A substantial $92 million combined investment has been announced for Analytics for the Australian Grains Industry (AAGI).
The funding, announced earlier this week, will help to unleash the potential of statistics, machine learning, data fusion and analytics for Australian graingrowers.
The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is committing $36m over five years to AAGI, which complements a $56m co-investment from strategic partners Curtin University, the University of Queensland and the University of Adelaide.
GRDC managing director Nigel Hart said the project would help Australian grain producers become "world leaders" in analytics-driven decision making, which will drive efficiency and precision and support farm enterprise risk management.
"Our RD&E (research, development and extension) projects require a rigorous, data-driven approach, so statistical and analytical capabilities are critical for converting raw data into meaningful knowledge for grain growers and the broader grains industry," Mr Hart said.
The newly-formed AAGI will build substantial capacity in the grains RD&E analytics workforce, with GRDC estimating the investment will support the equivalent of 49 full-time researchers and 48 higher degree research students.
GRDC said the increased capacity would broaden analytics capabilities, allow for more investment into high-priority research, and attract additional intellectual property, investment and expertise from the commercial sector and other parties.
AAGI will involve researchers from Curtin University's Centre for Crop and Disease Management, as well as other Curtin research groups.
Curtin University vice-chancellor, professor Harlene Hayne, said Curtin University was proud to be involved in this new globally significant partnership that would directly address challenges and opportunities associated with a data driven future for agriculture.
"This strategic partnership in data science aligns with Curtin's goal to provide leadership and capability for a profitable and sustainable agriculture industry, and I look forward to seeing Australian grain producers thrive as a result," professor Hayne said.
She said Curtin researchers were "well known" for their expertise in industry engagement, biometry, sampling and experimental design, bioinformatics, spatial modelling and machine learning, computer vision and artificial intelligence, econometrics and optimisation.
University of Queensland vice chancellor professor Deborah Terry said the partnership would build frontier research solutions for all levels of the grains industry while helping to expand analytics training and support for the agriculture community.
"This is an excellent demonstration of how collaboration between industry and the higher education community can deliver outstanding outcomes for those working across Australia in one of our most important export industries," professor Terry said.
"One of the real legacies of the AAGI initiative will be developing the capability of a new generation of talented analytics graduates to support the grains industry for many years to come."
University of Adelaide vice-chancellor and president, professor Peter Hj, said that as a global leader in research and development, the University of Adelaide welcomed the opportunity to work collectively with its partners to deliver high-quality, leading-edge data analytics capability for the Australian grains industry.
"The University of Adelaide has assembled a strong cohort of well-established industry driven analytics research teams for AAGI, with expertise across biometry, data science, mathematics, machine learning and artificial intelligence," professor Hj said.
"Collaboratively with our partners, these teams will drive analytical innovation and ensure accelerated productivity, profitability and future sustainability for Australian graingrowers."
AAGI will be led by Nathan O'Callaghan, who started this week as AAGI's inaugural director.
Dr O'Callaghan was the former director of the Precision Health Future Science Platform at CSIRO and is a highly-respected Australian science and innovation leader.
"Dr O'Callaghan brings a wealth of experience to the role of AAGI director, through his extensive work at CSIRO and across government, academia and industry," Mr Hart said.
"Working closely with strategic partners, Dr O'Callaghan will lead AAGI in bringing together universities, Federal and State government research agencies, and commercial technology and analytics providers as one team to tackle the grains industry's biggest challenges."
GRDC has been focused on investment in statistics for the Australian grains industry for over a decade, and the introduction of AAGI will be a significant step forward.
This new research will build on the foundational work done under the GRDC's $23.8m Statistics for the Australian Grains Industry 3 (SAGI3) investment, which delivered vital information for the grains sector between 2016 and 2023.
During this period SAGI3 provided statistical expertise to more than 210 GRDC investments totalling more than $490m.
As a result of these investments, growers now benefit from better germplasm selections in pre-breeding programs, clearer research-driven agronomic recommendations, and tools that use data to support onfarm decision-making.
