Program
This is a preliminary program and may be subject to change without notice. Please visit this webpage for updates.
Day 1 - Wednesday 21 October
MC | Pip Courtney
Opening Remarks | Tony Perrett - Minister for Primary Industries of Queensland
Plenary Session 1
The Truth of Today and Choices for Tomorrow
Drawing on more than three decades reporting from farms, businesses and agricultural communities across Australia and around the world, Pip Courtney opens AusMac with a big-picture look at agriculture today and the opportunities ahead.
From rising costs and changing markets to technology, climate and shifting consumer expectations, agriculture is constantly adapting. Pip will share what she has observed across industries, how Australian producers are responding to change, and the people, ideas and innovations that give her confidence in the future.
With reflections for the macadamia industry along the way, this inspiring opening keynote will set the scene for two days focused on working smarter, challenging the status quo and making the most of the opportunities ahead.
Speaker: Pip Courtney, Australian journalist and television presenter
Plenary Session 2
Making Macadamias the Easy Choice
Growing demand matters to every part of the supply chain. This session looks inside the decision-making process of food manufacturers to understand what determines whether macadamias make it into a finished product. Explore how formulation, functionality, cost and supply influence ingredient selection, and see how the new Application Solutions Guides are helping remove barriers to using macadamias. Hear directly from food innovation and FMCG experts about what product developers need and what our industry can do to make Australian macadamias an easier choice, opening more opportunities for demand and value.
Speakers:
Kerridyn Hooker, Agri-Science Queensland
Plenary Session 3
Natural Capital: Hype or Hope?
Could the environmental assets already within your orchard create future business value?
This session cuts through the complexity surrounding natural capital and emerging environmental markets to examine where genuine opportunities may exist for macadamia growers. Understand why Australian tree crops are attracting interest, how these markets could influence the way orchards are managed and measured, and what growers should be considering now before deciding whether natural capital has a place in their business strategy.
Speaker: Belinda (Bindi) Turner, Impact Ag Australia
Plenary Session 4
Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Implementing Technology in Your Business
AI is rapidly moving from concept to practical application across agriculture, processing and the wider supply chain. But where is it delivering real value, and what could it mean for your business? Through three practical perspectives, see how AI and advanced technologies are already being applied to improve decision-making, efficiency, quality and productivity. Explore applications including advanced imaging and crop-yield tools, AI-powered interfaces, automation, and intelligent sorting and defect detection. The focus is firmly on what these technologies can do today, the problems they can help solve and where they could create opportunities for the macadamia industry. A combined Q&A will give delegates the opportunity to ask what successful implementation really involves and where AI could make a practical difference in their own operation.
Speakers:
Associate Professor Shahla Hosseini Bai, Griffith University
Explore how AI is being integrated with advanced imaging, user interfaces and crop-yield applications to support agricultural decision-making.
Bonsai Technology
Presentation details coming soon.
Roger Cook, Satake Oceania & Saumitra Buragohain, CEO/Founder, Borde AI
See AI in action through intelligent sorting technology that combines X-ray inspection, AI, colour cameras, shape recognition and near-infrared imaging to identify internal and external product characteristics and distinguish natural variation from defects.
Plenary Session 5
Ideas in Action: Innovative Solutions for Industry Challenges
Innovation has the greatest value when it solves a real problem. This session brings together four practical technologies designed to help agricultural businesses save time, use resources more efficiently, reduce labour pressure and make better-informed decisions. See innovation in action across autonomous robotics, real-time nutrient scanning, digital farm management and orchard automation. Each speaker will show how their technology works, the problem it is designed to solve and where it could deliver practical gains in productivity and efficiency. The focus is on solutions that growers can assess against the needs of their own operation, and the opportunities emerging as automation, data and smarter technology become increasingly accessible.
Speakers:
Alec Duffy, SwarmFarm Robotics
Autonomous robotics for practical orchard operations
Explore how autonomous robotics can be applied to orchard tasks to improve operational efficiency and reduce reliance on labour.
Michael Bednarz, Nutrien Ag Solutions
Leaftech: real-time leaf nutrient scanning and crop nutrition decision support
JOIN TOGETHER: See how real-time nutrient scanning can provide faster information to support more informed and targeted crop nutrition decisions.
Harry Goy, Fieldin
Digital farm operations, machinery tracking, compliance and efficiency management
Discover how digital farm management can bring machinery, operations and compliance information together to improve visibility, efficiency and decision-making.
Cam Clifford, Agri Automation Australia
Innovative automation and technology solutions for orchard operations
Explore practical automation and technology solutions designed to streamline orchard operations and improve productivity.
Plenary Session 6
What I Would Do Differently? Real Lessons from Real Orchards
Sometimes the most valuable business lessons come from decisions you would not make twice. Growers, processors and consultants share candid experiences of what worked, what did not and what they would do differently with the benefit of hindsight. Hear about real decisions, mistakes and turning points, and take away practical lessons that could help you avoid costly setbacks, rethink established practices and make better decisions in your own orchard or business.
Speakers:
Scott Allcott, Macadamia Farm Management
Chris Fuller, Nutworks
Chris Searle, MacAvo Consulting
Adrian Walsh, FNC Plantations
Graham Wessling, CL Macs
Day 2 - Thursday 22 October
Plenary Session 7
Market Intelligence That Matters
This data-driven market intelligence session will unpack the trends shaping global demand, consumer behaviour, product applications and the factors influencing value in macadamia markets. See what the latest signals are telling us, where opportunities are emerging, where competitive pressure is building, and how these insights are informing Australian Macadamias’ marketing priorities. Importantly, the session will connect what is happening in global markets back to the Australian industry; what changing customer and consumer expectations mean for our competitive position, where Australia has an opportunity to differentiate, and how industry marketing is responding as global supply grows.
