Australia is globally renowned for producing high-quality, trusted horticulture products, and Queensland’s $450 million Lockyer Valley is at the heart of our agricultural success.
Unlocking the potential of horticulture
Our department's Gatton Smart Farm offers a pipeline of spaces and facilities for research, development, and extension activities focused on horticulture productivity and sustainability.
What you’ll find on-site:
- Climate-controlled research glasshouses and retractable-roof cropping structures.
- Cold storage solutions with advanced controlled atmosphere technology to extend product shelf life and maintain high quality.
- Collaboration opportunities for growers with the latest robotic and AgTech systems.
- Paddocks and fields for large-scale crop trials and field-based research.
- Innovations to improve traceability, temperature monitoring, and waste reduction.
Show transcript
Brett Fifield (Hort Innovation): There's a lot of positivity in the paddock here at Gatton. The partnerships and collaborations you see here will be taken back to thousands of paddocks across Australia...
Graeme Bolton (DPI): ...to reduce that reliance on labour but also bring down costs to make production cheaper.
Meg Lovegrove (Australian Agritech Association): The Gatton AgTech Showcase 2025 is the benchmark for AgTech events going forward.
Ian Layden (DPI): A DPI initiative that we delivered in 2023 got such a great response. We really wanted to do it again.
Tom McCue (Hort Innovation): Grower input was first and foremost a consideration in the design and implementation.
Graeme Bolton (DPI): We've worked with industry, growers, and tech providers to understand what they need. We've got exhibitors from Australia, homegrown AgTech...
Tom McCue (Hort Innovation):...external innovation from around the world, to see, look, and feel the technology to understand how it performs...
Tim Neale (Australian Agritech Association):...in the real world, and that's very important to get investors on board, but also government support.
Dr Heidi Parkes (DPI): We've been really excited to have 19 live field demonstrations, 24 protected cropping exhibitors, and 43 general AgTech exhibitors.
Bill Bulmer (AUSVEG/Bulmer Farms): It's extremely valuable to have all this technology in one place.
Lachlan McFadzean (Botanical Resources Australia): You can get a bit of tunnel vision stuck on your own farm, day in, day out. It's quite refreshing to have a look at some new ideas.
Aurélie Wenger (EcoRobotix): For us it's also saving time because if we would like to meet all those growers we met, it will have taken us one year of travel.
Jayden Staatz (Koala Farms): I think it's a breath of fresh air to see the future take shape. To have it showcased in a way that gives you confidence in its ability to perform is really important.
Brett Fifield (Hort Innovation): I think it's exciting to see the technology, but it's more exciting to see groups of growers, engaging with one another and also the technology manufacturer having discussions that if we didn't have this event, would probably be happening online or may not be happening at all.
Dr Heidi Parkes (DPI): Just providing that forum for people to come together, to network, to engage...
Ben Palone (Western Growers Association):...you move innovation forward so much faster in 2 days here than you would months, years over email.
Ian Layden (DPI): It's a unique role the department can play because we can bring a lot of players together that wouldn't normally collaborate.
Meg Lovegrove (Australian Agritech Association): Having that international connection? Priceless.
Tim Neale (Australian Agritech Association): We have to embrace innovation and technology because we face so many pressures.
Lachlan McFadzean (Botanical Resources Australia): Just looking at any ways we can reduce the amount of chemicals we use. The EcoRobotics machines were cool to see for the first time. It was impressive how well it could differentiate between weeds and plants.
Tom McCue (Hort Innovation): This technology not only saves money on input costs, but it also affects labour. But most importantly, yield and quality.
Dr Heidi Parkes (DPI): There's been real excitement about the event. Just under 1500 attendees through the gates. Absolutely ecstatic with that.
Tim Neale (Australian Agritech Association): They really want to adopt technology to improve profitability and sustainability.
Meg Lovegrove (Australian Agritech Association): It is a solution to a problem born out of necessity.
Bill Bulmer (AUSVEG/Bulmer Farms): AgTech will help keep farmers farming into the future.
End of transcript.
Why here and why now
Gatton Smart Farm helps the horticulture industry address the significant challenges of:
- managing labour costs and shortages
- adapting to climate variability
- optimising product quality and supply chains
- minimising food waste
- advancing vegetable mechanisation and harvesting.
