The Australian Farmer

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Australia’s Farming Future

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Click on any article to jump straight to that page! CONTENTS 4

14 – Foreword from Andrew Weidemann AM - Chairman of Grain Producers Australia - Patron of The Australian Farmer

15 – Our gratitude to Australia’s peak farming bodies

1 - DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Digital Agriculture: A Tale of Unrealised Ex- pectations? By Prof. Simon Cook, Dr. Eliza- beth L. Jackson, and Prof. Derek Baker.

An insider’s guide to raising capital in the agtech sector - Findex

As the AgTech bubble runs out of hot air, what have we learnt? By Professor Andrew Robson

Digital Transformation in Agriculture: Making Farming Efficient, Precise & Productive By Dr Imran Ali

2 - AUTOMATION AND MACHINERY

A stronger, safer, smarter ute for work and play

Bourgault: Time in equals yield up for leading drill manufacturer

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Levelling the field: Agtech puts you in control

The Ultimate Agriculture Advantage: Interview with Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems President Dr Reece Clothier

Australian grain producers can be autonomous

Australian farmers are key to the energy transition - Shaun Westcott

3 - INNOVATION IN PRACTICE

Rise of the electric farm

From Tradition to Innovation: Transforming Farming with Modern Practices - A.G. Schilling

Shearwell is now bringing to market a premium one-piece steel NLIS tag for cattle.

Laser-Focused Bird Control

The Great Reset for Australian Agriculture - Nutri-Tech Solutions' CEO - Brain Sait

MGA Insurance - delivering peace of mind

Endless compliance is undermining productivity and imposing a human cost on businesses. - Tom Grigg

All Bark, All Bite: Anti-Crime Measures Working For Farmers

Professional services fit for your farm, your family, and your future

Machine learning and connectivity the next challenges for agtech

Five Mins Q&A with Kelly Freeman, Managing Director of Nutrien Ag Solutions Australia

Traditional trade skills from the past are key to Australia’s agricultural future. Q&A with Andrew Weidemann AM.

Growing a financially fit farm - Mike Krause

Our $100 billion future starts with the soil

Our Future Food Security: Time to Take Control

How agriculture can switch diesel for alternative energy to power industry

The truth about carbon on the farm- Interview with Mark Wootton

Kids on the farm: a force of nature By Tanya Nagle

A rural outlook you can bank on. - Rural Bank

Taking on La Niña with weather insurance

Making revegetation ‘climate ready’ The Yass Area Network of Landcare Groups

100

102

The Future of Food Off-world and On - Professor Matthew Gilliham

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Independent exchange is advancing the Australian grain industry

106

The Future Forces Shaping Australian Agriculture - John Harvey

108

An agricultural education for every possibility

Improve powerline visibility with aerial markers When you’re working on the land, look up and live

110

Aerial markers - Essential Energy

112

Time to choose a better energy future

If contact with the network occurs, STAY. CALL. WAIT. Stay in your vehicle, call 000 and wait for the all clear from Essential Energy. Fully lower machinery before moving off and keep tall machinery and collection points well away from powerlines. Mark powerlines with ground, pole or aerial markers.

116

From the paddock to the cloud - digital user friendly cloud-based solutions

Find out about our Aerial Marker Program or order free safety resources at essentialenergy.com.au/farm-safety

AI for a Prosperous Future: How AI Assessment of Quality Can Empower Australian Farmers

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120

How to Transform Yields from the Ground Up - Bactivate

122

Agritech, the future of farming

124

Landing the right pair of hands for the job

Empowering Regional Communities Through Local Banking and Sustainable Growth - Regional Australia Bank

125

127

Trace elements: They continue working, even when you’re not!

130

Investing in the Ag landscape from the ground up - BASF

130

133

Totally Natural Nutrition: working with nature not against it

Are we at war with nature? The language of leadership at the tipping point. By Lorraine Gordon

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140

Nudgee College: A school built for boys from the bush

143

Is our current education model fit for purpose?

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Simplifying Livestock Tracking with Easy Online Ordering

146

Cross-Pollinating Agricultural Research

4 - PLANT HEALTH

152

Ancient farming, modern lessons: adapting Australian agriculture to climate change. By Dr. Gintarė Bidlauskienė

156

The little-known plant transformed into a world-first cash crop by Aussie scientists

160

Seed Certification Key to Australia’s Agricultural Future

164

Biosecurity is Everyone’s Business – Including our Farmers - Greg Chandler

5 - WOMEN IN AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE

168

Putting it on the agriculture agenda: bush foods and blockchain - Rayleen Brown

172

Renewables: Fighting skyrocketing energy costs and a changing climate - Karin Stark

A Farmer’s Daughter – Travels from the paddock to the boardroom. By Kristina Hermanson

176

Amy Pascoe, Little Acre co-founder, talks stereotypes, innovation, and the problem with “Grown in Australia” labels.

