Final call for NFF National Congress registrations

More than 250 farmers, agribusinesses and government representatives will converge on Canberra next week for the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) 2012 National Congress – with two days remaining until registrations close. Taking place at the Australian Institute of Sport Arena on Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 October, the NFF’s National Congress will tackle the food and fibre boom and look at the implications for Australian agriculture from grassroots to global. Key highlights of the two day Congress include: * Addresses from the Hon. Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister of Australia and the Hon. Tony Abbott MP, Opposition Leader, on the state of Australian agriculture. * Addresses from Senator Joe Ludwig, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; David Thomas of Think Global Consulting; Dr Johan Van Der Brink of the South African Institute for Bio-diversity; Pete Williams of Deloitte’s Centre for the Edge; Patrick Medley of IBM Global Business Services and Stefan Hajkowicz of CSIRO Futures. * A Parliamentary panel, featuring the Hon. Sid Sidebottom MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the Hon. John Cobb MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food Security; Senator Christine Milne, Leader of the Greens; and Robert Oakeshott MP, Independent MP and Federal Member for Lyne, on the topic: What is the one critical issue facing Australian agriculture and what policy decision is required to address it? * A policy to practicality session on four key agricultural policy issues: the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, mining and coal seam gas, foreign investment and technology, innovation and research and development. Featuring 15 speakers including the Hon. Craig Knowles, Chair of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and the Hon. Dr Craig Emerson MP, Minister for Trade, the session will look at policy development, decisions and implications on a practical on-farm level. * Sessions on change, communication, AGvocacy and the producer-consumer relationship. * A focus on agriculture’s global position and the role for Australian farmers within the Asian century. * The release of the initial findings of the NFF-led, industry-wide Blueprint for Australian Agriculture. * A celebration of Australian agriculture at the ‘Art of Farming’ cocktail function at the National Gallery of Australia on Monday evening, featuring the presentation of the NFF Award of Honour for 2012. All within the Australian agricultural sector are invited to attend Congress. Registrations close at 5pm tomorrow, Friday 19 October. For information, or to register, visit the http://congress.nff.org.au[Congress website]. Congress is proudly supported by principal sponsor, Coles.