Killing Weeds Without Poison with Liam Hescock at Azaneo

Cotton farmers Jon Elder and Karin Stark have looked to technology (and their neighbors) for innovation to help them respond to climate risk. The 500 kW hybrid solar-diesel pumping system they’ve installed- Australia’s largest- is helping them combat rising energy costs and improve the bottom line.As farmers who are passionate about the environment, Karin and Jon say it’s a win-win for the business and the environment. The system is reducing their carbon footprint and building financial resilience. On top of that, Karin has been organizing field days and conferences to share her message that communication and trust are key to building knowledge and confidence when it comes to adopting new technologies that can help farmers respond to climate risk.This episode is the second in the Responding to Climate Risk theme, brought to you in partnership with Australian Farm Institute, an independent organisation conducting research into the strategic issues facing Australian farmers and the agriculture sector. Find them on social media @AustFarmInstituOther links from the showNSW Rural Assistance Authority government incentives - www.raa.nsw.gov.auAgriFutures Rural Women’s Award - www.agrifutures.com.au/people-leadership/rural-womens-award/Reaqua Solar Pumping - www.reaqua.com.au

24 Juni 201916min

Which countries are best prepared for agtech? And what can farmers do to get started today?In this episode we hear from a farming couple, Jess and Matt, about social media, robotics, and picking low hanging fruit when it comes to innovation. Jess and Matt Fealy returned to farm life after a long stint in the corporate world to grow avocados, mangoes, and limes in Far North Queensland. For them, being agtech ready is about having an open mind, trying new things, and thinking beyond business-as-usual. Their advice is lean in and take control of what you can. But when it comes to implementing technology, to remember that innovation is not a band-aid for sound business practices- it’s a natural progression of good decision making. Matt also shares insights from his recently completed Nuffield scholarship on robotics and automation in horticulture. This episode is the third in the theme, Getting AgTech Ready, brought to you in partnership with Decipher, a precision agriculture solution that helps growers and agronomists make data driven decisions. Find them on social media @DecipherAgTech Jess and Matt’s farm - blueskyproduce.com.auKeeping in simple on social media - instagram.com/p/ByD-mFep8SSMatt’s Nuffield report and video presentation - https://nuffield.com.au/matthew-fealy/Future Agro Challenge - fac.startuptablelands.orgInsights from the episode on our blog here

11 Juni 201918min

Anika Molesworth is a passionate advocate for sustainable farming and climate change action. She can be heard on stage and in classrooms in Australia and abroad on the balance of rural landscapes and includes managing climate risk in agricultural systems.Anika’s PHd work takes here between cropping systems in the Riverina in NSW to the rice paddies of SouthEast Asia looking as aspects of sustainable agricultural development. In this episode we talk about managing climate risk and how Anika’s family experience taking on a property in far west NSW sparked her interest in this style of agricultural study. We also look at the differences she sees between the Riverina and South East Asia and what we can learn from each other. We also touch on technology of course and its role in managing climate risk and its barriers to adoption. This is our first of four episodes in partnership with the Australian Farm Institute on the theme, "responding to climate risk".You can read more about Anika here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anika-molesworth-93519187/?originalSubdomain=auAnd watch her TEDX Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8R3Al3fgNEFollow Anika on Twitter

30 Maj 201930min

Lachlan Sutton, Agribusiness Manager for Southern Cross Farms, has been involved with agriculture for his whole life. He was born and bred on his family’s sheep and wheat farm, worked in various rural services roles for over a decade with Elders, and now looks after agtech for the Corporate farming outfit Southern Cross Farms. Southern Cross Farms is an agricultural management business, over 2000 ha in size, with a particular focus on citrus and wine grape production, as well as almonds and avocados. In this episode, Lachie shares his views on the differences (and similarities) between family farms and corporate farms in terms of how they think about adopting new tech. He also has tips for farmers of all types that are thinking about agtech: build relationships, simple is best, and don’t forget about support! Lachie on LinkedInLachie’s Southern Cross Farms profileLachie on TwitterThis episode is part of the “getting agtech ready” theme, brought to you in partnership with Decipher (www.decipher.com.au). Find more episodes at https://www.agtechsowhat.com/ or @agtechsowhat on Twitter.

