NCEA research catches eye of Brazilian producers
THEY have travelled more than 15,000 kilometres to Australia, now grain producers from Brazil have taken the opportunity to explore the cutting-edge research under way at USQ.
The group included senior managers of an agricultural dealership in south eastern Brazil, as well as large producers of mainly maize, soybean and beans.
During the visit to the university’s National Centre for Engineering in Agriculture (NCEA), the delegation attended demonstrations of research in the areas of precision agriculture, irrigation automation, robotics, and weed detection.
NCEA Director Professor Craig Baillie welcomed the group, and provided an overview of the work at the centre
“The group was interested in how the tools and technologies being developed are helping producers to become more efficient, profitable and environmentally responsible,” he said.
Senior Research Fellow/Senior Lecturer (Agricultural Engineering) Dr Troy Jensen, who gave a presentation on precision agriculture, said the visit was an opportunity to expand NCEA’s global reach even further.
“Visits such as this provide chances to make new links and share NCEA research with new contacts,” Dr Jensen said.
NCEA develops solutions for a sustainable and profitable rural sector with research covering sustainable agriculture, energy use, water resources and food security. It is part of USQ’s Institute for Agriculture and the Environment (IAgE) which is focused on strengthening agricultural productivity and environmental management in Australia and overseas.
Learn more about USQ Research at www.usq.edu.au/research.