Carissa and Karyn have a passion for cows and nature. Trading as Benmar Farm their dairy, located on a leased farm, is one of three suppliers to the Norco Co-operative's organic brand.

Hunter Valley/North Coast Town and Country writer, Louise Nicols interviewed the pair last September.

Louise wrote, "Their interest in farming and dairying began for Karyn on the South Coast where she completed a dairy apprenticeship post high-school and for Carissa, as a child raised in Montana, visiting her grandfather's cattle ranch in California.

"Karyn and Carissa spent a decade working in the United States based in Oregon - Karyn in dairy cattle husbandry plus herd recording and Carissa as a professional bookkeeper both working for large commercial dairies in the region gave them the training and understanding of how dairies work and what makes them viable.

"The attraction of Australia was the ability to milk year-round off pastures - offering a true farming with nature operation. An 18 month search resulted in them establishing Benmar Farm on a 440 acres property long used for dairy farming."

The Farm2Plate Exchange attracts some of the biggest names in Australian food and agriculture with topics aimed to generate a more sustainable future for the agri-food industry.

"During drought and bushfire, Norco has stepped up to provide a drought recovery component to help farmers recover," regionality managing director Rose Wright said.

Sponsored by Norco to attend Farm2Plate Exchange last year, Chris Eggert of certified organic farm Oxhill Organics, in Wauchope, will return to the conference in 2021 as a key speaker.

Chris said the event was a "big exchange of ideas" and provided an opportunity for farmers to network and learn about the people who buy their food.

"It doesn't matter if you have a big farm or a small farm or you're a big producer or a fancy cook, it's about people with a passion for food and where they come from, what they grow, why they grow it and what motivates them," he said.

"The Exchange showed me that people have a real appreciation for farmers, and sometimes we get bogged down in our farm and we don't realise that. Getting out and about to things like this shows me people really do care where their food comes from and how it's grown."

Key speakers include:

The deadline for early bird tickets for conference has been extended to April 16 due to flooding and lockdowns.

The full Farm2Plate Exchange program is available here: www.regionality.com.au

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