Knowledge for selections
Automated knowledge assortment, nevertheless, is an space the place know-how has delivered advantages for Battunga Orchards. The Canadian-developed Vivid Machines cover scanner now captures fruit counts, sizes, bud numbers and progress charges throughout 30% of orchard blocks, serving to Mark make quicker, extra knowledgeable administration selections.
“We used to depend 5 timber in a block; now we scan each third row. The info is extra sturdy, and we are able to monitor fruit progress. One block’s estimate was inside two or three bins of the ultimate tally,” he says.
Mark additionally sees potential in superior irrigation know-how, notably as drought tightens water provides this 12 months. Regardless of having a state-of-the-art system on one farm, moisture monitoring nonetheless depends on guide probes. “We’ve been too comfy with our water provide – it’s not till you get bitten that you just suppose, perhaps we are able to do one thing higher right here.”
A name for grower identification and fit-for-purpose imports
Past the farm gate, Mark believes there’s an issue with international provide chain collaboration, and higher transparency is required, together with grower identification, notably for the horticulture business.
“It’s one of many solely industries on the planet the place the individuals who do it properly, aren’t identified. No person is aware of the growers – who’s good and who isn’t. For export, if growers have been identified extra, patrons might search them out,” he says, pointing to branding, traceability, and QR codes as a part of the answer.
And whereas Australian growers are keen adopters of abroad innovation, local weather and system variations usually restrict success. “Too usually, one thing’s imported with out correct native testing or restricted backup service. We’d like know-how that’s fit-for-purpose right here, not simply in a Northern Hemisphere orchard.”
Innovation wants native proof – the dairy perspective
A 3-hour drive west, close to Colac in southwest Victoria, Sam Simpson runs Craiglands Holsteins along with her husband Mark Billing, on a fourth-generation, 450-hectare dryland dairy farm milking between 380–420 cows. The household has witnessed a century of change, from hand-feeding grain to computer-controlled collars that mechanically ship rations primarily based on every cow’s wants.
“Know-how has reworked the best way we handle inventory – from perception into animal well being and mating behaviour to higher record-keeping for the entire enterprise,” Sam says.
Early adopters of GEA’s CowScout collar system and administration software program, the Billings additionally use genomics to enhance fertility, scale back methane emissions, and diversify earnings by means of crossbreeding.
Boundaries to adoption
Whereas open to innovation, Sam is obvious: new know-how should present a tangible return or meet a regulatory requirement. “If it doesn’t present an additional earnings stream or more cash in your pocket, it’s more durable to undertake until it’s pressed on you from a regulatory angle.”
Some promising instruments stay out of attain in Victoria attributable to pending laws – like digital herding, which makes use of GPS-enabled collars to maneuver cattle remotely, decreasing on-farm car use and bettering security. “It’s obtained extra worth than simply transferring inventory round. There’s additionally the potential OHS worth. Should you can scale back the hours employees spend on bikes transferring animals, you’re decreasing threat and value.”
Different Northern Hemisphere imports, reminiscent of robotic milking programs designed for barns, usually want modification for Australia’s predominantly pasture-based programs.
