Partners come together to discuss accelerating agriculture machinery automation

A vast range of project partners have met in New South Wales as part of Grain Automate — an ongoing initiative aimed at incorporating and strengthening automation in Australia’s grain growing industry.

The 2024 Grain Automate partner meeting, held October 31 in Wagga Wagga and co-ordinated by Agri-Start, was a precursor to this year’s Digital Agrifood Summit.

Grain Automate is a $35 million five-year initiative developed by the Grains Research and Development Corporation with the aim of ensuring 80 per cent of Australia’s grain growers are equipped to integrate automated machines into their business by 2028.

The meeting marked the first time all project partners have been together in one room since the project’s inception in 2023.

This included the Society of Precision Agriculture Australia.

SPAA president Phil Honey said the meeting was an “invaluable opportunity” to explore collaboration opportunities, forge connections, and share resources.

“The meeting underscored the collective ambition of all partners to drive innovation and create real value for Australian grain growers,” he said.

“Grain Automate addresses the growing appetite among Australian growers for high-risk, high-reward innovations, with the global market for autonomy and intelligent systems projected to reach $272 billion by 2027.

“By supporting the development and adoption of these technologies, SPAA is playing a pivotal role in ensuring that Australian grain growers remain at the forefront of global agricultural advancements.”

SPAA will be spearheading several extension projects aimed at equipping growers with knowledge and skills to integrate automated agriculture practices into their work

This will be a part of of the project’s first program, “Paving the Way for Autonomy”.

SPAA subcontractors such as irrigation management service Aluvio and Charlies Sturt University were also in attendance at the meeting.

Emma Leonard from online information service AgriKnowHow attended the meeting remotely to share strategies and discuss the opportunities in collaborating on data collection to enhance the Grain Automation project’s impact.

The next program for the project, “Targeted Technology Development”, will focus on improving existing and emerging technology for machine automation.