The 2024 NSW Young Farmer Business Program Conference will be held in Armidale on 16 and 17 May at the University of New England (UNE).
The two-day program is designed for farmers aged 18-40 or, as manager for the Young Farmer Business Program, Vicki Priest, said “for the young at heart.”
“This is our biggest event for the year, and is really designed for those starting their career in farming, it’s both a networking event and also a fantastic learning opportunity for our next generation of farmers,” said Ms Priest.
This will be the first time the conference has been held in Armidale, with the last two events in 2021 and 2022 having been held in Dubbo.
“We’re really excited to be able to hold the conference in Armidale this year, partnering with UNE for the event has just been amazing as they’re facilitating the SMART farm tours on the Thursday for us,” said Ms Priest.
UNE’s SMART (Sustainable Manageable Accessible Rural Technologies) Farms have proved highly successful thus far. The program covers eight properties in the New England region, six of which will be toured on the first day of the conference.
Thursday’s schedule of events will finish with an official welcome from MC and media personality Jodi Lee, and a fireside chat with both Ms Lee and Nedd Brockmann, the electrician from Forbes who famously became the fastest Australian to run across Australia.
“The focus of the whole conference is really about preparedness – we want our future farmers to be prepared and have their network together,” said Ms Priest.
“The average age of farmers in NSW is currently 63-65 years old, so not only do we really want to start encouraging our youth to see farming as a vibrant and viable career, we also want them to be entering their businesses properly prepared.”
“Often we’ll see that, particularly in the intergenerational family farms, there will be a certain linchpin in the family, for example dad always did this one specific thing and if something happens and dad can’t do it the whole operation grinds to a halt.”
“We want our young farmers to make sure that either they, or someone else they know, can step in and help.”
Friday’s conference schedule really fills the brief for this theme of preparedness, kicking off with the Young Farmer Panel Discussion, and then moving through talks on a number of subjects ranging from leadership skills, relationship building and finance.
“I know a lot of people will see this as ‘dry and boring’ but this is the stuff that has to be done in order to be a successful farmer,” said Ms Priest.
“We always like to tell our farmers that sometimes you just need to get out of the paddock and into the office.”
Friday’s speakers will also include an address from keynote speaker Grace Brennan from Buy from the Bush, and will culminate with a discussion from the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program advocates, Bronte Lee and Kate Arndell.
“Mental health is a really important factor for all farmers. Farmers need a break sometimes just like everyone else and this plays back into people’s overall preparedness – how can you go about facilitating this,” said Ms Priest.
Asides from the main event, this year will also feature 22 stallholders, all of which will be accessible to the general public, not just conference attendees.
“We’ve got a great range of businesses on site who all form vital pieces of the puzzle needed to support farmers,” said Ms Priest.
“Farming has changed so much now; it’s not just knowing your land and your livestock. You’ve also got to be on top of your financial literacy, farm technology and how to market and capture clients.”
Tickets are still available but are selling fast, so Ms Priest recommends booking as soon as possible to secure your place. To see the full schedule of events, or to book tickets visit the Young Farmer NSW website.
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