First Performance Innovation Team (PIT) meetings held
Farmers attending the first meetings for the innovative Accelerating Change program are positive about their involvement and the benefits it will bring to their own farms.
Project Manager Amy Fay said the project is showcasing how leading farmers are using the latest research and technology to grow feed.
To do this, two partner farms – one owned by the Humphris family and the other by the Stewart family with their share-farmers the Matthews family – have started working with a team of farmers, researchers, consultants and service providers to achieve gains in irrigation and pasture efficiency by adopting leading research and technology on farm. The project is looking to a range of sources who are doing exciting things in the irrigation and pasture space, both regionally, interstate and in different sectors.
The farmers recently met with their performance innovation teams (PIT), which comprise farmers from 15 farms.
The PITs are providing feedback on how the partner farms are utilising the research and technology, as well as gaining access to expert information and advice they can apply to their own farms.The PIT farms will also begin to road-test aspects of the research and technology in their businesses.
The partner farms and the PITs are made up of leading farmers both in the management of their businesses but also in their roles in the dairy industry and their communities and a key aspect of this project is communicating project outcomes to a broad audience through farmer networks. The partner farms will also be hosting regular open days to showcase to the public what activities have been occurring on farm.
Ms Fay said the farmers were keen to learn from a range of people including other farmers, researchers and the commercial sector to adopt new practices to accelerate the rate of uptake of practices and technologies that will shape the future of successful businesses.
