If there was one thing that stood out from evokeAG for Stephen Summerhayes, director of the Renewables in Agriculture Centre of Excellence, it was that the future of agriculture isn’t just about outputs, it’s about how we – as an industry – tell the story of what we do and how.
“Attending EvokeAg felt like stepping into a bustling market and co-working space full of knowledge workers,” said Mr Summerhayes.
“Like all great workplaces, many authentic and insightful stories are shared around the water cooler, in evokeAG's case the food and coffee stations, especially at feeding time.
“A session that I really connected with and that provided me with an anchor and lens for other presentations, was Leigh Sales’ keynote and her follow-on session with Olympia Yarger, Founder and CEO of Goterra.
“They unpacked something fundamental yet often overlooked: the way our lives, our industries, and even our self-perceptions are shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. As Leigh pointed out, we’re all storytellers by nature, whether that’s on the couch recounting our life to a therapist, a LinkedIn post or a product pitch.”
The shift of focus towards health.
For Food Agility CEO, Dr Mick Schaefer, the range of new start-ups on display proved that innovation in the industry is alive and kicking.
"So many of the exhibitors were start-ups I had not come across before,” said Dr Schaefer. “I thought that was the clearest sign that people can still clearly see the value of working in the agriculture sector.”
Some of those new innovations are homed in on the health and wellbeing outcomes for consumers. “For years the focus in ag and ag innovation has been around increasing production outputs and yield,” noted Dr Schaefer.
“However, now we can see the tide turning towards nutrition and health of those products. How do you produce food products that are healthy and meet specific nutritional needs?”
The thought-provoking panel featuring Georgie Aley (KPMG Australia), Jack Bobo (UCLA Rothman Family Institute for Food Studies), Prof. Michelle Colgrave (CSIRO) and Adam Anders (Anterra Capital; facilitator) explored the unexpected nexus between weight loss drugs and the future of food. If agriculture’s mission is to feed the world, then why is the system delivering an oversupply of calories while falling short on optimal nutrition?
Farmers as advocates
We return to our central point; that farmers are, according to Ms Yarger, “some of the most innovative people on the planet.
“Too often, farmers lead from behind, downplaying their role, apologising for simply showing up. The challenge isn’t just to farm - it’s to champion the value of farming. Because if farmers don’t tell their own stories, someone else will,” said Ms Yarger.
For Mr Summerhayes, this is bigger than just a branding discussion.
“In an era of hyper-consumerism and a globalised food system, farmers need to be more than producers. They must be advocates - not just for the business of agriculture, but for nutrition and sustainability,” he reflected.
“And as Artificial Intelligence becomes used more and more, that technology will repackage incomplete or inaccurate narratives, at the detriment of our farmers.”
Connecting with food, farmers and farming
By encouraging farmers to tell their story, we can rebuild a connection between consumers and the farms and farmers their food comes from.
One of the stand-out examples of farmers telling their story well is Aotearoa-based orchardist, Mike Casey. At evokeAG, Mr Casey spoke about his electric cherry farm and how it can prompt other growers to rethink how farms operate.
“One of the compelling ideas I heard was the need to fractionalise costs by stacking multiple use cases onto every farming asset,” said Mr Summerhayes. “Mike Casey’s cherry farm electrification project is an example of this thinking.
“By transitioning to electric power, he didn’t just reduce energy costs and boost sustainability. He also simplified machinery, improved self-sufficiency and transformed his farm into an energy business. His operation now generates and sells electricity, diversifying income streams while supporting the local village. It’s farming - but not as we’ve traditionally defined it.”
At the end of the day, one thing was abundantly clear for Dr Schaefer.
“We know that farmers aren’t just food producers,” he said. “They’re stewards of the land, innovators, and essential players in the future of global nutrition and sustainability. But if they don’t take ownership of that story, the narrative will be shaped by those without the appropriate experience.”
