Three ag-tech solutions you haven’t seen

Driving profitability and creating efficiencies on-farm is the aim of the game when it comes to the ag-tech solutions MLA has worked with industry to deliver.

Some of the latest research and development will be on show on 30 November at the MLA Updates in Toowoomba, Queensland. Register to attend the event and see the innovations in action, or read on for a sneak peak of the ag-tech that will be on show.

Sensing soil carbon

Through an MLA-funded project, Agrimix has partnered with the Queensland University of Technology to develop a platform that uses eddy covariance flux towers to calibrate and validate soil carbon simulation models for Australian conditions.

With current methods of measuring soil carbon costly and often inaccurate, this technology aims to significantly boost the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of soil carbon qualification to enable producers to capitalise on soil carbon projects as part of their business.

A demonstration of the technology will be on show at the MLA Updates, with more information about its development available here.

Tag tracking technology

Tracking livestock movements in real-time is now possible using Smart Paddock’s GPS tags for sheep and cattle.

MLA-funded research conducted with Romani Pastoral Company’s ‘Redbank Station’ found GPS smart tags have a range of potential uses as part of day-to-day livestock management, including:

• showing livestock location to save time when mustering
• detecting downed ewes during lambing
• monitoring bulls during joining.

More work is underway to develop an affordable GPS chip to be included in tags and other Internet of Things (IOT) devices with the ability to communicate direct to satellite. Smart Paddock’s ear tags will be modified and used in future trials as part of this.

In the meantime, come see a demonstration of the Smart Paddock technology at the MLA Updates, or read more about the technology here.

Calculating the cost of goat gains

Producers can now find the most cost-effective supplement for achieving target liveweights within rangeland goats using the Rangeland Goat Supplementation Calculator.

Developed by the University of Queensland through an MLA-funded project, the calculator provides a comparison of the costs of different supplements to achieve a target liveweight, based on data from pen feeding studies of entire, male rangeland goats.

At the MLA Updates, producers will be able to test out the tool to become familiar with how it works and get expert advice on the best feeds for generating liveweight gains in rangeland goats.