AgTech Seeds Cohort 3

Ninth Path Mushrooms grow mushrooms and develop value added products with them and leverage mushroom cultivation waste to produce quality compost as a basis for a product (high quality/bespoke compost) or service (soil regeneration).

OutbreakSafe is a platform able to forecast outbreaks and provide farmers with actionable data.

Herb Connect is a marketplace to connect growers and users of medicinal herbs. Support, education and advocacy for growers = high quality equitable products for consumers.

Peter is developing a sustainable and mechanised 'test' enterprise for growing strawberries vertically in custom designed and made towers. He is also developing tissue culture techniques for revitalising heritage strawberry breeds. A vertical growing system for growing produce is advantageous in minimised land use area, energy requirements, and water and nutrient supply.

Cass and Kemperly have developed a farm sensor technology and algorithms that measure grain quality traits (grain value) on the fly.

Mark has developed an instrument designed and built to measure physical quality traits of seeds and grains. The instrument is currently patent pending and has been developed for rice seeds, but can be easily adapted for other grains. There is a general lack of computer-vision based instruments to measure physical grain quality traits. The instrument would also potentially find a niche for global rice and grain handlers and traders.

Agriculture customers need solutions to specific problems (say crop growth or disease resistance). A perfectly curated digital agriculture solution involves sensors to measure different crop parameters to help producers make informed decisions. This technology will make the system simpler for every farmer to use. Digital agriculture technologies include a combination of hardware and software components to make our agricultural systems more productive and resilient to climate change, disease and pest tolerant, high yielding, efficient in managing resources.

Penny is supporting the emerging industrial hemp industry through research and development. This is an emerging industry so there is a lot to learn about growing the crop, traits for end use and target markets.

Buzz Certified aims to bolster Native Bee populations by creating an umbrella body dedicated to the preservation of endangered, threatened and protected Australian animals. Initially, it will provide certification to Australian commercial Beekeepers for committing to keeping Native Bees alongside existing European Honey Bees. This will increase awareness about Native Australian Bees and allow consumers to buy with transparency to support native wildlife. It will additionally allow the Australian agriculture industry to be future-proofed against any unforeseen natural disasters and/or intrusive pests which threaten our ability to pollinate crops and provide food for the nation.

Purplegrain is an online marketplace which allows users to list, book, and schedule their contract agricultural services.  It is currently a web-based browser platform, but has been built to enable easy transition to an app environment. Current service categories include harvesting, seeding, spreading, mulching, hay & silage.  As more users are added to the platform the categories will inevitably grow.  The current services are just a selection of what is currently in demand in regional Victoria. The focus for purplegrain is to become Australia’s premier online listing and searching tool for contract agricultural services.  This means becoming the go-to online marketplace for agricultural contractors and farm owners across Australia to connect and share their services.

ZeroTag envision a world where eating food feeds the planet.  Their mission is to save food from landfill by avoiding packaging waste. This is done with an interactive, dishwasher-safe sticker that can transform any container into smart packaging.  ZeroTags are smart, playful labels for reusable packaging. When packaging is refilled, its identity needs to be updated. When this is done digitally, food can be tracked, enabling a seamless app that can help users buy smarter and avoid wasting food and money. ZeroTag can monetise this by charging brands access to valuable consumer insights with a non-linear subscription model. The interaction between users, groceries, smart packaging, and the pantry app allow for unique digital experiences that strengthen brands’ relationships with users and their peers. ZeroTag can also charge retailers every time the identity of smart packaging is updated because of the operational cost savings and efficiencies in their business. ZeroTag is currently running a pilot with partner retailers and Sustainability Victoria.

La Foundary are pioneering the cultivation of sustainable biomaterials for a greener future, by collecting and utilising industrial and agricultural waste from businesses as substrates for inoculating our fungal strain. The current primary focus is on developing mycelium-based materials.  Within a few weeks, the mycelium network grows and solidifies, resulting in a strong, insulating and protective mycelium composite material. Harnessing the power of bio-engineering, they are exploring ways to programme our product end-life cycle to accelerate the degradation of itself and other waste surrounding it, thereby initiating mycoremediation when the product is discarded into waste. Other than easing the sustainable waste disposal responsibility of our product end-users, this unique characteristic would remediate the landfill and promote the growth of the ecosystem.