Business & Technology Forum

Business & Technology Forum

Local Links - Stronger Communities -

LLCI018-012

The issue

To provide information to aid business management decisions within the local farming community.

The solution

A Business and Technology Forum was held as part of a joint initiative between Rice Extension and WMLIG. Three forums were held in the local district, in Barham, Deniliquin and Griffith. All forums followed a similar theme with topics individualised to suit the interests and needs of agricultural professionals in each region.

The impact

Fifty one people attended the Forum held at ClubBarham.

Barham Local George Warne started the day with a presentation on the impact of increased horticulture may have on the provision of peak-season delivery capacity of water. Caroline Graham the co-founder Safe Ag Systems followed with a heartfelt explanation of Work Health and Safety in the Agricultural Industry. Continuing on the theme of safety and legislation Allan MacArthur (RMS) presented on the Transport Chain of Responsibility, he outlined the main duties of primary producers.

Financial management presentations then turned to the importance of financial management in the business, Tony Hudson (Hudson Facilitation) presented on how to use financials for forward planning. Glen Wilson, a Business Financial Planner (Commonwealth Bank) shared some tips on how to protect your business through insurance and superannuation. Troy Mauger (Rice Extension) spoke on the Water for Wildlife program. Katrina Myers (Barham Avocados) presented on ‘approaching the unfamiliar’ as her family did when they decided to grow avocados.

Another way to strengthen your business is having the ability to retain trained staff, Melva Tyson presented on how Murray Dairy are doing this through their Employment, Farm Transitioning, leadership pathways and careers programs.

The forum ended with a focus on innovation using precision agriculture for Farming enterprises. Alleena Burger (Moulamein Cropping Council) explained there are a range of moisture monitoring products on the market. James Brinkhoff (CeRRF) then spoke about the applications for moisture meters and how you can get the most out of these products. Adrian Orloff spoke about the infrastructure available through WaterSave, taking the guess work out of farming. Precision Agriculture during harvest is also an exciting innovation which is already occurring in-field. Jonathan Ham (Landpower) gave an overview of the CEMOS automatic system.  Phil Clancy (Next instruments) talked about protein testing on the run way.

 

Key facts

  • Local forum attracted 51 agribusiness professionals.
  • Work Health & Safety was the most popular topic amongst attendees.

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