Cann Group has teamed up with La Trobe University to establish Australia’s first advanced protected cropping research and training project.
The move comes after La Trobe received A$5 million in federal government funding for the initiative through the Regional Research Collaboration Program.
Cameras at Cann’s Mildura facility will feed live images of the crops to the university for students to examine, with their findings helping Cann improve growing methods and conditions.
La Trobe vice chancellor John Dewar said medicinal cannabis will be used as a “vehicle to understanding more about how protected cropping can be managed more efficiently and effectively”.
Regional education minister Bridget McKenzie said the project will benefit Australia’s entire agricultural industry, helping optimise harvest times, and reduce nutrient and watering regimes to maximise production.
“World-leading research is going to be happening right here in Mildura,” she added.
