Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture

TIA receives funding from its joint venture partners (UTAS and the Tasmanian Government) as well as agricultural organisations in Tasmania and around the world, agricultural companies and other funding bodies.[1]

TIA employs around 160 scientists, technicians, farm hands and administrative staff across the state.[2] It is embedded within the School of Land and Food at the University of Tasmania, providing research opportunities for postgraduate candidates and postdoctoral fellows.[3] TIA has five Centres – Dairy, Extensive Agriculture, Food Safety, Perennial Horticulture and Vegetable. Its strategic direction is regularly reviewed. The institute hosts over 100 PhD candidates across the entire agriculture and food spectrum.[4]

TIA is actively involved in all the major agricultural industries in Tasmania. These include dairy, sheep-meat and wool, cattle, broad-acre crops such as barley and wheat, vegetable production, wine-making [see Tasmanian wine] and grape growing, fruit and nuts, pyrethrum and poppies (for the production of pharmaceutical opioids). TIA has a close relationship with Australia's R&D funders such as Dairy Australia and DairyTas.[5][6] An example of TIA's work in the livestock industry is the Red Meat Targets program. The aims of the program are: "Providing industry-wide financial benchmarking of Tasmania's beef, wool and sheep-meat industries; helping identify the key underlying profit drivers for industries in Tasmania; and providing farmers with opportunities for comparison between enterprises, and within industry comparisons of individual businesses."[7]

TIAR (as it was known as then) was established in 1996 and today it has research and teaching facilities at Sandy Bay and New Town in Hobart, Launceston and Burnie.[2] Its head office is located at the University of Tasmania's Sandy Bay campus in Hobart.[8] In addition, it has farm research facilities at Elliott, Forth and Cressy.[9]

• TIA website