Our 2026 LandWISE Conference Opening Speaker, James Hunter, is a farmer with a surprising number of decades under his belt.

Rangitoto Station, farmed by Hunters since 1854, is named a local the Pa site that dates to some of the earliest times of NZ occupation. These attachments, mixed with time working for the Rural Bank in the 1980’s when government schemes (namely the Land Development Encouragement Loan) focused on clearing bush and wetlands – now described as biodiversity, and travel through South and Central America seeing first hand some of Natures wonders struggle with so-called progress reinforced for James that the little things that we have around us must be part of our future. He set out to lift farm performance while protecting all remnant native bush/scrub areas, creating wetlands and improving the quality of water leaving Rangitoto.

Time on QEII and NZ Farm Environment Trust boards strengthened the ethos that farming and looking after things natural are rewarding companions. James is currently questioning whether the “regenerative farming” description fully accounts for so much on Rangitoto Station “that is a buzz”. 

Photo from RNZ – see the full article

“http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/570243/disaster-waiting-to-happen-fears-carbon-farming-increases-risk-of-wild-fire.

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Dr. Charlie White is a faculty member at Penn State University, specializing in soil nutrient behavior and management.

He has taught various courses, including Soil Nutrient Behavior and Management, Internship, Independent Studies, Thesis Research, and Supervised Experience in College Teaching.

His research focuses on sustainable agricultural systems, biogeochemical cycles, and nutrient management to promote productive and efficient nutrient use in cropping systems.

In this presentation, Charlie will share some of the key insights into managing cover crops for nutrient management and soil health that he has learned through twenty years of research, much of it conducted in partnership with farmers in the temperate, humid climate of the Mid-Atlantic USA.

These lessons include the importance of measuring and managing cover crop and soil organic matter carbon, nitrogen, and C:N ratios to balance nitrogen retention and supply; that a little bit of grass in a cover crop mixture goes a long way to reducing N leaching; and that a cover crop mixture with balanced species proportions will be the most multifunctional, but achieving evenness in the biomass is easier said than done.

Finally, Charlie will return to his roots in reflecting on the importance of mycorrhizal fungi to the phosphorus nutrition of crops, and why P stratification in no-till system may not be as much of a problem as we think because of these symbiotic organisms.

Session Synopsis

Growing multiple vegetable crops across a farming operation the size of Harvest Moon requires constant decision-making, careful timing and a deep understanding of what crops need at every stage of growth. In this session, Josh will walk through how Harvest Moon manages nutrient applications across more than a dozen crops using a combination of field experience, soil and sap testing, and modern data tools.

He will explain how the team schedules and calculates nutrient inputs throughout the season, how they identify inefficiencies in the system, and how these insights feed into broader Integrated Pest Management strategies. By continually measuring and refining what happens in the field, Harvest Moon is able to reduce risk, improve crop health and optimise yield.

The session offers practical, real-world insights for growers looking to sharpen their nutrient strategies, improve efficiency and get more value from the data already available in their farming systems.

In the last five years, he has conducted regenerative trials on kiwifruit orchards to scientifically demonstrate that adopting regenerative practices can improve soil health and increase biodiversity, while remaining profitable.

Pranoy will present some key findings of the regenerative trials over the years and identify the main barriers to the adoption of these practices by the kiwifruit growers.

The session offers practical, real-world insights for growers wanting to apply sustainable and regenerative practices on orchards and farms.

Making sense of carbon movements. History of strip-till.

Co-founder and manager of LandWISE since 1999, Dan’s career is diverse, with a constant theme of sustainable use of land and water resources. His post-graduate studies included an MScTech in innovation Management and adoption in the primary sector, and a PhD investigating the potential of ultra-low energy electric weeding.  He brings experience across fresh and process vegetable growing, kiwifruit and arable production, to complement expertise in extension, soil health and efficient water management.

Dan is the architect of the Carbon Positive project. At LandWISE 2026, he will present data from soil carbon monitoring in the Carbon Positive project and introduce the use of AI to help understand changes in soil carbon pools.  Powerful, yes. But trustworthy?

