The Australian grain industry is taking advantage of the new opportunities presented by digital image recognition technology, which uses digital images to assess grain quality attributes and defects in grain samples. Grain Trade Australia (GTA) is currently holding discussions with key grain industry experts in Sydney, Australia, to establish a standard and support framework for the national adoption of this technology.
The GTA CEO, Pat O’Shannassi, emphasized the potential of digital image recognition technology to improve the speed, accuracy and consistency of grain quality testing. Consistency across various grain supply chains is important for all stakeholders and contributes to smooth trade facilitation. However, current processes for some grain quality tests rely on visual inspection or other methods that have not changed for many years. Therefore, the industry recognizes the need to develop standards and an accepted process to ensure the consistency and accuracy of new equipment before it is introduced to the market.
While researchers and technology providers want the industry to adopt digital image recognition technology, there is currently no standard or implementation framework to support its adoption and use in the grain industry. GTA is proposing an industry standard and support framework that will enable the digital assessment and transformation of the quality and phytosanitary components of Australia’s domestic and export grain testing and certification process. The proposed standard will allow both government and commercial companies to adopt a unified system for evaluating, approving,