Loddon Shire Mayoral Column 14 December

Published on 14 December 2020

On-Farm Internet of Things Trial – round two

The Victorian Government has announced the opening of round two of the On-Farm Internet of Things (IoT) Trial.

The trial aims to support the uptake of IoT on Victorian farms and test the benefits of IoT technologies across horticulture, sheep, dairy and broadacre cropping.

Grants of up to $25,000 will be available to eligible applicants to cover up to two-thirds of the cost of on-farm IoT technology.

Dairy, grains, sheep and horticulture farmers located in the trial regions (which includes Loddon Shire), who would like to take part in the trial need to apply by Friday, 29 January 2021.

IoT technology refers to physical devices with sensors that connect to each other and to the internet to share information. These include devices such as silo level monitors, livestock trackers and weather stations.

Technology selected by the more than 90 farmers who took part in round one of the trial included soil moisture probes, livestock trackers, milk vat monitors, security cameras and surface level monitors for troughs and dams.

The Victorian Government has also partnered with NNNCo to deliver a new long-range network (LoRaWAN) in the Trial regions to ensure farmers have the network coverage they need to get the most out of the technologies they invest in. 

For more information and to apply, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/digitalag

Events promotion sponsorship for 2020

Council recognises that COVID-19 restrictions have made it difficult for community groups to plan events to celebrate the end of the year. 

To help community groups who are organising events now that restrictions are easing, Council has reduced the 30-day limit for applying for event sponsorship to seven days for the remainder of this calendar year. 

If your community group would like to seek sponsorship for your event and it will be held prior to 1 January 2021, please go to https://loddon.smartygrants.com.au/EPS_Dec2020

Submissions close at midnight 24 December 2020.

Council’s event promotion allocations help community groups organising events by providing sponsorship for promoting events held in our municipality.

Turning the Page project – new deadline

Submissions for the 2020 Turning the Page Loddon Community Book Project have been extended to Friday, 18 December.

Residents from across our Shire are asked to send photos, stories, poems, songs – basically anything that tells your story about life in COVID 2020 to Council’s Relief and Recovery team for this special book.

You can email your entries to turningthepage@loddon.vic.gov.au  

To find out more, email the team at the address listed above or call 0436 981 382.

Be Connected workshops

Goldfields Libraries have partnered with the Australian Government to provide a series of small interactive workshops for people aged over 50. 

The Be Connected workshops aim to empower everyone to use the internet and everyday technology to thrive in our digital world.

Upcoming workshops include All about Apple iPhones (15 December, 10am to 11am), All about Apple iPads (16 December, 2pm to 3pm) and Google Maps and Earth (17 December, 10am to 11am).

In January there will be: Watching and listening online (19 January, 10am to 11am), All things eLibrary (21 January, 2pm to 3pm), Exploring the internet (27 January, 2pm to 3pm) and More family history (28 January, 10am to 11am).

To find out more please call 5449 2700, email beconnected@ncgrl.vic.gov.au or visit www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/beconnected

Neighbourhood Safer Places adopted

At its meeting on 24 November, Council adopted the most recent Loddon Shire Council Neighbourhood Safer Places Plan – September 2020. 

This plan includes and confirms designated Neighbourhood Safer Places within our municipality in the townships of Boort, Bridgewater, Inglewood, Pyramid Hill, Serpentine and Wedderburn.

Neighbourhood Safer Places (NSPs) are located at:

• Boort: Boort Park Recreation Reserve (oval only)
• Bridgewater: Bridgewater Memorial Hall (grounds only)
• Inglewood: J Sloan Park playground (between the swimming pool and tennis courts)
• Pyramid Hill: Mitchell Park Recreation Reserve (oval only)
• Serpentine: Serpentine Recreation Reserve (oval only)
• Wedderburn: Donaldson Park (oval area only)

A NSP (also known as a Bushfire Place of Last Resort) are places of last resort if all other fire plans have failed. They are not to be confused with Community Fire Refuges, Relief Centres, Recovery Centres or Assembly Areas, each of which have a different and specific purpose.

I urge you to visit the CFA website to find out more at www.cfa.vic.gov.au/plan-prepare/neighbourhood-safer-places/