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Program Overview
Hort Connections 2026 will bring together the entire fresh produce industry for four days of learning, networking, and celebration.
See below for an overview of the schedule. A full, in-depth program including session details and speaker line-up will be released closer to the event.
Across the four days, there’s an unmissable program of:
Day 1 - 1 June
Day 2 - 2 June
Day 3 - 3 June
Day 4 - 4 June
Farm and Retail Tours
The Off-site Tour are a stand alone alone ticket and must be purchased separately to any Conference Passes.
Retail Tour:
A half-day curated retail tour connecting delegates with Category Managers, Operations Leaders, Fresh Buyers and Store Executives. Each retail site will include a structured 10-15 minute executive briefing covering category evolution, supplier expectations, sustainability priorities and digital integration.
Northern Tour 1:
Join us on a tour starting at SA Produce Market. Over the course of the day visit Nicol Carrots, a surprise TBC location, and Apex Greenhouses to enjoy lunch!
Northern Tour 2:
Travel to Voco Fresh and then continue to Adelaide Hydrofresh. Our final visit, details to follow.
Eastern Tour:
Visit the team of AE Cranwell and Sons. Stop 2 will be confirmed shortly. The tour will then continue to Ashton Valley Fresh.
Adelaide University – Waite Campus Tour:
Adelaide University – Waite Campus and incredible tour with an introduction to the campus. Delegates will hear about DNA-based soil testing techniques, tour the APPN Plant Accelerator facilities and the greenhouses. Enjoy an almond presentation, followed by further tours of the food lab and orchards.
Potato & Onion Tour:
Details to follow shortly.
Annual Vegetable Industry Seminar
This project is delivering the Annual Vegetable Industry Seminars from 2025 to 2028 through a combination of in-person events, online webinars and video resources. All activities will be used to highlight outcomes from vegetable grower’s levy investments.
Schedule to come.
Plenary Sessions
08:30 – 08:50
Coffee available.
08:50 – 08:55
MC Welcome
08:55 – 09:00
Welcome to Country
09:00 – 09:10
Welcome Address: Julie Bird | Hort Innovation
Plenary Session 1 | 09:15 – 09:45
TBC
Plenary Session 2 | 09:50 – 10:30
IFPA State of the Industry: Re-igniting Fresh Consumption Driving Multi Generational Change Through Influence – Fruit and Veggies Yummy Yummy
10:30 – 10:50
Morning Tea
Plenary Session 3 | 10:50 – 11:30
TBC
Plenary Session 4 | 11:35 – 11:55
TBC
Plenary Session 5 | 12:00 – 12:30
AUSVEG & Plus One Serve Presentation
Trade Show Opening Ceremony
Cutting of the Ribbon – Doors Open for 2026.
Trade Show Opens
Demonstration Lounge
Welcome | 15:00 – 15:05
Giaan Rooney Welcome to the Demonstration Lounge
Session 1 | 15:05 – 15:45
Jose Marchetti – Ecorobotix
“Ecorobotix, Leading the Worldwide Revolution of PlantByPlant Spraying”
Session 2 | 15:45 – 16:15
Sim Penzo CEO/ Director – Codefish
Session 3 | 16:20 – 17:10
Heat and Control
Welcome Event 2026 Partnered by Coles
Trade Show Open
Green Stream Trade Show Speaker Sessions
Session 1 | 09:05 – 09:25
Lee Hickin – National AI Centre
“Not just another shovel: What AI can really mean Across the Hort value chain.”
