BCG's 2020 Vision

In 1998, BCG formed a group called 2020 Vision. It was designed to bring together young people living and working in the agricultural industry who shared similar interests and concerns about their future. The 2020 Vision group aims to encourage and motivate participants to stay passionate about agriculture and work together to build their local communities.

2008 Events

Industry Tour to Adelaide (24th to 29th August)

Funding has been received to undertake another Industry Tour, this time to South Australia.  The trip will leave Birchip on Sunday the 24 in a charter plane to Adelaide.  While in Adelaide, the tour will include a visit to the Waite Institute, the Plant Functional Genomics Centre and AGT seeds before finishing the day with a tour of the Cooper's Brewery.  The group will then travel to Port Lincoln and visit LEADA and take a tour of the local fishing industry before flying to Kimba and visiting the Farm Improvement Group (FIG) at Buckleboo. The tour will finish in Minnipa where the group will tour the Minnipa Ag Research Station before flying back to Birchip on the Friday.

However as places are limited to only 8 people, BCG has decided that in the interest of giving everyone a fair chance, interested participants need to apply to go on the trip.  The application process is simple - all you need to do is email, call or write to BCG and tell us in 25 words or less “Why do you think study trips like this are important for young people involved in agriculture?".

Applications close on the 7th of July and successful applicants will be annouced shortly afterwards. For more information about the trip please call BCG on 03 54922 787  or email.  While the trip is supported by GRDC, participants will be required to make some financial contribution.

Comical Debate (28th March)

As part of the 2020 initiative, BCG organised a comedy debate “That farming is better than sex.” It was a successful night with over 170 people from the region attending and having a great night of socialising. The speakers did a fantastic job debating the topic and presented some very clever, informative and humorous arguments. Afterwards the crowd danced late into the night.

	Farming team (Lto R):  David Jochinke, Alexandra Gartmann and Luke Hogan.
	Sex team (L to R): Sophie Guthrie, James Jess and James Hunt

Luke Hogan, Alexandra Gartmann and David Jochinke had the tough task of debating the affirmative “That farming is better than sex.” They defined ‘better’ as improved, healthier, superior, enhanced, more important, last longer. Some of their arguments included:

• Farming is a bigger contributor to the economy and employs more people and lasts longer!
• Farming is also for the whole family and any age.
• Farming is more important as it has a minister for agriculture and although both (agriculture and sex) have droughts, only agriculture has a whole bureau dedicated to forecasting when the drought will break.
• In farming the growing season is about 5 months – during that time there are multiple orgasmics ups and downs and with harvest as the climax – if it is a good one, it can go on for weeks.
• How many people would have found their partners without agriculture because most relationships result from going to clubs or resturants where there is plenty of food and alchohol. Even a rose provides a romantic gesture. These are all products of farming – be it grains, viticulture, horticulture, fishing, etc.

The negative team who had to argue that sex is better than farming consisted of Sophie Guthrie, James Jess and James Hunt who were also very creative with their arguments. Some of the cleaner ones included:

• A rain drought is a lot harder to break than a sex drought as rain cannot be purchased
• Beneath the wholesome façade of farming a lot of sex is occurring - animal husbandry, pollination, etc.
• Who would you rather be Ian McClelland or Hugh Heffner?

The crowd decided that they preferred the negative arguments but the speakers all did a great job of presenting their arguments and a great night was had by all.

Past 2020 Vision Events

You can read about past 2020 Vision events by clicking on any of the links below:

"Who's the Boss Now?"- Read about the 2005 discussion regarding the challenges imposed by working in a family business. Discussion panelists include Lyn Sykes, Libby Price and Charlie Boyle.

We are always on the look-out for new members so if you are under the age of 35, passionate about the future of agriculture in Victoria and want to play an active role in ensuring there is an agricultural industry and community to work with in the future, 2020 Vision is for you!