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Perth agritech startup, SWAN Systems’ innovative approach to water management has received global recognition as Rabobank’s FoodBytes! Pitch 2020 agtech winner. The multi-faceted solution provides a ‘data playbook’ for users across the globe to save precious resources year-on-year and achieve better yields at lower costs.

We caught up with SWAN Systems’ Rod Campbell to learn more about the tech, what the award means for business going forward and what opportunities exist for expansion in the US. Rabobank’s FoodBytes!’ Nathalie Gibson also joins the conversation to talk global agritech trends, rising investment amid COVID-19 and opportunities for startups. 

Read the full story here. 

Wilmot Cattle Co’s pioneering carbon credit deal with Microsoft has caught the attention of farmers, investors, corporates and everyone in between – proving that carbon farming can in fact be profitable, when measured. Stuart Austin shares his advice for others seeking to monetise their natural capital and reduce on-farm risk.

Read his story here.  

Back in 1975, intangible assets accounted for 17% of corporate value, today they account for 90%.

To paint a rich picture of the largely unknown world of intangible assets, we dive deep into conversation with EverEdge Assets Managing Director, Michael Masterson, Tim Hyde, CEO and Founding Director of Swan Systems and Massimo Garbuio, Associate Professor of Sydney University’s Business School to explore the risks, rewards and real-life viewpoints.

We find out what intangible assets really are, how they’re valued and why agrifood companies need to safeguard these assets. 

Dynamic duo: Zetifi and AuctionsPlus, join forces to change the way livestock auctions are run, that’s fetching higher prices in the saleyards and greater productivity in the paddock.

We catch up with Angus Street, CEO of AuctionsPlus, Australia’s go-to online auction platform for agricultural and livestock sales, and Dan Winson, Founder & CEO of Zetifi, a wireless networking startup, based in Wagga Wagga, where they design and manufacture long range wireless repeaters. 

Together, they're offering greater connectivity for users across regional Australia.  

We caught up with Ben Wynn, Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Wynergy, a Tamworth-based solar energy startup, on a mission to transform Australia's solar power industry with its unique agrivoltaic design.

With the innovative design, farmers will be able to run livestock and plant pastures in and around their solar panels. It's a partnership between solar companies and farmers that helps to solve the land use conflict by allowing both industries to co-exist.

Fifth-generation livestock farmer and AgriWebb co-founder, Justin Webb shares his lessons on launching an Australian startup in the UK, how to access capital in complex economies and why knowing your market is everything.

Justin reflects on the learnings and the wealth of knowledge trade agencies can provide to ensure a smooth transition, with Austrade’s Senior Advisor and agtech lead, Arianna Sippel and the UK's Department for International Trade’s Director for Investment for Australia and New Zealand, Tess Thomas – who says AgriWebb is a textbook case for the bespoke advice offered free by the agency.

Taking the first step to going global can be intimidating for any agritech business but there’s plenty of support to ensure a ‘soft landing’ – if you do your homework. 

So where do Australian startups, SMEs and scaleups look first to ensure a smooth passage into international waters?

Well, the best place to start is right here at home, through trade agencies that offer tangible support and market research – and it’s free.

Whether businesses are seeking financial support, tracking down contacts or looking for hard-to-find information, there’s a plethora of tools to keep the journey on track.

So we've teamed up with Austrade and the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) to learn more about what this journey looks like, and how exactly trade agencies can help you expand your footprint and make meaningful global connections.

We hear more about this from Arianna Sippel, Austrade’s senior advisor and agtech lead and Tess Thomas, UK’s DIT director of investment for Australia and New Zealand who recently caught up with Lyndsey Douglas in Sydney. 

On the edge of the desert in South Australia’s Port Augusta, vegetables grow abundantly, in a landscape once deemed, near impossible for food production.   

Now 15,000 tonnes of truss tomatoes thrive all year round, bringing life to the desert, using nothing but sunlight and seawater, known as concentrated solar power technology. 

This ‘Utopian’ concept is led by Sundrop Farms, where people, planet and profit all come together in a holistic model, founded with food security and sustainability front of mind.  

We recently caught up with Sundrop Farms to learn more about how this futuristic system all works. 

A kaleidoscope of space-based tech designed to enhance precision agriculture and foster efficient food production is ready for take-off so how do we drive adoption?

AgriFutures Australia and the Australian National University have been working on a groundbreaking study to uncover answers to this very question – and the research shows space-based technologies could be worth $750 million to Australian agriculture by 2025. 

We caught up with the key industry players helping drive this force – where space tech and farming collide to learn more about the challenges, and opportunities, that lie ahead. 

Impact investing is rapidly growing as investors turn to companies that can provide a positive social and environmental impact as well as a financial return.

In Australia, it's a whopping $20 billion market.

But, what does impact investing really mean for the future of food, how is it different from other forms of investment and where should startups channel their energy to cash in on this capital?

We teamed up with industry heavyweights to find these answers;

• Michael Dean - Founder of AgFunder
• Sarah Nolet - Co-Founder of Tenacious Ventures
• Rachael Yang - Investment Manager of Giant Leap
• Kylie Frazer - Co-Founder of Eleanor Venture