April 25, 2023 • 21 mins
In this episode of "Let's Talk Farm to Fork," we're joined by James Paterson from Aerobotics, who we'll be talking to about how their aerial imagery and machine learning are helping suppliers increase their yields.
https://www.aerobotics.com/
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Voiceover (00:02):
Welcome to let's talk farm to fork, the PostHarvest
podcast that interviews people,making an impact in the fresh
produce sector.
We'll take a deep dive into whatthey do and find out how they're
helping to reduce the amount offood lost or wasted along the
farm to fork journey.
But before we get started, didyou know that according to the
(00:23):
UN's food and agricultureorganisation, around 45% of the
world's fruits and vegetables goto waste each year?
If you would like to learn moreabout how you can practically
play your part in maximisingfruit and vegetable supplies,
whether you're a part of theindustry or simply a consumer
visit PostHarvest.Com and tryout their free online course
(00:45):
library today.
Now time for your host MitchellDenton.
Mitchell Denton (00:50):
Hi there, and welcome to"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork".
The PostHarvest podcast thatinterviews people of interest
across the food supply chain.
Today on our show, I'm joined byJames Paterson from Aerobotics,
who I'll be talking to about howtheir aerial imagery and machine
learning are helping suppliersincrease their yields.
So, with no further delays,let's get started.
(01:13):
Well, hello James.
Thanks for joining us on thepodcast today.
James Paterson (01:17):
Hi, Mitch.
Very good to be here.
Mitchell Denton (01:19):
Before we get into it though, would you mind
telling us a little bit aboutyourself and what you do and
maybe a fun fact about yourself?
James Paterson (01:25):
Yeah, so I am, James Patterson.
I'm the CEO of Aerobotics, andone of the two co-founders.
So, myself and, uh, BenjiMeltzer actually started
Aerobotics eight years ago.
I am an aeronautical engineer bytraining.
I got my masters at MIT inBoston, where I worked a lot on
(01:45):
drone systems and especiallyanalysing the data collected
from drone systems, um, at thetime in the context of search
and rescue.
So that's where the, the dronesand and AI side of things comes
from.
But, um, yeah, a fact aboutmyself, I'm actually, um, come
from a fruit farming background.
(02:06):
So, my dad is a fruit farmer.
We grow, uh, citrus, avocadosand stone fruit in South Africa,
and that's where the love ofagriculture comes from.
So, um, once I completed mymasters, joined up with Benji
and decided to bring this, uh,technology back to the farm.
(02:27):
and yeah, I started with my dadthere and delivering the new
technology and buildingtechnology for farming.
So he's still a customer of oursand we grew it out from there
out to, to the neighbours.
Shifted our technology intoAustralia and then into Europe
and the USA.
Mitchell Denton (02:45):
Wow, that sounds like it was a match made
in heaven.
So then continuing on from youtelling us what you do, would
you mind telling us a littlemore about the history of
Aerobotics and how yourinnovative technology works?
James Paterson (02:56):
Yeah.
So as I mentioned, we startedthe business eight years ago.
Um, and if you go back eightyears, Drone technology was
still very new then.
Um, the AgTech space was evennewer than, than what it is now,
and we had to build everythingourselves.
So we started building our, ourown drones, our own camera
systems.
(03:16):
The software to fly the droneswas, was written by us.
And then of course, the mostimportant was the extraction of
information from the data that,that these drones were
collecting.
And wrapping that into a productwhere, where growers can make
production decisions.
So the way, the way thetechnology works, we're a
computer vision company.
(03:37):
We've progressed to collectimagery from satellites, drones,
and actually smartphones out inthe field where customers can
take photos of, of trees.
And what, what we do forcustomers in the agriculture
space is help them monitor andoptimise their production.
So we'll start by measuring eachtree, its performance, how it's
(04:01):
growing over time, and thehealth and transpiration of that
tree.
So that's used to optimise thattree which we see as the factory
that's producing the fruit.
And then we take that a stepfurther.
We use higher resolution imageryto actually, uh, identify and
track the fruit through theseason.
Um, so tracking the fruit sizedevelopment and predicting
(04:23):
through to harvest, what thatsize structure is going to look
like.
Mitchell Denton (04:28):
Yeah.
That's fantastic.
You mentioned your father beforeand his farm as a case example.
I was just wondering, can youshare any success stories or
case studies from farmers whohave used your platform to
improve their crop management?
James Paterson (04:42):
Yeah, it's, um, we're making quite a, uh, a
large difference to growers andespecially, uh, vertical groups
that don't just grow the crop,but also pack and market the
fruit.
