Digital remote monitoring to improve horticulture’s environmental performance (ST19024)

This project established four demonstration ‘smart farms’ in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area to help growers and the wider industry understand digital environmental monitoring and its use in business decision making and good environmental stewardship. 

Challenge 

Protecting environmental ecosystems in horticulture growing regions is a key challenge for the horticulture sector. An example of this challenge is within the Great Barrier Reef catchment area where impacts like nutrient leaching and sediment run-off need to be addressed. 

Through this investment, four pilot smart farms were established in Great Barrier Reef catchments to demonstrate the benefits of digital remote monitoring and the Control Tower. These pilot smart farms were selected from the banana, nursery, avocado and vegetable industries. 

Response 

Digital remote monitoring was assessed as a method of improving the environmental performance of Australian horticulture. The development of a farm management tool, called Control Tower aimed to improve environmental compliance and productivity by facilitating industry best practice.  

A framework for the digital remote monitoring of environmental performance was developed in consultation with each of the target industries. Industry feedback overwhelmingly recommended using digital remote monitoring to simplify compliance with best practice. Existing environmental sustainability frameworks for horticulture were adapted for digital remote monitoring. The resulting environmental sustainability framework for horticulture was integrated into the Control Tower.  

The collection of compliance information by the Control Tower allowed the project to facilitate a remote audit at the banana pilot farm. The Control Tower provided additional value to certification records by combining chemical application data with the GPS location of farm vehicles. The collection of this data enabled an auditor to access the Control Tower remotely and verify key certification records. The success of this remote audit demonstrates significant progress in lowering the barriers to environmental compliance and proved that rigorous audits can be conducted remotely.  

The Control Tower was developed as a combined productivity and environmental monitoring tool. Integrated with sensors from multiple technology providers, the Control Tower is a sensor agnostic farm management system. All pilot farms were installed with soil moisture, plant growth and weather monitoring equipment. The presentation of multiple sources of plant stress data to the growers led to improved water use efficiency and reduced labour requirements.  

Innovative technological solutions were developed for the pilot farms and their associated industries. Comprehensive water monitoring equipment was installed at the smart production nursery. The quality of water entering and exiting the nursery was monitored and used to automate digital records. 

A nitrate monitoring system was deployed to measure subsurface leachate at the banana pilot farm. The data from this system was used to develop a nutrient loss prediction model, providing growers with decision support. Forecasting nitrate runoff and leaching, allowing growers to adjust their practices and minimise negative environmental impacts.  

Applied Horticultural Research led the communication and extension of the benefits of digital remote monitoring for environmental performance. The project was showcased at multiple conferences, through presentations, posters, and workshops. The benefits of the project were communicated through webinars, factsheets, case studies, guides, and interviews.  

Benefit 

The project conclusively demonstrated that digital sensors and technology can be used to efficiently manage environmental performance and prove compliance with industry best practice. Digital remote monitoring reduced costs, improved input efficiency and opened new sustainable markets for Australian horticulture.