Spring Seminar Week!
During the week of 4-8 Sept Yarrilinks Facilitator Alicia attended three seminars in the region.
14th Annual Perennial Pasture Systems Conference
26th Wimmera Biodiversity Seminar
Partners in Agriculture Gather, Grow Thrive Forum
The events provided a great opportunity to learn about local environments, farming systems, and farm business management. They were also great opportunities for networking!
Perennial Pasture Systems Conference - “Rolling with Extremes”
Perennial Pasture Systems is a grower group based in Ararat and made up of members involved in livestock production, hay export and cropping. They undertake research on pasture management and are also active in the space of farm business management and the social aspects of running a farming operation.
Their 14th Annual conference featured speakers from across Victoria and beyond, and drew attendees from their membership base and further afield.
Lisa Warn of Lisa Warn Ag Consulting kicked off the presentations with an economic re-analysis of PPS’s Greenfields Project under the current 2023 operating environment.
Cam Morris from Ag Diagnostics presented on pasture profitability and farming on King Island, Tasmania.
Prof Bill Malcolm (University of Melbourne) discussed the costs and benefits of leasing/buying/investing in farmland under the current economic climate.
Carlyn Sherrif (Pinion Advisory) and Stuart Robinson (Manager, Terrinallum Estate) spoke about staffing needs on farms and what makes good employees and employers
Kate Burke from Think Agri discussed how producers can shock proof their farming systems by befriending risk
We finished off with an interview with farmer Dan Jess (facilitated by Kate Burke) on his journey from Marcus Oldham student to manager of the family property.
The day finished with a field tour to a property at Jallukar and a dinner at the Ararat RSL featuring guest speaker Peter Jess - an outspoken advocate for AFL players suffering concussions.
All the presentations were extremely high quality, full of relevant and timely wisdom peppered with humour. This event takes place each September and is one to look out for next year.
26th Wimmera Biodiversity Seminar - “Rediscovering our Threatened Species”
This year the annual Wimmera Biodiversity Seminar took place on Threatened Species Day and featured none other than Costa Georgiadis as our MC for the day. Costa’s energy was infectious!
Prof Brendan Wintle (University of Melbourne) presented on “Growing policy momentum to tackle the global biodiversity crisis”
Russell Larke and Marie Velthoven (Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria) presented on Gariwerd (Grampians) endemic species Grevillea gariwerdensis
Stuart Harradine (Barengi Gadjin Land Council) spoke about Wotjobaluk connections to Wilkerr (Dingo) and the unique story of the dingo as a declared threatened species in Victoria with an active hunting bounty on its head
Jonathan Starks (Hindmarsh Landcare Network) sang the praises of the Wimmera’s OTHER threatened birds - the small, grey and brown species that are so often overlooked in favour of more charismatic species
Damien Cook of Wetland Revival Trust presented about the transformations undertaken and the Wirra-lo property in north central victoria as natural hydrology was restored alongside revegetation projects
Elaine Bayes (Wetland Revival Trust) presented on the recent discoveries of several populations of the Eltham Copper Butterfly in the Wimmera, and the species’ fascinating relationship with Sweet Bursaria.
Elizabeth Newton (Trust for Nature) covered the reptiles of Big Desert, from goannas to the Mallee Worm-Lizard
Paul Foreman (Blue Devil Consulting) presented research on the role of Aboriginal burning in the distribution of temperate grasslands in south-eastern Australia.
Biodiversity Seminar Field Tour
Although it was a bitterly cold and rainy day, we managed to dodge showers and get out to Boolite for the field tour, where we visited the property of a local farmer. The property featured native perennial pastures, farm forestry (locally native species only!), cropping sans synthetic fertilisers (instead using compost and pulse-heavy rotations) and significant areas of restored and remnant vegetation protected by a Trust for Nature covenant.
One of the most fascinating finds at the site was this strange creature: Wattle Tick Scale, pictured here attached to a gold dust wattle branch.
Gather, Grow, Thrive Forum by Partners in Agriculture
This second annual event, hosted in Rupanyup, was a chance for women in agriculture from across north and western Victoria to get together for presentations on succession planning, farm safety, and nutrition.
Morning tea, wine and gin tastings, and dessert were provided by local businesses. Everyone enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared by celebrity chef Simon Bryant: pad thai with sprouted lentils. Simon then did a cooking demonstration and participated in a panel discussion with two local early-career nutritionists on the nutritional benefits of locally grown pulses. He also shared his preferred method for safe sprouting of lentils and other pulses: learn more about it here.