The Farmer November-December 2022

Moving on the flood inquiry

Farming on Lord Howe Island

Special report on soil health

Farming while at war in Ukraine

More needs to be done to stay safe

A World Heritage listed island of plenty

Farming from the ground up

How farmers are managing during the war

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NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2022 / $ 9.95

Bringing home the bacon The Christmas rush for turkey and ham

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Contents INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE: UKRAINE

THE MUSTER NEWS AND VIEWS

Red tape slows flood rebuild; Food insecurity grows; A report from Westpac reveals many happy farmers; An inquiry into protecting farmers from future floods; Mock sheep rustlers caught by sheep tags; Farming on Lord Howe Island ��������������������6

THE ONLY WAY IS UP WITH SWORD AND SICKLE

A local’s view on how farmers are working and surviving in Ukraine during the war ���������������������������������������������������� 42

TRADE THE CHRISTMAS RUSH

Worker shortages are hurting the sector for the third year in a row ����������������������������� 22

More needs to be done to ensure that farm workers are safe and supported ��������������� 28

A new hybrid geothermal and solar energy system could benefit the poultry industry ����������������������������������������34

INDUSTRY A WELL-OILED MACHINE

A dip into the olive industry in NSW ��������� 38

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THE FARMER

A company ensuring that we lower the amount of food we throw away ��������������� 74

COMMUNITY BUSINESS

NEW GENERATION: THE MACKAS

CHANGES TO AGRITOURISM

Fathers, sons and a business in beef well done ������������������������������������������������ 78

Farmers are now able to set up agritourism ventures with less red tape ����������������������� 50

FARM DOGS

BUSINESS

INNOVATION GEOTHERMAL POWERED POULTRY MEAT

THE FUGLY SIDE OF FOOD WASTE

How ham, chicken and turkey producers deal with the Christmas rush �������������������46

THE BIG ISSUE SAFETY FIRST ON FARMS

Aussie farmers are meeting the challenge of improving soil, and the bottom line.........64

ENVIRONMENT

THE BIG PICTURE RESOLVING THE AG LABOUR SHORTAGE

SPECIAL REPORT: SOIL HEALTH

Meet Digger, the energetic Staffy from The Farmer magazine office ����������������������������84 MARKETPLACE: SALEYARDS

FLAIR FOR HAIR

We’ve rounded up some top Aussie-made products as we come into summer ����������� 85

Two companies changing the face of hairdressing as we know it ����������������������� 54

MEET A MEMBER

SPECIAL REPORT: CARBON FARMING

Meet Michael Taylor, who was named the 2022 Australian Farmer of the Year ���������� 86 JOIN US – SUBSCRIBE

Sign up and become a NSW Farmers member, and also receive The Farmer ������ 88

THE CARBON CALCULATION

The complexities of carbon farming are mind boggling. Here is the lowdown for those interested in diving in.................... 58

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

TAIL END

Space junk has been found on a farm in NSW, and there is more out there ������������90

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From the editor

THE MAGAZINE

I

PUBLISHER James Wells EDITOR Michelle Hespe ART DIREC TOR Ryan Vizcarra

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EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES

Michelle Hespe Email: mhespe@intermedia.com.au

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Darren Baguley Emily Riches Emily Simpson Ian Lloyd Neubauer Ihor Pavliuk Jeanette Severs Kazuaki Ono Matilda Meikle Michael Burt Paul Henderson-Kelly Pip Farquharson Susan Elliott Sue Wallace NSW FARMERS

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@NSWFarmers THE INTERMEDIA GROUP

MANAGING DIREC TOR Simon Grover GM OF OPERATIONS Chris Baker FINANCE MANAGER Mina Vranistas PRODUC TION MANAGER Jacqui Cooper HEAD OF DIGITAL Jordan Guiao The Farmer magazine is published for the NSW Farmers Association (ABN: 31 000 004 651) by The Intermedia Group (ABN: 94 002 583 682) 41 Bridge Rd, Glebe NSW 2037. All rights reserved. Printed by IVE Group. Getty Images were used throughout the magazine.

Moving on the flood inquiry

Farming on Lord Howe Island

Special report on soil health

Farming while at war in Ukraine

More needs to be done to stay safe

A World Heritage listed island of plenty

Farming from the ground up

How farmers are managing during the war

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Photo by Paul Henderson-Kelly

Bringing home the bacon

4

the logistical and monetary challenges it raises on a daily basis. The innovation, resilience, bravery and kindness that so many of the farmers in the war-torn country are showing is truly remarkable.

And finally, you’ll all have to excuse me indulging in the cuteness of our new dog Digger. No, he is not a farm dog, but he does visit farms regularly and he is in the engine room of The Farmer magazine, so you’ll have to let us get away with this one.

Enjoy the read and drop us a line anytime – we love hearing from you.