178

180

When economic rationalism is irrational - By Dr Joanne Sillince

182

Advocacy from the Apple Isle: women in leadership

6 - ANIMAL HEALTH AND RESEARCH

188

The hidden losses of pasture utilisation - Professor Sergio (Yani) Garcia

191

Regulations need to catch up to science on beef emissions - Dr Chris Parker

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193

Expert insights from the top. By Michael Crowley

196

Agtech success pivots on linking the algorithm with farmer needs. By Professor Lewis Kahn

197

The place of the horse in Australia: a national survey

199

7 - WATER AND IRRIGATION

202

Anne Currey of Irrigation Australia outlines what is needed in technology and policy to keep Australian irrigators on top

204

Water Stewardship: A Pathway to Sustainable Agricultural Futures. By Dr. Sandra J. Hall

206

Drought-Proofing a Sunburnt Country. By Warwick Lorenz

210

Pumping white gold: rural water solutions backed by 70 years of success

8 - ADDITIONAL READING

217

Rural Health: Improving mental health help for farmers in the face of increased droughts and rising temperatures

221

Our agricultural future will be defined by Science and Innovation – we need to get used to it.

Youth and Succession Planning: The young Aussie woman challenging traditional views of farm succession planning

225

229

When cropping meets the carbon economy: play the offensive game

233

Social licence in the 2020s - By Colin Bettles, Grain Producers Australia

237

Innovations for a climate resilient sustainable agricultural sector By Shahbaz Mushtaq

Educating future leaders of the Ag workforce - Dr Simon Livingstone and Luciano Mesiti

241

245

Community connections: The key to disaster resilience -

248 – Partners & Credits

252 – Editorial Advisory Board

Thank you to Australia's farmer peak bodies and other NFPs for their support and encouragement

Importers' Association • Australian Livestock Property Agents • Australian Lot Feeders Association • Australian Mango Industry Association • Australian Mushroom Growers Association • Australian Seeds Authority • Australian Seed Federation • Australian Society of Agronomy • Agricultural Shows Australia • Agrifutures Australia • Australian Table Grape Association Finally, we are particularly appreciative of regional federal MPs the Hon. Bob Katter and the Hon. Michelle Landry for their enthusiastic embrace of this project and willingness to share The Austral- ian Farmer with their farming constituents. reaching not only Australian farmers, but a wider rural audience. In addition, many peak bodies and their repre- sentatives provided important and valuable input that enabled us to fine-tune our content and make sure the publication was interesting, informative and instructive to Australia’s farmers. As such, we would like to deliver the warmest thanks and ac- knowledgment to the peak bodies listed here.

• Australian Agritech Association • Australian Bushmen's Campdraft and Rodeo Association • Australian Banana Growers' Council • Australian Chicken Growers' Council • Australian Custard Apple Growers Association • Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association Limited • Australian Farmers Market Association • Australian Grape & Wine Inc • Australian Horse Industry Council • Australian Horticultural Exporters' and It’s no exaggeration to say that the first volume of The Australian Farmer would not have existed with- out the support and outstanding leadership shown by many peak bodies across all facets of Australian agriculture. And that support and encouragement was equally vital to the health of this book, the second volume of The Australian Farmer . Our gratitude is owed to the excellent and hard- working peak farming bodies for their much-appre- ciated assistance in distributing both volumes of The Australian Farmer to their many farming mem- bers. In doing so, they continue to provide Austral- ian farmers with the resources and knowledge to be more productive and profitable. Our analysis shows that this distribution effort was highly effective in

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• Australian Women in Agriculture • AUSVEG • Avocados Australia • Beef cattle breeders - various: Australian

• Fertilizer Australia • FNQ Growers • Fruit Growers Victoria • Fruit Producers SA • Future Farmers Network • Grain - various: Grain Producers Australia, Grain Industry Association of South Australia, Queensland Agricultural Merchants, Grain Producers South Australia • Goat Industry Council of Australia • Irrigation Australia • Livestock SA • Melons Australia • Maize Association of Australia • NT Farmers Association • NT Show Council • Nursery and Garden Industry for NSW & ACT • Nursery and Garden Industry Victoria • Nuts - various: Almond Board of Australia, Hazelnut Growers

NSW Stud Merino Breeders Association Ltd, Merino SA

• Passionfruit Australia • Protected Cropping Australia • Queensland Country Women's Association • Queensland Farmers’ Federation • Regional-rural sport - various: NSW Rugby League, Queensland Rugby League • Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia • Secondary education - various: ASTA, DATTA (QLD), ITE (NSW), Australian Boarding Schools Association, Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia

Limousin Breeders' Society Ltd, Charolais Society of Australia, Herefords Australia, Australian Brahman Breeders’ Association, Australian Brangus Cattle Association, Australian Galloway Association, Angus Australia, Droughtmaster Australia, Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen's Association. Australian Lowline Cattle Association, Australian Red Poll Cattle Breeders Inc

• Berries Australia • Cattle Australia • Cherry Growers Australia • Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia

• Society of Precision Agriculture Australia

• Soil Science Australia • Summerfruit Australia • Tasmanian Women in Agriculture • Tractors and Machinery Association of Australia • Turf Australia • Victorian Agricultural Shows Ltd

• CANEGROWERS • Cotton - various :

of Australia, Pistachio Growers' Association Incorporated, Chestnuts Australia Inc, Australian

