Colin Ferguson
Entomologist/pest management specialist, AgResearch
Colin Ferguson is an entomologist/pest management specialist with AgResearch. The foundations of his education were at Lincoln High School and Canterbury University but his real education started when beginning work with the Ministry of Agriculture in 1978 and has carried on until the present through various reincarnations and reorganisations of public funded scientific research. He specialises in understanding and managing, predominantly, insect pests of pasture and making the results of research by him and his colleagues accessible to farmers and industry groups. Many of the pests of pasture are also pests of sports and amenity turf and much of what he has learnt can be transferred from pasture to turf. This has led to a long relationship with the NZ Sports Turf Association, particularly through David Howard. While based in Otago the nature of today’s research environment sees him working throughout out the country.