SOME of the brightest young farming minds came together in Sydney recently to tackle big issues affecting the agriculture industry.
More than 250 people from 18 to 35 years of age spent three days at the William Inglis Hotel, to discuss the future of farming at the GrainGrowers Ltd Innovation Generation conference.
They heard from presenters on all things food supply and ag-tech, and participated in sessions on monetising sustainability, trade tensions and solutions and the art of excellent farming and better returns.
With a strong contingent of Western Australian farmers in attendance, futurist Gihan Perera kicked off proceedings with a presentation on what the future might look like for the Australian grains industry, how the world might change and some of the ways the industry could help take control of its destiny.
Another standout presenter was Scott Reardon, who spoke about farm safety.
Mr Reardon grew up on a farm in Temora, New South Wales and after suffering a farming accident as a teenager went on to become a gold paralympic medallist for Australia.
At 12 years of age, Mr Reardon was standing on the frame of a post hole digger when his untied shoelace became caught in the power take-off shaft of a tractor, severing his right leg.
Mr Reardon represented Australia at the Water-Skiing World Championships and competed at three Paralympic Games and four World Para-Athletics Championships over an international career spanning a decade, amassing a total of six medals including one Paralympic gold and silver.
GrainGrowers chief executive officer Dave McKeon said Mr Reardon was inspiring on how he overcame adversity.
READ MORE:
"We also had some other great presentations on things such as ag technology, new farming business models and structures and how we can continue to shape the future of the industry," Mr McKeon said.
While acknowledging that there were a few headwinds facing the sector including biosecurity challenges, weather events and global geopolitics, he said the conference demonstrated that the next generation of farmers coming through were keen to embrace the opportunities within the industry.
Such examples include the nine individuals from around the country who were selected to participate in the 2022 cohort of GrainGrowers Australian Grain Leaders Program (AGLP).
GrainGrowers covers the cost of participants taking part in the year-long program that offers professional development training to emerging industry leaders, as well as travel and accommodation expenses.
This year's contingent included Western Australians Brett South, a grain farmer from Beaumont and InterGrain territory manager Georgia Trainor, who took part in a conference session to discuss the projects they were undertaking as part of the program.
Applications are open for next year's AGLP.
