Agtech and the digital revolution of primary production is seeing sweeping change in the sector.
It is the focus of the AgTech Revolution series, produced by Lightbridge Productions.
Episode one features Bendee Farming director and Swarm Farm Robotics chief executive officer Andrew Bate, who said with Australian farmers operating in a tough environment, innovation was key.
"We farm this tough environment here in Australia so Australian farmers are the best adopters of new technology," he said
"They'll take it on, they're tech-savvy and there's a genuine desire to innovate."
Food Agility CRC chief scientist Prof David Lamb said proving sustainability on-farm was a major focus for producers when adopting agtech.
"Australian farmers have to work hard to get the best out of what the land and environment has to offer, in a way that's sustainable," he said.
"Now that's challenging all around the world but at the end of the day our farmers punch above their weight."
Deloitte partner and co-lead agrifood transformation and circularity Ben van Delden said agriculture had been a relatively late adopter.
"Agtech was late to the game and that's because agriculture has been typically the least digitised industry of all industries," he said.
AgriWebb co-founder John Fargher said agtech was helping farmers prove their environmental credentials.
"The majority of farmers are doing a brilliant job of being good custodians of the land and handing on that land in a better position than what they took it on but often we haven't been able to tell that story," he said.
"We haven't had data to back that up and now we do with digital agriculture. We have the ability to tell that story. What it means is that it builds trusts through the value chain and through to our consumer, back to the farmer."
Primary Industries and Regions SA administers the South Australian Government's AgTech Growth Fund and chief executive Mehdi Doroudi said agtech was being used by the department in its own day-to-day operations, particularly in the fisheries sector.
"We're always looking at the processes internally of PIRSA, in particular in the fisheries management field," he said.
Professor Doroudi said advanced technology was being used in the collection and assessment of data, especially when it comes to the daily catch of fishermen, which helped ensure compliance.
"It's an example of how agtech can help with our processes," he said.
Cropify used AI and machine learning to solve a long standing challenge in the grain classification process; eliminating subjective testing.
Co-founder Anna Falkiner and her partner Andrew Hannon set up the company in 2020.
Ms Falkiner said there were a range of issues hindering agtech adoption.
"Farmers are time-poor and they've got many priorities," she said.
"They might like an idea but have issues finding the time and the resources to implement it."
Ms Falkiner said securing appropriate connectivity on-farm had been another major barrier to agtech uptake.
Paula Thompson
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
Paula Thompson is ACM's National Machinery and Ag Tech writer. She has been an agricultural journalist for more than 20 years. Prior to her current role, she was a reporter with the Stock Journal, covering livestock markets and the grains industry.