MICHELLE HESPE

Editor

The Intermedia Group takes its corporate and social responsibilities seriously and is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. We continuously strive to improve our environmental performance and to initiate additional CSR based projects and activities.

As part of our company policy we ensure that the products and services used in the manufacture of this magazine are sourced from environmentally responsible suppliers.

This magazine has been printed on paper produced from sustainably sourced wood and pulp fibre and is accredited under PEFC chain of custody.

PEFC certified wood and paper products come from environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of forests.

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2022 / $ 9.95

The Christmas rush on turkey and ham

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t seems that with every editor’s letter I write, there is a new natural disaster playing out somewhere in the state, and now once more, we are dealing with disastrous flooding. Our thoughts go out to all of those affected and rest assured that so many passionate people at NSW Farmers are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that farmers are given the support they need to not only deal with the current situation, but to carry on with business in the aftermath.

We’ve covered some other hard-hitting subjects and ones that lead to much debate in this issue including sheep identification and Ceres tags, making safety on farms a priority and the ongoing issues that continue to spin off from the labour shortage crisis.

And as with every issue of The Farmer, we also like to bring you some feel-good features that bring to life the people and families behind the farming operations and many businesses associated with our industry. We’ve delved into farming on remote World Heritage listed Lord Howe Island, where it’s all about organic produce and working as a community, and we meet some awesome business people changing the face of hair salons. We also meet the founders behind Good & Fugly, who are simultaneously fighting food waste, helping farmers to sell their not-so-perfect fruit and vegetables and delivering goodness straight to consumers’ doors.

The story that brought tears to my eyes this issue (there is always one!) is our story from the heart of Ukraine. Journalist Ihor Pavliuk wrote a story for us on how Ukrainian farmers are managing to not only survive, but to keep feeding their communities while they face the war and

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THE FARMER

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The Muster l FARM FORESTRY

Red tape slows rebuilding efforts Critical timber shortages worsened by government red tape are hampering efforts to rebuild homes in flood-ravaged areas.

Bronwyn Petrie from the NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Committee said $2 billion a year was being spent on importing timber to rebuild homes while barriers to harvesting in NSW are restricting local timber supplies and local employment.

The situation was getting so dire in some areas, Mrs Petrie said, that the timber industry would be wiped out in those

NSW Farmers is calling for a practical approach to farm forestry on private land.

areas, making building supplies even more expensive and limiting farm income.

“We’ve got a serious housing shortage in NSW – rents are skyrocketing, interest rates are going up and house prices are at record highs as well,” Mrs Petrie said.

“It’s made worse in areas that need rebuilding after fires and floods where people are still living in tents, with these critical timber shortages resulting in higher construction prices for homes, businesses and other infrastructure.

“For years the NSW Government has promised to sort out this over-regulation and thoughtless red tape and now jobs and housing supply are at a crisis point.”

NSW Farmers welcomed changes to the Private Native Forestry Code earlier this year, but Mrs Petrie said she was still waiting for promised changes to forestry plans and dual consent.

Mrs Petrie said it was clearly identified in the code review process that increasing forestry plans from 15 to 30 years and removing dual consent requirements were key to the continuation and growth of farm forestry.

“Australian forestry is all about sustainability; it makes no sense to be importing timber from some fundamentally unregulated overseas forests when our own heavily regulated forests are available on the doorstep, providing high quality timbers while supporting farmers and local industries, and importantly delivering economic and environmental outcomes,” she said.

Mrs Petrie added that NSW Farmers was calling for a practical approach to farm forestry on private land, which would provide a “win-win” in terms of job creation, buildings supplies, farm income diversity and disaster preparedness.

l CHARITY

Millions of households struggling to put food on the table The FoodBank Hunger Report 2022 has discovered alarming figures about the current food insecurity crisis affecting millions of households in Australia.

On any given day, over half a million households in Australia are struggling to put food on the table, and disturbingly, those with children are being hit the hardest.

Released in October, the Foodbank Hunger Report 2022 reveals alarming details surrounding the food insecurity crisis our country is facing.

More than 2 million households in Australia have run out of food in the last year due to limited finances, sometimes skipping meals or going whole days without eating. This means that 1.3 million children lived in households severely short of food during that time.

“I have witnessed firsthand the rise in demand for food relief services over the past year as the country has been recovering from Covid-19, but even I’m shocked by the picture that is exposed in this report,” said Foodbank CEO Brianna Casey.

“These results should make everyone stop in their tracks.”

The report confirmed that the rising cost of food and groceries is the top barrier to meeting household food needs, followed closely by energy and housing costs.

“Assumptions that this is affecting only those who are unemployed or homeless are incorrect, with the research showing

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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

that over half of food insecure households had someone in paid work and a third of households with mortgages have experienced food insecurity,” Ms Casey said.

“We know how important it is for people to have access to nutritious food, yet the rising costs of energy, fuel, groceries, rent and mortgages have put this fundamental need beyond the reach of more and more people with no respite in sight.

