AgriFutures On Air

This is a very special podcast episode from the producers behind the 'Boots Off Log On' podcast.

The episode features our very own John Harvey, Managing Director AgriFutures Australia and first aired in January 2024.

Join show host David Egerton-Warburton as John Harvey navigates the intricate landscape of Australian agriculture, from fostering innovation to addressing the pressing challenges faced by farmers.

Learn about the transformative initiatives spearheaded by AgriFutures Australia and the vision for a sustainable and innovative agrifood future.

For more Boots Off Log On podcast episodes, please visit: Boots Off Log On! Podcast | Agrimaster. 

Since being named the 2023 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Winner, Nikki Davey has grown both personally and professionally.

The self-confessed introvert has thrown herself into all the opportunities the Award has brought her since September 2023. With the generous Westpac grant, Nikki has expanded her sustainable flower business 'Grown Not Flown' to include other produce. She is also offering masterclasses and expanding her international customer and grower base. 

In this episode, discover what Nikki has been working on behind the scenes and what her plans for the next 12 months entail.

Featuring:

• Nikki Davey, 2023 AgriFutures Rural Women's Award National Winner and Co-Founder, Grown Not Flown. 

Jay is a role model for mature-aged students looking to branch into agriculture as a new career opportunity. She is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Science, Animal Science/Animal Health at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia.

With initial interest in becoming a vet, Jay realised there were so many other options in agriculture that she hadn't explored. While her passion still lies in livestock, she has broadened her experience during her studies by participating in a six-week scholarship in Indonesia.

This is Jay's story.

Featuring:

• Jay Elliot, 2023 Agricultural Student of the Year and Animal Science/Animal Health Student at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia

It's estimated that Australian agriculture produces 9.8 million tonnes of pre-farm gate waste annually. AgriFutures Australia have been working with industry to help address this.

In this episode we introduce the newly published report called 'Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry National Waste and Resource Recovery Roadmap'. We have the author of the report join us to explain just how waste is generated on farm, and how we need to deal with it.

Featuring: 

• Dr Anne-Maree Boland, Principal, RMCG 

In this episode, we'll hear how two AgriFutures Horizon Scholars literally expanded their horizons. Mitchell Salan and Stephanie Hennings have just been on a tour in Ireland in partnership with their Scholarship sponsor Dairy Australia. We hear about their learnings and experience of the European dairy industry and the new technologies the country has embraced. 

Applications for the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship close on 12 January 2024. For more information, visit the AgriFutures Australia agricultural scholarship opportunities webpage. 

Featuring:

• Mitchell Salan, 2022 AgriFutures Horizon Scholar
• Stephanie Hennings, 2021 AgriFutures Horizon Scholar

Wading through pre-sale radiographs (or x-rays) of yearlings has long been considered murky territory. But now, thanks to groundbreaking research undertaken by a team at The University of Queensland and supported by the AgriFutures Thoroughbred Horses Program, the industry can now be more confident in understanding the impact of a range of lesions on a yearling’s potential racing performance.

In this episode, Dr Argue unpacks the most important takeaways from his research. He explains how it will better inform buyers making purchasing decisions and the agents and sellers involved in a yearling sale. The research will also help vets review pre-sale x-rays and provide advice that could lead to early intervention and improved management for a range of skeletal conditions now understood to impact a thoroughbred’s racing performance and career.

Featuring:

• Dr Brodie Argue, Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Resident, University of Queensland Equine Specialist Hospital

Find out more:

• Project snapshot: Investigation of what radiographic lesions in thoroughbred yearlings are significant in limiting future racing performance | AgriFutures Australia

Indiana Rhind didn't come from a farming background and so she was surprised to be awarded an AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship. She has since described the Australian agricultural scholarship Program as an 'encouraging, exciting and empowering experience'.

In this episode, Indiana talks about the value in connecting with the AgriFutures Horizon Scholar cohort and how, through the Scholarship, she landed her first job in the agricultural industry. Since working with Farmwall, she has realised that agriculture is intricately linked to our urban society.

Applications for the 2024 AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship are open now and close on Friday, 12 January 2024.

Featuring:

• Indiana Rhind, Chief Technology Officer, Farmwall

Find out more:

• AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship
• Series of fortunate events leads Horizon Scholar to Farmwall 

An unconventional program run by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia and supported by AgriFutures Australia, Fast Track helps young people with limited experience take their first steps into the world of thoroughbred breeding. Participants emerge with relevant agriculture skill development, respected credentials, invaluable experiences and industry connections.

