INNOVATIVE APP TO DRIVE IMPROVED SUGAR YIELD

After extensive trials Harvest Mate is now helping growers and harvesting contractors make decisions about their harvester settings to increase yield from their paddocks.

The Harvest Mate web-based portal and App, has been developed through a collaboration between growers, harvesting contractors, Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), and SRA.

SRA’s District Manager Northern & Agricultural Machinery Specialist Phil Patane said the initial project aimed to understand the yield benefits and impact on harvesting costs when changing existing practices and to identify the levers that could be pulled to predict optimal harvester settings.

“We have learned through years of trials and engagement across the industry, that there are multiple factors that can influence the optimal harvester settings,” he said.

“The tool can be tailored to a specific situation and uses growers’ block and crop information, as well as harvester, haul-out, labour details and harvest conditions to inform the grower of optimal harvester settings.

“Ultimately, Harvest Mate is designed for growers to extract the greatest possible value out of their harvest.

“What we heard loud and clear from our growers and the contractors is that the tool needed to be user-friendly to be adopted by the industry,” he said.

Harvest Mate has now been demonstrated to industry through 11 regional face-to-face workshops to showcase the benefits and to encourage growers and contractors to adopt the tool.

In the short period of time since the launch 3.2 million tonnes of cane have been registered by growers using Harvest Mate for the 2023 season.

Kennedy grower David Singh has been involved in trials of the decision-support tool for the past three years.

“When you are running any business it’s important to understand what your costs are,” he said.

“Harvest Mate will tell us the blocks and varieties that are profitable and those that aren’t. And that allows us to plan, to understand our parameters and to be more efficient with our time,” he said.

SRA CEO, Roslyn Baker, said the development of Harvest Mate is a great example of collaboration between growers, DAF and SRA to apply the latest research findings with economic outcomes in mind.

“Harvest Mate provides growers and contractors with an opportunity to increase cane and sugar yield,” she said.

“Our growers continue to work hard on producing the best crop prior to harvest, and this new tool will help to reduce cane and sugar loss during the harvest.”

Industry trial results showed an average of 5 per cent increase in yield with the potential to deliver an additional $116 per hectare to growers after paying both harvesting costs and levies.

“With an expected increase in productivity of approximately 5 per cent, Harvest Mate will also provide benefits to the mills and improve mill viability,” Ros said.

Cane growers and harvesting contractors can register to use Harvest Mate by creating a user profile on the website harvestmate.au. Once registered, they can download the free app from the Google Play Store or Apple Store on their smartphones while working in the paddock.

Read more about Harvest Mate on SRA’s website.