This week's roundup: Drought-hit WA, Australia’s key commodities, New Tractors, Strong Export Demand, The tractor that flew to Australia, and more updates. Plus, fresh listings, auction dates, and more from across Australian ag. Let's get into it →

Some pastoralists in Western Australia are battling through their third year of drought. Cattle fodder has been donated by farmers, but there is no money for fuel to transport it. Pastoralists and Farmers Across Borders are appealing to the WA government to cover the transport costs. 

West Australian station owner John Mahony's cows have not grazed on green grass in years.

There has been no significant rain at Moorarie Station, about 120 kilometres north west of Meekatharra, since early 2023. No rain means no grass for cattle.

"We only had 60 millimetres last year — the grass has died off, cattle are feeding on the bushes," Mr Mahony said.

Mr Mahony and his wife have removed some stock from the property and have been forced to feed young cattle by hand in yards, while dropping hay out to the cattle that remain in paddocks.

It is a time-consuming process — yet Esperance-based charity Farmers Across Borders has stacks of stored hay that could help the Mahony stock, and many other pastoral cattle in drought-stricken paddocks.

But it does not have the money to transport the hay to Mr Mahony's property, or to other pastoralists in need. 

Mr Mahony has pleaded with the WA government for a fuel subsidy to help the charity distribute more hay, but says he has been offered little more than words.

"There was stuff about financial counselling and regional men's health mental wellbeing, which won't feed any cows," he said.

"I was disgusted. "They're building a race track in Perth, organising a rugby league team. The millions they're talking there, surely they can throw a bit of fuel towards this cause?"

Mr Mahony said he received fodder from a Farmers Across Borders delivery earlier this year.

"It was a great help, it took the pressure off … it's great too that we know people are out there doing that," he said.

But Farmers Across Borders president Sam Starcevich said the group had run out of money for more hay runs.

"We've done 26 loads up north, we've had [fuel] donations come in, but it's gone," she said.

"Unfortunately, at this stage, everything is on hold."

Fuel prices in WA have increased by as much as $1 a litre for diesel in two weeks, making the cost of a hay run of more than 2,000km even harder to finance. 

But Ms Starcevich said the charity still had thousands of bales of fodder ready to go north.

"It's so frustrating. We are not asking for millions — we are asking to help out people. It's an animal welfare issue," she said.

The calls for help have been echoed by Nationals WA leader Shane Love.

"This is a volunteer organisation stepping up to support pastoralists through one of the driest periods in living memory, yet the state government has refused to provide even modest assistance to help transport donated feed," he said.

"Today's fuel crisis has exacerbated an already dire situation for pastoralists in the Gascoyne.

"These producers do not have the luxury of waiting." Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis has been contacted for comment.

It’s only March, and farm equipment OEMs have already launched more than 25 new or updated machines this year. At shows such as the World Ag Expo from Feb. 9–11 in Tulare, California; the National Farm Machinery Show from Feb. 11–14 in Louisville, Kentucky; and Commodity Classic from Feb. 25–27 in San Antonio, manufacturers have introduced dozens of new tractors, planting systems, sprayers, and balers, as well as new technological upgrades. Here’s a look at the latest iron for the farm.

New Holland rolled out its new T7 XD tractors at Commodity Classic, featuring up to 435 hp and powered by an 8.7 liter, 6-cylinder Cursor 9 engine with peak torque at 1,400 rpm. 

Case IH’s 360, 390, and 440 Optum tractors made their North American debut at Commodity Classic. These models feature 360–435 hp, up to a 37-mph road speed, a tight turning radius for row crop work, and an independent front-axle suspension system for a smoother ride.

John Deere extended the horsepower range of its 8R/8RX tractors with six new models with power ratings of 440 hp, 490 hp, and 540 hp. These models come equipped with a JD14 engine and are autonomous-ready with a G5+ display for access to precision ag technologies. This line includes AutoTrac Turn Automation, AutoTrac Implement Guidance, and Autopath.

Fendt unveiled its 800 Vario Gen5 tractors with the 826, 829, and 832 models. This series features power ratings from 260–320 hp.

On the Massey Ferguson 9S Series tractor, updated and re-introduced at the Commodity Classic, compatible implements can communicate with the tractor and manage speed.

This week brings encouraging signals for Australian farmers, with global demand for agricultural products continuing to support confidence across the sector.

Recent market activity shows strong export demand for Australian beef and grains, particularly across Asia and the Middle East. Tight cattle supplies in several competing regions are helping support beef prices, while grain markets remain steady as global buyers continue looking to Australia as a reliable supplier.

Seasonal conditions across much of the country are also providing a constructive backdrop for producers. Many regions are reporting stable pasture growth and improving soil moisture, giving livestock operators and mixed farms greater flexibility as they plan for the months ahead. While some areas are still managing patchy conditions, the overall outlook remains positive heading into the next stage of the season.

Across cropping regions, farmers are continuing to focus on efficiency and preparation, with upgrades to equipment, storage and transport systems remaining a key priority. Reliable machinery and logistics play an increasingly important role in ensuring operations can move quickly during narrow planting and harvest windows.

