Headlining the speaker list for the event was Emmy award-winning journalist and founder of the Genetic Literacy Project, Jon Entine, who spoke on the controversial topic of genetic modification in horticulture, telling attendees that 'if you try to ban the future, it will just happen someplace else'.

Entine was joined by Dr Amos Albert, who spoke on robotic technology, with the pre-eminent speaker saying that the future of robotics in agriculture will feature inter-connectivity and information sharing between on-farm machinery, leading to more informed and smarter farming.

“We’re proud to have brought out such an exciting list of speakers for this Seminar, and we’re already receiving hugely positive feedback from attendees about the speakers and their presentations,” said AUSVEG spokesperson, Shaun Lindhe. “The speaker list this year covered hot-button topics that are of real interest and importance to vegetable growers, ranging from genetic modification and plant breeding to precision agriculture and new robotic technology being applied on-farm.”

“The Australian horticulture industry is always looking for more innovative production practices that can help it compete against its international counterparts, and bringing speakers out to showcase the new developments taking place around the world through this Seminar every year is one way in which we’re able to help Australian growers stay at the forefront of global horticulture.”

“We’re also proud to have attracted such a fantastic range of attendees, including representatives from some of Australia’s biggest vegetable growing operations,” Lindhe said. “This Seminar is a central part of the Australian vegetable industry events calendar, and the continued high interest from the industry year after year is a welcome sign that the speakers and topics at these events are relevant and appreciated by the industry."

The Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar was funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the National Vegetable Levy and funds from the Australian Government.