Australian agriculture is world-renowned for leadership in harvesting practices, water-efficient agronomy, crop and livestock breeding, conservation tillage and development of fit-for-purpose farm machinery. While Australia exports two-thirds of its produce, it is a relatively small exporter when compared to countries like the United States and the Netherlands. Nonetheless, our primary producers (or farmers) are among the most efficient in the world, with a long history of productivity...
More DescriptionAustralian agriculture is world-renowned for leadership in harvesting practices, water-efficient agronomy, crop and livestock breeding, conservation tillage and development of fit-for-purpose farm machinery. While Australia exports two-thirds of its produce, it is a relatively small exporter when compared to countries like the United States and the Netherlands. Nonetheless, our primary producers (or farmers) are among the most efficient in the world, with a long history of productivity improvement and adaptation to external challenges, including environmental extremes, price fluctuations, variations in international trade conditions and changes in government policy. Farmers have embraced innovation and shown willingness to adopt technologies that lead to improvements in farm practices. Governments, research providers and a range of other stakeholders have been critical to ensuring that the appropriate resources, policies and institutional arrangements are in place to support research, development and extension. This report examines and considers the impacts, opportunities and challenges associated with nine highly prospective technologies likely to impact agriculture over the next ten years and considers how Australian agriculture is positioned to meet them. This includes consideration of the role these technologies can play in helping Australian agriculture address the broader trends and pressures facing it, including: climate variability and resilience; changing consumer preferences; workforce capacity; environmental and landscape; sustainability; biosecurity; industry disruption; and costs of production.