So as an example of howcustomers would, would use this
fruit information, early season,the production groups would use
this for, um, setting the crop,thinning fruit, for example,
(05:04):
using fruit count and fruitsize, um, as well as setting,
um, irrigation and fertiliserpractices for the season.
Um, mid-season, the verticalgroups, the sales teams actually
need an early estimate of whatfruit's going to be coming in
and what the size structurelooks.
So they, they use that tooptimise the logistics, supply
(05:25):
chain and marketing programs.
And then, uh, a big one is at,at harvest time, analysing, you
can imagine these big groupshave hundreds of, of blocks.
Um, some of our customers have40, 50 farms in their operation
and just knowing where the fruitis ready to harvest, what
percentages at the right sizethat they wanna harvest, really
(05:46):
helps them, you know, make theirprocesses more efficient and
increase the utilisationpercentage of, of the fruit.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm very happywith the solution we're
providing to the, these, um,large farming operations and the
vertical groups where they canoptimise processes right from
production through to the salesprocess.
Mitchell Denton (06:07):
Sounds like you've really helped some
farmers optimise theiroperations.
I see that Aerobotics is notonly concerned with helping
farmers optimise their cropmanagement, but also with
providing a more efficient cropinsurance solution.
Would you mind explaining tolisteners how Aerobotics
precision crop insurance is morebeneficial than traditional
methods?
James Paterson (06:27):
Yes.
So, our, um, if you think aboutwhat we do, we are measuring the
trees and the fruit.
And if you think about what thatmeans for a, a grower, those are
essentially the assets of thatoperation.
A tree is a long-term asset.
It's gonna be producing a cropfor 20 plus years.
Um, and the fruit is the currentasset.
(06:49):
That's the revenue that they'regoing to be generating that
season.
So naturally that's a good fitin financial services, both on
the crop insurance and on thefinancing side.
And what we've decided to dothere is to enter the crop
insurance base first.
Um, we started in the USA and weact as a licensed broker,
(07:10):
helping growers set their cropinsurance policies according to
what the crop is and how thetrees are performing.
So that is the, the, um,solution.
It's running in, as I mentionedin the US at the moment, and we
are investigating, additionalmarkets.
We've spoken to a few of ourcustomers in, uh, Australia and
(07:31):
in South Africa about a solutionthere as well.
Mitchell Denton (07:34):
That's really exciting.
I'm sure the farmers out here inAustralia would really
appreciate those services.
I'm curious, whether it beinternal or external, what would
be the biggest challenge yourteam have encountered so far
with your technology?
James Paterson (07:48):
Yeah, I think the, the agricultural space is
challenging.
One of the challenges we faced,early in our, in, in building
the business was, is what wecall the long tail in
agriculture.
So if you take one crop family,for example, citrus, that has
quite a lot of variety withinit, you've got, uh, you know,
(08:09):
even at a broad level, you'vegot navels, oranges and
mandarins, and then you can godown within that to different
varieties of Mandarin.
And another step further is thesame variety of Mandarin will
grow differently in differentregions.
Um, so when you're doing yourprediction of, of fruit, it's
challenging that, that the fruitgrows differently in different
(08:32):
regions and different farmingpractices.
So I guess dealing with that,that long tail was, uh, an
initial challenge for us.
And we did struggle with thatin, in the early days.
And what we did was to build thetechnology to actually localise
to the region that it'soperating in.
So as one of our customers usesthis, this technology through a
(08:54):
season, it'll actually, um, thefollowing season use that data
of that farming operation of thevarieties that they've got to
improve the following year'sprediction models.
That's worked quite well for usbecause it's, the previous
problem of trying to solve allof this variation in
agriculture, uh, was, wasnon-tractable.
(09:16):
And using customer data toupdate their own models has, has
been great for us.
Mitchell Denton (09:22):
Yeah, I'd imagine putting together
prediction models early on wouldbe quite a challenge.
So I'm, I'm glad you've managedto iron those details out.
So then, what are some of themost exciting developments
happening in the AgTech industryright now, and how do you see
Aerobotics fitting into thatlandscape?
James Paterson (09:37):
Firstly, I think, AgTech is an extremely
exciting space.
It's a very challenging spacebecause, traditionally there's
been quite low adoption of, oftechnology in agriculture.
But I think it's a space that'sgot, um, one of the biggest
potentials to make a differenceto the world, um, both from food
(09:58):
production and climate change.
So I think the space isextremely exciting.
It's still extremely young.
Um, so there's so much still tocome here.
I think.
Um, some of the things I see asexciting at the moment, um, the
robotics and automation.
That's just a, a personal lovefor me as well coming, coming
(10:21):
from the engineering side.
