Professor of Applied Plant Ecology at Montana State University in Bozeman, USA, Bruce Maxwell and newly appointed WA Premier’s Research Fellow in Data Analytics, Curtin and Murdoch Universities, Simon Cook, claim that in a hyper-interconnected world, agriculture has been left behind by the data revolution and is now in catch-up mode. 

While the promise of ‘big data’ has been trumpeted by plenty in the industry and in the media, Maxwell and Cook believe there little evidence of data analytics actually being adopted in agriculture.

Maxwell’s research at Montana State University places emphasis on the control of weed populations in dryland grain production.

He has recently focused on synthesising large amounts of field information from sensors to make management decisions.

Cook is an expert in applying data science and technologies to agricultural systems and natural resource management to help solve problems at a global, regional and farm level. 

Both will reflect on experience in other regions of the world and what could be transferred to improve the competitiveness of the WA grains industry.

The two-day GRDC Grains Research Update in Perth will be complemented by three one-day GRDC Grains Research Update events to be held in Mingenew, Kendenup and Merredin to enable growers to access a subset of the available information of particular relevance to that region.

The regional events will be held at the Mingenew Recreation Centre on February 24, the Kendenup Lodge on March 7 and the Merredin Recreation Centre on March 9.