FFN Members head to Women in Ag Leadership Summit

Not one but TWO Future Farmers Network members attended the Women in Agribusiness & Primary Industries Leadership Summit in Sydney on October 23-24 for free.

Kiri Rogan, Associate New Ventures | Agribusiness, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Check out her thoughts on the conference here! 

Who is she? Kiri grew up on the mid north coast of NSW. Travelling long distances to attend horse riding events as a child and teenager, she fell in love with rural Australia. She is currently working for PwC Sydney in the Innovation & Ventures team, where she works on anti-counterfeit and traceability platform (PwC’s Food Trust Platform). Their goal is to mitigate the risk of food fraud in domestic and international markets, and to bridge the connection between producers and consumers. She is passionate about breaking down the rural and city divide, and giving Australian farmers a voice. It excites her that the platform they are building will allow producers to communicate directly with their end customer.
Who was she most excited to hear from? “I am most keen to hear from is Krista Watkins, co-founder and Managing Director of Natural Evolution. Krista comes across to me as someone who has ‘challenged the status quo’ and is positively disrupting the food industry. As an industry, we are standing at a point in time where we can no longer continue the mentality of ‘business as usual’; we need women like Krista who re-imagine and reshape the way the food industry operates.”
Emily Southwell – Assistant Relationship Manager, Westpac Agribusiness

Check out her thoughts on the conference here! 


Who is she? Emily grew up in Narrabri, NSW and has been interested in agriculture for as long as she can remember. Having grown up in the ‘millennium drought’, she decided to head towards a career in sustainable agriculture. A key part of sustainable ag is the ability to strategically plan for and finance different initiatives, be it efficient irrigation technology, carbon sequestration or succession planning, hence, why she has landed a career in agribusiness banking. Emily has worked for Westpac Agribusiness, as an Assistant Relationship Manager in Tamworth NSW since 2016.
Who was she most excited to hear from? “I’d be most keen to hear from Lorraine Gordon, specifically in relation to her work in regenerative agriculture and valuing natural capital. If we’re going to combat the impact of climate change on agribusiness & primary industries, we can’t sit around and wait for government policy to save us. I am passionate about the role that private enterprise (e.g. lending institutions and insurance companies) can play in encouraging more sustainable land management.”

Thanks to our partner Liquid Learning for giving our members the opportunity to attend.