Driving ag-tech adoption across Australia (AS20007)

The Driving Ag-Tech Adoption across Australia (AS20007) project continued to gather momentum during this milestone reporting period. Industry-requested work and activities delivered between February and July 2025 include: 

• Research trials and demonstrations in the polyhouse showcasing new crops, practices and technologies
• Postharvest quality of cold stored celery for export markets (final report)
• Crop monitoring and fruit quality testing of grape tomatoes grown in a high-tech glasshouse (final report)
• Protected cropping training day on fertigation, agronomy and IPM
• ‘Meet and swap’ protected cropping knowledge event at Gatton
• Blueberry performance primary study in North Queensland
• Enhancing water quality in protected cropping systems using bioreactor technology (case study and video)
• AgWeather app version 2.2.1 (available for free on Google and Apple stores) 

In addition, the AS20007 project team secured additional funding through the vegetable and onion levy funds in April to deliver the Gatton AgTech Showcase 2025 and two satellite AgTech events nationally as part of the project MT24013 Accelerating early access to emerging tech for vegetable growers. DPI has partnered with Cussons Media, AusAgriTech and AUSVEG to deliver world-class live AgTech field days for growers to experience the latest technologies first-hand and share their AgTech adoption stories. The National Farmers Federation are supporting the event by providing $40,000 to launch the protected cropping component.  

The team will deliver the Gatton AgTech Showcase on 15 and 16 October 2025 to give growers early access to viable mechanisation and automation solutions, promote adoption of precision farming tools to improve resource use and labour efficiency, and drive regional engagement and knowledge sharing. The expanded Gatton AgTech Showcase program will include more extensive live field machinery and protected cropping demonstration programs, expert technology, R&D and grower speaker programs, and a networking ‘Sundowner’ event. The event will target horticulture growers—with a focus on vegetables including onions, sweetpotato and potato—as well as agribusinesses, domestic and international technology companies, consultants, researchers, and students from the Lockyer Valley and across Queensland and Australia. 

Other communications activities delivered this milestone period include the Hort Connections Farm Tour visit to the Gatton Smart Farm site; the AUSVEG Reverse Trade Mission farm tour and presentation with 25 international buyers and industry stakeholders from Asia, New Zealand, and the Pacific; the AgTech farm tour for New Zealand growers co-hosted with Applied Horticulture Research; and the CropX Connect 2025 Field to Future tour featuring Gatton Smart Farm program presentations and a tour of protected cropping facilities.

Significant progress towards the mid-term AS20007 project evaluation has also been made with Clear Horizon contracted to deliver the independent review through a competitive procurement process in March. The draft mid-term evaluation report was presented to DPI on 22 July and is attached to this milestone. The final report will be delivered by Clear Horizon on 8 August and a full response to the findings and recommendations will be prepared by the AS20007 project team for review and endorsement by the Project Reference Group at a meeting in September.

The Driving Ag-Tech Adoption across Australia (AS20007) project continued to gather further momentum during the reporting period. Industry requested work has been delivered on: 

• berry coatings for improving food safety and shelf life
• extending seasonality for blueberry via protected cropping
• celery shelf life for export
• assessment of grape tomato quality and shelf life
• nutrition and hydroponic master class for protected cropping growers
• weather station networks
• procurement of the project mid –term review.

Additional functionality was achieved through the installation of a new Gatton Smart Farm Server, this server provides industry with access to a range of tools such as fifty weather stations via the Ag Weather app and Janes Weather, chill calculators, shelf-life prediction algorithms (AM21000) and climate adaptation data. The server will also provide the support for the protected cropping program by hosting Priva controllers, Hitachi’s Digital Twin and Gatton Control Tower platforms. The newly created stakeholder database (CRM) will also use the server.

Following extensive negotiations and legal review, DPI executed a collaboration agreement with Hitachi, this required a project variation process and changes to head agreement terms. Finalising this will now allow Hitachi to deliver an agreed workplan aimed at AgTech development and adoption. Work has commenced on a digital twin for protected cropping and the Gatton Smart Farm Control Tower is in development.

DPI continues to provide additional capital funding to support RD&E programs, during the reporting period DPI has provided additional funds to bolster the protected cropping program ($1.1M) and the post-harvest program ($125,000). The total quantum of capital provided by the department for both infrastructure and new science equipment now exceeds $3.45million. As previously reported, re-establishing the Gatton Facility into a contemporary RD&E facility with a focus on AgTech, protected cropping and post -harvest will require time, however the foundations are now in place and real momentum is occurring as evidenced by the success of the 2023 showcase, new projects that are adding value, publicity generated through interactions with schools, grower training groups, peak bodies and initiatives such as VegNET. 

