1000 Farm Safety Project trials new technology to call for help

AirAgri co-founders James and Paul Diamond, Mansfield, are headhunting 1000 farmers to take part in a safety program, the 1000 Farm Safety Project, to go nationwide.

They are third-generation Mansfield farmers raising the fourth-generation on-farm, and manage an Angus herd and Merino flock.

"The single biggest challenge [we found] is what do you do when an issue happens on farm, how do you communicate and how do you raise the alarm?," James said.

"You are working alone or remote, you have connectivity issues, or you may be unconscious or unable to use modern technologies."

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Paul said they started developing the technology to ensure their family members - and all farming families - could help on-farm risk management.

"We cannot afford to have accidents on farms," he said.

"Having death or near-death experiences on our farms is way too damaging, we're losing families off the land and it's scaring the next generation from coming in."

He said they made the technology with their 92-year-old grandfather in mind, who is still active on the farm.

"If he can use it then anyone can use it," Paul said.

"Accidents have occurred in the past prior to our technology where we have no idea where he is, where he could be unconscious or unable to tell us where he is, but two hours later he's presented back at the homestead and walked back the whole way on adrenalin."

James said they had trialled the technology on large-scale stations down to small-scale hobby farms, and hoped to have a similar spread in the 2024 project.

He said they wanted to use a broad cross-section of the industry to work as a collective to find an effective way of addressing on-farm safety.

"It has to be simple, elegant and frictionless," he said.

"When you have a machinery accident on a farm, we have firsthand experience of what employees are like and how they behave after being in a machinery accident.

"There's no silver bullet to this and don't think that there ever will be, because every farm is different, but if we can get the feedback [it could make a difference]."

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James said farmers would have access to precision weather insights and alerts, for safer and accurate decision-making on-farm.

"All collected data will be exclusively handled by our Australian team, ensuring total privacy and domestic control," he said.

"The program has a hands-on approach to safety with benefits including property specific weather and automated inductions at property level."

He said the program would focus on providing data specific to farms for sustainable decision making.

Paul said the technology also addressed mental health concerns and was in the final stages of Food and Drug Administration and Therapeutic Goods Administration approval.

"We are actively seeking to engage and roll out this technology ultimately designed to save lives and bring Aussie farming families home at the end of every day," he said.

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"We realise every farm is different and that is why we have put out the call to 1000 farmers to put their hand up - whether they are broadacre or livestock."

AirAgri will receive one of seven grants from the AgTech Grants program.

Farmers can find out more information about the safety technology here.

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