Growing the Future 2024

Growing the Future is the biggest agricultural networking events for youth in South Australia. Each year the information and impact this event has on students allows connections to industry to be bigger then ever before.

The night began with half of the attendees being involved in a workshop with Sharon Honer from Spectra Coaching. During the workshop, participants formed groups and collaborated with one another to create lists of current and future challenges within agriculture. They were then encouraged to ‘think outside the box’ to create solutions to one of these problems. Each group then had the opportunity to share their idea with the group, in an ‘elevator-pitch’ fashion. Sharons workshop was engaging and inspiring, leaving participants with a lot to think about.

While the first group of attendees were involved in Sharons workshop, the other half had the opportunity to network with an enormous range of industry professionals, peers, and other agricultural representatives. This part of the event was done in a ‘speed-dating’ style, encouraging all participants to network with as many different people as possible. Various attending sponsor businesses held stalls that surrounded the room. Businesses represented various sectors of the agricultural industry, ranging from agronomy to livestock, agribusiness/finance, soils, horticulture, and many more. Youth attendees were pushed to approach the various sponsor stalls and connect with industry professionals, who volunteered to answer any question that may be asked. The event served as a perfect opportunity for these companies to connect with potential new employees and share their knowledge and stories of their experiences with the younger attendees.

DSC02106

DSC02097

DSC01966

DSC02106

1/27

After this, youth attendees were seated on one of the sponsor tables, where each table corresponded to a business of their industry preference to dine with for the evening. The main dinner proceedings began with Belinda Cay introducing herself as the MC for the night. AUASA President Rory Dunn then gave her address and thanked her committee for their part in organising the event. She then spoke a little bit about the purpose of the event and encouraged people to make the most of this opportunity to connect with other people in the agricultural industry.

In true entrepreneurial style, each sponsor gave a 1-minute elevator pitch of why an attendee should work for them as part of their sponsorship of the night. Industry sponsorship allows AUASA to subsidise tickets for youth in agriculture heavily, so the event is more accessible. It was great for our audience to be able to hear from such a huge number of industry professionals in such a small amount of time. For many students, this highlighted for them just how diverse the agricultural industry is, and how many opportunities there are for them to learn and expand their networks from this event.

DSC02312

DSC02308

DSC02162

DSC02312

1/31

The first guest speaker of the evening, Di Davidson, who has experience working as an agronomist and viticulturist, spoke about the significant change she has seen in the agricultural industry throughout her career. She spoke about how opportunities today are more accessible, and she encouraged people to be open to the possibility of working in areas of agriculture that they might otherwise not consider.

Emily Adams gave a speech and shared a video which was created from her time on the 2024 Student Compendium Committee.

Our final speaker of the evening, Ben Haslett, the General Manager of Woolenook Fruits, shared a bit about his experience in a family-run enterprise. He also spoke about the endless opportunities for people to expand their knowledge and career opportunities, supporting his advice with his own experiences as a 2015 Nuffield Scholar and continuing research career.

The final event of the night consisted of a panel with 3 industry leaders discussing the most prevalent topics in the agricultural industry. Three amazing industry leaders, Jana Freebairn, Sharon Starick, and Greg Pearce began by discussing any exciting technological advancements in agriculture that they have come across. They then highlighted any challenges and opportunities that they have had throughout their careers, finishing their talk by leaving the audience members with take-home messages and inspiration as to how they can build their own careers.

Table Sponsers

AUASA would like to personally thank all of our 2024 growing the future table sponsors. Without sponsors, events like these simply aren't possible and we thank all sponsors for generously giving up their time and knowledge to inspire the next generation.

Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 11.16.35 pm.png

Screenshot 2024-12-23 at 11.30.25 pm.png