Dr Alastair Reed (HydroTerra) and Dr Nicola Cooley (Melbourne Polytechnic) were hosted by Professor Lingwen Zheng and Dr Jim Hardie (Changzhou University) on a three-city tour of workshops and symposia at Changzhou University, Guizhou Institute of Technology and Taizhou University. This trip was funded by the Australia-China Council as part of an ongoing project to develop an international partnership in the use of modern environmental monitoring equipment for food quality and safety.

Activities included a demonstration of cutting-edge groundwater and plant monitoring equipment including the use of dendrometers for scheduling irrigation in the famous peach orchards of Jiansu Province. The dendrometer pictured here was generously loaned by Edaphic Scientific (www.edaphic.com.au).

The tour included the Guizhou Institute of Technology – Guiyang, Guizhou Province – located in a city that is now in the top 5 fastest growing in the country, emerging as a centre for big data, including as it is applied to smart agriculture. The tour took in the Institute’s own food manufacturing facilities as well as a range of local companies with large national and international footprints and great interest in modernization of the food chain. The visit included discussions on the development of an ongoing training collaboration and local demonstration sites as developed by HydroTerra for Melbourne Polytechnic at their Yan Yean Training Farm – Whittlesea, Victoria, Australia.

A Changzhou University the delegation met with University administration to discuss the development of innovative hybrid online courses that combined with face-to-face practical workshops providing students with the opportunity to learn hands-on skills in the use of modern technology to support the modern food chain.