Nuseed Australia's general manager Rachel Palumbo is expecting big things from ag-tech and plant biotechnology as the agriculture industry strives for the next round of innovation gains.
Ms Palumbo said Nuseed was watching the potential of ag-tech with interest.
She said the Australian Farm Institute found that unlocking the benefits of digital agriculture alone could add $20 billion a year in production by 2030.
Ms Palumbo said it was pleasing to see 'innovation silos' tumbling down, with more collaboration across different sectors.
She pointed to the example of Enko, a company that Nufarm has invested in, which discovers new molecules for crop protection using technology successfully used in the pharmaceutical industry.
"Enko uses DNA-encoded libraries to screen billions of compounds against our targets to deliver faster, cheaper and more targeted solutions for farmers," she said.
The industry will also work better to deliver solutions with specific consumer benefits, building on previous ventures in the space such as the high omega-3 canola line developed by Nuseed following research from CSIRO and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.
"We want to meet the challenge of providing for the rising demand for omega-3 oils for aquaculture and human nutrition without overfishing our oceans."
The omega-3 line is based on being able to deliver microalgae nutrition to canola, resulting in omega-3 canola oil containing fatty acids in levels comparable to those found in wild fish.
Last year the Norwegian Food Safety Authority approved Nuseed's Omega-3 canola oil for use in fish feed, a massive step towards its commercial success given Norway leads the world in farmed salmon
production, producing around 1.6 million tonnes each year.
Nuseed is also focusing heavily on the increasing push for decarbonisation, particularly in the space of provide renewable feedstocks to provide fuel for sectors that struggle to meet their emissions targets such as aviation.
Ms Palumbo said decarbonising liquid fuels was critical to meeting obligations given that 45pc of Australia's total energy use comes from liquid fuel usage.
Nuseed has partnered with fuel giant BP to develop Carinata, a cover crop whose seed can be used to manufacture biofuel.
Carinata can be grown between main crop rotations in suitable regions and harvested for certified sustainable lower carbon feedstock.
Deals in place with BP will see Carinata processed into a sustainable
biofuel that replaces fossil fuels and reduces emissions.
As a like for like fossil fuel replacement, Ms Palumbo foresaw a quick uptake as the fuel produced from Carinata can be used in existing capital equipment like airplanes and heavy transport vehicles.
The crop is now in the early stages of its commercial trial phase.
Ms Palumbo said it had enormous promise from a sustainability perspective.
"It removes atmospheric carbon and restores soil carbon as it grows, and reduces erosion through increasing above- and below-ground biomass."
She said the entire seed could be utilised, with the co-product of its oilseed crush a high protein feed meal that provides high-quality animal feed.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
