In collaboration with Yamaha, The Yield, UTS and Treasury Wine Estates, a new project is using advanced data analytics and AI technology to enhance harvest yield predictions in horticulture.
Built on the foundations of The Yield’s AI prediction services, the project uses high-resolution remote sensing data and in-field observations to deliver accurate and precise yield forecasts.
Farmers continue to face growing challenges related to seasonal variability. These challenges include:
- Harvest labour planning.
- Scheduling post-farm logistics.
- Revenue forecasting.
- Managing forward supply agreements.
Projects such as this aim to support growers in navigating operational and financial hurdles.
A recent report by Food Agility revealed a comprehensive understanding of canopy and fruit development through technology-enabled observations.
This includes ground-level imaging from cameras mounted on vehicles driven through vineyards, utilising LIDAR sensors to monitor features such as leaf density and bunch counts. Overhead imagery, sourced from satellite and airborne platforms, helped monitor vine canopy health and total leaf area.
The outcomes of the project highlighted the value of in-field metrics in supporting advanced analytics and AI technology. Vineyards in both Australia and California that applied models developed through this data saw an eight per cent improvement in forecast accuracy.
This collaborative initiative also explores potential automation capabilities that could elevate food manufacturing in Australia.