National Landcare Program - Farms Small Grants Dalrymple Landcare Committee Incorporated QLD Charters Towers Best management practices for wildlife conservation in grazing lands of the Queensland Dry Tropics This project aims to improve the general awareness of graziers in the Dry Tropics region on the potential of grazing land for wildlife conservation. Through several activities, the project will highlight that wildlife represent a very valuable asset to their lands and can also be used as a tool to identify healthy country (i.e. soil fauna). It will define the best management practices for wildlife and defuse knowledge into the community through the publication of a booklet and a workshop. Several producers will be engaged through active implementation of recommended grazing practices for conserving wildlife and appropriate habitat. $17,700.00 National Landcare Program - Farms Small Grants Petaurus Education Group Incorporated NSW Albury Landholder driven discussion group to support the adoption of New Technologies, Tools & Best Management Practices for mixed farming to reduce pressures on our Natural Resources in the West Hume Landcare region. The high level aim of this project is to increase the capacity of Landholders to adopt new technologies, tools and best management practices to increase their productivity and profitability while reducing pressures on our Natural Resources. This aim will be achieved through the formation of a Mixed Farming Landholder Discussion Group which will meet 10 times over two years with industry experts to deliver information on topics specifically requested by the group and driven by regional NRM priorities. This will also include 2 field trips to review practices in other regions. The group will have a Facilitator and Project Officer, who driven by the group needs, will partner with industry experts to deliver the sessions. In Year 1 the group will be established and participate in a series of information sessions, workshops and field days/trip. In Year 2 the group will be supported to adopt new practices and meet and discuss the successes or challenges that they are facing. $47,970.00
National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants Stirlings to Coast Farmers Inc. WA Albany Future Farmers Student Connect Pilot Program - Creating connections between farmers and agriculture students through sustainable farming innovation demonstrations, lectures and mentoring SCF will partner with two agricultural colleges to share expertise in sustainable farming systems and technological innovation with students and staff. Students will be encouraged to form connections with local innovative farmers and researchers who are willing to volunteer to talk with students, offer advice and mentoring. Specific activities over 18 months: • Demonstration sites will be established at each college. • Lectures and practical demonstrations provided to final year students relating to term themes. T1: New technologies for sustainable ag; T2: Looking after the land - sustainable farming systems; T3: Facing Climate Challenges on the land; T4: Careers in Ag and NRM • Free membership of the SCF Young Farmers group and welcome pack for students. • Events for students to meet other students and mix with innovative farmers. • Work experience, careers advice and mentoring will be offered to students. • Leadership Award presented to best performing student at end of year $42,000.00 National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants South West Nrm Ltd QLD Charleville Protecting Grazing Land Productivity & Biodiversity Values by Adopting Improved Vegetation Management Practices in the Warrego Catchment, Morven QLD This activity will protect grazing land productivity by adopting improved vegetation management practices over 3000ha in the Warrego Catchment. This will effectively reduce the spread of Weed of National Significance (WONS) species Mother of Millions (MOM), Harrisia cacti & tree pear throughout the activity areas. Grazing land productivity will be enhanced by decreasing the area of pasture lands competing with weed species. Activity Outcomes include: 1- improved vegetation management practices over targeted point source locations & eradication & containment of invasive WONS over 3000ha 2- enhanced perennial pasture composition within the project area from reduced competition from invasive WONS weeds over the same 3000ha 3- 35 land managers with increased knowledge & capacity to implement and monitor the effectiveness of management strategies for vegetation resources across the activity area. $22,460.00
National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants Birchip Cropping Inc. VIC Birchip Using standing crops to finish lambs and improve summer groundcover and soil health This project will highlight a fodder option that will turn lambs off faster in summer, and provide more soil protection outside of the growing season. Through demonstration, field walks, group discussion and newsletter articles, the role for standing crops to fill a and early-summer pasture feedgap will be shared with, and trialled by mixed sheep-cropping farmers. The practice is low cost and low risk, and enables growers to sell lambs earlier, reduce the stocking pressure on dead feed paddocks and stubbles, and maintain more groundcover on paddocks until the autumn break than otherwise. A feedbase option that gives landscapes more groundcover in the summer period will protect soils against wind and heavy summer storm water erosion and potential nutrient loss. It is an important technique for mixed farm operations that need to balance potential antagonisms of running crops and livestock together, and managing environmental and economic risk in their business. $99,850.00 