IT’S all about trust. That’s the message being sent to agribusiness as it spruiks the burgeoning commercial opportunities in digital agriculture.
Aside from the usual gripes of internet connectivity in regional areas, the big question at the Outlook 2017 conference in Canberra this week was who owns and has access to the data generated in production?
And can farmers reap benefits from the information captured by new, rapidly developing technology?
There needs to be value that is visible to producers. That is the critical step to get them involved
- Richard Heath
An expert panel discussed the topic at Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) annual conference.
Australian Farm Institute general manager research Richard Heath said “there are big trust barriers to overcome to convince farmers of the value proposition” from digital technology and data capture.
“The dairy industry is a good example of tension between processors and producers,” Mr Heath said.
“To make data flow well through value chain there needs to be value that is visible to producers. That is the critical step to get them involved.
“Step changes will happen when value from data comes back from beyond the farm gate to add value for producers.”
Labour-saving technologies, which can include anything from drones to any number of new automated machines and technologies, may reduce future employment opportunities.
But according to Hume MP Angus Taylor, the Assistant Minister for Cities and Digital Transformation, new tech’s profit-boosting potential should free up capital for investment in new ventures.
he said scepticism about the social benefits of these technologies is most prevalent in former manufacturing strongholds in metropolitan areas.
“Politically speaking it’s the towns I see as problematic,” Mr Taylor said.
“Australian farmers have always been quick to innovate. They’re sceptical about fads, which is as it should be, but if it works they will adapt pretty fast.
“The push back on innovation comes from towns and cities, where manufacturing jobs have been lost.”
Dalene Wray, general manager of beef producer OBE Organic, which is based in the remote channel country of central Australia, said lack of digital connectivity made it difficult to utilise images and content from the field to promote her producers.
When asked how better connectivity would change her business, Ms Wray said OBE Organic focused on head office driven marketing to boost demand.
But with better connections “we would have more content with producers using their own voice” to boost the brand in offshore markets.
But Ms Wray said to overcome lack of connectivity “it’s not just about giving farmers access to more data”.
She said targeted investment in solutions to reduce file sizes for upload or maximise uploads to cloud-based services.
- The panel comprised Hume MP Angus Taylor, OBE Organic general manager Dalene Wray, Australian Farm Institute general manager research Richard Heath, CSIRO’s David Henry and Meat and Livestock Australia general manager livestock productivity Jane Weatherley.