Fast Track's impact extends beyond the equine realm - it stands as a model for creating efficient, accelerated learning pathways nationwide. The program is bridging industry gaps while fostering leadership skills in the next generation of thoroughbred breeding professionals, drawing interest from various industries eager to replicate its success. 

Featuring:

• Cecelia O'Gorman, Marketing and Communications Manager, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia
• James Loder, 2022 Fast Track Graduate
• Tess O'Connor, 2020 Fast Track Graduate

One of the greatest parts of being involved in science is surprise discoveries. For a team working on measuring the carbon footprint of Australian irrigation dams, the results were truly astonishing.

Not only are irrigation dams producing a lot less carbon emissions than what has previously been thought, they are actually performing a critical nitrogen cycling role.

In this podcast episode we speak with Jackie Webb, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University on her recent carbon farming project for AgriFutures Australia. 

Featuring:

• Jackie Webb, Research Fellow, Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University

AgHealth Australia has been leading research into deaths and injuries on farm since 2004, providing the most comprehensive evidence on which to build prevention approaches to enhance the safety and wellbeing of people in Australian agriculture.

The data for January-June 2023 is in, and numbers of non-intentional on-farm deaths remain stubbornly high. In this podcast episode, AgriFutures On Air podcast host and producer Jayne Cuddihy speaks with Pauline Brightling from the Rural Safety Health Alliance on how we can buck the trend. 

We also hear a first-hand account of how a Queensland farmer lost his leg in a farming accident, and how a generational change in relation to farm safety and shifting attitude towards WH&S in agriculture is changing for the better. 

Featuring:

• Pauline Brightling, RSHA Secretariat, Rural Safety Health Alliance
• Shawn Kleinschmidt, Queensland-based cane and cattle producer 

Since June 2022, the Australian honey bee industry has been grappling with outbreaks of varroa mite. As of September 2023, the national management group shifted its response from eradication to management.

Bianca Giggins, the Varroa Coordinator at the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) recently toured New Zealand where she learnt how they control and manage the varroa pests. This podcast features some of these learnings and insights. 

Featuring:

• Bianca Giggins, Varroa Coordinator, Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC)

Oli Madgett is on a mission to make baselining soil carbon measurements cheaper for farmers. When considering entering into carbon farming in Australia, cost is one of the biggest barriers primary producers face.

Using the latest agricultural innovations and technologies, Oli is working to address the prohibitively high costs of soil sampling.

His findings form one of 15 projects from the AgriFutures  Carbon Initiative Program.

Featuring:

• Oli Madgett, Managing Director, Perennial 

To meet the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming by 2 °C, it is clear that at-scale carbon removal will need to emerge in the decades ahead.

Scaled offshore marine permaculture to grow seaweeds is widely recognised as an emerging sector with large potential to meet a range of agricultural sustainability objectives.

In this podcast, AgriFutures On Air podcast host Jayne Cuddihy speaks with Dr Brian von Herzen,  Founder and Executive Director of the Climate Foundation about his  unique deep water approach to carbon faming in Australia.

As part of the AgriFutures  Carbon Initiative Program, this project investigated construction of a marine permaculture platform, seaweed growing, carbon
sequestration rate measurements and optimal conditions for carbon sinking.

With increasing ocean temperatures and a reduction in available nutrients, there were plenty of hurdles to overcome to develop this sustainable farming practice and successfully grow seaweeds from the tip of Tasmania through to the tropics.

Featuring:

• Dr Brian von Herzen,  Founder and Executive Director of the Climate Foundation 

There are more than one million widows across Australia. After two extremely personal losses, Michelle Moriarty decided that there were benefits to connecting the shared experiences of grief with others. The Western-Australian based social worker went about creating a platform called 'Grief Connect' to ensure no one across Australia grieves alone.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Michelle's initiative.

Featuring:

• Michelle Moriarty, Founder of Grief Connect and 2023 WA AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

Ali Paulett wanted to create a place that would educate school children and the wider community about how First Nations people were nourished by the environment. This led her to establish the 'Bush DeVine' Indigenous native bush food garden which now features 40 different types of native plants. In addition to being a popular attraction, the garden also supplies their winery restaurant, which opened in 2015.

