Drones, technology that turns fruit waste into vodka and an advanced weather forecasting system seem an unlikely mix but were fertile ground for discussion at an agtech event in Toowoomba.
The innovations were just some of the incredible new agtech shared at the GroundUp Agtech Showcase Day on Thursday, 16 February.
Held at the Agtech and Logistics Hub in Wellcamp, the event showcased some trailblazers from horticulture and other agricultural sectors, including 7NEWS weather presenter Jane Bunn, as well as innovations from participants in the grains industry-focused GroundUp accelerator program.
About 200 people immersed themselves in the latest tech in grains and agriculture, including growers, producers and businesspeople with an interest in agriculture.
The showcase included participants from GroundUp, an accelerator run by the Agtech and Logistics Hub, a premier innovation space, with support from the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).
Through GroundUp, GRDC invests exclusively in innovative start-ups that have the potential to benefit Australian graingrowers.
Participants demonstrated how their products and services could benefit the grains sector, including Joseph Canning of Hawkeye Access, a drone support startup based in Gatton.
“Our drones can be taught to find something in the field that is important to the farmer,” he said.
“Anything that is important and bigger than five millimetres we can find, including diseases and pests.”
Another GroundUp participant, David McGrath from MagrowTec, pitched his company’s crop spraying technology – a retrofittable device for tractors that improves spray coverage – to potential customers.
There are already 300 of the devices installed and working commercially across the world, and it is Mr McGrath’s job to deploy the tech in Australia and New Zealand.
“Spray drift is a massive problem here in Australia, and the device has drift reduction accreditation out of Europe,” he said.
“With all the connections on the Darling Downs, where there are some of the most sophisticated grain and cotton growers on the planet, I thought the GroundUp program would be a good door- opener and it has been,” the commercial manager said.
Agtech and Logistics Hub director Thomas Hall said it was great to offer innovators the opportunity to collaborate with industry and present their products and services to potential customers to refine market fit.
“The showcase was also a fitting way to highlight GroundUp, a program designed to drive innovation in the grains sector, with a focus on being grower-led to find real solutions for on-farm problems,” Mr Hall said.
The agtech event also showcased products and services from a host of other innovators, including meteorologist and 7NEWS Melbourne weather presenter Jane Bunn.
Ms Bunn is the founder and CEO of Jane’s Weather, an advanced weather forecasting system to help Australian farmers boost agricultural output.
“This is achieved by combining top-performing global weather models and training them to provide guidance specifically for your farm using on-site observations,” Ms Bunn said.
In addition to standard weather variables, Jane’s Weather creates agriculture-specific forecasts such as those for good spraying conditions, growing degree days to plan the harvest and evapotranspiration to schedule irrigation.
Brisbane-based Whitestone Industries also shared its cutting-edge process that turns fruit waste into vodka.
Founder Alexander Bell said he had been developing the technology for 18 months and is finalising funding to build a distillery to produce the vodka, created via a process involving enzymes and heat pumps.
“The whole idea is that fruit waste doesn’t actually go to waste,” he said.
“We are starting off with vodka, but our goal is to address the larger supply chain waste problem
through upcycling into other industrial chemicals.”
Other exhibitors included digital traceability company iTrazo, compost tech startup Monty Compost Co, precise irrigation provider N-Drip and aerial survey provider AirBorn Insight.