As the only dedicated site for protected cropping RD&E (north of Sydney), the completion of the retractable roof (Cravo) structure in 2025 will provide a much-needed boost for protected cropping work nationally, particularly in medium level technologies that are suited to tropical and sub-tropical Australia. DPI are experiencing significant enquiries from companies and growers wanting to access the site for a wide range of RD&E.

The Gatton Smart Farm (AS20007 Driving Ag-Tech adoption across Australia) project team delivered a range of activities and outputs in this milestone period across the field AgTech, postharvest and protected cropping themes. RD&E highlights include:

• Advanced weather network—the weather network has been renamed AgWeather to coincide with the release of an iOS app on the Apple App Store. The app provides similar functionality to the web-based dashboard (including forecasts) and is currently being tested by end-users.
• FarmDroid Return On Investment (ROI) and case study with Qualipac Produce—the Field AgTech team are working with Qualipac and an Agricultural Economist to complete an ROI assessment for the FarmDroid autonomous seeder and weeder.  A second case study of FarmDroid in an organic vegetable production system has also commenced. 
• Gatton Smart Farm field AgTech site—a permanent field location at the Gatton Smart Farm has been secured as an AgTech demonstration site for technologies like soil moisture sensors, crop sensing imagery, UAVs and field robotics, and ground preparation for the first crop plantings has commenced. The interactive site will be used for field walks and other industry events to demonstrate the potential for integrating AgTech into field production to optimise vegetable yield and quality. This will support any further technology EOIs.
• Postharvest quality of cold stored celery for export markets—the postharvest team have shared the results of the celery export simulation trial with Moffatt Fresh Produce and worked with their supply chain manager to determine the next steps. The team will monitor the performance of the next celery export shipment and engage overseas assessors to conduct in-market quality and shelf life assessments. 
• Video: Specialty melons, a protected cropping opportunity for the tropics—growing specialty melons under protected cropping was highlighted in a new video listed in Queensland Agriculture YouTube channel. Working closely with industry, the protected cropping team has been at the forefront of developing melon production systems using protected cropping. Specialty melons, a protected cropping opportunity for the tropics, provides an overview of the benefits and opportunities for using protected copping in Australia’s warm environments.
• Allegro Farms: Tomato crop quality—the protected cropping and postharvest teams have commenced work with Allegro Farms to monitor the growth, productivity and quality of snacking tomato in a hi-tech glasshouse. The trial will help the business and researchers to understand the production system and its competitive advantage as an agile, hi-tech facility with short value chains into city markets, with benefits for the protected cropping industry nationally.

Other project extension and communication activities include feature articles in the Australian Grower magazine (Future of ag tech on display) and Soilless Australia magazine (It’s time to do a bucket test!), and the delivery of AgTech RD&E displays at the Lockyer Valley Growers Expo and Hort Connections 2024 in Melbourne. The Gatton Smart Farm AgTech showcase team won the Visy Industry Impact Award at the Horticulture Awards for Excellence 2024 at Hort Connections for delivering a ground-breaking showcase of ag technology and setting a new standard for AgTech field days in Australia.

Over the past six months, the following activities have been achieved:

• In September 2022, the Greenhouse Technical Management Course was held, which was a specialised short course in greenhouse technical management. Fifteen growers and six industry/government protected cropping representatives attended and it was held at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Gatton Research Facility.
• From October to November 2022, the Gatton Smart Farm team worked with growers in Bundaberg to hold a GUSS (Global Unmanned Sprayed System) automated sprayer tour in Bundaberg and Bowen. It attracted roughly 55 growers, agronomists, and other industry representatives.
• In November 2022, a fresh produce Cold Chain workshop was held for 35 people in person and 21 online at the Gatton Research Facility. The workshop was held to boost awareness of the challenges and opportunities within the supply chain, and the critical impact of temperature on management of quality and shelf life of fresh produce. Access the presentations and Q&A sessions here. 
• The Advanced Weather Network has been updated, with hourly temperature and daily mean precipitation now available here.

Over the past six months, the project team has progressed with several initiatives despite the impacts from flooding events across the eastern seaboard reducing the ability for project staff to engage with growers directly on-farm. Some key achievements include:

• Assessing packaging options for seafreight for exported carrots
• Grower training in protected cropping of specialty melons
• Development of protected cropping training for delivery
• Assessment of shelf-life and quality issues in baby leaf spinach
• Development and rollout of grower and AgTech ‘Expression of Interest’ process
• Development of cold chain/logistics training for fresh produce for delivery in 2023
• Validation of autonomous platforms in Bundaberg.

The grower and AgTech ‘Expression of Interest’ process was launched late April via the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland Smart Farms’ Engagement Hub (engagementhub.com.au). To date, the portal has received 44 applications from a wide range of technology providers and horticultural businesses. Project reference groups will be convened during the next reporting period to assist in the assessment of the EOIs and to develop roll-out strategies for facilities and commercial farms.