Jamie Barwick is aware of the importance of maximising productivity in any sheep operation.
He hails from a Poll Dorset stud near Tamworth, but his work equally applies to Merinos.
A precision agriculture researcher at University of New England, Dr Barwick was awarded the Australian Wool Innovation Award at the 2018 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Dr Barwick was recognised with the award for his work detecting changes in sheep behaviour through the use of GPS tracking and motion sensors.
Ultimately, Dr Barwick hopes to bolster productivity for sheep farmers by creating a system which alerts producers to the declining health of animals allowing for early intervention and minimising impact.
He said that winning the Australian Wool Innovation Award has been beneficial to his research in a number of ways.
”Obviously the financial benefits have been great,” Dr Barwick said.
“It has allowed me to complete my research and trials. But the benefits have not only been financial.
“The recognition of winning the award means a lot. It shows that the industry understands there is a need for this research which is rewarding.”
Dr Barwick became interested in his line of research as an undergraduate at UNE and that interest continues today.
“In 2011, I was at a lecture on precision agriculture and technology in agriculture and that sparked my interest,” he said.
“Then I completed my honours in GPS tracking in sheep looking at shelter utilisation which then flowed into my PhD work.
“I wanted to use technology to help farmers with early disease detection in sheep and apply the tech in a way to not only assist with the disease detection, but increase productivity and profitability as well.”
While a number of companies are developing the on-animal sensors, Dr Barwick said research was still evolving in the application of these systems and how they would benefit producers.
“There are three or four different companies that have these products in the prototype stage,” he said.
“There are a lot of challenges around longevity and connectivity of the system.
“Getting the data back off the sheep in the paddock to the office so farmers can make informed decisions is important.
“Another part of that is coming up with a way to use that information to help make informed decisions, which is where this research fits in.”
