Connectivity & the Future of Farm Productivity
- Indara
- 9 hours ago
- 4 min read
Agriculture remains one of Australia’s major economic powerhouses making critical contributions to our communities year-in–year-out. The sector is rapidly advancing toward a $100Bn of annual production, a National Farmers Federation target set for achievement by 2030.
To hit this target attention must focus on improving farm resilience and productivity to underwrite long-term sustainability and competitiveness of Australia’s 90,000 farm businesses. This in turn increasingly requires embracing digital agriculture so Australia can meet and exceed what is already being aggressively adopted by our competitors offshore.
Across many livestock and plant production systems, data now informs irrigation timing and volume, animal health interventions, pest and disease management, energy optimisation and ultimately food and fibre quality. Traditional in-field visual inspections and farmer judgement calls are being augmented by connected sensors which continuously monitor conditions enabling the data produced to be analysed by farm software platforms. This system of data collection, analytics and operations management drives data augmented decision making while also supporting automation and cost optimisation. However, these systems rely heavily on terrestrial mobile services (including 4G and 5G), sometimes complemented by satellite services, which provide locational awareness (via GPS) for example.
To examine the critical role terrestrial wireless networks plays in digital farming, Indara’s Executive Director for Customer and Growth, Jason Horley visited farms and research facilities across regional Victoria to understand how 4G and 5G connectivity is enhancing the way Australians farm.
This four-part video series shares how our farm sector is embracing wireless technology to drive improved productivity which is critical to ensuring Australian farmers remain highly competitive in an increasingly global market.
The series covers a national perspective on communications infrastructure, the importance of local on-farm connectivity, and an outlook on what the future of digital agriculture holds.
National Perspective
Productivity at scale
The series opens with the CEO and MD of Elders Limited, Mark Allison, bringing a practical national lens to our discussion on farm productivity.
Exporting over 70% of farm gate production, agriculture remains one of Australia’s economic success stories. Industry growth over the past decade has been significant, but we must remember we are a developed nation with a high-cost base in a geographically remote region. This means, we cannot anchor our future success on our past success. Continuous incremental improvements in farm productivity remain critical to ensuring our sustained international competitiveness.
This conversation speaks to how digital farm management platforms depend on consistent network performance, and how digital coverage variabilities directly influence adoption.
Our first video establishes the scale of the opportunity and the importance of getting the infrastructure settings right.
Milking Productivity Gains
Real-time information, real-time decisions
At Ellinbank SmartFarm, connectivity is embedded in everyday dairy operations.
Animal health monitoring, water management and resource optimisation increasingly draw on live data. This shift continues to change how the farm is managed. Decisions move closer to the point of action. Interventions become more targeted. Livestock are continually monitored and receive individualised care including custom feed additives based on daily body scans and weight results. Animal welfare improves and efficiency and cost reduction compounds over time.
Dairy Australia estimates each case of clinical mastitis costs $350– $400, considering treatment, added labour, reduced milk yield and discarded milk. In a system where feed also represents around 50% of a dairy farm’s cost of production, better real-time visibility of herd condition, health and feeding decisions can have a meaningful commercial impact. Reliable connectivity helps bring that visibility to life, supporting earlier intervention, more precise management and better use of resources.
This livestock example demonstrates how 4G and 5G networks are already influencing productivity outcomes on-farm, and what becomes possible when network coverage and reliability align with a vision for real time information that enables real time decisions.
AI-Assisted Apples
When connectivity becomes operationally essential
In Australia’s leading orchards, connected systems and big data are increasingly playing an important role in assisting fruit thinning decisions, optimising water use throughout the growing season, monitoring crops for superior pest control and co-ordinating harvest logistics that ensure traceability is maintained.
Growers describe how mobile networks now automate workflows that were once manual and highly subjective. As sensor density rises and automation deepens, connectivity plays an increasingly critical role in production and productivity.
Connected farmers are building growing data sets across their production systems which enables them to work with their suppliers to perform global benchmarking and seek AI driven insights. Importantly, insights gained every year can be analysed and applied to refine how decisions are made next year.
Our horticulture story reveals what benefits happen when digital systems become embedded, and what growers require from networks to maintain momentum.
Research & Future Outlook
From precision to predictive agriculture
Our fourth and final video returns to research and the evolution of farm production.
Precision agriculture is evolving to predictive systems. Data is being used not only to adjust today’s inputs, but to make decisions that will improve future performance beyond this year’s crop, often into next year’s as well.
Capitalising on these data-driven and automation opportunities requires expanded mobile connectivity, consistent uplink performance and network resilience across large geographies.
The research perspective signals where agricultural systems are heading, and the critical digital infrastructure capabilities that will be needed to support that transition.
Progress, responsibility and trajectory
Across these visits, one theme is clear. Meaningful progress has been made in strengthening 4G and 5G connectivity across regional Australia which is excellent to see. But much more digital connectivity is needed.
As device density increases and production systems become more data-intensive, terrestrial wireless networks must continue to evolve in providing enhanced coverage, capacity and reliability. The expectations placed on infrastructure is no longer basic access. It’s about highly reliable voice and data that are both necessary to sustain and improve productivity.
Agriculture remains one of Australia’s enduring competitive advantages. Supporting its digital trajectory is not the responsibility of any single organisation. It requires coordination across communication infrastructure owners, mobile network operators, technology suppliers, policy makers, local and federal government teams, and politicians with each contributing towards delivering improved terrestrial mobile connectivity.
At Indara, our purpose is to accelerate a digitised future for our communities. In regional Australia, that purpose connects directly to agricultural performance and national competitiveness.
As agriculture becomes more data-driven, ensuring terrestrial wireless networks keep pace with sector transformation is fundamental to world-leading productivity growth and sustainability.
