New free app helps sugar growers plan and increase yields

Harvest Mate app

Optimised harvesting could add $44 million to Queensland grower revenue.

A ground-breaking new decision support tool that helps sugarcane growers make more profitable decisions at harvest time has been launched in Queensland.

The Harvest Mate app, developed through a collaboration between the State Government and Sugar Research Australia (SRA) is designed to help growers capture additional sugar yield from their paddocks.

Research shows that optimised harvester settings have the potential to add $44 million to annual grower revenue across Queensland for green-harvested sugarcane.

The decision support tool uses data collected by SRA from years of trials across the sugar industry and is supported by detailed economic data collected and analysed by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF).

Harvest Mate is designed to use growers’ block and crop information in addition to harvester, haul-out and labour details and harvest conditions to predict optimal harvester settings.

Growers can download the app for free from the Google Play Store or Apple Store.

Flor-Hanly services primary producers across Central and Northern Queensland and beyond. From the CQ coast to Longreach. From Charters Towers to Roma. Contact our team in Mackay on 4963 4800 or visit our website.

Source: QLD Government