TAFCO Rural Supplies – SMARTchoice Weather Network
Project Profile
| Name of Project | SMARTchoice Weather Network – Sustainable Production Using Innovative Technology in Northeast Victoria |
| Name of group(s) involved | TAFCO Rural Supplies |
| Time frame | 2010 |
| Website | www.tafco.com.au |
| Location | North East Victoria |
| State | Victoria |
| NRM Region | North East Catchment |
| What industry does the group belong to? | Agribusiness |
| Corporate Partners involved | Woolworths |
| Level of Funding from LAL | $22,000 |
| Funding from other sources | $12,938 |
Issues
In October 2006 the Victorian tobacco industry ceased production. That industry had been economically significant to towns in the
Upper Northeast River Valleys of Victoria. In excess of 200 families potentially required new enterprises to conduct on high value
irrigated land formerly utilised for tobacco production. Climate data and its relevance to prospective cropping pursuits became critically
important for these farmers and other potential investors in the area.
Upper Northeast River Valleys of Victoria. In excess of 200 families potentially required new enterprises to conduct on high value
irrigated land formerly utilised for tobacco production. Climate data and its relevance to prospective cropping pursuits became critically
important for these farmers and other potential investors in the area.
The SMARTchoice Weather Network project supported the primary producers who faced land use change but also the broader farming community within the region.
The SMARTchoice Weather Network project was funded through a Woolworths Sustainable Farming Grant. It complimented existing weather station infrastructure by enabling the installation of two additional units at Beechworth and Whorouly locations completing a network of six automatic weather stations in total.
The SMARTchoice Weather Network project was funded through a Woolworths Sustainable Farming Grant. It complimented existing weather station infrastructure by enabling the installation of two additional units at Beechworth and Whorouly locations completing a network of six automatic weather stations in total.
The weather monitoring network, which has data archiving capacity, helps to demonstrate the diversity of the microclimate niches of the Northeast river valleys whilst providing real time data that can assist management of existing farm operations. A user friendly, web‐based monitoring network enables the easy access of the weather information (at no charge). Information is also presented through newsletters and media coverage.The primary outcome has been the contribution of accurate, local weather information for planning, training and decision making within the community of farmers, prospective investors, government agencies and authorities and education institutions.
Project Detail
| Background to Project | Climate data representative of various geographical localities in the upper Northeast river valleys has been difficult to source. Some historical data derived from existing and decommissioned recording sites at major town centres is available. However, that data is not always relevant to production horticulture and often was recorded ‘well away’ from production sites.
Dedicated recording infrastructure sited adjacent to commercial horticultural production sites across a range of localities will improve the reliability of some specific measurements including chill hours, sunlight hours and humidity. In conjunction with standard climate data measurements a solid archive of data will ultimately be available that can assist planning decisions.
This data is assisting a proportion of the 200 (plus) farming families attempting to identify new sustainable agricultural uses for their land in Northeast Victoria after tobacco growing ceased. It may also ultimately influence decision making by ‘other’ potential investors who investigate production opportunities in the area. Climatic data has and will continue to be extremely important in order to improve the long term management of a range of horticultural pursuits in each of the river valleys.
The Tobacco & Associated Farmers Co‐Operative (TAFCO) Rural Supplies in the Myrtleford area services a range of primary production industries. It has historically provided leadership to local growers and the broader community through many community based initiatives. These have included general training (chemical use, equipment training) and the coordination of a project funded through Caring for our Country that supports land use change in the area.
TAFCO has been able to assist former tobacco growers to adapt their farming systems through a range of programs. Coordinating the establishment of the SMARTchoice Weather Network (Beechworth and Whorouly) on behalf of the farmers in the region has been one of these support initiatives. Prior to this project TAFCO had also facilitated the installation of four automatic weather station monitors at Myrtleford, Porepunkah, King Valley and Coral Bank.
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| Key Objectives | · To develop a body of archived climatic information representative of upper Northeast Victoria river valley microclimates · Provide real time climatic data relevant to intensive horticulture · Support the local community and encourage the adoption of sustainable farming systems |
| Description of Project | TAFCO Rural Supplies set up a Steering Committee and purchased the automatic weather stations from a SA based company Measurement Engineering Australia (MEA).Suitable locations were identified and management of the weather stations and site conditions were negotiated with the cooperating landholders.
The key activity of the project has been the installation by a trained network of six automatic weather stations in total. The weather monitoring network, which has data archiving capacity, helps to demonstrate the diversity of the microclimate niches of the Northeast river valleys whilst providing real time data that can assist management of existing farm operations.
A user friendly, web‐based monitoring network enables the easy access of the weather information (at no charge). Information is also presented through newsletters and media coverage.
The primary outcome has been the contribution of accurate, local weather information for planning, training and decision making within the community of farmers, prospective investors, government agencies and authorities and education institutions.
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| Issues encountered during the project | TAFCO had already been working with four automatic weather station monitors so issues were not encountered when adding further equipment. |
| Project Outcomes – Qualitative | · The information available on the website is being utilized by a wide range of users · The contribution of accurate, local weather information for planning, training and decision making within the community of farmers, prospective investors, government agencies and authorities and education institutions. |
| Project Outcomes – Quantitative | · Two weather stations installed at Beechworth and Whorouly complete the weather station network in the area · There is reliable provision of real time data for climatic parameters such as air temperature, wind speed, wind direction, barometric pressure, rainfall, dew point, humidity, delta T,evapo‐transpiration, heat flux and chill days · A user friendly web‐based monitoring network enables the easy access of the above information (at no charge) · Many farmers access the website as part of their daily routine |
| Lessons Learned | · Each farmer interpreted frost hours and chill hours differently so an explanation was placed on the website as to how this particular data needed to be interpreted · Daylight savings posed confusion between 8 and 10am each day as there was an hours delay before information was loaded on the site so a note was posted of the time delay to remind those accessing the information |
| Transferable Outcomes | Weather data continues to be collected, collated and displayed online. This aids in the provision of reliable data for various community and farming groups. State Government Departments, Local Councils and other organisations (for example the Country Fire Authority, North East Catchment Management Authority, Goulburn‐Murray Water, TAFE Institutes and schools) routinely monitor the data for project work, planning and training purposes. |
Photography
Beechworth Automatic Weather Station sited adjacent to commercial apple production - Photograph taken by Gary Baxter 3 March 2011
Whorouly Automatic Weather Station sited adjacent to commercial kiwifruit and olive production
TAFCO weather monitor