Ali plans to use the generous Westpac grant to add educational components to the Bush DeVine garden including interactive signage, videography to enhance the sensory experience and a cooking vicinity for the community to utilise.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Ali's initiative.

Featuring:

• Ali Paulett, Founder,  of Bush DeVine, Managing Director at Paulett Wines and 2023 SA AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

Melissa was in a pretty dark place after a nasty buggy accident but was told something amazing  would come out of it ... and it did.

Melissa is the Founder of Leading Rein and is sharing her knowledge of working alongside horses in a leadership development program. Melissa was named the 2023 TAS AgriFutures Rural Women's Award Finalist for her work in equine-assisted learning and her creative ability to apply both human and horse herd dynamics to empower people and work teams.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Melissa's initiative.

Featuring:

• Melissa Duniam, Founder, Leading Rein and 2023 TAS AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

More and more pets these days are being treated like family - and rightly so! Businesses across the world are capitalising on this trend with ideas aimed at meeting the new needs of our furry, scaly or feathered companions.
 
Queenslander Emma-Louise Gibbons is unleashing the potential on pet treats using Australian-farmed insect protein to sustainably produce a line of dog snacks.
 
Her dedication to sustainability and innovation has earned her global recognition, including a recent partnership with Krispy Kreme to offer dog-friendly doughnuts in their UK and US stores.
 
She is our 2023 QLD AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist and this is her story.
 
Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Emma's business ideas.

Featuring:

• Emma-Louise Gibbons, Founder, Huds and Toke and 2023 QLD AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

Off the back of a new report titled: "Listen up: Young people’s perspective on the future of Australian agriculture and rural industries"  we delve further into the insights gathered from some of the voices behind the research.

In this podcast we unearth the insights and perspectives of young people on how to transform the agricultural industry for a more prosperous tomorrow.

We'll also discuss how we will build our agricultural workforce and attract more people to agriculture jobs in Australia.

Featuring:

• Bryce Ives, Chief Facilitator of the AgriFutures Horizon Scholarship Workshops and Author of the 'Listen up: Young people’s perspective on the future of Australian agriculture and rural industries'  report
• Jenna Wright, AgriFutures Australia Horizon Scholar (Bachelor 
  of Science and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Agriculture) at The University of Sydney
• Bill Lee, AgriFutures Australia Horizon Scholar (Bachelor of Agriculture at The University of Melbourne) 

The AgriFutures Australia Rural Women's Award annually recognizes the remarkable accomplishments of women hailing from rural communities and industries. Its purpose is to identify, empower, and celebrate their forward-thinking initiatives.

Michelle Leonard OAM is the founder, artistic director, and conductor of Moorambilla Voices, a nationally awarded program that aims to provide country children and young adults with a transformative experience, offering a chance to sing, dance, drum, record, tour, and create incredible performances alongside renowned artists. In recognition of her remarkable contributions to regional communities through music and creativity Michelle has received the prestigious 2023 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women's Award.

Just like her fellow winners from other states and territories, Michelle has received a $15,000 grant from Westpac. This support will help Michelle to further amplify the positive impact of Moorambilla Voices. This recognition also provides her with the opportunity to undertake a professional development course of her choosing, enhancing her skills and expertise to continue driving positive change in the industry and community.

Featuring:

• 2023 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women's Award, Michelle Leonard OAM

Related content:

•  Visionary Choir Founder Takes Home Top Honour: 2023 NSW/ACT AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Winner announced | AgriFutures Australia 
• 2023 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award National Finalists Revealed | AgriFutures Australia

The agriculture industry is short at least 172,000 workers. For the future of agriculture to thrive, more needs to be done to attract skilled workers to agricultural jobs in Australia. 

High school teacher Scott Graham is passionate about ag recruitment and getting more students to peruse agriculture jobs in Australia. He believes that increasing the number of high school students choosing the subject is an important step.

He’s been awarded a Prime Minister’s Science Prize for his work reviving agriculture studies at Barker College in Sydney and his PhD, which he is studying through Charles Sturt University, is focused on the way agriculture is taught at high schools.

Learn how Scott aims to build the agricultural workforce and address one of the national issues facing agriculture. 

Reporter Emily Malone sat down with Scott to find out more.

Featuring:

• Scott Graham, Head of Agriculture, Barker College

Related content:

• Cultivating a future-ready generation of innovators | AgriFutures Australia
• Listen up: Young people’s perspective on the future of Australian agriculture and rural industries | AgriFutures Australia