Latest and greatest ag tech innovations on display at Westech 2021
/ By Ellie Grounds and Maddelin McCoskerIt might not be everyone's idea of excitement, but for crowds at this year's Westech Field Days in Barcaldine there was awe and amazement as they watched a machine make water tanks from scratch in just three hours.
Key points:
- Westech showcases the latest in agricultural technology
- A machine that builds a water tank in three hours amazed crowds
- Ways to use virtual reality were on display
It was one of the many innovations at the western Queensland event, which celebrates the latest and greatest in Australia's agricultural industry.
Nearly 200 exhibitors showcased their wares from drones to drainage systems and feedlots to farm fashion.
Westech committee member Loretta McKeering said it was vital for graziers to be able to physically investigate products for their properties.
"A lot of people can google and can learn things, and you can ring up suppliers and all the rest of it," Ms McKeering said.
"But to actually go and physically see something is still so important to people.
"There's nothing like going to a site you're looking at, checking out something, and someone you know comes along and says 'I bought one of those six months ago, they're amazing, highly recommend it'."
On-site tank building could save thousands
The "tank man", as he quickly became known across the Westech grounds, was Toowoomba-based Michael Theuerkauf.
His business builds poly water tanks at regional depots or on-site at properties, saving buyers significant amounts in freight costs.
Instead of loading four pre-made tanks onto a truck from a metropolitan warehouse — "transporting 23,000 litres of air by four" — he said his enormous mould and oven can "make 100 tanks, with two trucks, one trip".
The three-hour "cooking" process bedazzled event patrons, with children and adults alike gobsmacked at the simplicity of it all.
"People are kind of mesmerised by the workings of the machine," Mr Theuerkauf said.
"Poly tanks, poly moulding, generally people don't get to look inside a factory to see how it's done, so I brought the factory out here."
He said the decision to exhibit at Westech for the first time was a no-brainer.
"How Westech was written up sounds like it was made for us — new ideas, innovation for the west.
"We came out more so to showcase the machine and see what people out this way thought [and] it's been quite positive."
Virtual reality rewiring ag education
At the Queensland University of Technology tent the endless possibilities of virtual reality were on show.
The university has partnered with the Barcaldine Regional Council to link researchers in fields like agriculture, education, and health with communities in central-west Queensland to improve their processes.
It is already using virtual reality to transport students from a classroom in Brisbane to a pilot plant in Mackay where sugar cane fibre is being turned into animal feed or biofuel.
"What they'll be seeing is a 360 degree of the facility," associate professor Dr Mark Harrison said.
"It's a three-storey facility. You can walk through it, you can hear from people who work in the facility how the equipment works."
But it was the ways the virtual reality (VR) headsets could be used in western Queensland that got people asking 'could I remotely teach an apprentice how to weld? How could this help me on my cattle property?'
Dr Harrison said the technology could be used to improve efficiency in agricultural education and training in particular.
"I think you're going to see [it used] more and more when you come into training staff, bringing new staff into an industry that maybe they haven't worked in before," he said.
"You're going to give new staff the opportunity to train on equipment or in safety processes using VR."
Livestock still number one
Of course, field days still remain one of the best ways to showcase the bread and butter of the pastoral industry — livestock.
Brahman exhibitor Rosemary Robertson, who was showcasing her bull Hot Rover, said there was nothing like inspecting an animal at a field day to pique a buyer's interest.
"Most times you don't hear that much on the day, but then you'll have a phone call — 'I saw you at Westech, I liked that bull, where can we get one?'" she said.
With the usual three-year gap between events pushed out to four due to COVID-19, there has been enough time for whole industries to spring up or re-emerge.
"Stuff for goats, that's an industry that's really taken off in the last four years, certainly," said Westech's Ms McKeering.
"It's wonderful to see a lot more exhibitors looking to service those industries."
With only two years now until the next scheduled Westech, the committee will take a few weeks break before cracking on with planning something even bigger and better for 2023.