Want to collaborate with farmers to develop, test and sell your agritech? Here’s how.

Agritech that’s ‘over-promised and under-delivered’ has left farmers with a healthy degree of skepticism – so what’s the best way to work with end-users to test, develop and market products to drive on-farm adoption?

We’ve brought together some forward-thinking producers plus agritech providers to share some advice on how to collaborate with farmers.

RELATED: Your guide to agritech

Trialing tech and sustainable solutions on a large scale

Brooke Sauer has extensive experience in research, farming systems digital agriculture and innovation and in her role as Head of Research & Development at Boolah Group in northern New South Wales she’s involved in large-scale commercial trials, collaborating with tech developers and startups.

Brooke Sauer in action at evoke^AG. 2025.

“Be honest with users, never promise more than you are able to deliver.”

Brooke looks to work with companies that are genuine and have ‘runs on the board’.

“Boolah has been farming for many years, and we consistently review and refine our practices, the use of data and technology, however we are always looking to work with companies to trial products and practices that will allow us to meet our sustainability goals”” she said.  “I’m not asking them to have a million dollars of investment, but they’ve got to have some science behind them and some proven results.”

Brooke’s advice to agritech developers and startups.

“Use those connections with growers and or agronomists and find out how your product actually fits in with a commercial reality of farming,” she said. “If your technology is relevant to a farmer we will find you, so build yourself a really good brand.”

Early tech adopter and leading regenerative farmer

Grant Sims is a sixth-generation farmer managing a 3400 hectare -farm in North Central Victoria, where his primary focus is on improving soil health, conducting on-farm trials. He’s also the founder of Down Under Covers, a seed business dedicated to designing and producing custom multi-species cover crop mixes which helps farmers improve their land and boost productivity.

Grant’s advice to agritech developers and startups is to take the time to understand a farmer’s business before approaching them to trail your product or solution.

“Understanding the farmers, their program, their context and where they’re at. We’re cropping farmers, we’ve got busy times of the year at sowing and harvest – they’re probably good times to avoid.”

As a forward thinking early-adopter, Grant’s often approached test solutions but said agritech providers should make sure that trails are not a burden on the commercial operations farmers.

“If our machine equipment that we’re sewing with will do 65 hectares in one fill, we don’t want to be doing 10 hectares for a trial and stop,” he said. “In the trial if we can do one whole bin and then empty that, then change the next one it means we are more efficient with time.”

He points to other models where agritech providers handle the logistics.

“We could sort of set aside a piece of land and then be compensated for that, and you guys (tech providers) just do it and it doesn’t interrupt our program,” he said.

“There’s a lot of risk and reward in farming and the margins are tight so if we’re working together and sharing a bit of the risk.”

Innovation born on-farm and the value of collaboration

Daniela Carnovale is the Greenhouse Gas Business and Research Development Manager with Agscent, an agritech company founded in regional NSW that’s developing diagnostic breath biopsy nano-sensor devices for livestock 

Daniela Carnovale in action at evoke^AG. 2025.

“That ability to develop our products from a farmer perspective or from a real-life problem has allowed us to interact a lot more regularly with producers and from an earlier stage,” she explained.

“We have developed the tech, starting on ground, and then we’ve gone and had research collaborations and partnerships, and we use the highest research rigor in what we’re actually developing.”

That engagement with end-users is vital according to Daniela and she believes it should happen at an early stage of product development to pave the way for co-design.

“You must go in without any assumptions, you’re not the expert in their systems -they are the experts,” she said.

“It’s really a co design, so being open to being informed by farmers and end-users because ultimately your tech’s going to fit into their systems.”

Daniela said it’s important to pick partners who will fit with your company and to be upfront about what you want to achieve in the collaboration.

“We’ve got to take off that sales hat and treat them as a an equal in the development process.”

‘Shut your mouth and open your ears” ag extension lessons apply to agritech development

Co-Founder of agritech business DataFarming, Tim Neale has more than 25 years of experience in agricultural innovation development and adoption, beginning his career in farm extension.

“We rarely ask customers what they want, Tim said. “We go, immerse and understand – I think that’s the best way of doing it.”

He emphasised that trust is important in agriculture.

“You build your personal brand, you build trust, you build your knowledge and understanding of what the industry needs, then you build your brand profile around the company.”

He said agritech companies need to look at what drives people to change practice, and he believes it comes down to four C’s.

“Change either cost, convenience, compliance or capacity,” he said. “If we can help people manage their lives easier, better, quicker, and we’re delivering instant value, then then you’ll get an airing.”

But Tim warns that technology also needs to be simple and make things easier.

“If you’ve got a complicated app on your phone, you quickly delete it. Why is farming any different?”

Tim Neale Datafarming, Daniella Carnovale Agscent, Brooke Sauer Boolah Group and No-Til producer Grant Sims were part of a panel discussion ‘Journey with the producer: Agritech collaboration for smarter farms’ at evoke^AG. 2025 watch the recording here.