Archive for the ‘AgriTechNZ News’ is_category>

Sharing our inspiring stories
Discover the Kiwis taking on the world in our brand new series. First up, we meet entrepreneurs Don, Clare and Aaron who share their close connection to the land and the challenges of scaling globally. Read more >

Join the conversation
How is connection to the land important to you? What does ‘place’ mean to you and your business? It might be where you grew up, where your business is based, or the unique characteristics of the region you live in. We’d love to hear your stories to help inspire other Kiwi AgriTech entrepreneurs. Read more >

Navigating Chaos
In March I joined an event hosted by Boma New Zealand, Navigating Chaos as a Ukrainian Entrepreneur, an interview with Michael Utkin, CEO of agritech business FieldBee. The extreme circumstances the FieldBee teams are working under is inspirational, clearly demonstrating how work and the lives we share it with are so interwoven. View now >

Turbocharge global connections
As borders reopen, it’s time to begin reconnecting in person. If you are considering attending Hort Connections or WineTech, this June in Australia, please let us know. Read more >

Leading the way at Dairy-Tech UK
It was great to see AgriTechNZ members, Gallagher, MilkTechNZ, Levno and UBCO leading the way at this northern hemisphere event. In preparation for future opportunities, we are delighted to collaborate with the United Kingdom Department of International Trade (UK DIT) and UK Agritech Centres to connect our ecosystems. Read more >

Take to the stage at evokeAG 2023 in Adelaide
If you have a global agrifood innovation and tech story worth telling, please submit an expression of interest by 31 May. Read more >

Foundations of digital agriculture
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor has announced support for digital farm environment plans (dFEP) from the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund (SFF Futures). To fast track its delivery, SFF Futures is contributing to the Trust Alliance New Zealand (TANZ) led research project. Read more >

Powering up the waka
Andrew Cooke from Rezare Systems has penned an excellent thought piece on optimising a farm with digital solutions while completing necessary regulatory levy compliance tasks as efficiently as possible. Read more >

Blueprint for an industry
It’s not often you see the birth of an entire new sector, but that’s what Puro New Zealand are taking on through a SFF Futures grant from MPI. The grant will help establish an organic medical cannabis industry by developing a blueprint for other Kiwi companies. Read more >

Acquisition strengthens capability
Recently named supreme winner of the New Zealand International Business Awards, Bluelab has acquired automation company Autogrow as part of a global expansion strategy. Read more >

Keeping an eye on investments
Dunedin based member OmniEye has received $1.6 million seed funding to commercialise their on-farm camera system. Read more >

More agritech recognition
Congratulations also to all the agritech finalists in the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards. Special mention to our members Agrisea, Cropsy, Hectre and SmartMachine. Read more >

Primary Industries Summit and Awards: exclusive ticket giveaway!
We have partnered with Callaghan Innovation to offer five member companies (who have entered the awards) a free two day summit pass, plus complimentary tickets to the Primary Industries Summit Awards on 6 July in Auckland. Contact us >

Discover Israel’s Innovation Experience
Israel 360° offers an online academy followed by a week in Israel, touring businesses, meeting investors and networking. Scholarships are available. Learn more >

Step up and represent your community
We have three Executive Council roles up for election in the next two months. Major Corporate, Other Corporate and SME positions are all due, so now is a good time to sort your membership and play a role in our sector leadership. Contact us >

Ngā mihi,

Brendan
Chief Executive
AgriTech New Zealand

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Hort Connections

Australia & New Zealand’s Premiere Horticulture Conference & Trade Show
6 – 8 June, 2022.
Brisbane Convention Centre
View agenda

WineTech

Australia’s Wine Industry Exhibition & Conference
27 – 29 June, 2022
Adelaide Convention Centre
View agenda 

If there is enough interest in either of these events, Callaghan will support Kiwi companies with either a NZ Let’s Connect event prior to the conference or an in-market Mini Mission immediately after.

What is NZ Let’s Connect?

These events are meetups for New Zealand companies attending conferences. It provides an opportunity to network prior to a conference and meet with relevant sector experts from the host city.

What is a Mini Mission?

