... has spent over 20 years helping companies and small businesses influence, negotiate, and collaborate with key market retailers and commercial buyers. He is noted for being commercially astute, practical and an authentic leader within the sales, marketing and general business world, such as the Building, Manufacturing, Retail, Property, and FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) companies. With this in mind, Brendan will guide both TurfBreed farmers and resellers about how to build relationships and good negotiation skills with their customers. He will offer productive and easy solutions on how to negotiate price increases and the importance of keeping buyers abreast of key market trends when supply is either high or low.

....has been assisting people to develop skills for the future through leadership and personal capacity programs for over 15 years. She is most happy when working with groups of people who wish to chart a future course – such as TurfBreed’s farmers! Jill is a high-energy, positive facilitator with experience at many levels including community, business, and government.

Jill’s point-of-difference is being a caring communicator and a thoughtful negotiator ensuring all participants arrive at a new stage of growth at the conclusion of any workshop or program. 

Jill is an accomplished public speaker and a keen researcher, she has a Master of Management (Leadership), a Graduate Diploma in Adult Learning and recently graduated from the Advanced – Women in Leadership Program.

Having dug deeply into the turf industry to gain a strong and firm understanding of its inner workings, Jill will speak on “Turf Teams – fully utilising all the superpowers” which includes the following:-

• Teams – what are they and what is the best mix.

• Superpowers – How to use a superpower to get the most out of your team. And what superpower is unrecognised/underutilised in businesses.

• Difference is good – understanding the importance of difference.

• Keeping the team motivated during tough and easy times.

Jill lives every day determined to assist people to affect their leadership space… no matter how grand or personal that space is – and that is what she intends to do at this year’s 2023 TurfBreed National Growers Conference.

... has spent over 20 years helping companies and small businesses influence, negotiate, and collaborate with key market retailers and commercial buyers. He is noted for being commercially astute, practical and an authentic leader within the sales, marketing and general business world, such as the Building, Manufacturing, Retail, Property, and FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) companies. With this in mind, Brendan will guide both TurfBreed farmers and resellers about how to build relationships and good negotiation skills with their customers. He will offer productive and easy solutions on how to negotiate price increases and the importance of keeping buyers abreast of key market trends when supply is either high or low.

Resilience, persistence and determination are the words to describe Warren Davies.
Born and bred in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Warren was mentored by one of the best farmers in the north-west district of Victoria. By the age of 22, he had purchased his first farm.

This gave Warren an opportunity to reinvent himself as it gave him direction, a career path and he was going to pursue his father's dream of becoming a farmer. Warren’s eventful life has tested his resilience, persistence and determination, and had a massive impact on his young family, relationships and finances. Today, all these experiences have made him the farmer he is today - The Unbreakable Farmer.
His keynote topics are centred on resilience, persistence, determination, leadership and wellbeing. Also, their moral relevance to all ages and communities which will resonate well with the TurfBreed’s farming community.

Warren’s ability to engage with individuals or organisations, is through his journey of piecing back together his life and the life lessons he learnt along the way - both good and bad. His down to earth approach makes his story and strategies relevant, whether you are from the country or the city, a farmer or the CEO of a large corporation.
Warren’s authentic, inspiring and sometimes confronting presentation is filled with take home strategies developed from his business and life journey. Some of these experiences may see turf farmers implementing them in their day-to-day life to overcome challenges or pick themselves up and keep moving forward. His message is simple and so very important at a time when stress is seen as normal, and depression is commonplace.

Director of International Sales Mountain View Seeds

1976-1996         Grew up on a 1200 acre Grass Seed Farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, grass seed capital of the world

1995-1999         Crop and Soil Science Degree from Oregon State University

                           Worked part time in the Processing and Marketing side of the Grass Seed industry to pay my way through school

2000-2005         Barenbrug USA,  Field Production Representative

2005-2012         Mountain View Seeds Field Production Manager

2013-2023         Mountain View Seeds Director of International Sales

I grew up on a 1200 acre grass seed and livestock farm in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the grass seed capital of the world.  This is where I got my first taste of the Oregon Grass Seed industry and decided to get my Crop and Soil Science degree at Oregon State University so I could go to work for one of the many seed companies in Oregon.

