Ag Industry, Policy

Government talks begin on autonomous machinery code

Discussions around safety standards and the practicality of autonomous machinery in farms are set to begin as the industry groups begin talks with the WA Government on an Autonomous Machinery Code

 The use of Autonomous machinery is on the rise throughout Australia

The future of autonomous farm vehicles and machinery in Australia will be up for discussion as Grain Producers Australia (GPA) starts talks with the Western Australian government to establish a new Code of Practice on the matter.

Through the talks, GPA hopes to earn formal endorsement and adoption of the new code, which it hopes will help drive the future of autonomous vehicles and machinery on farms.

Specifically, discussions will include improved safety standards, hazard controls and risk management procedures for autonomous machinery as well as corroborating the practicality of using the technology on-farm.

The Code of Practice, which was finalised following extensive consultations with key industry stakeholders, will enable future access to the rapidly growing autonomous technology which to better serve the agricultural industry.

It will also serve to standardise machinery automation for manufacturers, importers, distributors, dealers and producers. 

GPA Chair, Andrew Weidemann says the ‘Code of Practice for Agricultural Mobile Field Machinery with Autonomous Function in Australia’, has been a joint project with the Tractor and Machinery Association of Australia (TMA), and Society of Precision Agriculture Australia (SPAA).

“The process of drafting and writing the Code has been led by farm technology expert, Dr Rohan Rainbow, working on contract to GPA and his expertise is invaluable to the project’s success,” Weidemann says.

“We are starting a national roll-out by seeking the WA Government’s endorsement and adoption, given the vital importance of their early involvement and guidance; providing a design template for GPA to work from, with a similar Code having already been adopted for the mining sector.  

“Endorsing this Code will help enable the accelerated adoption of this exciting technology in Australia which has massive potential to boost the productivity and the profitability of our grain growers who contribute up to $12 billion already to the national economy each year.”

Once implemented, the code will encourage and facilitate the adoption of automated machinery in the agricultural space and new investment opportunities on the horizon.

The code also aligns to meet relevant government safety regulations designed to assist machinery operators to meet their legislative obligations under the Safe Work Australia’s Model Work Health and Safety laws. It will also support the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Code Act 1994.

WAFarmers Grains Council President, Mic Fels, says the code represents not only an opportunity for WA to be the tester in autonomous machinery adoption but for the agricultural sector to drive the industry into the future.

“Western Australian farmers have always had a strong reputation for early uptake and adoption of farming technologies that can help boost their profitability and performance,” Fels says.

“We’re already seeing reports of some movement in this space, with smaller autonomous machinery that can spot spray weeds in paddocks during summer.

“Other growers will be watching with great interest, to see how this can translate into dollars and cents on their own farms; especially moving towards scaling up to the future use of bigger driverless machinery at seeding and harvesting.”

TMA Executive Director, Gary Northover, says the future of autonomous machinery – which is estimated to grow 14.4 per cent over the next seven years to a value of AUD$272 billion – is enormous.

“This increase is forecast to be driven by growing government and private sector investments in intelligent agriculture, as the future of sustainable farming and Australia’s initial share of this forecast expected to be significant,” Northover says.

SPAA president, Frank D’Emden says the adoption of the code is an important step for Australian agriculture.

“It is very important to have an accepted COP to guide and inform legislation to support the successful and responsible adoption of autonomous technology within the Australian farming community,” he says.

 

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