An unconventional program run by Thoroughbred Breeders Australia and supported by AgriFutures Australia, Fast Track helps young people with limited experience take their first steps into the world of thoroughbred breeding. Participants emerge with relevant agriculture skill development, respected credentials, invaluable experiences and industry connections.

Fast Track's impact extends beyond the equine realm - it stands as a model for creating efficient, accelerated learning pathways nationwide. The program is bridging industry gaps while fostering leadership skills in the next generation of thoroughbred breeding professionals, drawing interest from various industries eager to replicate its success. 

Featuring:

• Cecelia O'Gorman, Marketing and Communications Manager, Thoroughbred Breeders Australia
• James Loder, 2022 Fast Track Graduate
• Tess O'Connor, 2020 Fast Track Graduate

One of the greatest parts of being involved in science is surprise discoveries. For a team working on measuring the carbon footprint of Australian irrigation dams, the results were truly astonishing.

Not only are irrigation dams producing a lot less carbon emissions than what has previously been thought, they are actually performing a critical nitrogen cycling role.

In this podcast episode we speak with Jackie Webb, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University on her recent carbon farming project for AgriFutures Australia. 

Featuring:

• Jackie Webb, Research Fellow, Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin University

AgHealth Australia has been leading research into deaths and injuries on farm since 2004, providing the most comprehensive evidence on which to build prevention approaches to enhance the safety and wellbeing of people in Australian agriculture.

The data for January-June 2023 is in, and numbers of non-intentional on-farm deaths remain stubbornly high. In this podcast episode, AgriFutures On Air podcast host and producer Jayne Cuddihy speaks with Pauline Brightling from the Rural Safety Health Alliance on how we can buck the trend. 

We also hear a first-hand account of how a Queensland farmer lost his leg in a farming accident, and how a generational change in relation to farm safety and shifting attitude towards WH&S in agriculture is changing for the better. 

Featuring:

• Pauline Brightling, RSHA Secretariat, Rural Safety Health Alliance
• Shawn Kleinschmidt, Queensland-based cane and cattle producer 

Since June 2022, the Australian honey bee industry has been grappling with outbreaks of varroa mite. As of September 2023, the national management group shifted its response from eradication to management.

Bianca Giggins, the Varroa Coordinator at the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) recently toured New Zealand where she learnt how they control and manage the varroa pests. This podcast features some of these learnings and insights. 

Featuring:

• Bianca Giggins, Varroa Coordinator, Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC)

Oli Madgett is on a mission to make baselining soil carbon measurements cheaper for farmers. When considering entering into carbon farming in Australia, cost is one of the biggest barriers primary producers face.

Using the latest agricultural innovations and technologies, Oli is working to address the prohibitively high costs of soil sampling.

His findings form one of 15 projects from the AgriFutures  Carbon Initiative Program.

Featuring:

• Oli Madgett, Managing Director, Perennial 

To meet the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming by 2 °C, it is clear that at-scale carbon removal will need to emerge in the decades ahead.

Scaled offshore marine permaculture to grow seaweeds is widely recognised as an emerging sector with large potential to meet a range of agricultural sustainability objectives.

In this podcast, AgriFutures On Air podcast host Jayne Cuddihy speaks with Dr Brian von Herzen,  Founder and Executive Director of the Climate Foundation about his  unique deep water approach to carbon faming in Australia.

As part of the AgriFutures  Carbon Initiative Program, this project investigated construction of a marine permaculture platform, seaweed growing, carbon
sequestration rate measurements and optimal conditions for carbon sinking.

With increasing ocean temperatures and a reduction in available nutrients, there were plenty of hurdles to overcome to develop this sustainable farming practice and successfully grow seaweeds from the tip of Tasmania through to the tropics.

Featuring:

• Dr Brian von Herzen,  Founder and Executive Director of the Climate Foundation 

There are more than one million widows across Australia. After two extremely personal losses, Michelle Moriarty decided that there were benefits to connecting the shared experiences of grief with others. The Western-Australian based social worker went about creating a platform called 'Grief Connect' to ensure no one across Australia grieves alone.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Michelle's initiative.

Featuring:

• Michelle Moriarty, Founder of Grief Connect and 2023 WA AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

Ali Paulett wanted to create a place that would educate school children and the wider community about how First Nations people were nourished by the environment. This led her to establish the 'Bush DeVine' Indigenous native bush food garden which now features 40 different types of native plants. In addition to being a popular attraction, the garden also supplies their winery restaurant, which opened in 2015.

Ali plans to use the generous Westpac grant to add educational components to the Bush DeVine garden including interactive signage, videography to enhance the sensory experience and a cooking vicinity for the community to utilise.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Ali's initiative.

Featuring:

• Ali Paulett, Founder,  of Bush DeVine, Managing Director at Paulett Wines and 2023 SA AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

Melissa was in a pretty dark place after a nasty buggy accident but was told something amazing  would come out of it ... and it did.

Melissa is the Founder of Leading Rein and is sharing her knowledge of working alongside horses in a leadership development program. Melissa was named the 2023 TAS AgriFutures Rural Women's Award Finalist for her work in equine-assisted learning and her creative ability to apply both human and horse herd dynamics to empower people and work teams.

Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Melissa's initiative.

Featuring:

• Melissa Duniam, Founder, Leading Rein and 2023 TAS AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist

More and more pets these days are being treated like family - and rightly so! Businesses across the world are capitalising on this trend with ideas aimed at meeting the new needs of our furry, scaly or feathered companions.
 
Queenslander Emma-Louise Gibbons is unleashing the potential on pet treats using Australian-farmed insect protein to sustainably produce a line of dog snacks.
 
Her dedication to sustainability and innovation has earned her global recognition, including a recent partnership with Krispy Kreme to offer dog-friendly doughnuts in their UK and US stores.
 
She is our 2023 QLD AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist and this is her story.
 
Thank you to our Platinum Sponsor Westpac for helping to further develop Emma's business ideas.

Featuring:

• Emma-Louise Gibbons, Founder, Huds and Toke and 2023 QLD AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Finalist