SOUTH-WEST Victoria’s first Dairy Innovation Challenge winners will now be announced on Wednesday, May 11 at the South West TAFE library.

The awards were originally scheduled to be announced on April 27 but were deferred due to the venue’s unavailability.

A total of 19 innovations and ideas have been submitted, with most interest being generated in on-farm and sustainability areas.

Along with applications from south-west Victoria, there were two entries from New South Wales and one from New Zealand.

The Challenge, an initiative of the DemoDAIRY Foundation, in partnership with Great South Coast Food and Fibre, and Elders, aims to unearth ideas and innovations that solve problems in the dairy industry.

It offers up to $4000 in prize money and support to further develop ideas in milk harvesting, farm operations and management, fodder production and harvesting, sustainability, and the environment.