WELCOME! Issue 54 - 14 June 2023
| Message from RALF Hello everyone,With the climate forecast models predicting an extended dry period, now is the time to plan for drought. Check out the Drought Resilience Self Assessment tool HERE If you haven't already done so, please complete the Small Farm Network survey so we can better meet your needs. And don't miss the opportunity to learn about dung beetles at one of our three dung beetle workshops next week, Central Coast, Richmond or Camden on 21, 22 or 23 June.Also, in this edition, participate online or face-to-face in a varroa mite update tonight or tomorrow night, flood and storm-affected landholders have until 30 June 2023 to apply for several Rural Assistance Authority grants or discover how new sheep facial recognition technology can improve productivity.If you know someone who might be interested in joining the Greater Sydney Small Farms network, they can register HERE. To view previous newsletters, click HERE. To provide ideas on how the Greater Sydney Small Farms network can help you, please email or phone me on 0436 803 337 | |
Sincerely,
Richard Stephens Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator (RALF)
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El Niño ALERT activated
Here we go again. Having only just come out of three wet years caused by La Niña weather patterns, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) outlook has been shifted to El Niño ALERT. While the ENSO is currently neutral, there is approximately a 70% chance of El Niño forming in 2023, roughly three times the normal chance of an El Niño. Also, the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) has recently reached El Niño thresholds, with the 60-day SOI value at −10.6. The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts parched conditions across virtually all of Australia this winter and warmer than usual for most of Australia. However, the Pacific Ocean and atmosphere are not yet reinforcing each other, as is the case during El Niño events. Unfortunately, one year in the next five will almost certainly be the hottest on record and there's a two-in-three chance a single year will cross the crucial 1.5℃ global warming threshold, according to the World Meteorological Organization. For more information, click HERE.
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Please tell us about your farm or landLaunched in April 2019 with 320 subscribers, the Greater Sydney Small Farms Network now has over 1,100 members. As a result, we want to know about your current issues, challenges and needs. The survey is mostly 'tick the box' and will take about 15 minutes to complete. It will be open until midnight on 30 June 2023, and five lucky respondents will receive a prize and can choose either a soil or water test. So, whether you run a farming business or simply enjoy having a semi-rural lifestyle, please complete your survey HERE.
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New requirements for food service Food service businesses in NSW, including cafes, restaurants, caterers and food-related retail, should start preparing for new food safety requirements. From 8 December 2023, all businesses that process unpackaged food requiring temperature control, and serve it ready-to-eat, must implement 2 of 3 food safety practices. This new requirement applies to a range of previously exempt outlets, including not-for-profits, school canteens and childcare services. Click HERE.
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Reshaping Australian food systems A roadmap for a more sustainable, productive and resilient future for Australia's food, its environment and its people has been released by the CSIRO. Australia’s food systems feed an estimated 60–75 million people nationwide and in export markets. Understanding the complexity and risks within our food systems is essential, especially given current economic, social, environmental, governance and geopolitical challenges. View the roadmap HERE.
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Syntropic Agroforestry Syntropic agroforestry is a regenerative food and resource production system that rehabilitates the land and builds biodiversity while providing yields. It relies on human intervention to accelerate the process of forestation, as well as to ‘disturb’ natural processes to maintain higher yields and healthier systems.
In a recent hands-on workshop in Hazelbrook, participants created a food forest and learnt how to ‘bend time’ by accelerating its growth to help create a fertile earth for all organisms to survive. Click HERE.
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Annual Land and Stock Return on their way Your Annual Land and Stock Return is on its way this month. This information is important as it is used to keep NSW safe. The online process has been streamlined to make it easier to provide your livestock numbers. The online portal opens on 30 June and closes on 31 August 2023, or you can still manually submit if you prefer. Even if you don’t have any stock, filling out your Annual Land and Stock Return helps us keep your details up to date and guarantees penalties won’t be applied to your next Local Land Services rates notice. To learn more, click HERE or call our team on 1300 795 299.
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Carbon neutral cattleThe Mackenzie family have been running cattle in the Hunter and Gloucester regions since the late 1800s. And now they have more carbon under their eight properties than they are emitting. After gaining a baseline of their properties' soil and using innovative technology to map the land, small tweaks have made a difference, such as moving stock more, mulching more, aerating the soils when the season is right and growing new pastures. They found that for 1 per cent extra carbon gain in soil, it holds 160,000 litres more water per hectare. HERE.
