Forum events
Webinar
A webinar on the Stimulating private sector extension project was conducted on 14 June 2018, featuring Ian Linley, Associate Professor Ruth Nettle and Jeff Coutts.
A copy can be found here and a PDF version is available here.
Please note the slider at 44:20 minutes has been replaced on the PDF version with a more up-to-date slide.
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2018 Symposium
A symposium focusing on the trials which are being conducted as part of the Stimulating private sector extension in Australian agriculture project was held in Sydney on 21 March at the iconic Luna Park conference venue.
This was followed by a strategic planning day on 22 March at the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) offices.
The project team invited trial participants, public and private sector RD&E providers and users (including producers), alongside representatives of the project partners, investors and other stakeholders, to share experiences and lessons learned from the trials.
The presentations and videos from the day are below:
2017 National Forum
The forum, which was held on May 17, 2017 in Melbourne, focused on defining ways in which private sector engagement in extension can be further supported.
Attendees heard from national and international speakers, and participated in discussions on the following topics:
- Farmers adopting and benefiting from R&D;
- What needs to happen to improve how extension operates and functions in the RD&E system?;
- Is Australia alone in its extension challenges? Approaches in other countries can provide insight into strategic actions related to the private sector and extension;
- How the project trials may inform some of the extension issues raised; and
- Opportunities to be engaged in the next steps.
The event was attended by more than 125 people.
Read more about the program and watch speaker presentations here:
2016 National Forum
In April, 2016, the project conducted a national extension and adoption forum in Wagga Wagga in partnership with the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services.
It featured Assoc Prof Ruth Nettle speaking about the importance of national extension and adoption programs.
The event was attended by approximately 70 people.
Regional forums
The project held a series of regional forums in the first half of 2016, which were attended by more than 150 advisers and producers from a range of agricultural industries. Forums were held in:
- Adelaide, South Australia;
- Traralgon, Victoria;
- Toowoomba, Queensland, and;
- Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
The purpose of the forums was to gain insight about regional needs, interests, challenges and opportunities for agricultural extension. Participants were presented with draft concepts for new models for agricultural extension interventions for feedback. The feedback was used to refine the models which are being investigated through project trials.
While some of the insights from the forums were industry-specific, there were some common themes:
- Advisers need to remain connected to research findings, particularly through rural research and development corporations;
- There’s a current gap in the translation of research and its application in practice (the extent varies across industries);
- Producers and advisers would value a key portal for research and industry development information, and;
- Succession planning is a challenge almost universally across Australian agricultural industries.
Read more about the regional forums here.