Bringing the Spraying Revolution to Australian Grain Growers

How Farmers2Founders helped Irish agtech company MagrowTec navigate the path from global technology leader to locally grounded Australian business, and why the opportunity for grain growers is only just beginning.

A Global Problem That Lands on Every Farm

Every time a spray boom rolls across a paddock, a significant portion of the chemicals applied never reach their target – drift carries them off-site, run-off washes them away. Conventional spraying technology, largely unchanged for decades, loses somewhere between 60 and 90 per cent of applied product to the environment – a systemic waste problem valued at approximately A$42 billion annually across global agriculture.

For grain growers, the financial and environmental stakes are significant.  Herbicide, fungicide and insecticide programs represent one of the largest variable costs on the farm and when those inputs are not being applied efficiently, profitability suffers, chemical resistance pressure increases and the industry's social licence to operate comes under greater scrutiny.

MagrowTec, founded in Ireland, was built specifically to solve this problem.  Using patented Magnetic Assist Spray Technology, the company has developed a retrofit Boom Kit that fundamentally changes how droplets behave in flight – reducing drift by up to 70 per cent, increasing canopy penetration and improving coverage by 20 per cent.  The technology requires no electronics, no moving parts and no change to existing operating parameters.  Fit it and forget it.

With more than 400 units in the field globally and a track record across multiple crop types and geographies, the science was proven.  The question has been how to bring it to Australian grain growers – and do it in a way that in grounded in local realities.

An International Company, an Australian Opportunity

When MagrowTec identified Australia as a priority market, the task ahead was more nuanced than simply shipping units and appointing a distributor.  Australian agriculture has its own rhythms, its own decision-making culture and its own web of influencers, comprising agronomists, grower groups, farm advisors and distributors whose trust and understanding of any new technology must be earned before adoption can scale.

In Farmers2Founders' 2024 National Scale Accelerator, MagrowTec joined a cohort of high-potential agtech companies at the growth stage of their journey.  For an international business, the program offered something particularly valuable: structured, facilitated immersion in the Australian agrifood tech ecosystem, supported by experienced advisors with deep commercial and sector expertise.

The work through the program centred on a critical strategic challenge – mapping and understanding the Australian value chain in sufficient depth to identify not just who buys the product, but who influences the buying decision.  Growers make the purchase, but agronomists shape the recommendation.  Agronomists advise reduced application rates based on product performance, and they will only do so if they are confident the technology works and that their professional relationship with the producer is not at risk if it does not.

"The real value of the F2F accelerator program is the customised approach that is given to each business. No two businesses were at the same point on the journey so tailoring the program to each participant was a master stroke."

- James Turtle, MagrowTec Australia

Building a Locally Grounded Business Model

Through the Farmers2Founders program, MagrowTec developed a clear and structured understanding of the distinct stakeholder segments in their customer's value chain – and critically, how those segments influence one another.  The program helped the team identify which relationships needed to be built, in which order, and with what supporting evidence.

The outcome was a distribution infrastructure with genuine national reach.  MagrowTec has secured distribution agreements with Croplands and One Ag, two of Australia's leading agricultural equipment and chemical distributors, providing dealer coverage across every state.  This network is backed by MagrowTec's own field team distributed across the country – providing hands-on support to dealers and serving as a direct touchpoint for growers and agronomists who need to see, understand and trust the technology before recommending it.

Alongside distribution, the program supported MagrowTec in developing clear marketing goals aligned to driving brand awareness and industry engagement.  Guidance on how to execute a structured social media strategy – consistently and with purpose – formed part of the practical support that the team found directly applicable to their growth phase.

What the F2F Program delivered for MagrowTec

• Structured mapping of the Australian agri-value chain

• Identification of key stakeholder segments and influence pathways

• Agronomist engagement strategy and field team deployment

• Brand awareness and social media marketing framework

• Customised 1:1 coaching aligned to market-entry stage

The Commercial Case for Australian Grain Growers

The economic argument for MagrowTec is straightforward and the numbers are compelling.  Trials conducted in Australian grain-growing conditions have demonstrated that in some instances, producers can reduce herbicide application rates from 80 L/ha to 60 L/ha when using the Boom Kit – a 25 per cent volume reduction that can deliver direct chemical savings of $47 per hectare per application.

