Highlights from our recent Smart Farming Field Day
By David Hunt, Smart Farming Project Officer
1. Field day participants discussing how the dam water quality data and remote monitoring
camera feed is wirelessly transmitted to the office using a local private network.
Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) conducted a Smart Farming field day at the Golden Grove production nursery on 12 November 2021. This field day was conducted as part of the Smart Farming Partnership project ST19024 - Digital remote monitoring to improve horticultures environmental performance, funded under the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program and Hort Innovation.
The Smart Farming Partnership project aims to develop cost effective tools that continuously monitor the nursery’s production environment to inform business decisions, help improve water quality and resource efficiency, drive good environmental stewardship, and accelerate uptake of the Australian Plant Production Standard (APPS).
The field day showcased the technologies installed at Golden Grove with presentations from the project partners GIA, Applied Horticultural Research (AHR) and Hitachi on integrating sensor data into a central control tower, and how that data is used in guiding business decisions.
2. Field day participants learning how the container moisture sensors and plant weight
scales monitor plant available water in the growing media, and the volume of
leachate draining from the containers, which is used to adjust and schedule irrigation.
Nursery professionals from across Queensland, representing family-owned businesses through to large commercial production nurseries, attended the day. They were taken on a guided tour of Golden Grove, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Field day participants were keen to know how to choose which systems to monitor, which sensors to install and where, and their likely cost. The group discussed many options. However, there is no generic answer to these questions as it depends on the size of the production nursery, the condition and type of production processes or systems used at each nursery, and whether those existing systems need to be updated. In some cases, updating equipment is needed before smart control technologies can be installed. This ensures the production systems meet best management practice and provide consistent, accurate and reliable data that can be used to make decisions.
One starting point discussed for those wanting to install smart technologies was to monitor irrigation and runoff water quality. The water quality sensors installed at Golden Grove help to determine the level of water filtration and disinfestation needed, influences pump energy usage, and identifies the amount of fertiliser being leached from the containers. However, the group discussion highlighted that any technologies or systems to be installed need to be designed to suit the nursery’s management and production practices, so the technologies provide the right data or information the nursery manager needs to make business decisions.
3. Field day participants learning about the upgraded irrigation controller and
fertigation system at the Smart Farm’s pump shed that allows for more precise control
of the irrigation and fertiliser applications.
Despite being punctuated by rainstorms, the event was well received by all with comments that the day was interesting, informative and enjoyable. Several attendees also commented that the information delivered answered many questions they had and now they have a better idea of what technology to install and how to go about it.
Wayne Parr, Golden Grove’s owner said: "I believe it was a successful field day considering the weather was not quite ideal. I also had good feedback from the growers; like us, they want the tools to monitor and improve their crop management and plant quality, which the Smart Farming Partnership project is starting to deliver.”
GIA would like to thank all project partners for their contributions and support for the field day.
Further information
To access Smart Farming Project information, visit the Australian Plant Production Standard (APPS) website.
If you are interested in receiving project updates or would like to be advised of future events, please contact David Hunt, GIA Smart Farming Project Officer via email - david.hunt@greenlifeindustry.com.au.
