Welcome to Lincoln Agritech’s final newsletter for 2024.

It is also my first newsletter as CEO. It’s a privilege to join an organisation with such a long history of positive contributions to the primary industries and beyond.

My background is both academic and commercial: I am an insect pathologist and have held leadership positions in AgResearch and Lincoln University; I have been Director of a national Centre of Research Excellence; and I am also involved with several start-up companies.

These experiences are well aligned with Lincoln Agritech’s ambition: to deliver innovative research and development of responsive sustainable solutions that enable industries and communities to thrive in a healthy environment. That mix of science and business is what Aotearoa New Zealand needs to thrive in a fast-changing world.

Moving into this role has been made easier by the previous CEO, Richard Gordon, who provided an outstanding basis for growing the organisation, and by the dedicated staff.

I am deeply impressed by the excellent research and development happening in our organisation, and by the contribution it has already made to our food and fibre sector.

As an independent research organisation, Lincoln Agritech can be responsive to client needs while also pushing the boundaries of scientific knowledge.

You can see that in this newsletter, with stories highlighting our contribution to understanding New Zealand’s environment (braided rivers), new technologies to improve sustainable production for industry (wool research), the excellence of our team (Royal Society Fellowship), and our outreach (Dutch interns).

As we count down to our holiday season, I wish all our clients and collaborators a happy Christmas. I hope everyone gets to relax over the break after a hectic and often challenging year.

The new year will likely bring many challenges, but also successes as Lincoln Agritech continues to push the boundaries of knowledge benefitting our industries, communities, and environment.