“The numbers being reported are massive and hard to process, but they represent the harsh reality of living week to week when the cost-of-living crisis collides with an income crisis and the household budget now lists food as a discretionary spend.”

NSW Farmers CEO Pete Arkle said that like all families, farming families are paying more for fuel and electricity, and other inputs required to grow fresh food.

“But we are doing our best to grow as much healthy local food as we can to help feed the nation. Unfortunately, weather conditions are not helping in that cause,” Mr Arkle said.

“When it comes to food costs, it’s the supermarkets – not farmers – that set the price of food, and anything that holds farmers back will reduce the amount of food produced.”

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The Muster l SURVEY RESULTS

Westpac survey reveals hordes of happy farmers According to the results of the Westpac Intergenerational Farming Survey, most Australian family farm businesses are in a happy place.

Words MICHAEL BURT

A

Westpac agribusiness report into intergenerational farming has revealed more than three quarters of farmers are optimistic about the future of farming.

The Agribusiness: Intergenerational Farming Report is based on a survey of 405 Australian farmers, more than 70 per cent of whom said they were making more money than they were 10 years ago.

South Australian farmers (coming in at 82 per cent) experienced the largest increase in physical farm size over the last 10 years compared to 60 per cent in NSW. Tasmania and the Northern Territory had the highest percentage of profitable farms, at 94 per cent and 88 per cent respectively, compared to 73 per cent in NSW. The ABARES September quarter Agricultural Commodities Report also puts farmers in a happy place. It forecast agricultural export earnings to climb to a record $70.3 billion for 2022-2023 – almost 50 per cent more than what it was 10 years ago after accounting for inflation.

“Despite significant challenges facing our regions across the country including severe weather and COVID-19, our research shows strong sentiment and

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opportunities for farmers of all generations,” said Peta Ward, Westpac’s National General Manager, Regional & Agribusiness.

Peta said more than 70 per cent of the farmers surveyed saw unlimited opportunities in the future for younger generations in their family businesses.

“We’re seeing farmers continue to upskill and invest in both technology and machinery to help improve efficiencies and work smarter,” she said.

“We are experiencing strong demand for credit, not only for purchasing farmland but for equipment and property improvements, so combined with high levels of savings during the pandemic, farmers and industry confidence is sky high.

“In most areas we’ve got favourable seasonal conditions, and pretty much all of our water storages are full. We’ve also got strong commodity prices right across the board and there’s massive demand for Australian produce, both domestically – where Australian farmers provide 90 per cent of the food that’s consumed – and on the export markets.”

Despite the overwhelming positivity, Peta admits notable sector headwinds still exist.

“At the moment, it’s input costs which are surging;

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

Shane Howell, Westpac’s Managing Director, Business Lending, holds the Westpac Agribusiness: Intergenerational Farming Report.

interest rates are up; and the ongoing supply chain disruptions since COVID-19 are affecting the availability of machinery – it can be a wait of up to two years for a new sprayer or tractor.”

CONNECTED WITH COMMUNITIES

The survey found farmers feel they are in a good place, with 80 per cent reported having a strong sense of connectedness to their local communities.

www.tudorhouse.nsw.edu.au

The Muster

OPP ORTUNITY FOR ALL

Peta Ward, Westpac’s National General Manager, Regional & Agribusiness, says that 70 per cent of farmers surveyed saw unlimited opportunities for younger generations in their family business.

The report confirmed that they are and have always been community champions, who get involved in the life of their town or village, supporting local businesses or helping run the football club or local show.

While economic growth is important, ‘belonging’ is key, says Westpac’s Director of Climate and Rural Engagement, Steve Hannan.

“Farmers are very parochial and very passionate. The most important part of their town is the main street. They want to go in there in the morning and get a coffee, a sausage roll and catch up with other locals. That’s important to wellbeing.”

Steve says when farmers face challenges, it’s that connectivity that always comes up trumps.

“One of the big challenges at the moment is finding a

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workforce. If you don’t have a good community, how do you attract them? Having family and a strong social circle creates huge value.”

INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER MATTERS MOST

Securing reliable access to water and critical infrastructure spending for telecommunications, road and rail is what matters most to farmers.

Around 20 per cent of farmers surveyed wanted investment in better health, education, sporting and recreational facilities while 17 per cent rated investment in research and development highly. Support to transition to the net zero economy was at the bottom of the list.

But like all business owners, farmers will have to factor in government net zero aspirations.

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

Significant parcels of rural land will be consumed for the power transmission projects that need to be built over the next decade to keep pace with the renewable energy transition, including wind and solar farms.

Governments are also incentivising methane reduction and carbon farming and electrifying transport.

“I spend about a third of my time with farmers talking about the environment,” says Steve. “They recognise their role as custodians of the land and in having healthy soil. Everyone gets it – male, female, young and old.

“We have blocks of land being bought for battery stations and we know future transportation will be electric, not diesel. There’s a lot of great ideas out there and we have to stay with factbased thinking.”

