THE results of three years of cutting-edge research, which used sensor technology and data analysis to assist Tasmanian farmers, were detailed at a seminar in Hobart on Wednesday.
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Sense-T's Stage 1 research projects were carried out between June 2012 and 2015 in viticulture, beef and dairy, water management and aquaculture.
The projects were part of Sense-T's foundation phase, aimed at proving the value of sensing technology and real-time data.
Their contribution 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.
■ 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.
Sense-T 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," Ms Castray said.
"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."
Sense-T will now look at broadening its research into health, tourism, new financial services, infrastructure, freight and logistics.
"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."
■ More information about Sense-T Stage 1 projects is available at www.sense-t.org.au/projects-and-research/past-projects.
