TSBE forum sees more than 100 delegates gather in Toowoomba

Over 100 delegates gathered at the 400M Forum, with entrepreneurs driving new ideas which are changing the game for food production.

AG SOLUTIONS: Angus Woods, Kerri-Anne Lamb and Kent Antonio on the panel discussion at the 400M Forum hosted by TSBE. Picture: Contributed

Global leaders in innovation say Toowoomba is at the forefront of AgTech, with entrepreneurs driving new ideas which are changing the game for food production.

Over 100 delegates gathered for the 400M Forum at the Empire Theatre today, hosted by Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise.

Bruce McConnel, TSBE Food Leaders Australia General Manager at the 2021 400M Forum at the Empire Theatre.

TSBE Food Leaders Australia general manager Bruce McConnel said it was great to have the brightest innovators in one room working together.

“(Wednesday) showcased what the future of agriculture could look like, if the industry maximises opportunities and focuses on collaboration to solve some of the current issues,” Mr McConnel said.

“It’s exciting to showcase how the sector adopts innovation, giving attendees a real sense of how to turn some of these fantastic concepts into reality.”

The forum included discussions on how industry supports growth, Artificial Intelligence in Queensland, the connectivity gap plus more.

General Manager ICT and Manufacturing at McLean Farms, Kent Antonio, was on Wednesday’s panel discussion focusing on why and how industry innovates.

“The world is moving so fast and staying ahead of the curve is the way to stay in business, we want to be a leading business, not a Kodak,” he said.

Another panel member was talking to the delegation about his AgTech success story, DataFarming.

Managing director of DataFarming, Tim Neale said it had been great to see farmers start adopting new technology to really maximise the productivity of their farms.

Tim Neale, Tom Dowling and Angus Street at the 400M Forum, hosted by TSBE.

DataFarming provides data to more than 22,000 farms across Australia, with the technology used in 50 different countries worldwide.

“The data enables farms to actually analyse the growth of their crops and pastures in real time,” Mr Neale said.

“We’ve seen huge uptake in the technology because people are thirsty for new information about how they farm.”

Staying ahead of the curve was a common theme for the forum.

Solutions architect at Quadtech Gavin Knight told delegates about why the current opportunities across the region were so great.

“I’ve been working overseas for a long time, and my observation of Toowoomba, coming back to it after being away for a number of years is that it’s on the cusp of that,” Mr Knight said.

“That what I see here is the creation of something that really could be a powerhouse for AgTech, that would be known not just in Australia, not just in Queensland but globally.”