DAF Director of Vegetables, Systems and Supply Chains Ian Layden

A project designed to give Australian growers a competitive edge with exclusive trials of cutting-edge global machinery kicked off in 2024, headlined by industry events and global study tours.

The project, Advanced vegetable mechanisation program to maximise labour and cost efficiency, is a $4.1M initiative to boost the adoption of advanced mechanisation technology in the Australian vegetable industry, reducing the industry’s high input costs and labour challenges that affect grower profitability.

The program will be delivered by Hort Innovation and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) in partnership with the Global Organisation for Agricultural Robotics (GOFAR) which leads the International Forum of Agricultural Robotics (FIRA).

Hort Innovation chief executive officer Brett Fifield said employing the latest technology was essential in keeping the Australian horticulture sector competitive.

“Hort Innovation plays a role in leading world-class innovation for the horticulture sector, to ensure Australian growers are able to remain globally competitive,” Mr Fifield said.

“This grower-focused program will bring global innovations directly into the hands of veggie growers, so that they can play an active role in trialling the technology and communicating its potential benefits.”

The program is committed to sharing findings with growers across the country with field days, showcase events, international study tours, webinars and more for growers to engage directly with the latest equipment and manufacturers.

DAF Director of Vegetables, Systems and Supply Chains Ian Layden said the ultimate goal of the program was to assist growers and the broader industry to adopt field technologies that would make a difference to input costs.

“Through this program and the collaboration with the Global Organisation for Agricultural Robotics (GOFAR) we are keen to see more growers actively seeking automated and mechanised machinery solutions,” Mr Layden said.

“The grower demonstration sites we establish will provide qualitative and quantitative data to highlight the potential efficiency benefits from mechanised machinery solutions, which we hope will help growers make bolder decisions about the technology they invest in support for growers to integrate new machinery into their field operations is critical, therefore growers and technology providers will be assisted by project partner Farm Concepts, who will play an important role in implementation.

“After the success of the Gatton Smart Farm AgTech Showcase in November 2023, we are already supporting Australian-first robotics trials in the Lockyer Valley, and this new investment and partnership will continue the vital research and engagement we have with vegetable growers and the global technology community.”

GOFAR’s co director Gwendoline Legrand is convinced that robots are the new era of ag machinery, and that the Australian industry is primed to adopt technology solutions.

Autonomous agtech was on display at the Gatton Smart Farm AgTech Showcase in November 2023. Einbock row guard precision guided cultivator: precision inter-row weeder, Gatton Smart Farm AgTech Showcase

“Through our global networks and knowledge of the technology sector in the US and the EU, GOFAR will provide Australia access to a global network of mechanisation manufacturers and suppliers and machines for Australian growers to trial and optimise,” Mrs Legrand said.

“We will connect growers directly to manufacturers, and other commercial growers who are actively adopting new technology.”

AUSVEG chief executive officer Michael Coote said the vegetable industry had prioritised investment in advancing technology use within the sector.

“The vegetable industry faces high input costs of labour, energy, chemicals and fertilisers which has a dramatic effect on grower profitability,” Mr Coote said.

“We know that technology to address these challenges is out there, but the process of sourcing information, engaging in discussion with manufacturers, importing and trialling machinery is time consuming and costly, which can make it prohibitive to individual growers. This program will provide our industry with unparallelled access to engage with the latest available equipment together with the information they need to make informed business decisions.”

Webinar delivers firsthand experiences

In the first webinar held for the project in July 2024, the audience heard firsthand from two growers who have adopted robotics on farm to improve production efficiencies.

Introducing the webinar, Mr Layden outlined to more than 200 attendees the scope of the Australian vegetable industry in terms of production, farmgate value, crops grown and principal growing regions.

Using data from the Global Coalition of Fresh Produce, Ian outlined the greatest challenges facing Australian growers – with labour, crop protection and fertiliser the main pain points, thereby setting the scene for the drivers to improve production efficiencies.

Jono Craven of Harvest Moon and Troy Qualishefski of Qualipac are two growers that have adopted robotics on farm to improve productivity.

Harvest Moon is principally based in Tasmania, with operations in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The major crops are carrots, onions and broccoli, as well as cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, spinach, radish and pumpkin.

The production in Tasmania is based on a cool temperate zone, red basalt soil, with a consistent 1,000mm of annual rain. The terrain, however, can be up-slope, and cross-slope sometimes as much as 15 degrees. Jono highlighted that labour was a major cost to the business, so mechanisation has become a higher priority.

Qualipac conversely operates in a tropical climate in the Lockyer Valley, Warwick and Inglewood and produces broccoli, onion and pumpkin. Corn, green beans and potatoes are grown for the processor markets. The cost of labour has prompted the business to investigate robotics.

In a panel discussion, moderated by DAF’s Julie O’Halloran both Jono and Troy outlined the application of robotics currently used on farm.

For Harvest Moon and Qualipac, weeding through mechanical or laser techniques has been employed, to eliminate laborious hand weeding.

When assessing robotic technology, both Jono and Troy looked for equipment that can be adapted to their own production systems.

“We have multiple row spacings, so we need the technology to be able to meet all of those requirements,” said Jono.

“It needs to be able to operate on a range of topographies and climates – we have a lot of wet soils on slopes so heavy tractors are not always an option.”

“At Qualipac we use a FarmDroid, which is an autonomous seeder and weeder,” said Troy. “We have also invested in an AI guided mechanical weeder, which still requires a tractor and operator.

“In both situations, I looked for something that was easy to use and operate and had supplier service support – it had to work from the day we got it.”

Looking forward, both Troy and Jono envisage that with the increasing cost of capital equipment, smaller autonomous robotics will play a bigger role in the horticulture landscape, to give lower cost operations and greater efficiencies.

The final part of the webinar provided an opportunity for three agtech companies to highlight the benefits of their technology. In a five-minute pitch, NAIO Technologies, Verdant Robotics and EcoRobotix gave attendees a taste of what is available to the Australian market.

FIND OUT MORE
Please contact Project Leader Julie O’Halloran 0409 054 263 / Julie.OHalloran@daf.qld.gov.au
To watch the webinar go to: app.swapcard.com/event/fira-australia