4/5/21 This week’s Beef 2021 conference in Rockhampton has a wide range of exhibits for every stakeholder in Australia’s cattle industry. The world’s first information platform to monitor animals using satellite capability is one of many products being launched this week at the conference, according to Beef Central . Angus Australia is hosting a panel discussion on ‘the influence of Angus genetics throughout the supply chain,’ and will highlight two producers who are using Angus genetic techniques. Other products on display include a grazing, backgrounding and breeding management app, and new fence post technology.  Western Australia will take the lead in the national oat breeding program, the McGowan government has announced. Taking over from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, the program will shift to the western state, which will become “a centre of excellence for oat research and development” according to a media statement . Western Australia is Australia’s largest producer of food grade milling oats, the statement says. West Australian agriculture and food minister Alannah MacTiernan said the program “will help farmers to diversify their products and markets, improve their productivity and profitability, and drive local jobs across regional WA.” A new online tool will help West Australian farmers and graziers make better decisions about how to manage their land. Landgate and the West Australian department of primary industries have built a platform that uses NASA imagery to measure seasonal land trends, Aimee Chanthadavong writes for ZDNet. West Australian agriculture and food minister Alannah MacTiernan said all of this information can be used to decide how much to budget on feed, for example. "This new resource will be particularly useful in dry seasons, informing crucial stock and land management decisions to best manage the condition of both the animals and the rangelands," she said. The Queensland government has built a similar platform for that state’s farmers. A research body funded by the federal government is telling Australian farmers to reach for the stars. That’s the takeaway from a new report Agribusiness Australia commissioned Australian National University (ANU) to write on the potential for satellites increase farm value and productivity, Vernon Graham writes for Queensland Country Life. Among other outcomes, the report found satellite connectivity could increase agriculture, fisheries and forestry productivity by $15.6 billion every year. Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

20/4/21 A new online platform will connect Australian farmers, businesses and researchers with global investment and commercialisation opportunities. Launched by the federal department of agriculture, water and the environment and Australia’s 15 research and development corporations, growAG.com provides partnership opportunities and allows farmers to see how their levy-funded research projects are going, according to a media release. Agriculture minister David Littleproud said, “I’m very excited about the opportunities this platform offers to help ensure farmers have access to the latest technologies. “A world class agricultural innovation system is an Australian Government priority and a key pillar in support of the industry’s target for a $100 billion sector by 2030.” GrowAG was built on the back of success at Asia-Pacific agrifood tech event evokeAG, a digital network that features news, case studies, videos, podcasts and a startup directory. The federal government has announced the recipients of its $5 billion Future Drought Fund The fund is designed to provide the investment to build Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs, which Littleproud said “will play a critical role in helping farmers and agricultural communities to be better prepared” for drought according to a statement. One hub will be built at the University of Tasmania’s Hobart campus, with regional ‘nodes’ around the state. Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) director Michael Rose said, ““The potential for drought presents both significant opportunities and challenges for the agricultural sector in Tasmania. “Better adaptation to more frequent droughts and the development of resilience is extremely important for our industry and one of our major research focuses at TIA.” Another drought hub will be built for farmers and communities throughout northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. This hub is being based at the University of Southern Queensland, Groom MP Garth Hamilton said in a statement, with nodes in Longreach, Roma, Lismore, Narrabri and Stanthorpe. A third drought hub will launch in Darwin at Charles Darwin University (CDU), supported by nodes in Katherine, Alice Springs and Perth. CDU vice-chancellor Scott Bowman said the Darwin hub “will empower primary producers with the practical tools and information they need during future dry conditions to maintain productivity, remain competitive and increase community resilience to drought impacts.”  Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