Following college I worked for the next 12 years in my position with over 300 farmers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Canada to coordinate field production and seed supplies for the company for all cool season forage and turf crops.  Over these 12 years I helped oversee more then 250,000 acres of crop production and an estimated 400,000,000 lbs of seed production.

I always had a significant interest in all facets off our seed industry, from plant breeding, seed production, sales and marketing, to how and where our products were being used.

During the years of overseeing our seed production and supply for the company, I had many opportunities to host and tour our domestic and international customers that would visit Oregon.

This was a great opportunity to meet the end users of our products and hear what they needed from our products to help them be successful in their markets.

In 2013 I had the opportunity to take over as Director of International Sales for Mountain View Seeds, when one of the godfathers our industry, and mentor, decided to retire from the position.  Since taking the position I have had the opportunity to travel to more than 40 countries and build our cool season, warm season and vegetative turf and forage programs across 6 continents. 

Over my 20 plus year career in the industry, I’m a firm believer that producers, distributors, and end users of our products are all equally important as one another to the entire process.  Transfer of information needs to be open and honest, flowing to and from all stakeholders in the industry so we can recognize challenges in the marketplace and work to breed and produce improved products to constantly try to overcome these challenges

... has a strong background in scientific research and brings his practical and academic expertise to the TurfBreed team. Having completed an undergraduate Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a PhD with the University of Queensland in the fields of plant physiology and genetics, where he also holds a position as an adjunct research fellow. 
Andrew is well-equipped to take on the challenges of turf research and has the skills needed to deliver meaningful results to our growers and consumers. He has extensive experience as a scientific communicator and is passionate not only about conducting scientific studies on agricultural crops, but equally about communicating the outcomes and implications of that research to a wider audience and is keen to make a lasting impact in the turf industry. 
Andrew has been instrumental in establishing and heading our research and development arm, TurfRND. TurfBreed established this arm to meet the growing demand for high quality scientific research and development of existing and future turf genetics for our grower network and their clients. TurfRnD operates a large-scale turf research facility to produce high quality scientific data on turf varieties in the marketplace which supports our growers and turf users in selecting and growing the right turf.
Dr Fletcher is also responsible for investigating new turf genetics from Australia and abroad by rigorously testing new varieties under a range of climates and growing conditions to ensure we bring only the best new varieties to the market.

...is co-founder and Managing Director of TurfBreed and has more than 30 years’ experience in agribusiness, including roles at both a board and senior management level. 
Steve’s previous track record sees him having successfully managed, business organisation start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings, commercial operation, risk and oversight of businesses with multi-billion-dollar turnovers. 
From this cross section of experience, Steve maintains an extensive network across the Australian and Global Agribusiness sector where he has been integral in developing businesses and finding solutions for numerous agricultural and business ventures. 
Steve’s vision for TurfBreed is to be the turf industry genetics manager of choice through partnering with turf growers to grow their business safely, sustainably and profitability through leading edge genetics, innovative marketing and business support.

...is the Technical Services Manager - Turf and Landscape for Australia and New Zealand. 
Brett has had a wide range of experiences throughout his career in turfgrass management. Brett commenced his turf career at Gordonvale Golf Club about 25km south of Cairns in Far North Queensland 30 years ago. Brett has worked in many hands-on roles in the turf management industry across the globe including the USA, Fiji, Indonesia, and multiple sites in Queensland. Following these roles Brett embarked on a PhD at USYD where he focused on breeding new hybrids of kikuyu grass for commercial and agricultural use. 
Following his PhD he joined Turnpoint as Director of Agronomy overseeing maintenance at leading courses and racetracks around Australia, before returning to The Brisbane Golf Club following the 2011 Brisbane flood to rebuild and return the golf course back to its position as one of the country’s leading private member facilities.
Brett has spent the last 8 years employed as the Technical Manager for Amgrow which is a part of the Aus-Ag group. His role saw him oversee product development for the group and provide support to the wider sales team.

