Dr Tony Pattison is a globally respected soil biology expert working for the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries in Far North Queensland. His research has focussed on developing productive, disease suppressive soils for the management of fusarium and soil nematodes by methods that maintain the physical, chemical and biological health of soils, leading to greater soil biological diversity.

Dr Peter Kopittke is Associate Professor of Soil Science at the University of Queensland involved in the management and conservation of soil. Whilst Peter's research spans the areas of agricultural production, water chemistry, and waste disposal, it currently focuses on improving plant nutrition through efficient and environmentally friendly use of fertilisers in soils, the toxicity of trace metals to plants, and overcoming nutritional constraints through the use of foliar fertilisers.

Dr Sukhvinder Pal (SP) Singh is a Horticultural Food Safety Scientist at the NSW Department of Primary Industries where he leads a Horticultural Food Safety Research Program that is aimed to mitigate food safety risks to horticultural industries and consumers.

Dr Elia Pirtle is an ecologist, entomologist and scientific illustrator who works in sustainable agriculture research at cesar Pty Ltd.

Madeleine Quirk works with Ausveg to raise awareness of priority pest threats and promote on-farm biosecurity in the vegetable industry.

Dr. Lisa Evans is a biologist with Plant & Food Research’s Pollination & Apiculture team working on quantifying the pollination contributions of flower-visiting insects in a wide range of agricultural systems as well as improving and diversifying pollination practices. She is based in Brisbane in support of Hort Innovation-funded research quantifying honey bee dependence of several Australian crops including melons.

Dr Denise Hamblin is National Sector Head FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) for Colmar Brunton, one of Australia's largest market research agencies across the Asia Pacific region. Denise leads a research programme that tunes into the evolving needs and preferences of Australian consumers. This presentation describes the results of VM18000 Consumer insights for the Australian melon industry.

Wayne Prowse is director and senior analyst at Fresh Intelligence Consulting specialising in international trade analysis for the fresh produce industry. Wayne has over 30 years’ experience in the food industry spanning corporate, private, industry body and government roles covering marketing, market access and trade analysis. Wayne describes where Australian melons are placed within the global fruit trade and shows context for how Australian melon exports may profitably fit into this trade.