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Lincoln University have appointed Dr Alan Renwick as Professor of Agricultural Economics, to further strengthen their teaching and research in this area.
Renwick is currently domiciled in Dublin, Ireland, where he is Professor of Agricultural and Food Economics at University College Dublin (UCD). He will join the Lincoln University team later this year.
“Dr Renwick has exactly the background we need to further strengthen Lincoln’s teaching and research in agricultural economics, and I am personally delighted with the appointment,” says Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Scholarship and Research, Stefanie Rixecker.
“Alan spent many years at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Land Economy, before heading the Scottish Agricultural College’s Land Economy and Environmental Research team.”
“We have managed to secure his skills from his current role in agricultural and food economics at UCD, where he is teaching into their BSc in Food and Agribusiness Management, and their Master’s in Food Business Strategy, as well as supervising research students and undertaking his own research in this field. His background will complement the team within Lincoln in an area that is key to this University, and to New Zealand as a whole.”
The role of Professor of Agricultural Economics sits within Lincoln University’s Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce. This year the faculty has announced the appointment of Crawford Falconer of the OECD to the Sir Graeme Harrison Professorial Chair in Global Value Chains and Trade, and will see the appointment of another two professors over the coming months.
“Lincoln University has been through a period of remarkable change in the last couple of years,” says Dean of the Faculty of Agribusiness and Commerce, Professor Hugh Bigsby.
“The appointment of Dr Renwick to this senior academic role signals another step-change in the development of our core areas of expertise. The role is one of four senior positions to be appointed this year.”
The Professor of Agricultural Economics will support Lincoln’s new Bachelor of Commerce (Food and Resource Economics) and research Masters’ and PhD supervision in the field of agricultural economics, as well as supporting the faculty’s agribusiness research and teaching more generally.
“I am looking forward to joining what is already a world-renowned university with a well-established reputation with the agricultural sector in New Zealand, and helping to build this reputation in the area of agricultural and food economics through my own research, presentations, publications and commentary. It is a very exciting time to be heading to New Zealand and joining the Lincoln University team,” says Renwick.
Renwick will also play a role in OneFarm - Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management, a joint research centre with Massey University and will work closely with the University’s Agribusiness & Economics Research Unit (AERU).
The Government is set to announce two new acts to replace the contentious Resource Management Act (RMA) with the Prime Minister hinting that consents required by farmers could reduce by 46%.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on climate change would be “a really dumb move”.
The University of Waikato has broken ground on its new medical school building.
Undoubtedly the doyen of rural culture, always with a wry smile, our favourite ginger ninja, Te Radar, in conjunction with his wife Ruth Spencer, has recently released an enchanting, yet educational read centred around rural New Zealand in one hundred objects.
Farmers are being urged to keep on top of measures to control Cysticerus ovis - or sheep measles - following a spike in infection rates.
The avocado industry is facing an extremely challenging season with all parts of the supply chain, especially growers, being warned to prepare for any eventuality.

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