Demystifying Digital Agriculture
Have you wondered about agritech – hype or reality?
What it means for productivity and production on-farm?
What do terms like network connectivity, data, cloud-based technologies, satellite systems, digital capability mean?
Can digital agriculture help address problems of pest management, changing weather patterns, provenance, supply chains and more? How do I improve my digital capability?
Well, all of these questions and more will be part of our next Technology Tuesday discussion. nbn and FIPWA are collaborating to bring together a panel of technologists and farmers to shed some light on agri- tech.
Join FIPWA General Manager Dr Chris Vas and guest speakers Rob Hardie, Katina Bowie and Professor Hamid Laga.
The event will be followed by a demo of nbn’s satellite system on a farm on 18 July 2023 from 1-3pm. More details will be available soon.
Registration is free of charge, but essential. Afternoon tea and refreshments provided.
GUEST SPEAKERS
Robert Hardie is Executive Manager for Health and Agriculture at nbn. Robert joined nbn in April 2020 and since then has been working with key stakeholders in rural, remote and regional Australia to lift digital capability in the health and agriculture sectors and in regional Australia. Robert was born in Geelong; he attended Geelong High School before moving to Canberra to study Arts and Commerce at The Australian National University. After graduating, Robert pursued a passion for politics and spent 10 years working at Parliament House as a political adviser across a range of portfolio areas including Defence, environment, parliamentary procedure and, finally, the commemoration of the Centenary of Anzac and improving services and support for Australia’s veterans and their families. Now working at nbn, and with experience gained as Policy Director at the NSW Farmers’ Association, Robert brings more than 15 years’ experience of public policy development and advocacy to his role.
Katina Bowie is a rural telecommunications advocate from Bridgetown. She currently works with nbn as a Community Engagement Manager to lift the digital capability of regional WA and advocate for improved telecommunications outcomes for local communities. Prior to that, she spent 20 years working in the resources sector working in senior corporate affairs and communications roles for companies including BHP, Chevron Australia, and Rio Tinto. Katina is also an Owner and Director of Bowie Beef, a commercial Angus beef operation located around Bridgetown.
Dr Chris Vas is the General Manager of Food Innovation Precinct Western Australia (FIPWA). He has more than 18 years of experience in Australasia and New Zealand working in business, government and academia. Chris led the creation and delivery of FIPWA and played a key part in the securing of $21M from the Australian Government and $40M+ from the State Government as part of the development of the Peel Business Park. He is also responsible for administering an additional $3.8M from the WA State Government and the Shire of Murray as part of the Enterprise Support Program (ESP).