QFF National Agriculture Day AgTech Breakfast

Join QFF on Friday, 17 November as we explore how technology can enable agriculture to meet the challenge of producing food, fibre and foliage in a world of efficiency, sustainability and traceability. 

Attendees, including QFF members, corporate partners and industry leaders, will take a deep dive into the exciting world of AgTech.

We look forward to welcoming our guest speaker, Phil Morle, Partner at CSIRO’s venture capital fund – Main Sequence Ventures. Guests will also hear from a panel of industry leaders on AgTech adoption, investment, barriers, opportunities and much more.

Purchase your tickets here

Our guest speaker: Phil Morle

Phil is a Partner at Main Sequence a venture capital firm founded by Australia’s national science agency – CSIRO. There he invests in deep tech founders who are building unimaginable new companies with a strong connection to research. There he has invested in Cauldron, Eden Brew, Samsara Eco, Uluu, v2food, Nourish Ingredients, EVERY Company, RapidAIM, Coviu and Q-CTRL.

Before this he was the founder of Australia’s first incubator and venture studio, Pollenizer, where Phil played an instrumental role in developing the startup ecosystem across Asia Pacific and advised some of the world’s biggest organisations on practical ways to deliver new growth and the cultural change that is required to get there.

Event details: 

Date: Friday, 17 November 2023

Time: 7:00am to 9:00am

Venue: Custom’s House Brisbane, 399 Queens St, Brisbane

Ticket price: $118 per person

Purchase your tickets here

Our industry panel

Michael Murray, General Manager, Cotton Australia  

Michael Murray is the General Manager of Cotton Australia, where a key part of his role is to manage the Cotton Australia policy development and advocacy work. Michael has an in-depth knowledge of Australian water policy, having worked in this space for over three decades as an irrigator, Executive Officer for Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association and for the past 12 years with Cotton Australia.

Michael is very proud of the Australian cotton industry’s sustainability track record.

Cotton Australia conducted its first Environmental Assessment in 1992, and recently completed its third.

It is committed to publicly available sustainability targets, and fully reports against them every five-years, with annual updates.

Since first measuring some key metrics in 1992, the Australian cotton industry has reduced its insecticide application by 97% and improved water use efficiency by over 50%.

Michael lives in the NSW Northern Rivers with his wife Gabrielle and has three adult sons.

Owen Menkens, Chair, CANEGROWERS 

Owen Menkens is a fourth-generation cane farmer at Home Hill and has been Chair of CANEGROWERS since 2022. Owen is also the Chair of the CANEGROWERS Australia, the CANEGROWERS Policy Council  ANEGROWERS Burdekin Limited and the Australian Sugar Industry Alliance, as well as a member of the World Association of Beet and Cane Growers.

CANEGROWERS is a peak industry body representing more than 2500 farming enterprises, or 70% of all Queensland sugarcane growers. The organisation provides advocacy on key issues of trade and market access, environmental sustainability, social license to operate, and cost of production, as well as delivering membership and communication services and programs to support leadership, capacity building, and grower engagement.

Owen has a Bachelor of Commerce and prior to taking over the family farming business, Owen worked in accounting and banking in Brisbane and London. Now he spends his days advocating for a bright future for growers in a profitable, stable and diversified industry, whilst working on farm and raising his four children with his wife Sarah.

Rachel Chambers, CEO, Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers 

Rachel is CEO of Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Queensland’s state industry body representing fruit, vegetable, and nut growers. A true advocate for growers, her least favourite phrase to hear is ‘I’m just a farmer.’ Farmers are entrepreneurs, logistics experts, scientists, managers, investors, recruiters, marketers, negotiators and have been exporting overseas since before it was considered the thing to do.

In her role, Rachel leads a team of dedicated professionals who celebrate, educate and advocate for all things horticulture. From advocacy and thought leadership on key issues such as food security, water, labour, energy, and biosecurity, and acting as the hub for news and information, QFVG also operates a dedicated projects and program delivery arm – Growcom – delivering a diverse portfolio of practical, useful, and relevant projects to participants across the state and indeed the nation.

Grant Statton, CEO, Innovation and Growth, FKG Group 

Grant is the CEO of Innovation and Growth for the FKG Group and is currently leading the developing of AATLIS Innovation Precinct and overseeing AgriBusiness Connect. The development will be a multi-faceted workld-cass technology, innovation and fresh food district which will incorporate an integrated agriculture community, transportation and freight access, low cost energy solutions and collaboration and technology focus.

With over 20 years experience working in commercial accounting and business consulting roles, Grant has been an integral part of the FKG Group since 2006, including 12 years as the company CFO.