Ag Leader dealer of the year awards recognises WA precision agriculture dealers

Two WA businesses have been recognised as being among Australasia’s leading independent precision agriculture technology providers.

Perth-based GPS Agricultural Services and Kojonup Auto Electrics were acknowledged for their “outstanding sales” from 2023 at the recent Ag Leader dealer of the year awards.

Ag Leader is a leading provider of PA technology, including GPS guidance and steering systems, precision planting, spraying and spreading technology, and decision support systems.

More than 60 independent dealers across Australia and New Zealand represent Ag Leader.

GPS Agricultural Services director Doug Jeans, an experienced positioning and guidance specialist in Australia, said there was a huge future for PA technology.

“Obviously my background is in positioning and steering, so that’s where I am most comfortable, but I can see a big future for precision application systems,” he said.

“Automated steering is no longer the ‘top end’ of town — it’s standard practice and farmers can see it’s just the beginning.

“Knowing where you are in the paddock means you can precisely control and record what’s being applied, as well as map yield.”

Mr Jeans started his career in a large surveying company and spent 20 years working with two early positioning and guidance manufacturers before establishing his own PA business in 2015.

Mr Jeans said specialist manufacturers and dealers had a major role to play when it came to the adoption of PA technology.

“Farmers need machinery and they need precision ag technology, but they don’t necessarily come from the same place,” he said.

“Not every farmer has new machinery or has everything that is the same colour. They want consistency across all their machines and just as importantly they want connectivity.

“Ag Leader specialises in precision ag across all cropping operations and I think that’s where they’ve got the jump on most original equipment manufacturers’ platforms.”

Roy and Robyn Bailey own and operate Kojonup Auto Electrics, a service that employs six staff, including two technicians and two apprentices that provide field service for up to 100km out of Kojonup.

Mr Bailey said PA was growing more popular, especially with the younger generation of farmers.

“Precision ag is definitely moving from positioning and steering to application and data management systems,” he said.

“Younger farmers in particular are comfortable with technology, so I think demand is only going to grow.”