Questions about emissions stop being theoretical quickly once both people in the conversation have stood in a paddock trying to work out how to manage inputs and productivity while keeping an eye on the margin at the same time. That was the pattern at the Digital Agrifood Summit in Wagga Wagga last week, where our co-founder Will Onus spent the day talking with producers and representing Ruminati.
The summit brought farmers and researchers together with agtech businesses for a day focused on where Australian agriculture is heading. The conversations Will had across the day reflected something the team sees consistently at events like this one, which is that farmers want to hear from people who understand what it’s actually like to run a farm. Will’s background as a producer himself shifts the nature of those discussions, because the person across the table has dealt with the same fuel bills and the same stocking decisions, and that keeps the conversation practical from the first question.
The emissions conversation in agriculture has picked up a lot of momentum over the past couple of years, and events like the Digital Agrifood Summit are part of the reason. They put producers in direct contact with the tools and technologies, along with the ideas, that are shaping the industry, and that creates the kind of engagement a policy document or a supply chain requirement notice can’t replicate. Producers who understand the emissions landscape, including what’s being asked of them and where the requirements are heading, along with what a good first number looks like, are better equipped to make decisions that serve their business whether or not anyone is pressing them to.
Being wary of all that is fair, because a number completed now could turn into an obligation down the track, and it’s better to say so plainly than to pretend the direction of travel is anything other than what it is. There’s still value in getting your number down on your own terms. It helps to treat it as part of your business paperwork, much like your BAS, so that it sits alongside your other records and doesn’t become a separate project of its own.
The exhibitor lineup was strong, with fellow agtech businesses including Farmbot, AgronomEye, FarmSimple and Pairtree Intelligence all contributing to a day with a good density of practical conversation.
Thanks to Charles Sturt University, Charles Sturt AgriPark and Food Agility CRC for putting together an event that brought the right people together. We’ll be at the NFF Conference next week, so we’ll see you there if you’re going.
If you’d like to talk through where your own number would start, Ruminati is where producers get that done, and you’re welcome to give us a yell.