As the agricultural sector continues to evolve, farmers are approaching investment decisions with a balance of optimism and discipline. Structuring purchases in ways that protect working capital and align with seasonal income has become a key focus for many operations.

In this environment, Pay In Time Finance continues working alongside Australian farmers to help structure machinery, vehicle and equipment funding that supports productivity while maintaining financial flexibility.

With export markets strong and operational planning improving, the outlook across Australian agriculture remains confident as the season progresses.

The tractor that flew to Australia (and has the wine industry talking)

New Zealand’s Agovor is bringing its small but mighty autonomous electric tractor, GOVOR, to Australian vineyards and speciality crops. With attachments for mowing and under-row spraying, it cuts labour and energy costs while boosting efficiency. With GOVOR available right now to early adopters, Agovor is also seeking investors for a NZD $3 million capital raise to fund international expansion and scale its attachment suite.

The wine industry’s innovation and equipment showcase, WineTech 2025, saw the Australian debut of an autonomous electric tractor. It had travelled across the Tasman Sea not in a shipping container, but as checked-in luggage on a passenger jet. 

For a little thing, it made a big splash: 50+ leads from conference delegates! 

“We’d always joked about transporting the tractor as check-in luggage,” reflected Agovor co-founder Richard Beaumont. “It certainly cuts down on our logistics costs.” 

It’s an anecdote that captures Agovor’s mix of ingenuity, practicality, and speed to market – the qualities driving the New Zealand agtech startup’s push into Australia.

Fresh off the plane, straight to the vines

GOVOR is a powerful, compact, fully autonomous electric tractor with interchangeable implements, purpose-built for speciality row crops. It uses IoT connectivity and GPS waypoints to autonomously tow and activate ‘Smart Trailer Attachments’ that cut labour, boost productivity, and collect valuable data to inform decisions on-farm.

“Right now, we have two attachments: an electric mower and an under-row sprayer,” said Richard. And the benefits are immediate: a 90% reduction in energy costs, and a 90% reduction in labour, meaning managers can engage their team in higher-value tasks.

“GOVOR costs just 3 cents in power per kilometre to run; that’s less than $1 per day for its 10-15-hour run-time,” explained Richard. “We call it a paradigm shift, because it enables growers to move away from heavy, diesel-powered tractors, to lightweight, quiet, zero-emission alternatives – all controlled from a smartphone.”

Putting GOVOR through its paces

The Autonomous Vineyard Equipment Demonstration in McLaren Vale, South Australia, put GOVOR to the test where it matters most: in a working vineyard – navigating rows, mowing cover crops and grass closer to the vines than a ride-on, and all under the scrutiny of growers. 

Organised by SA AgriTech, and supported by growAG., Wine Australia, and Elders, the agtech meetup allowed Agovor to “soft launch” its product in Australia. “We’ve already got clients across horticulture: from raspberries, boysenberries, and strawberry tunnels to cherries and an apple orchard,” said Richard.

Another early adopter is Wither Hills, a Lion-owned vineyard in Blenheim, New Zealand. Assistant vineyard manager, Mike Western, explained, “The primary reason for purchasing the robotic tractor (nicknamed ‘Elmo’ by staff) was to reduce soil compaction. The 8.8-hectare block is quite wet, and using a traditional tractor and implements was having a detrimental effect on the soil.”

Mike has now moved Elmo over to one of Wither Hills’ satellite vineyards to mow 36 hectares. “It has never been our intention for the robot to replace a human,” explained Mike. “Rather, firstly, to reduce the impact we were having on the land, and secondly, to lessen the workload on staff during the peak growing season, when maintaining 410 hectares spread over 14 vineyards becomes difficult.” 

Real benefits, from day one

Richard said the pitch to potential customers is quite straightforward. “GOVOR is an easier sell than a lot of other agtech solutions. It targets efficiency and cost savings, not yield. So you don't need years and years of data to prove out its benefit; it starts paying for itself from day one.” 

“You can easily see the value piece,” continued Richard. “It’s electric. It’s built from aluminium and stainless steel, so it’s not going to rust. And it’s plug and play.”

Agovor does the onboarding for you, mapping the property, setting up the work plan, and providing training on how to operate it (a process Richard said takes just half an hour). All the grower needs to do is press go on their smartphone, and the robot sets to work.  

Maintenance is remote-first. “That’s another part of our deliberate paradigm shift,” said Richard. “Most issues are fixed by us logging in remotely. If that fails, we’ll send you the part to replace yourself. Can’t do that? We’ll send out a technician.” 

“We know growers want uptime, so we’ve designed for that.” 

From pandemic problem to global potential

The idea for GOVOR was born in 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions cut staff at Richard’s co-owned wholesale tree and shrub nursery, Ardmore Nurseries, from 35 to five – overnight. “We were deemed a non-essential business, which meant we were only allowed to look after the plants; not open the store to customers,” he said. 

“With so few staff, one of our biggest problems was weeding. But nothing like a bit of adversity to spur on innovation. So my co-founder, Simon Carroll, and I teamed up with some engineering mates over WhatsApp, and that led to our first prototype.”

