THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has welcomed the partnership between Agriculture Victoria and Halter in trialling the use of virtual fencing technology at the government’s Ellinbank Smartfarm.

Located in Gippsland the farm is Australia’s leading dairy innovation facility, fast-tracking innovative technology solutions in a research environment and showcasing them to the dairy industry.

VFF President Emma Germano said the move was a forward step towards making the technology accessible to Victorian farmers.

“This year the VFF has been engaged in direct discussions with the Minister for Agriculture to progress the use of virtual fencing technology on Victorian farms.”

“The VFF has been encouraging the Victorian Government to work on the regulations that will be required to enable its use commercially," she said.

"Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory already have the ability to use virtual fencing, as well as in international benchmarks such as New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and the USA.”

Ms Germano said virtual fencing would bring great benefits to Victoria.

“Virtual fencing has a broad application across the livestock sectors, but will also provide substantial benefit for our dairy industry.

"It will save farmers’ time, improve safety outcomes for farm workers, better manage pastures and improve environmental outcomes.

"This is productivity boosting technology that Victoria needs.

“As is the case with any regulatory change, there are complex issues that the government must deal with.

"This is a slow process, and we are not going to see change immediately.

“There is a strong body of scientific evidence that already supports the animal welfare benefits that virtual fencing creates and we expect the announced trial will add further weight to existing knowledge,” Ms Germano said.