Technology and resilience to be celebrated at 2017 Turf Australia Conference

Taking the turf industry further into the future through precision farming practices and robotics will be the focus at this year’s Turf Australia national conference and field day.

The upcoming two-day event, being held from 5th to 7th June in the NSW Hunter Valley includes an extensive program of speakers addressing new technological developments in turf farming, the principles of precision agriculture, using facts and figures to promote the benefits of turf and learning how to build personal resilience in staff.

Conference participants will be some of the first in Australia to see an unmanned robotic turf mower currently in development by Queensland’s robotics company, Swarmfarm.

The robotic platform, which is guided by GPS around paddocks, can mow turf paddocks with two-centimetre precision and could signal a huge leap forward in technological advancement for the industry when it becomes commercially available.

Key elements of the speaker program also include a panel discussion: ‘Arm yourself – how to combat the rising trend of synthetic turf’.

The panel discussion will include input from leading sports physician, Dr Leigh Golding; the Sports Turf Research Institute and a turf grower with the aim of giving delegates some tangible and useable information on why natural turf is superior to synthetic turf as well as to mount clear and concise arguments against councils and other specifiers installing it.

The importance of mental health, or personal resilience, will also be a key topic at the conference with James Greenshields from the Centre for Resilient Leadership presenting his ‘Put Your Hand Up’ program to delegates. James will specifically address the importance of, understanding, identifying and assisting good mental health in yourself, colleagues and employees.

AgTurf will host the Field Day for the national event, with a huge line-up of industry-leading equipment being demonstrated.

The biennial event will also include the induction of industry leaders into the Turf Hall of Fame and the Turf Industry Charity Auction which supports growers in times of need.

Click here for more information in the Australasian Leisure Management industry Calendar.

Image: Swarmfarm's protype robotic turf mower.

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