14 Maj 201925min

Tim Rethus and his family are cropping farmers near Horsham in Victoria who have made a commitment to “sustainable, low cost farming”. As early adopters and innovators, the family has always been on the cutting edge of building and buying agricultural technology.Now, as the skills and experience of two generations combine, Tim has some valuable insights to share about adopting (and building) new technology, where to look for inspiration, and how to make the decision to shift to a whole new farming system. To see a picture of the incredible planter Tim mentions plus a summary of Tim’s insights with additional links and resources, visit https://www.agtechsowhat.com/bushtechpodcast/2019/4/30/episode-38-tim-rethus-getting-agtech-ready-1 You can follow Tim at @TRethus on Twitter.This episode is part of the “getting agtech ready” theme, brought to you in partnership with Decipher (www.decipher.com.au). Find more episodes at https://www.agtechsowhat.com/ or @agtechsowhat on Twitter.

30 Apr 201934min

Sarah here with a quick update on what's new and coming soon at AgTech - So What!

8 Apr 20194min

Angus Street - CEO, Auctions Plus This week AgTech So What? Comes to you live from the Sydney AgTech Meetup. Sarah Nolet hosts a conversation with Auctions Plus CEO Angus Street. It's one of the Top 10 websites visited every day by rural Australians, AuctionsPlus has used simple technology to redefine livestock trading. Founded in 1986, its fair to say AuctionsPlus has been well tested in the market and has seen some changes over that time in the AgTech and startup scene in Australia. Remaining a privately held company, Auctions Plus is now facilitating more than $630 million worth of livestock sales annually. In July 2018 AuctionsPlus appointed Angus Street as their new CEO. Having worked within the organisation as the Sales Manager he knows every inch of the business and it shows in this conversation with Sarah Nolet. The Startup Phase is gruelling and AuctionsPlus has experienced exponential growth due to as Angus describes it 'the perfect spot where the value proposition met market conditions'. Now that they enter the next phase of growth how does the organisation navigate the changes. How do they keep culture in tact, and the agility to continue to innovate? 'No way in hell are we going to be corporatised' is Angus's response! More about the Sydney AgTech Meetup group More about AuctionsPlus here Follow Angus Street on Twitter Connect with Angus on LinkedIn Follow AuctionsPlus on Twitter Follow AuctionsPlus on LinkedIn

26 Mars 201925min

This week's conversation is with Leeton, NSW based managing director of I-AG Pty Ltd Anthony Rudd. Anthony Rudd has a unique insight into the integration of machine automation and data adoption in agriculture and has worked in this space for John Deere Australia, a Chinese company and also in software writing and development. In 2008 Anthony was employed as John Deere Australia's first ever integrated solutions manager. The concept was extremely new but it had been tested in the United States. Basically his work involved joining technology to the dealership and then to the grower, so essentially moving from machine guidance to full automation and then into integrated data. He tells Sarah Nolet that his company I-AG is busy working with an external partner developing software that will hopefully unlock the efficiencies in the space at the moment. "We've built the base software, so it will ingest data from anywhere and any type you can store it safely and you can share it safely with whoever you want to share it with at the moment, in a few weeks we will have the map generation module available." Anthony's website explains that "I-AG specialize in providing data and software solutions tailored to suit your individual operations. From simple data management all the way to building complex software to enable you to access the data you need instantly and easily enabling our clients to make quick informed decisions based on what their data is telling them." You can find more information on I-AG here You can find I-AG on twitter here You can find Anthony here on Twitter. View Anthony's LinkedIn Profile here

18 Mars 20191h 4min