The Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub (TNQ Drought Hub) is launching AgValuate. This innovation readiness assessment tool was developed by producers for producers. It helps farmers, producers and land managers evaluate their business strategies through a simple, question-based format.
AgValuate offers a detailed analysis of a farm's journey to adopting innovative practices. It covers social, economic, environmental, and technological themes. The tool provides insights into both current operations and future goals.
Kara-Glenn Worth, the TNQ Drought Hub’s Digital Agriculture Innovation Consultant said “It can be hard to know where to start when it comes to introducing technology into your business. We’ve designed AgValuate to help fill this gap, giving producers a meaningful and actionable plan for growth and investment through technology and education.”
Kara added, “The collaborative design of AgValuate drew upon the expertise of James Cook University researchers, local producers and NRM industry bodies to form a comprehensive starting point for innovation uptake.”
TNQ Drought Hub Technical Adoption Officer, Keerah Steele has been working across North Queensland to deliver the tool to producers and help them implement the recommendations.
Keerah said “We’ve been running group workshops and one-on-one sessions to go through the tool with producers. We’ve helped some select technologies that will help in their environmental management, workforce skills development and business productivity, among other areas.”
The hub will continue to work with producers to roll out AgValuate and gather feedback.
This project received funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. It was designed by the Tropical North Queensland Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub in partnership with James Cook University.