Witnessing first-hand agtech innovations such as robotics has given growers in NSW’s central west an insight into potential labour savings

Seeing two SwarmFarm robots responsible for spraying up to 60,000 hectares in two years was a key talking point on a grower study tour in Queensland last year.

In August 2024, 20 growers and four agronomists set out from the New South Wales central west, travelling north, on the GRDC-supported trip.

The aim, says Erin Dalton, an agronomist with tour organiser Baker Ag Advantage, was to allow growers to observe how agtech, research and data could improve production.

Each year GRDC supports growers through such tours to learn from peers in another part of the country or overseas.

The robots

The SwarmFarm robots on display at the Coggans’ Westmar property left an impression.

The Coggans – Tom and Phil – have hard-to-kill weeds including feathertop Rhodes grass, fleabane, barnyard grass and sow thistle. Two SwarmFarm robots have been playing their part in addressing this, spraying 60,000ha in the two years the family has operated them.

SwarmFarm robots were also on display at Doolin Agriculture, at North Star, Queensland. Simon Doolin estimated that the spraying hours dropped by as much as 500 hours a year, and wheel track renovation had declined.

Tour group participant Condobolin’s Roger Todd says that seeing how the robots operated every day to get on top of difficult weeds was convincing. “They would be an enormous benefit to our property,” Mr Todd says.

“We run a controlled cropping farm, and being able to control the weeds throughout summer and in the crop tram lines without sitting in a tractor all day is going to have a significant impact on our operation and costs.

“To be able to get on top of the weed seedbank, so that we can focus our energy on more high-value crops without weed pressure is something I am keen to explore.”

Grower Pete Unger, who is based near Parkes, agrees.

To see how the recent developments in agtech like the robotics can save so much labour is encouraging. Getting time back to do tasks on the farm that provide greater value means they are definitely worth considering.

Ms Dalton says that while the farm scale of the growers visited was larger than the tour group, the visiting growers still could see benefits.

This was not confined to agtech, “but in the innovative thinking they had”, she says.

Modifications to the Horsh Sprinter Seeder and Liquid Inject system enable the Coggans to have narrower row spacings for better ground cover and stubble retention during fallow. Photo: Erin Dalton, Baker Ag Advantage

The tour

Baker Ag Advantage had identified topics and areas of interest for the central west growers, a region where wheat, barley, canola and pulses are grown on mixed, dryland and irrigation operations.

A grower looks over a cotton picker at Keytah. Photo: Erin Dalton, Baker Ag Advantage

In New South Wales, the group visited AMPS Agribusiness at Bellata, Keytah and Good Earth Cotton at Moree and Doolin Agriculture at North Star; and in Queensland grain growers St John Kent at Jimbour Plains and Peter Bach at Bongeen.

At AMPS, growers saw the importance of industry collaborating with researchers.

Ms Dalton says that visit showed practical, grower-driven research. AMPS focuses on improving farm productivity and profitability in local conditions.

To demonstrate, the tour visited an AMPS customer who works closely with the research team.

The farm uses optical spray technology on a self-propelled boom, spatial mapping for soil depth and water capacity, and also SwarmFarm robotics.

“The technology the grower had invested in had multiple benefits including more effective use of herbicide chemistry, while the soil mapping identified more clearly what crops are better suited to a particular site,” Ms Dalton says.

Storage insight

Grain storage was also explored when the tour group headed to Doolin Agriculture. There they heard from grain grower Simon Doolin.

The Doolins, who crop wheat, barley and chickpeas in rotation with summer crops including sorghum and corn and cotton, can store up to 17,000 tonnes of grain.

Using a grain dryer, grain above deliverable moisture content can be harvested and dried. This allows earlier access into paddocks during harvest time and year-round storage to satisfy bakery contracts.

Data and weeds

At St John Kent’s operation at Jimbour, the tour heard about how data is helping better manage variables. With Data Farming’s Tim Neale, weed identification, compaction, soil profiles and water capacity are tracked.

The result is that inputs can be more easily managed, weed control is more effective, and yields are more accurately determined.

At Peter Bach’s, the tour learned about how weed management plays a large role. Mr Bach employs a continuous cropping rotation of sorghum, barley and mungbeans, enabling him to double crop.

It means paddocks are not fallow for extended periods, limiting weeds’ ability to gain a foothold. Harvest weed seed control, crop topping and chaff decks are also part of the program.

Left) Australian growers are innovators – including Peter Bach, who made his own air-seeder to suit his farm operations. Right) Study tour delegates hear how St John Kent has used data mapping to understand his soil type and wide row spacing set up. Photos: Erin Dalton, Baker Ag Advantage