Australian potato growers and processors are set to benefit from a new investment focused on boosting productivity, reducing production costs and giving growers clearer evidence to support future machinery and technology decisions.

The new project, funded by Hort Innovation, will identify and test potato-specific AgTech equipment across planting, in-crop operations, harvesting, grading and postharvest handling, with the most promising options to be evaluated on 6–10 commercial farms in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. The project will support fresh market, processing and seed potato businesses across Australia.

The investment comes at a time when potato growers and processors are navigating rising labour, input and compliance costs, while technology adoption remains uneven across the production cycle.  

Anthony Kachenko, General Manager of Production and Sustainability R&D at Hort Innovation said lifting productivity was a major driver behind the investment: “This investment is about helping potato growers make confident, evidence-based decisions about the technologies that can genuinely improve productivity on farm. Mechanisation has the potential to reduce labour pressure, improve efficiency and strengthen long-term competitiveness, but growers need to know how these technologies perform under Australian conditions before making investment decisions."

“By validating equipment on commercial farms and pairing that with robust economic analysis, this project will give growers practical information they can use to assess what works, where it works and whether the numbers stack up for their business.”

The project, which will be delivered by Applied Horticultural Research, will focus on technologies that can deliver measurable labour reduction or efficiency gains, compatibility with Australian production systems and alignment with existing levy investments to avoid duplication. Key areas of interest include optical grading and shed automation, advanced harvester separation systems, high-speed precision planters and autonomous field platforms.  

The project will begin with a national consultation process and international technology review to identify the greatest opportunities for mechanisation across fresh market, processing and seed potato production systems. Technologies selected for evaluation will undergo independent commercial-scale testing and economic assessment to provide growers and processors with practical, evidence-based information on performance, costs and adoption pathways. 

Trials are expected to run across three national clusters, with Tasmania testing performance in heavier clay soils and wet conditions, South Australia focusing on light sandy soils under pivot irrigation, and Victoria validating grading, packing automation and marketable yield quality in fresh market and seed production systems. Growers will also be able to see technologies operating first-hand through demonstration events on commercial farms, supported by training workshops, practical integration guides, and more.  

This project (PT25003) is funded by Hort Innovation, using the fresh potato and processing potato research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government.