...has worked within the turf and ornamental industry in both commercial and technical roles for the past 19 years, holding positions with Nuturf, Nufarm, Bayer and Adama. 
During his time in the industry Peter has largely concentrated on the technical, product management and business development areas and has been heavily involved in a number of new plant protection, soil surfactant and biological products entering the Australasian turf markets. He works for Indigo Specialty Products, a company heavily focused on developing new technologies for the turf, landscape and industrial vegetation markets.

...from Australian Lawn Concepts and Glenview Turf, is a Turf Producers International Board Member, Moderator for our Chemical Session and the MC at our Field Day. 
John is one of the country’s leading turf agronomists and has worked extensively as an agricultural consultant for most of his career. He has a solid history of introducing innovative ideas that positively impact the bottom line. 
John’s devotion to research has provided the opportunity for new and exciting practices in Australia’s turf industry, such as precision farming for growers.

Jyri Kaapro started in the turf industry in 1990 when he joined the Australian Turfgrass Research Institute after completing a Bachelor of Natural Resource Management from the University of New England and a Graduate Diploma in Agriculture from Charles Sturt University. At the Institute he was responsible for the research and product development programmes. While at the Institute he also completed a Master of Agriculture (Turf Management) at the University of Sydney.

Since 2000 Jyri has worked for Bayer (now known as Envu) as their Senior Development Specialist. His responsibilities include product development of new chemicals for the control of pests, diseases and weeds in the turf industry.

To say that Dallas Garton – commonly referred to as Rusty – knows everything about lawns is an understatement. His enthusiasm for wanting to share his knowledge about the best and most efficient way to care for your lawn is contagious. And that is quite clearly seen on his Facebook page. Rusty is also one of the key representatives at LawnPride. LawnPride has built a reputation for selling premium lawn care products from fertilisers to weed sprays. They offer their homeowner customers a 12-month calendar guide to care for their turf type. Rusty produces regular videos that offer seasonal lawn care programs. Most importantly Rusty has partnered with TurfBreed’s IronCutter™ trial work and is managing the “homeowner” site. TurfBreed’s Senior RnD Scientist, Dr Andrew Fletcher is working with Rusty conducting the “homeowner” trial under stringent RnD conditions in QLD. As a reputable lawn expert – especially in the homeowner sector - Rusty has outlined the key features TurfBreed’s RnD program needs to be observing and recording when comparing IronCutter™ to other Couch varieties on the market.
 

... has a strong background in scientific research and brings his practical and academic expertise to the TurfBreed team. Having completed an undergraduate Bachelor of Agricultural Science and a PhD with the University of Queensland in the fields of plant physiology and genetics, where he also holds a position as an adjunct research fellow. 
Andrew is well-equipped to take on the challenges of turf research and has the skills needed to deliver meaningful results to our growers and consumers. He has extensive experience as a scientific communicator and is passionate not only about conducting scientific studies on agricultural crops, but equally about communicating the outcomes and implications of that research to a wider audience and is keen to make a lasting impact in the turf industry. 
Andrew has been instrumental in establishing and heading our research and development arm, TurfRND. TurfBreed established this arm to meet the growing demand for high quality scientific research and development of existing and future turf genetics for our grower network and their clients. TurfRnD operates a large-scale turf research facility to produce high quality scientific data on turf varieties in the marketplace which supports our growers and turf users in selecting and growing the right turf.
Dr Fletcher is also responsible for investigating new turf genetics from Australia and abroad by rigorously testing new varieties under a range of climates and growing conditions to ensure we bring only the best new varieties to the market.