Speaker: Laura Davies, Australian Macadamias
Plenary Session 8
Use the Free Tools at Your Fingertips to Make Big Gains
Some of the tools that can help you make faster, better-informed orchard decisions are already available, and they are free. Discover how to get more from MacAlert, industry mapping, the AMS website and other industry resources. Learn how timely information can help you plan operations, reduce guesswork, respond earlier to changing conditions and make better use of the resources you already have. It is a practical session about working smarter, improving timing and turning readily available information into better business and orchard decisions.
Speakers: Leoni Kojetin and Emily Grieve, Australian Macadamia Society
Practical Workshops
The four workshops will run in the morning and repeat in the afternoon, giving delegates the flexibility to choose the sessions most relevant to their orchard and business.
Workshop 1
Stepping Outside Your Orchard and Into Your Business
Producing a good crop is only part of running a profitable macadamia enterprise. With margins under pressure, understanding the numbers behind your operation is increasingly important. This workshop takes growers beyond day-to-day orchard management and into the financial and strategic decisions that underpin a strong business. Explore cost structures, forecasting, risk, succession and investment, and build a clearer picture of where money is going, where risks sit and where changes could strengthen long-term profitability and resilience.
Speakers:
Stuart Goodfellow, Ripple Ag
Kath Clarke, Rural Financial Counselling Service Southern Queensland
Workshop 2
Rethinking Nutrition: Moving Beyond Habits to Evidence
When inputs are expensive, every application needs to work harder. Challenge the assumptions and routines that can become embedded in orchard nutrition programs and refocus on what the tree actually needs. Using real orchard examples, this workshop explores how evidence, testing, timing and application methods can improve nutrient uptake and tree performance while helping growers avoid unnecessary inputs and waste. Take away a more informed approach to nutrition decisions that considers productivity, tree health and the return from every input.
Speaker: Theunis Smit, Omen Ag
Workshop 3
Knowing Your Varieties
The variety you grow influences productivity, quality, management requirements and ultimately the economics of your orchard. Take a deeper look at the strengths, vulnerabilities and management needs of existing and emerging Australian macadamia cultivars. Explore practical adjustments that could improve kernel quality and productivity, and get better information for one of the biggest long-term decisions a grower can make: whether to refine what you have or invest in replanting.
Speakers:
Grant Bignell, Max Cowan and Shane Mulo, Department of Primary Industries, Queensland
Leoni Kojetin, Australian Macadamia Society
Workshop 4
Turning Insight Into Inclusion
Where will the next growth for macadamias come from, and how do we grow demand in the Australian market? This interactive workshop looks beyond the orchard to the Australian consumer, exploring the domestic market trends and behaviours that will shape future
demand for macadamias. Explore how cost-of-living pressures are changing purchasing behaviour, what Australian consumers value today, and why the growing snacking market could present new opportunities for macadamias at home. Through bite-sized insights, live polling, table discussions and practical exercises, you’ll examine the latest Australian consumer intelligence, explore what macadamias can learn from other horticultural categories in the domestic market, and get hands-on with Hort IQ and other tools that can help turn market
data into useful insights. The session will challenge growers and industry to think not only about what we produce, but where future demand within Australia will come from and what we can learn now to help Australian macadamias capture more opportunities in our
home market.
Speakers:
Andrew Francey, Felecia White and Lynda Pallone, Hort Innovation
Plenary Session 8
What the World is Telling Us: How Australia Stays the Preferred Macadamia Supplier
As global macadamia supply grows, what will it take for Australia to remain the preferred supplier? This forward-looking, cross-supply-chain panel will explore what global markets are telling us and how Australia can respond. Hear where our competitive strengths lie, where we need to improve, and what growers, processors and marketers can do to protect Australia’s premium position and support long-term industry profitability. The discussion will focus on the factors we can control, including quality, efficiency, consistency, innovation and market positioning, and how greater alignment across the supply chain can help Australia respond to changing market expectations and remain
competitive in a growing global industry.
Speakers:
Rachel McAullay, Macadamias Australia
Isabelle Meere, Austrade
Queena Wang, Agri-Science Queensland
Jesse White, Australian Table Grape Association
Laura Davies, Australian Macadamias
Featured Areas
Outdoor Machinery Expo & Big Breakfast
Start Day 2 with Australia's biggest display of macadamia machinery and technology. Explore the latest harvesters, sprayers, tractors, orchard equipment and precision ag tools, plus live demonstrations of robotics and autonomous technologies. Meet suppliers, compare equipment, ask questions and enjoy a big macadamia breakfast while discovering practical innovations that could transform your orchard.
Research Hub
See the future of the Australian macadamia industry in one place. The Research Hub brings together the latest levy-funded research through interactive poster displays, short presentations and opportunities to speak directly with researchers. Discover practical innovations, ask questions and learn how current research can benefit your business.
Indoor Trade Expo
Connect with the businesses shaping the future of the macadamia industry. The Indoor Trade Expo showcases the latest products, services, technology and innovations from leading suppliers, providing plenty of opportunities to explore new ideas, compare solutions and build valuable industry connections. Includes a large machinery hub.
Grower Services Hub
The Grower Services Hub is your one-stop destination for practical business support. Meet experts in finance, benchmarking, succession planning, training, workforce, safety, health and government services, all in one convenient location. Whether you're looking for advice, new opportunities or trusted support, you'll find it here.
