Riverine Plains served up a triple treat last week, hosting an innovation conference, a black-tie gala dinner and a farm tour — all in the name of farm innovation.
Sponsored by Alvan Blanch, the innovation conference, held at the Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club on August 24, heard from keynote speakers Alexandra Gartmann (Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council chair) Brad Egan (2022 Young Farmer of the Year) and Nigel Hart (GRDC managing director).
With a 180 people in attendance, the theme of the event was ‘Putting farmers first — Driving decisions using data’.
Several guest speakers who work in the farm emission and carbon market industry spoke to the audience about why data can be daunting and how to make sense of emissions and carbon foot printing on farm.
“Agriculture is both a source and a sink of carbon therefore we will play a role in the decarbonisation of the market,” said Alison Kelly, a farm emissions specialists from Agriculture Victoria.
“Farmers need to know what their number is in regard to their carbon emission profile and we need to be prepared for consumer interest around this.”
Looking at the industry from a strategic level, supply chain panellists discussed how the market is driving data collection and use and why it’s important for farmers to know about it.
“Food company analysts and investors are not only looking at economic health anymore, environmental sustainability of the supply chain is also being assessed,” Kellogg Company global agribusiness director Chris Stevens said.
Brad Egan, the winner of the 2022 Young Farmer of the Year and winner of the Award for Excellence in Innovation, cut through the talk with some data-backed facts.
Mr Egan spoke of the constraints of farming near Esperence in Western Australia, where rainfall is declining and soil nutrition on sandy country is a challenge.
“We need to make more off less and to do that we need intuition and data to make a good decision,” he said.
He had the crop farmers in the room wincing in sympathy and grinning with delight as he shared his story of implementing innovative farm management practices into his family business, including delving into the “sandiest block in Scaddan“.
“Don’t be afraid to have a crack and make a mistake, it’s just a trial.”
The farmer panellists reiterated Mr Egan’s point, discussing how using data on-farm can inform better business decisions and help with productivity and profitability.
After a big day of thought-provoking talk, the attendees were treated to a night of laughs courtesy of comedian Jean Kittson who hosted the New Edge Microbial Gala Fundraising dinner. All proceeds raised went towards Riverine Plains agricultural scholarships.
Keeping true to form, Riverine Plains organised a farm tour on Friday, August 25, with buses visiting farms at Corowa and Boorhaman. The day included drone spot-spraying demonstrations and a visit to a GRDC liming site and grain drying facility.
According to outgoing Riverine Plains chief executive officer Catherine Marriott, the innovation expo was a big success.
“Agriculture is such a collaborative effort,” she said.
“Yes there are risks, but crikey there are opportunities everywhere you look.
“The innovation expo showed that we need ag students in the room with industry leaders, we need farmers and government representatives leaning in so we can deliver the best possible outcomes.”