While the impact of the ongoing drought has received a lot of attention recently, there is no doubt agriculture has a bright and vibrant future. Queensland is Australia’s most valuable agricultural state and the industry is one of the fastest growing in the country with global demand for our high-quality food and fibre continuing to rise.
It is against this backdrop that AgForce will host a series of free forums throughout regional Queensland before the end of the year. Our ‘Future of Ag’ forum in Roma next week will provide an opportunity for producers to hear from a range of industry experts about where agriculture, investment and technology is heading over the next two to three decades and what they need to do to benefit.
Guest speakers and presenters will include Susan McDonald (Super Butcher), Ben Waters (FTI Consulting), Michael Crowley (Meat and Livestock Australia), Dr Jason Trompf (JT Agri Consulting), Rachel Cliffe (Telstra), Paul Higgins (Emergent Futures) and myself.
The AgForce Cattle Board and Sheep and Wool Board will also meet in Roma the day before the forum to discuss common issues such as biosecurity and animal welfare, while National Farmers’ Federation president Fiona Simson will be a special guest at a dinner next Wednesday night as well.
The next week AgForce will host a south-east Queensland regional forum in Toowoomba where policy staff and committee chairs will be available and key topics of discussion will include pasture dieback research and the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework.
Our final major regional forum for the year will be in Hughenden on December 6, and while the program is still being developed, the day will include information on carbon management in the north and a field session with Dick Richardson on ‘grazing naturally’.
More information, including how to register for the Roma forum (October 25), Toowoomba event (November 2) and Hughenden forum (December 6), is available by visiting the Events Calendar on the AgForce website http://www.agforceqld.org.au or from AgForce regional managers.
