A multi-million-dollar project will look to retrofit Australia’s on-farm tractor fleet into autonomous vehicles, initially driving efficiency in the labour-intensive nut industry.
Hort Innovation CEO Brett Fifield said the grower-owned horticulture research and development corporation would allocate more than $220 million to productivity-boosting projects, from automation, AI and on-farm management to data collection and business analysis.
Mr Fifield said part of the productivity push involved new technology that had the potential for one grower to operate multiple tractors at once, slashing the labour input costs.
He said the technology would enable around-the-clock operation with minimal human intervention and promises revolutionary change in Australia’s almond, macadamia, and pistachio industries.
“With this innovative solution, a single operator can remotely manage and optimise a fleet of tractors from any device – including mobile, desktop or tablet.”
Mr Fifield said a partnership with United States ag-tech leader, Bluewhite, would bring cutting-edge technology that retrofitted existing tractors, converting them into fully autonomous machines.
“Leveraging advanced AI technology, this multi-year project will seek to accelerate the adoption of precision autonomy in Australia’s nut industry and automate labour-intensive farming operations.
“Overall, it will aim to boost productivity and reduce reliance on manual labour across the sector.”
He said there was potential to scale to other industries in the long term and boost productivity across the entire horticulture industry.
“Nut production and harvest are labour-intensive, and the sector relies heavily on seasonal workers, particularly backpackers and holidaymakers to meet demands.
“However, since the changes to labour programs and ongoing changes to regulations, growers have faced increasing challenges sourcing reliable labour.”
Mr Fifield said the technology was already being used successfully by some of the largest nut, citrus, and vineyard operations in the United States, delivering higher productivity, improved crop consistency, and reduced exposure to human error and fatigue.
“We hope that with grower consultation and plenty of technology testing, we will be able to see similar results come out of this for our Australian nut growers,” he said.