These are customised for each event and include a one day deep dives to better understand the market. Mini Missions may include a farm or research institute visit, or in-market exploration with agencies from the host city.

If you have registered or are considering attending Hort Connections or WineTech, please let us know here!

Please respond by Friday 22 April 2022.

Can you take on the world from your own backyard?

The sheer bloody minded persistence that paved Don Sandbrook’s big break is still the key to building a global business. Greentech Robotics is on a bold mission – to future proof farming by developing cutting edge robotic capability.  Today, almost all their customers are offshore, but Greentech Robotics is still based in Palmerston North.  We asked Greentech Robotics’ Don Sandbrook how he made it work. Read more.

Shifting mindsets with the power of local knowledge.

It started as a dream, but this award winning Paeroa based family business is creating global impact.  Their tech is unique and uses brown kelp native to New Zealand.

“As a Māori-owned, intergenerational business, we have a different lens on the business than a large corporate might have. That influences our long-term vision. Māori values like kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga and whanaungatanga are part of our DNA,” says AgriSea’s Clare Bradley.

“Our values are not a PR exercise for us, they’re part of who we are. We feel it is our responsibility to look after our natural resources for future generations,” she says. Read more.

Necessity is the mother of invention!

We’re renowned for our ‘number eight wire’ mentality to problem solving.  But when FlipFarm had to think creatively to stop losing their gear and oysters they also created a system to help farmers around the world.

“We built the system for us but once we saw that it worked we knew it was going to solve a big problem for farmers around the world,” says FlipFarm’s Aaron Pannell. Read more.

We’d love to hear your stories!

Is connection to the land important to you? What does ‘place’ mean to you and your business? It might be where you grew up, where your business is based, or the unique characteristics of the region you live in.

We’d love to hear your stories to help inspire other Kiwi agritech entrepreneurs. Please contact us.

View the Hon Damien O’Connor’s media statement here.  

Subscribe to receive regular news and events updates from AgriTechNZ. 

Access your member discount code here

Would you like to know more about agritech in New Zealand?  Subscribe to receive monthly news and event updates.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our dedicated and tireless volunteer Executive Council. They guide me and the team and put in considerable effort on behalf of the member groups they represent. They are accomplished, connected and motivated, so it’s not surprising they have achieved quite a few notable results themselves this year.

Our Chair, Kenneth Irons, was selected as the New Zealand representative on the International Standards Organisation’s advisory group on Smart Farming.

Bridgit Hawkins, Chief Sustainability Officer at CropX,  launched Fields Of Change to begin an important and long overdue conversation about women’s leadership in agriculture. 

Maria Jose (MJ) Alvarez, Investment Manager at WNT Ventures, was selected as a finalist for the Westpac and Stuff Women of Influence NZ 2021 for her work increasing diversity in tech and venture capital. MJ was also recognised as one of the Top Diverse Board-Ready Directors by the Superdiversity Institute for Law, Policy and Business and Ministry for Ethnic Communities in New Zealand.

Kylie Horomia, Head of Industry Transformation at WayBeyond, was the driving force behind the recent Global Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Census. The purpose of the Census is to understand the CEA landscape and provide growers’ insights into how their industry is tracking. Dr Haydn Reid and Te Whanau-a-Apanui are developing a spat Hatchery and working with other Iwi in the aquaculture space on the Eastern Bay of Plenty. It’s an emerging story, but one where Agritech will be super valuable, in a place where people need jobs and talent can be developed to support a new developing industry.

Finally, I’d like to thank our members who support this community and enable the development of our shared ecosystem. Through your support we are continuing to promote and advocate for the development of the sector – a collective effort with strong support from our Government partners. That support comes from the justified aspirations for the sector, but also because we continue to collaborate as a sector together.

Brendan O’Connell

CEO

AgriTechNZ

Next week, we are taking what was supposed to be a national roadshow online.  Join the Agritech Connect Seminar as we reflect on the progress made with the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP). This will be an informative session highlighting key project progress and sets the scene for the continuing shared work to build our sector. This event is a precursor to our physical  tour around the country in 2022, starting in late February.  It’s not too late to register, so please, join us Tuesday 30 November from 1:00pm-2:30 pm.  