But I do think that, uh, laborand efficiency is a, is a
challenge in, in many regions weoperate in, so I like that
space.
Technology that's, that's, um,making inputs more efficient.
So, you know, irrigationtechnology companies, uh,
fertiliser tech.
Um, new biologicals.
(10:41):
I think, think those are veryimportant.
Trying to reduce things likepesticide use out in the field.
And then I believe the big onefor me is, is data and, and
sensors that can, uh, collectthis, this data out in the
field.
And that's where I think both ofour companies, uh, operate in.
And yes, I, I believe that with,with better data, growers are
(11:03):
are experts in farming, right?
So with better data, they canjust scale that knowledge across
the operation, become a lot moreefficient in producing the crop
and then especially in thesupply chain, better data there
for, um, yeah, managingoptimising processes, making
those more efficient andreducing food waste.
Mitchell Denton (11:25):
I 100% agree.
I feel like all those areas youmentioned are all really
interesting and we've seen somegreat innovation happening, but
at the end of the day, I thinkdata collection is the real big
one that's really pushing thingsforward, so that's really cool.
Continuing that thought, how doyou see the role of drones and
other aerial imaging technologyevolving in agriculture in the
(11:45):
years to come?
James Paterson (11:47):
Yeah, I think it's, uh, it's interesting
because it's already evolvedquite, uh, quite a lot.
If you go back six years or so,which is just after we started,
there was a huge hype globallyabout drones.
And then they were gonna be ableto do everything for you, that
drones are going to be walkingyour dog.
Um, you know, so there, therewas a little bit, um, I, I guess
(12:10):
over hype in that industry inparticular, and things have
settled now to more realisticuse cases of, of these drones
out in agriculture.
So currently, um, obviouslythey're very good at collecting
data across large areas andgetting that perspective from
above at scale.
(12:30):
What I see happening now is alsouse of drones for applications.
So I see, uh, the spraying spacepicking up quite nicely.
The volumes that are able to putdown, um, still need to
increase, but certainapplications like, uh, fruit fly
baiting or things like that, um,they're quite a good fit there.
And then the beneficial insectrelease space.
(12:54):
So use of beneficial insects inagriculture is picking up quite
a bit as a replacement for, forpesticide use.
Um, and releasing thoseefficiently across large areas,
uh, by drone is a good, uh, is agood use case there.
I, I do want to say here that,that our company in particular
is also, you know, analysedwhere drones perform well and
(13:16):
and where they don't performwell.
And as I mentioned, for uscollecting imagery at large,
large scale across the crop, uh,we use drones for, and then for
actually, um, measuring andtracking the fruit, we've
brought that technology onto,uh, smartphones and infield
cameras, that our customers canactually use themselves whenever
(13:38):
they want to collect fruitinformation.
So, yeah, we, the, the space isevolving and also the
understanding of where the,where these, um, machines are
strong and where they need to beaugmented with other imagery
types is, uh, is alwaysevolving.
Mitchell Denton (13:55):
Yeah.
Okay.
That's exciting.
So then, besides the obviousproblems on the front end of the
food supply chain that you arelooking to be a solution to,
what would you identify as beingone of the biggest pain points
in the food industry?
James Paterson (14:09):
Yeah, as I, as I mentioned earlier, I think
access to good data for theentire supply chain.
Is is a big pain point at themoment.
It's very hard to estimate whatthe crop is out in the field.
Um, when you do make thatestimate, things can change.
The, the weather can change andthe crop might grow slightly
differently.
(14:29):
And the whole supply chainrelies on this information, the
packhouse, the harvestingprocess, the packhouse, the
logistics chain, right throughto the retailer who's selling
the fruit.
So there's a lot of wastagehappening there at the moment
due to, um, insufficient dataand that's, that's really a, a
place that I think both of our,both of our companies are, are
(14:50):
working into to help optimiseand make that that chain more
efficient.
Mitchell Denton (14:56):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Traceability and transparency,they're the two big factors that
we're definitely trying to kindof tackle.
So is there a particular groupor innovation within the
industry that you're excitedlykeeping a watchful eye on?
James Paterson (15:10):
Yeah, we, we obviously track the other AgTech
groups, um, and what they're,what they're building and
developing.
If I look at the, the othercompany solutions and especially
customer feedback, um, when,when I speak to customers, I
think, uh, groups like Semiosare doing a good job.
Um, out in the field, they havea, a solution to reduce
(15:34):
pesticide use and, and managepest and disease outbreaks
automatically for growers.
They're also extending theirsolution into things like
irrigation.
Um, I think, uh, Phytech is isdoing a, a pretty good job.
