Real People. Real Stories. Real Solutions.

In 2020, Belle Binder bought a small rural labour hire firm and completely overhauled it. Since then, she’s rebuilt it into one of Australia’s most socially responsible ag labour hire companies, delivering high performing, low drama farm crews made up of PALM workers, backpackers, and locals.

Belle runs Left Field 100% remotely and is known for cutting through the fluff, designing workforce systems that are lean, compliant, and built for performance. She’s passionate about helping farms reduce costs, lift output, and stop wasting time managing underperforming teams.

With a background in branding and behavioural science, she brings a fresh, practical lens to one of agriculture’s most frustrating problems, labour. Her talk is a must for any farm that wants to build a workforce that actually works.

http://www.leftfield.net.au/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/belle-binder-847575124/

https://www.facebook.com/Left.Field.Australia

https://www.instagram.com/left_field_australia/

Oli Le Lievre is the Founder of Humans of Agriculture (HOA), a storytelling platform with a purpose to reframe Agriculture’s narrative, through authentic, human-led storytelling.

He creates opportunities to elevate the conversations around agriculture through the people living and breathing their extraordinary everyday.

His stories cover the businesses, lifestyles, careers, communities that make modern agriculture incredibly diverse with a vast variety of opportunities.

Oli's career has spanned AgTech start-ups, Fresh Produce Logistics and Export, Corporate Management Consulting, Global AgriFood Events, on-farm roles in Australia and Canada, Brand and Marketing roles, and volunteer roles on the board of several Not-For-Profits.

Luke Chaplain is the founder and managing director of SkyKelpie, an award-winning agtech company pioneering the use of drones for livestock mustering and aerial stockmanship. With deep roots in Australia’s agricultural sector as a fourth-generation grazier, Luke brings a rare blend of practical stock handling experience and technological innovation to the forefront of modern livestock management.

Under his leadership, SkyKelpie has become a national leader in drone mustering, recognised for its commitment to animal welfare, sustainability, and rural safety. The company offers hardware, training, consulting, and simulation tools that empower graziers to integrate drone technology into their operations—enhancing efficiency while reducing stress on animals and handlers alike.

As the Manager of Pinion Advisory's Ag Production and Adoption Team, Jo oversees production focused activity, along with the adoption and extension services provided to their clients. From Jo's background in agriculture, she understands the intricate connections between rural communities, their businesses and the environment.

Jo has worked extensively to promote agricultural practices that boost profitability while enhancing environmental and human wellbeing. Jo enjoys collaborating with industry, researchers, and stakeholders to drive innovation, address challenges, and ensure the prosperity and sustainability of the Tasmanian agricultural sector. Jo joined the Pinion Advisory team 5 years ago, after a career in teaching and research at the University of Tasmania. Jo, her husband and two children operate a dairy farming business in the Derwent Valley.

Saul Eslake worked as an economist in the Australian financial markets for more than 25 years, including as Chief Economist at McIntosh Securities (a stockbroking firm) in the late 1980s, Chief Economist (International) at National Mutual Funds Management in the early 1990s, as Chief Economist at the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) from 1995 to 2009, and as Chief Economist (Australia & New Zealand) for Bank of America Merrill Lynch from 2011 until June 2015. In between these last two positions he was Director of the Productivity Growth program at the then newly-established Grattan Institute, a ‘think tank’.

RIC (Regional Investment Corporation) is an Australian Government provider of low-interest loans for farm businesses and farm-related small businesses. 

Our purpose is to support the growth, resilience and sustainability of Australia's agricultural economy.
John spent nearly 10 years in the grains industry as well as time spent in a stock and station agency and running the family farm in Walgett, NSW. He has worked across all areas of the agricultural supply chain, from primary production (family and corporate farming), commodity marketing, trading, manufacturing and food marketing. He also has experience in financial investment markets and financial restructuring.

Michael Coote has been a key member of the AUSVEG Leadership Team since 2014 was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2021.
Michael is passionate about the Australian vegetable industry, and is committed to strengthening the long-term viability of the sector by working closely with growers, supply chain partners, and government to address key challenges.

Mike joined Tasmanian Irrigation in March 2025 as Chief Executive Officer with 20 years of international experience in leadership roles within the public, private and not for profit sectors. He has substantial experience in collaborating to build large-scale water infrastructure projects for community benefit from a strong engineering background, and experience in food production through aquaculture, centred on high-value species. Recent positions include CEO of Blueline and CEO of PFG Group. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds a Master of Technology from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Tasmania. He is a chartered engineer, and fellow-grade member of Engineers Australia.