Last week, we began surveying our membership to better understand their needs, preferences, their sector and community interests.  Insights from this survey will be used to plan member activities and representation. Your participation will impact our work so if you are a member and missed the email, please contact us. 

What makes our agritech unique?
Earlier this month, the #PoweredbyPlace campaign launched in the print edition of the Farmers Guardian, Climate change  solutions from the other side of the world.  The first video showcasing how New Zealand agritech is helping United Kingdom (UK) farmers improve their environmental footprint, is also live.  View it here and then watch our hero video here. 

In collaboration with Government agencies and agritech businesses, we are piloting offshore agritech campaigns, initially targeting the UK.  The learnings from this will then provide a blueprint for activation in other markets.     

If you haven’t already, please check out the Powered by Place toolkit with insights, messaging, images and videos to help you share the New Zealand Agritech story in your market.  You can also leverage the campaign by using the ready-to-share social tiles in your marketing with #NZAgritech or #PoweredbyPlace hashtags on social media.  The campaign toolkit includes all the assets (yes, it’s free!) and guidance on how they can be used.

Explore the toolkit

Data interoperability update 

We recently held the third session of the Agritech Leaders Data Reference Group and reviewed industry concepts for a ‘data definitions registry’ and industry statement of intent regarding data sharing.  Our Chair, Kenneth Irons, was also recently appointed by Stats NZ as the New Zealand Representative on the International Standards Organisation (ISO) Advisory Group on Smart Farming. There is a lot of activity in the domain of ‘data interoperability’ and we are forming views on what some of the ‘common ground’ activities should be for an independent organisation working in an interdependent space. We know that this is not just a local challenge and we need to connect with global systems and build on the work of others.

Read more >


Championing data collaboration
The proof is in the carcass! It was great to see the integration of ANZCO’s kill sheet data with FarmIQ systems. Every step that links insights across the sector is a step closer to a more complete data ecosystem for New Zealand. Our vision is for a digitally enabled primary sector that protects and amplifies what is best of New Zealand and adds further credibility to all our products: food, fibre and tech.

Read more >

Fastest growing agribusiness

In further member news, we congratulate Levno for being named the fastest growing Agribusiness and placing among the top 20 fastest growing businesses in New Zealand over the previous two years in the #Deloitte #NZFast50 index.

Read more >

Open innovation 

It’s also great to see open innovation and collaboration in the Sievwright Investment Entity’s investment in Machines at Work. This is first external investment in Machines at Work, and the Sievwright’s are the drivers behind global equipment business Trimax. The funds will be used to accelerate development of the company’s core technology which enables the autonomous operation of existing machinery — helping address some of the biggest challenges faced by the horticulture sector today. It’s a great partnership and example of continued confidence and investment across the sector.

Read more >

Award winning aquatech innovation 

Congratulations to FlipFarm Systems, a New Zealand company that has developed a semi-automated method for turning oyster-growing cages over with little human effort, has won the Global Seafood Alliance’s annual Global Aquaculture Innovation Award.

Read more >

Our partners at AusAgritech recently appointed Tracey Martin as their new CEO and we look forward to working together on the promotion of regional agritech strengths and opportunities.

Thank you to all members who have provided input to the recent NZTech submission on the Ministry for the Environment’s Te hau marohi ki anamata, Transitioning to a low-emissions and climate-resilient future. Your voice was heard and has joined the voices of those who  support the effective application of technology to enable our shared future. You can view further submission activity here and we will continue to highlight topics of particular interest to the AgriTechNZ community.  Given the Industry Transformation Plan’s focus on Commercialisation of Research Intellectual Property (IP), we will focus on the Te Ara Paerangi – Future pathways – Green Paper and encourage you to submit feedback as well as participate in industry discussion on the future of science and innovation.Please let us know if you would like to join a working group on this topic. 