With Kentucky Turf Farm’s vast experience and industry know-how, you can be sure your turf needs will be well looked after. Based at Bundalong near the Murray River in north-eastern Victoria, founder Terry Brew has a great deal of expertise in the turf management area, having worked as a Super Intendant at Jubilee Golf Course for 18 years, and the turf production industry for 45 years. His son, Andrew, attained a Plant Science Degree in New Zealand, and his formal education has proved beneficial in maintaining the quality of Kentucky Turf’s products and the business adaptation as social and environmental factors have dictated. Leading and managing all turf enquiries and administrations is Terry’s daughter, Sheree Wilson.
Having operated in the industry since 1977, the family-run business also provides wholesale supply services to turf farms around Melbourne, and pride themselves on the quality of their products and affordability. They also have sub companies that service other areas including Border Turf Supplies (Albury/Wodonga), Goulburn Valley Turf Supplies (Shepparton) and Bendigo/Echuca Turf Supplies (Bendigo/Echuca). They also work together with a network of trustworthy, competent local landscapers to professionally install turf lawns and provide a full range of landscaping services. 
Kentucky Turf were one of the first TurfBreed farms to trail IronCutter™ Hybrid Bermudagrass. On February 14th 2022, Kentucky Turf Farm sod planted in a 15m2 area, with 150mm spacing, on loamy sand soil. Since then, the site has expanded and mother stock has been further planted for future commercial production.
When visiting the farm at TurfBreed’s Conference Field Day the proof of IronCutter™ Hybrid Bermudagrass’ uniqueness will be seen up close and explained in detail by TurfBreed’s RnD team and owners of the worldwide marketing rights, Mountain View Seeds.

...is no stranger to the sports turf world after spending 40 years with the three major sports sectors in the United States - baseball, football and soccer - at both college and professional levels. During this period, he spent half of his time working with cool season turf and the other half with warm season grasses.
As head groundskeeper at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, Will formed a relationship with Mountain View Seeds which, in 2016, became the official supplier of seed used on that world-famous sports ground.
The Rose Bowl field is used more than any other in the United States and must stand up to extreme demands, which is why choosing the right seed blend is so important – it has to do everything extremely well! The Rose Bowl is used roughly 300 days each year. As well as hosting football, the field is used for filming television ads, movies, and numerous events including soccer tournaments, concerts and even motocross. Will’s immense knowledge on all grasses used by the sports turf sector will be shared with delegates at TurfBreed’s National Conference.

To say that Dallas Garton – commonly referred to as Rusty – knows everything about lawns is an understatement. His enthusiasm for wanting to share his knowledge about the best and most efficient way to care for your lawn is contagious. And that is quite clearly seen on his Facebook page. Rusty is also one of the key representatives at LawnPride. LawnPride has built a reputation for selling premium lawn care products from fertilisers to weed sprays. They offer their homeowner customers a 12-month calendar guide to care for their turf type. Rusty produces regular videos that offer seasonal lawn care programs. Most importantly Rusty has partnered with TurfBreed’s IronCutter™ trial work and is managing the “homeowner” site. TurfBreed’s Senior RnD Scientist, Dr Andrew Fletcher is working with Rusty conducting the “homeowner” trial under stringent RnD conditions in QLD. As a reputable lawn expert – especially in the homeowner sector - Rusty has outlined the key features TurfBreed’s RnD program needs to be observing and recording when comparing IronCutter™ to other Couch varieties on the market.
 

After starting his Greenkeeping at The Metropolitan Golf Club on Melbourne’s Sandbelt in Victoria, David Mason spent 28 years in the industry. Eighteen of these years have been as a Superintendent at a variety of different golf courses, from coastal style to parkland, specialising in Couch fairways and Bentgrass greens. David commenced as Superintendent at The Brisbane Golf Club in March 2022. The first couple of months of this new role saw him having to manage multiple flood events and their effect on turfgrass. He is now enjoying the challenge of learning to manage warm-season Couch grass greens and a variety of weeds, pests and diseases not seen further south.

Bruce Macphee is the Senior Agronomist for the Australian Sports Turf Managers Association (ASTMA) his career spans more than 35 years working across all sectors of the turf industry including Golf Course Superintendent, TAFE teacher, turf production and project management of large turf construction jobs. Through his career, Bruce has been involved in a wide range of turfgrass trials - of which he has earnt a solid and reputation - including assessment of grasses for use across the turf sector.