Session 2 | 09:25 – 09:40
Justine McLeod – Chrrup
“Closing the Readiness Gap: A 25-Year data dive into solving the Horticulture workforce crisis”
Session 3 | 09:40 – 10:10
TBC
Session 4 | 10:20 – 10:45
Roots, Roles and Realities: Succession in Horticulture Family Businesses
Panel
- Cathrine Sayer – Family business association
- Marisa Riccio – Hood Sweeney (accounting)
- Andrew Andreyev – ADLV law (legal)
- Catherine Sanders – Bower Place (family dynamics/psychology)
Session 5 | 10:45 – 11:05
Family Business Panel Session TBC
Session 6 | 11:05 – 11:35
Sam Beaton – Cobram Estate
Session 7 | 11:40 – 12:00
Speaker TBC
“Current State of the World – Global Conflict, Local Consequences”
Real-Time impacts on Horticulture
Session 8 | 12:00 – 12:30
Speaker TBC
“Current State of the World – Global Conflict, Local Consequences”
Real-Time impacts on Horticulture
Session 9 | 13:30 – 13:50:
Rijk Zwaan
“Regen Ag Session”
Session 10 | 13:50 – 14:20
Ben Palone – Agtech
Western Growers Association (USA)
Session 11 | 14:20 – 14:40
Charles Simons
Bioscout – AgTech
Session 12 | 15:10 – 15:40
Hort Innovation Panel Session
“From social feed to field: How social media is driving demand in horticulture.”
Session 13 | 15:40 – 15:55:
Panel
- Shansel Sami – NIQ
- Angela Carter – NIQ
- Georgia Haenke – Hort Innovation
“Age Isn’t the driver – Mindset is: Rethinking health, Snacking and Fresh Food demand.”
Session 14 | 16:05 – 16:25
Professor David Hughes
“Converting what consumers say they’re going to do into what they actually do”
Session 15 | 16:25 – 16:40
Jemma O’Hanlon – Foodwatch
“From TikTok Trends to Transformation: Driving Behaviour Change Across Traditional & Social Media”
Session 16 | 16:40 – 17:10
Panel
- Belinda Wilson – International Fresh Produce Association A-NZ
- Carlo Ceravolo – Harris Farm Markets
- Joe Manariti – Premier Fresh Australia
- Rruta Narula – Flavorite Group
“Influence to Impact: Bringing Fresh to-life At Retail”
Blue Stream Trade Show Speaker Sessions
Session 1 | 09:05 – 09:20
Amanda Higgins
“Fair Farms – Labour Hire Compliance: Your Risk, Your Reputation, Your Responsibility”
Session 2 | 09:20 – 09:40
Panel
- Gail Woods – FMA
- Shane Schnitzler – FMA
- Brett Collins – FMA
“We Trust: Protecting the Grower-Trader Relationship for the Next 10-years.”
Session 3 | 09:40 – 10:10
Mark Tucek – Panel Session
“From Niche to Mainstream: Commercialising Native Edible Plants at Scale”
Session 4 | 10:20 – 10:35
Chris Webb – Blue Ribbon
“High performance – Maximise your efficiencies and outcomes to true High Performance and be the best you can be!”
Session 5 | 10:35 – 10:55
Panel
- Joseph Batten – NutrientAG Solutions
- Nathan Price – Yara Australia
- Claire Kneller – Leading Harvest
“Sustainability”
Session 6 | 10:55 – 11:10
Carl Larsaen – RMCG
“From Principles to Practice: Regen Ag Toolbox for Productive Horticulture”
Session 7 | 11:10 – 11:30
Daniel Sutton – Vegetables NZ
“Tackling the Tomato-Potato Psyllid: Key insights from NZ”
Session 8 | 11:40 – 12:00
Hort Innovation
“Future of Exports”
Session 9 | 12:00 – 12:30
TBC
Session 10 | 13:30 – 13:50
Hort Innovation
“Inside Hort IQ: data that’s shaping Australia’s horticulture industry, from farm to consumer”
Session 11 | 13:50 – 14:10
MOYA Award 2026
Session 12 | 14:10 – 14:25
Steven Keyte – Quantium
“Inside the Basket: What Millions of Shopping Baskets Reveal About Fresh Produce Sales”
Session 13 | 14:25 – 14:40
Samrat Acharya – Binary Consulting
“Price Isn’t the Problem: What Consumers are Really Doing in Fresh Produce”
Session 14 | 15:10 – 15:40
Hort Innovation
“Digging into diagnostics: How investment in biosecurity science is protecting trade and reducing disruption”
Session 15 | 15:40 – 15:55
Josie Zilm – NAB
“Held Together by Connections: How Horticulture Connects and Thrives Through Disruption”
Session 16 | 16:05 – 16:25
Andrew Redman – Perfection Fresh
“Lessons Learnt from Combatting the Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus”
Session 17 | 16:25 – 16:40
Richard Beaumont – Agovor
“Autonomous eTractors: What Automation Actually Looks Like on a Farm”
Session 18 | 16:40 – 17:00
Skytree
“Future-proofing growth: Why on-site DAC is the circular CO2 Solution for CEA”
Panorama Rooms
Coles Retail Forum | 09:15 – 10:30
Women in Horticulture | 11:30 – 12:30
Fresh off another gold medal, Jakara Anthony is joining Hort Connections 2026 as the guest speaker for our Women in Horticulture session, proudly partnered by NAB.