Finally, when it comes to looking to the future we are strong advocates for the development of skills in identifying and processing signals of change. We all do a version of this as we can news and topics of interest to our sector.  Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of joining a training session with KPMG where it became apparent that there is a discipline and methodology to capturing and analysing signals that together can inform more rich assessments of possible future scenarios for our sector and business. Callaghan Innovation are continuing this and I highly recommend checking out this first newsletter, subscribing for future issues versions and joining events like this in Christchurch on Dec 9th when possible. The Global Signals newsletter and workshops are another part of the Agritech ITP and it’s exactly what our agritech companies should be seeing in their inbox on a monthly basis.

Keep well as we come to the end of what was another very strange year. We’re looking forward to an even brighter future.

Ngā mihi

Brendan
Chief Executive, on behalf of the Executive Council of AgriTech New Zealand

New Zealand agritech companies are attracting millions of dollars of investment, proving that covid is not stopping significant business activity, AgriTechNZ chief executive Brendan O’Connell says.

Aotearoa agritech is seeing remarkable progress in new global partnerships, collaborations, investments and team growth.

A surge of company announcements from around the country support the sector focus exemplified in New Zealand’s agritech industry transformation plan. It feels like fertile ground for a burst of growth in 2022 and beyond, he says.

“Dunedin’s AbacusBio has just announced their deepening relationship with Bayer Crop Science, in the area of predictive plant breeding.

“It’s a powerful partnership and an excellent example of New Zealand research and technology strengths having global impact.”

In fiscal 2020, the Bayer group employed around 100,000 people and had sales of 41.4 billion euros.

Ag software leaders FarmIQ and Farmax have joined forces with AgResearch. The strategic partnership represents a promising combination of research and commercial skills with both domestic and international potential.

AgResearch will become FarmIQ’s preferred provider of science and research going forward. FarmIQ will acquire Farmax and blend the teams.

The agricultural science integrated within Farmax makes it unique and has helped deliver real impact to the sector estimated to be $1.1 billion in increased gross margin over the last decade alone.

O’Connell says global agritech business Bluelab, based in Tauranga, have brought on new shareholders Pioneer Capital and New Zealand Superannuation Fund to fund further growth of their business.

“Also, New Zealand electric utility bike company UBCO are seeking interest in their series B round through Snowball Effect. Already strong globally, they are looking to accelerate their sales growth strategies through both direct to consumer and business to business models.

“Meanwhile, agritech startup Auckland orchard management software company Hectre is positioning for global growth after attracting $3.5 million in new capital.

“The team is already trading in global markets and this vote of confidence will further empower them to build the team and bring new capabilities to fruit growers and packers around the world.”

The company’s latest technology, Spectre, uses artificial intelligence to provide data for growers on fruit size and colour and helps estimate crop yields.

The technology can also help with decision-making in fruit pack houses regarding storage, packing, sales, and reduces waste. Developed for apples, the technology is now being used in the citrus industry.

Auckland’s WayBeyond, which develops controlled environment growing solutions for sustainable food production, is taking home-grown agritech to empower growers in Latin America through a growing team presence in that region.

Global agritech business Gallagher, headquartered in Hamilton, have demonstrated the fruits of an open innovation strategy through successive investment and ultimate acquisition of virtual fencing leader Agersons in Australia.

Gallagher will now make further improvements to the eShepherd solution and accelerate commercial expansion across Australian and international markets.

Tauranga’s Trimax Mowing Systems has notched up 40 years in business, also proving agritech success isn’t limited to startups.

Trimax is operating globally and is investigating emerging technologies with the aim to make even smarter and more responsive systems.

The firm has manufacturing, assembly and warehousing facilities in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

For further information contact Brendan O’Connell on 021 369740 or NZTech’s media specialist, Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188

While New Zealand is still living with various restrictions, it isn’t stopping significant agritech activity. We’re seeing great progress in new global partnerships, collaborations, investments and team growth. It feels like fertile ground for a burst of growth in 2022 and beyond.

AbacusBio have just announced their deepening relationship with Bayer Crop Science. It’s a powerful partnership and an excellent example of New Zealand research and technology strengths having global impact. Read more.
 
This week, the software powerhouses of FarmIQ and Farmax have joined forces with AgResearch. The strategic partnership represents a promising combination of research and commercial skills with both domestic and international potential. Read more.
 
