Ag Tech Innovation

We don’t stand still when it comes to technology, we seek to adopt world-leading innovation in all parts of our business.

We’ve been early adopters of automated technology to improve productivity and sustainability on our farms and in the factory.

We have a proven track record for researching, benchmarking and investing in industry leading ag-tech and tailoring machinery and equipment to suit Queensland crops, conditions and customers.

As a trusted partner, we collaborate with government agencies and international suppliers on ground-breaking research and development projects, with a view that these will also benefit the wider horticulture industry in Australia.

Since the 90s, we’ve been trialling and testing a range of automated and robotic farming and manufacturing solutions from around the world.

Mechanical Harvest

The mechanical harvest of carrots, green beans and sweet corn is well established, and our focus is choosing harvesters that improve crop recovery and reduce soil compaction.
The mechanical harvest of the delicate, short-day onions suited to our Queensland climate took us more than 10 years to achieve. It started with a prototype machine and each season our team has made modifications to enable harvest of 100 per of our onion crop mechanically.

Automation

To increase our production capacity of our carrot business, we’ve invested in an automated pre-packing and crate filling system with soft fall technology to improve our precision pack out capabilities and protect product quality.

Vision Grading

Vision grading was introduced in carrots back in 2014, with immediate benefits for crop recovery and detailed grading for retail and processing lines.

We have also introduced a green bean vision grader to enable faster, more accurate grading.

Autonomous Robotics

We have added two Australian-first farm robots to our fleet that use GPS precision to seed and weed.
These robots have assisted the organic farming system to enable scale and efficiencies.

AI Optimisation

AI-powered technology is taking our precision farming to the next level. We now have tractor implements using multiple high-speed, high-resolution cameras to identify emerging crop from noxious weed to ensure that our crop protection sprays are ultra targeted meaning we use less and achieve a better result in field.

Best Practice Facilities

We are embarking on a landmark expansion with plans for new washing, processing and packing facilities for Certified Organics and prepared vegetables.

The first of these factories was delivered in 2024-25, a 4700sqm temperature-controlled onion drying and storage facility with capacity for more than 5500 bins.

Kalfresh has partnered with a handful of Queensland farmers to source, test and evaluate the latest agricultural technology for in real-world on-farm conditions.

Farm Tech Australia was founded by farmers, for farmers. We believe the right technology, properly tested, can change the way Australian growers operate.

Together, our goal is to push agricultural technology forward in a way that benefits growers. We work directly with manufacturers and technology providers, offering real-world testing in a commercial farming environment.

Farm Tech Australia’s trials are being supported by Hort Innovation through the Next Gen Weeds program.

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