Conclusion:
From automated dairies to drone fleets and data-driven crop management, automation is transforming how Australian agribusiness operates.
Despite the momentum, many producers still aren’t aware of the financial and advisory support available to help them automate.
“They’re so busy doing the work they don’t have time to look up grants or R&D incentives,” Laird says.
The F.A.R.M tool is designed to help agribusiness unlock the future. It provides a practical checklist to help agribusiness evaluate technology, funding eligibility, costs and benefits, and their readiness for the next step.
“Farmers are incredibly adaptable,” Laird says. “They might need their kids to show them how to use the TV, but they’re driving million-dollar machines with satellite guidance and onboard computing. Once they see that technology has real utility, they’ll learn it and run with it.”
While the early adopters pave the way, Paterson believes others will follow when they see the benefits in productivity, safety and sustainability. “That’s how agriculture has always evolved: one practical success at a time.”
Automation may demand capital, patience and courage, but for those willing to invest, the rewards are tangible – stronger yields, safer workplaces and more sustainable practices that ensure a rewarding future for the next generation.
Case studies
Case study 1: Bringing the cows home
Automation may not be the cheapest option, at least in the short-term, but the rewards are worth the investment – and often go well beyond the financial.
For Capel dairy farmer Dorothy Haggerty, automation is securing the future of a family business while improving animal welfare, safety and decision-making. After more than six decades on the land, the family has moved to a fully automated robotic dairy.
The family milks around 900 cows, supported by a broader mixed farming operation that includes grain production run by the next generation. While automation represents a significant capital investment, effectively doubling the dairy’s debt, the decision was grounded in experience.
“It is a big investment, but we’ve done big investments before,” Haggerty says. “You do your homework properly, you do your budgets, and you forecast as much as you can.”
Labour availability was a major driver. Like many regional businesses, the dairy has felt the tightening labour market, particularly since Covid.
“You can’t just have unskilled labour. You need skilled people, and that’s getting harder to find.”
The effect on the cows, however, was the biggest driver. As part of their research they visited a robotic dairy in Victoria and the difference in animal behaviour was unmistakable.
“They were very relaxed,” Haggerty says. “Cows love routine. People are all different, have different vibes, different ways of doing things. The robots are just the same, every time, and that relieves stress for the cows.”
“Our dairy had done 25 years and needed to be replaced if we wanted to stay in the business,” she says. “Automation was the next step to help us ease staff pressures, but also make a monumental leap in technology available to us through the robotic system.”
In the voluntary milking system, cows choose when to be milked. Fresh cows, producing more milk, may enter the dairy three or more times a day, while others come in less often.
“It’s up to them how they want to do it. She comes in, gets milked, gets fed, and then she’s back out on fresh grass again.”
The robotic system also collects a level of data that was previously impossible to manage manually. “Each quarter is milked individually, and you get data on every quarter; body condition scanning, feed intake, weight loss, heat detection – it tells you everything.”
Rather than trawling through hundreds of animals, the system highlights cows that need attention. “It’s all right there on the screen saying, ‘these are the ones you need to look at,’” the Haggertys say. “That’s incredibly powerful.”
Safety was another major consideration. Traditional milking carries an ongoing risk of crush injuries, particularly to hands and arms.
“Automation just takes that away – it makes the milking process so much safer.”
Automation will also change the nature of the work. “One farmer we visited said it didn’t cut down the work, it was just different work, and he wasn’t tired anymore.”
Infrastructure upgrades have gone hand-in-hand with automation. The farm recently installed an underpass so cows can safely move between paddocks without crossing public roads.
“On the first day, a handful needed encouragement. By the next, almost all went through on their own. Now even new heifers just follow the others straight through.”
For this farming family, the robotic dairy represents continuity rather than disruption.
“This doesn’t take us away from the cows – it actually lets us look after them better,” Haggerty says. “My mind is buzzing with excitement about what we can achieve. From an animal welfare point of view, and safety and data, this is where we want to be.”
Case study 2: Cracking the code
This egg processor was struggling to meet the market.
The pulping plant relied on machinery that was nearing end-of-life, prone to breakdowns and costly to maintain.
Production was inefficient and inconsistent, resulting in a liquid egg mix with a shelf life of only 12 days, well below the 40-day industry standard.
This limited the company’s ability to produce value-added products, supply interstate and export markets, or diversify into higher-value offerings such as egg whites, scrambled egg mix, or yolks.
With RSM’s help, the company applied for a grant to upgrade its facilities, with an economic impact assessment finding that $1m would generate an indirect economic benefit of $22.5m and support up to 28 indirect jobs.
Edward Day, Senior Manager, Government Grants at RSM, says the advanced egg-separation technology sorts and repurposes cracked eggs, using centrifuge systems to separate yolk and white for use in premium protein and food-service products.
“They went from a simple operation selling mixed egg products to a diversified producer with high-margin outputs,” he says. “It’s exactly the kind of innovation government wants to support – reducing waste, improving efficiency and creating local jobs.”
The upgrades will allow the business to transition from producing a single product line to offering up to six value-added products: egg white, premium egg white, salted yolks, sweetened yolks, scrambled egg mix, and hard-boiled eggs.
The investment delivered across four key objectives:
Modernisation – Equipping the plant with processing systems that convert second- and third-grade eggs destined for waste into high-value food ingredients
Diversification – Expanding product offerings and enabling tailored production runs for free-range, barn-raised, or caged eggs to meet consumer demand
Efficiency – Reducing maintenance and storage costs, minimising downtime and eliminating reliance on interstate suppliers
Export opportunities – Extending shelf life from 12 days to more than 40, enabling access to markets interstate and overseas
About 10 tonnes per week of thirds – eggs too damaged for retail – previously went to landfill. With the new technology, these can now be safely processed into whole-egg mix, reducing waste and improving sustainability.
The upgrade is also expected to reduce the amount of imported separated and scrambled egg mixes, supplying the local market with product that is fresher and has a longer shelf-life at a competitive price.
In line with the phase-out of caged eggs by 2032, the company is also investing $20m to transition to free-range production.
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