Seed Business Convention is the Australian seed industry’s three-day convention held in late August.

Seed Business Convention 2025

For the first time ever, Seed and Grain New Zealand and the Australian Seed Federation are joining forces for an joint Seed Business 2025 in Christchurch, New Zealand! This collaboration promises to inspire and connect leaders across the Australian and New Zealand seed sectors.

Support Seed Business 2025

Click here to view the Seed Business 2025 Sponsorship Prospectus

Registrations

Registration is now open! Click here to book your tickets

Group Delegate Discount

If you register 3 or more delegates to attend the Seed Business Convention you can receive a 10% discount off the delegate registration ticket. Please contact one of the event organisers for the discount code prior to registering.

*Offer only valid for members

Air New Zealand – Book your flights to Christchurch

Air New Zealand is offering an exclusive opportunity for discounts on travel to Seed Business 2025!

For travel during the period of August 18 to September 6, 2025, attendees can enjoy up to 10% off fares for this event. Book between February 1 and August 11 to access this discount.

Booking Period: February 1 – August 11, 2025
Travel Period: August 18 – September 6, 2025

Book your flights now and use the code ‘ASF25′ to access this special offer!

*This offer applies exclusively to direct return flights from Australia to Christchurch. The discount code does not apply to domestic travel within New Zealand.

Explore Christchurch

Christchurch is a vibrant city with so much to do. Extend your stay away the conference and explore what NZ has to offer. Dive into the activities, attractions, and hidden gems that make Christchurch truly special. Make the most of your visit with the guides and exclusive delegate discounts provided below!

• Visit and Explore Christchurch
• Delegates Discover NZ
• Christchurch Attractions
• 100% Pure New Zealand

Accommodation

Click here to view Accommodation options for Seed Business 2025

Draft Program

Click here to view the Draft Program for Seed Business 2025. Stay tuned, as this will be regularly updated!

Contact us

For questions or additional information, please contact Alysha, alockley@asf.asn.au, or Sharon, sharon.dawe@seedindustrynz.co.nz.

Seed Business Convention 2024

And that’s a wrap! A huge thank you to everyone who attended Seed Business 2024 and made it what it was – our biggest Seed Business ever! With more than 170 attendees from all ends of Australia, we had a great time bringing together the diverse Australian seed industry at the beautiful Sunshine Coast.

This year, alongside our prestigious President’s Award, we introduced three new awards to celebrate others within our industry. A huge congratulations to the following: President’s Award: Bill Brown, Mainfreight; Emerging Leader Award: Ben Farmer, Wilkei Seeds; Women in Seed Award: Melissa Gooseman, DLF Seeds; Great Exhibitor Pitch: Australian Seed Labs.

We also celebrated our own team member, Alysha Lockley, for 15 years of service to the ASF, recognised recent Seed Industry Professional Program graduates, and saw Mark Schmidt take out this year’s Seed Business Challenge. Congratulations to all award winners for their dedication and contributions.

At our AGM, we elected the ASF Board, President Tim March of Rijk Zwaan, Vice Presidents Dale Skepper of RAGT and Ken Cunliffe of AgEtal as well as Craig Myall of Synergy Seeds as Director. Rowena Petrie has finished her term as President and moves to the role of Immediate Past President, replacing Tim Pepper who officially finished his role on the ASF Board. We are grateful to Rowena for her years as President, especially her obvious passion and heart for the industry.

Our regional office bearers were also elected. Brent Scott, DLF Seeds, will Chair the Northern region, and Anthony Quilter, DLF Seeds, will Chair the Southern region. They join re-elected Mick Ahearn (Chair, South-Eastern), James Whiteley (Chair, Eastern) and Glen Liebold (Chair, Western).

Seed Business kicked off with an inspiring Leadership Day with an AI workshop from Julian Moore. This workshop opened our eyes to fast developing AI technology, and how we can utilise it in better in the seed industry. We also heard fantastic presentations on topics including, sustainability – including the latest on the bagMUSTER program, workforce, blockchain, pollination and plant breeding innovation.

We had a full room for our Women in Seed Lunch, with guest speaker Caitlin Crowley. Caitlin spoke about the role that women are playing in shaping regional Australia. It was great to see so many women in the room sharing their stories and experiences from our industry.

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and exhibitors. Thank you to our Major Sponsor, DLF Seeds.