GoMicro CEO Sivam Krish and Walco Engineering CEO Kurt Walter at the FutureAg event at the Melbourne Showgrounds last week.

TWO South Australian companies have teamed up to create the Grain Detective, while Intersales has bought CadMac to bring New Holland into the fold.

Grain Detective

WALCO Engineering has joined forces with GoMicro to create Grain Detective , an AI-powered auto-sampling device that can be fitted to a range of agricultural machines such as headers, tubeulator conveyors, and grain cleaners. 

Walco Engineering was established early this month as an adjunct to the Walco Seed Cleaning business co-located at Halbury in South Australia’s Mid North.

“We’re taking orders, and we’re fine tuning, and hope to have them available by this harvest,” Walco chief executive officer Kurt Walter said.

GoMicro is an Adelaide-based business which has developed AI technology that can now assess major export and domestic crops, including wheat, barley, lentils, and field peas. 

The Grain Detective has been designed to automatically and accurately assess grain directly during flow in an auger, and can objectively identify defects and contaminants every 3 seconds. 

This offers an alternative to manual sampling methods, which introduce an element of subjectivity.

GoMicro CEO Sivam Krish said AI can not only reduce but possibly eliminate quality-related risks with auto sampling, which can assess the quality of an entire truck load. 

Mr Walter has many years of experience in working with farmers to bring their grain up to receivable standards, and said Grain Detective aims to improve efficiency and greater peace of mind throughout the supply chain.

“Farmers worry about downgrading risks at reliable sites,” Mr Walter.  

The ability to assess truck loads is expected to eliminate the risk of downgrading, alleviating concerns for both seller and buyer. 

Farmers can also use the defective percentage required during harvest to make storage and cleaning decisions.

Grain Detective can assess weed seeds within harvesting machinery, and will enable farmers to create weed maps similar to the way protein maps are developed using near-infrared solutions fitted to farm equipment, allowing farmers to optimise herbicide use on their crops. 

A prototype of the Grain Detective is now being tested in preparation for launch this harvest.

AI technologies are being developed and deployed rapidly throughout the Agricultural Sector worldwide.

AI assessment of grain quality is widely anticipated to be the norm.

It will bring fair pricing for farmers and reduce quality-related risks within the global value chain, making Australian grain exports competitive in terms of quality and price in the global grain market. 

Intersales buys Cadmac

Southern New South Wales Case IH dealer Intersales has acquired CadMac Machinery, incorporating dealerships at Wagga Wagga and Wodonga.

Intersales was established in Temora in 1976, later expanding into Griffith, Wagga Wagga and Albury-Wodonga.

Jarrod Stephenson from Cadmac with Mitch Price, and Adam and Amanda Blachut from Intersales. Photo: Intersales

CadMac Machinery was founded in 2016, selling and servicing New Holland  machinery, the CNH stablemate of Case IH.

Recently crowned this year’s Case IH Dealer of the Year in the three or more-branches category, Intersales will continue to operate the two former CadMac locations as New Holland dealerships. 

“We’re proud to have had the opportunity to purchase CadMac from the Bektash family, bringing with it a new chapter to the Intersales story,” Intersales CEO Amanda Blachut said.

“We’d like to congratulate Roger and Lyn Bektash on their accomplishment in business, and welcome the team at CadMac to the Intersales family.”

CNH business director agriculture ANZ Aaron Bett said the move would reinforce the national CNH dealer network. 

“Intersales is a proven performer in the southern NSW regions it covers, its reputation for excellence cemented by its recent win in the Case IH Dealer of the Year Awards, and to now have New Holland machinery under its remit introduces a raft of new opportunities for the company, and its customers,” Mr Bett said. 

“I also want to acknowledge the Bektash family for building a business that’s so well respected in the Wagga and Albury-Wodonga regions, and know their existing customers will enjoy a seamless transition to the Intersales team.” 

Source: GoMicro,  Case IH