Tweed Shire Council has been awarded a grant from the NSW Environmental Trust to conduct a series of farm field days and workshops over the 2019-2021 period.
To help design the most relevant and productive workshop series possible, Tweed Shire Council engaged Southern Cross University to determine the educational needs of Tweed's farmers, their preferred methods of engagement and to seek ideas on the best strategies to address environmental challenges on our local farms.
If you would like to join our contact list and receive up-to-date email notifications about upcoming field days, project outcomes and other activities conducted by Council's Sustainable Agriculture Program just email ‘subscribe’ with your primary and (if applicable) secondary farming industry to
agriculture@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
For more information about the Small Farms Big Changes Project contact:
Eli Szandala
Program Leader, Sustainable Agriculture
Tweed Shire Council
e:
eszandala@tweed.nsw.gov.au
p: (02) 6670 2599
Upcoming workshops
In response to the landholder survey, the following workshops/field days are planned for the 2020-2021 period:
- Biological controls for plant pests – Summit Organics, Tyalgum, 17 December 2020. Register at Biological controls for growers workshop tickets
- Managing soil erosion – Location TBD
- Harnessing biodiversity benefits on farm – to be held at a Reserve Creek cattle farm
- Farm innovation and technology – location TBD
- Showcasing the Tweed’s farming champions – bus tour
To be notified as soon as registrations open for upcoming workshops please subscribe to
agriculture@tweed.nsw.gov.au.
Recent workshops
This workshop was held at Farm and Co., Cudgen, to familiarise vegetable growers with the biological farming practices that can improve soil structure and biological activity leading to:
- greater water holding capacity, water availability and improved water infiltration and drainage; and
- reduced plant stress and more productive, nutrient dense plants that are naturally more resistant to pests, diseases and climatic stresses.
This workshops keynote speaker was Dave Forrest, a renowned organic vegetable grower, educator, former TAFE NSW agriculture teacher and Vice Chair for SoilCare. In addition to the above, Dave covered:
- the three pillars of biological farming;
- management tools to restore soil organic carbon;
- improving biology and nutrient availability with biological-based practices;
- the importance of cover cropping and crop rotations; and
- lots more.
Dave's contact details are:
Email: Organicforrest@hotmail.com
Also see Dave's PowerPoint slideshow Biological Farming Systems (PDF)
Please provide feedback on the regenerating soils for healthy vegetable production video by completing the evaluation form.
A range of strategies and decision-support tools are available to assist graziers build more resilient soils and pastures to withstand extreme weather events, particularly drought.
This field day covered:
- Common pasture species and what they tell you about land management and soil health;
- Withstanding weather extremes with good pasture management;
- The role of soil carbon for healthy grazing systems;
- Calculating feed budgets and stocking rates; and
- Strategies for dealing with feed deficits.
The day was facilitated by the following experts:
Please provide feedback on the Managing pastures in the dry video by completing the evaluation form.
Also see Nathan's Powerpoint slides (PDF)
Please note: The information presented in this presentation was developed as possible management options for beef producers impacted by the drought situation in the Tweed valley in the spring/summer of 2019, therefore information presented at the time may no longer be relevant to the current season, and market conditions. Please contact North Coast Local Land services to discuss your individual situation further.
This workshop presented the best practice management options for a number of common pasture and environmental weeds in the Tweed, including Giant Parramatta Grass, Giant Devil's Fig and more. We focused on prevention strategies and non-chemical control methods.
The day was facilitated by the following experts:
Please provide feedback on the worst weeds of the Tweed video by completing the evaluation form.