AN AgTech start-up company with a focus on delivering productivity gains for producers has opened a new manufacturing facility in North Queensland.
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DIT Technologies, which focuses on improving agriculture through innovation, has opened its first factory in Townsville.
CEO Mark Peart said the company's unique technology was designed to increase animal welfare and productivity, while also saving farmers' money.
Mr Peart said their remote monitoring technology allowed farmers to monitor livestock watering points from their mobile phones or computer.
At the heart of their innovation is water supplementation dispensing technology that provides a correct dose of supplements in water for livestock.
Ultimately, Mr Peart said this disrupts the traditional method of supplementing feed with lick blocks, ensuring each individual animal was receiving correct nutrients.
"We're trying to move agriculture from the industrial era to a digital era, making sure the technology and innovation is relevant and can be measured in efficiency and production gains for farmers," Mr Peart said.
He said while it was industry accepted practice to put dry feed or lick out, there was no way of measuring how much feed an animal was receiving. Water supplementing takes the guess work out, and Mr Peart said DIT was using new technologies and chemical innovation to make water supplementing a scaleable operation.
He said results so far were promising.
"We've been focused on doing it at scale and what we're finding in the last three years with clients, we are now getting great data when you supplement with real trace elements consistently, you get the right production gains.
"We are seeing up to 15 per cent increases in conception rates, half a body score after six months of supplements and we're also seeing 20-30kg increased body weight.
"Every animal gets the supplement every day at the exact same amount."
Mr Peart said the amount of urea or phosphorus could be adjusted in a matter of days, and water supplements had the additional benefit of not going off in the weather.
He said Townsville was a logical choice when thinking of expanding their business.
"I have spent most of my working life in northern Australia and I'm very passionate about northern Australia and regional locations. We felt it was important to establish our business near customers in the communities. Townsville is a great location, it is close to markets and it's good to be manufacturing on Australian soil."