We see them quite a lot inCalifornia and Washington and,
and also in Australia.
So I think that's, that's agreat solution.
(15:56):
And then we mentioned roboticsearlier on, uh, Burro is, is,
um, also expanding quite nicely,helping initially with, with
harvest processes, but um, yeah,it's essentially a little,
little robot that can, um, carrythings out in the field and, and
also potentially mount, uh,camera systems on it to collect
(16:16):
data out in field.
Mitchell Denton (16:19):
Yeah, we've actually had Charlie from Burro,
uh, on the podcast previously asa guest, and yeah, it's really
cool what they're doing.
It's actually a very simplesolution, but very effective and
they're, they're doing a greatjob, so it's, it's really cool.
James Paterson (16:35):
I think that's, that's one of the keys in, in
agriculture technology is thesolution needs to be simple and
effective as, as you'vedescribed now, um, it doesn't
need to be, um, In, you know,uh, how agriculture's going to
be in 10, 20 years time.
Um, we need to take, um, small,simple steps forward here in, in
(16:58):
this industry, and I thinkthey're a good example of
starting with a simple solutionand then, uh, they can progress
from there.
Mitchell Denton (17:06):
Yeah, I, I totally agree.
So then what advice would yougive to entrepreneurs looking to
start a company in the AgTechspace?
James Paterson (17:14):
Yeah.
Um, look, I, I always advisepeople to enter the startup
space in general.
I think it is, from an educationand, and personal growth side of
things.
There's no better way to, tolearn than entering the startup
space.
Much better than any, any PhDthat, that you'll get out there.
(17:35):
So I really encourage peoplethinking about making the leap
to make that leap.
The risks aren't as high.
You can always go back to a, aregular job if things don't work
out.
So yeah, definitely enter the,the startup space and build
something if, if you areinterested in that.
I would say in the AgTech spacein particular, um, two things.
(17:57):
The one is, I believe that youshould only enter that space if
you have some connection toagriculture or some background
to agriculture.
It's quite a different space to,to the you know, traditional
markets, FinTech, et cetera.
So I believe you need some sortof connection or, or knowledge
of the industry to, to increasesuccess levels of starting
(18:20):
there.
And then the second thing is, isthe problem you're solving needs
to be extremely clear and simpleand easy to use in the
customer's operations.
That's very important.
Um, it needs to easily tie intohow farmers currently farm or
how they currently run theirprocesses.
Mitchell Denton (18:40):
That's actually really practical advice.
I'm, I'm so used to most guestsgetting this question and
telling people, just don't doit.
Just don't bother gettinginvolved, so.
James Paterson (18:51):
It's not easy, right?
There's there a lot of highs anda lot of lows, but generally
there are more highs than lows.
And, um, if you can, can staypositive and if you enjoy it,
then, then I think the chancesof success are, are decent to
high.
Mitchell Denton (19:07):
Absolutely.
So James, we are coming to aclose, but before we do, I just
wanted to ask you, what is themain point you really want the
listeners to take away from thisepisode?
James Paterson (19:18):
I think that the takeaway from, from what we've
spoken so far is that.
You know, technology currentlyis, is in quite a difficult
space, agTech in particular seenas a, a tough sector to crack
and a tough sector to investinto, but um, for me it is
really the space that can makethe biggest difference for us at
(19:39):
the moment.
So I think both agricultureitself, and then AgTech
supporting agriculture can havea huge impact on food supply and
climate change.
So make, making these changesfor the globe overall will
require, um, investing into thespace and it will require
(19:59):
founders entering the space andbuilding companies to solve some
of these problems.
So I think that's the keytakeaway here is it's, it's a
challenging space.
But I think one of the mostimportant ones and, uh, an
industry that needs support andneeds people entering the, the
space and building solutions.
Mitchell Denton (20:18):
Absolutely.
I couldn't have said it bettermyself.
Well, that's all for today'sepisode of"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork".
Thanks for listening and thankyou James for joining me today.
James Paterson (20:27):
Thank you, Mitch.
I really enjoyed theconversation and hope to speak
to you soon.
Mitchell Denton (20:32):
If you'd like to know more about James and
Aerobotics, check out the linkin the description of this
episode.
Make sure to subscribe to thepodcast so that you never miss
an episode, and don't forget toleave a review and share with
your friends.
Until next time, you've beenlistening to"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork", a PostHarvest podcast.
Voiceover (20:47):
We appreciate you joining us for this episode of
let's talk, farm to fork, besure to rate, review and
subscribe.
Also, if you would like to learnmore about how you can
practically play your part inmaximizing fruit and vegetable
supplies, whether you're asupplier, consumer, or anyone in
between the farm to forkjourney, visit PostHarvest.Com
(21:10):
and try out their free onlinecourse library today.
