Ag Excellence Forum & Awards

The Ag Excellence Alliance exists to support South Australia’s broadacre agriculture communities by leading innovation and practice change through grower groups, in collaboration with advisers, Landscape  Boards, agribusiness, research and development organisations, government, and educational institutions.

Ag Excellence Alliance

South Australia's premier Grower Group biennial event providing a dynamic arena to discuss 'Future Farming - Turning Trends into Practice'.

Marion Hotel & Cellars

<p>The forum will address the ever-increasing push to demonstrate sustainability credentials in agriculture and the role technology can play. It will cover drought resilience, emissions reduction, natural capital and the information and data generated for markets. It will have space for a workshop session involving the grower groups to learn how they are navigating sustainability requirements, identifying needs, and determining how to integrate this work with existing priorities.</p><p>The full-day forum will be followed by networking drinks and the Awards &amp; Gala Dinner featuring renowned Australian author, Fiona McIntosh.</p>

Agenda

Registration, networking & refreshments

Welcome & acknowledgement

Andy will open and set the scene with a global, national and state outlook and the trends that will affect farmers, particularly relating to sustainability drivers and emissions reduction. He will provide insight as to how this might be applied on the ground

Global drivers of sustainability and emissions management

Cathy will address on-ground mobilisation around complex topics such as carbon farming and emissions management. Fed Gov funding prioritisation and industry leadership on emissions management and sustainability frameworks is creating pressure and direction for landholders and groups. Cathy’s experience both as a farmer, previous MP and now with AgriFutures will provide insights into how we can respond with examples of what is working well and how to shift a confronting issue into one of action 

Mobilising local communities on emissions management

An update using a case study to demonstrate the impact of the 12 month project assessing carbon farming options

Growing carbon farming pilot project - outcomes for landholders

Carbon farming outreach program update

Ag Ex 23/24 highlights & grower group snapshot

This session focuses on the work happening at the grower group level and will identify what is already being done well and how to further engage with complex issues. Jeanette Long will facilitate with 2 x 10min dynamic presentations on emissions reduction and technology to act as inspiration, followed by interactive sessions with questions to generate sharing on what is being done currently, what do they see as opportunities, what are the gaps

What is the role of grower groups in managing emissions?

Afternoon break

The Sustainability Manager for Nutrien, Todd is a well regarded agronomist that has turned his attention to sustainability trends in agriculture and devising ways to best support clients. Todd has delivered the Uni Melbourne Carbon Neutral course across the country and is highly sought out for farm carbon footprinting across ag sectors.
This session will demonstrate ‘the how’ – how can emissions management pressures and responses be demonstrated in a meaningful way to groups and growers. 


Emissions management and reflections on discussion

Founder and owner of Flux Robotics, Jordy has made the 40 under 40 list in SA recognising his rise as an innovator. He has been working on technology that provides an alternative to weed spraying.
This session will demonstrate ‘the how’ – how can technology play a role in sustainability gains and emissions management in a ready-to-use applicable manner for groups and growers. 


Innovations in sustainability and reflections on discussion

Stephen Lee , Director, SA Drought Hub  |  Jo Sullivan, Manager Sustainable Landscapes, Kangaroo Island Landscape Board  |  Tim Sides, Director Climate-Smart Sustainable Agriculture, Dept of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry |  Dr Tim Sutton, Research Director Crop Sciences, SARDI  |  Dr Lynn Macdonald, Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO

Opportunities for grower groups to engage in industry emission initiatives

Closing address

Agbyte networking drinks & canapès

A celebration of achievements including the Ag Ex perpetual award for outstanding contribution to ag; the PIRSA grower group award; and the Ag Institute of Australia  Jim McColl Young Consultant award.

Gala awards presentations & dinner 

Dinner speaker - Australia's favourite storyteller!

Lunch break

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}