From zero-carbon fertilisers to seaweed: The 14 Western Australian agrifood tech startups in the spotlight at evokeAG. 2024
Western Australia is fast cementing itself as the launching pad of trailblazing “agripreneurs” - innovators spearheading state of the art technology redefining the agricultural landscape.
VetChip co-founder Dr Garnett Hall.
Fourteen Western Australian agritech businesses will be in the spotlight at AgriFutures evokeAG. 2024. Exhibiting as part of the Startup Alley, with one in Scaleup Station, startups will have the opportunity to highlight their revolutionary technology, as well as connect with potential investors and corporates from around the world.
And while some big challenges are on the line – from producing zero-carbon fertilisers to real time health and wellbeing reporting of livestock – the keen interest generated, and the rapid rate of consumer uptake, proves they are the embodiment of the evokeAG. 2024 theme of ‘Exceptional Edge’.
1. Agora Livestock – trimming the fat in the sheep, cattle and goat markets
Founder: Rob Kelly
Location: Perth, WA
Agora Livestock was founded in 2018 and has evolved into a platform that provides price discovery, and market access and supply chain efficiency for Australia’s livestock buyers, sellers and agents.Agora Livestock combines direct market bids for sheep, cattle and goats from processors, feedlots, live exports, and traders with saleyard reports. Farmers and buyers get better and faster market information, and buyers get a digital stockbook that enables them to quickly capture sales, send confirmations to sellers and track upcoming and historical deliveries. The platform has over 9,000 registered users across Australia.
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2. C4C Packaging – smaller packaging, bigger impact
Location: Applecross, WA
C4C Packaging partners with Tetra Pak, a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions, to introduce a groundbreaking carton packaging production line for Australia’s wine and Ready-to-Drink (RTD) products industries. Their carton solution provides new, smaller package sizes and unparalleled convenience for out-of-home consumption, events, airlines, cruise ships, and hotels.
3. Energy Farmers Australia – giving farmers an end-to-end solution for organic waste
Founders: Tom Vogan and Euan Beamont
Location: Geraldton, WA
Energy Farmers is focused on unlocking the potential that farmers have to produce energy from the biomass.
Energy Farmers was established in 2010 by a farmer and engineer. It allows farmers to utilise organic waste streams to create energy and by-products that are good for the planet and the bottom line.
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4. EXTAG – a smarter asset management system
Founders: Gabe Alves and Erik Raymond
Location: Perth, WA
Taking inspiration from technologies akin to those used in payWave technology, EXTAG offers a comprehensive end-to-end traceability service. While their primary usage resides in the mining sector, EXTAG is actively interested in exploring the agricultural domain and the potential for technology transfer.
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5. Farm Optimisation Group – taking farm management to the next level
Founders: Jacob Bennetts, Adam Bardsley and Michael Young
Location: Kojonup, WA
Founded in 2022, Farm Optimisation Group is driven by a genuine understanding of the complex dynamics within farming systems. Their user-friendly, whole-farm economic optimisation platform leverages on-farm data to address the evolving challenges encountered by modern producers.
6. Laconik – measuring return on investment from the most expensive cropping inputs
Founder: Dr Darren Hughes
Location: Nedlands, WA
Dr Darren Hughes, founder of Western Australian tech-company Laconik.
Laconik is an enabling technology which allows on-farm trials to be easily created, data collected, and results analysed. They use the hardware and software which comes standard in every modern farm machine to put a trial in a paddock.
RELATED: Laconik: Simple and easy on-farm trials – Investment and partnership opportunity
7. Nitronic – fertilisers with nothing else
Founders: Dr Stuart Gunzburg and Professor Mohan Sankaran
Location: Fremantle, WA
Nitronic allows farmers to produce zero-carbon fertilisers, mitigating price volatility and the dependence on imported fossil fuel-based products. Nitronic’s technology, utilising renewable energy and non-thermal plasma, offers a sustainable, cost-effective alternative for on-site fertiliser creation.
8. Orijin Plus – helping tomorrow’s food brands show more than just what’s in their food
Founder: James Williamson, and Rhys Williamson
Location: Perth, WA
Orijin Plus founders James Williamson, and Rhys Williamson. Photographer: Andrew Pritchard.
Orijin Plus has created an all-in-one IoT and blockchain solution for food and beverage businesses for product tracking, authentication, and consumer engagement. It started as in-house tool for beef brands, and incentivises consumer participation in blockchain completion, preventing counterfeiting.
9. Uluu – ocean delivering the goods for the planet
Founders: Julia Reisser and Michael Kingsbury
Location: Watermans Bay, WA
Uluu pioneers environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic using farmed seaweed, a crop whose production can be sustainably scaled to entirely replace the fossil fuels we use to make 400 million tons of plastic every year.
10. Universal Biosecurity – ending toxic fumigants for good
Location: Fremantle, WA
Universal Biosecurity is behind Fume8, an advanced mixing technology which the company says is the future of sustainable, effective, commercial fumigation.
Universal Biosecurity has developed an Ethyl Formate based fumigant solution that is sustainable, fast acting and effective with low toxicity and chemical residue that is safe for the operator and end user.
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11. VetChip – giving a voice to your animal
Founders: Dr Garnett Hall, Zyrus Khambatta, Ross Khambatta, Dr Maxwell Hall, Dilesh Wadia and Pendar Dalili
Location: Perth, WA
Through biosensor technology, VetChip provides the earliest opportunity for intervention and effective treatment.VetChip alerts owners and vets when an animal is unwell, often well before exhibiting obvious signs of illness. It is the world’s first biosensor technology that monitors animal health anywhere, anytime.
RELATED: Award-winning animal health microchip ready for commercial trial
12. Xsights Digital – real time health and wellbeing monitoring for livestock
Founders: Dean Phillips, Steve Wildisen and Charis Law
Location: Fremantle, WA
Xsights Digital has developed the patented Xiot Health Tag®. The Xiot tag is applied to the ear of each animal using existing livestock ear tag applicators and collects multiple data sets. It broadcasts
continuously at scale for monitoring and reporting on the health and wellbeing of individual animals.
13. Y-Trace – a sweeter service for beekeepers
Location: Yanchep, WA
Y-Trace provides a cost-effective quality control service to beekeepers to provide traceability and authentication for the marketing of their honeybee products. Y-Trace is based in Yanchep which is in the heartland of Western Australia’s beekeeping country.
14. Whole. – reducing waste and cost, but keeping the value
Founders: Nick Stamatiou, Cedric Cross and Ivan Gustavino
Location: Mount Claremont, WA
Whole. co-founders Nick Stamatiou and Cedric Cross. Image | Fox and Wildling PhotographyWhole. is at the forefront of disrupting the foodtech industry through its revolutionary proprietary technology, WINX (Whole Ingredient Nutrient Extraction). WINX™ technology operates via ultra-high pressure, effectively ‘exploding’ ingredient cells to augment nutritional value and bioavailability. It is entirely free from chemical processes, generates zero waste, and retains the original ingredients’ nutritional benefits.
RELATED: Whole Green Foods’ $2m bridging round geared to tackle global food waste
To find out more about the AgriFutures evokeAG. Startup Program, and to access the full list of startups involved in the event visit: evokeag.com/startups.
For more information about evokeAG. 2024, and to purchase tickets, visit: evokeag.com/2024. If you’re a startup interested in attending, please contact [email protected] for a discount code. AgriFutures Australia is encouraging delegates to secure their tickets, flights, and accommodation early to avoid disappointment.