Australian agriculture's best and brightest, including a Cloncurry man, have been awarded prestigious Nuffield Scholarships to study topics as diverse as carbon sequestration and accounting, to drones and Australian native foods.
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Announced at the annual Nuffield Conference on Tuesday, Luke Chaplain is one of 12 scholarship recipients will each travel in Australia and overseas to research innovative concepts, techniques and systems that will make a positive impact on their businesses and the broader agricultural industry.
Each 2022 Nuffield Scholar receives a $30,000 bursary to spend on travel in the next few years. They will visit, learn from and collaborate with some of the world's leading agricultural businesses and research institutions.
Nuffield Australia CEO and 2013 Scholar Jodie Redcliffe, says the Nuffield Scholarship program will give the producers and agribusiness professionals global perspectives that will help them learn, remain competitive and grow.
Supported by PSP Investments, Luke Chaplain will explore commercial models for drone mustering and other ag-tech opportunities.
On Malakoff Station near Cloncurry Luke pilots his DJI Mavic 2 drone in behind a small mob of beef cattle, setting them running across the paddock. Swiftly he brings the drone around to the front of the mob to bring them back to walking pace.
He's testing the drone or UAV - unmanned aerial vehicle - on his family's 30,000 hectares of grazing land.
With his 2022 Nuffield Scholarship Luke plans to explore commercial models for UAVs to emulate traditional helicopter mustering in a more cost-effective and efficient process.
"The cost of hiring or owning a helicopter is increasing and a number of tech savvy producers in the industry are already using drones to muster livestock. The technology is available, it's a case of combining it for a specific purpose," Luke said.
"I'd also like to explore more ag tech opportunities including Internet of things, spatial, hardware and software applications for Australian livestock production."
Luke says UAVs can also play a role in services other than mustering, such as biomass monitoring, weed detection and animal welfare. In ten years, he predicts that UAVs will replace 70-80% of helicopter and 100% of gyrocopter mustering in Australia, delivering cost savings, higher productivity and increased safety for livestock producers.
"The consumer drones I've been using are a solid and successful minimal viable product. It's time to upscale the technology to make a commercial product specifically for finding and moving livestock," he said.
"My sister Sarah is a 2016 Nuffield Scholar so I'm looking forward to joining her and the rest of the alumni on this awesome adventure."
Luke plans to travel or talk to experts in the UAV and ag tech space in the United States, Israel, Germany and the UK, and has already had discussions locally with the Federal Minister for Aviation and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to discuss future regulation changes for UAVs.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
