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Report finds new tech crucial to Australian ag success
Elizabeth Gracie
A new report written by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) has identified the new technologies which are essential to driving continual growth and resilience to secure a fertile future for Australia’s agriculture industries.
The report focuses on the implementation of robotic systems, IoT (The Internet of Things), sensor technologies and AI machine learning, biotech, and nanotech.
It argues that these technologies have the potential to drastically improve farm management practices, efficiency and productivity as well as widening the economic returns for farmers.
Biotech and nanotech will accelerate plant and animal breeding through gene modification to develop more climate-resistant crops and new varieties of foods at an increased scale.
“Historically, Australian producers have been rapid adopters of innovation, and these emerging technologies will help our agriculture sector to transform and tackle current and future challenges,” said Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel, who commissioned the report through the National Science and Technology Council.
Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said that the report makes it clear that smart, strategic investment of new and innovative technologies is the key to keeping agriculture afloat and ahead of the game.
“Australian farmers already have some of the most advanced farming practices in the world, and the findings of this report confirm the importance of ensuring farmers and businesses on-farm have easy access to innovative technologies into the future along the supply chain,” said Littleproud.
“The Federal Government has a clear path to support the industry to capitalise on the next wave of growth and reach its production value goal of $100bn by 2030 - and that involves investment in the uptake of advanced technologies”.
According to Dr Finkel, this goal will only be within reach if innovative technologies are adopted at a rapid pace within the sector.
“Australia’s diverse agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector is a $69bn industry, delivering significant benefits for our nation - particularly at a time where our economy is facing unprecedented challenges. However, reaching the Government’s goal of $100bn by 2030 will likely require more than just incremental technological advancements,” said Chief Scientist Dr Allan Finkel.
Increasing technological uptake in Australia’s agriculture sector could also help maximise opportunities for regional employment, business development and Indigenous landholders according to ACOLA Chair, Professor Joy Damousi.
The report also shares many of the same key findings with the current Digital Foundations for Agriculture Strategy.
“This report aligns with our Digital Foundations for Agriculture Strategy that will set the foundations for the widespread uptake of digital technologies across agriculture, forestry and fisheries,” said Littleproud.
The Digital Foundations for Agriculture Strategy aims to build the Australian agriculture sectors resilience, drive constituent economic growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that secure foundations are in place for agricultural businesses to implement modern technologies when the time comes.
It will also seek to complete the efforts of the National Broadband Network (NBN) and other organisations who are currently providing digitally savvy solutions to help increase uptake of novel technologies in the agriculture sector.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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