ABARES Outlook 2024 will bring together 60 Australian and international speakers and panellists from industry and government in Canberra and online across 12 sessions.
Delegates will dive into the diverse issues shaping the future of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.
Kate Banville
Journalist
Welcome to Country and Minister’s opening address.
An examination of the Australian and global economies and the expected drivers affecting agriculture, fishery and forestry sectors and their respective supply chains.
Kate Banville
Journalist
Dr Marion Jansen
Director Trade and Agriculture, OECD (Virtual presentation)
Outlook for Global Agriculture
Dr Jared Greenville
Executive Director, ABARES
Outlook for Australian agriculture
Dr Luci Ellis
Chief Economist, Westpac
Outlook for the Australian economy
A keynote address from the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, followed by a panel of ABARES commodity and farm data analysts discussing the medium-term economic outlook for key farm sector commodities and farm incomes.
Dr Jared Greenville
Executive Director, ABARES
Adam Fennessy PSM
Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Emily Dahl
ABARES, Grains and oilseeds
Alistair Read
ABARES, Livestock commodities: Meat, wool and dairy
Tim Kane
ABARES, Horticulture and wine
Patrick Mulcahy
ABARES, Australian farm performance
Introducing two major climate change and net zero-related plans—the Australian Government’s ‘Agriculture and Land Sectoral Plan’ and the joint DAFF/CSIRO work program, ‘Ag2050’. These presentations are followed by a panel discussion on Australian agriculture’s net zero challenge and initiatives underway in a number of sectors.
Anna Skarbek
CEO Climateworks Centre, Monash University
Nick Blong
First Assistant Secretary, Sustainability Climate and Strategy, DAFF
Australian Government’s Agriculture and Land Sectoral Plan
Dr Rose Roche
Research Lead Ag2050, CSIRO
What Australian farming systems could, should and need to look like to be profitable, productive and sustainable
Alex Baker
CEO, Future Feed
Rachel Palumbo
General Manager, Nuseed Australia (Nufarm's Seed Division)
Dr Sharon Harvey
Senior R&D Program Manager, Wine Australia
Dr Sue Ogilvy
Program Director, Farming for the Future
A dive into the newly-launched ‘Catalysing Australia’s Biosecurity’, a joint DAFF/CSIRO initiative. This is followed by a panel focussed on Australia’s contribution to the global conversation on agricultural sustainability and the harmful role agricultural subsidies continue to play on trade and global food security.
Matt Koval
Acting Deputy Secretary, Agricultural Trade Group, DAFF
Bronwen Jaggers
First Assistant Secretary, Biosecurity Strategy and Reform, DAFF
Dr Andy Sheppard FTSE
Chief Research Scientist CSIRO and Co-Executive Director DAFF-CSIRO Catalysing Australia’s Biosecurity
James Fell
Trade and Global Change, ABARES
Su McCluskey
Special Representative for Australian Agriculture
Sarah Hyland
General Manager Major Projects, GrainGrowers Limited
Azizah Fauzi
Food Security and Agriculture Research, Centre for Indonesian Policy Studies
Session focussed on farm business risk, including drought risk, in a period of high interest rates and the impact on investment in the sector. A longer-term issue relates to the pricing of climate risk in agriculture, through impacts on debt and other sources of capital, such as corporate sector investment.
Sarina Locke
ABC Regional
Dr Neal Hughes
Farm Data and Analysis, ABARES
Farm risk, debt and investment trends and risk management practices
Melissa Brown
FAS Farm Resilience, DAFF
John Howard
CEO, Regional Investment Corporation
Josie Zilm
Head of Agribusiness Strategy, National Australia Bank
Kristina Hermanson
Managing Director, Asia and Africa, Nuveen Natural Capital
A discussion of the impacts of climate change on fish stocks and an exploration of the adjustment required to adapt and ensure sustainable marine fisheries.
