CQUniversity agtech on the menu for Argentina's beef producers

CQUniversity's precision livestock management technologies are turning heads in Argentina' where more than 100 producers participated in an agtech demonstration in the famous beef-producing region La Pampa.

With support from the Australian Government's Global Innovation Linkages program' CQU has been working with Argentina's National Institute of Agriculture Technology (INTA) to adapt Australian livestock management technologies to local conditions and provide postgraduate training to INTA researchers.

Deputy Director of CQU's Institute of Future Farming Systems' Michael Thomson' said there was huge interest in walk-over-weigh systems from Argentinean beef producers who attended a field day at INTA's Anguil Research Station.

"We have four walk-over-weigh units located on INTA research stations in two different provinces' which are gathering intensive animal performance data that is being analysed by CQU's custom-built research software' DataMuster'" Mr Thomson said.

"The feedback and insights provided by Argentinean beef producers over the last three years has been critical to improving both the hardware and our software' and customising data analysis to meet their specific needs."

The installation at Anguil is a feature of a Smart Farm initiative by INTA' which will use a range of technologies from agtech companies and research organisations to intensively measure all elements of farm production' from soil carbon to pasture growth' water storage' animal feed intake and growth rates.

INTA software engineer Ricardo Garro said the data captured by the walk-over-weigh systems was providing critical insights into animal performance.

"The ability to accurately capture calving dates and daily growth rate information is adding a level of precision to our animal management decisions that we didn't have before'" he said.

Mr Garro is undertaking a postgraduate research degree through CQU and is using the DataMuster platform in his investigation of blockchain verification for beef provenance and quality.

"Connecting data capture technologies through the supply chain from paddock to plate and verifying these through a highly secure blockchain has the potential to add value by reassuring consumers of the methods used to care for animals and to deliver quality beef products'" he said.