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Archive for the ‘Precision Agriculture’ Category

CRC Soil conference in Adelaide – HCPSL getting action on the ground.

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

The Soil CRC (for High Performance Soils) was established in 2017 to give farmers the knowledge and tools they need to make decisions on extremely complex soil management issues. It bridges the gap between soil science and farm management, ensuring that soil performance is increased not just in the short term, but in the long term. The Soil CRC brings together an elite group of industry partners, with 39 Participants, with the Australian Government contributing $39.5 million, $19.1 million from other partners and $107.7 million in-kind contributions, over a 10-year period.

The Soil CRC (for High Performance Soils) held its first annual conference since COVID-19 lockdowns, in Adelaide last week. HCPSL Company Manager- Lawrence Di Bella attended the conference with partners and associates from across Australia and New Zealand present.

Photo above – Rob Milla (Burdekin Productivity Services- Company Manager), Naomi Scholz (Ag Innovation and Research Eyre Peninsula Executive Manager) and Lawrence Di Bella (HCPSL Company Manager) at the Soil CRC conference in Adelaide, 2022.

HCPSL and its sister organisation Burdekin Productivity Services signed up to become Associates of the Soil CRC, with both organisations being the only sugarcane industry groups involved. Eight universities, 21 Farming Groups and other community groups from across the country were represented and are involved in the Soil CRC, tackling issues that drive industry sustainability, productivity, and profitability.

HCPSL is involved in following projects funded by the CRC Soils:

Note: Those projects reviewed by HCPSL Company Manager during the conference proceedings indicated by a *.

A number of the projects have been completed, some mid-life and some just commencing.

University staff and students are working hard on issues specific to the Herbert cane industry. Some of the notable projects that are delivering outcomes are:

This project will determine how soil performance and profitability are affected by increased crop diversity in rotational systems in both broadacre grains and sugarcane industries. The project will investigate the potential for plant-based solutions to improve soil performance through rhizosphere modification.

Photo above – HCPSL staff and growers testing the ‘lab-on-chip’ (in early August 2022) with University of Tasmania student Ruben.

After the conference, Lawrence Di Bella (HCPSL Company Manager), visited the Hart Farming Group and South Australia No-Till Farmers Association (SANTFA) to review business operations and work undertaken.

Photo above left- Field map of the Hart Field Day trial site.
Above right- Project team inspecting trial site.
Photo above left – Meeting with Tom Robinson (Immediate past president of SANTFA) and Lawrence Di Bella (HCPSL Company Manager).
Photo above right – Lawrence Di Bella inspecting trial site at Hart Farming Group.

The learnings of the conference and field visits will be implemented by HCPSL over the next few months and years. We can learn a great deal and address issues our industry experiences by ‘looking over the fence’ to other agriculture industries.

For more information on the Soil CRC go to https://soilcrc.com.au

PRESS RELEASE: JCU student is working with HCPSL to try identifying RSD using satellite technology

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

Ethan’s Story:

My name is Ethan Waters, I am in my 4th year for a double bachelor’s in electrical engineering and data science. I am currently conducting my honours thesis with the goal of detecting RSD with the satellite sentinel-2. I am in the process of developing a free prototype program that will inform farmers which of their blocks likely contain RSD. This will allow them to make more informed decisions to prevent the spread of RSD, increasing yield and profits for farmers. The benefit of using large scale imaging with a satellite is the ability to analyse an entire farm for RSD at the same time, rather than relying on a limited number of samples. Therefore, this will provide a more accurate indication of whether a block contains RSD than sample testing.

Brief Methodology Explanation:

Sentinel-2 is a multispectral satellite which captures the reflectance of different waves, including those that cannot be seen with the human eye. A number of different vegetation indices will be calculated for each satellite image and used as an input to an algorithm I develop. I am specifically interested in vegetation indices that look at moisture and water retention of plant matter, given that RSD reduces water retention. 

Above: JCU Student, Ethan Waters.

Future Plans: 

Demonstrating a successful prototype would provide strong grounds to apply for a number of grants and investments into sugarcane research to identify and prevent disease. This will help growers in the industry increase yield and profits. 

We need your help!

HCPSL staff will be contacting growers over the next few days asking for permission for Ethan (JCU student) and HCPSL staff to access your farm data to undertake this study. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

If Ethan is successful in identifying RSD using satellite imagery, it will greatly assist growers better understand and manage the disease.

For more information on the project contact Ethan Waters on 0435 626 685.

Download a copy of Press Release below.

HCPSL Press-Release: JCU Student Working on RSDDownload

PRESS RELEASE: HCPSL Warren’s Hill GPS Base Station is operational

Posted by Ellie McVeigh

PRESS RELEASE


HCPSL Warrens Hill GPS base station is operational.


Recently HCPSL has made a significant investment, with the installation of a new GPS base station to its community network. The new base station will operate on frequency 466.1000. Like all HCPSL base stations in its network, it has been surveyed in for transferability between other base stations when operating across the district.


The new installation is part of a strategy to improve GPS base station signal across the Herbert cane growing region.
During HCPSL’s recent Strategic Planning process (conducted in late 2021 and early 2022), HCPSL members identified the GPS network as critical to farm operations in the district and requested the company to continue to provide this service to its membership. The HCPSL Board recently approved its 2022-23 budget, with further upgrades and maintenance of the GPS network approved to be undertaken over the next few months.


For more information concerning the HCPSL GPS base station network please contact the HCPSL Manager.

PRESS RELEASE: HCPSL Warrens Hill Base StationDownload

Project Catalyst: Grower Support Program now OPEN for 2022!

Posted by Bethany Donker

Herbert growers are invited to express their interest in Project Catalyst’s Practice Change and Grower Support Program in 2022.

This program offers growers a chance to be involved with innovative practices, agronomic advice, demonstration trials and grower information sessions. Participating growers will receive agronomic support to evaluate their current farming system and identify and adopt two farming practice changes.

As part of the program eligible growers will receive, free of charge, a full-scale nutrient management plan. They will also have access to a number of tools, services and opportunities over the course of the program.

Growers interested in participating should contact HCPSL on 47761808, Megan Zahmel 0447 317 102 mzahmel@hcpsl.com.au or Bethany Donker 0490 077 176 bdonker@hcpsl.com.au.

HCPSL