Primex Field Days return to the Casino, June 15-17, with major sponsor dairy co-op and rural supplies Norco, and a focus on technology in agriculture.
For instance visitors will step into the futuristic world of ‘farming via drones’. What visitors will quickly learn is that the future of robotic agriculture is already here.
“The uses for drones in agriculture are changing every week,” said Ben Trollope, Chief Operations Officer for one of Australia’s leading drone companies, The Ripper Group.
“Their use is only limited by our imagination. Whether it’s checking fencelines, or bores or a cow giving birth or controlling noxious pests, there is a drone ready to do that job.
“My aunt, who is in her early 60s, sits on her porch at her two-acre orchard at Orange and uses a drone to scare birds off her trees.”
The Ripper Group will spearhead part of the innovation feature at this year’s Norco Primex.
They will be showcasing the latest in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology specific to agriculture, but also showcasing the technology to farmers for multiple purposes on their properties.
These technologies will include crop health, LiDAR capability, contour and water run off mapping, thermal inspection, UAV fertiliser application, noxious pest control, herd inspection and detection, property mapping, and fence and water inspections.
“We have a range of products and systems that will be onsite to increase farmer awareness of what technology is available and also have engineers and pilots available to answer relevant questions in regards to customisation,” said Mr Trollope.
Health check
Norco Primex Field Days 2017 is partnering with Southern Cross University in offering farmers and their families in rural Australia a health check.
Visitors to the massive field days at Casino will get a free health assessment as part of the expo’s Healthy Rural Families feature.
“There is nothing more important than your health, yet too often families on the land put a health check on hold because they are too busy,” says Norco Primex director Bruce Wright.
“This will be a real positive addition to Primex this year. Across the three days of Primex, Southern Cross University will have its mobile health clinic on site offering health assessments.
Meanwhile, Lorrain Gordon, Program Director of Farming Together, a major sponsor of the Healthy Rural Families Feature at Primex, will share insights into how co-operatives, collective bargaining and other forms of collaboration can improve agricultural resilience and farm gate returns.