With latest ag-tech innovations ensuring produce traceability right down to the field, "paddock to plate" is much more than just a buzzword.
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Food provenance is becoming a consumer priority, with purchasing decisions increasingly based on ethical concerns such as sustainability.
As such, Indigo Agriculture is forging meaningful partnerships along the whole supply chain, giving consumers full confidence in the quality and integrity of their food choices.
Indigo Agriculture, a company that has demonstrated results in improving Australian cereal crop and cotton yields, leverages naturally occurring microbes living inside the plant to maximise yield and increase crop tolerance to drought and heat stress.
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In the US, the company has recently announced a key partnership with the country's leading brewer, Anheuser-Busch, the producer of Budweiser, focused on sustainable rice production.
Indigo Australia's Commercial Operations Manager, Bill Dwyer, said the collaboration signified huge potential for similar Australian partnerships.
"The US partnership was the first-of-its-kind to offer growers an end-to-end solution that incentivises the commercial production of sustainable rice, and Indigo Australia is keen to explore opportunities to partnership with local end users of cereal crops, particularly in the food and beverage industry," Dwyer said.
"The local brewing and milling industry already has a strong commitment to produce provenance, and further collaborations with Indigo Agriculture would enhance this transparency and sustainability.
"Ag is moving so quickly, the developments made in recent years have been ground-breaking, particularly in regards to precision agriculture and product traceability.
"In the space of just two decades Australian broadacre cropping has advanced from no till, to controlled traffic and now we're looking into a digital space where the possibilities and opportunities are endless.
"Ultimately what the industry will achieve is full paddock to plate transparency, whereby each loaf of bread, each packet of pasta, each bottle of craft beer will be traceable right back to the paddock its grain was grown in."
Mr Dwyer said Indigo Agriculture, which uses a microbal inoculant designed to protect yields from environmental stress, would be a key player in safeguarding Australian produce's clean, quality and sustainable reputation.
"Knowledge is power, and consumers are becoming more and more curious about the origin of their food - whether it's the meals they prepare in their home kitchens or order off a menu - we see a future where ingredient origins will come to be expected," he said.
In its most recent partnership, growers contracting with Indigo to produce rice for Anheuser-Busch will reduce water and nitrogen used by 10 per cent and achieve at least 10 per cent savings in greenhouse gas emissions compared to state benchmarks.
Bill believes productivity gains through innovation will also take out any consumer uncertainty surrounding cereal or cotton production.
"Consumers can be rest assured that the crops grown - and ultimately ingredients produced - using this technology have done so with maximum water use efficiency and best practice," he said.
"By collaborating with leaders across the supply chain, we can conserve natural resources, preserve farmland for future generations, and produce healthier final products."