Australian Cotton Shippers, Cotton Australia, Women in Cotton

Walnut Industry Association, Australian Macadamia Society

• Dairy - various: South Australian Dairyfarmers

• Ovine - various: Sheep Producers Australia,

Association, Australian Dairy Products Federation, Dairy NSW, Dairy Research Foundation

Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders,

Foreword By Andrew Weidemann AM

the most of this important role. I have since 2016 developed a close professional relation- ship with the company’s senior management and consider them to be both very talented and earn- est; their values are of the highest order. I am personally committed to helping ensure TAF’s positive impact on Australian agriculture continues – its future utility will mostly depend on the support One Mandate Group receives from the various corners across the na- tion’s agricultural landscape.

publication in its category. This multi-decade company, based in Sydney NSW, has built a vast network of distinguished writers including agricultural scientists, educators and advocates from government, private industry and academia that looks to be without peer. Their book of distinction, that undergoes digital delivery via 50+ agricultural peak bodies, is helping to promote cross-pollina- tion of innovative ideas and lift the narrative around innovation prin- ciples and practices, that are of universally relevance, in a mean- ingful way for 125,000 farmers and those that support them. Most pleasing is their commit- ment, as a NFP, to rural commun- ity-related objectives. I note, for example, they have a number of CSR initiatives including a free printed TAF distribution for 100s of high schools via the Primary Indus- tries Education Foundation Aus- tralia, an editorial focus on women in ag and a history of donating to various rural causes. Recently, having been a TAF Advisory Board Member since its inception, I have eagerly as- sented to the publisher’s invita- tion to become TAF’s new Patron – replacing the late Major General Michael Jeffery who was, follow- ing his tenure as Governor Gen- eral, the world’s first national soil health advocate. With big shoes to fill, I am earnest about making

With a 30+ year farming history built on principles of early adoption of technology and investment in R&D, quality literature examining latest trends in modern agriculture has al- ways been important to me. I have, for example, been an avid reader of specialist publisher One Man- date Group’s The Australian Farmer (TAF), a deluxe digital book and at- tendant web platform campaign, since its original launch in 2017. TAF offers the forward-thinking Australian farmer and other pro- fessionals working in the wider agricultural economy something profoundly unique and increasingly useful to support their decision making: access to latest advance- ments in agricultural science, in- novation, technology, productivity and profitability at the national level. As an example of practical innovation, which I have been fas- cinated in personally for several decades, the group I currently chair has developed the first voluntary code for autonomous farm equip- ment which has been promoted world-wide as a major step forward for agriculture. Innovations like this one demonstrate the merit of long- term investment made by farming businesses right across the country as the industry seeks to maintain a competitive edge. I have enjoyed watching TAF continue to deliver value to our industry over the years and now consider it Australia’s leading

Andrew Weidemann AM, A third-generation farmer from Rupanyup in Victoria’s Wimmera Region Chairman of Grain Producers Australia and Patron of The Australian Farmer (TAF) Digital Book and web campaign.

1 Digital Technology

the australian farmer

Digital Agriculture: A Tale of Unrealised Expectations? By Simon Cook, Elizabeth L. Jackson, and Derek Baker. An insider’s guide to raising capital in the agtech sector. As the AgTech bubble runs out of hot air, what have we learnt? Professor Andrew Robson. Digital Transformation in Agriculture: Making Farming Efficient, Precise & Productive - By Dr Imran Ali.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Digital Agriculture: A Tale of Unrealised Expectations?

By Prof. Simon Cook, Dr. Elizabeth L. Jackson, and Prof. Derek Baker.

Time to build on the success of bottom-up and multi-disciplinary approaches, for more industry led agricultural innovations that add value.

technology. But clarity is needed to explain how change is likely to occur, what drives and what obstructs change, given the pe- culiarities of agriculture and the array of factors to consider. Here we attempt to demystify the pro- cess of digitisation for Australian agriculture to establish a solid basis for expectations. We do so by: 1. Defining the potential for

have no doubt that digital tech- nology will ultimately deliver major change to Australian agri- culture. But what will this change look like to Aussie farmers, and how can they meaningfully en- gage? In the absence of concrete analysis, narratives can evap- orate and leave people disillu- sioned, creating a problem for those doggedly pursuing authen- tic progress. Agriculture, we know, has enormous potential for pro- ductive change through digital

Digital agriculture has attracted plenty of excitement in recent years from investors – close to USD30B a year so far and increas- ing, pandemic notwithstanding. The vision of drones zooming over Australian rural landscapes to de- tect crop nutrition status or of ro- bots tending vertical farms make a good story. And though narra- tives are powerful influencers for change as pointed out by Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller i , many are built on uncertain foundations. We, too, like these ideas and

digital agriculture globally as food systems respond to growing demand;

2. Explaining

common

causes of failure; 3. Identifying the different pathways to success - how they work and how they can be realised in Austral- ian agriculture; and 4. Finally, we focus on what farmers can expect from these changes, and what they and their partners need to do to lever the power of digital for sus- tainable growth.

