Summary

The Ag Excellence Forum 2024 brought South Australian grower groups together to focus on one big question. How does the industry turn farming pressures into practical action on farm? With a focus on drought resilience, emissions management and smarter use of data, the Forum confirmed that grower groups are trusted leaders for driving change. However, they need clearer tools, consistent messaging and stronger coordination across industry. The clear message that came out of the Forum was that progress on emission and sustainability must be practical, production-linked and grounded in real farming systems – not driven by compliance or disconnected from profitability.

Background

South Australian grain growers are facing increasing expectations to demonstrate their sustainability credentials, particularly around emissions, data reporting and resource management. At the same time, grower groups are balancing seasonal pressures, limited capacity and an expanding information load. The Ag Excellence Forum is a biennial event designed to bring grower groups, industry and government together to share experiences, test ideas, identify priorities for the sector and strengthen collaboration.

The 2024 Forum responded directly to growing uncertainty around emissions management, data requirements and how sustainability expectations translate into day-to-day on-farm practice.

Research Aims

The core objectives of the project were to:

• Bring grower groups together to explore drought resilience, emissions management and data-driven decision-making in a practical context
• Build shared understanding of sustainability pressures and opportunities
• Identify gaps, needs and priorities to guide future collaboration, research and extension activities.

In The Field

The Ag Excellence Forum 2024 was held on August 5, 2024, in Adelaide with a full-day program under the theme Future Farming | Turning Trends into Practice. The program combined keynote presentations, panel discussions and a facilitated interactive session designed to explore real-world insights.

Approximately 90 delegates attended, with 29 per cent identifying as representative of grower groups; 23 per cent government; 16 per cent private business; 14 per cent industry; 11 per cent landholder and 7 per cent Other. Fourteen of the 19 Ag Excellence member grower groups were represented.

During the facilitated session, grower groups openly shared their experiences navigating emissions and sustainability requirements, identified barriers and discussed how new practices could align with, rather than compete with, existing priorities.

Results

The Forum reinforced that grower groups are trusted, well-connected leaders who have a strong history of collaboration and are deeply embedded in their local communities.

However, the Forum also highlighted significant gaps in emissions management for groups. These included inconsistent or unclear emissions calculation methods; limited access to expert support, time and funding constraints, and confusion due to mixed project messaging and shifting policy settings.

Participants strongly agreed that emissions and sustainability work must remain practical and focused on production-linked outcomes rather than just on supply chain pressures. Grower groups expressed concern that without clear market rewards or stable policy signals, it is difficult to justrify major changes in their business.

Growers called for practical demonstrations grounded in real farming systems, simple and practical emissions tools and calculators, and locally relevant case studies. There was also a clear desire for stronger coordination across state, national and private sector initiatives to avoid duplication and reduce grower fatigue.

Fifty per cent of participants reported that their understanding of emissions management increased ‘somewhat’ following the Forum, while just over 30 per cent said their understanding increased significantly. More than 90 per cent of participants were satisfied or very satisfied with the full day program.