The inaugural Australian Agave Association workshop was held at the Waite Campus this week

Bringing together growers, distillers, processors, startups and researchers. Speed dating, sharing learnings from the initial growers, visiting the demo planting on campus, the Adelaide University distillery doing the initial production runs, and a tasting of agave based spirits.

This was followed up with industry meetings around the opportunities and challenges to scale up agave production to 1m+ Ha across marginal land in Australia for use in Sustainable Aviation Fuel, with the waste streams to be tuned into silage and used for livestock feed.

The Australian agave industry provides a pathway to more efficient biofuel and biogas production. Agave can be grown on under-utilised, low rainfall land to produce high-yielding crops with minimal inputs. This provides a key advantage over alternative sources of biomass.

— Agrifutures Emerging Industries Report

Agave is an incredible plant — resilient, versatile, and full of untapped potential for Australia. From sustainable farming to innovative products, there’s so much we can explore. It’s an exciting time to get involved!

— Prof. Rachel Burton, Director, Australian Agave Association

Photos courtesy of Liz Wright from @tide_and_tribe