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THE GLOBAL POTENTIAL FOR DIGITALLY-DRIVEN CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE Numerous recent research en- deavours and reports have highlighted this, including – • McKinsey ii , reporting Agri- culture to be the least digital of all sectors in the US and Australia, and major change to be inevit- able. As digitisation of business processes and supply chains will create economic growth, it can- not be ignored. • The World Bank concluded that data are our future iii , identifying the under- utilisation of existing data by society, and calling for a re-imagining of data usage and re-usage to forge eco- nomic and social value. • In Australia, AUD30B of change is expected iv , mainly through production gains in grains and livestock. In- vestment in Agri-food Tech is on a steep upward trajec- tory, with investment at the farm-gate end of the supply chain gaining momentum. • The World Economic Forum v highlights digital innovation in global food systems, discussing inclu- sive and sustainable food systems from the perspec- tives of technology (e.g. artificial intelligence and blockchain), as well as human decision making. • Lajoie-O’Malley and others vi point to the role of digital

technology for gains in food system sustainability, encouraging an ecosystem view of food systems and posits that ecosystems ser- vice researchers’ contribu- tions to digital agriculture advancements could result in a more responsible pro- vision of food to society.

from other areas. 3. Process failure is the most common cause, by far. This occurs when the system around the tech- nology (especially people and organisations) hasn’t been considered, and is what scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) call the ”Technology Fallacy”. PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS “Everybody is trying to figure out where the value is?” bemoaned a 2017 Wall Street Journal article about the disappointing adop- tion of digital agriculture in the US. So, what indeed are the path- ways to value and success? Let’s focus on some basics: • Value must be created - though this seems ob- vious, we sometimes find the technology so exciting that we forget to ask “how will it pay for itself?”; • Value must be shared be-

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG? Theory and practice don’t always align. In our experience, we’ve seen three types of failures: 1. User failure. Farmers or other users either aren’t in- terested in change, or don’t see enough value in the change to invest in it. This is the rarest type of failure. 2. Technology failure is still worryingly common. Sometimes the technol- ogy is just too difficult to get to work or expensive to manage. This type of failure often occurs when technology has been sim- ply transposed to farming

tween different actors - particularly along supply

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY chains, in a business pro- cess that is sustainable; and • The process must be scal- able. • This last point is often overlooked yet it’s vital, because the ways in which organisations capture value from digital tech- nology vary significantly. From a classification de- veloped in UK manufactur- ing, we call these : • The “John Deere model”- much farm machinery comes with a mass of em- bedded digital technol- ogy, with farmers using the technology to improve field operations; • The “CBH model” - value is created in bulk commod- ities through management of scaled-up processes, with scale operators using digital technology to manage processes on be- half of farmer customers; • The “Syngenta model”

Services (DAS), digital trading, landscape valuation, and OFE (On-Farm Experimentation). Graincast™, Australia's first re- al-time grain forecast platform, was developed with CSIRO’s expertise in grain forecasting, climate, remote sensing, data management, software engin- eering, and social innovation. This app assists grain grow- ers with crop decision making through making available yield data - from individual paddocks and across the whole farm. MEAT AND LIVESTOCK INDUS- TRIES Satellite imagery pasture evalu- ation, electronic identification (eID), animal welfare monitor- ing and dual-energy x-ray ab- sorptiometry technology (more commonly known as “DEXA”) for meat quality grading, have al- ready become an integral part of the Meat and Livestock industry, with some common failures and successes. HIGH VALUE PRODUCT Digitally enhanced connectivity between consumer and producer has been growing in popularity and effectiveness. In the coffee industry, CROPSTER is a great example of software which con- nects coffee professionals world- wide from producers all the way through to people in cafes, work- ing with small to large businesses across the coffee supply chain to deliver solutions that add value. In Australia, the FA CRC is co-creating projects in numer- ous dimensions of the agri-food

“disruptors” which provide digital services connecting farm- ers, processors, intermediaries, retailers, consumers, and many more. Many such services are new and developing rapidly, with weak and strong ties to what we have always thought of as the “farm economy”, as well as links to other industries and their commercial practices. Above all, leadership is re- quired to take aspirations of value creation from digital agri- culture into the future. Govern- ment leadership is the most traditional and obvious source of leadership. There is evidence of this playing-out in our Fed- eral Minister for Agriculture’s 2022 pledge of $68 million to im- prove traceability systems alone. Leadership is, however, being realised in new forms unique to Australia. An example is the Food Agility Co-operative Research Centre (FA CRC) which is partner- ing government, academia, and industry for the co-creation of es- tablishing new data-driven tech- nology for the agri-food industry. HOW WILL DIGITAL AGRICUL- TURE APPEAR AMONGST AUS- TRALIAN PRODUCERS? A number of ways Digital Agri- culture (DA) has been enhancing Australian Agriculture, specific- ally Grains, Meat and Livestock, Dairy and High Value Product, include the following: GRAINS INDUSTRY The Australian Grains industry has several DA tools, such as Graincast, Digital Agriculture

