BLNZ South Island general manager John Ladley said the regional teams would be working with their Farmer Council and respective Farming for Profit committees and facilitators to put extension programmes together, but these would be undertaken within the guidelines developed by BLNZ.
"Our first priority is the health and safety of our staff, our farmers and rural communities, so while we are all looking forward to getting together in person, extra care will be needed around registrations and personal hygiene."
Mr Ladley said a number of online events had already been planned or were in the planning process, and these would go ahead.
"These forums have proved very popular as an easy way for farmers to access information and subject matter experts within the comfort of their home."
He said they had learned a lot during lockdown about being effective with online extension delivery.
"We are wanting to take what we have learnt and continue to apply this in the future.
"The feedback that we have had from farmers that have participated in the numerous online events delivered has also been encouraging.
"While we see the importance of face-to-face activity, we see the future of extension delivery being a hybrid model incorporating online and face-to-face activity."
Mr Ladley said this model gave farmers more options for participating in BLNZ events and extended the organisation’s reach to those who might not normally attend field days or workshops.
He encouraged farmers to keep a close eye on the e-diary and on the events section on the BLNZ website for future events and activities.
BLNZ events can be found at https://beeflambnz.com/events
Copy: Beef + Lamb New Zealand
