AgTech is used by a majority of Australian farmers with John Deere, Gallagher and Elders the top AgTech brands
A Roy Morgan survey of Australian farmers with a special focus on ‘AgTech’ (Agricultural Technology), shows 89% of Australian farmers have used, or would consider using, AgTech, compared to only 11% who would not consider using it.
AgTech use is widespread amongst farmers with 78% of farmers using AgTech either now or in the past, and a majority of 72% of farmers currently using AgTech in their business. These results mean that only 6% of farmers have used AgTech and then given up on the technology.
The results in the Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Survey are based on 1,001 in-depth interviews with Australian farmers conducted during April and May 2024.
View the Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Survey 2024 Webinar here. (11 mins)
Leading forms of AgTech used by Australian farmers:
- Farm management software
- eID tags (electronic ID tags)
- Satellite technology
- Precision farming
- Drones
- Remote sensors
Farm management software, which covers everything from paddock mapping to animal genetics, feed inventory, water monitoring, and even biosecurity planning, is the leading form of AgTech for Australian farmers.
The second most widely used are eID tags (electronic ID tags). These electronic ID tags enable individual animal identification via a microchip, usually in the animal’s ear, that can be read using scanning devices.
In third place is Satellite technology which provides farmers with detailed information on, for example, real-time data on crop performance and soil variability.
Precision farming, the fourth most commonly used AgTech, builds on the information provided by satellite technology to guide precision ploughing, seeding, and fertilising for optimal productivity.
In fifth place are Drones which these days do everything from monitoring crop and horticultural health, and readiness to pick or harvest, to monitoring remote stock water troughs and even mustering.
Rounding out the top six most common forms of AgTech are Remote sensors which gather myriad farm data — from soil wetness to pasture problems — and can be simply controlled from a smartphone.
Benefits of Agricultural Technology (AgTech) for farmers
AgTech has many diverse benefits, from time and cost efficiencies to identifying and providing solutions across a wide array of challenges faced by our farmers.
According to farmers themselves, the top benefits of AgTech include less wastage, the ability to diagnose issues remotely, reduced labour, better understanding of new opportunities and solutions, more accurate and better record keeping, the ability to closely monitor large areas, better livestock management, increased profitability, reduced input costs and a reduction in wastage.
High cost and the lack of information are the main barriers to the adoption of AgTech for farmers
The high cost of Agricultural Technology is mentioned by two-thirds (66%) of farmers as the main barrier to the adoption of AgTech – almost double any other reason cited.
Simply not knowing enough about AgTech and the capabilities of these technologies are mentioned by 37% of farmers who ‘don’t know enough about it’ while 36% of farmers mentioned ‘poor connectivity’ to the Internet and telephone networks as a barrier to adoption.
Almost a quarter of farmers (23%) mentioned they have ‘No need for it’ and almost one-in-five (19%) say they believe there is only a ‘low benefit’ to adopting AgTech.
Other barriers for the use of AgTech mentioned by farmers include ‘Too much regulation’ (13%), ‘I don’t trust technology’ (7%), ‘There have not been any barriers’ (5%) and just being ‘Time poor’ (3%).
It’s important to remember when considering these barriers to the adoption of Agricultural Technologies that 89% of Australian farmers currently use, or have at some time used, farm technology, so the barriers, while important, are standing in the way of only a small cohort of farmers.
Barriers to adoption of Agricultural Technology (AgTech) mentioned by Australian farmers
Source: Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Survey April-May 2024. Base: Australian farmers 18+ n=1,001.
Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says Agricultural Technologies, ‘AgTech’, are transforming the farming experience like never before with the proliferation of new technologies driving time and cost savings for Australian farmers all around the country:
“Roy Morgan’s special Roy Morgan Farmer Agricultural Technology Survey this year shows that Australian farmers are amongst the world’s most ‘tech savvy’ – 89% say they have already used, or would consider using, AgTech on their farms.
“In fact, over seven-in-ten farmers (72%) are currently using AgTech to drive time and cost savings in their businesses and reaping the benefits offered by the array of new technologies that are increasingly coming onto the market.
“The most widely used AgTech is ‘Farm management software’ which covers everything from paddock mapping to animal genetics, feed inventory, water monitoring, and biosecurity planning.
“Other prominent AgTech includes ‘electronic ID tags’, ‘satellite technology’, ‘precision farming’, ‘drones’ and ‘remote sensors’ which provide detailed information to drive innovation and cost efficiencies throughout the farming environment.
“However, there are still barriers to adoption for many farmers that should be understood when considering how to drive greater uptake of these varying technologies, including among those farmers who have yet to take the step and adopt AgTech.
“The most commonly mentioned barrier – by 66% of farmers – is the ‘high cost’ surrounding many of these technologies. What is interesting to consider is that although ‘high cost’ is considered a barrier to adoption, cost savings are considered one of the main benefits for farmers who have taken the step and adopted AgTech.
“There is surely a way to ‘thread the needle’ here and find a way to reduce the entry costs to be able to reap the benefits of the technology post-adoption.
“Many other farmers cited lack of information about various AgTech products as well as their perception that they ‘have no need for it’ or that it would be of ‘low benefit’ in their case.
“These barriers to adoption appear to be mainly rooted in not understanding how exactly AgTech could improve the farming experience for these respondents. Businesses at the leading edge of AgTech may require a more targeted approach to reaching out to these farmers to find out what challenges they face and how the latest technologies could assist the growth of their business.
“When asked unprompted about which brands farmers associate most with Agricultural Technologies our survey of over 1,000 farmers mentioned John Deere in first place followed by Gallagher and Elders rounding out the top three.”
View the Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Survey 2024 Webinar presented by Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine here. (11 mins)
For more details on trust and distrust in the Agribusiness industry, purchase the Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Insights Report here.
In April and May 2024, 1,001 Australian farmers completed Roy Morgan’s Farmer AgTech survey, providing insight into farmers’ experience with AgTech. Farmers from a range of farms participated in the survey – Beef, Cropping, Sheep (meat), Sheep (wool), Horticulture, Dairy and other farm types, small farms to those over 25,000 hectares, annual revenue from under $100,000 to over $5 million.
The Roy Morgan Farmer AgTech Insights Report details insights into farmers including:
- The biggest challenges for farmers currently
- Brands most associated with AgTech*
- AgTech Use, and Intention to Use
- Types of AgTech used
- Benefits and barriers to adopting AgTech
- What farmers would like government to do to facilitate AgTech adoption
- How well farmers feel that governments, government department and industry bodies understand farming
- Farmer business confidence
- Agribusiness media readership
- Agribusiness finance products
- Analysis overall, as well as by farm type, size, revenue, and state
The report includes an Executive Summary, charts, tables, and commentary summarising key findings.
For more details on farmer trust and distrust in the Agribusiness industry, purchase the Roy Morgan Farmer Agribusiness Brand Trust Report here or contact askroymorgan@roymorgan.com to participate in the July 2024 Farmer Agribusiness Brand Trust Survey.
For comments or more information please contact:
Roy Morgan Enquiries
Office: +61 (03) 9224 5309
askroymorgan@roymorgan.com
*AgTech brands mentioned: Ag Leader, AgriWebb, Agworld, Allflex, Bayer, Case, DeLaval, Elders, Farmbot, Gallagher, John Deere, Lely Australia, Mobble, MLA/Meat and Livestock Australia, Nufarm, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Optiweigh, SwarmFarm Robotics, Topcon, Trimble and Tru-Test.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