Located in the heart of Queensland’s thriving agricultural research and development precinct, Gatton Smart Farm is a vibrant centre of research and collaboration. This world-class facility connects producers, researchers, and commercial AgTech providers, offering state-of-the-art facilities for trials, demonstrations, and adoption of cutting-edge technologies.
AgTech research areas at Gatton
- Field cropping, including robotics and automation, to address labour shortages and drive productivity.
- Protected cropping approaches to strengthen plant resilience while adapting to climate variability.
- Postharvest and supply chain integration to minimise waste and optimise storage, logistics, and freshness of products.
- Whole farm and supply chain system integration, improving every stage from production to consumer.
Success stories
The Gatton Smart Farm delivers tangible results for Queensland producers and beyond. Here are some of the recent successes we’re proud to share.
Gatton AgTech Showcase
The Smart Farm hosted 2 AgTech Showcases connecting producers, agribusinesses, technology companies, consultants, students, and researchers to foster innovation:
- In November 2023, the Smart Farm facilitated international AgTech collaboration and received the 2024 VISY Industry Impact Award at the Australian Horticulture Awards.
- In October 2025, the Showcase expanded to feature over 20 live in-crop AgTech demonstrations, a protected cropping greenhouse, technology displays, an AusAgritech-curated speaker program, a trade exhibition, and a ‘sundowner’ networking event.
Global collaborations
Producers and innovators from around the world partner with the Smart Farm on key projects.
Efforts focus on:
- protected cropping solutions
- robotics challenges
- whole-of-farm system design to address pressing industry challenges.
Advancements in cold chain logistics
The postharvest team launched an informative video series that highlights advances in cold chain technologies, including temperature monitoring, advanced packaging techniques, and enhanced traceability of produce. These innovations reduce spoilage and maintain premium quality in exports.
Innovations in protected cropping systems
Gatton researchers trial UV light technology to sustainably manage powdery mildew in strawberries grown under protected cropping systems. This pesticide-free method reduces disease and could enable fully autonomous production.
Weather Station Network and Ag Weather App
The department operates a comprehensive network of over 50 weather stations. This network provides producers with access to real-time data and Bureau of Meteorology forecasts.
These resources are available via:
- Desktop: Ag Weather Network
- Mobile: Ag Weather App on Apple or Google Play.
Chill Calculator
The Chill Calculator uses daily weather data from over 600 locations across Australia, dating back to 1968.
It helps producers calculate:
- winter chill accumulation.
- growing degree days or hours.
These calculations help growers make informed crop management decisions.
Crops in focus
Gatton Smart Farm is leading the charge in producing world-class AgTech for some of Queensland’s most profitable and high-demand crops, including:
- vegetables such as broccoli, capsicum, cucumber, lettuce, and sweetcorn.
- strawberries in protective cropping.
Queensland AgTech ecosystem
The Gatton Smart Farm isn’t an island but part of a much larger Queensland AgTech ecosystem.
Key collaborators and partners:
- Driving AgTech adoption across Australia (AS20007): The initiative that drives the adoption of AgTech across the supply chain.
- Advanced vegetable mechanisation program to maximise labour and cost efficiency (VG23003): This program boosts the adoption of advanced mechanisation technology in the Australian vegetable industry.
- Evaluating mechanical harvest solutions in Australia (VG24006): This project accelerates the adoption of mechanical harvesting technologies by connecting international harvesting equipment manufacturers with Australian growers and agribusinesses.
- AUSVEG: Supporting the development and extension of best practices in horticulture.
- Commercial innovators like Process Intelligent Advisory, Priva, Powerplants, Cravo, Irribiz, and Rijk Zwaan provide technologies for practical trials and collaborative research and development.
These networks ensure that knowledge flows quickly into producers' hands, helping transform Queensland into a global leader in horticulture and food production.
Visit Gatton
Gatton Smart Farm is open to producers, researchers, AgTech companies, and entrepreneurs from across Queensland, Australia, and the world.
- Participate in field days and AgTech training sessions to see improvements in action and access fresh insights.
- Collaborate on research projects or co-design pilot programs.
- Propose innovative solutions or conduct trials at Gatton, with support from our researchers and experts.
Contact us
- Email GattonSmartFarm@dpi.qld.gov.au
- Gatton Research Facility, Department of Primary Industries, Warrego Highway, Gatton, Qld.
Last updated: 10 Dec 2025