Society of Precision Agriculture Australia workshop variable rate technology for WA growers in Broomehill

Local grain growers and machinery dealers attended Broomehill Recreation Complex last week to learn how they can best equip themselves and their machines to maximise their farms’ output. The Society of Precision Agriculture Australia conducted a workshop on June 22 to provide WA grain growers with knowledge and tools to build financially sustainable farms. Grains Research and Development Corporation and Alice Butler from agricultural advisory business Farmanco facilitated the workshop for about 35 farmers and dealers from the region. “We discussed variable rate technology and precision agriculture currently,” she said. “We then looked into the future with some of the opportunities with robotics and the green-on-green spot spraying.” The innovations allow farmers to set up robots that roam the fields pinpointing and killing weeds rather than spraying the entire field. “There is the ability to have a robot detecting and spot-spraying weeds instead of covering the whole paddock in chemicals,” Ms Butler said. “It provides better efficiency and far better use of chemicals.” New data-laying processes will be used to predict how droughts and frost affect crop yield in targeted areas. “The data layers can quantify how fields are affected in certain conditions allowing farmers to identify which areas aren’t likely to produce so, resources can be better spent elsewhere,” Ms Butler said. “On the same token, we can identify where the best quality soils are and apply relevant resources that way.”