The levy-funded Global Innovations in Horticulture Seminar has given Australian vegetable growers a look at the new technologies and practices coming down the pipeline and being used in cutting-edge growing operations around the world.

With Greg Fraser (PHA) as the MC, a line-up of expert speakers, both local and international, shared their insights and experience with attendees to help Australian industry understand what’s going on overseas and how this technology can help our businesses become more competitive.

For example, sustainable resource use is becoming more and more important in a changing climate, so learning about global efforts to grow more with less, including innovative techniques like vertical farming, helps our industry understand new methods of sustainable vegetable production.

In another vein, delegates heard about how technology is enabling better traceability for fresh produce, meaning growers can provide consumers with peace of mind about food safety and quality. For a full write-up of Sandon Adams’ presentation about traceability, see this great article from Good Fruit & Vegetables.

The full speaker line-up, including panellists, included:

• Erik Pekkeriet (Wageningen University) talking about the use of new technologies like robotics in horticulture to feed the world
• Kevin Walsh (Monsanto Company) promoting labour-saving traits being bred into vegetable seeds and how they can help businesses
• Nicolas Tsurukawa (Urban Crop Solutions) on vertical indoor farming and how to make it profitable
• Maarten van Ham (Multi Tool Trac) on the innovative tractor tech that’s meeting grower demands
• Sandon Adams (Oritain) discussing scientific traceability and how it can be used to protect reputations and prove the origin of produce
• Michael Manion (Keon Research) talking about creating opportunities through prolific invention
• A robotics panel of Salah Sukkarieh (The Australian Centre for Field Robotics), Peyman Moghadam (CSIRO Data61) and Jesse Reader (Bosch) discussing the latest innovations in robotics technology and how they can be applied to horticulture.

In coming weeks, we’ll be uploading a full recap of these presentations, including making videos of the presenters available through our YouTube channel. We’ve also collected some photos from this levy-funded event, which you can take a look at below!

For AUSVEG’s media statement about this levy-funded event, see here.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 21 June 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!