Vegalogue is a regular podcast from vegetable, potato and onion industry peak body AUSVEG, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Historically, Australian producers have been rapid adopters of new technology and innovation, and the current generation is no different. Growers are looking to new agricultural technologies, or agtech for short, to help them confront the pressure from climate change, labour shortages, rising input costs and changing market demands.
The technologies being explored read like a list of TED Talks keywords; artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, drones, big data, the internet of things…
Understanding, sourcing and trialling these new technologies can be time consuming and costly, however, so in 2024 Hort Innovation launched a $4.1 million levy-funded project to help Australian vegetable growers adopt advanced mechanisation technology.
Run by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries over three years, the project will deliver field days, showcase events, demonstrations, international study tours, webinars and more to help growers engage directly with the latest equipment and manufacturers.
In October 2024, the project took a group of 16 vegetable growers on a study tour to the US, where they attended the FIRA-USA International Forum for Agricultural Robotics in California.
One of those growers was Dan Hodges from Peninsula Fresh Organics in Victoria. Dan’s an enthusiastic adopter of new tech on the grower’s two properties on the Mornington Peninsula, and we spoke to him about the promising agtech he saw in the US, and the potential for applying in Australia.
Learn more about the project discussed in this episode: Advanced vegetable mechanisation program to maximise labour and cost efficiency (VG23003)
Vegalogue is the podcast from AUSVEG, the peak body for Australia’s vegetable, potato, and onion industries, where we examine the pressing issues and latest developments in our sector.
Thanks for listening! You can find out more about AUSVEG and the Australian vegetable industry at ausveg.com.au. Subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, or Tik Tok.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!