Welcome and opening: Gather at the Langlands Hotel for the official conference welcome, including a pōwhiri and opening remarks.

2024 Scholar report presentation and panel: Hear from the 2024 Nuffield Scholar, followed by a panel discussion and informal networking over light refreshments.

2025 Scholar report presentations and panel: Start the day with current scholar presentations and a panel conversation exploring fresh thinking from across the rural sector.

Field trip options: Choose from three Friday afternoon Southland-based tours, each offering a different lens on the region’s enterprise, environment and community.

Aquaculture tour: This option takes delegates south to Bluff for a coastal experience that combines local scenery, industry insight and practical site visits. Delegates can expect to visit key Bluff locations, a visit to the South Port NZ to hear more about the Health and Safety of the marine and port activity, and a visit to Ocean Beach. The visit to South Port is to explore how they set up good work for their people - including attraction and retention, integration of refugees, health and safety. Visitors to Ocean Beach will experience a fascinating blend of Bluff’s dramatic coastal environment, rich history, and leading-edge aquaculture industry. The tour showcases how a former industrial site is being transformed into a destination focused on sustainable seafood production, innovation, and tourism. Delegates can explore working aquaculture facilities, learn how Blackfoot Pāua (abalone), whitebait, seaweed, and other marine species are sustainably farmed on land, and hear about the role kaitiakitanga plays in protecting marine ecosystems. This tour includes a gin tasting at Bluff Distillery, a gin from “the edge of the world”.
*Note this tour is limited to 30 delegates.

Land tour: This option focuses on land use, innovation and environmental management near Invercargill. Delegates will visit AB Lime to learn about its landfill operation and electricity generation, alongside a nearby dairy farming example using technology, including Halter, and new approaches to improve land-based production. It is a practical tour for those interested in how Southland businesses are adapting, innovating and managing resources responsibly.

Cultural tour: This option offers a more cultural and community-focused experience through Riverton and Anderson Park. Delegates will have the chance to connect with Southland’s heritage, creativity and local stories, including a self-funded lunch at Riverton Beach House, a visit linked to Lumea Ocean Shell, and time at Anderson Park to understand the family history, art, vision and cultural context behind the place.

Networking drinks: Reconnect after the field trips and continue conversations with fellow delegates.

Panel and buffet dinner: Leadership and future-focused decision making, followed by dinner at the Langlands.

Full-day field trips: After breakfast spend the day exploring Southland businesses, farms and landscapes through two field trip options: Around the Mountain and Fields of Green.

Around the Mountain: Delegates will spend the day travelling through western Southland, with commentary on the bus as they move through the region’s farming landscapes, communities and major production areas. The tour is expected to include visits and presentations linked to Burwood Station showcasing Headwaters and Lumina Lamb, Davaar Station, and Jericho station giving delegates a first-hand look at farming businesses, agritech, environmental projects and land stewardship in action. There will also be a visit to a Pamu property in the Te Anau Basin where delegates will hear directly from Pamu CEO, Mark Leslie.

Throughout the day, delegates will hear directly from local hosts about the history of their properties and businesses, the challenges of operating in this environment, and the opportunities shaping the future of food, fibre, forestry and rural technology. It is a practical, on-the-ground tour designed to show how Southland producers are adapting, innovating and working together across markets, people, land and environment.

Fields of Green: Delegates will spend the day travelling through northern Southland, visiting a mix of farming, cropping and regional enterprise sites that showcase the diversity of land use in the area. The tour is expected to include stops that give delegates a practical look at how local producers and entrepreneurs are building value from land, climate, people and infrastructure. There may be a few surprise visits along the way too.

Throughout the day, delegates will hear from hosts about how these businesses have developed, the opportunities they are pursuing, and the challenges that come with scale, diversification and innovation in Southland. This tour is designed to highlight the breadth of the region’s primary sector, from traditional farming systems through to emerging crops and new enterprise models, while creating space for discussion on the bus and at each stop about what sustainable growth could look like for the future.

Nuffield Gala dinner: Celebrate the Nuffield community with an evening of awards, dinner and entertainment at Transport World, with surprise evening entertainment.

Conference close: Wrap up the biennial with a relaxed breakfast and final reflections.

Free day: Delegates can depart or make the most of a free day in Southland before heading home.