Farm2Fork returns
Rabobank's international food and agriculture event, the Farm2Fork Summit, returns to Sydney on March 23.
The summit will draw in more than 1600 local and overseas farmers, food and agribusiness corporates and agtech start-ups, along with prominent agriculture, science and technology researchers and innovators.
The invitation-only event celebrates leadership and innovation in agriculture and agribusiness, examining new ideas and practical solutions for the sector's vitality and sustainability.
Presenters will include former Unilever global chief executive officer, Paul Polman; Rabobank global chairman, Stefaan Decraene; Bega Cheese executive chairman, Barry Irvin; John Deere's Australia-New Zealand managing director, Luke Chandler; US dairy producer Hans Nederend Jr; NSW 2022 Young Farmer of the Year, Brad Egan; NZ lamb producer, Lucy Macdonald, and Sundown Pastoral Company's Danielle and David Statham.
Agenda topics include how artificial intelligence, robotics, agtech and data will influence agriculture's future; circular economies; supply chain trends, and macroeconomic themes for ag in the 2020s.
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Evoke Ag in Adelaide
AgriFutures Australia has pulled together global a a star-studded line-up for its two-day showcase of agrifood tech innovation for about 1500 delegates in Adelaide on February 21-22.
Building on the success of two previous sell-out events, evoke Ag will bring the agrifood tech community together to discuss how innovation and tech intersect to impact our food, farmers and the natural resources which sustain them.
The program involves about 100 speakers from eight counties tackling questions such as; is on-farm data just a digital distraction? Can autonomous agriculture pay for itself on-farm? How can we maximise Australia's $13 billion protein opportunity? Can cow-free milk benefit dairy farmers? And are we doing enough on biosecurity to safeguard the sector's $100B future?
- To find out more visit evokeag.com.
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SwarmFarm's $12m boost
Central Queensland driverless machinery maker, SwarmFarm Robotics, has raised $12 million to grow its versatile SwarmBot platform and a breakthrough operating system network, SwarmConnect.
Canadian agtech investment fund, Emmertech, part of Conexus Venture Capital, led the funding round, also backed by new investment from Tribe Global Ventures and Access Capital.
Existing SwarmFarm supporters, including Tenacious Ventures and the Grains Research and Development Corporation's venture capital fund, GrainInnovate, managed by Artesian, added to their stakes in SwarmFarm.
Launched in 2015, SwarmFarm's SwarmBots have been deployed to farmers with operations over more than 500,000 hectares and have operated for 64,000 hours, cutting pesticide inputs by about 780 tonnes.
SwarmFarm sees developers creating specialised tools attached to "swarms" of its small, nimble, autonomous robot platforms, creating new farming practices through collaboration between farmers and technologists - laying the groundwork for the SwarmConnect product.
"There is enormous demand for autonomy in agriculture," said chief executive officer, Andrew Bate.
"Farmers want a technology ecosystem built to address the issues in their locality, a farm-centric system that leaves the lowest possible footprint on their fields.
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Dreyfus lifts Namoi stake
Namoi Cotton's second biggest shareholder, French agribusiness giant, Louis Dreyfus Company, has increased its stake to almost 16.5 per cent - up from 15pc.
Over a four month period to early February, Louis Dreyfus' Asia business has picked up 33.6 million shares in a price range of 45 cents and 47c each.
Louis Dreyfus is in partnership with cotton ginner, Namoi, as the marketer for cotton it processes.
The Namoi Cotton Alliance joint venture was established in 2013 when LDC also gained its initial shareholding in the company.
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Field days awareness push
After the success of its inaugural Field Days Awareness Week a year ago, the Association of Agricultural Field Days of Australasia has followed up with another, this week (February 13 to 17), to highlight the specialist events servicing farmers and rural communities.
AAFDA estimates almost 1 million visitors annually attend field days in the region, with most investigating and/or purchasing because of their attendance.
AAFDA represents the interests of more than 40 farm sector field days in Australia and New Zealand and has used this week to promote the $100 million impact of these trade and business information shows in regional communities.
Field days attract a broad audience for more than 24,000 businesses and almost 100,000 suppliers wishing to showcase latest products, services and technologies.
For exhibitors, the events generate about $2 billion in on-site sales, increasing exponentially each year due to visitor enquiries.
More than 50 per cent of attendees are primary producers.
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NFF, Norco check wellbeing
The National Farmers' Federation has teamed with farmer-owned dairy co-operative, Norco, to conduct a first-of-its-kind study into Australian farmer mental health and wellbeing.
The research aims to better understand key issues facing Australian farmers today, in light of recent natural disasters and fluctuating market conditions.
The National Farmer Wellbeing Report will also compare and contrast perspectives and experiences across farming sectors, regions and demographics to help drive recommendations better supporting farmers in their work environments.
The short, anonymous electronic survey is open on the NFF website until February 17, conducted by a third-party research agency.
Nearly 12 months after unprecedented flooding devastated the NSW Far North Coast, where Norco is based, chief executive Michael Hampson noted how important the research would be to truly quantify the impact of natural disasters.
"From droughts, bushfires and the more recent flooding events, our dairy farmers in particular have been doing it tough," he said.
NFF vice president, David Jochinke, said the report's data would be incredibly valuable to quantify key issues facing farmers, helping the peak body advocate for changes that better supported farm sector industries.
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Rex jet fleet grows
Regional Express is to lease two more Boeing 737 jets to expand its inter capital city fleet to nine by mid year.
Deputy chairman, John Sharp, said Rex's domestic jet services, launched in 2021, had performed "very strongly" and profitably for the past four months on its Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and Canberra routes.
"The travelling public has been crying out for our reliable, affordable services and these new additions will help alleviate the situation.
The country-based Rex, which also has 61 Saab 340 turboprop aircraft, has not specified which of its jet routes the new aircraft will be flying, or if it may use the opportunity to expand services to other states.
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New sugar council chair
Mackay Sugar chief executive officer, Jannik Olejas, has been elected chairman of the Australian Sugar Milling Council following John Pratt's retirement after eight years.
The council represents Australia's raw sugar mill owners working with its members, other industry organisations and government to enhance the commercial development of the industry.
Mr Jannik joined the Australian sugar industry in 2019 as general manager at Mackay Sugar after European sugar company, Nordzucker bought into the miller to become its majority shareholder.
He previously worked for Danisco Sugar which was also bought by Nordzucker.
Mackay Sugar, established 140 years ago, is Australia's second largest sugar milling company.
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