More than 200 farmers attended the Future Farmers Expo at Birchip on Thursday.

Group chairwoman Caroline Welsh said the expo had been running for more than 20 years and it was time to revamp it.

“We’ve change the format this year - we normally had a lot more exhibitors and general topics, but this year we tried to focus it on specific areas,” she said.

“We had about 30 exhibitors and it was targeted towards issues closer to the farm gate.

“There was a focus on decision making and less of a focus on the weeds and agronomy side of things, because we run a lot of field days and crop walks were those issues are looked at.”

Topics discussed included farm business and decision making.

“We had a session on leasing arrangements, with a family case study,” Ms Welsh said.

Lubeck farmer Peter Taylor and his son Cameron discussed how they make decisions.

“The talk looked at the difference in generations and what decision-making tools they used,” Ms Welsh said.

“It was interesting to see the different generations and their different viewpoints.”

Swan Hill consultant Noel Meney led a discussion about succession planning and outlined steps growers could take going forward.

“Succession planning is something we always have at the expo and something people are always interested in because the next generation is coming up and looking at being involved in the farm,” Ms Welsh said.

APA Sound’s Ian Ware discussed technology that was available now and Kaniva farmer and Nuffield scholar Jonathan Dyer discussed where technology might be heading in the next two or three years.

“The session about technology was about how we can improve our use of technology and our access to technology to improve farm profitability,” Ms Welsh said.

She said exhibitors were happy with the new format.

“All the exhibitors were able to fit into the one space, so there was more of an intimate feel and people were stopping to talk to the exhibitors more,” she said.

“It was no longer a huge expansive space, with lots of different nooks and crannies – it was exactly what we wanted.

“It’s always a juggle for us to make sure we have great speakers and information sessions but also make sure the growers have the opportunity and time to talk to exhibitors.

“The new format was worthwhile for the businesses that exhibited as well.

“Bigger isn’t always better.”