Australian grain crops typically require between two and four herbicide applications per season.  At an average of three applications annually, a producer farming 1,000 hectares – close to the national average cropped area – may realise aggregate herbicide savings of approximately $141,000 per year.  That figure does not include reductions in water, fuel and labour, where the technology delivers a further 20-50% efficiency gain.

Indicative Savings — Australian Grain Producer
$47/ha Direct chemical saving per application at 60 L/ha vs 80 L/ha	$141k  Estimated annual herbicide savings at 1,000 ha and 3 applications
20–50%  Reduction in water, fuel and labour inputs	14 months  ROI period confirmed for a large dual-unit grains operation (total saving: $786k p.a.)

A techno-economic analysis conducted for a large Australian grains producer, operating two spray units, quantified total annual savings from efficiencies across the entire spray operation at A$786,000 – representing a 14-month payback period.  For a capital investment in proven, maintenance-free technology, these are the kinds of numbers that change conversations.

Beyond the financial case, the technology addresses growing regulatory and community expectations around chemical stewardship.  A 50-70% reduction in spray drift is not merely an agronomic benefit, it directly supports a grower's ability to operate responsibly within their community, comply with evolving buffer zone requirements and protect non-target crops, waterways and neighbouring properties.

Building Australian Traction — and the Road Ahead

MagrowTec Australia has now sold 19 units in the market, with eight additional units placed in 2025 alone despite challenging seasonal conditions.  Widespread, below-average rainfall across major grain-growing regions during 2025 reduced the overall volume of herbicide spraying – and with it, the immediate financial urgency that drives investment in spray efficiency.  The dry season also placed economic pressure on agricultural spraying contractors, who represent a significant secondary customer segment.

Notwithstanding those headwinds, the pipeline of interested growers and contractors remains strong, with further sales pending the outcomes of active customer trials currently underway.  As seasonal conditions normalise, the conversion rate from that pipeline is expected to be meaningful.

Globally, the story is unambiguous.  MagrowTec has sold in excess of 400 units across multiple markets, with more than 100 new sales recorded in 2025.  That international performance is not incidental context for the Australian opportunity – it is the body of evidence that removes risk from the adoption decision.  Australian growers and their advisers can draw on field performance data from comparable agricultural environments, strengthening confidence in the technology's real-world efficacy.

Looking ahead, the global business is currently preparing for a Series B investment round to continue to scale the business and deliver the technology’s benefits to more producers.  For the Australian operation, that capital trajectory signals sustained commitment to the market and to the continued development of the technology platform – a strong indicator of long-term commercial viability for growers, distributors and investors alike.

Why This Matters for the Australian Grains Industry

MagrowTec's journey into Australia illustrates something broader about how global agtech innovation reaches Australian farms, and why the pathway matters as much as the technology itself.

Without a structured understanding of the local value chain, without the right distribution partners, and without agronomists who understand and trust the technology, even the best-performing solutions can stall at the farm gate.  The work done through the Farmers2Founders Scale Accelerator gave MagrowTec the strategic foundations to build a genuinely Australian business, not merely an import operation.

For grain growers, the message is direct: a technology that is proven, economically compelling and now nationally available through established distribution channels represents a real and near-term opportunity to reduce input costs, improve spray efficacy and strengthen environmental performance – simultaneously.  That is a rare combination in agricultural technology, and one that deserves serious evaluation.

"Through the F2F program, MagrowTec developed a clear understanding of the stakeholders in their customers' value chain and the impact they have on influencing adoption by farmers."

- James Turtle, MagrowTec Australia

👉 Find out more about the F2F Scale Accelerator: https://www.farmers2founders.com/scale

👉 Explore the F2F TEKFARM network — connecting producers with agrifood-tech innovators: https://www.farmers2founders.com/tekfarm

This work is delivered as part of Farmers2Founders' ongoing partnership with the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), supporting innovation that strengthens the long-term productivity and sustainability of the Australian grains industry. https://grdc.com.au/