35 Grower members and associates attended the 2019 AGM held at Henry & Rose Cafe in Keith on Tuesday 25th October.
Guest Speakers prior to the AGM were:
Aaron Freeman- Each year, LA Gold sponsor – Rabobank conducts the Rabobank Farm Manager Course. Lucerne Australia has for the past few years provided a bursary to young LA members to attend the course.
Last year, Aaron attended and he gave a summary of what the course meant to him and his business and he urged others to take up this opportunity.
Dr Katya Hogendoorn - senior researcher with expertise in ecology and evolution of bee behaviour and diversity. Katja aims to use her understanding of bee behaviour to improve management decisions for the enhancement of bee health, biodiversity, and crop pollination services. Katya explained what the pollination project has been doing and how farmers will be supplied with lists of plants to enhance the survival of native bee species.
Professor John Hamblin - Adjunct Professor Institute of Agriculture University of Western Australia.
Professor Hamblin asks if the decline in bees for pollination has been examined from the right perspective – how can we get the plants less reliant on insects and bees of pollination by selecting self-pollinating genotypes. John gave an outline of his work which has produced some lines of self - pollinating lucerne. More to come on this project!
