THE Society of Precision Agriculture Australia and the Precision Agriculture Laboratory (University of Sydney) are hosting the 18th Precision Agriculture in Australasia symposium at the Wagga Wagga RSL, NSW, on September 7-8, where delegates will hear from a wide range of speakers on the use of PA technologies from a range of agricultural production systems.
This year, the international guest speaker is Chad Colby from the US.
He is the founder of AgTechTalk.com, which was developed in 2013 to provide the PA fraternity with the most up to date information pertaining to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The event will kick off with a presentation from the team at the University of New England Precision Ag Research Group on satellite systems to deliver high accuracy real time positioning.
The conference also features practical presentations from Ben Boughton, a farmer from Moree in NSW (Ag Maps Online) who will discuss "Big farms, Big pictures, Big solutions: the future of satellite imagery and UAVs in broad acre farming.
Local PA business Terrabyte will present information and tips on using spatial information when buying a farm.
University of Melbourne will also be presenting the latest results on the potential for microwave weed management, as well as work by Ben Jones and his team, who are looking at temperatures from Landsat 8 on the prospects for using thermal data as a regular part of farmer/agronomist practice and whether they are useful for PA decision-making.
Also on the program is Ian Layden, a Qld researcher who is trying to unravel the benefits of PA for intensive horticulture.
SPAA president Robin Schaefer said the event aimed to provide an insight into the work being undertaken to develop and apply PA in a wide range of agricultural industries.
"Informing landholders of the practical uses of such technology under Australian conditions is vital, and SPAA knows that this symposium will help farmers improve their farm management skills," he said.
For SA farmers or advisers planning to travel to the symposium via bus to/from Adelaide, SPAA is also offering to subsidise bus and accommodation costs, with support from Emerald Grain.
SPAA executive officer Nicole Dimos said SA farmers were PA technology leaders so their attendance was important.
"A real highlight will be the farm stops on the homeward bound route," she said.
"We will visit Rice Research Australia, who host a plethora of trials including the use of a robotic tractor, as well as visiting SPAA president Robin Schaefer's farm??.
"International guest speaker Chad Colby will also be a passenger on the journey back to Adelaide, so bus goers will have extra one-on-one time with the UAV specialist."
* Details: Contact Nicole at SPAA nicole@spaa.com.au to register your place on the SA bus and at the event or visit www.spaa.com.au