Rice leaders head to Deniliquin

The group of 18 participants from across the Riverina were selected by the Ricegrowers' Association of Australia and includes growers and industry professionals.

Graham Smith, manager of leadership programs with the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation, will run the course from July 28 to 30.

He said the first part of the course, which was held in Yanco last month, was an indication of how well the group could work together.

"Working together is powerful and much more effective than working in isolation. Leaders aren't born as such; they're made," he said.

Mr Smith said the content was made "as real as possible" and adapting to change in the industry was a strong focus of the program.

"What is the Riverina going to be like in 20 or 30 years time?

"It's blue sky thinking. What will the industry be like in the future and how can our leadership change to adapt?" he said.

"The best ideas are going to come from those within the industry - we can't leave leadership to chance.

"Over the next few decades they'll [the participants] be the decision makers. Our program just speeds up their leadership development."

For more information on the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation visit Rural leaders website