In what was a recurring theme from the four panelists for the Securing The Future Of Farming forum, being able to adapt to what the world throws at farmers could be key to their future success.
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The panel was made up of Bayer's head of digital farming Chris Staff, Regional Investment Corporation acting chief executive officer Paul Dowler, Thomas Elder Markets' market insight manager Andrew Whitelaw, and chair of the Independent Planning Commission NSW professor Mary O'Kane.
The forum unofficially kicked off proceedings for this year's NSW Farmers Association conference and was moderated by The Today Show's Alex Cullen, son of association stalwart, the late Tom Cullen OAM.
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The panelists were asked a variety of questions on what was needed for the NSW ag sector to hit the $30 billion by 2030 target.
Ms O'Kane said handling weather events would be integral.
"Australia always gets big floods and big fires," she said.
"Everyone needs to factor in that we are going to get more.
"One thing producers need is a disaster adaptation plan.
"We need to look at how Australia is going to be the best at adapting."
Mr Whitelaw believes farmers need to take back control at the farm gate.
"Farmers need to take ownership of supply chains," he said.
"The $30 billion target is achievable.
"Australia has lost its co-ops and to be successful, we need to re-kindle them."
Mr Dowler believes that smart investment in innovation to increase productivity will play an important role.
"I think that there is an opportunity there," he said.
"If you have access to long-term finance to be able to invest in innovation, technology and productivity, I think you can get to that target in a way that is sustainable."
Mr Staff said there is a lot of duplication in technology currently available and better solutions are needed.
"What keeps me thinking is how we can increase scale adoption of technology on farm," he said.
"I think as a sector, ag tech is moving beyond those coming from the outside of agriculture with cool technology looking for a problem to solve.
"We are now starting to begin with the user and the challenge in mind and work back from there.
"There is a lot of duplication out there at the moment and that is diluting not only the time but the funding which goes into the idea itself.
"I'm looking at how we can create solutions that really enable with great ideas which are starting to really focus on the challenges on farm and maximise the positive flow of funding, creativity and ideas."
Some of the other topics discussed at the forum included renewable energy, commodity prices, the price of inputs and their availability, and the effect Foot and Mouth Disease would have on the industry.
The NSW Farmers Association conference begins in earnest today.
