When being told to p-off is good

1 December 2015
When being told to p-off is good

Being told to p-off isn’t usually a good thing, but at a lecture later this week celebrating World Soil Day, a soil expert will explain when it is.

The New Zealand Society of Soil Science is hosting the Norman Taylor Memorial Lecture at the University of Waikato on Friday December 4. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is by leading soil scientist Professor Richard McDowell from AgResearch/Lincoln University, and is entitled “When being told to P-off is good”.

The lecture is part of the NZSSS day-long conference at the University of Waikato and covers a range of issues related to use of phosphorus in New Zealand agriculture, and is delivered in an accessible and interesting manner.

Professor McDowell is a principal scientist at AgResearch, Invermay, a professor at Lincoln University, and a fellow of the New Zealand Society of Soil Science. He studied at Lincoln and Cambridge Universities before working for the United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service and subsequently joining AgResearch in 2001.

Professor McDowell has produced ground-breaking research contributing to more than 300 well-cited publications. He has displayed national and international leadership of research into the quantification, impact, and management of contaminant loss from land to freshwater (especially phosphorus). His work informs and underpins policy within New Zealand, for example in industry guidelines, regional council limits, and New Zealand's National Policy Statement on Freshwater Management.

Professor McDowell’s lecture is at 2pm in S1.05 on the University of Waikato campus. It will be followed by a celebration of the International Year of Soils and World Soil Day including afternoon tea. People are welcome to come for all or any part of the day. Other speakers throughout the day include soil specialists from the University of Waikato Dr Megan Balks, Professor Louis Schipper Professor David Lowe, and Jack Pronger, and many others.

The event is sponsored by Waikato Regional Council, Landcare Research and the University of Waikato. For more information and to RSVP for other events other than the Norman Taylor Memorial Lecture, contact m.balks@waikato.ac.nz

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