The theme for the three-day event October 19-21 is Seeding the Anzac Spirit and for the first time both Australian and NZ seed companies would be involved.
Keynote international speakers included Queensland Agriculture Minister Leanne Donaldson, Queensland University professor of innovation in agriculture and director of the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture, Food and Innovation Robert Henry and Stephen Blair, Melbourne-based trade commissioner and consul general for NZ Trade and Enterprise.
Association president Barry McCarter said the line-up would also include Professor Peter Langridge from Adelaide University’s plants genomics unit, Michelle Broom, general manager of the Australian Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council and Greg Fraser, managing director and chief executive of Plant Health Australia.
With topics ranging from biosecurity and biotech to trade deals and diet fads, the conference provided a unique forum for industry discussion and debate, association general manager Thomas Chin said.
But with only a matter of weeks to go before it started, those who hadn’t already registered needed to do so now, he said.
The programme included two optional field trips.
Registration forms and further information was at www.nzgsta.co.nz or email tricia.radford@seedindustrynz.co.nz for more details.
