Friday, November 13, 2020

A dairy farmer in Winnindoo, near Toongabbie, is amongst the first to take advantage of funding from the Victorian Government to trial of Internet of Things (IoT) technology on their farm.

Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing today announced that the local farm business from Winnindoo had been successful in applying for grant of up to $30,000 to invest in apps and devices as part of Victoria’s On-Farm IoT Trial.

The business is among more than 90 farms taking part in the first round of Victoria’s On-Farm IoT Trial, which is focused on the dairy, horticulture, cropping and sheep industries and is also taking place on farms around Tatura, Birchip and Serpentine.

Technology selected by farmer involves the installation of dairy monitoring systems.

To ensure farmers have reliable network coverage to allow them to get the most out of these technologies, the Victorian Government has partnered with NNNCo to deliver a new long-range network (LoRaWAN) in the four trial regions.

Simply put, IoT refers to physical devices with sensors to connect to each other and to the internet. Technology selected by farmers taking part in the trial to date includes soil moisture probes, milk vat monitors, security cameras and surface level monitors for troughs and dams.

Victoria’s On-Farm IoT Trial is an important step in driving the uptake of digital technology in the agriculture sector, giving farmers the opportunity to see first-hand what types of technology are available on the market to make their businesses more efficient, productive and resilient.

Digital agriculture is a priority for the Victorian Government because not only can widescale adoption of technology make farm businesses more profitable and sustainable, it will also place the sector in a better position to attract and retain young people to live and work in rural and regional areas.

The on-farm IoT trial is just one part of the government’s Connecting Victoria initiative, which is ensuring regional communities are digitally connected through free public WiFi pilots, new towers to fix mobile blackspots and the $45 million Connecting Regional Communities Program to address regional priorities.

For further information about Victoria’s On-Farm IoT Trial visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/digitalag

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing

“Digital technology has huge potential to make farming more productive and sustainable and it’s great to see Gippsland farmers paving the way for others in their industry to learn what technology works and what doesn’t when it’s tested in the practical setting of a dairy.

“Importantly, Victoria’s On-Farm IoT trial will provide farmers in Gippsland with examples of the kinds of IoT technology available on the market now and what difference this technology can have make to businesses operating in a similar environment to their own.”