SURVEY SUMMARY

• Farmers are community champions and change-makers.

• 81 per cent of farmers are satisfied to extremely satisfied with their farming enterprise.

• 77 per cent of older farmers and 72 per cent of younger farmers say their enterprise is increasing in profitability.

• 74 per cent believe there are now many/unlimited opportunities for younger generations in their family farming business for the future.

• 80 per cent feel a sense of belonging in the local community.

• Generations for farming families align on the big issues – government action to secure reliable access to water and other critical infrastructures are the top priorities. l

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The Muster l FLO OD RESP ONSE

Response to flood emergency reforms critical A third visit from La Niña in three years has prompted calls for urgent action on recommendations from the state government’s Response to Major Flooding inquiry.

Words MICHAEL BURT

F

armers are calling for the state government to fast-track adoption of flood inquiry recommendations as regional communities across NSW face a third visit from La Niña.

The inquiry made 28 recommendations across a broad range of areas including emergency management arrangements, land management and planning, equipment and technology, capacity and capability building, and research.

The state government supported six of the recommendations and indicated ‘support in principle’ for the other 22.

“What we need to see is swift, decisive action from the government on some of these key recommendations, with better coordination of rescue and recovery, and a streamlined process for training, response and communication,” NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said.

“At-risk farmers and communities cannot allow the hard-learned lessons from these floods to be forgotten. We must ensure any new agencies deliver what people actually need.”

The recommendations included the establishment of a full-time State Emergency Management Operations Coordinator, the development of a single app with disaster updates including the status of regional and rural roads, and improvements to weather reporting.

The inquiry found the design of the current rain and river gauge network is ‘not fit for purpose’, identifying issues around gauge location, ownership and maintenance, and a lack of leadership and coordination.

Recommendations to better harness the strong capabilities and systems in sensor research and technologies already in Australia were supported in principle by the state government. This means the government is committed to working towards the objective identified but has also advised the need to undertake further analysis and consultation. >

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FLO ODING IN THE NORTH WEST

Roads and paddocks in the north west of the state were swamped by flood waters in late October.

Wheat crop losses for the region are expected to exceed $150 million.

Images: Bill Newcomen and Mick Collins.

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

THE FARMER

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The Muster

Xavier said local government also had a significant role in flood management and mitigation as the local approving authority.

“There is a real need for improved planning, assessment, and approvals around public and private works on floodplains, because farmers need certainty through transparency and consistent application of the rules.

“Timely access to information about roads or flood levels is vital for the safety of people, their homes, livestock and machinery, and will help mitigate similar tragedies in the future.”

There were a number of areas where primary producers and rural landholders would see positive outcomes from the adoption of the recommendations focused on housing and local amenities, which Xavier said were important to the fabric of affected communities.

“Farmers, families, communities and businesses all need certainty around their future and there is a real opportunity here to demonstrate that people will not be forgotten when it matters most.

“The impacts of these flood events is felt far beyond the food and fibre growing regions of our state. We all saw the headlines about lettuce shortages as a result of floods, and we all need to make sure we have an emergency response system that will avoid unnecessary delays to getting help where it’s needed most.”

Xavier said NSW Farmers noted the emergency response provided to

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farmers by the Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services as swift, professional, and relevant to the immediate need.

“It was critical for the survival of many producers and rural landholders – be they grain growers, dairy farmers, horticulturalists, oyster growers, or beef and sheep producers,” he said.

RISK OF REPEATED ‘PREVENTABLE’ CATASTROPHIC FLOODING

Farmers in the state’s south say water authorities are failing to prepare for severe flood risks in the Murray Valley.

Flooding in the southern basin region and the impact of the catastrophic 2016 floods in the Murray Valley were both not included in the terms of reference for the flood response inquiry.

NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Committee chair Louise Burge said while authorities may not be able to prevent all risks of flooding this year, they should “absolutely” avoid making flooding conditions even more extreme.

“The decision to keep Hume Dam at 96 or 97 per cent full means there is limited capacity to absorb any risks of any large rain event in mountain catchments,” Louise said.

“Rules around the management of Hume Dam do allow a level of airspace to absorb another large rainfall event, but authorities are not enacting these

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

rules even though there are no risks to irrigation interests if the rule was used to help mitigate flood risks.

“The risk of catastrophic flooding is even worse than what we saw in 2016 when the Central Murray Floodplain Plan failed and farmers had their livelihoods washed away by dam releases.”

Louise said a reliance on millennium drought modelling had led to the decision to keep Hume Dam almost full. This was despite the combined risk of Dartmouth Dam sitting at full capacity, Victoria’s Lake Eildon Water also at 96 per cent, and other Victorian tributaries continuing to fill the Murray River.

“We look set to repeat the flood devastation of 2016 unless government officials and politicians acknowledge the risks and try to prevent as much damage as possible,” she said.

