Ep 31: Talking on-farm robotics with SwarmFarm

EPISODE 31:

Robot farm machinery is no longer a sci-fi fantasy, it’s already on-farm and impacting how farmers manage their operations. 

In this episode, podcast regular, Food Agility CRC Chief Scientist, Professor David Lamb explains that although autonomous technology is now available there’s still work to be done to ensure  our farms and our farmers are ‘robot ready’. 

We hear from Jack Rudd from SwarmFarm robotics about its autonomous machinery, mainly being used for spot spraying. He says the technology allows for more effective weed control, reducing chemical and labour costs.  

Northern NSW broadacre cropper Scott Wilson has been using a Swarm Farm robot for spot spraying and says ‘Scrub’ as the robot’s affectionately known, has benefits for both farm operation and lifestyle. 

FEATURING:

PROFESSOR DAVID LAMB – FOOD AGILITY

Dave is a physicist and has worked in precision agriculture for more than 25 years. In this time, he has led more than 40 R&D projects and championed the concept of smart farming. He led the launch of Australia’s first SMART Farm at the University of New England and, more recently, the Global Digital Farm at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW.

In addition to his role as Chief Scientist at Food Agility, David took on the additional role of Deputy CEO on 1 November 2023. He also holds adjunct and visiting Professor appointments at University of New England, Charles Sturt University and the University of Technology Sydney.

JACK RUDD – SWARMFARM

Jack Rudd is a mechanical engineer who has worked for SwarmFarm for the past four years, based in the Riverina of NSW. Jack’s role involves setting up SwarmFarm robots on farm and field-testing software. SwarmFarm is an Australian company developing agricultural robots for crop production. There are now around 100 SwarmFarm robots being used by farmers across much of Australia. 

STEVE WILSON – NSW BROADACRE FARMER

Scott Wilson is a broad acre cropping farmer from northern NSW, between Walgett and Come by Chance. The Wilsons grow wheat, faba beans, canola, chickpeas and barley across 11,500 hectares, in a mainly dryland operation. The Wilsons have adopted a Swarm Farm robot, which is attached to an 18-metre spray rig with WeedIt technology. Scott says they’ve been using the robot for targeted in fallow spraying, saving on chemical and man hours on the tractor.