Farmers on verge of revolution

Tasmanian farmers are on the threshold of revolutionary changes to their work and to their lifestyles to the extent that the practices of farming will never be the same again, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) predicted.

The TFGA is one of four key industry groups that the Tasmanian Government is funding to take advantage of the state’s leading role in the development of the $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN), the biggest single infrastructure investment ever in Australia.

The NBN, which provides Internet download speeds of 100 Megabits per second via fibre to the home (FTTH) technology, is being rolled out in Tasmania first.

The funding to the four industry groups is to assist them to maximize awareness, use and innovation of this superfast technology in their sectors. The TFGA is getting $250,000.

“For farming it will be revolutionary. It will change forever what we do and the way we do it,” TFGA chief executive Chris Oldfield said today.

“Instead of working in remote isolation we will be connected to the world and to the panorama of innovation that the technology makes possible.

“We can be in immediate and constant communication with online education and health services. That means access to tutors and lecturers, doctors and specialists, veterinarians anywhere in the world. It means, for instance, remote diagnosis and treatment, and no longer facing the tyranny of distance.”

Mr Oldfield said the practical farming applications of the NBN might include:

* instant access to market and weather information;
* the ability to operate remotely irrigators and GPS-controllable machinery;
* farmers being able to maintain machinery under the guidance of trained mechanics who would be able to monitor repairs remotely;
* 24/7 tracking of livestock through electronic tagging;
* teleconferencing of meetings of rural importance; and,
* online banking and other e-commerce.

“Our farmers will be better connected to the world, and, for the first time for many, they will be able to be to communicate via e-mail, phone, videoconference, the Internet in real time,” Mr Oldfield said.

“The challenge for farmers and for the TFGA is to ensure that this industry is prepared for the revolution that is at hand,” he said.