Meet the Summit speakers
The speaker lineup for Future Food Systems’ For Food’s Sake Summit in Perth continues to grow: Register now to hear from Nicole McNaughton, CEO of Sunshine Coast agrifood cluster the Food & Agribusiness Network (FAN); cellular agriculture expert Prof. Johannes Le Coutre; Noongar Land Enterprise Group’s Alan Beattie; Dr Sally Buck from CSIRO’s protein initiative; WA farmer and manufacturer Fiona Mann; Prof. Graham Gardner from the Food Futures Institute; and many more. Check out all our Summit speakers. Check out all our Summit speakers
Coffs Agrifood Living Lab launched!
An exciting stakeholder launch event, co-hosted by City of Coffs Harbour and Future Food Systems, was held on the evening of 25 October. Around 60 guests gathered at Coff’s new cultural and civic space, Yarrila Place, to hear successful ‘agripreneur’ Krista Watkins talk about her green-banana-flour venture, FFS CEO Dr James Krahe discuss the power and profit-making potential of collaboration and clusters, and CALL team members Dr Ozgur Dedehayir and Jack Adams introduce the project. Read more
LLEAF goes global
For several years, Australian SME LLEAF has been trialling its light-spectrum-shifting agricultural films, most recently in a series of FFS-backed projects at Western Sydney University involving collaborators including Hort Innovation and global seed supplier Rijk Zwaan. This research has shown that retrofitting LLEAF-Red film to greenhouses can promote growth and yield in various vegetable crops, including lettuce and capsicum, by up to 20 per cent. Now, LLEAF’s grower-friendly crop-enhancing film is gaining global traction, with the company securing a major EU distributor as well as international media coverage in Hortidaily. Read more
UNE data-mapping experts to extend Australian Tree Crop Map in $1.7m collaboration
AARSC Director Professor Andrew Robson, part of the Hort Innovation-funded, FFS-supported mapping team at University of New England, says the project – which will add new plantings and details on fruit and nut crops nationwide – will provide baseline data with broad and hugely valuable sector benefits, “directly assist[ing] industry with market access, traceability, biosecurity response, yield forecasting, carbon storage, regeneration and drought resilience, and … set[ting] a new standard for other agricultural industries”. Read more
Mahesh Galappaththi, PhD student: Australian truffles project
Working with mycologists at Murdoch University and with innovative growers Drs Mark and Julia Anwar McHenry on their farm near Denmark, Western Australia, Future Food Systems-backed PhD student Mahesh Galappaththi, originally from Sri Lanka, is exploring ways to ensure successful colonisation of host trees’ root zones by some of the world’s most delectable truffle species. Here, Mahesh and Mark talk about what’s going on below-ground down on Mt Lindesay farm.
Dist. Prof. David Tissue visits China
Future Food Systems ‘Future Farming’ Program Lead David Tissue, a Distinguished Professor at Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, took a two-week trip in China over the last semester break, visiting former PhD students, world-class research institutions, a very tall flux tower and some memorable restaurants. Read more
Queensland agrifood cluster FAN joins FFS
Cluster success story Food and Agribusiness Network, or FAN, is a group of more than 370 local farmers F&B processors, distributors, retailers, restaurateurs and more, working together and sharing resources to add value to the region’s agrifood-sector output. Future Food Systems welcomes the Sunshine Coast-based cluster and looks forward to a productive collaboration. Read more
Save the date: FFS Networking Night
As we approach the close of 2023, it is a fitting moment to pause and recognise the accomplishments of the past year in the company of our valued partners and team members. Future Food Systems is excited to mark this milestone by inviting you to a casual networking evening with some of our PhD students, staff and fellow partners. This gathering will be a great opportunity to mingle, share in the year’s achievements and enjoy some delightful food and beverages. The Networking Night will also provide a platform for the PhD students to share their insights into FFS projects they are engaged in. Join the waitlist here