Harvesting data to empower Australia’s grain growers

Australia’s grains industry is facing mounting pressure from climate extremes and emerging plant diseases, threatening both profitability and global competitiveness.

Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ), in collaboration with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), are spearheading efforts to tackle this challenge through innovative digital technology.

Dr Duc-Anh An-Vo and Dr Francis Gacenga are leading a research team that is developing a powerful analytics dashboard that brings together siloed datasets on climate, grain varieties, crop productivity, plant diseases and pathogens.

Dr An-Vo said that by unlocking, fusing and reusing GRDC datasets, the tool would provide a trustworthy and comprehensive resource for grain growers, extension officers, government agencies, researchers and industry stakeholders.

“This project will deliver value multipliers to the grains industry by enabling more accurate modelling for practice changes that increase productivity, slash labour costs and boost profits,” he said.

“By making critical datasets accessible and reusable, we can turn data into practical decisions that strengthen the sector’s resilience.”

Advances in high-performance computing and artificial intelligence, combined with UniSQ’s analytics expertise, mean the vast stores of GRDC-funded data are now “ripe for harvest”.

“We aim to lead internationally in delivering practical solutions for the sustainable management of complex agricultural enterprises and agroecosystems,” Dr Gacenga said.

“By bringing together science, technology and industry insight, we can safeguard and grow Australia’s grain sector for the future.”

Undertaken through the University’s Centre for Sustainable Agricultural Systems, the project will draw on expertise from the Centre for Crop Health and UniSQ’s digital research infrastructure, while also leveraging Australia’s Commonwealth-funded National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) capabilities.

The project has been supported by a $455,000 investment from GRDC.

The project team includes UniSQ researchers Dr Duc-Anh An-Vo, Dr Francis Gacenga, Dr Kirsty Owen, Dr Cassy Percy and Dr Jason Sheedy.