Wednesday 26 February 2025 – Side events
Tours
Oz Group Co-op | Time TBA
King Tide Brewing | Time TBA
Click here for details on side events and experiences.
Workshops
Collaboration: how to be better connected | 9am – 11am
Tackling Food Waste Together: Solutions for a Sustainable Future | 11:30am – 1:30pm
Click here for details on Workshops.
6:30 pm
Welcome Function
Join us on the lawn at Pacific Bay Resort for a casual evening of festivities, showcasing local produce and beverages.
Thursday 27 February 2025 – Summit Day 1
8:30 am
Registration / Coffee / Tea
9:00 am
Welcome
Introduction | Kim Berry (MC), Food & Drink Business
Welcome to Country | Richard Widders, Aboriginal Elder of the Garlambirla guuyu Girrwaa
Welcome from the Chair | Fiona Simson, FFS
Welcome from the Mayor | Mayor Nikki Williams, City of Coffs Harbour
9:30 am
Collaboration: It takes a village… or a city
The Power of Connection | Dr Lou Conway, UNE SMART Region Incubator
Collectively, we can make a change (a conversation) | Simon Latchford, City of Coffs Harbour & Nicole McNaughton, Food and Agribusiness Network
10:30 am
Morning tea / Networking
11:00 am
Partnerships: Forging connections
Representatives from clusters, co-operatives, and governing bodies come together to explore the benefits and opportunities of a systems-based approach in addressing challenges and driving innovation in the agrifood sector.
Dr James Krahe (Chair), FFS
Shaun Tholen, Nambucca Macnuts
Kris Cooling, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)
Louise Tran, OzHarvest Ventures
12:00 pm
Automation: Benefits and upskilling (keynotes)
Robotic technology for banana de-handing | Dr Chris Lehnert, Queensland University of Technology
Spatially enabling horticulture | Craig Shephard, Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre
12:40 pm
Lunch / Networking
1:40 pm
AgriTech: Simplifying tasks (panel)
Dr Chris Lehnert, Queensland University of Technology
Daniel Grono, Costa
Wayne Ford, Vertical Patch
Craig Shephard, Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre
2:20 pm
Value-adding: Unlocking nutrition in food (keynotes)
Produce Prescription: improving health outcomes | Kimberly Glover, The George Institute for Global Health
Pioneering new nutritional benchmarks | Dr Ruey-Leng Loo, Australian National Phenome Centre
Optimising blueberry fruit nutritionally | Gareema Pandey, Western Sydney University
Closing the loop on alternate nutrients | Tim Cassettari, FOODiQ Global
3:30 pm
Afternoon tea / Networking
4:00 pm
Manufacturing: Boosting agribusiness (panel)
Exploring the economic gains, community impact, and highlighting how local manufacturing can drive regional development and innovation.
Peter Schutz (Chair), FFS
Dr Chris Downs, Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA)
John King, King Tide Brewing
Andrew Eves-Brown, TURBINE
Russel Rankin, Food Innovation Partners
5:00 pm
Drinks / Networking
7:00 pm
Gala Dinner
Enjoy culinary delights at our Gala Dinner with the menu curated by popular chef and restaurateur, Mindy Woods
Friday 28 February 2025 – Summit Day 2
9:00 am
Coffee / Tea
9:30 am
Future food: Possibilities and reality (keynotes)
Bicultural cuisine: 60,000 years of flavour | Mindy Woods, Chef, Restaurateur and Author
Food 2050: An integrated food system | Leif Lundin, CSIRO
What will we be eating in 100 years / Mushrooms in Space | Dr Flávia Fayet-Moore, FOODiQ Global
10:30 am
Morning tea
11:00 am
Future menu: It’s happening now (panel)
From insect proteins to animal-free fats, panellists will share their personal experiences in creating innovative product formulations along with the opportunities and challenges in catering to a diverse range of consumers.
Prof. Cordelia Selomulya (Chair), University of New South Wales Sydney
Kathy La Macchia, Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC)
Dr Rishi Naik, University of New South Wales Sydney
12:00 pm
Collaboration for sustainable food solutions and improved health outcomes (keynote)
This keynote will outline a newly established unique national initiative, focused on developing sustainable food solutions for improved health outcomes.
Prof. Roman Buckow, Centre for Food Science at La Trobe University
12:40 pm
Lunch / Networking
1:40 pm
Current challenges in innovation ecosystems
Realising opportunities for growth in regional agrifood ecosystems: Collaborative approaches to value chain development.
Realising opportunities for growth in regional agrifood ecosystems: Collaborative approaches to value chain development | Dr Jack Adams, Queensland University of Technology
2:00 pm
Are innovation ecosystems broken
3:00 pm
Afternoon tea / Networking
3:30 pm
Change: It takes a nation! (stories)
Dave Gray, Uncle Stan’s
4:30 pm
Close
5:00 pm
Post-event drinks at King Tide Brewing
Program subject to change
Program and speakers are subject to change.
FFS = Future Food Systems
CSIRO = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
DPIRD = Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA)
QUT = Queensland University of Technology
UNSW = University of New South Wales
WSU = Western Sydney University
Program and speakers are subject to change.
FFS = Future Food Systems
CSIRO = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
DPIRD = Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA)
QUT = Queensland University of Technology
UNSW = University of New South Wales
WSU = Western Sydney University