Ongoing challenges for food producers

Dr Ben Biddulph, chief primary industries scientist, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development (DPIRD), hosted fellow DPIRD colleague Dr Gaus Azam, principal soil scientist, Ty Fulwood, owner, Mt Noddy Farming, Annabelle Coppin, founder, Outback Beef and owner, Yarrie station and Dr Joanne Wisdom, innovation manager, Grower Group Alliance (GGA).

Dr Biddulph opened the session by declaring that WA is the "canary in the coalmine", presenting statistics and future projections of rainfall and temperatures to demonstrate how harsh the WA environment is to navigate for producers.

He said connectivity was a challenge for primary industries, with 2.43 million of the State's 2.85m population living in urban areas, creating a divide.

"We are one of the most urbanised places in the world," Dr Biddulph said.

"But things we take for granted are still impacting our regional communities.

"Connectivity is really low and a lot of the challenges around service delivery in our regional communities are just because of the fact that there's not enough people that live there."

Dr Azam, who Dr Biddulph described as one of the State's eminent soil scientists, presented data on soil amelioration practices before discussing the need for more thorough '3D' mapping of broadacre agricultural soils.

"Knowing the composition of soil and optimising its conditions are essential for enhancing our grain production, but our current knowledge of soils is quite two-dimensional - what is at the top and what is at the depths," Dr Azam said.

"Research results are stating we can double the yield potential if we can effectively manage what is happening below the surface, both vertically and horizontally."

Grain producer Mr Fulwood, who farms 5200 hectares in the Central Wheatbelt, spoke of soil research projects on his properties for the past eight years, and the need to understand what was going on below the surface.

He said there were ample opportunities and potential to grow more food in WA.

"The value of land has increased so significantly that anyone looking at investment really has to work out where they will get the best pay off and it often isn't buying more land now," Mr Fulwood said.

He said the calibre of individuals and farm operations had improved and farmers were looking to reinvesting, but wondering how to best get bang for their buck, suggesting the soil amelioration space was one to consider to "potentially quadruple your profit margin on that same bit of dirt".

"Gauz's research has shown that if we can affect soil to a greater depth and get it right in the right area, there's huge potential to grow more food, to increase revenues and profits across farm businesses," Mr Fulwood said.

As a proud-fifth generation farmer, Ms Coppin spoke of her personal experience, and passion for the land - and the need for technology advances for rangeland pastures and livestock management to improve productivity, along with regeneration and for carbon capture.

Adding a bit of reality, she said her family still used a billy can to make hot black tea and they often slept outside.

"But at the same time we use every bit of technology that we can that will work and make a difference to our businesses," she said.

Ms Coppin said she cared for her country, but also embraced change and become excited about it.

"Technology gets cheaper and more available, and will revolutionise rangeland management," she said, listing the helicopter and mobile phone as two of the biggest factors.

Ms Coppin spoke of her long-term vision for her operations and how technology and innovation could help her get there.

"In essence I want to leave our country in a better resilient state and have a more clear formula how you do that, while at the same time running cattle in that landscape to provide a beautiful, natural safe beef product, make a decent living and have the perpetual support from the outside world to carry on, and I have less than 20 years to do that," she said.

Ms Coppin pondered how new technology and innovative practices could assist, believing the wider industry needed to work together, suggesting remote pasture monitoring, mobile abattoirs, innovative tangible mapping, virtual fencing and unmanned drones as future prospects.

Dr Wisdom, who as well as being GGA innovation manager, is the co-owner of Plantaganet Wines.

She discussed the unique challenges faced by vineyards and perennial horticulture crops, saying the industry is in need of improved tools to manage spatial variability in crop yield, quality and maturity at harvest.