“In 2016, local farmers warned of the high risk of flood in a La Niña year but were ignored, and as a result the management of Hume Dam led to catastrophic flooding in the Murray Valley because authorities didn’t use existing airspace rules that could have helped reduce the severity of flooding.

“Our families have lived here for four generations. We know how flood risks occur, but calls by farmers closer to Albury and further downstream for authorities to implement existing airspace rules are being ignored,” Louise said. l

OUT OF THEIR DEPTH

Left to right: Flooding in the Gwydir Shire and Hume Weir. Farmers in the state’s south are concerned that water authorities aren’t preparing for severe flood risks in the Murray Valley, which saw severe flooding in 2016.

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The Muster

l TECHNOLO GY

New tag tech catches mock sheep rustlers Mock sheep rustlers were quickly caught redhanded stealing sheep from the University of New England’s SMART Farm as part of a recent rural crime prevention experiment.

Words MICHAEL BURT

T

he ‘mock stock theft’ trial conducted by the University of New England’s (UNE) Centre for Rural Criminology demonstrated the crime prevention capabilities of a new generation animal ear tag.

It involved monitoring data from 20 tagged sheep as they were moved from the UNE SMART Farm towards the Tamworth abattoirs, with near instant notifications alerting the research team to a problem.

Dr Kyle Mulrooney, co-director of the UNE Centre for Rural Criminology, said the mock theft highlighted that the new tag technology – designed by Australian company Ceres Tag – could promptly alert farmers to stock theft.

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“Twelve minutes after the arrival of the thieves, a formal ‘high activity alert’ was received from six of the 20 tags indicating the sheep were being ‘agitated’ – or moving much faster than normal – which suggests a problem,” Dr Mulrooney explained.

“A formal notification that the tags had then breached the established geofence – as the sheep were being ‘stolen’ – was received in 33 minutes.”

Through the constant feed of data, officers from the NSW Police Force’s Rural Crime Prevention Team (RCPT) were able to track and intercept the vehicle with the sheep within 25 minutes following notification of the theft, and recover the stock.

NO WO OL OVER THEIR EYES

Above: The new tag technology from Ceres Tag constantly monitors an animal’s activity and quickly alerts farmers to any unusual movement of their stock via their phone or mobile device.

“It’s a major step forward for farmers locally and globally,” Dr Mulrooney said. “Part of the issue this unique technology addresses is the ability to recognise that a stock theft has actually occurred in the first place, so it can be reported in a timely manner to police.

“This has been difficult in the past, given the distance, remoteness and considerable size of rural properties. This time lag often leaves little evidence and a reduced capacity for police to intervene.

“Stock theft has therefore been a relatively low-risk crime to commit, so it’s unsurprising that 44 per cent of NSW farmers that responded to the 2020 NSW Farm Crime Survey had experienced livestock theft, costing the state’s farmers tens of millions of dollars each year.”

The new Ceres Tag technology monitors an animal’s activity and can promptly alert farmers via their phone or mobile device of any unusual movement, based on a baseline pattern of the animal’s normal behaviour.

Using global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology, the Ceres Tag also monitors the wearer’s location. Bespoke alerts can also be programmed into software such as Mapipedia to promptly recognise any potentially serious activity, such as if the animal breaches a pre-determined geofence boundary.

“These alerts and continuous tracking capability can dramatically reduce the time lag that commonly occurs between the stock theft and reporting to authorities. This gives the police time to gather evidence, investigate, intervene and more rapidly recover the stolen stock.”

While Dr Mulrooney recommends continuing to collect data as it comes to light from reallife situations – not just from the controlled test environment – he is confident the technology can offer better protection and peace of mind for farmers.

“We are hopeful that improved technology such as Ceres Tag will increase confidence amongst farmers that these devastating crimes are able to be dealt with, resulting in a higher reporting of rural crimes and therefore a higher clearance rate.”

WARNING FOR LIVESTOCK RUSTLERS

“We’re coming for you,” said NSW Police Force State Rural Crime Coordinator Cameron Whiteside.

Detective Inspector Whiteside’s blunt warning for livestock thieves is buoyed by the addition of 10 new Rural Crime Investigators to his team this year.

The new positions will boost the total number of Rural Crime Investigators in action across the state to 53, up from 32 in 2017.

Detective Inspector Whiteside said the focus of the new boots on the ground was about reducing crime and minimising fear in rural communities.

“We don’t work in isolation though. We work hand-in-hand with NSW police officers in regional

districts during rural crime events, educating them about the impact of rural crime.

“We’ve also really grown our engagement with NSW Farmers and other key stakeholders like the NSW DPI, livestock carriers and livestock agents.”

Mr Whiteside said the quintessential crime is stock theft, whether that be cattle, sheep or goats.

“We estimate it adds up to about $5 million worth of stock each year, and that is conservative in terms of current market prices,” he said.

