An innovative trial testing the potential of Internet of Things technology on farms is now open to Victorian horticulture, dairy, sheep and grains farmers, thanks to support from the Victorian Government.
Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes visited the southern Mallee, which will be home to the grains industry trial, to open expressions of interest for the $12million program.
During the next two years, Agriculture Victoria will partner with hundreds of farms in the trial across four regions: dairy in Maffra, grains in Birchip, sheep in Serpentine and horticulture in Tatura.
The program is now encouraging farmers who want to take a low-risk approach to investing in new technology to apply for the program and trial new devices that could boost their farm’s efficiency and productivity.
In the first round of the trial, eligible farmers will have access to grants of up to $30000 to cover up to two-thirds of the cost of acquiring Internet of Things technology from a catalogue of products put together for the trial.
■Farmers interested in taking part in this trial can submit their expression of interest by August 2 at: agriculture.vic.gov.au/digitalag
