A newly formed producer innovation group in the Upper Murray region is gathering steam as it road tests agtech innovation to boost productivity, profitability, sustainability and improve resource utilisation on farms.
Food Agility is proud to be part of this community-led initiative hosted by Upper Murray Incorporated and supported by the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
Upper Murray Producer Plus (UMP+) is focused on shared learning, local on-farm experimentation and targeted local, regional and even global partnerships to drive a culture of innovation and underpin local knowledge. UMP+ also provides a coordinated platform to grow marketplace connection and value.
"What we really are doing is guiding the co-design, helping to join the dots and harness the multitude of local talent in the region," explains Professor David Lamb, Chief Scientist at Food Agility.
"In a very short time we’ve managed to get the community right behind the UMP+ concept and we have just completed our first test phase establishing a network of pilot farms equipped with digital weather stations and soil moisture monitoring technologies.”
The data is now flowing back on farm, and also into a newly created regional dashboard to allow for benchmarking. "It's testament to the appetite of the pilot farmers to learn," says Prof Lamb.
"At their request, a number of other value-add tools such as a pasture biomass calculator and growth rate estimator have been developed by Food Agility to assist producers get even more value out of the weather station data."
Prof Lamb and Portfolio Manager Lucy Hickman are already looking ahead to 2026. Their work with the UMP+ team to frame up the second, scale-up, phase of this initiative expanding not only the producer network and into more production systems, but in growing out the wider community engagement process.
UMP+ is more than just producers; rather it’s a new place-based strategy in regional development championing exciting innovation opportunities that reflect the Upper Murray region’s unique strengths. It is an exciting new blueprint for community-led innovation on farms.