“We also deal with illegal hunting, trespassing, chemical and fuel theft, plant and equipment theft and the stealing of oysters. My strongest message to farmers is to report any rural crime by calling Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”

Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Dugald Saunders said the boost to the Rural Crime Investigator Squad will play a significant role in ensuring farmers feel supported and protected.

“With current input prices being so high and the value of livestock reaching near record levels, it’s critical that we remain vigilant with protecting primary producers from farm gate thieves,” Mr Saunders said. l

RUSTLERS BEWARE

Top to bottom: Dr Kyle Mulrooney, co-director of the UNE Centre for Rural Criminology, says that the Ceres Tag will help reduce livestock theft; NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin, NSW Police Force State Rural Crime Coorindator Cameron Whiteside and the Hon. Paul Toole MP.

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THE FARMER

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The Muster

l REMOTE FARMING

The farmers of Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island is loved for hiking, biking, seabirds and snorkelling. But this tiny Pacific paradise is also farmland for some of NSW’s most remote producers.

Words SUSAN ELLIOTT Photography KAZUAKI ONO

L

ord Howe Island is a spectacular speck of land, 600kms off the East Australian coast, directly east of Port Macquarie. It’s nicknamed the ‘Galapagos of Australia’ and Sir David Attenborough has described it as “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable”.

In 1982, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site of global natural significance with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else on earth.

The other natural wonder?

Rich, volcanic soil and lush pastures that make it possible to raise and grow almost anything under the sub-tropical sun.

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THE FARMER

MEET SOME LOCALS AND THEIR LIVESTOCK

Esven Fenton is an 86-yearold third-generation islander and cattle farmer, with a new herd of Angus on his hands. His eight cows and a bull arrived by barge in July to replace stock that had to be destroyed in 2019 ahead of the island’s rodent eradication scheme – a baiting session that lasted 100 days. The Lord Howe Island Board, which planned and oversaw the project pledged to help replace them. Esven’s new cows, all pregnant, are now delivering the island’s first calves in years.

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“We’re not about to feed the island with the beef!” Esven laughs. “Even though I’ve got probably one of the single biggest properties on the island, we could never supply the needs of 350 locals and 400 tourists.

At most, I could run about 22 head.”

Esven has 16 hectares of land, some of which is classified special lease – assigned for the sole purpose of agriculture.

Officially, it’s a case of “use it or lose it”, although that is rarely enforced.

The stumbling block for cattle growers, he says, is the lack of supplementary feed.

AUSTRALIA’S GALAPAGO S

Lord Howe Island is one of the most unique specks of land in Australia: a World Heritage-listed site with plants and animals found nowhere else on earth.

A VARIED LAND SCAPE

Clockwise from top: Sunset on Lord Howe Island; The rugged peaks of Mount Lidgebird and Mount Gower; A mass of strangler figs; the island is home to a diverse range of bird life, including the Lord Howe woodhen.

“Freight rates are enormous. We can’t afford to import feed. So, we have to run less animals per hectare than you would on the mainland.”

The barge also had 13 Dexter cattle on board. They went to Barrie Wise and Kate Dignam who are growing the small Irish breed, mainly for family.

“Growing Dexter here is easy. You don’t have to drench them, they’re all disease-free, you don’t have to worm and their meat is very, very good,” says Barrie.

Lord Howe Island’s only flock of sheep graze next to the airport. The reverse thrust of the daily Dash 8’s landing doesn’t faze them – they know what it’s like to fly. The 20 Aussie

White cross Wiltipoll ewes from Tenterdon Station (west of Guyra) made the two-hour charter flight from Port Macquarie in November 2020.

“And it wasn’t cheap!” says farmer Peter van Gelderen. “They had to be packed in custom-made crates. It was a first for the freight plane. And yes, they flew ‘cattle class’,” he laughs.

With 18 new lambs this season, his flock is clearly loving their island life.

“They are the best breed for the island,” he says. “No need to shear, which is good as we don’t have shearers! We don’t have hay bales and we don’t use fertiliser, it’s very different to farming on the mainland,” he adds. >

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THE FARMER

19

The Muster How does $1 a litre for fresh Jersey milk sound? That’s the going rate at the farmgate of Gower Wilson. He was barely walking when he milked his first cow. And at 82, he’s still handmilking – a Friesien and a Jersey cross – every afternoon. Locals leave their containers at the gate, Gower fills them then does a ‘milk run’ around the island. Yes, all for $1 a litre.

FERTILISER, CHOOKS AND FRUIT AND VEG A-PLENTY ISLAND LIFE

Clockwise from left: Workers at the island brewery; the Kentia palm nursery is a cultural hub for the community; Dexter cattle flourish on the island; local tomatoes grown by a fifth generation farmer.

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THE FARMER

“I’m tellin’ ya. If you get any of this on ya, your wife won’t like ya!”

Jack Schick is straining his latest batch of home-made liquid fertiliser. The 25-litre bucket of fish heads and compost, topped with water, has been “cooking” for three months. Jack struggles to breathe as the sloppy mix drips through shade cloth.