Justine is the Managing Director of Plus One Serve and a passionate advocate for sustainable futures that benefit both people and the planet. With over 25 years’ experience, she has led strategy and delivery of outcomes across vast public, private, and global market stakeholder networks. Justine brings deep understanding of agriculture and food, health, sustainability, consumer behaviour, and retail environments. Formerly General Manager – Marketing and International Trade at Hort Innovation, Justine played a key role during COVID-19, supporting growers with the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) and spearheading The Good Mood Food campaign. 

Pip Courtney is the long-time presenter of ABC’s Landline and one of Australia’s most respected rural journalists. With over 30 years of experience, she is a trusted voice in Australian agriculture—bringing sharp storytelling, deep insight, and a genuine understanding of the people and issues shaping the sector.

Nigel Kerin is a sheep and cattle producer from Yeoval, NSW, and founder of Kerin Agriculture. Named 2008 Australian Farmer of the Year, Nigel runs a high-efficiency, high-output grazing enterprise designed to respond to seasonal variability. He treats climate as a strategic reality, not a barrier. His message is clear: with the right mindset, information and business model, farmers can protect their land, profits and future—and turn uncertainty into opportunity.

Olivia Lawson is a central Victorian beef producer and partner in Paringa Livestock, where she and her husband Tom have spent more than two decades refining a commercial approach to sustainable beef production. Their focus combines genetics that lift reproductive performance and feed efficiency with holistic grazing systems that build soil carbon, biodiversity, and resilience.

Combining a background in agricultural science and agri-marketing, Olivia brings a commercial lens to sustainable land management, integrating rotational grazing, biodiversity, and animal welfare with innovative breeding strategies. Paringa Livestock was the first to introduce the Stabilizer® planned crossbreeding system to Australia, and continues to lead in measuring and improving feed efficiency and soil carbon outcomes.

Cam Nicholson is a mixed farmer from Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula, where he and his wife Fiona run a grazing and cropping enterprise. He is also director of Nicon Rural Services, with over 30 years’ experience helping producers make practical, informed decisions around climate, soils, risk and business management. First and foremost, he is a farmer—shaping his advice through real-world experience and a focus on what delivers value in the paddock.

Karen has spent over 30 years working alongside Australian growers to help them get the most out of every spray pass. With a career rooted in the paddock, she’s known for turning agronomic science into practical, real-world results that boost efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.

Karen’s specialty is spray application—helping growers fine-tune their gear, reduce waste, and get better bang for their buck. Now with MagrowTec, she’s working with producers across agriculture and horticulture to introduce magnetic-assist spray technology to achieve measurable gains in productivity, profitability, and sustainability. The MagrowTec system enhances spray performance, reduces water and chemical usage, and supports better agronomic and environmental results.

David Jochinke, commonly referred to as 'DJ', is a third generation dryland mixed farmer. DJ operates his family's property in the Wimmera, Victoria, producing various broadacre crops and finishing prime lambs.

He has been heavily involved at all levels of farmer advocacy since finishing his Diploma of Applied Science (Ag Services) at Longerenong College. DJ was elected as President of the National Farmers’ Federation in October 2023 after serving as Vice President and Director and for numerous years.

Ben joined Telstra in January 2019 as the Head of Rural and Regional Affairs. Ben is passionate about regional Australia and prior to joining Telstra has held several senior policy and management positions within the agriculture sector and Government spanning 20 years. This included working with Saputo Dairy Australia, Australian dairy processor Murray Goulburn Co-operative Ltd, the SA Farmers Federation Grains Council, Australian Pork Limited and in management consultancy. Ben was also a senior policy adviser to the former Federal Minister for Regional Development, the Hon Simon Crean.

Stephanie Terry is a Tasmanian berry producer and Director of Tasmanian Berries, where she and her husband Andrew have built one of Australia’s most technologically advanced horticultural operations. Their focus blends large-scale berry production with precision farming, integrating data systems, automation, and climate-smart infrastructure across multiple sites in Tasmania and Queensland.

With a background in law and business governance, Stephanie brings a strategic and compliance-focused lens to farm operations, combining automated greenhouses, AI-supported crop monitoring, and cloud-based workforce platforms to streamline traceability, safety, payroll, and picking performance. Tasmanian Berries integrates both in-house developed systems and external applications to manage risk, optimise labour, and support sustainable, year-round production at scale.

Dr Fiona Kerslake leads business and product development at Ag Logic, bringing a solid foundation in agricultural science and a passion for practical AgTech solutions by returning to her farming roots.

She holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Hons.) and a PhD from the University of Tasmania and spent 11 years as a Research Fellow at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, specialising in viticulture, wine and fermentation sciences.