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New food safety standards for leafy greens, melons and berriesSmall-scale growers around the country are concerned that tightened regulations for leafy greens, melons and berries could disadvantage them and, in some cases, potentially price them out of business. Regulator Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) says several recent outbreaks of foodborne illness have highlighted the need for all growers, big and small, to abide by the new regulations on traceability, hygiene and fertilisers. Click HERE.
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Miniature HerefordsDenise Warner has been breeding miniature Herefords for 16 years. This breed is two-thirds the size of it's standard cousins. With a "placid" temperate, these animals make for great hobby farm companions. With many larger properties being broken down into smaller properties, many people just want to have smaller animals as they are lighter on the soil, easier on fences and, being Hereford, they are so placid. Click HERE.
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EVENTS, SHORT COURSES & WEBINARS
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Varroa Mite update The Varroa Mite outbreak has had a major impact on agriculture on the Central Coast. To get up-to-date on what has been done and what work still needs to be done, please attend one of these two workshops. If you are unable to join in person, NSW Farmers has organised Zoom links for these workshops. Click on the workshop links for the Zoom details Mangrove Mountain - 6pm Wednesday 14 June, HERE. Waitara - 6pm Thursday 15 June, HERE.
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Dung Beetle workshopsDr Bernard Doube, Dung Beetle Solutions International, will deliver three workshops in the Greater Sydney region. Bernard will cover Dung beetles in Australia and the Greater Sydney region; The services (benefits) provided by dung beetles; Building and maintaining on-farm nurseries and introducing new beetles; Fire, flood and dung beetles. Central Coast - Wednesday 21 June Richmond - Thursday 22 June Camden - Friday 23 JuneAll workshops, 9am to 3pm. Lunch will be provided. Registration essential! Click HERE.
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National Renewables in Agriculture Conference
The National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo was developed to provide credible, independent advice to farmers about how they could replace diesel and electricity on their farms with renewables. To be held in Dubbo on 21 June 2023, this event brings together farmers, agriculture and energy consultants, peak bodies, and Government representatives. Click HERE.
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Permaculture design course The Farm It Forward Permaculture Design Course is over ten weeks, starting Thursday 22 June. Lessons take place on Thursday afternoons (3-6pm) at Mid Mountains Neighbourhood Centre and Saturday afternoons (1-4pm) at Hazelbrook. Facilitated by Manu Prigioni, Madison Roland Evans and Ele Pilko with loads of awesome field trips with guest presenters. Spaces are limited and there is a sliding fee scale. For more information, click HERE.
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Mudgee Small Farm Field DayThe Mudgee Small Farm Field Days is a two-day annual event that has been running for over 40 years and attracts approximately 20,000 people annually. It aims to promote innovation and sustainability in agriculture and rural living and inform, educate and connect rural people with information and solution providers. There are free demonstrations and talks, commercial stalls, live music and activities to suit the whole family. From 7 to 8 July, 2023, click HERE.
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Protected Cropping Australia 2023 conference Protected Cropping Australia is pleased to fund 150 complimentary full registrations available to support grower attendance at the PCA 2023 conference, 17-20 July in Brisbane. Full registrations include the welcome function, conference sessions, networking events and the conference dinner. Early bird registrations end 19 May 2023. Click HERE.
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Nature-based solutionsThe inaugural Nature-Based Solutions Conference & Expo will be held in Brisbane, 17-19 July 2023. It will bring together practical natural solutions to mitigate climate change, including; blue carbon sequestration, soil and tree carbon initiatives as well as biodiversity improvements. Domestic and international case studies will feature, along with taking a holistic approach. For more information, click HERE.
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Environmental markets The Environmental Markets Leadership Program is designed to simplify the complex world of natural capital and environmental markets. It supports land managers and farmers to identify, market and benefit from the natural capital, ecosystem services, sustainable land management and environmental services they generate and provide to society. A free preview of the program is available HERE. For more information, click HERE.
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Soil biology masterclass and certification The Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation offers two soil health and biology courses. If you want to understand the benefits of soil biology as a driver of healthy crops and healthy foods in sustainable production, the 2-day soil biology masterclass will be held on 15-16 August at the Western Sydney University in Richmond. The 4-day soil science & biology certification course runs from 15 to 18 August. Click HERE for more information on the the 2-day course, HERE for the 4-day course.
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Grower funding to attend Hort ConnectionsThe Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is supporting grower attendance at the 2023 and 2024 Hort Connections events. Growers can receive up to $1,000 for Grower All Access Passes, flights and accommodation. Availability is limited, and only 1 applicant from each levy paying business is permitted to access funding. Click HERE.
