Agriculture
28 June, 2026
‘Metro’ data water fears
THE STATE’S $25 billion agriculture sector must not be forgotten in the face of a rapidly expanding data centre infrastructure boom sweeping the state, the Victorian Farmers’ Federation said on Tuesday.
THE STATE’S $25 billion agriculture sector must not be forgotten in the face of a rapidly expanding data centre infrastructure boom sweeping the state, the Victorian Farmers’ Federation said on Tuesday.
The VFF released an issues paper outlining the scale of potential development and competition for resources like land, water and energy.
President Ryan Milgate said while the exponential growth of the data centre sector may present opportunities for Victoria’s economy, policy reform is needed to first understand the impacts on agriculture, regional communities and essential resources.
“This is not a debate about whether data centres should exist. It’s about ensuring we properly understand the consequences of going all-in without a plan for these incredibly resource-intensive facilities,” he said.
“We absolutely must have a conversation about the impact of this infrastructure and it needs to be now. We need to learn about any land use conflict when it comes to energy, transmission and mining projects.
“With this issues paper, we’re looking to make sure farmers are front and centre in that conversation. This issue doesn’t just exist inside the farm gate. We’re seeing huge data centres rising up in the suburbs and their needs impact all the way to farmers and regional communities hundreds of kilometres away.”
The VFF says questions to be answered include:
How will data centre locations be chosen?
How will water allocations be managed during drought?
Who pays for additional infrastructure and will the burden of increased renewable energy generation increasingly fall on regional Victorians and landholders?
What protections exist for neighbouring landholders and how will cumulative impacts across multiple projects will be assessed?
“We’re on a collision course where Victoria’s farming sector will compete with this infrastructure for water and land to host renewable energy infrastructure. We’re already seeing this and with massive investment in the pipeline, this could just be the tip of the iceberg,” Mr Milgate said.
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