Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

Collaboration will shape the future of Australian agrifood tech
MANAGING direc- tor of AgriFutures Australia John Harvey knows better than most how much great work is being done in agrifood tech across Australia and he’s on a mission to bring together eve- ryone interested in this burgeoning sector.
To help shape the future of Australia’s food and fibre industries, AgriFu- tures Australia has cre- ated evokeAG, an inter- national technology event to be held next February in Melbourne to bring the world and Australia’s brightest agriculture and technology minds to- gether.
Both Australia and New Zealand have the right ingredients to play on the world stage in food and farm for the future.
“When I look at agri- food tech in Australia I see so much hard work, energy, enthusiasm and activity,” Mr Harvey said.
“There are incuba- tors, accelerators, hack- athons, pitch fests and more that are doing a fantastic job of looking at old problems in new ways.
“There are people bringing technological
expertise to agriculture to provide solutions and systems that will boost productivity and profits.
“From working closely with the Australian agri- culture sector’s emerg- ing leaders, I also see a real enthusiasm for technology’s potential to transform the way the industry works and break down barriers.
“It’s not just the con- sumer opportunities that are exciting these emerging leaders either, they’re also keen to be involved in their own agrifood tech innova- tions and investments.
“They want to use their unique skills and experi- ences to generate ideas and solutions that could lead to both commercial success and boost farm productivity.
“From attending agri- cultural and food tech- nology events around the world, it’s also be- come clear there’s genu- ine international inter- est in what’s happening here in Australia.
“While our innovation ecosystem is immature compared to those in the UK, the US and Israel where the deal flows have been big, we are nonetheless making a name for ourselves.”
The practicalities, however, for investors from overseas who want to interact with Austral- ian agrifood tech are tricky.
“Our distance from Eu- rope and the US and the geographic distribution across states and cities of the various centres of in- novation are a challenge,” Mr Harvey said.
“These factors in com- bination; a burgeoning of Australian agrifood tech ideas and innova- tion, enthusiasm from emerging leaders, and the need for investors to have a single place to see the best of what we have to offer, led AgriFutures Australia to the idea that became evokeAG.
“In February 2019 we will be hosting evokeAG in Melbourne – a unique, large-scale event that for the first time will gather together and connect everybody in the food and agriculture land- scape interested in how technology can and will shape the future.
“It will position Aus- tralia’s, New Zealand’s and the Asia Pacific’s agrifood tech industries on the global stage and make it easy for the rest of the world to see our best of the best.
“evokeAG is also a unique opportunity for the agrifood tech sector to have the conversations required to mature our innovation ecosystem and take the industry to new heights.
“We can consider what itiswecandoinAus- tralia that no one else can, how best to grow the sector and expedite technology outcomes.”
It will be a place where through collaboration new ideas can spread across the country and we can create a culture of support around the people developing the technology and solu- tions that will allow us to produce more food and fibre.
As Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: “evokeAG will bring to- gether passionate voices to discuss how we har- ness new technology and creative ways of think- ing to boost output and profitability, increase exports and ensure our rural industries continue to thrive.”
AgriFutures Australia’s vision is to grow the long- term prosperity of Aus- tralia’s rural industries through research and in- novation.
“Our role in determin- ing the future of Austral- ian agriculture is to bring people together at events like evokeAG to drive in- novation, collaboration, funding and opportuni- ties,” Mr Harvey said. “So, if you’re interested in agriculture or technol- ogy, whether you’re an entrepreneur, a farmer, an investor, a producer, a startup, working in agri- business, in finance, in IT or just have a great idea; make sure you mark your diary for February 19-20, 2019 and come along to evokeAG in Melbourne.”
Stay cool with evaporative cooling pads from Stockyard Industries
SUMMER is just around the corner, which means cool- ing pads and systems should be checked, cleaned or replaced if needed before the high summer temperatures compromise produc- tion.
Efficiencies of a pad cooling system will take into account the area of pad installed, the angles of the flute of the pads and the air velocities pulled through the pads.
The slower the veloci- ties through the cooling system, the higher the saturation and cooling efficiency.
This can all change with a build-up of min- eral deposits (calcium build-up caused after water evaporation re- sulting in scaling or al- gae caused by nutrients in the water).
This will all have the highest build-up on the outer edge of the pad with the greatest evap- oration rate or lowest water flow.
These mineral depos- its compromise the ef- ficiency of the pads by reducing the openings of the flutes, which will in turn increase the ve- locities and reduce the cooling efficiency.
The blocked flutes will also increase the pressure drop through
the cooling system, which means exhaust fan air volumes will de- crease and air velocities through the shed will be reduced, while you pay higher energy bills due to the exhaust fans working harder to reach
targettemperatures. For more information and pricing, please con- tact Stockyard Indus- tries on 07 4697 3344 or visit stockyardindus
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Don’t delay and stay
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ACCC finds the inevitable but when do farmers see action?
THE Australian Com- petition and Consumer Commission recently released its final report into the retail electric- ity pricing inquiry, again highlighting a broken energy system.
The ACCC report ‘Re- storing Electricity Af- fordability & Australia’s Competitive Advantage’ largely tells farmers what they already know: higher prices have placed enor- mous strain on business viability and the current situation is unsustainable.
Queensland Farmers’ Federation president Stu- art Armitage said farmers want to know what is go- ing to change and when they will see affordable energy prices.
“While the ACCC ac- knowledged the lowering of network prices from their peak in 2017 and in- creased retail competition leading to limited price decreases and some re- duction in network tariffs, there has been no real or demonstrable decrease in Queensland farmers’ elec- tricity bills,” Mr Armitage said.
“According to the Aus- tralian Energy Regulator, there was an 82 percent increase in the number of small businesses discon- nected by Ergon Retail last financial year.
“This comes as no sur- prise, with some farmers on the receiving end of electricity cost increases of more than 200 percent in 10 years, while CPI has increased by just 24 percent over the same pe- riod.”
And based on current state government policy and tariff offerings, many regional customers face further bill increases in excess of 50 percent when they are forced onto standard business demand-based tariffs in less than two years.
“QFF welcomes the ACCC’s recommenda- tions that the COAG En- ergy Council consider a NEM-wide approach to standalone systems and that Queensland write- down the Regulated Asset Base on the state’s trans- mission and distribution networks,” Mr Armitage said.
“These recommenda- tions would likely have a positive impact on re- gional businesses, includ- ing the agriculture sector.
“However, for this to oc- cur, the report needs teeth and support from State Government.
“This support, and changes to regulatory structures, policies and budgets, cannot happen soon enough for Queens- land’s agricultural sector.
“If action is not taken, unsustainable electricity price increases and lag- ging productivity will result in more expensive food and fibre and a loss of international competi- tiveness.”
www.qff.org.au
© Kemin Industries, Inc. and its group of companies 2018. All rights reserved. ® TM Trademarks of Kemin Industries, Inc., U.S.A. Certain statements may not be applicable in all geographic regions. Product labeling and associated claims may differ based upon regulatory requirements.
www.kemin.com/asia-pacific
Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, August 2018
www.poultrynews.com.au