From the Presidents Desk – July ’12

I begin on a sad note, acknowledging the deaths of two of our long serving members, Haydn Lloyd Davies in April and more recently Drew Wright in May. Our sympathies go to Haydn’s and Drew’s families. Haydn and Drew were great supporters of the Society, both serving in executive capacities and instrumental in getting the Society started over 25 years ago. They maintained their support and interest until poor health  intervened.

The Society owes much to these two scientists for their foresight, vision and dedication to agriculture as researchers and communicators. In addition, their friendship and good company will long be remembered by many of us who had the good fortune to be associated with them. Tributes to Haydn and Drew appear in this issue. Many thanks to John Ayres, John Read and Malcolm Campbell for these contributions.

Preparations for our conference to be held in Wagga on July, 24th – 26th are nearing completion with most members having received a registration form. These are also available from our internet site. The conference program will provide something of interest and inspiration to all attendees. The convenor, Nathan Ferguson, has put in a tremendous effort to attract top speakers on a range of topics that cover soil fertility, grazing management, alternative fertilisers, perennial pasture options and a session on omega – 6 fatty acid effects on lambing gender. In addition, the ever popular bus tours will give attendees the opportunity to see, first hand, successful and enterprising pasture and crop
strategies in the Wagga district.

An interesting extra feature of the conference is a “ Q and A “ facilitated by Phil Graham, exploring the aspirations of our younger farmers. This promises to be a great opportunity to look ahead with motivated farmers discussing their hopes for a bright future. I strongly encourage all our members to attend the conference and ask you to invite non member friends and neighbours to come along to see for themselves the benefits of Society membership.

Mick Duncan – President (Grassland Society of NSW)

This entry was posted in Miscellaneous. Bookmark the permalink.