As we wander through the supermarket picking through the fruit and vegetables to find the perfect produce to accompany our dinner plans, we often overlook and take for granted the work that goes on behind the scenes to supply the best possible produce to us. Fortunate to have an array of locally grown and sourced produce has led to consumers wanting only the best, and our farmers are happy to oblige.
Since the 1940s, the Templeton family has been growing and selling ginger. In the 70 years following, their small farm had become Australia’s largest ginger grower and supplier, producing over 3,500 tonnes of Australia’s 8,000-12,000 tonnes of ginger each year. In the mid 2000s, the crops were struck by a crop disease, fusarium, that caused soft rotting; impacting the production of ginger. Fusarium causes massive problems for the Australian ginger industry and detection of the disease in ginger after harvest is a resource-heavy and time-consuming process.
Templeton Ginger recognised the need to adapt processes to maintain their market supply and production efficiency. They achieved this by partnering with ARM Hub, seeing the opportunity to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies and increase their digital capabilities. Through an Agrifuture Grant and under the guidance of ARM expert Professor Matt Dunbabin, Templeton Ginger worked with researchers to utilise computer vision and Artificial Intelligence technologies.
Implementing AI and incorporating computer vision and advanced algorithms to identify the disease, Templeton Ginger has been able to adapt their production processes, with more consistent results than the human eye.
ARM Hub prides itself on their ongoing commitment to educate and grow the next generation of manufacturing. As digital enablers, ARM Hub allows agricultural growers, like Templeton Ginger to assess and map out their digital capabilities to get a better understanding of what is achievable for their farm and industry.
A partnership made with our love of high quality produce at heart, ARM Hub looks forward to continuing working with Templeton Ginger in the future.