VegNET Far North Queensland Regional Update

AgriTech Solutions partnered to install the infrastructure and technology

Bowen Gumlu Growers Association (BGGA) is participating in the AgriFutures Producers Technology Uptake Program which, in the last year and along with the QRIDA Agribusiness Digital Solutions Grant Scheme, has assisted three farms to set up agtech to advance their digital agricultural practices.

This included installing automated irrigation systems, installing security cameras for WHS purposes, and enabling adoption of farm management software to enable data-driven farm management.

The Bowen and North Queensland region grows the majority of their vegetables in the dry mtropics, so effective water management is always a hot topic due to limited supply. Through PTUP, BGGA connected consultants (‘activators’) with local growers who have a vested interest in agtech.

These consultants worked closely with the growers to establish what infrastructure they already had in place, what technology would benefit the grower, and to launch a plan to set the farm up with automated irrigation technology and connected digital technologies.

BGGA then utilised the Smart Data Decision Project, funded by QRIDA, to get the trial up and running. After the consultants had identified the agtech solutions, a team of providers set about trialling the tech on farm, which included automated irrigation, soil moisture probes (EC), and the Farm In ONE system.

The Bowen Gumlu Growers Association discussed with Burdekin vegetable and melon grower Chris Lyne from Mountain View Fresh Farms regarding the opportunity to participate in innovative farm management projects focusing on irrigation automation and monitoring. At that time, Chris was utilising a basic Hunter controller, which required him mto manually set the irrigation schedules daily, including turning the system on and off.

HTM Complete was invited to collaborate with the Bowen Gumlu Association to provide a platform that improves irrigation, spraying and compliance efficiencies.

“Upgrading Chris’s irrigation system was a positive initial step toward improving time management in all aspects of irrigation, ultimately enhancing crop performance and yield,” said Fabian Gallo, owner of HTM Complete and creator of Farm In ONE.

A screenshot of the Farm In ONE app displaying irrigation status of a farm set up through the project

HTM Complete partnered with Agritech Solutions to deliver local service. Agritech Solutions installed the equipment as the local representatives for WiSA Irrigation Controllers and the Farm in ONE farm management app.

For Burdekin vegetable and melon grower Chris Lyne, the fact that he could control his irrigation from his iPad while at home was “pretty cool”. Under the program, Chris got his farm set up with automated irrigation and Farm In ONE and found he was able to optimise time, resources and crop health as a result.

“The automated irrigation has been really positive. It has allowed us to monitor irrigation a lot closer, finetune our irrigation scheduling, reduce labour and time, and have accurate recordings for traceability,” said Chris.

“The installation was done by Agritech, so that was easy. As for using the system, I didn’t find too many issues. However, it is much easier to train young workers who are fluent with technology to use the system. The weather station has been awesome, especially for rainfall.”

Based on its compatibility and functionality, the farm management software ‘Farm in ONE’ was carefully selected and has been integrated into all three farms’ operations. The digital platform is enabling comprehensive data aggregation from the installed soil moisture probes and weather stations, supporting these growers to make informed, data driven decisions. Each producer has commenced training in Farm in ONE, with modules including mapping, monitoring, irrigation, general tasks and spray scheduling

Electrical boxes were upgraded to accommodate the automated irrigation installation

In an effort to optimise the data set available to the grower, IoT-enabled soil monitoring sensors were installed to monitor the moisture in the soil. These sensors supply real-time data of soil parameters (moisture, temperature, salinity/EC) and can be integrated into the app for more informed irrigation strategies.

One weather station has also been installed in each of the Burdekin and Gumlu regions to form an extended weather network. Again, the weather data is available in the Farm In ONE app. A cornerstone of this trial was to enhance digital agricultural practices to create a connected network for data-driven farm management decision making processes.

Workplace health and safety was another area identified as potentially benefiting from better agtech. Bowen grower David from Richardsons Farms was able to access the program to have security cameras set up on his farm and in his packing sheds to monitor the safety of the employees.

At the end of October, BGGA hosted GrownInNQ – an innovation field day designed to bring agtech businesses and growers together. The three growers – Chris Lyne, Megan Spannagle, and Kayla Castorina – sat on a panel at the event to explain what technology they had installed and how it increased efficiencies across their farming enterprise. The panel was well received and help share vital information to the growing community about available agtech.

FIND OUT MORE
Please contact Richelle Kelly on 0419 429 808 or email rdo@bowengumlugrowers.com.au