Victoria opens interest in AU$12 million IoT agriculture test
Victorian farmers interested in grabbing some Internet of Things (IoT) technology to help run their land have until 2 August to claim a grant.
The government said on Friday that over the next two years, Agriculture Victoria would partner with "hundreds of farms" across four regions and sectors: Dairy in Maffra, grains in Birchip, sheep in Serpentine, and horticulture in Tatura.
As part of the AU$12 million program, farms are able to land AU$30,000 to cover two-thirds of the cost of purchasing IoT equipment from a list put together by the state government.
"We've been working with Victorian farmers to understand how digital technology can revolutionise their businesses -- and we're excited to invite farmers to trial new Internet of Things tech on their own farms," Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes said.
"Our Internet of Things trial is an ambitious program supporting Victorian farmers to be at the forefront of modern agriculture, to improve farm productivity, efficiency and safety."
Expressions of interest for the first round close on 2 August.
The funding for the trials is from the state's Connecting Victoria Program, which includes its Connecting Regional Communities Program.
In October, the state announced a AU$1.7 million investment in symmetrical gigabit fixed-wireless broadband in Horsham through a partnership with Spirit Telecom.
Earlier that year, Victoria set aside AU$1.2 million to expand the free public Wi-Fi network in Shepparton.
In its latest state Budget, Victoria dedicated AU$53 million towards digital service delivery and citizen engagement.
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