FORWARD thinkers and rural revolutionaries were on display at the Hagley Farm School last week, with the latest and greatest brought together for the Ag Innovation Expo.
For the eighth consecutive year the expo offered insights in to the future of the agricultural industry in Tasmania, with attendees including Safe Farming Tasmania, Fruit Growers Tasmania, TasTafe, the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, NRM, as well as many machinery exhibitors and agricultural groups showing off the pinnacle of rural technology and farming practices.
“Over the years this event has evolved into a broader ag innovation event rather than just controlled traffic farming, which is what we started with,” said Terry Brient, Executive Officer of the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group (TAPG).
“Today we’re looking at anything that’s a little bit innovative that’s going to help us maintain productivity in a sustainable manner.
“Public licence to operate is going to come under more and more public scrutiny for farming in the future and we’ve got to be ahead of it. To be able to prove that our chemical usage is minimal and our care of the soil is maximized.”
TAPG chairperson Mark Kable said the event provided a platform to attract
and educate the next generation to the industry. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Year 10 student at a high school or a 53-year-old farmer like me we’ve all come here to learn,” Mr Kable said.
“The government’s 2050 vision is for agricultural productivity to reach $10 billion, we’re not going to be around in 2050,” Mr Brient said. “These kids will be in our shoes doing our work and if we’ve got to have the best and brightest coming into the industry.”
“If we’re going to get the best out of the technology in the future we’re going to have to have a smarter and better educated workforce and we’ve ever had before.