The A Lighter Touch Podcast

In the second episode, of the two part series, focused on the TomatoesNZ-A Lighter Touch tomatoes biocontrol project, we tell the story of this five-year project which has seen an industry shift from agrichemical reliance to biological controls.We follow the project journey, taking a native bug found in the New Zealand bush and trialling it in commercial greenhouses to develop a sustainable crop protection programme for two major industry pests, tomato-potato psyllid and greenhouse whitefly. Find more infomation on the Tomatoes biocontrol project page of the ALT website. Grower resources on integated pest management (IPM) mentioned in the epsiode are here.Looking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

In this episode, the first of a two part series, we explain the science of augmentative biocontrol using a native insect.  This science underpins the A Lighter Touch and TomatoesNZ project to revitalise biocontrol of greenhouse pests, which was disrupted by the arrival of a new pest, the tomato-potato psyllid. Find more infomation on the Tomatoes biocontrol project page of the ALT website. Grower resources on integated pest management (IPM) mentioned in the epsiode are here. Looking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is the first of two episodes exploring how introducing more biodiversity into the orchard can increase beneficial insect populations to help sustainably manage insect pests, and cut down on agrichemicals. It’s a look at farming that works with nature, not against it.Links to the grower guides referenced in this episode:Guide 1: Establishing floral resources for improved biological controlGuide 2: Insect monitoring of perennial cropsGuide 3: Management and evaluation of beneficial plantingPlus, you can find many other resources, video tutorials and presentations relating to this topic here.Looking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is episode two in a two-part series inspired by a forum we hosted at our demonstration farm in Pukekohe, Auckland. In it, we’ll be exploring why biodiversity matters on farm and the role it plays in pest and disease management.Links to the full presentations referenced in this episode:Dr Charles (Merf) Merfield – Why a biodiverse landscape is importantJames Gardiner – Implementing biodiversity projects on NZ farmsDr Brad Howlett – Native plantings that support beneficial insect biodiversityOlivia Prouse – Boosting beneficials using biodiverse planting on vegetable farmsMichael Arnold – “A Lighter Touch,” the LeaderBrand storyPlus, you can download a plant species list from the biodiversity planting in vegetable farms project here.Looking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is episode one in a two-part series inspired by a forum we hosted at our demonstration farm in Pukekohe, Auckland. In it, we’ll be exploring why biodiversity matters on farm and the role it plays in pest and disease management.Links to the full presentations referenced in this episode:Dr Charles (Merf) Merfield – Why a biodiverse landscape is importantJames Gardiner – Implementing biodiversity projects on NZ farmsDr Brad Howlett – Native plantings that support beneficial insect biodiversityOlivia Prouse – Boosting beneficials using biodiverse planting on vegetable farmsMichael Arnold – “A Lighter Touch,” the LeaderBrand storyPlus, you can download a plant species list from the biodiversity planting in vegetable farms project here.Looking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is the final episode in a three-part series inspired by a webinar we hosted, titled “Strategies to encourage grower adoption of new technologies.” In the episode, we walk through how to define the target audience for your Extension programme. We hear predominantly from Dr Geoff Kaine, Senior Researcher at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research as he describes the 'farm context' for your innovation, and how to establish unique audience segments for better targeting.Resources from this episode:Webinar recording by A Lighter TouchLooking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is episode two in a three-part series inspired by a webinar we hosted, titled “Strategies to encourage grower adoption of new technologies.”In the episode, we dive into an extension framework called "Bennett’s Hierarchy" used to design, monitor and evaluate effective extension programmes. We hear from Denise Bewsell, Principal at Scarlatti.Resources from this episode:Webinar recording by A Lighter TouchBennett's Hierarchy Visual Resource by A Lighter TouchLooking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.

This is episode one in a three-part series inspired by a webinar we hosted, titled “Strategies to encourage grower adoption of new technologies.”In the episode, we hear from four experts on knowledge transfer, or "extension" to farmers and growers. We cover what is it, the challenges involved, and how to do it well.Resources from this episode:Webinar recording by A Lighter TouchExtension resources by Enablers of ChangeRural Extension Innovation Systems JournalLooking for more tools, tips, and resources on sustainable agriculture in Aotearoa New Zealand? Visit A Lighter Touch's website, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Linkedin.