6/4/21 John Deere Australia and New Zealand managing director Luke Chandler will be among the judges of the Pitch in the Paddock innovation competition during Beef 2021. The competition, being held as part of the Australian cattle industry conference in Rockhampton from 2-8 May, is a chance for entrants to propose solutions to challenges in Australian agriculture, according to Beef Central . Applicants will pitch their solution in front of in-person attendees and a global virtual audience, and are competing for the prize of $10,000 to develop their idea. Thomas Elder Consulting’s Bruce Creek, another competition judge, told Beef Central , “(W)hat about when we can accurately measure biomass of grasses and can assist with grazing management decisions with trigger-points to be made on drought conditions? This is a great space to be in when you can objectively measure and take out emotion.” The federal government and state counterparts are continuing to offer funding to Australia’s agriculture industry. Federal agriculture minister David Littleproud said a new national manufacturing initiative “will open up further opportunities for the development of new products and the expansion of existing product lines beyond the farm gate.” Littleproud and former industry minister Karen Andrews last week announced that companies manufacturing food and beverages can now apply for funding through Modern Manufacturing Initiative. Worth $1.3 billion in total, the program aims to support businesses in specified areas to scale up and commercialise projects, David Brookes writes for Innovation Aus . The Victorian government last week launched a funding program for agriculture businesses in the state to create jobs and invest in equipment, according to a media release . Worth $15 million, the Food to Market program can be used to cover various project costs, such as research and development and feasibility studies. State agriculture minister Mary-Anne Thomas said, “This $15 million investment will add value to fresh produce grown in Victoria, delivering tangible benefits for producers, processors and consumers.” AgriFutures Australia is offering grants worth tens of thousands of dollars to increase the use of technology on farms. Farming, fishing and forestry producer groups are able to apply for a tailored technology program, including workshops, worth up to $20,000 to ensure their members are adopting the latest technology on site, according to Farm Weekly . AgriFutures Australia rural futures senior manager Jennifer Medway said, “Working with producer groups who can tailor opportunities to best meet the needs of local producers makes perfect sense.” Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

23/3/21 Major Australian supermarket chain Woolworths has innovated more last year than in the previous five years. Woolworths Group Chair Gordon Cairns made the claim at the recent 2021 Food Agility Summit as part of his keynote address, Matt Russell writes for FreshPlaza. Cairns went on to detail some of the innovations his company has brought about, such as car boot deliveries, the Basic Box delivery in partnership with couriers DHL and the ability to see when stores are at their busiest. Cairns also spoke about innovation in food production, detailing how Australians spent 60 per cent more at Woolworths in 2020 on plant-based protein products, Kim Berry writes for Food & Drink Business . He also quoted research from think tank Food Frontier that found “74 per cent of consumers said (the) Australian made (label) was important in their purchasing decision making”. A research project to measure optimal summer fruit growing and harvesting conditions is being validated to determine success.  Research scientist Mark O’Connell told the Food Agility Summit that Sensors for Summerfruit, led by Agriculture Victoria, will enable more domestic sales and exports of stone fruit by more accurately measuring fruit maturity, Matt Russell writes for Fresh Plaza. In his presentation, Dr O’Connell said, “Our approach is to develop, calibrate, validate and evaluate these sensors and platforms that will give growers and packers data and information on when to pick and any changes to orchard management." Fellow researcher Alessio Scalisi told attendees, “We are trying to predict in advance when storage disorders will develop; such as mealiness, leathery/rubbery texture and internal browning.” The project began in October 2020 and is expected to finish in early 2023. Research scientists have put out a call for dairy farmers in Victoria to validate an app that has been built to better measure and manage pasture. The DairyFeedbase Pasture Smarts project, developed in a collaboration between Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation, aims to automate dry matter yield assessment and related metrics in real time, according to Farm Online National . Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

9/3/21 Last week’s annual Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) conference saw a note of optimism despite multiple systemic challenges to primary producers. More than 1200 digital attendees registered for events from 2 to 5 March covering agriculture-related industries such as forestry, fishing and fibre along with concepts such as deglobalisation and trade, Shanna Wong writes for Food & Beverage Industry News . The conference took place with the theme, ‘Growing Australian agriculture in an uncertain world’, with federal agriculture minister David Littleproud delivering the opening address, according to Queensland Country Life . The next digital conference for agriculture stakeholders to put in their calendar is the Food Agility Summit, taking place on the 15 th and 16 th March. The forum will feature Woolworths Group Chair Gordon Cairns as the keynote speaker, according to Food Processing . Minister Littleproud has announced this year’s winners of the Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The awards recognise innovators aged 18 and 35 years old for developing a project from which Australia’s primary industries can benefit. University of Southern Queensland researcher Fraser Border won $22,000 in the Australian Meat Processor category and another $22,000 in the Minister’s Award category for his project, technology that enables meat processors to trim lean beef more accurately, according to Beef Central . Border’s project uses ultrasound sensors to calculate the depth of fat on a strip of loin and send the information to meat slicers using augemented reality. “The more you get into robotics, the more you realise just how great humans are at doing things,” Border said. Applications are now open for the 2021 Beef Industry Awards, which recognise Australian achievements in the industry. There are three categories open to nominations: Beef Achiever of the Year; Producer Innovation of the Year; and, Young Beef Ambassador of the Year, Shan Goodwin writes for Queensland Country Life . Applications to the awards close on the 25 th of March and winners will be announced at the Beef 2021 conference in Rockhampton in May. Inaugural Beef Achiever of the Year Dalene Wray told Queensland Country Life , “"Australian agriculture has a very important role to play in global supply chains and in the last three years we have seen a positive move towards a more outward-looking focus in our industry." Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