Later, he will dive back in history to recall pioneering research into the adoption of strip tillage to minimise soil erosion and soil health impacts. That work saw the formation of LandWISE, ultimately as a stand-alone organisation promoting sustainable production through leadership, support and research. Dan remains a strong advocate for strip-till done right, having seen first-hand its contribution to better soil health, minimised fuel requirements, and financial advantages.

Past Chair of LandWISE, John Evans will discuss his farming career at “Soil Health for Profit” in May. Over more than four decades active farming, he’s seen a number of farming systems arrive and be replaced.

John was exposed to soil improvement at a young age as his parent’s developed half of the property from Gorse Broom Blackberry and Willows into a highly productive irrigated mixed system. After returning from Lincoln College and helping with the irrigation development the farm was sold, and another larger rundown property was purchased in Dorie.

Over the next 36 years John continued his soils interest and converted the property to intensive cropping with irrigation. Pivoting the operation and taking up the opportunities that came along, he finished with a highly productive arable livestock farm with a high quality, productive specialist seed operation.

He was and is always active in his own research and hosting and supporting Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) projects. Looking back, has asks, “Have I always been a regenerative farmer?”

Sponsored by

Dr Sally Anderson is the Scientific Services Manager for Market Access Solutionz Ltd and is based in Wellington. Sally has over 15 years’ experience designing, managing, and implementing science research programmes for New Zealand’s horticultural sector. This includes co-ordinating the Vegetable Research & Innovation Board, managing Summerfruit, Citrus and Onions R&D programmes.

Sally has a science background and holds a and PhD from the University of Auckland, with over 10 years of research experience in environmental ecology, molecular biology, and microbial ecology, with prior roles at NIWA (now Earth Sciences NZ) and the Wellington School of Medicine.

Leading the science services portfolio at MAS, Sally works to support clients with technical advice in plant health research, biosecurity, crop protection, export market access.

As the Vegetable Research & Innovation Board co-ordinator, Sally worked alongside industry stakeholders to secure funding from MPI NIWE fund to support the vegetable, fruit and arable sectors to carry out monitoring post-Cyclone Gabrielle to better understand how highly productive land recovers from these extreme weather events. These learnings and those from other agencies were showcased at the Cyclone Gabrielle Research Symposium, held on the 19-20^th November 2025. Sally will summarise the symposium and its findings.

Richard has more than 25 years’ experience across orchard management, industry extension, consulting, and governance in New Zealand’s horticulture sector.

He completed an eight-year tenure as Regional Manager for Ngāi Tukairangi Trust in Hawke’s Bay, leading high value kiwifruit and pipfruit orchards through significant productivity and profitability gains, improved business resilience, and guided the transition to regenerative practices while maintaining strong commercial performance. Earlier roles with Zespri and AgFirst focused on orchard productivity, grower extension, and applied research, translating science and data into practical decision making at scale.

Richard is a Trustee of the Hawke’s Bay Future Farming Trust and operates Boost Horticulture, where regenerative practices are applied and tested in a commercial kiwifruit system, strengthening his focus on soils, and long-term orchard resilience.

Session synopsis:

Soil health is widely recognised as important, yet it is rarely treated as a primary measure of sustainability. Drawing on his Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme research, Richard explores why soil health continues to sit on the periphery of decision‑making, despite being central to long‑term orchard and farm performance.

Based on interviews with growers, researchers, industry bodies, and policy stakeholders, this session examines the key barriers limiting progress – including knowledge gaps, mindset, short‑term business pressures, and weak links between science, extension, and on‑orchard/farm practice.

Richard will discuss how soil health is currently measured (and mis‑measured), why growers often struggle to quantify benefits, and where low‑risk opportunities exist to improve soil function without compromising productivity.

The session focuses on practical insights from applied research and commercial experience, highlighting why healthy soils underpin resilience, profitability, and future‑proofing modern growing systems.