- rich sources of data are available to farmers through technology em- bedded in chemical or seed product; and • The “CSBP model” - sup- pliers of “standard” inputs may embed digital tech- nology in production pro- cesses for users to get more value out of these inputs. The examples above derive from incumbents in value chains. Moreover, a range of additional opportunities are emerging to exploit opportunities for digital services. These are the so-called

the australian farmer

industry whereby technology is enabling value creation in high-value products. Examples include disease monitoring in shellfish to reduce cost of clos- ures; and blockchain technology in the cherry market to improve biosecurity, improve supply chain efficiency, and reduce the incidents of unnecessary prod- uct recalls. WHAT THEN IS THE ROLE FOR “DIGITAL FARMERS”? While patchy success has been enjoyed in the uptake of digital farming innovations, most of the above business models remain cases in which farmers are recipi- ents of digital products rather than co-developers. In the past, they have been privileged with innovations being introduced to them, with supported learn- ing. Change was seen as the role of government extension services, and for many this echo persists. We think this needs to change, particularly in coun- tries like Australia where public- ly-funded agricultural research and extension is diminishing. Signs of demand for pivoting away from government-funded agricultural science in Australia included organisations like the Grower Group Alliance in West- ern Australia, where innovation needs are being placed into the hands of producers, as well as the Co-operative Research Cen- tres (CRCs) whereby research is funded through co-operation between Private Industry and Government. While such prom- ising structures are on the rise,

agriculture remains the least digitised of all sectors in the US and Australian economies viii ix . While no one wants to distract farmers unnecessarily from their core business, their participa- tion is paramount. It is import- ant that farmers engage in the development of business cases to help adopt digital technolo- gies in ways that advance farm management and supply chain performance alike. How can this happen? The key is to develop digital skills amongst producers and their partners through farmer-cen- tric organisation, such as we’ve developed for on-farm experi- mentation. Not that farmers themselves need to become digital specialists, but rather that they engage closely with the pro- cess to ensure that management evolves through technology. This will not succeed through top-down, externally driven pro- cesses similar to the government

extension services that were widespread until the 1990s, but through the growth of endogen- ous, farmer-driven, digitally-en- hanced business use cases that meet the requirements men- tioned in (3) above and deliver value along the supply chain x . For this to occur, farmers and their consultants must imitate what other industries are doing and prepare to allocate time and money to engage with innov- ation ecosystems in ways that support the evolution and scal- ing up of successful digital busi- ness models. The top-down/bottom-up concept xi is drawn from market- ing science whereby new product development executives have determined what consumers need and have set manufactur- ing and service provision in place to align with market forecasts (i.e. top-down). The bottom-up approach flips this logic on its head to suggest that consumers

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

of delivery, and the availability of multiple communication channels such as CRCs and producer groups as mentioned above. Australian industry’s generally low level of engagement with universities for research and innovation xii is evi- dent as universities struggle to en- gage in the new communication channels, and also with the new “breeds” of firm – big and small – selling DA to farms and the food industry more generally. A pressing issue, and one that is directly within the control of farm- ers, is that of education. It has long been known that educated people (not only in the farming commun- ity) are more likely to explore and adopt innovations; this applies regardless of the source of that education (i.e. higher education, further education or local educa- tion). The profile of people new to agriculture has never been more diverse and the imperative is for this diversity to grow. We predict an expanded disciplinary base for knowledge growth and a “holy trinity” of skills: • Biological scientists – to understand the complex biological processes in- volved in creating value from a farm business; • Data scientists – to create methods of capturing and reporting meaningful data that adds value to the farm business; and • Behavioural scientists – to

reason why this concept cannot be translated into digital trans- formation in agriculture whereby farmers, as consumers of digital in- novation, provide developers with their user requirements. Until that occurs, digital adoption is likely to be slow, farmer-alien and discon- nected with many of the opportun- ities that await digital agriculture. WHAT’S NEXT FOR DIGITAL AGRI- CULTURE AND FARMER LEARN- ING? Lack of digital connectivity is a genuine barrier to the adoption of digital innovations in regional, rural and remote communities. Yet the situation is steadily improving, in Australia at least. However, this is a barrier that can be questioned with governments. Our traditional mechanisms for extension of scientific discovery to farmers have shifted over time, to reflect the iterative nature of in- novation, the changed economics

and their needs are what should be driving innovation. When one thinks of a pyramid whereby there are few corporate decision makers at the top and numerous consum- ers at the bottom; the flow of ideas and decision making about innova- tion development had traditionally filtered from the top of the pyra- mid to the bottom, whereas the bottom-up approach now seems to be gaining traction. Simanis and Duke (2014) give multiple ex- amples of where the top-down approach has failed (e.g. the poor response of sub-Saharan Africans to insecticide-treated bed nets) as it risks alienating those who use the consumer innovations, while the bottom-up approach has made high-impact on society (e.g. an e-verification solution for tracking genuine agricultural in- puts, whereby African farmers can verify the authenticity of seeds or pesticides via their mobile phones at agro-dealer shops). There is no

understand that knowledge creation and therefore value creation from new ways of innovation requires change

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to the farm business and its bio- logical and social environments xiii . Peak industry councils like the newly-launched Cattle Aus- tralia - national peak body for the grass-fed cattle industry to provide a unified and influential voice for producers, Wool Produ- cers Australia, and Grain Growers, among others, are contributing a great deal to the future of their respective sectors by offering scholarships to develop leader- ship capabilities amongst early to mid-career people in farming. An example includes the scholar- ship by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a course that

teaches governance principles to new and emerging leaders. This creates national networks for young people in agriculture and provides them with the appro- priate skills to lead and govern their industries into the future. However, a great deal more is needed, including contributions from outside the reach of Peak industry bodies. Acceptance of knowledge diversity is a key in- gredient in improving adoption of digital agricultural innovations and transforming how farmers learn new skills to change their farm businesses.