23/2/21 Rockhampton is ramping up preparations to host thought leaders and stakeholders in Australia’s cattle industry for a multi-day conference in May. From 2-8 May, the Queensland town will hold Beef Australia 2021, set to begin with a symposium presented by Central Queensland University, Beef Central reports . Talking about topical issues, the presentations will feature University of California Department of Animal Science professor Frank Mitloehner, Meat Business Women founder and global chair Laura Ryan, Macquarie Group head of agriculture Elizabeth O’Leary and Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin. At the conference, Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) will have a trade site, showcase innovative technologies and present seminars on ‘pasture dieback, genetics, and the Northern Breeding Business program’, according to a statement . MLA General Manager, research, development and adoption, Michael Crowley said that at the showcase, “producers can learn how to use data such as eating quality, pasture management and genetic selection to connect the production system with the rest of the supply chain to improve efficiency and optimise production.” A couple of new innovations are being recognised by the Australian agriculture community. One hundred Australian farmers have worked with Australian Soil Planner agronomists to develop best-practice Australian Sustainable Products (ASP) Certified standards. Said to be the first in the world, the standards benchmark regenerative and sustainable farmers and processors together with their produce, Grain Central reports . Farmers adhering to the ASP standards contributed to reducing carbon emissions by 80 per cent compared to normal wheat production results, ASP executive officer Miriam Neilson said. Neilson said certification started among grain producers, but now includes producers of beer, eggs, and livestock feed. Australian farmers will now be able to monitor water levels by connecting to low-orbit satellites. Goanna Ag, a provider of farm sensors based in Queensland, launched devices last week that connect to an Internet-of-Things network provided by Myriota, an Australian satellite company. The companies say the connection is a world-first, Joseph Brookes writes for Which-50 . Each device costs $1000 and the connection fee is a further $120 per year. Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.

An upcoming Perth grains conference will give Western Australian producers the opportunity to explore ways to neutralise their industry’s carbon emissions. The Australian Grains Research and Development Conference (GRDC) Grains Research Conference is taking place on the 22 nd and 23 rd of February and will feature leaders from academia and business. The conference will also cover how grain growers in the western state can benefit from the federal government’s Carbon Farming Initiative and Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), according to a statement . Conference organiser David Bowran said, ‘We want to help growers understand the principles, considerations and potential benefits of carbon farming, so they can make an informed decision about strategies for becoming carbon neutral.’ 18 Western Australian agribusinesses will receive a share of $10 million in grants, the state government has announced. Part of the four-year, $16.7 million Food and Beverage Fund, the government says its Value Add Investment Grants will boost manufacturing and create 600 jobs in the state, Kim Berry writes for Food & Drink Business . One of the grant recipients, V&V Walsh, will use its funding to build a cold-store facility. Kadambot Siddique , director of the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) Institute of Agriculture, has been named Western Australian Indian of the Year. Professor Siddique, who has received other distinguished national and international awards, was presented with the award by federal Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt and Federation of Indian Associations of WA chairperson Atul Garg, according to a UWA statement. This award recognises recipients for serving the community and contributing to relations between Australia and India. Northern Queensland will be boosted through a new federal government grant program. In response to the monsoon trough in 2019, the North Queensland Economic Diversification Grants program will fund $9 million of projects related to agriculture and non-agriculture in two rounds, minister David Littleproud has announced . Littleproud said each project can apply for a maximum of $500,000 funding and the focus is on generating jobs. A new tool will enable farmers and livestock companies to make better decisions about the trade-offs between animal welfare and business impact. The Animal Welfare Science Centre and Researchers at the University of Queensland recently published an article titled, ‘Costs and Benefits of Improving Farm Animal Welfare’, Beef Central reports . The article presents the trade-offs in a two-by-two grid that shows the impact various farming practices have on animals and livelihoods. Please contact me on LinkedIn here for any Australian agriculture news that’s caught your eye.