Wine Australia’s AgTech Program recently held two demonstration days — one in early July at Josef Chromy Wines, in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley, and the second in late August at Quelltaler Estate, in South Australia’s Clare Valley.
More than 70 people attended the demonstration day in Tasmania, which focused on drought-resilience technology as part of the Farmers2Founders Tekfarm Drought Resilience program (funded by the Future Drought Fund).
The group enjoyed engaging presentations by Josef Chromy, Bests Wines and Penley Estate on the user experience and value of adopting technology. There was also great interest in emerging autonomous solutions for the vineyard.
The ‘Make Every Drop Count’ workshop at Quelltaler Estate — also held in partnership with Farmers2Founders and supported by funding from the Future Drought Fund — attracted more than 50 people where they learnt first-hand about the raft of AgTech solutions being tested by fellow growers, and the potential of these innovations to help their own business.
Key presenters included Michael Paxton, Vineyard Manager for Quelltaler Estate, and Marty Gallasch, a fourth-generation grapegrower from Ebenezer, in the north of the Barossa Valley, who shared insights on the practicalities of installing and operating AgTech systems, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them, and their benefits.
Out in the vineyard, great interest was shown in demonstrations of autonomous and robotic solutions from Agri Automation, including GOtrack, Burro and Agtech By Design — solutions designed to improve vineyard operation efficiencies and reduce input costs.