By the time they’d reached Version 4.5, the team realised the potential went far beyond the nursery industry. “What we’d built was perfect for repetitive, repeatable row tasks in horticulture, which is obviously a much bigger opportunity,” said Richard.

Funding the next leap: Australia, and then the world

What’s next in the Agovor pipeline? “More attachments!” said Richard. “Every grower we speak to offers a new idea for implements: a swing-arm mower for organics; a mobile bird scarer; scouting and imaging tools; and even precision pest control.” 

“The possibilities really open up once you take away the cost of having a person sit in a tractor all day.” 

To meet demand, Agovor is currently raising NZD $3 million to grow its team, support international deployments, and build out its attachment suite. Strategic manufacturing partnerships are also on the table. 

“We’re in discussions with growers, investors, and corporate partners,” said Richard. “The plan is for Australia first, then Europe, and the US.”

A small machine with a big mission

Five years of trial and error, and the challenges of running a startup, have given Richard pause for thought. “My son said to me once, ‘Dad, you’re always working.’” 

“I didn’t have an answer at the time, but I thought about it a lot.”

“Eventually, I went back to him and said, ‘In my own little way, I’m helping solve some of the world’s biggest problems. Reducing reliance on heavy, fossil-fuel machinery. Looking after soil health. Making food production more sustainable.”

“People get these dreamy ideas about startups,” continued Richard. “But that's not our reason for doing this. We’re very much about seeing our product out in the wild, driving sustainability and helping productivity.” 

“Because, globally, the track record for both is not that great.” 

For most of the rural sector, business has always moved through relationships. Someone recommends a stud or a neighbour mentions a contractor, for example. Word travels the same way it always has.

That part hasn’t really changed.

What has changed is the step that tends to happen right after the recommendation.

These days, before someone calls, they look you up. They type the name into Google, or search Facebook, or follow a link someone sent them. It only takes a minute or two.

That quick look often decides whether the phone call happens at all.

From one operator to another, here are three things that tend to shape that moment.

This may surprise you, but most buyers aren’t looking for impressive marketing. They’re checking something much simpler.

They want to see that the business exists, that it’s active. If we were to qualify this, they're looking for three things: confirmation you're still operating, evidence that other people have dealt with you, and basic contact information. That's the bar.

This isn’t a call for more marketing. Most operators don’t need a convoluted content strategy or daily social media posts.

Imagine you’re a buyer who has just been recommended your stud, your service, or your business for the first time.

Does what you see confirm the reputation you’ve built? If not, that’s a gap worth closing.

After that, a simple website that answers the three questions a buyer has before calling. What do you offer? Where are you? Has anyone bought from you before? Current contact details that match everywhere they might look.

That's the work.

Rural buying decisions still run on reputation. The search is simply the confirmation step. When that confirmation goes well, the call usually follows. 

At RD Creative Studio, we spend a lot of time helping rural businesses close that gap. Not by turning operators into marketers, but by making sure that when someone looks you up, what they find reflects the business you’re actually running. If you’d like to get that sorted before your next sale season or booking cycle, feel free to get in touch.

📧 [email protected] 

G'day REALM readers,

Who's a pretty boy then? 

If you've been front and centre with a Mickey Bull like this fella above, you know there's a solid yard railing between you and him. I've heard many a war story of 'Mickey' encounters either in the yards, on a bike or on horseback - mostly close shaves and uninjured, with many a ringer high tailing it up a tree; and others who were not so lucky, including injured horses from a Mickey's unclipped horns.

Basically, a Mickey Bull is a young bull that slipped through the muster and never got castrated or branded (thus the name 'Cleanskin' as they are also commonly called). In the US, they are referred to as 'Mavericks'. These cleanskin bulls, usually around 12–18 months old, later show up running with the cows and trying to breed when they shouldn’t be. Because they can throw unknown genetics into the herd, they’re usually drafted out pretty quickly when spotted.

So whilst station workers know what a Mickey is, the origin of the name isn’t exactly clear. Like plenty of bush yarns, there are a few different stories behind the name when I asked the question recently on the RFTTE FB group...

A popular theory links the name to the phrase 'taking the mickey', meaning to tease or cause trouble. A rogue bull sneaking into the breeding mob and serving cows could easily be seen as taking the mickey out of the station owner.

Some also believe the name may come from Irish bush slang, as many early drovers and stockmen were Irish, along the lines of a young cleanskin bull being a bit wild and unruly, like one of those 'young Irish Micks'.

There are also a few more bush explanations with a bit of 'mayo' on them. Some old hands reckon the name comes from the round ears of young bulls, which supposedly look a bit like Mickey Mouse ears. Whether that’s true or not is anyone’s guess… like most bush nicknames, it probably started as a joke and stuck.

Any other theories about where the term Mickey came from, or a picture of one? Let me know, and we'll add it to the Mickey blog. In the meantime, get amongst the latest mob of jobs... 

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Hooroo for now,
Simon Cheatham
Founder RFTTE - The Online Campfire
0417 277 488 | [email protected]