As the horticultural technologist for Fresh Produce Group (FPG), based at its Treviso Vineyards property in Red Cliffs, Tristan Smith understands how important it is for producers to accurately forecast harvest windows and estimate potential yield to make informed business decisions.
In a variable industry such as table grape production, Mr Smith is also aware of the benefits agricultural technology – or agtech – can have on improving efficacy of data, cost-savings and task efficiency.
However, the path to adopting agtech is one taken not without risk.
Ease of use, interoperability and high-cost versus uncertain return on investment can all impact the trust producers have in agtech products.
Part of the role of the Australian Table Grape Association’s (ATGA) industry development team is to investigate relevant agtech avenues and uncover opportunities to improve on-farm efficiency while reducing risk to producers.
One of the ways the team is doing this is through an AgriFutures Australia progression project which ATGA was awarded as an extension of its 2022 producer technology uptake program grant.
The progression project will allow participating producers like FPG further testing of an innovative AI technology which analyses yield at various stages of production – technology which could, in theory, transform the way Mr Smith and FPG currently do business.
Know what you grow
Bitwise Agronomy’s GreenView platform uses cutting-edge AI crop analysis technology which can “help farmers know what they’re growing or going to grow”, according to Bitwise’s Fiona Turner.
Bitwise uses AI and computer vision, an image recognition AI product.
“Basically, the AI sees as viticulturists and agronomists, looking at different phenological stages, and can measure and size and count to add superhuman scale, speed and accuracy that gives operational insight and tools to help forecast better,” Ms Turner said.
“The exciting part is understanding problems that the table grape industry has and seeing how we can help solve those problems.”
During the project, participating producers, including Mr Smith, will mount a simple GoPro to their buggy with a side-on view of their vines, using machine vision to capture images which are then uploaded and converted into data the producer can use to plan ahead.
htimSrM’s role is to review all FPG’s growing practices at its Treviso Vineyards and Colignan Farms properties, including developing block plans and crop set-ups for table grapes, so being able to use this technology as part of the AgriFutures project is a huge advantage.
“We pay a lot of attention to and put a lot of emphasis on determining exactly how many bunches per vine and suitable berries per bunch we have throughout the block,” Mr Smith said.
“We start at fruit set, when the first block has been completed with bunch trimming and fruit thinning, and follow through as quickly as we can behind the thinning and trimming teams.
“Really, we want to get all that done before December 20 so we can start making informed decisions from that veraison period onwards.”
Not only is data vital but it allows growers to act quickly – but it currently comes at a cost and it is a time-consuming process.
At the moment, three or four people manually count bunches per quarter and berries in a bunch across a proportion of FPG’s blocks, from final bunch trimming and bunch thinning onward.
Once that data is ingested, Mr Smith uses historical knowledge on berry weights to estimate yield as well as make other choices on how to achieve the suitable bunch size and count they need to reach their optimum harvest date.
“It does take us quite some time, and we also don’t have very long to do it,” he said.
“There are 100–120 blocks here in production.
“If you do leave it too long, your window to be able to correct with the A-team – a team of experienced workers – is too short.
“If we decide that a block has bunches that are too large, we’ll send an A-team back through to make some adjustments and tweaks to those bunches in there to obtain that premium bunch.”
In addition to time spent and labour costs, Treviso Vineyards’ undulating soils, with low and high areas and lack of uniformity through the blocks, also make it difficult for Mr Smith to achieve accurate data.
If the technology can produce extensive data quickly, it is likely to slash the work of four to just one, saving on labour and time, which will allow FPG to make business decisions quickly and responsively.
“I’d like to be able, this year, to commercially roll this out to understand, having a larger data set, not only what the cost-savings are but the accuracy of the data,” he said.
“This job may only take me a couple of weeks instead of the time period it used to take.
“We can literally be right behind the tailing crews with this, which will then give us a greater response time if we need to make adjustments on those blocks.
“There will definitely be huge time savings and cost savings using the Bitwise technology on the side of a buggy.”
Getting comfortable with agtech
The progression project will give ATGA, along with participating producers, the opportunity to address some barriers to adoption of agtech such as Bitwise.
ATGA industry development manager Jenny Treeby says delivering these opportunities is key for industry.
“Last season provided significant challenges for producers and did not represent a typical growing season to work with,” Ms Treeby said.
“Securing the use of the technology for another season will, hopefully, help alleviate challenges faced by producers in the first round – like lack of staff availability and difficulties uploading large files – and give us a better understanding of machine vision and its use in table grape vineyards.”
Regardless of capacity, trialling technology like Bitwise, through the producer technology uptake program, helps growers understand the suitability of products and overcome barriers for adoption.
AgriFutures Australia manager of innovation Emma Harbison says AgriFutures is excited to open new avenues for agtech uptake for table grape participants and see what opportunities the technology offers.
“A key benefit of the program is the focus on grassroot producers being the drivers of project activities tailored to addressing their specific barriers to adoption,” Ms Harbison said.
“We have seen first-hand the impact the program is having on producers and the farming community through collaboration, capacity-building activities, peer-to-peer learning and physically trialling technology.
“We know farmers like to touch and feel technology before investing, and that’s where projects such as ATGA’s allow farmers to get comfortable with the tech and see how it will help them in their business before taking the leap.”
Adapt and adopt
As innovations in horticulture are embraced by industry, new technologies can enhance efficiency and reduce production costs – among many other benefits.
Mr Smith said the beauty and simplicity of the GoPro and Bitwise technology meant it could be adapted to suit small and large growers.
“There are multiple outcomes you can achieve from this,” he said.
“The main outcome we’re looking for is balanced vines with suitable bunch size.
“Outside of that, we’re able to also inform our marketing team of the yield we’re looking at per block and with historical knowledge of what week that is likely to come through there.
“For any farm, to be able to estimate the yield they have out there with considerable accuracy will help through to purchasing packaging, talking to their marketer, whether they use a third-party marketer or themselves, and sorting out labour rather effectively.
“I do see benefits for all sizes of business in the industry.”
