Digital technology is forecast to contribute up to $23billion towards the Australian Ag sector’s national farm gate output by 2030 and is poised to be the next big leap forward for the red meat sector. However, this potential can only be realised when issues of data control, compatibility, and sharing are resolved.
There are significant opportunities in solving these challenges, with many auction houses offering a price premium for cattle with complete data records. But right now, even for producers rich in data, it is difficult to share and subsequently control these disparate data flows. Often, sharing data from one app to another is impossible, and if data sharing is available, producers face significant security and privacy challenges.
This siloed data environment makes it difficult for service providers to refine their offerings, discourages new data-reliant industries from participating in the sector, prevents producers from deriving value from their own data, and limits the value of service providers who cannot use their data to support multiple applications along the supply chain.
This project aims to transform the red meat supply chain by developing a self-sustaining data sharing platform called ‘TRAKKA’ that enables data (and consequently, value) to flow in all directions along the supply chain. The TRAKKA website will allow producers to opt in and out of sharing their data with the agtech and service providers they need at the click of a button. Meanwhile, service providers will gain access to the critical data they need to build more useful integrated services for producers.
To facilitate data exchanges between producers and service providers, researchers from the Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation at Charles Sturt University, in partnership with tech company TerraCipher, will investigate the data collection systems and formats used across the red meat value chain, and identify opportunities to generate value for producers. The team will then develop innovative digital infrastructure, including a data sharing platform and producer-controlled dashboard. An ‘event-based messaging service’ will act as the pipework to get data from A to B, making data easier to manage and more accessible. An 'event' refers to any new piece of data relating to an animal, such as movements, health records and performance data.
The project team will expand TRAKKA’s capabilities by developing and trialling five micro-service apps, HerdTrakka, PaddockTrakka, PerformanceTrakka, IDTrakka and HealthTrakka, on the Charles Sturt University Digital Farm in Wagga Wagga. Producers will have early access to these apps and will be able to use them to help with compliance, production efficiency, and new value creation.
These apps will provide an important demonstration of the technology, but the ultimate goal is to work with service providers to develop their own novel solutions off the back of this research. The project aims to get data to service providers and give producers the controls.
For producers: Register your interest to receive updates and gain priority access to the TRAKKA app.
To find out more please contact hello@foodagility.com
