Innovation rising in the south-west

Innovative thinkers invited to submit ideas to solve dairy industry problems

We've had the pleasure of being involved in one of the most interesting and challenging projects to start 2022 - and you or someone you know can participate in the Dairy Innovation Challenge which is open now until 30 March.

The DemoDAIRY Foundation (DDF) is a registered charity with the purpose of advancing the dairy industry in South West Victoria through education, leadership and innovation.

We were delighted when the Foundation approached Regional Rising to co-design a Dairy Innovation Challenge to unearth new ideas in the dairy industry and deliver it for them in early 2022, all against the backdrop and uncertainty of changing COVID-19 restrictions.

Three months later and the Challenge is open and seeking submissions from innovators with ideas to solve problems in the dairy industry. Applicants could win up to $4,000 in prizemoney as well as access to support and coaching to further develop and commercialise their ideas.

The Challenge has allowed us to showcase our broad range of services. I increasingly refer to our offering as being "elastic" which happens when you accumulate skills across industries, roles and professions over more than 25 years. Call it economic development, innovation, digital strategy, marketing or regional development - it's simply what we do.

The Challenge website we built in Squarespace.

The 2022 Dairy Innovation Challenge builds on the work we did with SuniTAFE and the Northern Mallee Local Learning & Employment Network (NM LLEN) in 2019 and 2021 in developing and delivering the STEM4Sunraysia innovation challenge involving 70 year 9 students from across the Mildura region to understand problems and pitch solutions put forward by local industry partners.

Logo, website, domain name and Google Docs

We started off by snapping up the excellent dairyinnovationchallenge.com.au domain name and got to work on concepts for a logo that could be a visual anchor for the Challenge's brand. The Foundation liked the one pictured, which wasn't even in the first dozen concepts we put forward, but we got there in the end.

We began developing a framework for how the Challenge would be run - collaborating with DDF Board members Ian Teese and Maggie Leutton on a shared Google Doc so we could track the input from everyone involved - and got to work developing a website to promote the initiative and the host the online application process.

I'm really pleased with the way the website has come up (see screenshot at bottom) and all of the sections and visual elements we continued to add to it as we got deeper into the project.

It's been great to collaborate with some amazing creative professionals who operate in the Foundation's orbit: Rick Bayne from Media Masters Vic has developed two press releases so far which have been picked up by the agricultural press, and Sara Napier from GBM Technology who has been managing the Foundation's website and social media presence.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

Regional Rising has taken the lead on producing around 10 short videos so far to promote the Challenge, all available on our YouTube channel and the Challenge website.

I got to visit some dairy farms to shoot video footage, one of which brought me into contact with the inspiringly innovative Julian and Dianne Benson (Julian pictured in apron) at Apostle Whey Cheese along Victoria's Great Ocean Road.

Julian and Dianne hosted part of the Cream of the Crop dairy conference on their farm and we were fortunate that the conference organisers allowed the Foundation to launch the Challenge there on 23 February. Something else noteworthy happened at Apostle Whey - I filmed three short videos with the Foundation's chairman Ralph Leutton and he nailed all three in one take - something I have never seen before or are likely to again in future. Take a look at all three - a storyteller so comfortable in front of a camera.

Collaborating with some of the best in the food and fibre sector

I'm also excited that I will have the opportunity to collaborate again with two world class individuals who have become good friends in recent years: Emma Coath, through her food innovation accelerator Rocket Seeder, will provide coaching to some of the Challenge's participants following the awards event, and Natalie Collard, the force behind Food & Fibre Great South Coast is a key partner in the Challenge. It also presents an opportunity to collaborate with leading Australian agribusiness Elders for the first time.

So the Dairy Innovation Challenge is now open and people with an idea to solve a problem in the dairy industry have until 30 March 2022 to submit their entry!

If you know someone in the dairy sector or agriculture who might have an idea please let them know about the Challenge!