Program

More information about the IG26 program will be coming soon!

Monday 20 July 2026

12:00 pm

Site Tours

Exclusive ag tours of some of Geelong’s leading industry facilities, with early registration access for early bird ticket holders. More information on the ag tours will be coming soon.
6:30 pm

Welcome Drinks and Activity Night

Tuesday 21 July 2026

8:00 am

Expo and Registration Opens

Arrive bright and early to give yourself some time to check out the exhibition hall, where you'll see what the latest industry supporters and suppliers have to offer. Get yourself a fresh cup of coffee and have a wander around.
9:00 am

Welcome to Country

9:05 am

Welcome and Introduction

9:30 am

Keynote: Molly Taylor – World champion race car driver

Molly Taylor
Strap yourself in for a wild ride of epic adventures and daredevil stunts with Molly Taylor, Australian motorsport legend and storyteller whose tales from the under the helmet pull up hard at the farm gate.
10:30 am

Morning Tea

Connect with other IG attendees and check out some of the fantastic trade stalls!
11:00 am

Weather the Weather, Smarter

Graeme Anderson
Leading science communicator and extension leader Graeme Anderson makes sense of the climate variability, seasonal risk and carbon farming story for grains. Examining the value and limitations of tools for short term forecasts, seasonal outlooks, and longer-term climate trends, Graeme sets the scene for the strategies and tactics that best equip growers to tackle these challenges.
11:45 am

Farm Fit for a Volatile Decade: How Young Growers Keep Options Open When Everything Is Changing

Constant disruption is the reality of living for young grain growers. Volatility has become the context, not the exception. More than ever, farm fitness means adaptability, not prediction. The next decade will be defined by market shocks, geopolitical disruption, climate variability, rapid technology change and shifting policy settings. The challenge isn’t forecasting the future — it’s building farm businesses flexible enough to adapt as it unfolds. This session explores how young growers can keep farm fit in a volatile decade, making early decisions that buid resilience, create optionality and preserve pathways for future growth.
12:30 pm

Session

More details coming soon!
1:00 pm

Lunch

It's time for lunch! Get mingling and check out the exhibitors at the trade stalls.
2:00 pm

Driving Business with Tech Innovation

Jordy Kitschke
Sarah Groat
Regan Ashley
Three young leaders who are transforming agriculture through innovation and entrepreneurship explore how technology is reshaping farm businesses, the obstacles to its adoption, and how its capability can be harnessed to drive both productivity and profitability. Regan Ashley draws on a background in medical artificial intelligence and technology to drive greater efficiency in crop production across Western Australia’s far eastern Wheatbelt, demonstrating how cross-industry skills can unlock new opportunities in farming. Jordy Kitschke – Flux founder previews the Agricultural Revolution Episode 2 – brought to you by clever human application of machine intelligence. Sarah Groat, an award-winning agtech specialist, speaks to overcoming barriers to agtech uptake and the role innovation plays in delivering long-term productivity, resilience, and opportunity for producers.
2:45 pm

Session

More details coming soon!

Identifying Problems and Unlocking Potential in Farm Businesses

This session explores how underperforming farm enterprises can be transformed into profitable and sustainable operations by first identifying the underlying challenges limiting performance. Through practical insights and real-world examples, the session will focus on diagnosing operational, financial, and management issues and uncovering opportunities for improvement. Participants will gain an understanding of how targeted changes in strategy, technology, and decision-making can unlock productivity, strengthen resilience, and create long-term business sustainability.
3:15 pm

Afternoon Tea

Take a well-earned break and explore the trade exhibition.
3:45 pm

The Great Debate: Whether Weather is Science or Sorcery

Our distinguished orators stir up stormy debate about the true nature of weather forecasting. Will our adjudicators’ verdicts – one human-made, one AI-generated – catalyse a further dispute of its own?
5:00 pm

Close of Day One

6:30 pm

Formal Conference Dinner

Wednesday 22 July 2026

9:00 am

Keynote Session

More details coming soon!
10:00 am

Soil Health and Why it Matters

Dr Susan Orgill
In this interactive session, Susan will guide participants through the fundamentals of soil testing and what the results really mean for your farm. Learn how to identify key limitations in your soils, understand nutrient and biological indicators, and use this knowledge to improve crop performance, soil function, and long-term productivity.
10:45 am

Morning Tea

Connect with other IG attendees and check out some of the fantastic trade stalls!
11:15 am

Playing the Long Game: Embracing Uncertainty and Elevating Performance from the Field to the Paddock

What do the Matildas and the Geelong Cats have in common with Australian grain growers? More than you think. In elite sport, uncertainty isn’t a setback — it’s a constant. Athletes navigate unpredictable conditions, high-stakes decisions, and performance pressure, just like growers managing weather variability, shifting markets, and critical on farm choices. In this energising session with David Williams, sports psychologist to the Matildas and the Geelong Cats, shares powerful insights into performing under pressure, developing psychological flexibility, sustaining confidence through volatility, and building team culture that thrives in the unknown. Join us to explore how the mindset strategies used by top-tier athletes can help grain growers stay adaptive, make clearer decisions, and maintain performance when conditions change — because in both sport and agriculture, the greatest advantage isn’t certainty, but how well you respond when it’s absent.
12:00 pm

Session

More details coming soon!
12:45 pm

Lunch

It's time for lunch! Get mingling and check out the exhibitors at the trade stalls.
1:45 pm

Session

More details coming soon!
2:15 pm

Scene Unseen: Unveiling the origins of workplace safety and the secret life and lessons of its failures

The aviation industry revolutionised safety tools, culture, and systems for accident prevention that have become global models for other sectors seeking to improve reliability, reduce human error, and strengthen organisational resilience. Hear from veteran airline safety figure Captain Chris Hulley about the principles and practices that have shaped the evolution of workplace safety, and get the rarely seen insider’s view into on-farm safety fails and fallout with litigator Amanda Cefai (Burrows).
3:00 pm

Afternoon Tea

Your final chance to check out the trade stalls and grab some goodies!
3:20 pm

DiSC’oed Dragon Den

Agriculture’s leadership development legend Jo Eady kicks off this final, interactive session, leading delegates through a DiSC profiling exercise to uncover their strengths and tendencies, and gain insight into others'. DiSC-diverse groups will then compete in a concept development task, pitching their proposal to our Dragon’s Den of panellists in a bid to take out the grand prize.
5:00 pm

Conference Close

A wrap-up and close for Innovation Generation 2026.