We're clearly heading towards a future agricultural industry built upon agtech, but what will this mean for the next generation of ag students?
An expert panel and key speakers will explore these emerging ideas at Growing the Future 2022 this Thursday, August 11, hosted by the Adelaide University Agricultural Students' Association.
The annual premier event is a careers night with a difference, attracting 27 industry sponsors and more than 200 attendees in 2021.
Held at the Adelaide Oval, Growing the Future is an opportunity for SA's agriculture-focused students and young farmers to connect with businesses and professionals.
During the night, attendees will learn about trends in agtech and agriculture from two key speakers and a panel consisting of five experts from a variety of different agricultural backgrounds.
Key speaker is MEQ Probe field and operations manager Callan Daley, who will share his story from growing up on a cattle station in Central Queensland to creating technology capable of using nanoscale biophotonics and machine learning to measure red meat-eating quality.
Jordy Kitschke initiated the first ever Growing the Future event in 2016, and is coming back as a panelist!
He is the founder of Flux Robotics, an Adelaide-based start-up working on robotics solutions to reduce the use of pesticides on farm, and has experience across several ag sectors.
Panelist Caroline Rhodes is a proud Waite Aggie and the Primary Producers SA chief executive officer.
She has more than two decades of agribusiness experience, having held senior roles in the public and private sector and with state and federal farmer representative bodies in Australia.
Penny Schultz is an expert in the fields of agtech adoption, livestock genetics and farm business management.
She brings experience and knowledge to the panel from her roles as a farmer, researcher, teacher and AgTech entrepreneur.
The ThincLab Ag Collab workshop is new to this year's event, and encourages attendees to work in groups to solve a problem faced in agricultural production and pitch it to their peers.
Growing the Future also involves a three-course meal, a 'speed networking' session, sponsor 'elevator pitches', general networking, and seat allocation based upon interest area.
