Program

AgForce is pleased to present the draft program for the Queensland Agricultural Industry Conference 2024. Please download the draft program below.

The Conference program features presentations from some of our nation’s leading minds in fields such as finance and business, sustainability, leadership, science and health and wellbeing. By attending the Conference, you will have the chance to engage in critical conversations and new thinking to ensure our sector continues to serve not only Queensland but all those who work tirelessly each day producing our high-quality food and fibre.

Please note the draft program is current as of 28 June 2024 and is subject to change.

Meet our speakers

  • Andrea Crothers is an experienced television journalist and presenter, currently waking up with Channel Nine's The Today Show.

    She was previously with Sky News at Parliament House in Canberra. She's interviewed Prime Ministers past and present, and covered everything from the provocative to the comedic, renowned for bringing her quick wit and Queensland humour.

    Andrea grew up on a mixed cropping and livestock property in south-west Queensland, before cutting her teeth in rural media.

  • A trailblazer in navigating future uncertainties. With 20 years of experience in agriculture, focusing on finance and strategy, Julia specializes in global macro trends impacting the Food and Fibres sector. She empowers business leaders with strategic insights and fosters stakeholder connections for enduring success. Her experiences, both challenging and rewarding, have shaped her transformative journey.

    Notable achievements:

    • Chair of Meat the Need, a charity addressing food security.

    • Keynote speaker in Russia, China, Australia, and Singapore (2014-2024).

    • Emerging leader scholarship recipient, Stanford University, 2017.

    • Explored Russian business dynamics in 2014.

    • AWDT Escalator Governance Program participant, 2011.

    • Attended Harvard Agri Seminar in China, 2010.

  • Wayne Bennett, the most successful coach in the NRL, was coach of the Brisbane Broncos for 21 years from 1988 until 2008. In 2009 he was appointed Coach of St George Illawarra and in 2010 he took the team to its first NRL victory in 31 years. When he left them, they were the reigning premiers. Wayne became coach of the Newcastle Knights in 2012 before heading back north to coach the Brisbane Broncos once again from the 2015 season. He was the coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 2019 – 2021. He has been the coach for the Dolphins since 2023.

    Wayne Bennett is recognised in Rugby League circles as one of the most influential and innovative of modern day coaches. He is the longest serving coach of a single club, has one of the best winning percentages, and ranks second in the number of premierships won as a coach at an elite level.

  • Saul Eslake worked as an economist in the Australian financial markets formore than 25 years, including as Chief Economist at McIntosh Securities (astockbroking firm) in the late 1980s, Chief Economist (International) at National Mutual Funds Management in the early 1990s, as Chief Economist at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) from 1995 to 2009, and as Chief Economist (Australia & New Zealand) for Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2011 until June 2015. In between these last two positions he was Director of the Productivity Growth program at the then newly-established Grattan Institute, a ‘think tank’.

  • Lisa Millar is the co-host of ABC News Breakfast, a regular on the ABC's popular Back Roads program and the voice of the smash hit show, Muster Dogs.

    She is also the author of the best-selling memoir, Daring To Fly.

    Lisa was one of the ABC's longest serving and most respected foreign correspondents, spending more than a decade as bureau chief in the US and Europe.

    Her first posting in Washington DC began in the months after the September 11 terrorist attacks and she was witness to a period of extraordinary turmoil and terror in the following years.

    Most recently Lisa was the Bureau Chief in Europe during a period of extraordinary turmoil and terror, guiding a team that covered attacks in Paris, Barcelona and London among others.

    She began her career in Gympie in country Queensland has kept a close connection with regional communities ever since.

  • Ian Macfarlane is a non-executive director of Woodside Energy, and is a board member of CSIRO, the Australian Composite Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre and Toowoomba & Surat Basin Enterprise. He is a member of the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School Toowoomba Community Advisory Committee, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Honorary Member of AusIMM, and an Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, St Lucia and the Qld Academy of Arts and Sciences.

    Until recently he also served as CEO of the Queensland Resources Council, Chair of the Innovative Manufacturing Co-operative Research Centre and was a board member of the Mining Equipment and Technology Services Growth Centre.

    Ian was elected to Federal Parliament as the Federal Member for Groom in October 1998 and is Australia’s longest serving Federal Resources and Energy Minister and the Coalition’s longest serving Federal Industry and Innovation Minister with over 14 years of experience in both Cabinet and shadow ministerial positions.

    During that time Ian represented Australia at APEC, IEA & G20 ministerial meetings and chaired the APEC Mining Ministers and APEC Energy Ministers meetings in Australia in 2007.

    He has extensive experience across the resources and energy, agribusiness, science and innovation, skills and training and manufacturing and industry sectors. He combined this experience with his pragmatic approach to policy to build stronger links between business, agriculture and research institutions.

  • Sam is based just outside of Hughenden North Queensland, with his wife, Emily and three kids. They run a cattle operation on agistment in the area, chasing that dream of becoming fulltime primary producers. Both Sam and Emily are passionate and active members of their community and are heavily involved in local groups.

    Passionate about the beef industry and the area, Sam sits on the Southern Gulf Natural Resource Management Board and is also a Councillor for the AgForce Young Producers’ Council.

    In 2023, Sam founded the A Place To Call Home podcast which focuses on helping the next generation into the agricultural industry. The podcast complements Sam’s role at QRIDA as Regional Area Manager for North West and Gulf region.

    Outside of work, Sam is a passionate advocate for rural mental health and men’s health and is a community ambassador for Movember.