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Rural Recovery Authority grant closing soon Flood and storm-impacted primary producers and landholders have until 30 June 2023 to apply for a number of Rural Assistance Authority grants. This includes the Special Disaster Grants, Rural Landholder Grants, and the Critical Producer Grant made available in response to storm and flood disaster events that occurred throughout 2022. Apply for financial assistance before 30 June to support your recovery, click HERE.
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Funding for learning about soils To cultivate a greater understanding of the value of soil microorganisms, agricultural show societies are about to combine their efforts to grow youth awareness of our soils. Funding for a new soils learning and competition program will soon be available at every agricultural show in Australia. Agricultural Shows Australia, the peak body overseeing 572 shows around the nation, will urge local shows to host these competitions. Click HERE. | | | |
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Sheep facial recognition Put two sheep side by side, and it might seem impossible to tell them apart. However, new sheep facial recognition can identify individual sheep, which may raise on-farm productivity. For instance, this technology can match ewes with their lambs and identify a flock's most productive ewes. A trial of this technology is about to arrive in Australia click HERE.
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Fungus infects dung beetles A locally found pathogenic fungus, Beauveria australis, has, for the first time, been observed infecting imported dung beetles in Australia. The discovery by Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, suggests local fungi may have contributed to the failure of some imported dung beetle species to establish here. Australia’s dung beetle program has released 44 species of dung beetles from Europe and Africa since the 1960s, with 23 species established in the field. Click HERE.
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New varroa mite researchNew research is challenging our thinking on how to control varroa mites. For years scientists and beekeepers thought the varroa mite attached itself to bees to suck their blood. However, a young researcher from Colorado, Samuel Ramsay, conducted PhD research that showed they are liquefying the bee's fatty liver tissue and sucking it out. The mites show they focus on the underbelly of the bees to access the liver and use their saliva to liquefy the liver. Click HERE.
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Agritourism and farm tourism factsheets New exempt and complying provisions came into force on 1 December 2022 which enable primary producers to explore opportunities for agritourism and broader farm stay accommodation opportunities on their property. To assist rural producers, Wingecarbee Shire Council has prepared useful fact sheets on Agritourism and Farm Stay Accommodation, click HERE, or visit the NSW Planning Agritourism website HERE.
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Biodiversity on farm webinarFarmers who want to increase the biodiversity of their farms should be rewarded for it. The Nature Repair Market Bill is the Federal Government’s proposed solution to increasing biodiversity on-farm. It is currently making its way through Parliament. What would the bill mean for farmers, and is it up to the task of driving investment and increasing biodiversity. In this webinar, you will hear from Professor David Lindenmayer on how to drive on-farm biodiversity. Here is the webinar LINK.
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Biosecurity for organic livestock factsheetBiosecurity means “safe life” and protection of people, animals and the environment from infectious diseases, pests and weeds. Managing a certified organic farm requires good records of farm activities, stock history and a robust approach to biosecurity. Biosecurity is a set of habits designed to reduce the risk of introducing diseases or contaminating of the farm environment. Check out the factsheet HERE.
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Working dog safety during the baiting season Muzzles are the best way to protect your valuable working dog from accidentally ingesting bait during the autumn baiting season. Using permanently marked bait sites and burying or covering baits with soil will help ensure that all the baits have been found and picked up before using your dogs at mustering. A video on working dog safety with National Wild Dog Management Coordinator Greg Mifsud and prominent dog trainer Joe Spicer has been produced, watch the video HERE.
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The co-op differenceI n the latest episode of Meet the Co-op Farmers podcast with rural journalist Michael Cavanagh, hear how the co-operative difference informs and strengthens the business strategy of the co-ops and mutuals. When co-ops fully embrace their history and purpose, a clear and workable strategy emerges; by harnessing the power of co-operation. Co-ops and mutuals can create a win-win situation for their organisation and communities. Listen HERE.
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Drought resilience self-assessment The Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool (DR.SAT)
is a free tool co-designed with farmers to assess their resilience against climate change, especially drought. Resilience assessments include financial, personal, social and environmental indicators. DR.SAT is being revised, and feedback on the tool is being sought via a survey. Even if you haven’t used DR.SAT, your feedback will be valuable to help determine whether it meets farmers’ needs. Go to DR.SAT HERE, or go to the survey HERE.
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This project is supported by Greater Sydney Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program. | | The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that the information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate officer of Local Land Services or the user’s independent adviser. For updates go to www.lls.nsw.gov.au
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