The session will feature a live discussion moderated by MC and Olympian Giaan Rooney, exploring high performance, resilience and leadership.
Woolworths Retail Forum | 14:30 – 15:30
Demonstration Lounge
Session 1 | 09:20 – 10:10
CHEP
Session 2 | 10:30 – 11:20
Prodoz
Session 3 | 11:40 – 12:30
Biogro
Session 4: 13:30 – 14:20
Kim McDonnell
Session 5 | 14:30 – 15:10
TBC
Session 6: 15:20 – 16:10
TBC
Session 7 16:20 – 17:10:
La Trobe University
Cooking Activation Sessions
Session 1 | 09:30 – 10:30:
Simon Toohey
Session 2 | 11:30 – 12:30:
Michael Weldon
Session 3 | 13:30 – 14:30:
Laura Sharrad
Lunch
Ecorobotix Happy Hour
Trade Show Close
Trade Show Open
Light Breakfast
Blue Stream Trade Show Speaker Sessions
Session 1 | 09:05 – 09:20
James Turtle – MagrowTec
“The uncomfortable truth about spray efficiency – and what it’s actually costing you.”
Session 2 | 09:20 – 09:40
Gordon Rogers – AHR
“Next generation weed management: AI and robotics in Australian Vegetables production.”
Session 3 | 09:40 – 10:00
Dr Ross Gilmour – Novonesis
“Biocontrol of Crop Pathogens”
Session 4 | 10:20 – 10:40
Ali Allen – Yamaha Agriculture
“Next-Generation Horticulture: Autonomous solutions for high-value crops.”
Session 5 | 10:40 – 10:55
Rod Gardner – Wyma Solutions
“Smart cooling + water treatment: boosting quality, sustainability and profit in post-harvest.”
Session 6 | 10:55 – 11:15
Damien Farrelly – Fresh Produce Safety Centre
“When disaster strikes: Protecting fresh produce food safety in a changing climate.”
Session 7 | 11:25 – 11:45
Adelaide University – Panel Session
Session 8 | 11:45 – 12:05
Hort Innovation
“Industry capability & productivity”
Session 9 | 12:05 – 12:30
David McKeon – Elders
“Learning lessons from global peers – Biologicals in the EU”
Demonstration Lounge
Session 1 | 09:10 – 10:00
CHEP Presentation
Session 2 | 11:00 – 11:50
VEGNET – 10th Anniversary
Cooking Activation Sessions
Session 1 | 09:45 – 10:45:
Callum Hann
Session 2 | 11:30 – 12:30:
Sarah Pound
Green Stream Trade Show Speaker Sessions
Session 1 | 10:00 – 11:00
Harris Farm Market – Retail Forum
Session 2 | 11:25 – 11:45
Speaker TBC
“Global Conflict, Local Consequences: Real-Time Impacts on Horticulture”
Session 3 | 11:45 – 12:00
Speaker TBC
“Global Conflict, Local Consequences: Real-Time Impacts on Horticulture”
Session 4 | 12:00 – 12:30
Speaker TBC
“Global Conflict, Local Consequences: Real-Time Impacts on Horticulture”
Lunch
Hort Connections Gala Dinner
Celebrate the best of the horticulture industry at the 2026 Hort Connections Gala Awards Dinner. This special evening features a premium dining experience, valuable networking opportunities and the presentation of the Horticulture Awards for Excellence.
18:30 Guest Arrival
18:45 Guests Seated
