Innovating Farming and Food in Central Queensland
The 2014 Central Queensland Festival of Innovation – Cultivating our Future being held on May 13th and 14th provides a great opportunity for businesses involved in Regional Produce. The Festival of Innovation Program includes two days of presentations and discussions on important trends and innovations that will directly impact upon the future of the Central Queensland agribusiness industry.
Being held in Rockhampton and Yeppoon, this important regional event will adopt the novel approach of looking back from the paddock to the plate – taking a fresh look at the food supply chain to identify new opportunities for improving productivity and growing value in Central Queensland. During the two days, producers, processors and providers of food will hear from a range of thought leaders and innovators from the agribusiness industry sharing their ideas, innovations and inspirations.
The Festival Program includes some great examples of Regional Businesses that have developed Innovative Responses with Produce from Central Queensland.
Dan Carney from Silver Dale Eggs will present how they have transformed a successful beef producer to becoming one of only three egg producers in Australia who are RSPCA certified. Dan will share with the audience the journey that Silver Dale Eggs has taken, including the drivers, benefits and challenges associated with this transformation.
The Waterline Restaurant will share their regional food story with Kylie Smith the Owner a member of a Panel Discussion. Kylie will welcome attendees to The Waterline Restaurant and tell the story of how their passion for providing food and service of an exceptional quality has been rewarded with numerous restaurant and catering awards – most recently taking out the 2013 Contemporary Australian Cuisine NQ award for Best Tourism Restaurant in Queensland, and the MLA Best Regional Red Meat award at the Brisbane Exhibition.
Kylie will focus on their business model of vertically integrating with produce suppliers, such as sourcing beef from the family owned Banana Station, to ensure the highest quality, regional produce is incorporated into their award winning dining experience.
Relish Capricorn will also share with attendees the drivers for and objectives of Relish Capricorn, a company created to build and energetically market food products unique to Central Queensland growers.
Registrations for the event are open now. For further details visit the Event Website or contact Steve Knight (Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning) on 07 4938 6528 or steve.knight@dsdip.qld.gov.au.
