Region’s farmers could benefit from Bitcoin

MOST of us would gladly whack a $10 note on a delicious steak, but could you imagine paying for your meat with digital currency?

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are beginning to infiltrate the agricultural industry, and one local farmer has his finger on the pulse.

Ian Perkins is a farmer from Tenterfield who has been researching the potential behind Bitcoin and blockchain technologies.

“The internet is available everywhere these days, so there is no reason why people in the bush can’t get on board with these technologies,” he said.

A blockchain is a digital network that was developed to support cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but it is being utilised in different areas.

Blockchain could revolutionise the agricultural industry by connecting producers directly with consumers.

For customers, this would mean greater certainty about where their food is coming from.

By scanning a QR code on the packaging of meat, for example, a consumer could find out when the animal was born, information about its genetics and how it was raised and handled.

Mr Perkins said that people in regional areas were keen to adopt innovative technologies where they proved useful.

“I do think that people in the bush pick up technology that suits them,” he said.