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.
THIS IS NOW A FREE EVENT!
In recognition of the very difficult drought times we are experiencing, this is now a FREE EVENT courtesy of Harnham Landcare Group and Southern New England Landcare Ltd. Participants must register (see below) for catering purposes by 3pm Tuesday 15th for Kentucky event or 3pm Wednesday 16th for Guyra event.
Landholders and community members in the Southern New England will soon have the opportunity to hear from a renowned speaker who links the health of the soil to the health of plants, animals and ultimately humans.
Peter Norwood is an agronomist, animal nutritionalist and human nutrition consultant specialising in nutritional balancing. He is based in Victoria, and will be in the Southern New England as a guest of the Harnham Landcare Group and Southern New England Landcare.
The following is an excerpt from In Situ Science's Podcast. Thank you for taking the time to conduct this interview, Dr James O'Hanlon (postdoctoral researcher at UNE).
How do you know if you have healthy soil? Look for worms! Dr Maarten Stapper joins Dr James on In Situ Science to chat about how caring for soils and healthy ecosystems can improve our farming practices. Listen to this podcast and other fascinating insights into the sciency world at https://insituscience.com/
Dr Maarten Stapper now runs his own agricultural consultancy that helps farmers transition towards organic farming practices whilst maintaining their productivity. He believes very strongly in the role of organic farming, not only for improving our environment, but also human health. Martin also talks openly about the industries behind science and farming that may be actually hindering progress in agricultural research. Find out more on Maarten's company website BioLogic AgFood.
Travelling Stock Reserves (TSRs) have long been a valuable resource for farmers when times get tough. Now, the stretches of grazing land alongside our roads and property boundaries are getting extra attention under the Protecting Biodiversity on TSRs in the Northern Tablelands Project.
Want to know clues to finding the rare Regent Honeyeater? Why are they so endangered and why are other woodland birds also threatened? Ever wanted to record what birds are in your area? Can you pick a Striated Thornbill from a Buff-rumped Thornbill? Come and join a workshop on the identification and survey methods for Regent Honeyeaters and other woodland birds. Sunday 29th April 2018, Uralla Community Centre. Download the flier here.
A new Drought Transport Fund announced by the NSW Government will help farmers manage livestock through dry conditions. The NSW Drought Transport Fund will provide up to $20,000 in low interest loans, with a two-year interest and repayment free period.
Big ideas were planted with more than 100 students from five schools across the region when they combined to discuss regenerative agriculture on Tuesday 10th April 2018. Image - Armidale High School's Bec Smith (L), Dr Maarten Stapper and Sara Schmude pictured at the event. Photo courtesy of Meg Francis. Check out the full story here.
More than 100 baby Bell’s Turtles will provide a major boost to the wild population of this endangered species after being released into the Macdonald River at seven sites near Bendemeer, north of Tamworth in April 2018. The release of turtle hatchlings through the Turtles Forever program is the result of a unique partnership between a detection dog, local farmers, ecologists and researchers.
New free courses delivered across state from Armidale.
Member for Northern Tablelands and Minister responsible for TAFE NSW Adam Marshall recently announced local small businesses and their staff now have access to free business skills training thanks to a new $30 million NSW Government initiative aimed at helping small businesses grow and thrive.
Image - Northern Tablelands MP and Minister responsible for TAFE NSW Adam Marshall is delighted that the new TAFE Digital headquarters will be delivering the new $30 million Skills for Business program across the state.
It is the responsibility of all land owners and managers to control weeds on their lands (Biosecurity Act 2015 – General Biosecurity Duty). With the recent enactment of the Biosecurity legislation in NSW it is also the responsibility of landholders to ensure they do not allow weeds to spread to neighboring properties. An example of unintentional weed spread is blackberries as seeds are largely spread by birds and animals that eat the fruit and excrete seed elsewhere. This highlights the need for all land managers to treat blackberry and other weeds on their land so as to minimise or prevent their spread.
Soil Land Food's David Hardwick will run 4 days of farm planning with an innovation twist starting on Thursday 26 - Friday 27 April and concluding on Thursday 17 - Friday 18 May. The RSVP date has been extended to Friday 20th April, so there is still time to register!
There is a growing movement of farmers who are ecologically minded and understand that soil isn't just a growing medium, it's alive! Two local farming families, the Emmerys and McPhies, have generously opened their gates to give an insight into the regenerative farming practices they have applied these past few years.
Do you have native vegetation on your farm? Could you benefit from some additional income to manage this land? The newly-established Biodiversity Conservation Trust (BCT) has a new program that could be of interest. BCT are calling for expressions of interest (EOI) from people interested in earning annual payments to conserve biodiversity on their property.
Aerial baiting programs, targeting wild dogs, are being launched across NSW during the next few months in a community-wide, co-ordinated bid to reduce attacks on livestock and protect native fauna.
Establishing habitat that allows threatened and declining woodland birds to forage, shelter and reproduce across landscapes used for primary production, was the focus of the Bush for Birds afternoon at Hariet Gully near Kelly’s Plains recently.
Ruth Trémont, from Southern New England Landcare said, “A bus tour of local properties showcasing tree and shrub plantings, gave participants opportunities to hear and see how individual landholders had tackled revegetation on their properties.”
“Hariet Gully is central to a 20 km-wide gap in habitat that extends from Invergowrie in the west to Dangars Gorge in the east.
The Trees on Small Farms project is well underway with unprecedented interest and participation!
SNELandcare Coordinator, Karen Zirkler said, “Thirty-four participants attended the planning workshop in September 2017, where they heard from guest speakers, and planned their tree projects on maps kindly provided by the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services.”
Local Arding Landcare Group member, Chris Duncan, has been recognised as the 2017 recipient of the John-Winter Irving Bequest.
On 28th February 2018, seventeen participants began a soil workshop series with Derek Smith at the Kentucky Hall. The program aims to help participants formulate a long-term plan for soil management so in 5, 10 and 20 years, the farm is in better shape and more resilient to challenges.
Advice from Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Officer (Beef Cattle) – Jason Siddell
There has been a bit of storm rain about (and let’s hope it continues) but there is, of course, a lag between rainfall and feed growth. Early weaning is a tool that can be used by Northern Tablelands cattle producers to manage feed costs and maintain productivity. Please find below strategies for early weaning.
Image courtesy NT LLS.
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