Olivia Webster is the Project Manager at LandWISE. She leads the Carbon Positive trial, a six-year project comparing different cropping systems, with a strong focus on improving soil health and building soil carbon. She oversees trial coordination, field operations, and data collection. Olivia completed a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Environmental Science at Massey University, with a focus on soils and earth science, which brings a valuable perspective to her work in the horticulture sector.

Olivia will give an overview of the Carbon Positive trial and outline the different management of the three treatments; Conventional, Hybrid, and Regenerative, during the fourth cropping season, in which butternut pumpkins were grown. She will present gross margin outcomes and describe how reduced nitrogen inputs in the Regenerative treatment maintained comparable butternut yields.

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.

Andy Mawley has spent his entire life working with spray application, from orchards to broadacre farming and large-scale cropping operations. He understands how important it is to maximise the effectiveness of the chemistry you’re using—and how often small, easily overlooked details can impact performance.

Andy brings practical experience and straightforward solutions to help improve outcomes across a wide range of operations. He travels extensively, working alongside growers and operators to identify opportunities for improvement, while also continuing to learn from each unique situation.

Katherine Martin is a consultant at Perrin Ag, working across agronomy, farm systems, and environmental planning to support growers in improving productivity and strengthening environmental outcomes. Her work spans vegetable and pastoral systems, with a strong focus on soil health and regenerative practices at the paddock scale, alongside translating research into practical, farm‑ready insights for growers.

Intensive vegetable systems often leave soil bare between crops leading to nitrogen leaching and soil erosion. Crop stacking offers an innovative approach keeping living ground cover in place for the months that would otherwise be fallow.