What the Tasmanian Liberals will do:

Help Tasmania achieve its agricultural potential by investing in new technology for precision farming.

We will establish Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)* infrastructure in key locations around Tasmania for use by farmers, although this system will have much wider application for other industry sectors.

This farming for the future initiative will boost productivity, enable better water use efficiency, reduce chemical, fertiliser and fuel inputs and help reduce the carbon footprint of farming.

The development of a high accuracy satellite positioning network for Tasmanian agriculture will put Tasmanian farmers at the cutting edge of new technological advances.

Within Tasmania, GNSS applications are currently used primarily in education and research and in the construction and mining sectors. However, the technology offers potentially significant benefits to the agriculture sector especially in terms of precision and controlled traffic farming utilising Real Time Kinematic (RTK)* technology that can pinpoint locations to a 2cm accuracy.

Benefits to Agriculture and the Environment
Using highly sophisticated global positioning technology in farming offers significant benefits.

Farmers can use it to automatically guide tractors, harvesters and irrigation equipment with precision.

Some of the benefits of precision agriculture to the farmer and the environment include:

• Higher yields and productivity;
• Less fertiliser and chemical inputs;
• Reduced fuel consumption;
• Improved irrigation and water use efficiency; and
• Reduced on-farm carbon footprint

Precision farming technology will also encourage the uptake of Controlled Traffic Farming (CTF) which will reduce soil compaction and improve soil health and sustainability. Interest in CTF in the Tasmanian vegetable industry has developed significantly with demonstration areas grown under CTF in Gawler and Forth.

What is limiting the uptake of GNSS/RTK technology in farming now?
To date, three major hurdles have been identified as limiting the take-up of GNSS/RTK technology – set up, range and cost. The Tasmanian Liberals plan addresses all three.

For example if a farmer/contractor wishes to adopt precision farming techniques through the use of GNSS technology they are required to purchase a mobile receiver (Rover)* but also invest in their own base station to enable absolute accuracy through RTK signal correction technology. This significantly increases the capital cost to farmers and is prohibiting the uptake of the technology and therefore limiting the potential productivity and environmental benefits to the agricultural sector and the community.

The Need
Given the limiting factors to encourage uptake of GNSS System technology what is needed is
the establishment of networked base stations located around Tasmania. These are known as Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS)* which are permanent, accurately located base stations, providing RTK correction signals that will enable driving accuracy of +/- 2 cm in agricultural guidance applications.

Potential uses for other industry sectors
We believe that a fully developed state-wide GNSS CORS network will also have application in the mining, construction and surveying sectors and including our emergency services.

The Liberal Plan
The Tasmanian Liberals will determine the requirements to build a high accuracy satellite positioning network across Tasmania that will be able to pinpoint a position and height above sea level anywhere in Tasmania, reduce the cost of entry to high accuracy positioning and navigation, and provide an official state reference standard for the measurement of position in Tasmania.

To do this we will fund and undertake the following:

1. Provide funding of $50,000 to add value to a Cradle Coast NRM CORS project feasibility study to determine State readiness for introduction of a collaborative state-wide CORS network to provide a range of satellite positioning correction services, including consultations with all relevant stakeholders to determine the optimum locations for primary base stations and secondary stations throughout the State.
2. Proceed to develop a state-wide CORS network and provide $650,000 of capital infrastructure for the establishment of primary base stations and secondary stations in key locations around the State.
3. Establish an incentive fund of $300,000 to provide limited financial assistance to individual farmers and contractors to give them the opportunity to access the new technology.