Dry Time Dinners will be the mechanism Southern New England Landcare employs to support local farmers using money pledged by the Northern Yarra Landcare Network in Victoria.
Southern New England Landcare was contacted last week by Mr John Birse, president of the Northern Yarra Landcare Network.
“At our recent AGM, we decided to assist drought-affected farmers in NSW by donating $1000 of our own funds,” said Mr Birse.
Southern New England Landcare will support several UNE Ag Extension students to host a free video and film night focussing on Regenerative Agriculture, 6-8pm Monday 20th August at the Wicklow Hotel in Armidale.
Films will include 'Grassroots: a documentary', winner of the Scinema Best Documentary 2018 by Frank Oly, and 'Regenerative Agriculture in the New England', a film by the UNE students.
Special guests include Glenn Morris who will speak on 'The importance of humus for regenerating the Earth', and Jason Simmons.
RSVPs are essential as seating is limited. Book your seat at https://www.stickytickets.com.au/74648. Download the flier here.
Farm-based renewable energy will the topic at a seminar with three guest speakers in Armidale next week.
Southern New England Landcare has secured the speakers for it’s quarterly Member Muster on 15th August.
Do you know what an upland wetland is? Do you know why they are important? Upland wetlands (or montane lagoons) are restricted to the high altitude areas of the New England bioregion generally above 900 metres. They are found on drainage depressions on flat to undulating plateaus and are not connected to rivers or streams.
Image courtesy of John Hunter.
Landcare NSW launched their Aurecon Report in Parliament House in June 2018. It showcased the dollar value of a supported Landcare Network in NSW. It is compelling evidence of the impact Landcare has and provides an idea of how data collected by a Landcare Network can be used to evaluate in economic terms the return on investment at a local/regional scale and is WELL WORTH A LOOK!
Watch the launch here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMexB1Q49Dc The presentation of findings commences at time marker 10:26 for 16 mins.
Following the highly successful Local Land Services autumn aerial wild dog baiting program, a second campaign is due to be launched in spring.
Mark Tarrant, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Invasive Species & Plant Health Team Leader, is confident that the continuing campaign will significantly reduce wild dog predation on livestock and native fauna.
Kim Deans from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services will be running another two farm planning courses starting in August. Locations are Armidale and Glen Innes. These are great training sessions that run for 5 days over a couple of months. Well worth participating whether you are new to farm planning or just need a refresh of your plan. Download the flier here.
The Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW has announced $100,000 will be released from its Disaster Relief fund to help farm families in NSW struggling with worsening drought conditions.
by Glen Uebergang, Northern Tablelands LLS Mixed Farming Officer
With useful rainfall in many parts of the Northern Tablelands, landholders may be thinking about planting late season annual forage crops. To reduce pressure on your perennial pastures and provide a bulk of quality feed it may be appropriate to plant forage crops such as oats, barley, triticale or ryegrass. Following are a few points for your consideration:
by Brett Littler (Central Tablelands LLS Livestock Officer), Jason Siddell (Northern Tablelands LLS Livestock Officer) and Andrew Biddle (Northern Tablelands LLS District Vet)
Many experienced farmers have been reviewing their feed budgets in this really dry time. Quantity of feed is obviously paramount at all times but particularly for pregnant or lactating livestock. Quality feed becomes even more important during drought but we understand it is getting harder and more expensive to source.
by Kim Deans – Northern Tablelands LLS Farm Planning Officer
There has been useful rain on the Northern Tablelands in the last couple of days although it hasn’t been enough in most places to run much water. Ensuring good quality water for livestock is an ongoing part of managing livestock at all times but becomes particularly relevant when water supplies are limited in dry times.
More than $27 million for 15 projects through round one of Smart Farming Partnerships grants.
Grants of up to $4 million are part of the $134 million Smart Farms Program
Part of the $1.1 billion phase two of the National Landcare Program
Soil health, innovation, digital farming and next generation weather forecasting will be improved thanks to $27 million in funding through round one of the Smart Farming Partnership grants.
Armidale Urban Rivercare invite one and all to celebrate the conclusion of the Prickly Problems Project where the group has achieved greatness in removing a forest of the invasive plant Rubinia.
Come together with the Armidale Urban Rivercare Group to celebrate past, present and future successes rehabiliating Armidale's Dumaresq Creek.
Brunch will be provided with talks from founding member Bruce Whan and the official opening of the site by Armidale Regional Council Mayor, Cr Simon Murray. More event details at https://snelandcare.org.au/event/ppp-party.
Road to Regen is an event inviting you to take a closer look at regenerative farming by hearing from Joel Williams and Grant Sims in a workshop setting, and then having the opportunity to see it happening on ground at Jason Simmons property on Long Swamp Road South-East of Armidale.
With 100 agriculture and science students from five high schools across the region talking about regenerative agricultural practices it’s hard not to be excited about the future of farming.
The take-up of solar power has accelerated throughout the New England North West region. Farming the Sun's community bulk-buy program has added 2% installations in the last 18 months alone!
“We've seen the level of community interest in solar power grow greatly over the ten years that we have been coordinating the Farming the Sun community solar collaboration”, said Project Director, Adam Blakester.
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services is coordinating a fox baiting program to be held in the Armidale district and surrounds commencing on 14th June 2018. Get involved by contacting your local fox group coordinator or Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Armidale office on 02 6770 2000.
By Nigel Brown, Geoff Green and Beth Brown - Northern Tablelands LLS
The January to April 2018 period was the driest first quarter of the year for NSW as a whole since 1986. Few places across the Northern Tablelands have had a typical growing season and much of the area is in a really weak condition for livestock production this winter.
Making timely decisions is crucial so asking for professional help is a priority. The aim of this article is to provide resources and contacts for expert advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help – it’s what we’re here for!
Malpas Catchment action is happening once more. Project Officer Rachel Lawrence has commenced in a part-time role with Southern New England Landcare. Rachel will work with landholders and community groups in the catchment as well as Armidale Regional Council and NT LLS towards improved outcomes for Malpas Dam and Armidale and Guyra’s water supply.
Northern Tablelands Local Land Services urges cattle producers to be vigilant for signs of Three-day Sickness in stock after numerous cases have been reported around the Inverell district. Otherwise known as Bovine Ephemeral Fever, the virus is spread by biting midges and is normally associated with wet summers in Queensland and weather events out of the northwest.
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