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The SQNNSW Innovation Hub supported extension staff and colleagues from across the region to attend the APEN 2025 conference in October, and it seems like everyone is now talking about AI!

“AI is not a replacement for human judgment, it’s a tool to enhance effectiveness and reach,” is the message Kiara Temperley, , heard.

“The most valuable future lies in human/AI collaboration, where professionals use AI to simplify processes, support clients, and focus on higher-value work.”

Kiara’s top takeaways also included the need for extension to evolve to stay relevant, for organisations as a whole to be ready for AI, the need to prioritise connection and empathy, and the use of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) as a valuable tool.

SQNNSW Innovation Hub Knowledge Broker Amanda Scott says the Hub supported both staff and regional extension and adoption officers from various organisations and agencies to attend APEN.

“It’s important to help ensure extension and practice-change professionals have the chance to connect, learn, and contribute at national events like APEN,” Amanda says.

The role of professional development & succession planning

For Janet Barker of , the possibilities offered by AI were just one of her key takeaways. She says the value of prioritising professional development was reinforced, as well as some surprising insights for those further along their extension careers.

“We need to embrace or reflect on ‘unlearning’ and ‘career regression’ to ensure genuine investment in succession and equipping the next generation,” Janet says.

Human connections

’s Erin Landsberg definitely heard (and heeded) the AI/human messaging, and the fact that human connection remains pivotal.

“I met a range of people, some from extension work, others in related fields, and rubbed shoulders with some fantastic names like Cameron Leckie, Beck Burgess, and Angela Hammond. I now have a long list of about 20 people I spoke with, and I’ll be sure to pester as much as I can,” Erin says.

“We still seek out human reassurance and connection in decision making, this won’t change.

“So, gentle reminder to keep in touch with your landholders, even when you haven’t got an update yet or don’t yet have the answer, maintain communications with them and keep that feedback loop open. Most of us know that a lot of them just want someone they can ask questions or bounce ideas off.”

You don’t need all the answers

’s Jordyn Bond found it interesting to hear stories about not needing to have all the answers.

“Stepping into a space of mutual learning is powerful, particularly for building trust,” Jordyn says.

The axioms of adoption

Jazz Beddows, from , plans to learn from mixed sheep and cropping farmer ’s three axioms of adoption:

1. make what I already do easier
2. make data a by-product of management
3. improve labour efficiency/gross hours.

Small group learning & multiple channels

For Lana Andrews, , her number one takeaway was the impact of small peer-to-peer learning.

“We heard that 4-8 peers in a learning group works better than ‘more bums on seats’ for creating long term impact along with audience-led program design and learning,” Lana says.

As for many others, Lana also heard “the best extension method is multiple extension methods”.

“Small groups, case studies, one-on-one, blogs, videos, tours, diverse social media are all essential to ensure different audiences and generations are reached,” she says.

Putting everything into practice

The APEN cohort intend to implement what they’ve learnt.

For Kiara, as well as experimenting with AI tools, she plans to embed monitoring and evaluation at the start of projects, to capitalise on the capacity of the M&E process to show the value of her Landcare group’s work.

“I’ll build evaluation frameworks into project planning, ensuring outcomes are clear and measurable. This will help demonstrate impact, secure future funding, and continuously improve practice,” Kiara says.

Like many of the cohort, Janet is already exploring the routine tasks that can be outsourced to AI.

“I will also dedicate time each day to read the constant stream of newsletters in my inbox,” Janet says.

Back in Southern Queensland, Erin plans to ensure her extension efforts remain relational, not transactional.

“Speaking about events, we all agreed that we need to be pushing back about events and the number of attendees. In most cases, less is more,” Erin says.

“And it’s our role to really show these smaller peer-to-peer events as the big wins that they are. These are the times we often get more pick-up of ideas, greater engagement, and those aha-moments which is when we really start to see the real practice change.

“I also saw some examples of different groups collaborating on one event to make the most informative, researched, and organised event possible to maximise the experience and effectiveness.”

Jazz is also planning on some self-reflection.

“I’ll be getting some feedback on how I operate; ’s presentation highlighted the importance of feedback, as sometimes what we tell ourselves vs how we act can differ (theory in use and espoused theory),” Jazz says.

Jordyn also noted Lawrence’s talk, reflecting on how personal values align with values “in practice”.

“Self-reflection is an important tool for maintaining trusted relationships with growers and is a productive way to ensure that passion for your work stays alive,” Jordyn says.

“Lawrence also went into how language is important in extension work. i.e, the language ‘educating farmers’ instils a top-down approach rather than horizontal learning.”

Jordyn says she plans to apply concepts of attitude shifting and values reflection when collaborating with farmers on our research sites.

“I will be maintaining curiosity around farmers management decisions, encouraging two-way learning, countering the common tendency in research environments toward top-down knowledge transfer.”

For Lana, that includes a focus on smaller groups and using existing knowledge within groups, and integration best practice extension principles more broadly.

“The 2025 APEN Conference in Brisbane was an incredibly valuable experience, offering practical insights and meaningful connections that will directly enhance my work as a Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator,” Lana says.

“I’m especially grateful to the SQNNSW Innovation Hub for sponsoring my attendance, which enabled me to build new partnerships, strengthen existing networks and bring back innovative ideas to apply in my region in the future.

“Lastly, how great is it to learn about different agriculture industries outside of your own region! It’s mostly cattle, sheep, grain and cotton in the North West (of NSW), so learning about cherries, broad acre vegies and specifically brussels sprouts was brilliant (who knew there were 14 varieties)!”

Resources the cohort recommend

• Article: , by SQNNSW Innovation Hub Knowledge Broker Amanda Scott
• Article: , by SQNNSW Innovation Hub Knowledge Broker Amanda Scott
• blogs, podcasts and tools
• Book: Roger Schwarz:
• Book: Daniel Kahneman:
• People: The SQNNSW Innovation Hub team, and the other members of the cohort supported to attend APEN 2025

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The SQNNSW Innovation Hub receives funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.