Agriculture Kangaroo Island celebrated a belated 25 years of service as the Island's peak body for agriculture at its biennial conference on Friday, March 4.
Nearly 150 locals turned out to the Kingscote Town Hall to hear from some innovative speakers and catch some local trades on display.
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Local land management consultant Lyn Dohle, from Primary Industries Rural Solutions SA, was presented with the first-ever AgKI life membership.
She delivered a brief history of AgKI to coincide with the 25th anniversary celebrations at the conference.
After she finished her presentation, chairman Jamie Heinrich surprised Lyn and the crowd by announcing that she was the inaugural life member.
Guest speakers included keynote speaker MLA's Pheobe Johnson, who gave a world market update on lamb, while inventor Dr Nick Berry spoke on his journey from a KI farm kid to growing his company Seed Terminator.
Other speakers included neXtgen Agri co-founder Mark Ferguson on the 'future ewe'; Thrive Agri Services' Andrew Kennedy on optimising sheep production systems; Jigsaw Farms principal Mark Wootton on dealing with climate change; and Achieve Ag consultant Nathan Scott on livestock biosecurity and traceability.
The final presentation for the day was update on local issues and the projects underway on KI, facilitated by co-deputy chairperson Stephanie Wurst.
This included an overview of the forestry to farmland project, as explained by Iain Elgin from AAGIM, the management company employed by KIland, formerly Kangaroo Island Plantation Timbers.
Fiona Gill from National Parks and Wildlife Service SA provided an update on the Fire Management Plan, while Laura Williams and Matt Korcz from PIRSA spoke to their projects - weeds and feral pig cull.
Will Durack from Landscape SA took the opportunity to talk about strengthening relationships and getting the balance right between farming community and environmental groups.
A fantastic morning tea was provided by the team from the KI Cancer Support Group.
After the the formalities inside the hall, a 25th anniversary celebration barbecue was held at the back the council building, cooked by the Black Dog charity bike ride team and sponsored by Junction/phn and AAGIM.
