QS making good progress with this MPI funding. Should BNNZ try to connect for collaboration/support for biochar workshops? But my guess is their funding is fully allocated...

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Quorum Sense <contact@...>
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2020 at 12:32
Subject: August Newsletter - Extension Project Underway!
To: <trevor@...>

Extension project underway plus we're looking for a Chief Organiser and Comms & Digital Lead... do you know anyone?

Supporting regenerative farm systems and vibrant rural communities Extension Project Underway! Back in October 2019 Quorum Sense started discussions with the Ministry for Primary Industries about applying to their Production and Sustainable Land Use - Extension Services fund. With the help of some generous donations from some of our core network, we submitted our application earlier this year. Last month we signed a contract with MPI for $1.87m over three years to deliver a wide range of extension activities across multiple sectors and throughout the country. Some of these activities will be a continuation of things we used to run voluntarily (e.g. field days, website, supporting social media platforms), and others will be new (e.g. case studies, workshops, podcast etc). We will also be looking to increase the support we can provide to regional groups throughout the country over time.  We've already made a start with the recent Quorum Exchange event in Gore and another that we supported in Taranaki last week (see more below). We'll be spending much of our time this spring in planning mode, aiming to hit the ground running once farmers are clear of lambing and calving. With the uncertainty around Covid we are hedging our bets and will keep the digital engagement and content flowing either way! Forward this email to your friends and colleagues and they can subscribe here.   Quorum Sense is hiring!   We're looking for a Comms & Digital Lead and a Chief Organiser We're looking for two awesome people for our new roles as Comms & Digital Lead and Chief Organiser, to help deliver our recently funded three-year extension project. Both roles have loads of flexibility in terms of scope, hours, and location, though we would prefer people nearish to Christchurch. Check out the job descriptions below (or forward to a mate) and help us create an awesome core team to support this exciting and growing network! Applications close midnight this Sunday 23rd August. More information here: Chief Organiser Comms & Digital Lead Recent Highlights   We had a great Quorum Exchange in Gore last month and supported an equally great event in Taranaki (Hamish Bielski featuring in both!). Our Quorum Exchange events are a great showcase of how local farmers are adapting similar high level principles and ideas to their local contexts. And featuring a diversity of farmers really highlights how many different pathways there are to achieving similar goals! Check out some of the photos below - we'll let you know when and where to find the recordings once they're available.   Quorum Sense YouTube Highlights   The Quorum Sense YouTube Channel is growing fast and now features an exciting range of presentations and webinars with farmers, scientists and practitioners! Watch Simon Osborne's presentation on Companion Cropping & Soil Health from the first Quorum Exchange back in August last year. Check out his presentation During lockdown we ran a series of weekly webinars on a range of topics including this super popular one with Angela Clifford from EAT New Zealand Watch it here » See more on the Quorum Sense YouTube Channel Planting multi-species cover crops this season?   Just something to be aware of if you are considering planting multi-species cover crops, consider possible cross-contamination issues, especially in seed production areas. Cross-contamination from one flowering crop to another can make for an out of specification crop, which can lead to the rejection of the whole crop for the grower. For example, Daikon radish in a multi-species crop/ cover mix has the potential to cross-contaminate other radish seed crops up to 5km away. A little careful planning and conversations with neighbours and seed reps will prevent potential headaches. (Random photo of Sam's chaos garden experiment with the flowering daikon heads removed) Hope you're all well and we'll be in touch again soon!   Join us on Facebook Visit our website Drop us an email Copyright © Quorum Sense. All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.