Bayer Crop Science Australia has introduced a transformative approach to modern farming with the integration of digital crop trial technologies that bring unprecedented accuracy, adaptability, and return on investment to Australian agriculture. In partnership with Laconik, a Western Australian ag-tech company, Bayer is pushing the boundaries of data-driven decision-making through its adoption of the Laconik Combine platform. This innovative solution allows farmers to test inputs like fungicides and fertilizers in real farm conditions and receive tailored insights based on robust data.

Traditional crop trial methods are often confined to research stations or limited-scale plots, which can miss the variability of real farm environments. Bayer and Laconik’s new approach involves replicated strip trials across large-scale commercial paddocks, thereby capturing authentic environmental factors like soil heterogeneity, climate variation, pest pressure, and management practices. This generates data that reflects the grower’s own conditions, improving trust in the recommendations derived from the trials.

Recent trials in southern Western Australia have yielded compelling results. Canola crops treated with Aviator Xpro recorded an average yield increase of 200 kilograms per hectare, translating into a net profit gain of $117 per hectare. Similarly, trials with Prosaro showed a yield bump of 70 kilograms per hectare and an additional profit of $33 per hectare. These results highlight how minor changes in crop protection strategies, guided by precise data, can deliver major economic advantages to growers.

The trials also underscore the value of Return on Investment (ROI). For every $1 spent on Prosaro, growers earned $1.65 in profit. Aviator Xpro returned $3.44 per dollar invested, delivering an impressive 209 percent return. In a time when input costs are rising and markets are volatile, these figures serve as strong motivators for growers to shift toward precision input management and outcome-based product use.

What strengthens the program further is its integration with Climate FieldView, Bayer’s digital farming platform. FieldView allows growers to visualize and analyze spatial and temporal field data. When combined with Laconik’s trial technology, this integration offers multi-layered decision support—growers can overlay weather data, satellite imagery, and yield maps to understand how different inputs perform in various zones of the same field. This type of hyperlocal agronomic insight was previously inaccessible to most growers and is a game-changer for sustainable intensification of agriculture.

“Digital agriculture is no longer just a concept. It’s becoming an everyday tool in the farmer’s kit. By using these platforms, we’re giving growers the ability to test, learn, and apply the best solutions on their own land,” said Craig White, Digital Integration Lead at Bayer Crop Science Australia.

Importantly, this initiative doesn’t just benefit individual farms. It has macro-level implications for food security, climate-smart agriculture, and environmental sustainability. By identifying which products are most effective and when, farmers can reduce over-application of chemicals, minimize runoff, slow the development of pest resistance, and cut unnecessary costs. In turn, this promotes resource-use efficiency and supports Australia’s goals of reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint while boosting productivity.

The trials also provide critical feedback loops for Bayer’s product stewardship programs. By observing product performance across hundreds of paddocks under real-world variability, Bayer can continuously refine its product recommendations, ensure responsible use, and accelerate product innovation pipelines with real-time grower feedback.

This collaboration between Bayer and Laconik showcases what’s possible when multinational expertise and local innovation come together. Laconik brings its domain knowledge of Australian cropping systems and variable-rate agronomy, while Bayer contributes its global R&D, digital integration capabilities, and farmer network. Together, they are not just providing tools—they are helping reshape the future of agriculture by making it more precise, resilient, and profitable.

For farmers, agronomists, and industry stakeholders, the message is clear: digital crop trials are no longer optional—they’re essential. The ability to generate farm-specific data, backed by scientific validation, will define the next chapter of sustainable farming in Australia and beyond.