Innovation uncut: 7 hard truths about agtech success (and failure)
Behind every flashy product launch is a slow grind of trial, error, and the occasional flop. At evokeAG. 2025, leaders from the pork, beef and fisheries industries stripped back the spin to share what it really takes to embed technology in agriculture.
Here, they share 7 essential truths about what makes agtech stick (or stall).
We tend to just see the glamorous side of agtech innovation: the brightly lit exhibition halls, the farm demos, the product launches. But behind every success are hard-won lessons, hesitant teams, and the kind of failures that – eventually – might become Christmas party anecdotes.
At evokeAG. 2025, the breakout session ‘Innovation Uncut: Agritech Wins, Fails, and the Lessons Learned’ offered a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Industry leaders from the fisheries, pork and beef industries shared candid stories of what worked, what didn’t – and what it really takes to embed technology in agricultural systems.
Here are their seven truths about what makes agtech stick – or stall.
Start small – and be prepared to fail
Innovation is exciting – but it can also be risky, messy, and expensive. But what if we treat innovation like an experiment, rather than a grand unveiling?
Austral Fisheries’ operations manager, Bryan Van Wyk keeps it simple, by starting small.
Bryan Van Wyk in action at evokeAG. 2025.
Whether trialling a new bycatch-reduction device (BRD), or launching a sustainability initiative, small-scale testing allows him to tweak, adapt and fail while operating in the Northern Prawn Fishery, without sinking the ship.
“My first BRD reduced bycatch by 50%. But innovation has to be feasible – and I was letting out too many prawns…” explained Bryan.
“But after some mods [sic], it became a success, and got legislated for use.”
The lesson? Start small. Expect failure. Learn fast. And always keep it feasible.
No pain? No point
Adoption fails when the tech doesn’t solve a real problem. Lisa Sharp, CEO of vertically integrated beef producer, the Stockyard Group, explained: “It’s pretty tempting to want to dive into what’s shiny and new.”
Lisa Sharp in action at evokeAG. 2025.
“But success comes when we ask, What pain are we solving?”
For her team, successful adoption hinges on understanding, “What friction are we removing? What’s the real gain?”
Understanding that helps to clarify the scope and establish clear go/ no-go points.
The lesson? Even the flashiest tech gathers dust if it’s not solving something.
People adopt agtech solutions. Companies don’t
You can’t adopt agtech without buy-in from the people using it.
At Stockyard, even promising agtech fails if it doesn’t fit the daily rhythm of their feedlot – or if teams aren’t involved early.
“With the potential for solutions that may change the activities of your team, you want to get that buy in [from team members] early, to make sure they’re comfortable,” said Lisa.
There’s a learning here for agtech vendors, too: in pursuit of the next sale, they need to be more curious and less prescriptive about how their technology might suit your team.
The lesson? Adoption isn’t about features. It’s about fit.
The most powerful tech might be your brand
Innovation isn’t just about operational efficiencies – it can reshape how the market sees you.
When tech investments align with consumer values, they become part of your brand story. Environmental credentials, welfare standards, and transparency can be your strongest differentiators.
Austral Fisheries’ strongest return on innovation hasn’t come from nets or emissions reductions, but from customers choosing their product because of those things.
Carbon-neutral certification and environmental stewardship have transformed their prawns into a premium brand – one shoppers and supermarkets actively choose, even when the market is flooded with cheaper options.
The lesson? Tech adoption can start in operations, but it’s often the story that sells it.
Adoption gets easier when you share the wins
Every business has a reason to protect their competitive edge. But when technology delivers broader industry benefits (improved welfare, environmental stewardship, improved data) sharing it can build trust, enhance social license, and even build industry-wide resilience.
SunPork’s ‘Maternity Ring’ is a stellar example: a decade-long, multimillion-dollar research effort to crack one of pork’s toughest animal welfare challenges: eliminating the need to confine sows in farrowing crates.
Accounting for 20% of Australia’s pork production, in a globally competitive industry, SunPork could have quarantined their innovation as a marketing play. Instead, they made it available to other producers through a third party. Not because it was profitable, but because it supported the industry’s social license.
The lesson? Collaboration is often the hidden enabler of adoption – turning individual wins into industry-wide progress.
RELATED: Full circle: The ten-year journey to solve one of the biggest challenges for pork industry
You need permission to fail – and someone to back you when you do
Agtech adoption often asks producers to shoulder the risk: time, money, and maybe, reputation. That’s a big ask in a sector where margins are tight and market share, hard-won.
Without a structure that supports experimentation, and leaders willing to champion innovation through the messy middle, many good ideas never make it off the whiteboard.
“Our value proposition to the SunPork Board was: ‘We want to do something you don’t have to do yet. It’s going to cost you money. And it’s going to increase your cost of production permanently…’” explained CEO and Managing Director, Robert van Barneveld.
Robert van Barneveld in action at evokeAG. 2025.
“We got a bit of pushback. But they ended up saying it was the best project they’d ever been involved in.”
The lesson? Innovation needs more than just funding – it needs belief. Without champions to carry innovation through early failures, the most meaningful advances may never get a chance.
Research needs a bridge to the paddock
Australia’s agricultural research is world-class. But without close ties to industry, those insights can remain stuck in papers rather than paddocks. Meanwhile, producers are left trying to solve problems that may already have answers buried in a journal or a trial report.
What’s missing is stronger integration – not just between researchers and producers, but across the broader agtech ecosystem. It requires shared priorities, better communication, and a willingness to shift focus when industry needs evolve.
The lesson? Research and adoption both thrive when there’s a continuous feedback loop between problems, people, and possibilities. Closing the gap doesn’t mean changing the science. It means changing how and where it’s applied.
Final thought: Agtech adoption is a process, not a purchase
Tech adoption is hard. It’s rarely linear. And it demands more than just good products – it requires good processes, internal champions, and patient refinement.
But with the right people, and the right mindset, agtech adoption doesn’t just work – it sticks.