Driving farming innovation from the foundation up
February 12, 2021Australian growers are set to reap the benefits from a new farming innovation hub launched today in Allora, Southern Queensland.
Foundation Farm has been established by Pacific Seeds to test and prove new farming technologies, methods and systems at a practical level offering confidence to growers before implementation on their own properties.
Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management and Federal Member for Maranoa David Littleproud officially launched Foundation Farm today and said cross-industry collaboration was key to driving innovation and benefits for farmers in the field.
“As our population grows and farmers face new climate challenges, it has never been more important for like-minded organisations, researchers and growers to work together to not only overcome these challenges but identify and implement opportunities for Australian agriculture to continue to prosper as a result,” Mr Littleproud said.
Pacific Seeds Managing Director Barry Croker believes Foundation Farm will assist in driving improvements to efficiency, sustainability and ultimately profit for Australia’s agricultural industry.
“Foundation Farm is a long-term vision for Pacific Seeds and part of our unwavering commitment to innovation and seeing grower’s full farming potential realised,” said Mr Croker.
“The new initiative provides an opportunity to look at the very foundations of a farm’s operation, and ask what can be done differently to not only improve production today, but to also anticipate the challenges growers may face in 10-15-20 years’ time as our climate changes and technology evolves.
“Foundation Farm is about working collaboratively as an industry to utilise the best people or agronomists and researchers research, technology and products in order to continually evolve how a farm operates for the better.”
Research, practical applications, and the sharing of knowledge are the cornerstones of Foundation Farm. Activities will be based around five key pillars: new technology, sustainable farming practices, crop protection, crop agronomy and training.
Located across 80 acres outside of Allora, Foundation Farm provides opportunities for dryland and irrigated cropping systems, with a focus on grain sorghum, field corn and forage sorghum farming applications. Foundation Farm is a practical and highly valuable resource for educating growers, agronomists and agricultural technology providers.
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