Welcome to let's talk farm to fork, the PostHarvest
podcast that interviews people,making an impact in the fresh
produce sector.
We'll take a deep dive into whatthey do and find out how they're
helping to reduce the amount offood lost or wasted along the
farm to fork journey.
But before we get started, didyou know that according to the
(00:23):
UN's food and agricultureorganisation, around 45% of the
world's fruits and vegetables goto waste each year?
If you would like to learn moreabout how you can practically
play your part in maximisingfruit and vegetable supplies,
whether you're a part of theindustry or simply a consumer
visit PostHarvest.Com and tryout their free online course
(00:45):
library today.
Now time for your host MitchellDenton.
Mitchell Denton (00:50):
Hi there, and welcome to"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork".
The PostHarvest podcast thatinterviews people of interest
across the food supply chain.
Today on our show, I'm joined byJames Paterson from Aerobotics,
who I'll be talking to about howtheir aerial imagery and machine
learning are helping suppliersincrease their yields.
So, with no further delays,let's get started.
(01:13):
Well, hello James.
Thanks for joining us on thepodcast today.
James Paterson (01:17):
Hi, Mitch.
Very good to be here.
Mitchell Denton (01:19):
Before we get into it though, would you mind
telling us a little bit aboutyourself and what you do and
maybe a fun fact about yourself?
James Paterson (01:25):
Yeah, so I am, James Patterson.
I'm the CEO of Aerobotics, andone of the two co-founders.
So, myself and, uh, BenjiMeltzer actually started
Aerobotics eight years ago.
I am an aeronautical engineer bytraining.
I got my masters at MIT inBoston, where I worked a lot on
(01:45):
drone systems and especiallyanalysing the data collected
from drone systems, um, at thetime in the context of search
and rescue.
So that's where the, the dronesand and AI side of things comes
from.
But, um, yeah, a fact aboutmyself, I'm actually, um, come
from a fruit farming background.
(02:06):
So, my dad is a fruit farmer.
We grow, uh, citrus, avocadosand stone fruit in South Africa,
and that's where the love ofagriculture comes from.
So, um, once I completed mymasters, joined up with Benji
and decided to bring this, uh,technology back to the farm.
(02:27):
and yeah, I started with my dadthere and delivering the new
technology and buildingtechnology for farming.
So he's still a customer of oursand we grew it out from there
out to, to the neighbours.
Shifted our technology intoAustralia and then into Europe
and the USA.
Mitchell Denton (02:45):
Wow, that sounds like it was a match made
in heaven.
So then continuing on from youtelling us what you do, would
you mind telling us a littlemore about the history of
Aerobotics and how yourinnovative technology works?
James Paterson (02:56):
Yeah.
So as I mentioned, we startedthe business eight years ago.
Um, and if you go back eightyears, Drone technology was
still very new then.
Um, the AgTech space was evennewer than, than what it is now,
and we had to build everythingourselves.
So we started building our, ourown drones, our own camera
systems.
(03:16):
The software to fly the droneswas, was written by us.
And then of course, the mostimportant was the extraction of
information from the data that,that these drones were
collecting.
And wrapping that into a productwhere, where growers can make
production decisions.
So the way, the way thetechnology works, we're a
computer vision company.
(03:37):
We've progressed to collectimagery from satellites, drones,
and actually smartphones out inthe field where customers can
take photos of, of trees.
And what, what we do forcustomers in the agriculture
space is help them monitor andoptimise their production.
So we'll start by measuring eachtree, its performance, how it's
(04:01):
growing over time, and thehealth and transpiration of that
tree.
So that's used to optimise thattree which we see as the factory
that's producing the fruit.
And then we take that a stepfurther.
We use higher resolution imageryto actually, uh, identify and
track the fruit through theseason.
Um, so tracking the fruit sizedevelopment and predicting
(04:23):
through to harvest, what thatsize structure is going to look
like.
Mitchell Denton (04:28):
Yeah.
That's fantastic.
You mentioned your father beforeand his farm as a case example.
I was just wondering, can youshare any success stories or
case studies from farmers whohave used your platform to
improve their crop management?
James Paterson (04:42):
Yeah, it's, um, we're making quite a, uh, a
large difference to growers andespecially, uh, vertical groups
that don't just grow the crop,but also pack and market the
fruit.
So as an example of howcustomers would, would use this
fruit information, early season,the production groups would use
this for, um, setting the crop,thinning fruit, for example,
(05:04):
using fruit count and fruitsize, um, as well as setting,
um, irrigation and fertiliserpractices for the season.
