The Future of Australian Agriculture: What Is To Come?

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Farming has come a long way since the early days of horse-drawn ploughs when sowing was done by hand and cultivating done by hoe.

Technology has changed the way agricultural operations are run not just in Australia but across the globe too.

Modern agricultural practices have adopted integrated technologies at every level of their production process, from the very first planting of seeds through to monitoring irrigation and harvesting through to the supply chain and delivery to supermarkets and the consumers' plates.

Powerful machinery, live data from IoT for agriculture and other automated industry technologies have allowed small operators to become large farming players and have removed much of the heavy lifting to give farmers more scope to get more out of their land.

So what's on the horizon for Australia's agricultural sector?

After all, there are many challenges facing the agriculture industry, so how are farmers going to have to react to meet those challenges?

And what technologies will be available to assist them?

Australian agriculture stands at a crossroads, facing unprecedented challenges ranging from climate change to evolving consumer preferences. However, with challenge comes opportunity, and Australia is poised to redefine the future of farming through innovation, science, and a resilient spirit.

Central to this transformation are initiatives led by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), which has launched three national missions with a combined co-investment of $156 million. These missions aim to address and adapt to the threats looming over Australian agriculture, leveraging scientific advancements to not only mitigate these challenges but to harness them as catalysts for growth and prosperity.

On top of this, Australian states and territories have also been hard at work researching and developing technologies that will not only benefit their backyard, but Australian agriculture as a whole and even the global market. Let's look at some of the innovations that are emerging state by state:

New South Wales, the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) collaborates with industry and academic partners on various projects, including livestock management for sheep, aerial drones, and satellite-based irrigation systems. The DPI's initiatives extend to creating Innovation Central Sydney with collaborators like the University of NSW and Cisco, aiming to foster a community around cloud computing, analytics, and IoT in agriculture.

Victoria is also making strides with their own government body, Agriculture Victoria Services. This industry body was developed with the intention of commercialising government-funded agricultural research and industry advancement projects like livestock tracking and pasture readers. The state also encourages agribusiness collaboration through Regional Development Victoria and offers research and development (R&D) grants to spur innovation in horticulture.

In Queensland, a $4 million technology fund has also been developed to support agricultural R&D, complemented by partnerships with CSIRO and universities to develop a 'digital homestead' for farm management technologies.

Similarly, South Australian agricultural experts and enterprises invest in their own research initiatives, the bulk of which aim to reduce grain crop loss and improve biosecurity, while offering digital resources like AgInsight South Australia to attract further investment from both domestic and international stakeholders. This is opening up opportunities for winemakers in the Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley regions to start selling their products to international audiences.

Thanks to Western Australia's great variety of climatic and soil conditions, this expansive state has been the stage for many types of hydroponic production and drought-tolerant crop research and trials. Western Australia has also focused on enhancing profitability and connectivity in the grain industry in particular, as crops like millet and wheat have been renowned for being climate-ready crops. WA is also trialling funded AI technologies and data-sharing platforms in both animal and plant agriculture.

Tasmania's Sense-T intelligent sensor program has been developed to further trial the efficacy of introducing IoT technologies into Australia's agricultural sector. Like Western Australia, Tasmania's initiative has aided in showcasing the power of data in agriculture, using sensor networks for improved decision-making in farming and aquaculture.

Together, all of these state-led initiatives uphold Australia's commitment to advancing the commerciality and sustainability of our agricultural sector.

The bright lights and advanced technologies of the big city always used to be very separate from the rural tranquillity of life on the farm. But with the arrival of the IoT, that has all changed, with a host of connected devices already installed on farms across Australia.

Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) mean internet-connected sensors can be installed in everything from the family's water well to the most advanced combine harvesters and irrigation systems.

In other words, Aussie farmers can actually now receive warnings when water supplies are dwindling so that action can be taken before their wells run dry, so to speak. IoT sensors can also detect operational concerns in farming machinery before they fail, even going as far as ordering the replacement part and having it put in before the operator ever notices any issues. This vital capability of IoT tech is called 'predictive maintenance', and can be observed in IoT developed for a wide range of industries, including mining sensor technologies and even manufacturing and fabrication machinery.

There is greater incentive for farmers to adopt agricultural IoT technologies as well. While better crop yields and lower overheads are very attractive, the modern agricultural operation is also faced with sustainability challenges, driven by Australia's drive toward carbon neutrality by 2030.

Australian agriculture is actively pursuing strategies to reduce its carbon emissions through various means, including improved land management practices and the adoption of renewable energy sources. This commitment not only addresses the urgent need for environmental stewardship but also positions Australian agriculture as a leader in sustainable farming on the global stage.

Additionally, the use of drones in agriculture has opened up new vistas for farm management. Drones can perform a myriad of tasks, from aerial surveys of crops to monitoring livestock and even assisting in the targeted application of pesticides and fertilisers. Their versatility and ability to cover vast areas quickly make them an invaluable tool in the modern farmer's arsenal.

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It's clear to see that agricultural IoT technologies have proven themselves vital in managing water resources and even facilitating the sustainable delivery of water for farms across the nation. With analysing the current integration of these tech tools and projections for agricultural production numbers across the next few decades, we can likely expect to see more and more farms link up with satellite-based irrigation, livestock, and crop management systems that deliver the same data - and all without the need for installing sensors and other technologies. Farmers will have information on anything from crop health to soil moisture levels at their fingertips, allowing them to make more informed decisions and scale up their production.

Through these concerted efforts, Australian agriculture is set to not only weather the storms of change but to thrive amidst them. By turning threats into opportunities, Australia is carving a path forward that ensures the prosperity of its agricultural sector and the well-being of both agricultural industry workers and everyday Australians that rely on Australian agricultural goods.