Tauranga farmers are invited to join colleagues at a biological farming conference in Rotorua.

Scientists and practicing farmers will be on the same platform to share, exchange and discuss ideas during the first national conference on biological farming systems, which is being held on October 27-28 at Rydges Rotorua.

The theme of the conference is ‘Towards Sustainable Farming – by farmers, for farmers'.

Organisers say they have received a tremendous response and the target of 200 delegates, the maximum seating arrangement that has been made for conference dinner and field trip, has already been achieved.

DairyNZ chairman John Luxton is opening the conference.

A number of leading scientists from crown research institutes and universities, and farmers from different regions of New Zealand are participating and sharing their knowledge and experiences at the conference.

A number of papers are being presented including, a study from Massey University comparing nitrate leaching from organic and conventionally farmed dairy units; scientists from Sustainable Land Use Research Initiative (SLURI) will present papers on ecosystem services, recent research on soil carbon, and soil biology focussing on earthworm diversity and abundance.

People interested in registering for the conference can do so via [email protected]

The conference is organised by the Rotorua Lakes and Land Trust (RLLT) – a joint venture between Te Arawa Federation of Maori Authorities and Rotorua/Taupo Province of Federated Farmers.