34. Dung Beetles with Shaun Forgie

Today on the podcast I am joined by Shaun Forgie from Dung Beetle Innovations. Shaun is a self-professed insect geek, a man with an endless amount of passion the mighty dung beetle but who spends most of his days talking sh*t and shovelling sh*t to feed his millions of resident dung beetles at their breeding site north of Auckland.

This conversation covers what Dung Beetles are, what they do, their importance in the ecosystem - why we need to introduce them, and the many different sustainability roles they play. We get into some specifics around the riparian management and nutrient runoff reductions, drench resistance and the impact of dung beetles in reducing pasture larval contamination, the increase in crop yields you can see as a result of having a saturation of these little critters in the soil horizon.

The most harrowing part about this conversation is how our “art of procrastination” in this country may lead us to seeing an opportunity pass us by, an opportunity that many other countries around the world have cottoned onto and are seeing the economic benefits of the ecosystem services that dung beetles provide. They impact each of the 3 pillars of soil health and as we know sustainable farming starts with healthy soil, so grab a cuppa and enjoy what I think is a really engaging and passionate chat about recruiting an underground workforce to get the job done for you.

Episode Resources:

Dung Beetles Innovations Website | https://dungbeetles.co.nz

Shaun Forgie LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-forgie-08539b24/

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