New program to help farmers overcome water-related challenges

The TAS Farm Innovation Hub is supporting Tasmanian farmers to overcome water-related challenges through a new state-wide program.

The hub has today released a Request for Quote for a delivery partner to administer a program to support on-farm drought and climate resilience.

Director, Sandra Knowles, said the important milestone was the result of an extensive consultation process with key stakeholders.

“We’ve been meeting with stakeholders with intricate knowledge of Tasmanian water issues including state water managers and regulators, natural resource managers, and farmer representative bodies, seeking input into the design of this extension program,” Ms Knowles said.

“From this process, we’ve determined the program should focus on building confidence and capacity in on-farm water use and management, including soil and landscape health, and be focused on adoption of best-practice.

“It also needs to be flexible enough for farmers to provide feedback and have opportunities for them to come together to learn from each other.”

The CEO of TasFarmers, Nathan Calman, said the program would help address key challenges facing farmers throughout Tasmania.

“This is a practical approach to supporting farmers with their water-related challenges and it’s great to see a focus on adoption of best practice methods relating to irrigation, water and soil management,” Mr Calman said.

“TasFarmers is pleased to see work towards a better understanding of some of these issues and ultimately giving farmers the confidence to make changes on-farm to strengthen resilience.”

Up to $1.0M in grant funding is available for program delivery (conditions apply).

The RFQ must be submitted to the hub by 5PM on Tuesday 12 March 2024.  Project activities are to take place between 23 April 2024 and 15 June 2025.

The hub will hold a briefing to answer any questions relating to the RFQ on Monday 26 February 2024. Further details are available via the University of Tasmania Tenderlink website www.tenderlink.com/UTAS/

This project is being delivered by the hub through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.

The TAS Farm Innovation Hub is one of eight hubs nationally funded through the Future Drought Fund. The hub is based at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) at the University of Tasmania and delivered through an extensive network of industry and community partners.