Um, mid-season, the verticalgroups, the sales teams actually
need an early estimate of whatfruit's going to be coming in
and what the size structurelooks.
So they, they use that tooptimise the logistics, supply
(05:25):
chain and marketing programs.
And then, uh, a big one is at,at harvest time, analysing, you
can imagine these big groupshave hundreds of, of blocks.
Um, some of our customers have40, 50 farms in their operation
and just knowing where the fruitis ready to harvest, what
percentages at the right sizethat they wanna harvest, really
(05:46):
helps them, you know, make theirprocesses more efficient and
increase the utilisationpercentage of, of the fruit.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm very happywith the solution we're
providing to the, these, um,large farming operations and the
vertical groups where they canoptimise processes right from
production through to the salesprocess.
Mitchell Denton (06:07):
Sounds like you've really helped some
farmers optimise theiroperations.
I see that Aerobotics is notonly concerned with helping
farmers optimise their cropmanagement, but also with
providing a more efficient cropinsurance solution.
Would you mind explaining tolisteners how Aerobotics
precision crop insurance is morebeneficial than traditional
methods?
James Paterson (06:27):
Yes.
So, our, um, if you think aboutwhat we do, we are measuring the
trees and the fruit.
And if you think about what thatmeans for a, a grower, those are
essentially the assets of thatoperation.
A tree is a long-term asset.
It's gonna be producing a cropfor 20 plus years.
Um, and the fruit is the currentasset.
(06:49):
That's the revenue that they'regoing to be generating that
season.
So naturally that's a good fitin financial services, both on
the crop insurance and on thefinancing side.
And what we've decided to dothere is to enter the crop
insurance base first.
Um, we started in the USA and weact as a licensed broker,
(07:10):
helping growers set their cropinsurance policies according to
what the crop is and how thetrees are performing.
So that is the, the, um,solution.
It's running in, as I mentionedin the US at the moment, and we
are investigating, additionalmarkets.
We've spoken to a few of ourcustomers in, uh, Australia and
(07:31):
in South Africa about a solutionthere as well.
Mitchell Denton (07:34):
That's really exciting.
I'm sure the farmers out here inAustralia would really
appreciate those services.
I'm curious, whether it beinternal or external, what would
be the biggest challenge yourteam have encountered so far
with your technology?
James Paterson (07:48):
Yeah, I think the, the agricultural space is
challenging.
One of the challenges we faced,early in our, in, in building
the business was, is what wecall the long tail in
agriculture.
So if you take one crop family,for example, citrus, that has
quite a lot of variety withinit, you've got, uh, you know,
(08:09):
even at a broad level, you'vegot navels, oranges and
mandarins, and then you can godown within that to different
varieties of Mandarin.
And another step further is thesame variety of Mandarin will
grow differently in differentregions.
Um, so when you're doing yourprediction of, of fruit, it's
challenging that, that the fruitgrows differently in different
(08:32):
regions and different farmingpractices.
So I guess dealing with that,that long tail was, uh, an
initial challenge for us.
And we did struggle with thatin, in the early days.
And what we did was to build thetechnology to actually localise
to the region that it'soperating in.
So as one of our customers usesthis, this technology through a
(08:54):
season, it'll actually, um, thefollowing season use that data
of that farming operation of thevarieties that they've got to
improve the following year'sprediction models.
That's worked quite well for usbecause it's, the previous
problem of trying to solve allof this variation in
agriculture, uh, was, wasnon-tractable.
(09:16):
And using customer data toupdate their own models has, has
been great for us.
Mitchell Denton (09:22):
Yeah, I'd imagine putting together
prediction models early on wouldbe quite a challenge.
So I'm, I'm glad you've managedto iron those details out.
So then, what are some of themost exciting developments
happening in the AgTech industryright now, and how do you see
Aerobotics fitting into thatlandscape?
James Paterson (09:37):
Firstly, I think, AgTech is an extremely
exciting space.
It's a very challenging spacebecause, traditionally there's
been quite low adoption of, oftechnology in agriculture.
But I think it's a space that'sgot, um, one of the biggest
potentials to make a differenceto the world, um, both from food
(09:58):
production and climate change.
So I think the space isextremely exciting.
It's still extremely young.
Um, so there's so much still tocome here.
I think.
Um, some of the things I see asexciting at the moment, um, the
robotics and automation.
That's just a, a personal lovefor me as well coming, coming
(10:21):
from the engineering side.
But I do think that, uh, laborand efficiency is a, is a
challenge in, in many regions weoperate in, so I like that
space.
Technology that's, that's, um,making inputs more efficient.
