising Irrigation – Making the Most of Your Monitoring Data (Repeat – Session 2)
This session takes a big-picture look at how water monitoring data can support better irrigation decisions on farm. Rather than focusing on too many technical specifics, it will explore how farmers can use the information they’re already collecting to improve efficiency, respond to changing conditions, and get more value from their irrigation systems. It will also touch on the wider benefits—such as improved crop performance, cost savings, and meeting regulatory expectations. Whether you’re new to monitoring or looking to get more from it, this session will help you think differently about how data can support good irrigation practice.
Dairy: All Grass Wintering – Opportunity or Distraction?
This session takes an in-depth look at the science and practicality of all grass wintering and its potential role in evolving farm systems. As expectations around wintering practices continue to shift, this approach is gaining attention and more answers may be required to understand if it is a genuine opportunity for change? The session will explore the implications of all grass wintering, including how it aligns with environmental, operational, and strategic goals on farm. It will encourage farmers to think critically about what solutions are realistic, effective, and future-focused in the context of their own operations.
Arable: Innovation, and Tools – A Farmer’s Perspective
This session takes a high-level look at how innovation and emerging technologies are shaping the future of arable farming. Through a farmer’s lens, it will explore the broader opportunities these developments offer—such as improved decision-making, more efficient operations, and the potential to meet changing expectations. It will also reflect on some of the common challenges farmers face when adopting new tools, from navigating complexity to ensuring real value on the ground. This session is an opportunity to consider how innovation fits within the bigger picture of evolving farm systems and long-term resilience.
