MAY 2017 | Lorraine Clarke

DELORAINE’S Rotary Pavilion, which once resounded to the thwock of indoor cricket balls, was abuzz on 20th April with the latest displays of Spatial Technology applied to farming gadgetry at the Precision Agriculture Expo.

Crowds of farmers intent on moving their operations into the space age by trading time-consuming graft for phoning it in, flocked to the many stalls showcasing technologies being developed to assist rural enterprises.

Poppy growers attended sessions addressing their industry outlook.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s MetEye program successfully predicted rain within the following days.

Gleaming ranks of tractors and implements attracted admiring farmers and small boys. Live machinery demonstrations in the paddock showcased their capabilities.

Livestock monitoring devices and virtual fences promise to optimise detection and management of issues as herd sizes increase.

GPS-guided drones can be used to identify early problems in growing crops, mapping large fields and creating 3-D models of forests and land degradation areas.

Robots were featured as a means of reducing the costs of manual labour, machinery and fuel required to weed and fertilise row crops.

An exciting display of this technology was presented by RMCG Agricultural Consulting, a firm based in Tasmania and Victoria. The 250 kg robot ‘RIPPA’ (Robot for Intelligent Perception and Precision Application) was let loose in a field of recently-planted lettuce and brassica seedlings.

It spent a little time familiarising itself with the appearance and spacing of the crop varieties. In fact, it learns to identify the crop varieties at successive stages of growth.

RIPPA then autonomously followed the rows, propelled by solar powered batteries, recognising all extraneous objects and weeds. A mechanical weeding arm scratched out or buried any weeds found. Foreign bodies were located and sucked up. A soil probe tested moisture, temperature and electrical conductivity levels. Data from these tests could then be fed back real-time.

Australian horticulture suffers from very high labour costs. Spatial technology can improve production efficiency via automation of many of these tasks.

Carl Larsen, Senior Consultant with RMCG explained, “RIPPA is essentially an iPad on wheels. We can plug any function into it. It was developed 18 months ago as a University of Sydney project, and is in mid-development stage now. We are getting the prototype onto farms from Queensland to Tasmania for 5 years of testing. Economic analysis will be done to assess the costs and benefits to farmers. Early pest detection is the next stage of the project.”

RIPPA can tow a 300 kg trailer, enabling the on-board system to apply precision amounts of fertiliser or herbicide.

Considerable savings in chemicals are made with these strategic applications compared to applying them on field scale by a conventional tractor.

The light weight of the robot means less soil compaction. RIPPA is the ultimate uncomplaining self-starter, working on full solar operation 24/7.

RIPPA will be in action again at Agfest. Carl Larsen can be reached at 0419 622 393.

Photo | Mike Moores