In 2016, Ausveg awarded South Australian grower Thang Hoang Le aka Aussie Kev with the title Young Grower of the Year. An accolade that almost didn’t happen had it not been for an unexpected turn into farming. Initially to help his family out, Kev started on the family farm straight out of high school. Kev’s enthusiasm grew as he found ways to improve the way the operation was run and adopted new innovation to streamline and improve profitability. Today, he continues to look at ways to improve and adopt new technology.
Demonstrating this continued appetite for innovation is his partnership with Monsanto. He has set up field trials of Monsanto’s new hybrid capsicum against another widely used hybrid. The aim is to measure its performance in Australia and how it can help growers produce a profitable and appealing crop.
Not stopping at trials, Kev teamed up with a mate to develop an App specifically for growers. The App, FarMate, gives growers real time and targeted info to their smart-phone. The App was designed after the two friends wondered why they could get a game Apps that notified them of updates, but not about weather warnings or other information that are vital for farming.
The free to download App works by a grower entering in the sectors, locations and weather zones relevant to them. The App will only send notifications to a specific area, for example if there’s a severe storm approaching growers will be notified. The benefit is the grower will not get any information not related to them. The App also provides real time market information but this feature requires a monthly subscription.
Kev, said the soft launch of the App had seen 200 growers in his area using it. He also said the market information was useful because it let the grower see what prices were and where so they could direct produce to where it gets a higher return. Kev will shortly be launching the App, which works on Android and iOS smartphones, across Australia. As part of the launch Kev will be meeting people face to face to explain how the App works and its benefits.
It has been this adoption of information technology and communications that led Kev to look at how he can break down the isolation often experienced in farming. This he said was particularly important to bring in the next generation.
Kev said one of the great challenges of farming is finding the connections with other farmers. He said his experience had shown older generations of farmers were reluctant to talk to their younger counterparts particularly when wanting to do things differently or adopt new innovation.
This reluctance, he said was overcome by forming the Virginia Young Farmer group to make the social connections. He said the group had no set structure or office, but used the WhatsApp smartphone App to talk, joke and try and solve problems or to give a heads up if a weather event was expected.
“Overcoming the distances, the long hours and the amount of time working on their own, could make farming difficult,”
“Pulling the Young Farmers Group together makes farming easier and more excited,” Kev said.