Guy Barnett,Minister for Primary Industries and Water
AGFEST is one of the highlights of the Tasmanian rural calendar and tomorrow it creates a new first by going live online from the Cloud to support farmers and exhibitors.
The online platform www.agfest.com.au will remain open for three weeks to provide a much-needed boost for about 400 exhibitors and provide important information on agricultural assistance during COVID-19, along with farm safety tips, farm biosecurity and ways to report plant or animal pest disease.
The Tasmanian Government was pleased to provide a $65,000 grant to help Rural Youth create the portal and we congratulate everyone in the Rural Youth team for their innovative approach and making AGFEST 2020 in the Cloud possible.
The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment (DPIPWE) is actively taking part in Agfest in the Cloud, providing links to important information on the portal and answering specific queries from the public through an online enquiry form.
So whether your query is about agriculture, hunting, Essential Traveller criteria, fishing, LISTmap, wildlife, animal welfare or other areas across the Agency - DPIPWE is here to help."
Farmer safety will also be a focus, with the Safe Farming Tasmania Program aiming to improve the health and safety of workers in the industry.
DPIPWE's FarmPoint (https://farmpoint.tas.gov.au), a portal of agriculture links of useful information for Tasmanian farmers will also be online.
Information from Biosecurity Tasmania, Game Services Tasmania, Recreational Fisheries and Lands Tasmania will also be available, as well as the Agency's ''See It. Dream it. Do It.'' Project (SIDIDI). SIDIDI supports and encourages women in operational and field-based roles, where females have traditionally been underrepresented.
Rural Youth's Agfest in the Cloud runs until 28 May and we urge all Tasmanians to go online and support this iconic rural event.
