Dan Hickey — Director, Morgan Rural Tech
Director & Founder

Dan Hickey

Agronomist  ·  Technologist  ·  RePL Drone Pilot

With over 30 years spanning hands-on agronomy, industry-wide technology platforms and cutting-edge AI systems, Dan brings a rare combination of deep agricultural knowledge and practical technical capability to every project Morgan Rural Tech undertakes.

B.App.Sci (Rural Technology) Grad. Cert. Rural Science Diploma of Education Cert IV Training & Assessment RePL — Drone Remote Pilot
Career

From the Paddock
to the Platform

A career built on understanding what actually works in Australian agriculture — and then building the technology to support it.

1997 – 2005

Agronomist

Eight years working as a practicing agronomist across Queensland, advising on crop production, pest management and sustainable farming practices. This hands-on fieldwork underpins every technology solution Dan has built since — because he knows what producers actually need, not just what looks good in a demo.

2005 – 2007

Cotton Australia

Moved into the industry body space with Cotton Australia, gaining experience in industry-level programs, best practice frameworks and the intersection of agronomy with policy, training and grower communication.

2008
Founded

Morgan Rural Tech Pty Ltd

Founded Morgan Rural Tech to bridge the gap between Australian agriculture and practical technology — building solutions that make a genuine difference on working properties, not technology for technology's sake.

2010
Platform Launch

myBMP — Cotton Industry Best Management Practice

Australian cotton field ready for picking

Designed and developed mybmp.com.au — the Cotton Industry's Best Management Practice web platform, enabling cotton growers to self-assess and improve their environmental and production performance.

Following
Platform Launch

Smartcane BMP — Cane Industry Best Practice

Aerial view of Queensland sugarcane fields

Built on the success of myBMP, Dan developed smartcane.com.au — the Best Management Practice platform for Queensland's cane industry. Another industry-wide platform trusted by growers and industry bodies for compliance, benchmarking and continuous improvement.

2013 – Present
Team

Integral Team Members

From 2013, Morgan Rural Tech has been strengthened by two integral team members and full-stack developers who have played a key role in delivering the company's platforms and solutions:

  • Luke Smallmon — Full Stack Developer, with major contributions across frontend and backend delivery of Morgan Rural Tech's web platforms and rural technology solutions, including feedcentral.com.au and localag.com.au.
  • Tom Mann — Full Stack Developer, bringing deep technical capability across the full development stack to Morgan Rural Tech's ongoing projects and platform builds, including feedcentral.com.au and localag.com.au.
2019 – 2022
2026
Platform Launch

eLearning Platform — Meat & Livestock Australia

Beef cattle on an Australian property

Produced the eLearning platform for elearning.mla.com.au — Meat & Livestock Australia's online training and professional development platform, delivering industry education to beef, sheep and goat producers across the country. Initially delivered 2019–2022, with further development continuing in 2026. This included turning current Excel-based tools into web-based solutions for producers.

Ongoing

Agricultural Trading & Industry Platforms

Developed hay and agricultural commodity trading platforms and a range of bespoke web solutions for rural supply chains and agribusiness operations. Also delivered ASRS and robotic palletiser integrations for abattoir environments, connecting industrial automation to Inventory systems.

Now
Current Focus

AI Object Detection & Feral Animal Control

With the renewed focus on Agritech, Dan has turned Morgan Rural Tech's attention to object detection for the control of feral animals — building the DMO platform to unify drone data, machine learning and real-time detection into a practical tool for Australian rural properties. As a licensed drone Remote Pilot (RePL), Dan brings direct aerial capability to property mapping and surveillance deployments.

Work With Us

Ready to talk

Bring your challenge and Morgan Rural Tech will give you a straight answer on what technology can actually do for your operation — and what it can't.

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