Fodder Conservation Focus Groups - A great opportunity!
Congratulations to the Alma Park Pleasant Hills (APPH) Landcare Group for their success in receiving a grant from DAFF (Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry). The group invites all producers from the Eastern Riverina to be involved in the project.
The 12-month project has a focus on mixed farming operations, and aims to improve management skills of local producers, particularly as it relates to managing and recovering from drought. The main issues that will be covered are forage production and conservation (including making and feeding silage and hay) and the relative profitability of cropping and livestock enterprises in the ERLN area.
The APPH Landcare Group worked with the EH Graham Centre at Wagga (an alliance between NSW Department of Primary Industries and Charles Sturt University) to develop the project submission and will call on the expertise of the Centre's agronomists, economists and animal nutritionists in presenting several field days and information sessions throughout 2008.
Helen Burns, who some of you may remember from her days as District Agronomist at Lockhart, will be coordinating the project for the Group. Also on board is Mike Reynolds, who will be overseeing the economic analysis and John Piltz, the NSW DPI animal nutritionist who also happens to be the Australian authority on silage production and feeding.
Helen said that the success of the project depends on local producers participating in the various activities that are planned.
"This project is a great opportunity for researchers and advisors to work with producers on current issues, and is a fantastic example of how the Landcare Network can get up-to-date and relevant information out there," she said.
"By involving producers in the early stages of the project we can be sure the information being presented will help them make the right decisions to manage the erratic climatic conditions that have become the norm over the last few years."
How can you get involved?
1. We need four groups of keen producers from the Alma Park/Pleasant Hills, Milbrulong, Yerong Creek/Mangoplah and Culcairn/Henty/Cookadinia areas.
These will form focus groups that will provide guidance on the most appropriate enterprise mixes that need to be looked at for the economic analysis (it�s impossible to do all possible mixes). The plan is for the groups to meet in the second week of December. If you are interested in being involved please contact Helen Burns at helen.burns@dpi.nsw.gov.au or telephone 6938 1947 (work hours).
2. There will be a series of field days on forage production, conservation and feeding throughout the year, with the first scheduled for February. More information on these later dates and locations to be announced.
