Interview: Challenges on the home farm were the catalyst for the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo, this year in Bendigo

Challenges on her home farm prompted Karin Stark (pictured) to pull together her first National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo in 2019. Now, this year's event will be in Bendigo. In what is a first for Victoria, the conference and expo will be held at The Capital Theatre in View St, Bendigo, on Wednesday, July 23.The expo opens at 8:00 a.m., and the conference follows at 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.On the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo website, it says:"This event brings together farmers, agriculture and energy consultants, peak bodies and Government representatives to share stories of on-farm renewables, their business case and discuss what’s driving the transformation of energy use in agriculture."Large scale solar and wind developments present opportunities for farmers and regional communities if planned well with meaningful engagement around benefit sharing. These topics plus combining farming and solar, termed agrivoltaics, also forms part of the yearly Conference program."Ms Stark has urged farmers to attend the event and hear the keynote speaker, the Energy Program Director from the Grattan Institute "Are we there yet? The country’s economic transformation".