National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants South West Nrm Ltd QLD Charleville Improved Productivity by Increasing Groundcover for Increased Pastures in the Bulloo & Paroo Catchments This activity will increase the capacity of the Land Manager to effectively implement Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices. This will increase productivity & efficiency decreasing the cost of pest control in the catchment area. Feral pest eradication in the area will reduce grazing pressures, damage to fences and increase biodiversity by protecting two priority species identified in the national Threatened Species Strategy. Outcomes include: 1- Implementation of IPM Plan to reduce feral pests numbers over 150,000ha 2- Enhanced capacity and capability of the Land Manager for increased production & profitability over 150,000 ha 3- Increased groundcover over 150,000 ha $45,264.00
National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants Jarlmadangah Burru Aboriginal Corporation WA Derby Jarlmadangah Burru Aboriginal Community Revegetation Nursery Capacity Building Project This NLP Smart Farms project builds on the positive outcomes from the JBAC Green Army project teams who constructed a Revegetation Nursery within the Jarlmadangah Burru Aboriginal Community and set up the infrastructure to grow local provenance plants for revegetation, and to develop the horticulture skills of the community youth. Stage 1 provided JBAC with an operational nursery facility as well as initial horticulture training with support from Lotterywest, Royalties for Regions / NRM WA, Norman Wettenhall Foundation, along with corporate in-kind from Triple BL Pty and Okara Pty Ltd. The Smart Farms grant will move the project into stage 2 - operationalizing the nursery and developing the Jarlmadanga community's capacity to run the nursery on a part-time basis with a production capacity of 5,000 local provenance native plants per annum, which will be used to revegetate degraded areas of the Fitzroy River floodplain. $93,518.00 National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants Local Land Services NSW Moruya Protecting pasture integrity, significant wetlands and aquatic ecosystems from the impact of Spiny Rush Many properties in the Eurobodalla contain significant remnants of the nationally listed Coastal Saltmarsh (TEC) and state listed Swamp Oak Forest (EEC). These vegetation communities and adjoining paddocks are often actively managed pastures for livestock production. A key threatening process to the biological integrity of these vegetation communities, pasture productivity and animal health is the increasing threat of invasion by the weed Spiny Rush (Juncus acutis). Most landholders in the south east are unaware of the existence of Spiny Rush and its threats. LLS have developed best management methods through trial to treat the weed whilst taking into account the sensitive adjacent environments including oyster leases, marine parks and wetlands. This project will map population distribution on properties across the Moruya, Clyde and Tomaga River floodplains and begin initial treatment of the weed and build capacity of farmers and the community to best manage the weed. $97,371.00
National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants Greta Valley Landcare Group VIC Greta West Developing climate resilience in the Greta Valley - Helping small farm businesses to plan for climate change through a series of Farm Gate workshops and providing incentives to establish essential shade and shelter for stock. Our project has two components: 1. Farm Gate workshops – To provide information around the forecast impacts of climate change in North East Victoria and present a series of tools and management practices that can be implemented at the farm scale to assist farms in coping with these extremes in climate. Four workshops will be held on farm, using practical examples to improve knowledge and build capacity for change and adoption. 2. On ground works – A property plan that considers the location of biodiversity assets, water supplies and need for shade and shelter will be developed for each property. Fencing and revegetation incentives will be offered to the landholder to establish new shelter belts or emergency shade blocks. Locations for these belts will be prioritised based on consideration of landscape connectivity, inclusion of biodiversity assets such as large old scattered paddock trees, and achieving multiple site objectives such as reducing erosion and soil disturbance. $94,610.00 National Landcare Program - Smart Farms Small Grants The Agricultural Bureau Of Australia Incorporated SA Magill Fleurieu Forward Farmers - Increasing profit by managing climate variability through soil health. Livestock producers in the Fleurieu region will be supported to better manage soil and pasture health, climate variability and improve profit. To achieve targeted outcomes, the project will: • Innovatively measure pasture quality, soil moisture and rainfall at 6 soil health sites, and 15 farm sites, and in addition continue to measure soil health at 2 of the replicated soil heath sites. • Utilise and build upon decision support tools for our region incorporating data collected on feed quality, nutrition, productivity, soil moisture and soil health to support decisions for N & P scheduling, optimal hay and silage cutting, grazing management, and supplementary feeding. • Produce a fact sheet that helps producers to understand how build soil health. • Conduct a field day demonstrating the tools and key project outcomes. • Develop a one-day workshop to train producers on building soil health, using the tools developed. • Deliver outcomes via newsletters and our web site. $99,812.00