TNQ Drought Hub Director, David Phelps and Agricultural Innovation and Commercialisation Program Lead, Tony Matchett attended the Queensland AgTech Meetup last week in Emerald. The purpose of the meetup aims to grow connections across the Queensland AgTech community and provide an opportunity for companies, startups, producers, researchers, industry and government to meet up, exchange ideas and drive the future of agriculture through technology innovation and adoption.

The AACo Livestock Session covered the latest advancements and challenges in the livestock sector and the Central Queensland Smart Cropping Centre Cropping Session covered insights into smart farming practices, precision agriculture, and sustainable cropping solutions. David participated in the pop-up panel session that discussed how innovation can help build resilience.

Tony said, “There were lots of really valuable discussions around building climate resilience through incorporating tech and data driven solutions into irrigated grain and cropping. It’s really exciting to hear about grain and fodder solutions that are in the middle of Research and Development projects. By having climate resilient agricultural systems, producers can still have profitable outcomes no matter the season.”

David and Tony also took the opportunity to meet with Capella local dryland cropping farmer Gary Gersbach to learn about how he has dealt with extreme weather, pests, growing a variety of crops and investing in a precision planter to ensure viability.