So, you know, irrigationtechnology companies, uh,
fertiliser tech.
Um, new biologicals.
(10:41):
I think, think those are veryimportant.
Trying to reduce things likepesticide use out in the field.
And then I believe the big onefor me is, is data and, and
sensors that can, uh, collectthis, this data out in the
field.
And that's where I think both ofour companies, uh, operate in.
And yes, I, I believe that with,with better data, growers are
(11:03):
are experts in farming, right?
So with better data, they canjust scale that knowledge across
the operation, become a lot moreefficient in producing the crop
and then especially in thesupply chain, better data there
for, um, yeah, managingoptimising processes, making
those more efficient andreducing food waste.
Mitchell Denton (11:25):
I 100% agree.
I feel like all those areas youmentioned are all really
interesting and we've seen somegreat innovation happening, but
at the end of the day, I thinkdata collection is the real big
one that's really pushing thingsforward, so that's really cool.
Continuing that thought, how doyou see the role of drones and
other aerial imaging technologyevolving in agriculture in the
(11:45):
years to come?
James Paterson (11:47):
Yeah, I think it's, uh, it's interesting
because it's already evolvedquite, uh, quite a lot.
If you go back six years or so,which is just after we started,
there was a huge hype globallyabout drones.
And then they were gonna be ableto do everything for you, that
drones are going to be walkingyour dog.
Um, you know, so there, therewas a little bit, um, I, I guess
(12:10):
over hype in that industry inparticular, and things have
settled now to more realisticuse cases of, of these drones
out in agriculture.
So currently, um, obviouslythey're very good at collecting
data across large areas andgetting that perspective from
above at scale.
(12:30):
What I see happening now is alsouse of drones for applications.
So I see, uh, the spraying spacepicking up quite nicely.
The volumes that are able to putdown, um, still need to
increase, but certainapplications like, uh, fruit fly
baiting or things like that, um,they're quite a good fit there.
And then the beneficial insectrelease space.
(12:54):
So use of beneficial insects inagriculture is picking up quite
a bit as a replacement for, forpesticide use.
Um, and releasing thoseefficiently across large areas,
uh, by drone is a good, uh, is agood use case there.
I, I do want to say here that,that our company in particular
is also, you know, analysedwhere drones perform well and
(13:16):
and where they don't performwell.
And as I mentioned, for uscollecting imagery at large,
large scale across the crop, uh,we use drones for, and then for
actually, um, measuring andtracking the fruit, we've
brought that technology onto,uh, smartphones and infield
cameras, that our customers canactually use themselves whenever
(13:38):
they want to collect fruitinformation.
So, yeah, we, the, the space isevolving and also the
understanding of where the,where these, um, machines are
strong and where they need to beaugmented with other imagery
types is, uh, is alwaysevolving.
Mitchell Denton (13:55):
Yeah.
Okay.
That's exciting.
So then, besides the obviousproblems on the front end of the
food supply chain that you arelooking to be a solution to,
what would you identify as beingone of the biggest pain points
in the food industry?
James Paterson (14:09):
Yeah, as I, as I mentioned earlier, I think
access to good data for theentire supply chain.
Is is a big pain point at themoment.
It's very hard to estimate whatthe crop is out in the field.
Um, when you do make thatestimate, things can change.
The, the weather can change andthe crop might grow slightly
differently.
(14:29):
And the whole supply chainrelies on this information, the
packhouse, the harvestingprocess, the packhouse, the
logistics chain, right throughto the retailer who's selling
the fruit.
So there's a lot of wastagehappening there at the moment
due to, um, insufficient dataand that's, that's really a, a
place that I think both of our,both of our companies are, are
(14:50):
working into to help optimiseand make that that chain more
efficient.
Mitchell Denton (14:56):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Traceability and transparency,they're the two big factors that
we're definitely trying to kindof tackle.
So is there a particular groupor innovation within the
industry that you're excitedlykeeping a watchful eye on?
James Paterson (15:10):
Yeah, we, we obviously track the other AgTech
groups, um, and what they're,what they're building and
developing.
If I look at the, the othercompany solutions and especially
customer feedback, um, when,when I speak to customers, I
think, uh, groups like Semiosare doing a good job.
Um, out in the field, they havea, a solution to reduce
(15:34):
pesticide use and, and managepest and disease outbreaks
automatically for growers.
They're also extending theirsolution into things like
irrigation.
Um, I think, uh, Phytech is isdoing a, a pretty good job.
We see them quite a lot inCalifornia and Washington and,
and also in Australia.
So I think that's, that's agreat solution.