Global agritech business Bluelab, headquartered in Tauranga, have brought on new shareholders (Pioneer Capital and New Zealand Superannuation Fund) to fund further growth of their business. We wish them well in the next phase of their journey to empower the controlled agriculture growers of the future to create a healthier world for all.
 
New Zealand electric utility bike company UBCO are seeking interest in their Series B round through Snowball Effect. Already strong globally, they are looking to accelerate their sales growth strategies through both direct to consumer and business to business models.
 
Meanwhile, agritech startup Hectre is positioning for global growth after attracting $3.5m in new capital. The team is already trading in global markets and this vote of confidence will further empower them to build the team and bring new capabilities to fruit growers and packers around the world. 
 
Congratulations to our member WayBeyond for continuing their growth and taking home-grown agritech to empower growers in Latin America! Read more.
 
In other news, Tauranga based Trimax Mowing Systems celebrates 40 years in business, proving agritech success isn’t limited to startups. Trimax is operating globally and after four decades continues to innovate. Currently, Trimax is investigating emerging technologies with the aim to make even smarter and more responsive systems. If electrical propulsion and control is your game, you may want to give them a call!
 
Opportunities to engage
There is so much happening in agritech and we would like to share further company news plus an array of new tools and supports. Since we can’t yet travel the country, we’ve postponed the physical Agritech Connect Tour and will instead host an online Agritech Connect Seminar. We’ll cover key topics including:

• The latest industry news and innovations you should know about
• New tools and support available to you
• An update on the latest from the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (AITP)
• Discussion on topics that shape our sector: global connections, agritech business supports, industry collaborations and technology adoption.

We’re looking forward to seeing you online and are seeking your input to guide the emphasis we put on presentation topics and breakout sessions. Please complete this survey and register to join us on 30 November. We’ll continue the discussions and look forward to visiting your city in early 2022.

Digital adoption in New Zealand Primary Industries
Data collection has begun in our research into digital adoption of technology in New Zealand Primary Industries. We have completed a pilot to test the survey across a geographically spread cohort of dairy, dry stock, arable and horticultural businesses. Over the coming months we’ll gather more data on factors relating to adoption or acceptance of new technology. This work will build on other studies and deliver insights on current and forecast use of technology, reasons and barriers for uptake, intentions to invest and the drivers of those intentions. Given the importance of the topic, we’ve also included some inquiry on the attitudes of producers/growers to data sharing. For example, what technologies do you think are on the shopping list of our farmers and growers? What would you expect to be the greater motivators:

• Affordability or Potential value?
• Ease of use or Availability of support?
• Towards new capabilities or Away from breaching regulations?
• Seeing evidence of benefits or Seeing the potential to reduce workload?

We are Powered by Place
Last month, I joined workshops with United Kingdom (UK) based, New Zealand agritech companies who are part of a pilot marketing campaign to activate our Agritech Story, Powered by Place. In collaboration with Government agencies and agritech businesses, we are piloting offshore agritech campaigns, initially targeting the UK. The learnings from this will then provide a blueprint for activation in other markets.

So, what truly makes New Zealand agritech unique? Watch the video here. Please view the Powered by Place toolkit with insights, messaging, images and videos to help you share the New Zealand Agritech story in your market. You can also leverage the campaign by using the ready-to-share social tiles in your marketing with #NZAgritech or #PoweredbyPlace hashtags on social media. The campaign toolkit includes all the assets (yes, it’s free!) and guidance on how they can be used.

Global insights and opportunities
This month we began our Global Agritech Futures Series in partnership with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), and Callaghan Innovation. The series is designed to bring together global thought leaders, innovation experts and industry leaders to explore new trends, opportunities, challenges and ways to solve them.

Last week, we hosted a team from Bayer Crop Science and they shared their Technology Focus Areas in a bid to identify potential partners. Next week, we are hosting an international team from Plug and Play Tech Center who connect blue chip corporations with the brightest agritech startups around the world. They sing our tune in terms of the importance of making connections through engaging with supported ecosystems. Join this second event in the series and learn why being part of an ecosystem is key to growth.

Ngā mihi,

Brendan
Chief Executive
AgriTech New Zealand 

To receive our full newsletter including additional industry updates and information, subscribe now.