Australian farming businesses facing pressure from fuel and fertiliser costs, volatile commodity prices, labour shortages and variable weather will get the chance to discuss solutions at this year’s National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo, to be held in Orange on August 12.
Following two sold-out years, the conference will focus on how producers can make electrifying their operations and reducing emissions commercially viable.
Conference founder Karin Stark said the event would showcase farmers already using renewable energy to cut costs and create new income streams.
“Australia currently imports 90 per cent of our refined fuels and we’ve seen how vulnerable agriculture is to global supply shocks,” she said, adding this year’s program includes ways for farmers to become more self-sufficient, covering everything from battery storage and solar-powered irrigation to electric farm vehicles, biofuels and on-farm fertiliser production.
Speakers include Francis Clark, who will discuss installing New South Wales’ first bi-directional electric vehicle charging system on his Southern Tablelands farm, and Dubbo farmer Tom Warren, who will speak on grazing sheep under solar panels and the tax implications of hosting large-scale renewable developments. Tom Gunthorpe, from Kangiara, will share how he and his neighbours set up a decommissioning fund for wind turbines hosted on their land, while farmer and lawyer Claire Booth will cover risk and insurance implications for hosts and neighbouring properties.
A farmer-only networking session will be held on the afternoon of August 11, giving producers a chance to meet speakers informally. Optional farm tours on August 13 will visit either a solar-powered winery or the Flyers Creek Wind Farm.
The conference comes as renewable energy development continues to expand across the Hunter region, with projects including the Muswellbrook Solar Farm and the Upper Hunter’s Goulburn River Solar Farm forming part of the broader Hunter-Central Coast and Hunter-New England Renewable Energy Zones.
