News and events
Latest News
Upcoming events
AHR at Hort Connections
General information
Date: 1st - 4th June 2026
Location: Adelaide Convention Centre, South Australia
AHR is headed to Hort Connections 2026! Come and connect with us at our trade show booth.
You can also find our team out and about at the below mentioned field events.
Visit the AHR booth at the trade show
Date: 2nd - 4th June 2026
Location: Booth 104, Trade Show
You can visit the AHR stand anytime during trade show hours. We would love for you to come and chat to our team about our latest research.
Take the opportunity to meet some of our project leads including Anne Nolan (Project lead for Next Generation Weed Management BY23002) and Anita Chennell (Project lead for our Growing Horticulture Through Protected Cropping Innovation project (AS23001).
We will have plenty more of the AHR team available throughout the event, ready to discuss current projects, including Soil Wealth ICP, our avocado industry projects and the Addressing Key Challenges in Australian Baby Leaf Production project (VG23014).
To visit our booth please purchase a relevant trade show access ticket from the Hort Connections website at the link below.
Protected cropping project in action - Visit Apex Greenhouses
Date: Monday 1st June 2026
Tour Name: Northern Tour 1 (Hort Connections)
Time: Refer to Hort Connections program for details
Hort Connections is running an official event farm tour that will end with lunch at Apex Greenhouses.
Apex Greenhouses is a partner of our Growing horticulture through protected cropping innovation project (AS23001) lead by Anita Chennell. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about some of the training and trials they are conducting to help growers explore new technologies and practices that will help to improve productivity and long-term sustainability.
To be part of this tour a special, additional ticket is required. Please follow the prompts on the Hort Connections website at the below link, to register for your place in the Northern Tour 1 farm tour.
For potato growers - Join a field walk with PotatoLink (Free tour)
Date: Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Location: Mitolo Family Farms, Penfield, SA
Time: 10am - 2pm
If you’re a potato grower or industry member, come along to this PotatoLink event!
Held in Penfield, this informative session will focus on the topic of improving soil health for potato production in South Australia. The field walk will take place at Mitolo Family Farms, where cover crops are integrated into potato rotations to build soil health and improve system resilience.
Hear from guest speaker Julie Finnigan (Muirs), who will share practical insights into adopting cover crops, managing soil constraints and developing more resilient, productive farming systems.
Come along and gain actionable knowledge that you can take straight from the field back to your farm!
This is a free event for members of the potato industry. Complimentary lunch is also provided so please ensure you register your attendance through the PotatoLink website at the link below.
An introduction to the principles of Plant Empowerment
Event information
Date: 7th May 2026
Location: Powerplants, 27 Technology Circuit Hallam VIC 3803
Cost: $250 + GST per person
Introduction to the principles of Plant Empowerment
Plant Empowerment training supports growers to create greenhouse conditions where plants can actively regulate their own processes by balancing energy, climate and crop needs.
This full-day session introduces key Plant Empowerment principles before moving into a range of focus areas relevant across greenhouse systems, with flexibility to address grower questions and needs throughout the day.
About the trainer
Ton Habraken
The course will be delivered by Ton Habraken (Greenhouse Climate Expert). Ton brings a wealth of knowledge across areas such as advanced greenhouse climate control, plant physiology and plant responses to climate, and using data to inform decision-making. This includes practical approaches to maintaining an active and uniform crop, ventilation strategies, and translating sensor data into meaningful insights, along with key concepts underpinning climate and energy balance.
The Growing horticulture through protected cropping innovation program (AS23001) is funded through Hort Innovation Frontiers with co-investment from Applied Horticultural Research (AHR), Flavorite Hydroponic Tomatoes, The Costa Group, Apex Greenhouses, The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), PolyBee and contributions from the Australian Government.
The program, will help protected cropping growers maintain profitability by delivering key aspects of the Protected Cropping Strategic Investment Plan, specifically sustainability, advanced agronomy, automation to reduce labour costs, energy and improving staff skills and management.
Learn more
To keep update to date with the program, contact
Anita Chennell (anita.chennell@ahr.com.au) or visit ahr.com.au/protected-cropping
Apex Greenhouses training: Chemical User Course (Level III)
About the course
This course is the industry standard for training in chemical use, storage and handling, and covers two nationally accredited competencies:
AHCCHM304 Transport and store chemicals
AHCCHM307 Prepare and apply chemicals to control pest, weeds and diseases
This course covers pest ID, modes of action, label interpretation, issues associated with chemical use, formulation types, weed and pest control application, transport and disposal, preparation and clean up, recording and other procedures.
This face to face training session will also be focussing on specific issues within the protected cropping industry.
Course facilitator
Tony Bundock, Project Manager, Protected Cropping Australia
Tony Bundock has been involved in the protected cropping industry for over 45 years. He started his career in the UK and attended the prestigious Writtle Agricultural College where he gained his Diploma in Commercial Horticulture. Tony then went on to manage a commercial cut flower farm in the Lea Valley,
Tony emigrated to Australia in 1990 and took up roles for a number of TAFE colleges delivering horticultural courses, and was instrumental in the establishment of Chisholm’s Protected Cropping training facility.
Tony then worked for Powerplants Australia as their lead trainer for Priva systems, and went on to establish his own training company – Genesis Horticultural Solutions.
Currently Tony also works as a project manager for Protected Cropping Australia as well as delivering industry based training on a range of subjects.
Tony holds a Masters degree in Education and is Priva’s only registered trainer for the Oceania region.
Contact
If you require any further information or have any questions, please contact
Anita Chennell - anita.chennell@ahr.com.au
An introduction to the principles of Plant Empowerment
Learn about the principles of Plant Empowerment at our one day training event at Apex Greenhouses in South Australia.
This training session will cover the topics:
How to use your screening systems effectively for maximum energy savings
How to create an active climate to promote an active plant, with minimal energy use
How to control humidity in the greenhouse
Who should attend?
This training is ideal for growers, greenhouse managers, and horticultural advisors seeking to optimise crop production using data-driven strategies aligned with the Plant Empowerment principles.
The faciliator
Ton Habraken from Svensson advises growers worldwide on sustainable, optimised greenhouse conditions, specialising in climate data analysis, Plant Empowerment, the Climate House concept, and ClimaFlow.
Registration:
Please note this event has maximum capacity of 40 participants. We will attempt to cater for as many people as possible but priority will be given to existing growers and facility operators and we reserve our rights to restrict attendance.
Cost:
$199 incl GST (lunch included)
Find Out More:
Download our flyer or contact Anita Chennell to learn more
PCA 2025
Come along to Protected Cropping Australia LTD 2025 conference in Adelaide, from the 28th - 30th of July. Head to the website linked below to register.
AHR will be there, with Gordon Rogers hosting a panel session about the Hort Innovation Frontiers project Growing horticulture through protected cropping innovation.
Panelists include:
Álvaro Vidiella - Costas
Jim Madden - Flavorite Group
Folco Faber - Apex Greenhouses
Ian Goodwin - Agriculture Victoria
Stephanie Tabone - AHR
Siddharth Jadhav - Polybee
Read more about the conference and to register here
Please note PCA 2025 is not an AHR event.