Patrick Hone
Managing Director, Fisheries Research & Development Corporation
Professor Gretta Pecl
Director, Centre for Marine Socioecology, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
Wez Norris
CEO, Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Sam Gordon
Managing Director, South Coast Mariculture; and Executive Director, Blue Harvest Pty Ltd
Martin Exel
Managing Director, Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS)
Discussion of the future for agricultural labour and careers, covering topics such as skilling the agricultural workforce and workforce planning; sustainable supply of farm labour; young farmers and career progression in agriculture; and working smarter with technology and management practices.
Maddelin McCosker
ABC Rural
Ben Slatter
Agricultural Workforce Analysis and Data, ABARES
Snapshot of the agriculture workforce and longer-term trends
Michael Hartman
CEO, Skills Insight (Jobs and Skills Council)
Associate Professor Amy Cosby
Senior Research Fellow Agri-tech Education and Innovation, Central Queensland University
Matt Palise
Managing Director, Red Rich Fruits
Andrew Slatter
CEO, Viridis Ag
This panel will discuss the issues around living with varroa mite going forward and lessons learned for biosecurity more broadly.
Kate Banville
Journalist
Professor Saul Cunningham
Director, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University
Danny Le Feuvre
CEO, Australian Honey Bee Industry Council
Shane Hetherington
Director Plant Biosecurity Enhancements and Projects, NSW DPI
Deidre Jaensch
Industry Development Manager, Almond Board of Australia
Zarmeen Hassan
National Manager Extension and Engagement, AUSVEG
An exploration of practical steps towards more agile and multi-purpose agricultural, food and national innovation systems. The challenge for innovation systems is no longer just to maintain international competitiveness but also to meet multiple sustainability and other societal goals. The session explores how the challenges faced by Australia’s agriculture and food sectors are changing, and how we can augment our existing innovation system to meet these challenges.
Dr Rohan Nelson
Director, Food System Horizons, University of Queensland | CSIRO
Dr Andy Hall
Senior Principal Scientist, CSIRO
Dr Jane O'Dwyer
CEO, Cooperative Research Australia
Dr Heleen Kruger
Social Scientist, ABARES
Amelia Olsen-Boyd
Executive Manager, Mission Innovation Strategy and Design, CSIRO
A discussion to explore where and how First Nations people are involved in agricultural production, and where the opportunities are for ongoing engagement and mutually beneficial relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous farmers.
Maddelin McCosker
ABC Rural
Natalie Somerville
President of Australian Women in Agriculture, Windjara Ag (grain and livestock production), and Independent Director National Farmers Federation
Joshua Gilbert
Young Indigenous farmer; member of Young NFF; and member of Future Drought Fund Consultative Committee
Ninielia Mills
Yuwaru Station (cattle); and CEO of Nyamba Buru Yawuru
Suzanne Thompson
Chair of Australian Native Foods and Botanicals; Director of the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network; and Member of Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee
In a discussion focussed on consumer interest in the environment, sustainability and nutrition, panellists will explore the drivers and demands being placed on agricultural producers.
Kate Banville
Journalist
Katherine La Macchia
General Manager, Grains and Legumes Nutrition Council
Samantha Jamieson
Group Manager, Stakeholder Collaboration, Meat & Livestock Australia
Michaela Aspel
Senior Consultant, Sustainability and Climate Change, Aurecon
Kieran Macdonell
A/g Assistant Secretary, Agricultural Traceability, DAFF
Managing environmental water efficiently is critical for keeping rivers healthy and sustaining healthy communities. Join our panellists for a discussion exploring the role of water markets in environmental water management in the Murray-Darling Basin.
Sarina Locke
ABC Regional
John Walsh
Land and Water Economics, ABARES
Dr Simon Banks
Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder
Dr Deborah Nias
Executive Officer, Murray Darling Wetlands Working Group Ltd
Zara Lowien
CEO, National Irrigators' Council