(15:56):
And then we mentioned roboticsearlier on, uh, Burro is, is,
um, also expanding quite nicely,helping initially with, with
harvest processes, but um, yeah,it's essentially a little,
little robot that can, um, carrythings out in the field and, and
also potentially mount, uh,camera systems on it to collect
(16:16):
data out in field.
Mitchell Denton (16:19):
Yeah, we've actually had Charlie from Burro,
uh, on the podcast previously asa guest, and yeah, it's really
cool what they're doing.
It's actually a very simplesolution, but very effective and
they're, they're doing a greatjob, so it's, it's really cool.
James Paterson (16:35):
I think that's, that's one of the keys in, in
agriculture technology is thesolution needs to be simple and
effective as, as you'vedescribed now, um, it doesn't
need to be, um, In, you know,uh, how agriculture's going to
be in 10, 20 years time.
Um, we need to take, um, small,simple steps forward here in, in
(16:58):
this industry, and I thinkthey're a good example of
starting with a simple solutionand then, uh, they can progress
from there.
Mitchell Denton (17:06):
Yeah, I, I totally agree.
So then what advice would yougive to entrepreneurs looking to
start a company in the AgTechspace?
James Paterson (17:14):
Yeah.
Um, look, I, I always advisepeople to enter the startup
space in general.
I think it is, from an educationand, and personal growth side of
things.
There's no better way to, tolearn than entering the startup
space.
Much better than any, any PhDthat, that you'll get out there.
(17:35):
So I really encourage peoplethinking about making the leap
to make that leap.
The risks aren't as high.
You can always go back to a, aregular job if things don't work
out.
So yeah, definitely enter the,the startup space and build
something if, if you areinterested in that.
I would say in the AgTech spacein particular, um, two things.
(17:57):
The one is, I believe that youshould only enter that space if
you have some connection toagriculture or some background
to agriculture.
It's quite a different space to,to the you know, traditional
markets, FinTech, et cetera.
So I believe you need some sortof connection or, or knowledge
of the industry to, to increasesuccess levels of starting
(18:20):
there.
And then the second thing is, isthe problem you're solving needs
to be extremely clear and simpleand easy to use in the
customer's operations.
That's very important.
Um, it needs to easily tie intohow farmers currently farm or
how they currently run theirprocesses.
Mitchell Denton (18:40):
That's actually really practical advice.
I'm, I'm so used to most guestsgetting this question and
telling people, just don't doit.
Just don't bother gettinginvolved, so.
James Paterson (18:51):
It's not easy, right?
There's there a lot of highs anda lot of lows, but generally
there are more highs than lows.
And, um, if you can, can staypositive and if you enjoy it,
then, then I think the chancesof success are, are decent to
high.
Mitchell Denton (19:07):
Absolutely.
So James, we are coming to aclose, but before we do, I just
wanted to ask you, what is themain point you really want the
listeners to take away from thisepisode?
James Paterson (19:18):
I think that the takeaway from, from what we've
spoken so far is that.
You know, technology currentlyis, is in quite a difficult
space, agTech in particular seenas a, a tough sector to crack
and a tough sector to investinto, but um, for me it is
really the space that can makethe biggest difference for us at
(19:39):
the moment.
So I think both agricultureitself, and then AgTech
supporting agriculture can havea huge impact on food supply and
climate change.
So make, making these changesfor the globe overall will
require, um, investing into thespace and it will require
(19:59):
founders entering the space andbuilding companies to solve some
of these problems.
So I think that's the keytakeaway here is it's, it's a
challenging space.
But I think one of the mostimportant ones and, uh, an
industry that needs support andneeds people entering the, the
space and building solutions.
Mitchell Denton (20:18):
Absolutely.
I couldn't have said it bettermyself.
Well, that's all for today'sepisode of"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork".
Thanks for listening and thankyou James for joining me today.
James Paterson (20:27):
Thank you, Mitch.
I really enjoyed theconversation and hope to speak
to you soon.
Mitchell Denton (20:32):
If you'd like to know more about James and
Aerobotics, check out the linkin the description of this
episode.
Make sure to subscribe to thepodcast so that you never miss
an episode, and don't forget toleave a review and share with
your friends.
Until next time, you've beenlistening to"Let's Talk Farm to
Fork", a PostHarvest podcast.
Voiceover (20:47):
We appreciate you joining us for this episode of
let's talk, farm to fork, besure to rate, review and
subscribe.
Also, if you would like to learnmore about how you can
practically play your part inmaximizing fruit and vegetable
supplies, whether you're asupplier, consumer, or anyone in
between the farm to forkjourney, visit PostHarvest.Com
(21:10):
and try out their free onlinecourse library today.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.