Government's first round of connectivity program closes - but more to come

But producers still wanting to get a boost to their agtech investment will have another chance later in the year.

The $30 million program provides rebates of up to 50 per cent for eligible equipment - worth up to $30,000 - through eligible suppliers.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said round 1 of the program helped deliver cutting-edge technology to Australian farms.

"Farmers and primary producers are innovators and adaptors," she said. "This program is an investment in their future and the future of Australian farming and agriculture. I look forward to opening Round 2 later this year."

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said it was great to see businesses in every state and territory benefiting from the program in round 1.

So what have farmers been investing in?

For Northern Territory pastoralists, Trudi Oxley and Paul Thomson, the program has been the catalyst to invest in a new agtech solution for their expansive beef operation.

Running Larrakeyah Station in conjunction with leased country near Katherine, the couple have integrated an automated and portable cattle weighing system into their pastoral business spanning 45,000 hectares.

Running 1500 breeders, with some trading and supplying live export with feeder cattle, Ms Oxley said they decided to invest in the new technology to gain real-time data on the weight condition of their cattle. She said this information can be difficult to readily obtain given the scale of their enterprise and the associated costs of mustering, as well as the wet season which makes parts of the property impassable for months of the year.

Ms Oxley said the need for this remote weighing system came to the fore last dry season when out-of-season rain in June spoilt their pasture, meaning their cattle did not make their target weights.

"Had we had the cattle weighing unit, instead of having to do a $5000 or $6000 helicopter muster with a 25 kilometre walk-in and a 25 kilometre walk-back, we could have intervened much earlier and got a very different result five or six months later," she said.

"Instead we are finding out seven months later that the cattle have not met their target weight to go on a boat."

This could see the business having to hold onto their cattle for another 12 months. Mx Oxley said this prospect would have significant ramifications for their cashflow.

She said the ability to capture live weights in real-time would help with planning as a means of early intervention.

"Even if it as little as just understanding what it might be doing to your cashflow projections so you can act a little earlier if they are not meeting their weights, without incurring the costs of mustering to do test weighing," she said.

While they had a strong business case for procuring the technology, Ms Oxley said the program was "really the thing that made us decide to invest".

"Having the On Farm Connectivity Program made us go, look the need is very high and by bringing the cost back to something that was a little bit more achievable and in budget - with conditions the way they are - that was the thing that got it over the line for us," she said.

In far-west Queensland Barbara and Mark Mason have taken advantage of the program not only for the cost of eligible equipment, but also the installation and training.

The Masons manage Mirage Plains, more than 52,000 hectares south of Cunnamulla, and utilised the program to boost their water infrastructure capabilities in an area with poor connectivity.

"We have no mobile reception," Ms Mason said.

So when looking to upgrade their water infrastructure, Ms Mason said their technological solutions had to address that. This led the couple to install remote water monitoring technology for their tanks and three rain gauges around the property. They also engaged the services of a supplier to connect all their irrigation pivots to Wi-Fi, by creating a Wi-Fi zone on the property totalling 240 hectares.

Ms Mason said the two water infrastructure upgrades ensured they can be a little bit more proactive, rather than reactive in their approach to managing water efficiency, with data received in real-time via an app.

"Before the water monitoring equipment, you would have a helicopter or plane up mustering and they would say, 'it looks like you have a bit of a water problem out there', so it was a happenstance kind of thing, rather than a dedicated thing," she said.

Ms Mason said the broader safety implications of installing these connectivity solutions cannot be overstated, particularly in a business that employs four full-time labour units, as well as contract labourers.

"It has definitely made it safer," she said.

"Where the Wi-Fi is, it's made a huge difference, because we don't have any mobile service."

Anyone in the 240-hectare radius can now make calls over Wi-Fi, or if outside the area, pick up enough service to send a text message.

Ms Mason said the program was the impetus to implementing the two connectivity solutions in the business.

"They had been on my budget wish list for a couple of years, but were always pushed to the bottom as it wasn't a necessity," she said.

"But when you get a grant for it, it makes it accessible."

Ms Mason said these connectivity solutions would also play a role in lowering their emissions through increased water efficiency, while also assisting with the next technological upgrade on the property - the individual electronic identification (eID) of the property's 10,000 Dorper sheep.

"Where we have put the Wi-Fi in, is also home to the sheepyards, so with this eID coming up we will be able to put in an autodraft with a scanner and run all the data directly through to the cloud," she said.