On Wednesday 9 May the 'Pitch in the Paddock' event was held at Beef 2018. This was a great event with eight pitches promoting solutions for common problems in the beef industry.

First up was All Quotes Direct www.allquotesdirect.com.au which saves primary producers time getting quotes for everything used in the beef industry such as cattle yards, fencing, water tanks, troughs, supplement, vaccines, ear tags, vehicles, motorbikes and many other products.

Next was Farmgate MSU www.farmgatemsu.com.au which focuses on humane and ethical on-farm slaughter of high quality beef and lamb using mobile service units (MSUs). 

Then there was Livestock Labs www.livestocklabs.com.au which is developing a system to collect biometric data for each animal so that the livestock manager can be notified if there are any critical actions which need to be undertaken to treat disease or other problems the livestock may encounter.

Next was Fluxx www.fluxxit.com.au which is a peer to peer general freight platform. 

Then there was MEQ Probe www.meqprobe.com which provides objective measurements by using next-generation laser technologies coupled with machine learning to predict the eating quality of meat in real time.

Next was ProAgni www.proagni.com.au which focuses on animal nutrition using probiotic additives as a way to accelerate the removal of ingested antibiotics from animal feed.

Then there was Vence Corp www.vence.io which offers virtual fencing and livestock management devices which reduce the need for physical fencing and increase the real-time information available to graziers about their animals.

Finally there was Water Save www.watersave.io which provides an autonomous watering system using LoRaWAN technology and field sensors to optimise water supply based on real time field data.

There were five judges providing feedback to the presenters and one of the judges was Glen Richards who is known for his participation in the Shark Tank series. All of the judges asked relevant questions and provided constructive feedback for the presenters.

Overall it was very interesting to see how innovation, technology and data capture and usage are all converging to assist primary producers to increase production and commercial outcomes.

Well done to the sponsors and organisers of this event.