GRDC Grain Automate Open Innovation Call: What Agtech, AI and Automation Businesses Need to Know.

Labour shortages, rising input costs and seasonal variability keep pushing Australian grain growers to do more with less. The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is backing new ideas to help through the Grain Automate Open Innovation Call. It invites research, development and extension (RD&E) proposals that speed up machine automation, autonomy, intelligent systems and precision input use in Australian grain production.

Proposals close at 5:00pm AEDT on Monday 7 December 2026 (4:30pm in Adelaide).

Read the official details on the GRDC Grain Automate Open Innovation Call page.

What Is the Grain Automate Open Innovation Call?

Grain Automate is GRDC's national RD&E initiative to accelerate the development, validation and adoption of automation, autonomy and intelligent systems that deliver measurable value to growers.

The open call, reference PROC-9177512, was released on Tuesday 13 October 2026. GRDC says it is designed to "attract new participants, diverse capabilities and novel approaches" that complement its existing Grain Automate portfolio.

Proposals can sit in one of four priority categories or an open category.

1. Paving the Way for Autonomy

This category covers workforce transition, on-farm connectivity, retrofit pathways, deployment models and adoption barriers.

2. Targeted Technology Development

This includes remote operations and supervised autonomy, automated sampling and diagnostics, task-focused autonomy, machine safety, and new form factors.

3. Building Intelligent Systems

This category includes farm workflow and business-process automation, AI-enabled agronomy and decision support, mixed-fleet interoperability, supply-chain integration, and connectivity, data stewardship and AI/digital readiness.

4. Precision of Input Use

This covers precision application and sensing, and input decision intelligence.

5. Open Category

Other ideas may be considered if they clearly fit the call's objectives and guiding principles.

Straight comparisons of existing commercial products and autonomy work aimed only at non-grain industries are out of scope, unless the work is clearly transferable to Australian grain cropping.

Who Can Apply for the GRDC Grain Automate Call?

GRDC welcomes Australian and international organisations and consortia.

The tenderer must be a single legal entity or recognised firm of partners, or a consortium where each member will be party to the contract.

GRDC's published Q&A confirms that newly established businesses can apply if they have the right legal structure, such as an ABN for Australian organisations, and can demonstrate the capability to deliver. Team expertise counts for more than business history.

Mandatory conditions include:

• Compliance with the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 and the Modern Slavery Act 2018.

• No unpaid judgments for employee entitlements.

• Not being on DFAT's Consolidated List.

• A valid Statement of Tax Records (STR).

How Much Funding Is Available?

GRDC hasn't published a budget range, funding pool or target number of projects. Applicants propose the budget needed to deliver their outcomes.

Co-investment is encouraged but not mandatory. As a general guide, GRDC suggests cash and/or in-kind co-investment "in the order of 50:50 relative to GRDC investment".

Contracts are expected to run between one and five years, with most projects lasting between two and five years. Milestones must be included at least every six months.

Key Dates and Application Process

The important dates for the Grain Automate Open Innovation Call are:

• Release date: Tuesday 13 October 2026

• Enquiry deadline: Thursday 26 November 2026, 5:00pm AEDT. Written questions must be sent to GRDC's contract administration email.

• Proposal closing time: Monday 7 December 2026, 5:00pm AEDT, or 4:30pm Adelaide time.

Proposals are lodged through the Grains Investment Portal. GRDC recommends creating a portal login well before the deadline.

What GRDC Looks for in a Proposal

Proposals are assessed across three main areas:

• Grower value and pathway to impact: 40%

• Project plan and delivery capability: 30%

• Strategic fit, innovation and technical approach: 30%

Price, risk and benefit to the Australian economy are also considered.

GRDC expects a credible pathway to a grower-focused benefit-cost ratio of at least 6:1.

Technology-development proposals should generally start above Technology Readiness Level 4, though GRDC's Q&A says this is not a hard threshold.

Every applicant must complete GRDC's Proposal Application Template and Budget Template. Contracts use GRDC's Standard Two-Party Research Contract.

How StepSharp Can Help With Agtech, AI and Automation Projects

StepSharp Digital is an Adelaide software, AI and automation company that implements AI, ERP, MES and IoT systems.

Several of the call's scope areas are software and data problems:

• Farm records and reporting (3.1): Linking machine, sensor and business data to automate farm records and reporting.

• AI-enabled decision support (3.2): Applying AI to decision support and task scheduling.

• Supply-chain integration (3.4): Connecting farm operations to logistics, suppliers and post-farm-gate systems.

We help agtech teams, research groups and grain businesses plan and build the digital side of proposals like these. This includes integrating machinery and IoT sensor data, building workflow automation and dashboards, and applying AI to scheduling and decision support.

Our broader software and automation capabilities also support businesses exploring SA manufacturers digital transformation, Industry 4.0 in Adelaide, and integrated systems such as ERP for SA manufacturers and MES in South Australia. These technologies can help connect operational data, improve visibility and reduce reliance on manual processes and spreadsheets where appropriate.

If you're preparing a Grain Automate proposal or considering a consortium, talk to StepSharp about scoping the software, data and integration work.

Key Takeaways

The GRDC Grain Automate Open Innovation Call provides an opportunity for agtech, AI, automation and research organisations to propose solutions that improve Australian grain production.

Applicants should identify the relevant priority category, demonstrate measurable value for growers, prepare the required proposal and budget templates, and allow enough time to register on the Grains Investment Portal before the deadline.

Important: This is general information based on GRDC's published call page and Q&A as at 22 October 2026. Decisions rest with GRDC, so confirm details on the official call page before applying.