There is a growing desire from farmers and consumers for their produce to be grown using more efficient and environmentally friendly on-farm practices.
Sustainable practices are essential for Australian farmers who want to protect land quality for future generations. At the same time, investors, export markets, and local consumers are paying closer attention to the sustainability of produce.
A major step toward this goal is giving growers real-time access to field data. With this information at their fingertips, they can make the best decisions for their crops.
A banana grower in the Great Barrier Reef catchment, Gavin Devany from Bartle Frere Bananas, has worked with Hitachi through Hort Innovation Frontiers to minimise the footprint of his business. Through a specially developed dashboard, he tracks advanced sensing, leachate monitoring and sediment analysis to ensure best management practices relating to irrigation, fertilisation and plant care.
Gavin’s business, Bartle Frere Bananas, is a 100-ha family owned and operated, plantation in Boogan, Queensland. There is increasing pressure on the banana industry in Queensland to manage phosphorus and limit inorganic nitrogen loads, which are notoriously difficult to measure and model. Runoff from the farm drains to the Moresby River, which is 30km from the Great Barrier Reef.
This innovative approach has enabled Gavin to explore new technologies for automatically collecting data. This data not only supports his sustainable decision-making but also provides evidence of his commitment to protecting the environment.
Gavin said “Working with Hort Innovation Frontiers has given us a chance to make changes to our practices on our property that have benefited Bartle Frere Bananas financially. We have been able to assess the way we use key inputs such as labour, fertiliser and irrigation, so that we can manage those practices in a way that is a lot more environmentally friendly.”