(sometimes uncomfortable change) to existing practi- ces (how to deal with this change is within the domain of behavioural scientists).

The core message remains that knowledge diversity, and its com- munication, is needed. Further- more, whether people new to agriculture have an education in marketing, finance, chemistry, engineering, biology or any other discipline, there must be a fun- damental understanding that farming and its associated innov- ations are multi-disciplinary, thus input is required from a plethora of skills to ensure value is added

i Shiller, R. J. (2017). Narrative Economics (Working Paper No. 23075). NBER. ii Manyika, J., Ramaswamy, S., Khanna, S., Sarrazin, H., Pinkus, G., Sethupathy, G., & Yaffe, A. (2015). Digital America: A Tale of the Haves and Have-Mores. McKinsey Global Institute. iii World Bank (Ed.). (2021). World Development Report 2021: Data for better lives. iv Burwood-Taylor, L. (2021). AgFunder AgriFoodTech Investment Report 58. v World Economic Forum. (2021, September). Food Systems: Data, Digital and Innovation Levers. vi Lajoie-O’Malley, A., Bronson, K., Van der Burg, S., & Klerkx, L. (2020). The future(s) of digital agriculture and sustainable food sys- tems: An analysis of high-level policy documents. Ecosystem Services, 45, 101183. vii Pavitt, K. (1984). Sectoral patterns of technical change: Towards a taxonomy and a theory. Research Policy, 13(6), 343–373. viii Trendov, N.K., Varas, S., & Zeng, M. (2019b). Digital technologies in agriculture and rural areas—Status report, FAO, Rome. Licence: cc by-nc-sa 3.0 igo. ix Blackburn, S., Freeland, M., & Gärtner, D. (2017). Digital Australia: Seizing opportunities from the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Digital/McKinsey. x Lacoste, M., Cook, S., McNee, M., Gale, D., Ingram, J., Bellon-Maurel, V., ... & Hall, A. (2022). On-Farm Experimentation to transform global agriculture. Nature Food, 3(1), 11-18. xi Simanis, E. & Duke, D. (2014). Profits at the Bottom of the Pyramid, Harvard Business Review. xii Wilkinson (2015). Australia's dismal, bottom-of-pack performance in university-business innovation, Financial Review. xiii Robertson, M.J., Hall, A., Walker, D., Keating, B.A., Bonnett, G. 2016. “Five Ways to Improve the Agricultural Innovation System in Australia.” Farm Policy Journal 13 (1). Prof Simon Cook is leader of the recently launched Centre for Digital Agriculture at Curtin University, which develops new technologies to help shape Western Australia’s future agricultural industry. Dr Elizabeth Jackson is a senior lecturer in Curtin University’s School of Management and Marketing, and a visiting scholar at the Royal Veterinary College (UK). Prof Derek Baker is director of the UNE Centre for Agribusiness, and Professor of Agribusiness and Value Chains at the University of New England.

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Findex partner Adam Murray on the vital considerations in agtech capital raising, including assessing value, investor preferences, and strategic decisions. raising capital in the agtech sector An insider’s guide to

While there are comparable transactions and typical rules or guidelines, at the end of the day it comes down to what the in- vestor and the founder agree on. Who do you want as investors? Investing should be a two-way street. The interests of both in- vestors and founders need to align. Outline what you want from investors: is it cash, expertise, relationships, assistance? Then think about what you don’t want

initial rounds or raising more as your product progresses.

When raising capital in the agricultural industry, you are typically dealing with either ex- pansion, new large-scale produc- tion, or emerging technologies. While Findex deals with all three, this article will focus on raising capital in the agtech space. How much does your busi- ness need and when? The first step is to ascertain how much capital your business needs and when it needs it. This will depend on what stage your business is at: for example, you may be ready to go to market, ramp up production, or be in the middle of R&D. Working out the true amount needed to cover all costs to the business and achieve your goals means assessing the pros and cons of raising more in

What is the value? One of the most difficult things to do in the early stages of your agtech business is to determine what your company is worth. Instead, try asking yourself this: how much ownership are you willing to give up raising your de- sired sum of capital? While there are various ways to calculate the value of a business, these become less relevant the earlier in the lifecycle of the busi- ness. If you have sales and fore- casts you can generally utilise a conventional valuation tech- nique, however, if you are raising money to fund a prototype or R&D this becomes a lot harder.

