As agricultural technology continues to evolve rapidly, farmers are faced with the challenge of choosing the right innovations for their unique operations. To support them with this decision-making, the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (TNQ Drought Hub) is rolling out AgValuate, a practical tool designed to help producers assess their innovation readiness and plan for the future.
The AgValuate tool supports farmers to identify current strengths and gaps, sets goals for the next two years, and recommends technologies that align with those goals. AgValuate Founder and TNQ Drought Hub Digital Ag Innovation Consultant Kara-Glenn Worth explains, “As a producer myself, I know that farmers are some of Australia’s best innovators. However this landscape is changing so rapidly and there are so many technology solutions available, that combing through all of that data and research and information is really a burden on their time that could be used elsewhere.”
“AgValuate is a decision-making tool for producers, and it helps to assess their innovation readiness on farm… identifying those priority areas where they are now, where they want to be in two years’ time, and recommending potential technologies that can fill those gaps.”
The tool has been designed to support producers of all scales and across diverse climates, from drought-prone regions to areas with heavy rainfall. It includes a dedicated section on environmental management and climate resilience, helping producers prepare for increasingly variable conditions, wherever they farm.
One of AgValuate’s key strengths is that via its collaborative development at the Hub and with end users, it reflects diverse expertise and real-world needs. Karen George, TNQ Drought Hub Knowledge Broker, highlights the importance of industry input “They've tried, they've tested, and we've made the changes as needed and that the industry wants… they understand it and they can apply it.”
As farmer and AgValuate user Phil Bensted puts it, “If you’re looking to improve your processes and your day-to-day management, AgValuate a great tool to get started, to be exposed to what's out there and what's coming in the future.”
Use the AgValuate tool for yourself!
See more about how AgValuate is helping farmers find their agtech solutions.
The TNQ Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, led by James Cook University, receives funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
26 May 2025
Video duration: 7 mins 24 secs
Introduction
This is the transcript of a video case study produced by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund (FDF). The video features AgValuate, a producer-focused decision support tool developed at the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (TNQ Hub). TNQ Hub members explain how the tool helps farmers assess their innovation readiness, identify priority areas for growth, and confidently adopt technologies tailored to their unique operations and climate resilience goals. This project was funded by the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund as part of the Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs program and delivered by the TNQ Hub, led by James Cook University.
Learn more about the Future Drought Fund and Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub.
Transcript
[Recording begins]br Kara-Glenn Worth [0:33]
As a producer myself, I know that farmers are some of Australia's best innovators. However, this landscape is changing so rapidly, and there are so many technology solutions available that combing through all of that data and research and information is really a burden on their time that could be used elsewhere.
AgValuate is a decision making tool for producers, and it helps to assess their innovation readiness on farm. It fills a really important gap for producers, which is that there are thousands of technologies available, and it is really hard to make a decision about which technology is going to best suit that farm's operations. So it's an overall assessment providing a health check on the farm. Identifying those priority areas where they are now, where they want to be in two years time, and recommending potential technologies that can fill those gaps for the producer.
With support from the Future Drought fund, the Tropical North Queensland drought hub is rolling out AgValuate to get it into as many producers' hands as possible so that they have this decision support tool at their fingertips.
Karen George [1:40]
The thing that makes AgValuate really stand out, it's been developed in collaboration with industry and across industries, because TNQ Hub have partnerships with all the industries across the region, we are able to get feedback from producers on the ground.
They've tried, they've tested, and we've made the changes as needed and what the industry wants. It is in the language that the industry uses, they understand it and they can apply it.
William Darveniza [2:10]
As farmers, you know, we're constantly facing challenges in terms of workforce and marketing of the fruit and the climate. We're subject to changes all over the place, so having this tool to help us sort of direct the focus is really helpful. There were some aspects of the report that highlighted to me that it was an area that I should focus on straight away, like some of my farm management and the use of drone technology because it lets you see things that you might not otherwise see from the ground. For us, in a tropical climate with heavy rainfall, being off the ground is a big help you're impacting the soil less and it's got better long-term environmental outcomes.
Kara-Glenn Worth [2:46]
There are a number of pathways that you can access to use the AgValuate tool. There is a self-led pathway which is through our website. There's a video online that walks you through step by step how to use the tool, or an alternative pathway that a lot of producers choose is to work with one of our technical adoption officers who will actually come out and work through the tool with you.
You answer four different statements for each category, based on where your business is now and where you would like it to be in two years time and it generates a customised report. The outputs that are generated in both a visual graph format and also in the technology suggestions, are completely customized to your farm.
William Darveniza [3:25]
The best part of the self-assessment questionnaire and the report that it delivers, the visual that it gives you of where you currently are and where you are aspiring to be. I think that's a really good tool because it really helps you with your goal setting and it shows you where you need to be focusing in your business.
Keerah Steele [3:43]
During my time as a Technical Adoption Officer, I've been able to support producers with the AgValuate tool by going out and visiting their property and being able to do one on one with them, which gives me a better idea of their business, what they want to do in the future, and it helps me assist them in choosing what technology will best integrate into their business. It can bring to light some aspects of their business that they might not be thinking of.
With Phil, he thought that having irrigation automation was going to solve his problems, but the tool brought to light that right now having automation in his tractors would be more suitable.
Phil Bensted [4:25]
We've incorporated GPS systems, auto-steers on both our tractors. It's helped with putting workers in the tractors, instead of them worrying about exactly where they're going, they can actually concentrate on what they're doing behind the tractor or in front. How much time that's saved us. We've sped up everything with the GPS systems, it’s been huge help. If you’re looking to improve your processes and your day to day management, AgValuate’s a great tool to get started, to be exposed to what's out there and what's coming in the future.
William Darveniza [4:56]
Agtech is such a big, you know, capital investment for a farmer to make, and you don't want to go into something like agtech with uncertainty. This is just another tool in your belt that you can use to assess these technologies and even if it's the right part of your business that needs to be adopting those technologies.
Kara-Glenn Worth [5:13]
AgValuate is perfect for small scale producers all the way up to really large production systems because the insights that it generates are specific to that farm. AgValuate has an entire section in the tool that's dedicated to environmental management and climate resilience.
Climate resilience is really a non-negotiable in farming, whether you're in an area that has heavy rainfall or you're in a really drought stricken area. There are longer times and more extreme weather events that we're experiencing where we’re going to have to manage the effects of how the climate varies over time. And so preparing for that, having resilience, having readiness to support that, how are we goingto create regional resilience as well to these climate variations that we're seeing?
William Darveniza [5:58]
We have a big problem with water security on our farm, and the wet season brings a lot of challenges and sometimes that includes not being able to irrigate when you need to.
A tool like AgValuate can really help you realise where those issues are and maybe give you suggestions to how you can improve them.
Keerah Steele [6:13]
Once you start implementing new technologies, it's very useful to reuse it because your focus areas will change over time. By reusing the tool, you can actually refocus and progress your business and become more productive in the future.
Kara-Glenn Worth [6:30]
AgValuate provides that comprehensive overall health check of the business, which then allows producers to confidently approach where technology may fill a gap in their business. So it's not just guessing, and it's all about responsible uptake of innovation, not just choosing, you know what the next trend is that's out at the moment.
AgValuate is really step one to getting the right technology onto your farm and having that step one and starting point and a map for the next two years is really invaluable.
William Darveniza [7:01]
As a producer, you want to be spending your time doing things that are worthwhile, and the Agvaluate tool will really short track that because it gives you suggestions and helps you realise visually where your issues lie. And like as a farmer, a visual thing is very useful for me because, you know, it helps me to see where I'm at and where I'm going.
Recording ends [7:24]
