iHemp NSW had the great pleasure of being part of the Australian Industrial Hemp Conference 2026, held at Rydges Conference Centre in Geelong, the wool fibre capital of the world.
Jaimie Milling, Maxine Shea, Connie Minos, Colin Steddy and Jeremy Thomas all made the most of the presentations and networking on offer, and were united behind the conference’s theme of Growing Together.
The conference was opened by Councillor Dr Stretch Kontelj OAM, Geelong Mayor, who spoke favourably about how hemp could work alongside canola and wool to give the Geelong region another cash crop.
Between hemp gin and beer tastings, fuelled with Rydges catering with most dishes containing hemp seed and or oil, attendees heard from speakers including environmental design guru Joost Bakker, who spoke about building a dream “hemp house” for US actor Zac Efron near Byron Bay.
Maxine Shea’s presentation was very well received by the 80-strong crowd, with Senator Richard Colbeck nodding along in agreement. Speaking to the industry’s response to the Senate Committee report, Maxine set out six practical changes needed to unlock the industry: local processing and manufacturing, funding and investment, off-take agreements and DAFF classification, government procurement, fixing market-access basics, and bringing hemp education into schools so the next generation sees hemp as an industry to build, not a plant to fear.
Winton Evers of EcoProfit presented his carbon accounting platform and how it could be used to quantify carbon credits in hemp construction.
Klara Marosszeky chaired the hemp building session, with Jeremy Thomas and Kirstie Wulf presenting on “How the Hemp Building Directory is helping build the Australian hemp construction industry,” with a focus on “Cooperate to Grow the Market, Compete to Improve the Products.”
These are just a few highlights from 40+ presentations by a wide range of speakers, most circling back to the conference’s theme of Growing Together. The idea of one voice, one organisation to represent the industry, came up again and again, echoed by a number of hemp stalwarts and by Senator Richard Colbeck himself.
The conference’s Gold Sponsor was AgriFutures Emerging Industries, and with their support hemp continues to grow. AgriFutures’ early investigations were into seed and food; they’ve since followed market interest into fibre, with a growing focus on building.
Other sponsors included Bronze Sponsor Midlands Seed, Southern Hemp, Australian Hemp Council (AHC) and PC Hub, along with Supporting Sponsors Hemployment Australia, The Tassie Hemp Co., Hemp Store, Laumetris, Hemp Building Directory (HBD) and RootSource Media.
Following on from the 2 day conference was a tour of a hemp house where both French and Australian hemp building materials were used in different sections, the CSIRO Lab where hemp fibre has been refined into material, and a tour of the Geelong Wool Museum.
iHemp NSW represents growers, processors, businesses and hemp enthusiasts across the state. If you’d like to be part of a growing industry, become a member or see our upcoming events and webinars.
Photos and article produced by Jeremy Thomas for iHemp NSW
