Agritech Unleashed: Waikato 2025

Join us for Agritech Unleashed: Waikato, our second event in the series. We’re showcasing how our land and people are shaping Aotearoa’s agritech future.

Our exclusive, limited-capacity event brings together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers and investors to explore the future of agritech in one of our most dynamic dairy farming regions.

What you’ll experience:

• Join us for a full day of insight, connection, and inspiration as we bring the Waikato agritech ecosystem together to explore how innovation is reshaping farming and food production –  from paddock to plate and beyond.

  • Gain expert insights
    Engage with industry leaders and participate in panel discussions on agritech advancements

  • Create valuable connections
    Build relationships with key decision-makers and innovators in our thriving agritech ecosystem

  • Explore regional perspectives
    Hear how Waikato’s strengths in dairy and pasture-based systems are driving innovation and shaping the future of agritech.

  • Contribute to the conversation
    Take part in our interactive workshop designed to spark collaboration and capture insights from across the sector.

  With limited spots available, this event is designed for meaningful discussions and impactful connections. While this event has a dairy flavour, it’s relevant for anyone contributing to the evolution of agritech.

   

  Morning Panel Sessions

  • Panel 1: Local to Global Perspectives on Innovation in Farming

  • Panel 2: Adopting Innovation: The Farmer’s Perspective

  MORNING TEA BREAK 

  • Panel 3: Supporting Innovation: The Enabler’s Perspective

  • Panel 4: From Farm to Table: The Processor’s Perspective on Innovation

  • Panel 5: Export Pathways: Taking Innovation to the World

  LUNCH BREAK 

  Afternoon Workshops

  As part of the day’s programme, you’ll have the chance to dive deeper into the topics that matter most through one of three interactive afternoon workshops. Each session will run concurrently and is designed to spark collaboration, surface insights, and advance sector-wide conversations.

  During registration, you’ll be asked to rank the three workshops in order of preference. While we’ll do our best to place you in your top choice, spaces are limited—so early registration is recommended.

  • Option 1. Exporters and Nextporters This session brings together agritech businesses already exporting with other exporters and those preparing to enter international markets, creating a dynamic forum for sharing lessons, strategies, and support mechanisms. Participants will explore how others chose their first markets, navigated legal and operational risks, secured in-market partners or talent, and leveraged NZTE and other ecosystem supports. The workshop is designed to foster pre-competitive knowledge sharing and near-peer mentoring, helping participants accelerate their export readiness and avoid common pitfalls.

  Ideal for business development leads, international sales teams, and C-level executives focused on global growth.

   

  • Option 2. Float All Boats: Mapping the agritech data tide This collaborative mapping session will chart the high-level data domains within New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem, spotlighting who stewards what data, where integrations are occurring, and where aspirations for interoperability lie. Participants will contribute to a first-pass ecosystem view that can inform the development of a data discoverability platform and help shift the conversation from data silos to shared value. All contributions, including overlap and competition, are welcomed and celebrated in the service of sector-wide enablement.

  Best suited for CIOs, CTOs, data architects, developers, and analysts working on interoperability and data infrastructure.

  OPTION 3 IS NOW FULL.

  • Option 3. Beyond the Baseline: Scaling what works in on-farm technology uptake You already know the challenges – you live them every day. This session is about what’s actually working to drive on-farm tech uptake;  and how we can do more of it, faster. Building on insights from AgriTechNZ’s 2022 Digital Adoption Report, this workshop invites farmers, innovators, and technology enablers to explore how the realities of deploying new tools on-farm have evolved. The session will surface what’s changed in user experience, trust, value delivery, and support since the baseline was established, and how new initiatives like the Investment Boost are (or aren’t) influencing decisions. Attendees will share candid stories, identify barriers that still need to be addressed, and help shape a more grounded, farmer-aligned innovation pipeline. This brings farmers and builders into the same room to share honest wins, battle scars, and the untapped opportunities we might be missing.

  Designed for farmers, technology builders, and product managers working to bridge real-world farm needs with agritech solutions.

  
  

Supporters