Upper Murray Producer Plus (UMP+) is a newly created producer-led innovation group that leverages the energy, appetite and technology drive of the Upper Murray region’s next generation producers to support future facing agriculture production systems and regional prosperity.

Built through the Local Development Strategy process* and developed with strong producer input and ownership, UMP+ traverses production systems including dairy, beef sheep and cropping. UMP+ is focused on shared learning, local on-farm experimentation and targeted partnerships to drive a culture of innovation and underpin local knowledge creation and knowhow. It aims to accelerate relevant farm technology adoption, data-driven decision making and practices for improved productivity, profitability and sustainabilty. UMP+ also provides a coordinated platform to grow marketplace connection and value.

*cf Innovation Upper Murray project.

Auspiced by Upper Murray Incorporated (UMI), UMP+ is in the first of multiple phases to create an enduring model and organisation. This phase [Phase 1] focuses on establishing the foundations, including a pilot demonstration farm network in partnership with Charles Sturt University (CSU) and Global Digital Farm. These pilot farms will use soil probes and weather stations to road-test and validate a producer & regional data ecosystem. This will be scaled in the following phase [Phase 2] to support producer data-driven decision making, local on-farm experimentation and sharing/learning activities across multiple themes.