Page 10 - Demo

Time to end farmers’ raw deal
With Farmbot Monitoring Solutions, the high intensity nature of grower operations can be improved with remote visibility.
Farmbot provides remote water monitoring expertise
FARMBOT Monitor- ing Solutions is an Australian ag-tech company that pro- vides farmers with re- mote water monitor- ing products.
where our water is go- ing and allows us to isolate that location and ensure water is go- ing where it’s needed.”
Farmbot has a solu- tion for chicken farms across Australia, no matter their scale.
We recently sat down with Southern Cross Farms Australia chief operations officer Greg Gaze to find out how employing remote water monitoring has helped his 202ha broil- er chicken operation.
Mr Gaze highlighted many real-world ex- amples of how this technology has helped improve operational efficiencies.
By adopting ag- tech solutions such as Farmbot Monitoring Solutions, the high in- tensity nature of these operations can be im- proved with remote visibility.
“We can make bet- ter decisions by un- derstanding the actual destination of water,” Mr Gaze said.
•Importance of 24-hour, seven-days a week asset visibility in intensive farming op- eration
“We now see a shed using 93LPM, where- as another is using 200LPM.
• Clarity in decision making processes
“It lets us understand
We believe that
Major factors includ- ed:
To make technol- ogy even more invit- ing, farmers willing to spend on technology that helps lift efficien- cy and productivity can claim 120 percent in tax deductions – an- other reason to invest.
• Increased water security and reduced wastage
For more information or to read the Southern Cross Farms Australia case study, visit farmbot.com.au
• Improved employee work and life balance.
AS supermarket prices climb, most shoppers would be shocked to learn that some farmers are not seeing one extra dollar in their pocket.
chicken per year, yet poul- try growers are well and truly at the bottom of the pecking order.
The NFF has docu- mented case studies across the poultry and al- so horticulture industries of egregious commercial behaviours that farmers have little choice but to contend with.
of overdue changes to un- fair contract terms that allow for unfair clauses to be struck out of con- tracts and importantly, create financial penal- ties for those using unfair contract terms
National Farmers’ Fed- eration chief executive officer Tony Mahar said, “Many farmers continue to be ripped off, held to ransom by the might and power of the food supply chain with little to no pro- tections from Australia’s competition law.”
“Poultry farmers do not own the birds but care for them on behalf of pow- erful processing compa- nies, yet it’s the farmers who are required to own and maintain the sheds, equipment and resources needed to do this,” Mr Mahar said.
“It speaks volumes that most impacted farmers are reluctant to speak publicly about their mis- treatment in fear of re- prisal,” Mr Mahar said.
• The reform of merg- er and acquisitions laws that provide the Austral- ian Competition and Con- sumer Commission with teeth to stop acquisitions that may create undue market concentration in the future and provide the ACCC with greater abil- ity to place conditions on such acquisitions
This election, the NFF is calling on both major par- ties to have the courage to commit to the competi- tion law reform needed to level the playing field for farmers, small businesses and ultimately consumers.
“The chicken meat pro- cessing industry is highly concentrated.
“It’s a clear demonstra- tion of how broken some of our food supply chain has become and how in- adequate many current competition protections are.”
“Australians expect farmers to receive their fair share for the food they produce,” Mr Mahar said.
“Often growers have no option but to accept con- tracts that aren’t in their best interest.
In its #TimeToThrive federal election platform, the NFF is calling for:
• The introduction of a legislative ‘right to repair’ for farm machinery that will ensure farmers are not gouged for the cost of machinery repairs and maintenance, as recom- mended by the Productiv- ity Commission.
“But while prices are on the up, farmers remain price takers, at the mercy of the formidable bargain- ing position of processors and retailers.”
“Poultry farmers are often required to make sizeable infrastructure investments only to face the possibility that their contracts can be terminated with little to no notice, with no alternative contract arrangements to fall back on.”
• The establishment of the Perishable Agricul- tural Goods Advocate to undertake compliance and enforcement activi- ties on behalf of the most vulnerable in the food supply chain
Find out more and sign up to receive NFF’s Policy Voting Guide at TimeToThrive.com.au
“Growers have few op- tions as to who they con- tract with.
• The
The chicken meat processing industry is highly concentrated and growers have few options as to who they contract with.
implementation
Mr Mahar said the time for tough talk from those in office was over.
“Actions speak louder than words,” he said.
“To date, action has been missing-in-action.
“There must be an end to the unfair, unethical and unconscionable business practices that hurt farm- ers, small businesses,and consumers.”
Shockingly, farmers be- hind an Aussie household staple are among those most poorly treated.
Australians eat more than 47kg per person of
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Contact Tony Byron 0425 425 485 or tbonetone@hotmail.com
www.valtonfeedingsolutions.com.au
Page 10 – National Poultry Newspaper, May 2022
www.poultrynews.com.au