The results of three years of cutting-edge research, which used sensor technology and data analysis to assist Tasmanian farmers, were detailed today at a seminar in Hobart.
Sense-T’s Stage 1 research projects were carried out between June 2012 and 2015 in viticulture, beef and dairy, water management and aquaculture.
They were part of Sense-T’s foundation phase, aimed at proving the value of sensing technology and real-time data.
Their contributions to Tasmania’s agricultural industry included:
• developing an online pasture growth prediction tool to tell Tasmanian farmers how much their pasture will grow in the coming weeks;
• giving Tasmanian regulators real-time data about environmental conditions around shellfish farms;
• developing data tools to help vineyards avoid disease and make better management decisions; and
• using data to help irrigators in the Ringarooma catchment to better manage their water use, benefiting farmers, regulators and the environment.
The Stage 1 projects were funded from $3.6 million provided by the Tasmanian Government through its Intergovernmental Agreement with the Australian Government.
Acting Director Amanda Castray said Sense-T’s 14 new industry research projects would build on the foundation laid by its initial research.
“What we’ve shown over Sense-T’s first three years is that sensors and real-time data can make a real difference to productivity, efficiency and sustainability in agriculture.
“We’ve also shown the benefits of working with industry from the start to identify what problems they wanted us to solve, and then involving them throughout the research to ensure the solutions we came up with were practical.
“Our Stage 1 projects, which were undertaken by researchers from the University of Tasmania and CSIRO in collaboration with farmers and industry groups, demonstrated how access to real-time data can help people to solve industry problems and make better decisions.
“Over the next 18 months we’ll build on that foundation while broadening our work in agriculture to include research in health, tourism, new financial services, and infrastructure, freight and logistics.”
More information about Sense-T Stage 1 projects is available at: http://www.sense-t.org.au/projects-and-research/past-projects
About Sense-T
sense-t.org.au
Based at the University of Tasmania, Sense-T is a data research project which collects and analyses data from public and private sources, particularly from sensors. Information can then be given back to businesses, governments, researchers and communities to allow them to make better decisions and find practical solutions to real-world problems. Sense-T is a partnership between the University of Tasmania, the Tasmanian Government and CSIRO, and is also funded by the Australian Government.
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Andrew Rhodes
