Evoke Ag is on in Melbourne this week. It’s an event where all the emerging AgTech companies, investors, and advisors, gather to ponder the future of the industry. So, it seemed like a suitable time to make a few comments about AgTech …
This post is an extract from CEO and Co-Founder, Bill Mitchell’s fortnightly Optiweigh Insights email newsletter. To get a copy in your inbox, SUBSCRIBE HERE.
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I miss being out in the paddock as much as I used to be. But what I really love about my AgTech job now is when we hear that someone’s Optiweigh unit has helped their business. 6 years down the track, it still gives me as much of a thrill as it did the first time.
The next best thing about this job is that I get first-hand exposure to emerging technologies and participate in the process of deciding how to chart a course for Optiweigh into the future.
In some ways, I wish I were just starting out in livestock production because I think the future is so exciting.
Here are some of the reasons why:
1. Data Creating Opportunities:
Over the past few years, we’ve seen great examples of how data creates opportunities. At Optiweigh, we’re now investing in turning that real-time data into more tailored reporting with forecasts, targets and benchmarks to make the data more useable for everyone. Being able to analyse weight gain across different paddocks, animal types and feed types will surely unlock a whole lot more potential to drive higher levels of productivity.
2. Virtual Fencing:
As a livestock producer, I have always been keen on the idea of virtual fencing, and I think it is the most exciting development for our industry in generations. Like Optiweigh, it brings both reduced costs and increased productivity. I really hate repairing fences, but to me, the big win comes from productivity and being able to target grazing to convert more kg of grass grown into more kg of meat or milk.
Consider this: In New Zealand, dairy farms running intensive rotations on rye grass pastures utilise 75-80% of the grass being grown. In beef systems in Australia, Canada, US, and UK, that number is in the 40-60% range. For extensive operations in Australia and South America, it is often well below 25%. Yet even with those already high numbers, the New Zealanders are adopting virtual fencing as fast as they can to get even more out of their systems.
Optiweigh has a terrific fit with virtual fencing, as our great mate Kent Rochester from WA has found. Being able to monitor the weights is the key to knowing how far to push the animals to achieve the right balance of weight gain and pasture utilisation.
There is plenty of room for development in the virtual fencing world. I have also had the great privilege of helping out a couple of really bright young Australians who are developing a virtual fencing product that is on an ear tag (rather than a collar) and will connect direct to satellite. This one will be a game-changer.
3. More Animal Measurements:
At Optiweigh, we’re also looking at what else we can measure while we have the animals standing still in one spot. Our partnership with Agscent is now at the stage where research institutions are recognising the accuracy and usefulness of the methane measurements. There is also a growing recognition that methane emissions are related to the efficiency of the animal, and combining this with weight gain, links perfectly into the whole productivity/emissions thing.
Breath is also interesting, way beyond just methane. Agscent are already detecting pregnancy and disease from breath analysis, and there looks to be plenty more to come in the space.
4. Visual Technology:
There are also lots of developments underway with camera technology, from weight estimation to sickness detection and animal counting. We already know the weight and ID of the animal, so our next area of interest is visual assessment of the condition and shape of the animal. We think this could be really helpful, particularly when it comes to remotely assessing animals for potential sale or slaughter. In addition, this same imagery tech could prove useful in proving the absence (or otherwise) of things like lumpy skin disease.
5. Automation:
Who doesn’t like the idea of self-driving tractors? Certainly not me, and it makes me ponder how we could have a self-moving Optiweigh that moves with the livestock as the virtual fence is moved. And if we could do that, we could also make it the water source (if only we could find a clever way to make it connect itself to the mains water line!).
In other areas of automation, there is also drone mustering, which is getting quite advanced. I’d love to see automated spraying take another leap forward. Whether it be ground rigs or drones, I think chemical application and weed control are real problems that need more solutions. For the animals, I also like the idea of automated animal health applications, and this is always on the future goals list at Optiweigh.
Unfortunately, there are still lots of problems out there that the AgTech industry isn’t coming up with solutions for, and lots of solutions for things that aren’t really problems.
Good tech gives a return NOW, and the potential for even greater benefits over time (productivity improvements that build on themselves year after year).
I reckon all people involved in AgTech should spend time working on a real farm to better understand that, as producers, we are battling three main things: the environment, cost/price squeeze (margin pressure), and labour (availability and cost). This makes it pretty easy to assess technology suitability. Does it help me to produce more, at a lower cost of production, and/or does it help me be less exposed to seasonal conditions?
Sometimes the answer isn’t totally clear up-front, but the key is whether the tech is influencing productivity. If it’s just saving a bit of time and money in the short term, the cost can sometimes outweigh the benefit. But if it’s a productivity play, the benefits can accumulate year after year. We have seen this happen with Optiweigh users who report more benefits over time as they learn more about how to use the units. And the same will undoubtedly happen with virtual fencing.
The moral to the story? Get started now to begin that process.
If you’ve got any thoughts to share about what more you’d like to see from Optiweigh, or would like to know more about any of the technologies listed, I’d love to hear from you. Just drop me an email to [email protected] or call/WhatsApp on +61(0) 427 758378.