Elders has launched its new Wheat Condition Report, a monthly national assessment of wheat crop conditions designed to help Australian growers make more informed decisions throughout the growing season.
Developed in partnership with Octopusbot, the report provides a regional, state and national view of crop conditions using advanced data modelling, artificial intelligence, localised weather information and high-resolution satellite imagery.
The report analyses more than 200 localised weather variables, including rainfall, soil moisture, temperature and wind speed alongside satellite imagery, to assess crop conditions across Australia's key wheat-growing regions.
The methodology draws on detailed regional analysis and provides comparisons against both the previous month and the same period in the previous year.
The report will be published monthly through to November, with plans to continually improve and refine its contents.
Elders Chief Agronomist Alex Greetham said the initiative gives growers access to a new level of insight into seasonal conditions.
“We've been talking about the potential of data in agriculture since I was at agricultural college more than 20 years ago. What's exciting today is that we're finally at a point where we can bring together large, geographically diverse data sets and turn them into meaningful insights for farmers,” Alex said.
“At Elders, the real value isn't just the data itself, it's combining that information with the expertise of our agronomists on the ground to support better decision making for growers.
“One of Elders' greatest strengths is our network of advisors embedded in farming communities across Australia, giving us visibility of seasonal conditions across a wide range of environments.
“Technology is now allowing us to connect those local observations into a national view of the season. That's giving us greater confidence in the trends we're seeing and helping ensure the advice we provide to growers is backed by both robust data and real-world experience.”
Growers can access the latest Wheat Condition Report via the Elders website or by speaking with their local Elders branch team.
The Wheat Condition Report builds on the existing Elders Market Insights offering from established analyst Richard Koch, with reports published across livestock, grain and water markets.