Young ag-tech leaders to showcase groundbreaking innovations and research at evokeAG convention in Perth

They are the up-and-coming leaders making waves in the agriculture sector, and these five young innovators will showcase their game-changing work at the Asia Pacific region’s premier agrifood tech event in Perth next month. The annual evokeAG convention is an opportunity for farmers to share their experiences, startups to pitch their potential, scientists to showcase their discoveries, and global business leaders to share their insights. Organised by Agrifutures, the two-day event is expected to attract more than 1600 delegates from 20 countries to the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on February 20-21. Among the highlights will be a series of presentations by evokeAG’s 2024 Future Young Leaders, who have been receiving mentoring from industry professionals in a bid to build their capabilities, skills, confidence and networks. Each young leader will present on their key innovations or research project at the event, and receive a post-event bursary to further support their work. GUY COLEMAN, WA Hailing from the Perth suburb of Mosman Park, Guy Coleman has been making a name for himself researching and developing autonomous weed control platforms. He is the architect of the OpenWeedLocator (OWL) project, which allows farmers to access open-source hardware and software to develop their own site-specific DIY weed detectors. OWL integrates simple green detection algorithms and 3D printing to assemble precision weed control devices, which have been mounted on robots, vehicles and bicycles. It is already being used by farmers across Australia, North America, South Asia and South Africa. A University of Sydney PhD student, Mr Coleman is also a guest researcher at the University of Copenhagen and has studied plant growth-stage recognition at Texas A&M University. “Guy has worked with farmers and engineers developing methods for real-time weed recognition, including Weed-AI, providing open-source access to image data for algorithm training,” an Agrifutures spokeswoman said. “He’s also served as vice-chair of the Ag Institute Australia, founded AgriEducate and has been a member of the AgriFutures Ignite Panel.” WA Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said she was looking forward to hearing more about Mr Coleman’s “community-led vision”. “Guy Coleman is an inspiring Future Young Leader whose enthusiasm for ag-tech opportunities and the broader agricultural industry is wonderful to see,” she said. NATALIE BELL, NSW Hailing from a sheep farm at Holbrook in southern NSW, Natalie Bell is the founder of Hylo Ag — a startup aiming to provide a recycling pathway for livestock ear tags. A lifelong passion for the meat and livestock industry led her to study at Sydney University, where she graduated with an agricultural science degree with Honours in livestock production. Ms Bell’s career began with business development and key account manager roles in a vertically integrated meat business. “She has a sound understanding of the business model intricacies of being the farmer, processor and marketer,” Agrifutures said. KATIA TAYLOR, ACT As a postdoctoral researcher with CSIRO Agriculture and Food, Katia Taylor is overseeing a project examining the influence of tillage, nutrient amendments, and fungicides on the microbe-driven conversion of crop residues into soil organic carbon. Based in the ACT, she has spent more than five years conducting agriculture-related research as part of her undergraduate and PhD degrees at the Australian National University. Ms Taylor is also carrying out part of her postgraduate study at the University of Zurich. “Katia is committed to improving the resilience and sustainability of farming systems to withstand the impacts of a changing climate, and to adapt to meet the needs of consumers,” Agrifutures said. ROBERTA MARCOLI, Queensland A postdoctoral aquaculture researcher at James Cook University in Queensland, Roberta Marcoli is dedicated to advancing the sustainability and profitability in the aquaculture industry. A scientist specialising in molecular biology and bioinformatics application, her lifelong interest in the marine environment saw her complete a PhD in aquaculture and molecular biology. She has worked in Italy, French Polynesia, New Zealand and Australia with a focus on sustainable aquaculture practices. “Roberta is also passionate about science communication, believing that it’s important to simplify complex scientific concepts so that all members of the community can understand the role of aquaculture in securing our oceans and our future,” Agrifutures said. SAM LAMBERT, NSW Sam Lambert is co-founder of zenGate Global, a blockchain technology business focused on empowering under-served commodity producers worldwide. His company’s flagship product, Palmyra.app, is an aggregate marketplace solution for commodity producers and buyers, with scalable modules such as traceability, payments and compliance. Mr Lambert studied economics and statistics at the Australian National University and began his career at international management consulting firm, Oliver Wyman. “Raised in Sydney and now living in Japan, his focus is on providing equal access to opportunities and innovation for agribusiness and communities, no matter their size or location around the world,” Agrifutures said. This year’s evokeAG is being funded by the Federal Government, the WA Government and event partner Elders. “The countdown to evokeAG 2024 is well under way and I am excited about showcasing WA agrifood tech innovations, sharing knowledge and exploring possibilities that advance our valuable agriculture industries,” Ms Jarvis said.