"Soil is not a good medium to grow plants!"

Soil is not a good medium to grow plants! Ok, now that I have got your attention, and clearly this statement was designed to be provocative, it is clear that the global movement towards controlled production systems including greenhouse, hydroponics and soilless culture will be a key component of current and future production and food security options.

Also, it is clear that the dearth of Australian and New Zealand research in the commercial production sector heavily relies on overseas research findings to improve yield and quality. Our climate can be very different to Europe, therefore we need to understand the new technologies globally, and then explore and optimise our cultivars and growing technologies to suit locally and this can only be achieved through strategic partnerships between the sectors.

In short we need to bring the ‘knowledge makers together with knowledge users’.

There is a conference in 6 weeks time which represents an exciting opportunity for our scientific communities to be involved and become part of the modern face of horticulture. The conference is the ISHS supported soilless culture symposia ‘ICESC2015: Hydroponics and Aquaponics at the Gold Coast’ to be held at Jupiters Convention Center, 5 – 8 July 2015.

We invite our scientific communities to present a short oral or poster or simply come along to see what the future holds in global food production and we have reserved some speaking spots for you. Also we will offer these at ‘early bird’ rates to assist your attendance.

Further symposia details, including draft speaker program, can be found at www.icesc2015goldcoast.org

In addition, our symposia is co-eventing with Protected Cropping Australia (PCA) who represent the commercial grower and supplier sector. Whilst they will be delivering their own program, we will be sharing social events and meal breaks, and are together hosting a sold out trade show with commercial suppliers from around Australia and the globe.

If you are an employee, you should be asking your boss why you are not involved in this great opportunity, and if a boss, why are you not already registered? This will be the last opportunity for many years in Australia to showcase global greenhouse horticulture and soilless culture research and technologies that highlight modern food production technologies, aquaponics, plant factories, aeroponics, measurement systems, etc.

I invite you all to explore www.icesc2015goldcoast.org and register today for a glimpse into your food production future. Please consider carefully!