Impact Summit Programme
We’re proud to present our 2024 timetable of events that will elevate thought and inspire positive change.
For a PDF downloadable version please click here
Young Achievers Muster - Exclusive to our Award Alumni and Partners
Monday 11 March, 11am - 4.30pm
Icons Room, Heritage Hotel
Welcome Dinner – All Attendees
Monday 11 March, 5.30pm - 7.30pm
Rooftop Terrace, Heritage Hotel
Join us on the stunning rooftop terrace of the Hotel for a light dinner and refreshments setting the tone for collaboration and meaningful connections.
Impact Summit Guilt Free Farming: Feeding and Clothing a Hungry World
Tuesday 12 March - Wednesday 13 March
Icons Room, Heritage Hotel
The Summit is not a talk-fest, nor a platform for denial. It will bring you together, as the change-makers in Australia and New Zealand's food and fibre sector, and arm you with the tools for what’s coming next.
Why should we be proud to be a primary part of the supply chains that feed and clothe our world – and where are the opportunities to make the biggest impact over the next 10 years?
Dress Code: Smart casual.
Day One - Settle in and Get Ready To Get Curious.
Tuesday 12 March, 7.30am - 4.05pm
Icons Room, Heritage Hotel
Get ready for a day of connecting with the future, exploring trends, and shaping the agricultural landscape. You’ll hear from futurists and their view on how consumers and the industry are changing. Followed by the Science that underpins the challenges and opportunities facing our sector.
Zanda McDonald Award Celebration Dinner
Tuesday 12 March, 5.15pm - 11pm
The Bazaar Bar and Restaurant, The Rydges Queenstown
Don your glad rags and together let's raise a glass to celebrate the success of our future leaders.
Brace yourselves for an exhilarating celebration! The Zanda McDonald Award is hitting a dazzling 10-year mark in 2024, a special evening of reflection, acknowledging the profound impact this award has had on our sector, and crowning our exceptional 2024 Award winners.
It's your golden opportunity to don your Sunday best and raise a glass to our future leaders.
Dress: Semi-formal
Day Two
Wednesday 13 March, 7am - 4.20pm
Icons Room, Heritage Hotel
Join us as we delve into the expertise of thought leaders, industry veterans, and inspirational figures, each contributing to the narrative of making good food better, fostering guilt-free consumption, and embracing the challenges and opportunities that define the evolving landscape of the agricultural and food industry.
Summit Finale Evening
Wednesday 13 March, 5.45pm - 11pm
Walter Peak Station, and TSS Earnslaw Vintage Steamship
Our final hurrah - a scenic cruise across Lake Wakatipu on board the historic TSS Earnslaw. It’s the perfect time to bid farewell to friends old and new, and share a delicious gourmet BBQ at Walter Peak Station in the Colonel’s Homestead Restaurant. We’ll be boarding the TSS Earnslaw at 6.45pm. There will be shuttles leaving the Heritage from 5.45pm and return shuttles available from 11pm.
Visit food and fibre game-changers in an immersive one-day tour within the Queenstown Basin (optional)
Thursday 14 March, 9am - 5pm
Meet outside Heritage Hotel reception at 8.45am for the bus.
This immersive one day tour will take you on a trip to visit food and fibre game-changers in the Queenstown Basin. You’ll be treated to breathtaking views, and visits to the iconic Royalburn Station, hosted by NZ food personality and owner Nadia Lim, and cherry orchard Forest Lodge Orchard - the world’s first 100% electric, zero fossil fuel orchard. Your final stop is at the legendary Gibbston Valley Winery to sample some of Central Otago’s finest wines.
Royalburn Station
Royalburn Station is one of the oldest farms in the country, and one of the last operating farms in the region, with a genuine farm-to-plate operation. This historic station was taken over by former MasterChef NZ winner Nadia Lim and husband Carlos Bagrie in 2019, who have a vision to lead the way in regenerative ethical farming by creating more sustainable and circular solutions to help the land, animals and food sources thrive. Home to one of only two mobile, micro on-farm abattoirs in the country, Royalburn’s lamb operation has the highest animal welfare and ethics practices possible.
Gibbston Valley Winery
No tour of Central Otago would be complete without a stop at a winery - and where better than Gibbston Valley Winery. Home to the oldest vineyards in the region and NZ’s largest wine cave, Gibbston Valley Winery has been handcrafting premium wines for more than three decades. Here you’ll enjoy a tasting and tour of the iconic cave.
Forest Lodge Orchard
Forest Lodge is a 6-hectare cherry orchard with just over 9300 cherry trees and is the world’s first 100% electric, zero fossil fuel orchard. No fossil fuels means the latest in electrification technology and some fine kiwi-ingenuity is required. You’ll spend time with founders Mike and Rebecca Casey, who left their career.