DID YOU KNOW

In Australia, investment in agrifood tech totalled $245.7 million in 2022. That’s up a massive 200 per cent on 2019.

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to agribusinesses, however in- formation is usually more de- veloped, and the investors tend to enter the picture at a later stage. Adam Murray is a partner at Findex, which supports small and medium enterprises in Aus- tralia through startup, expan- sion and continued growth. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the thought or position of Findex (Aust) Pty Ltd.

crowd funding; and certain venture capital funds. • Growth and expansion: venture capital; private equity; strategic investors; family offices; investment funds; and an IPO. There are pros and cons to each of these so it’s worth dis- cussing this with a professional adviser who can help you make the right strategic decision. While these are the initial steps in capital raising in the agtech sector, the same principles apply

from investors, such as micro- managing, over reporting, and time wasting. Setting out some simple dos and don’ts will help manage ex- pectations so both parties are clear on their involvement before accepting any investment. Who do you raise funds from? Depending on the stage of your business, any of the follow- ing investors may be desirable: • Early stage: friends and

family; sophisticated in- vestors; debt funding,

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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

As the AgTech bubble runs out of hot air, what have we learnt?

By Professor Andrew Robson

Is communication, or more specifically asking industry what they actually want, the main reason for the poor translation of the billions of dollars spent on the BigData, Drones, AgTech booms into on farm adoption and broad scale industry change?

University of New England (UNE). I have an associate degree, a bachelor’s degree and a PhD all majoring in remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and am currently the Director of UNE’s Applied Agricultural Remote Sensing Centre (AARSC), where we work across 20 industries globally. I am also an oyster farmer based on Moreton Island (Mulgumpin), Queensland, and President of the Queensland Oyster Growers Association. Back to the LinkedIn article. It showed the following animation and the heading: Ag thought of the week: Is low adoption of cer- tain AgTech solutions due to anx- iety and fear? As mentioned, this stirred a reaction. Being around to see the Big Data, Drone, AgTech, Ma-

When asked to put together an AgTech thought leadership arti- cle for The Australian Farmer I was a “on the fence”, as I am definitely not the best person to over promote the Agtech “uni- corn”, and the words “disrupt”, “agile” and “game-changer” do not readily inhabit my vocabu- lary (nor that of any farmer I know). Then inspiration came from a posted article on social media’s LinkedIn that provided a perfect narrative for this story. Before I get into this moment of enlightenment, you may ask “who am I?” and “what would I know?”. In response, I have worked within agricultural re- search for 30 years including ex- tended stints with both the New South Wales and Queensland De- partments of Primary Industries and for the last ten years with the

chine Learning /Artificial Intelli- gence and now RegenerativeAg booms, it astounds me (and surely fatigues all) that the same pattern occurs time and time again. A small whisper of these technological incarnations be- comes a roar of frothing excite- ment where billions of dollars are spent on good salesmanship and invention which ultimately fails to translate to comparable advancement on the ground. The tech, the analytics, the accessibility are all there, so where does it go wrong? I simply believe this failure is predomin- antly due to a lack of communi- cation between tech developers and industry need. Going back to our bird scen- ario. The Agtech perspective on

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this is all about the cage that they have gloriously removed to allow the bird to be free (techno- logical advancement). But as the bird doesn’t embrace this then it must be afraid or suffer from anxiety i.e. the bird’s fault. What if we started this process by ask- ing or considering what the bird actually wants or why it is in a cage in the first place? Maybe it wants to be in the cage, maybe it doesn’t fly, maybe there is a cat sitting on the outside and by assuming the cage is not needed you have sentenced the poor fella to being lunch. A simple way for Agtech pro- viders to flip the scenario and put themselves in the “bird’s/ grow- er’s shoes” is do they own a ro- botic vacuum, an electric car, and a fully solar powered energy effi- cient building? If not why? They incorporate cutting edge tech, offer massive efficiencies (labour and power), and are better for the environment. Would it not be con- sidered hypocritical if these de- velopers do not have these latest technological advancements in their own places of business, are they scared? Furthermore, if they do in fact have all these things, have they read all the manuals to ensure they are using all the func- tionality appropriately to get the best result? Following these trains of thought, I don’t think it’s fair to suggest a grower suffers from fear or anxiety because they ha- ven’t adopted the latest tech. The failures are more likely to be due to the cost of tech, the relevance of the tech to their

(LinkedIn post by Nathan Faleide 19th Sept 2024).

proposed solution (validation); and then support on how to adopt, apply, interpret, and then maintain the technical solution into common day practice. Tree crops: A nice example of application driving Agtech Starting with the industry need. In 2014, CEOs from three Aus- tralian tree crop industry associ- ations identified two main needs: The first was to have a more ac- curate understanding of the ex- tent (location and area) of their respective industries, the second was having a more accurate way for predicting yield earlier in the growing season. This request came at the start of the “Drone” and subsequent “Agtech” booms and as such there was the opportunity to throw

needs, the time required to learn and adopt it as well as change from current practice, and also ongoing support. There are many drones gathering dust due to dif- ficulties in downloading, analys- ing and understanding the data, not to mention flat batteries and broken propellers. From my experience, the fol- lowing guidelines have led to the successful development and adoption of Agtech that tran- scends most of the “booms”. These are: find out what are the main three limitations to the current farming operation (the need); find out what are the cur- rent commercial practices and what are the short falls; find out what tech is best suited for the required application; find out how accurate and reliable is the

