Darling Downs Food & Fibre Awards
Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise in partnership with Western Downs Regional Council are proud to host the 2025 Darling Downs Food & Fibre Awards.
By recognising industry leaders in biosecurity, export, and innovation, the Food and Fibre awards aims to showcase and celebrate the regions commitment to shaping a resilient, forward-thinking, and globally competitive food and fibre sector.
2025 Darling Downs Food & Fibre award categories include:
- Innovation Award
- Biosecurity Award
- Trade and Export Award
Nominate below! Nominations have been extended to Friday, 20 June 2025.
The Biosecurity Award honours businesses that implement proactive strategies to protect natural resources, strengthen industry resilience, and maintain responsible production practices.
The Innovation Award recognises agribusinesses that drive efficiency, sustainability, and industry advancement through cutting-edge technology, new business models, and collaborative solutions.
The Exporter Award celebrates businesses that showcase the Darling Downs’ food and fibre excellence on the global stage, demonstrating strategic market growth, supply chain innovation, and sustainability leadership.
Click here to view the eligibility requirements for the Darling Downs Food and Fibre Awards.
2025 Darling Downs Food & Fibre Awards night
The Darling Downs Food & Fibre Awards will be held on Thursday, 17 July 2025 in Chinchilla. The night will feature speakers and panellist highlighting their local success stories in the industry.
As part of the event, Shell QGC’s representative Matt Howse we will be announcing the new cohort of the 2025 AgriEmerging Markets Program. This program is delivered by TSBE and supported by Shell QGC.
Our keynote speaker - Karen Penfold, owner of Four Daughters, will talk about building a trusted brand from the Darling Downs and why story telling matters in both domestic and global markets.
About Karen:
Karen is the co-founder of the brand, Four Daughters Beef, and is a passionate advocate for rural Australia. She sees the need to connect city and country with food and fibre origins, especially through social media and community engagement.
Karen is dedicated to her family business, along with her husband Dan and four daughters they have exported beef under their Four Daughters brand to China. They have had to navigate processing, the export supply chain and international logistics.
Four Daughter was part of the 2023 cohort for the AgriEmerging Markets Program and the 2018 Emerging Exporters Program.
Panel discussion - From Local Roots to Global Reach
The panel of industry experts will explore how businesses from the region are strengthening their brand’s trust, while pioneering innovation and sustainability across the supply chain. From forging new global export pathways to investing in biosecurity and emerging market opportunities, our panel will highlight how regional leadership is setting new benchmarks in agribusiness excellence. As we launch the 2025 AgriEmerging Markets Program, this conversation will also shine a light on the next wave of producers and businesses ready to scale their impact and champion the region’s global competitiveness.
Panellist include:
- Caitlin McConnel, Australian Farmer & Lawyer
- Karen Penfold, Owner, Four Daughters
- More to be announced soon!
About our panellists
Caitlin McConnel
Caitlin is recognised as a young leader and top agribusiness professional in Australia, and is an advocate for youth in agriculture, food security, and mental health & wellness in the legal and agricultural sectors. She is a sixth-generation farmer who oversees the day-to-day management of her family property with her parents (beef cattle & agrivoltaics) in SEQ. For 17 years Caitlin was a Senior Associate in the Agribusiness & Food and Environment & Sustainable Development teams at Clayton Utz. Involved in opportunities and risks of ESG investment and sustainable development on agricultural land, particularly emerging nature-based markets, renewable energy, and commodity diversification.
About our MC
Sally Rigney
Sally is a resourceful, organised and dynamic rural woman who makes things happen. With 20 years of journalism and public relations experience she gives a voice to the people, events and issues of southwest Queensland, ensuring they have an energetic and vibrant local community. Her definition of success is finding where you belong, embracing it and enjoying it.
TSBE Member price: $140 (TSBE Members - login to receive the member price)
Non-member price: $170
Toowoomba and its surrounding regions are a food producing powerhouse for Australia and we’re setting the standard for advanced manufacturing, innovation and automation integrations. Our region is creating efficiencies to enhance productivity and sustainability, support biosecurity preparedness and strengthen ESG impacts.
The food and fibre capability of our region is driven by the diversity of fresh and value added products grown and produced in these locations.
Key facts about our region’s food capability include:
- Toowoomba region was the best performing region in Queensland 2023-24 worth $1.27 billion, followed by the Western Downs worth $951 million
- The value for broadacre cropping in our region for 2024-25 is $1.10 billion
- 65% of Australia’s beef feedlotting is in our region
- Approximately 85% of Queenslands egg production is in the South East
- Approximately 90% of Queensland’s pork production is concentrated in the South East Region.
Sponsorship
We're looking for industry sponsors to support this event in its first year!
Contact Information
Not yet a member of TSBE? TSBE members receive a discount off event tickets.
Please contact TSBE for more information.
Additional Information
