16 June 2026 – More than 500 stakeholders gather in Brisbane, Queensland across five events spanning investor forums, global reunions, awards and industry development
Australia’s agritech sector descended on Brisbane last week for National Agritech Week 2026, the most ambitious program AusAgritech has delivered to date. More than 500 founders, investors, researchers, government representatives and agriculture leaders gathered across three days and five events to celebrate achievement, reconnect after Australia’s first global trade mission, and drive the sector’s commercial development.
The program comprised the National Agritech Meetup, the Team Australia Agritechnica Reunion Breakfast at Customs House, an agritech panel session at the Global Ag Investing Conference, the 4th Annual Australian Agritech Awards Gala, and the Agritech Showcase.
National Agritech Meetup
The week opened on 10 June with the National Agritech Meetup at BrewDog Fortitude Valley, bringing together 110 founders, investors and ecosystem supporters for an evening of community building, networking and more than 20 startup pitches.
Global Ag Investing Conference
AusAgritech participated in the Global Ag Investing Conference, hosted in Brisbane during National Agritech Week. On 11 June, AusAgritech President Rob Hulme moderated an agritech panel session for an audience of institutional investors and fund managers, featuring Andrew Bate (SwarmFarm Robotics), James Quinn (Goanna Ag), Davide Defendi (FarmBot) and Tim Neale (DataFarming). The session made the case for agritech as a driver of farm productivity, input cost reduction and long-term agricultural asset value, positioning Australian agritech directly within the global capital allocation conversation.
Team Australia Agritechnica Reunion Breakfast
The Reunion Breakfast at Customs House on 11 June brought together participants from the inaugural Australian delegation to Agritechnica 2025 in Hannover, Germany, where nine Australian companies represented five states and territories at the world’s largest agricultural machinery trade show. More than 300 people attended the Australia Night celebration at Agritechnica. The breakfast marked the outcomes from that mission and began building the case for a return to Agritechnica 2027.
4th Annual Australian Agritech Awards Gala
The centrepiece of the week was the 4th Annual Australian Agritech Awards Gala at Sofitel Brisbane Central on 11 June, attended by 200 guests including Senator Anthony Chisholm, Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, and Elton Miller, Acting Deputy Director-General of Agriculture, Queensland Department of Primary Industries. This year’s awards program attracted more applications than any previous year, with greater diversity and geographic reach across the sector, spanning 11 award categories.
The 2026 award winners are:
The Emerging Innovation: Pairtree Intelligence
The Future Food: PostHarvest
The Industry Impact: Optiweigh
The Visionary: Phil Tickle and Dr Peter Scarth, Cibo Labs
The Climate Catalyst: Number 8 Bio
The Collaborator: Pairtree Intelligence
Excellence in Digital Agriculture: Cibo Labs
The Sector Builder: Gatton AgTech Showcase 2025
The Liz Alexander Ecosystem Supporter Award: Oli Madgett
Agritech of the Year: Pairtree Intelligence
Hall of Fame: Tim Neale
Pairtree Intelligence took home three awards on the night, including Agritech of the Year, making it the standout performer of the 2026 program. As the highest-scoring company across all judged categories, and winner of The Emerging Innovation and The Collaborator awards on the same night, Pairtree Intelligence is recognised as a company building the infrastructure on which all generations of Australian agritech will stand. Cibo Labs secured two awards, including The Visionary, recognising co-founders Phil Tickle and Dr Peter Scarth.
The 2026 Australian Agritech Hall of Fame inductee is Tim Neale, co-founder of DataFarming, Toowoomba. Tim has spent more than 30 years in agritech and agriculture, including 25 years building DataFarming into a business delivering satellite imagery to more than 55,000 farms across 50 countries, all from regional Queensland. He is a former AusAgritech President, 2023 Agritech of the Year, and one of the sector’s most consistent advocates for structural reform in how the sector is funded and supported.
AusAgritech President Rob Hulme said the depth of this year’s entrants reflected a sector that had found its confidence and its voice.
“Four years ago, agritech was more of a footnote in Australian agriculture. Today it is recognised as a distinct, significant and growing sector. That did not happen by accident. It happened because everyone in this room showed up.”
Agritech Showcase
The week concluded with the Agritech Showcase at The Precinct on 12 June, bringing together 130 agritech founders, investors, government representatives and industry partners. The day opened with a framing session on commercialisation, followed by an extensive reverse pitch program in which more than 25 buyers, investors and industry organisations pitched their needs directly to the room, representing organisations including Team Queensland (6 Goverment Agencies), JBS Foods, Australian Country Choice, NAB, GrowAG, AusTrade, Tenacious Ventures, the National AI Centre and AgriSpace. The afternoon included a workshop covering sales psychology and 180 15min match made meetings between agritech companies and the reverse pitch presenters.
AusAgritech moves home to Queensland
At the Gala, Rob Hulme announced that AusAgritech is relocating its registered address to Queensland, making its home with TSBE in Toowoomba.
“This is a deliberate statement about where Australian agritech actually lives. Not in a CBD, but in the regions. Where the farms and farmers are, where founders are building, and where decisions get made every single season. Toowoomba is the heart of Queensland’s food and agriculture economy and TSBE is one of the most active business development organisations in regional Australia. It is exactly the right place for the peak national body of agritech to call home.”
Leadership transition
The Gala marked the formal acknowledgement of a leadership transition, with outgoing Executive Officer Meg Lovegrove stepping down on 30 June after over three years building AusAgritech. Britta Marsh steps into the Executive Officer role from 1 July 2026.
Rob Hulme said: “Meg has been the unstoppable, tenacious force behind the success of AusAgritech. She has delivered for us on the global stage and her enduring legacy is the community she has built and kept connected right across Australia.”
Thank you to our partners
National Agritech Week 2026 was made possible by the generous support of AusAgritech’s partners and sponsors.
The host partner for the week was the Queensland Government through the Department of Primary Industries. The Platinum Partner for the Gala was AgriFutures Australia, including growAG and evokeAG. Award partners were growAG, NAB, Riverine Plains, Farmers2Founders, Charles Sturt University AgriPark and FarmBot. Additional National Agritech Week partners were Global AgInvesting Conference Australia, Cluster Connect by the Food and Agribusiness Network, Advanced R&D, and Rural Sales Success by Agrarian NZ.
AusAgritech thanks the keynote speakers who joined us at the Gala: Senator Anthony Chisholm for his address and ongoing engagement with the sector, and Elton Miller and the Queensland DPI team for their consistent and genuine partnership. Special thanks to Brianna Casey AM and the AgriFutures Australia team for their contribution to the evening and to the internationalisation of Australian agritech.
AusAgritech also thanks Matt Dalgleish and Andrew Whitelaw of AgWatchers, who served as MCs for the third consecutive year, and the award judges: David Lord, Tess O’Hagan, Jane McInnes, Kym Coyne, Alicia Dunbar, Simon Tarmo, Nic McNaughton, Matthew Muller, Jonathan Medway.
About AusAgritech
AusAgritech is Australia’s peak body for agricultural technology, representing founders, investors and enablers across the agrifood supply chain. Agritech encompasses the use of technology, digital solutions and innovative products to increase efficiency and profitability across the agrifood supply chain. AusAgritech’s mission is to elevate Australian agritech globally by fostering connections, driving innovation and advocating for growth within a thriving, interconnected ecosystem.
Read AusAgritech’s National Agritech Strategic Plan White Paper.
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