Farmer AgTech Stories

Learn where and how Tasmanian farmers like you have implemented tech on their own farms, and their lessons learned for successful implementation.

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Farmer AgTech Stories

Photo by Veronica White — Connecting a farm

Will Bowden, a fifth-generation farmer in Tasmania, leveraged irrigation and digital tools to remotely control 17 pivots, pumps, and reservoirs, reducing downtime and improving water management.

Cow with Halter Collar — Adoption of Halter technology

Duncan McDonald, an early adopter of Halter cow collars, introduced virtual fencing to cut labour demands and now sees gains in milk yield, animal health, reproduction outcomes, and reduced costs.

Pooley Wines - Sustainable production across two different sites and environmental factors

Pooley Wines is a premium wine producer in the Coal River Valley. They have integrated precision technologies to manage environmental variability across two distinct vineyard sites in Tasmania. By focusing on soil health, sustainability , and scalable systems, they’ve improved operational efficiency and reduced their environmental footprint. They highlight the importance of knowing your baselines, and assessing what technology is needed for long term sustainability and operational efficiency.

Simon Cafe Talk — Hillwood Berries - Automated Operational Efficiencies

Hillwood Berries, a leading Tasmanian berry producer, has adopted autonomous transport and advanced data dashboarding to address rising labour costs, harvest waste, and sustainability challenges. The farm’s experience demonstrates how practical AgTech can reduce input costs, improve operational visibility, and create decision-making efficiencies without replacing human labour.

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Josef Wild Eye — Agtech for vineyard irrigation management

Integrating multiple agtech platforms has improved irrigation scheduling, vine health, and long-term sustainability at Josef Chromy Wines’ Relbia vineyard. Real-time data and system integration have reduced guesswork, increased efficiency, and supported higher-quality grape production.
*This project was delivered by the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group (TAPG) and supported through funding from the Strategic Industry partnership Program (SIPP).

Photo by Rachel Kucera — Integrated Connectivity, Data and Irrigation Systems

Integrating data systems, full-farm connectivity, and monitoring technologies can improve operational efficiency, decision-making, and resource management, as one example from a diversified dairy, livestock & cropping farm shows.

Thumbnail — Variable Rate Application – the basis of an agtech adoption journey

Variable Rate Application (VRA) technology can effectively reduce fertiliser costs, improves yields, and address paddock variability through targeted, data-driven input application.

Tole Cressy CS — An AgTech adoption journey

An integrated AgTech approach — combining mapping, precision land forming, guidance, and monitoring — can address drainage, nutrient, and irrigation inefficiencies on variable soils.
*This project was delivered by the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group (TAPG) and supported through funding from the Strategic Industry partnership Program (SIPP).

Scott Probe CS — Soil moisture monitoring for improved pasture production

Soil moisture monitoring can clarify when and how much to irrigate by providing real-time insight into soil water dynamics, enabling better pasture management decisions.
*This project was delivered by the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group (TAPG) and supported through funding from the Strategic Industry partnership Program (SIPP).

Ratho Irri CS — Water on and water off – precision drainage for improved crop production

Waterlogging that impacts crop performance and increases labour demands can be effectively addressed using precision surface drainage with impressive returns.
*This project was delivered by the Tasmanian Agricultural Productivity Group (TAPG) and supported through funding from the Strategic Industry partnership Program (SIPP).

THUB King Island24 41 — Using animal data to drive better decision-making

Aiden Coombe adopted digital farm management tools (e.g., Stockbook with AgriWebb), enabling improved monitoring and faster issue detection.

Russel Farm — Adopting a range of technologies for rotational grazing

Russell Fowler, who manages a large sheep enterprise with 10,000 ewes, integrated technologies like EIDs and EnableAg to track weights and grazing, achieving efficiencies, healthier stock, and better pasture use.

I Stock 1297336310 — Bioscout x Simplot

Bridging the gap between environmental risk and actual pathogen presence to optimise fungicide applications, reduce chemical inputs, and protect crop yields.
Simplot is trialling advanced agricultural technology at their Bridport site to combat Early Blight (Alternaria spp.) in potato crops. All available disease risk models rely on weather only, and do not take into account whether a pathogen is actually present, and its quantity. Simplot integrated BioScout’s automated airborne spore-tracking technology to confirm whether the actual pathogen was present before spraying. This shift from predictive assumptions to near real-time biological data allows for highly targeted, precision disease management