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

has now encouraged many more industries to be mapped in Aus- tralia as well as other countries, it has achieved the glorious status of Agriculture 4.0. For yield forecasting, I am still perplexed on how growers are supposed to navigate all the tech- nologies, understand how to use them effectively “off the shelf” and how to integrate them into the farming system. No wonder the bird has anxiety. In order to find the best solutions, the extended team assessed space, airborne, and ground based sensors including hyperspectral, multispec- tral, thermal, and LiDAR for accur- acies and practicalities of use. Here are some main findings and observations: From the very outset there was no infor- mation on how best to acquire drone imagery of tree crops

ment through mobile and web based Apps and ground truth- ing. The mapping of tree crops was a major achievement for digitally empowering a num- ber of industries by delivering essential base line data that provided an accurate measure of current industry size and an- nual change, informs decisions around labour, infrastructure, traceability, forward selling, and improved preparedness and re- sponse to natural disasters and biosecurity threats. The freely available map has been adopted directly on each industries web- site to assist grower engage- ment as well has been used by ABARES, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Harvest trail, and the Murray Darling Basin Au- thority. This successful integra- tion of Agtech and industry need

everything at these two needs including satellites, drones, air- planes, robots, ML/AI, MobileApps, hyperspectral, multispectral, ther- mal, LiDAR, carrier pigeons. There was also the opportunity to bring together a strong collaboration of expertise from industry, univer- sity, government departments of primary industry and commercial developers. With all that engage- ment, testing and validation there were some wins that have been adopted and continue to grow. The Australian Tree Crop Map Dashboard which identifies the location and area of all avo- cado, mango, macadamia, cit- rus, olive, and banana orchards nationally was developed using an integration of remote sens- ing (aerial and satellite), the digitisation of existing industry data, citizen science engage-

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not one Agtech could do it all, and that it was the application that best dictated the best tech and analysis methodology to use. Professor Andrew Robson is Director of the Applied Agricul- tural Remote Sensing Centre at University of New England. For more than a decade, he was also senior research scientist (Agricultural remote sensing) in the Queensland Government’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

be a reliable predictor for tree crop yield at the block and farm level (this methodology is now being deployed across seven countries); thermal imagery was the most accurate for identifying specific diseases such as Phyto- phthora; Specific wavelengths from hyperspectral imagery that were found to correlate with specific constraints were gen- erally not transferable to other growing locations and seasons due to the influence of other growing constraints. The moral of the story is that

for yield forecasting i.e. time of day, flight direction, image overlap, speed etc. Then it was found that no sensors could ac- curately count all the fruit on avocado and citrus trees due to fruit growing within the canopy, in short if you can’t see it then neither can optical sensors. Ground based sensors were able to count fruit on mango as the fruit hang below the can- opy; historic imagery identify- ing seasonal growth patterns and their subsequent correla- tion to annual yield proved to

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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

Digital Transformation in Agriculture: Making Farming Efficient, Precise & Productive

By Dr Imran Ali

Amid the rising uncertainty and volatility in agriculture, there probably is no better way for farming systems to survive and thrive than digital transformation – all important data at the farmer’s fingertips 24/7.

tion compared to others that do not. We find that the per- formance and profitability sig- nificantly outweigh the costs incurred by digital transform- ation. Digital transformation substantially reduces labour dependency, input waste and the cost of doing business. The digitally connected farmers can receive real-time informa- tion on food demand, market dynamics and changing con- sumer preferences, lowering information asymmetries and transaction costs. The digital transformation thus revolu- tionises the farming systems in ways not previously seen. The following section sheds some light on the most popu- lar digital technologies, and how they work to boost the efficiency, productivity, trans- parency, and profitability of farming systems.

shelves were seen in some supermarkets while, at the same time, surplus produce had to be dumped on farms. The country’s state govern- ments’ health measures ex- acerbated the issues of labour shortage and excessive delays in farm operations. In the wake of these chal- lenges, digital transforma- tion – integration of digital technologies in business operations – was catapulted to the top of discussion to re- invigorate the current farm- ing systems to prepare them for similar unforeseen events. Our research at CQUniversity examines the impact of digital transformation on agricultural operations. The analysis un- covers a significant difference in operational efficiency and productivity among the firms that adopt digital transforma-

The global population is esti- mated to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, implying that agrifood demand will continue to rise worldwide in the coming dec- ades. Specifically, a surge in the middle-class population among our neighbours in Asia bolsters the prospects for con- siderable growth in Australian food export. Meanwhile, our farmers continue confronting formidable challenges, such as increasing cost of labour, unavailability of skilled work- force, reduction in water availability, more frequent ex- treme weather events due to changing climate conditions, and fragmented value chains with asymmetric patterns of information sharing between trading partners. The COVID- 19 pandemic has witnessed the weakness of traditional farming systems where empty

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