Doug Edmeades Explained

Doug Edmeades
Birth Name:	Douglas Charles Edmeades
Birth Place:	Hamilton, New Zealand
Fields:	Soil Science
Alma Mater:	Lincoln University / University of Canterbury
Thesis Title:	The measurement of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in established pastures and some aspects of the nitrogen cycle in a sequence of pastures of increasing age
Thesis Url:	https://hdl.handle.net/10182/1753
Thesis Year:	1976

Douglas Charles Edmeades (born 1949) is a New Zealand soil scientist. He was involved in high-profile litigation in relation to the effectiveness of the Maxicrop brand of fertiliser.

Early life

Edmeades was born in 1949. Robert Harvey (1914–1985) and Ina (1917–2011) were his parents. The educationalist Cliff Edmeades is one of his elder brothers.^{[1] [2]}

Academic career

After a Ph.D. from Lincoln College (awarded in 1976 through Canterbury University due to Lincoln's status at the time)^[3] Edmeades worked for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries at Ruakura and then AgResearch after the 1992 reorganisation which created Crown Research Institutes. He left in 1996^[4] and now runs his own consultancy, agKnowledge Ltd.

In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Edmeades was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to agriculture.^{[5] [6] [7]}

Litigation

In 1989, while working for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Edmeades appeared on the TV show FairGo expressing the view that seaweed-based Maxicrop didn't work.^[8] Legal action was initiated by Maxicrop's New Zealand distributor, the Bell-Booth Group. In Bell-Booth Group Ltd v Attorney-General the Court of Appeal found for MAF and FairGo^[8] after 'the country's longest civil court case.'^[9]

Selected works

Widely cited peer review articles:

• Edmeades, Douglas C. "The long-term effects of manures and fertilisers on soil productivity and quality: a review." Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems 66.2 (2003): 165–180.
• Edmeades, D. C., D. M. Wheeler, and O. E. Clinton. "The chemical composition and ionic strength of soil solutions from New Zealand topsoils." Soil Research 23.2 (1985): 151–165.
• Blamey, F. P. C., D. C. Edmeades, and D. M. Wheeler. "Role of root cation‐exchange capacity in differential aluminum tolerance of Lotus species." Journal of Plant Nutrition 13.6 (1990): 729–744.

Books:

• Science friction : the Maxicrop case and the aftermath.

External links

• • Personal homepage

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Edmeades Family of New Zealand . edmeades.weebly . 19 June 2021.
2. Book: Who's Who in New Zealand, 1991 . Lambert . Max . 1991 . 12th . Octopus . Auckland. 9780790001302 . 178f.
3. Edmeades . Douglas . 1976 . Doctoral thesis . The measurement of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in established pastures and some aspects of the nitrogen cycle in a sequence of pastures of increasing age . Research@Lincoln, University of Canterbury . 10182/1753.
4. Web site: Fertiliser fight back in court – Business – NZ Herald News . Nzherald.co.nz . 2015-10-13.
5. Web site: Queen's Birthday honours list 2013 . 3 June 2013 . Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet . 18 June 2018.
6. Web site: Matt Bowen . Fiercely backing science on the farm . Stuff.co.nz . 2013-06-03 . 2015-10-13.
7. [Hawke's Bay Today]
8. Web site: Maxicrop case – Fertiliser industry – Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Teara.govt.nz . 2014-12-12 . 2015-10-13.
9. Web site: Pastoral crusader's mission – farming – business . Stuff.co.nz . 2008-05-29 . 2015-10-13.