Connecting Communities with AgTech through our Adoption Officers

Key takeaway

AgTech adoption drives resilience and productivity – Adoption Officer Jane Barker’s work shows how extension and adoption help producers use technology to make smarter, data-driven decisions, improving profitability and adaptability to climate and market pressures.
Connection and collaboration strengthen learning. Through producer workshops, honest discussions, and field days, Jane and other Adoption Officers are fostering open dialogue between producers, technology providers, and researchers, creating trusted networks for shared knowledge and practical feedback.
Inspiring the next generation is essential, so by engaging schools and giving students hands-on experience with AgTech, Jane is sparking curiosity, building skills, and encouraging future careers in agriculture and innovation.

Our Adoption Officer, Jane Barker, has been actively engaging with graziers, high school students, and industry experts to deliver AgTech insights and foster knowledge sharing across the Tropical North Queensland footprint. Her work highlights the critical role of extension and adoption in helping producers become more productive, profitable, and resilient in the face of future variability.

Supporting Producers Through Honest Conversations

Jane recently met with a group of producers at an event organised by a technology provider. The session offered a valuable opportunity to raise awareness of the TNQ Drought Hub’s AgTech support and facilitate open, honest discussions about real-world experiences with the provider’s technology.

“By sharing my own experience, the conversation opened up across the room,” Jane said. “It created a collaborative environment and deepened the learning process. It also encouraged producers to give direct feedback to the supplier based on their on-ground use."

Producers acknowledged the ongoing challenge of finding time to explore the full functionality of new technologies, especially while managing staff adoption. However, many noted that having multiple team members access shared data has significantly improved communication, task management and decision-making.

Inspiring the Next Generation of AgTech Users

Jane has also been supporting Rockhampton State High School and Yeppoon State High School’s agricultural departments to foster student and teacher engagement with AgTech tools.

At both schools, students studying the agricultural elective are using a small mob of beef cattle as part of their learning. A standalone cattle scale, used to monitor weights was installed to provide an example of real-time data that can be used to support management decisions.

“Working with schools gives students a hands-on experience that aligns with their curriculum,” Jane explained. “It helps them understand what technology is available and how it supports decision-making, while sparking interest in careers in agriculture and innovation.”

She added, “Both the students and the cattle showed great curiosity in the machine, which was really exciting to see.”

Strengthening Producer Networks at Collins Belah Valley Field Day

In late August, Jane attended the Collins Belah Valley Field Day, which brought together over 50 attendees, mostly producers, along with participants from across Australia and four other countries. The event provided a platform to connect hub partner, Central Queensland University, academics with producers and strengthen both new and existing relationships.

Jane was involved in conversations about the importance of collecting and using data to inform decisions, while also posing technical questions to AgTech providers that attendees may not have considered.

“The most successful part of the field day was the environment created by the organisers,” Jane said. “It was a comfortable space where people felt free to challenge the status quo, discuss different management practices, and have robust ‘agree to disagree’ conversations.”

Jane’s work across the region reflects the growing importance of innovation and AgTech adoption in building a resilient agricultural sector. As climate variability and market pressures increase, producers need access to tools and knowledge that support smarter, data-driven decisions. Whether it’s through school engagement, producer workshops or field days, the TNQ Drought Hub is helping communities embrace technology not just as a tool, but as a pathway to long-term sustainability, adaptability and success.