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

“If you did this in suburban Sydney, you’d have the cops at your door,” he says.

Jack’s a fifth generation islander and calls himself the “tomato man”. Yet he’s a lot more than that. Like his father, and grandfather, Jack is one of only two mountain guides allowed to escort hikers up Lord Howe’s famous landmark, Mount Gower. He has just logged his 2,500th climb of the 875m peak – a gutsy eighthour, 14km round trip across rugged terrain with dizzying drops and rope climbs. But his biggest buzz is caring for his 12 hives of Italian honeybees and 120 Grosse Lisse and Roma tomato plants. He also grows a supermarket-length inventory of fruit and vegetables – nourished, of course, with his stinky homemade fertiliser.

Metres from Lagoon Beach

is Thornleigh Farm. Five generations have worked this precious patch of land – since 1890 the Jeremy family has grown vegetables here, but they also tanned hides, ran a butcher’s shop, made ice, had a library, shipping agency and liquor store. Today, Robert Jeremy nurtures Brogden avocadoes, a delicious variety that each weigh a mighty 450 grams, citrus including Tahitian oranges and heritage ‘sumo’ mandarins that are unique to his property.

Ringing in the new, Cameron Kirkpatrick and Jessie Owens (sixth generation islanders) are set to launch Lord Howe’s first mushroom farm – growing Oysters, Lion’s Mane and Shiitake.

“Mushrooms have a short shelf life and we’re in an area that’s remote so to get something

here within a few days of picking is expensive if you air freight and sometimes that’s not viable,” says Cameron. He and Jessie also raise two children. And 60 chickens.

“We’ve got Australorp, Isa Brown, Silkie, Frizzle, Leghorn and Maran. We sell dozens of eggs to restaurants, but we love to barter. There’s a fisherman who we swap eggs for fish, there’s another person we swap a dozen eggs for a sourdough.

Wherever possible, we prefer goods over money. It connects like-minded people as well and has people sharing the load.”

WORLD FAMOUS EXPORTS

The Kentia Palm – endemic to Lord Howe Island – is one of the most popular plants in the world.

Thank Queen Victoria for that.

She loved the palm and they filled her castles, turning them into a symbol of style and wealth.

They even decorated the Veranda Cafe on the Titanic.

In 2013, Michael Maxwell had the vision to make the island’s famous Kentia nursery a cultural hub for the community.

Now, glasshouses bursting with vegetables – cucumbers, tomatoes, butter lettuce, cos, eggplant, butternut pumpkins and broccoli – frame a grassed courtyard where locals and

tourists picnic to savour the produce. It’s cooked at an onsite cafe, kids make their own crazy creations for the pizza oven and a new brewery uses nursery plants and endemic species – such as Bully Bush – to flavour their beer.

The original business of harvesting Kentia seeds by hand, germinating and growing for export is a tradition the family continues.“We ship over 400,000 per year,” says Timothy Maxwell.

“We’re the only place in the

world to access what we call the ‘mother seed’, from the endemic plant in its natural habitat.”

The Maxwells, like everyone, respect the responsibility of living and farming on a World Heritage listed island.

Biosecurity is a term that often crops up. If the fortnightly cargo ship is compromised, everyone goes without supplies for a month. It’s frustrating, but they manage, knowing one of the most precious botanical islands on earth depends on it. l

KEEP PALM AND CARRY ON

The Kentia Palm is endemic to the island and was popularised around the world by Queen Victoria – they even decorated the Veranda Cafe on board the Titanic.

Photo: 3L Photography

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The big picture

Resolving the labour shortage in ag Major harvests are underway, but worker shortages are hurting the sector for the third year in a row. Whether it is changes to pension eligibility or recruiting family members over busy harvest periods, responses to the problem have been varied and creative.

–

Words EMILY SIMPSON

I

n a period of significant disruption, labour shortages have been an unwanted constant for the farming sector. Businesses across various commodities have been struggling to shore up enough workers – from skilled to unskilled – to pick, pack and process food and fibre. A slump in migration and a competitive domestic labour market are key contributors, but a melting pot of factors has added to a predicament few farmers have been in before.

18 hours pensioners could work per fortnight before their payment was compromised.

“I know plenty of retirees who want to help farmers with the harvest. We need to be embracing any opportunity to find workers,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense for pensioners to play a role in the seasonal workforce. If they are travelling around Australia in their RV, why not stop off at farms and help pick fruit along the way?”

WHAT ABOUT BACKPACKERS?

NOT A UNIQUE PROBLEM

Agriculture is not the only sector suffering from the legacy of Covid19 travel restrictions. Despite borders reopening at the start of the year, migration to Australia remains low compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Worker shortages were a key discussion point at the Albanese government’s inaugural Jobs and Skills Summit held in early September, where the government announced Australia’s migration cap would be increased by 35,000 places and pensioners would be eligible for a $4,000 income bank credit to allow them to work without their pension being affected.

NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin says while the changes are welcome, they do not come close to what NSW Farmers was calling for – a threefold increase to the

22

THE FARMER

Backpackers typically make up the bulk of Australia’s seasonal agricultural workforce. The number of backpackers who returned to Australia in early 2022 – which the National Farmers’ Federation estimates to be about 7,000 – is a drop in the ocean compared to the 40,000 here before the pandemic. Changes under the UK’s free trade agreement with Australia mean British backpackers – who have typically made up about a quarter of the horticultural workforce – are no longer required to carry out 88 days of farm work to extend their working holiday visas.

Geoff Moar, a Riverina-based potato and cereal cropper and member of the NSW Farmers Horticulture Committee, says the shortage of backpackers has created a hole in the seasonal workforce. >

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

HELP WANTED

Farmers are finding varied and creative ways to find workers due to another season of severe labour shortages.

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THE FARMER

23

THE BIG PICTURE LABOUR SHORTAGE

“The past 12 months have been the hardest I have ever experienced in terms of getting casual labour.

I’ve never seen it like this before. The backpackers are just not there.

“It’s not just farmers, though. I drive into town and every shop has a sign up saying they are looking for staff. It just goes to show how many jobs had been filled by backpackers before. We took them for granted.”

HOW IS THE INDUSTRY GETTING INNOVATIVE?

When it comes to finding workers, farmers might be inadvertently going about it the wrong way.

That is according to the founder of Seasonal Work Australia, Heidi Morris, who uses social media to connect workers with farmers – primarily around her native Moree, but also Wagga Wagga and even Western Australia.

Heidi says when looking for workers, farmers need to start embracing people who might not have years of work experience but have a good attitude and an ability to show up.

“I have worked cropping seasons for the last eight years, and I know firsthand that attitude is the most important thing,” Heidi said. “I also know from experience that Gumtree ads tend to not work very well because potentially great employees are turned off by experience requirements and how impersonal the ads can be. People are reaching out to me on Instagram because they feel more comfortable there, and the process is a lot more straightforward.”

WHAT ABOUT FAMILY?

Oliver Pope is typical of his generation. Despite having strong ties to his family farm – a mixed egg and cropping enterprise spread across three properties near Goulburn and Cooma – he relocated to Sydney in his twenties to pursue study and work. But after the retirement of two long-serving farm staff, and a “revolving door” of workers, Oliver and his family decided it was time for him to return to the farm full-time.

“I’d been travelling between Sydney and Goulburn regularly, and my brother was already back there fulltime from the city. But I eventually realised I needed to move back to help ease the stress of staff shortages,” he said.

“Maintenance jobs and improvements on the farm were being delayed because my brother, who manages the egg farm, was having to cover staff shortages in the egg packing room and deliveries to customers.”

Oliver has no regrets. He says his new role has enabled him to spend more time with his family and ease their workload. “It really makes a difference when you’ve all got the same goal in mind when working together,” he said.

MAKING A BROADER IMPACT

According to the newly formed Food Supply Chain Alliance, 172,000 workers are needed across Australia’s food supply chains to avoid food shortages

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THE FARMER

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

and higher food prices. Australian consumers are not naive to the possibility of such outcomes. During the year, the cost of fresh food items spiralled amid supply issues caused by flooding in key growing regions. In June, the Consumer Price Index reached its highest level in 21 years at 6.1 per cent.

Labour access issues are part of a ‘bigger picture’ that may well end with the consumer, but where do they begin?

According to Geoff Moar, it’s in the classroom.

“Agriculture is deemed a low-priority option for school leavers, and this has a lot to do with the way the sector is portrayed at school,” Geoff says. “This outdated image of farmers holding pitchforks and chewing straw still does the rounds, even though it is clearly not representative or accurate. The sector is fast-evolving, and it uses state-of-the art technology and sophisticated practices.”

Geoff laments that while Australians have grown more appreciative of farmers over recent years, the profession is still not respected as much as it should be and more needs to be done to raise the sector’s profile.

“Agriculture might well be the backbone of Australia’s food security and regional economies, >

GETTING SO CIAL

Top to bottom: Backpackers at work; Pensioners are now eligible for a $4,000 income bank credit to allow them to work without their pension being affected. NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin says “It makes a lot of sense for pensioners to play a role in the seasonal workforce.”

www.evokeag.com

THE BIG PICTURE LABOUR SHORTAGE

RAISING AWARENES S

NSW Farmers delivers the Kids to Farms program, which is funded by the federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The program offers farm excursions or classroom incursions with a single purpose: to raise primary students' awareness of how food and fibre is produced.

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THE FARMER

but I don’t think it is seen that way. Changing peoples’ perceptions would make it easier to attract skilled workers.”

egg comes first. Would having more housing in the regions make it easier to attract and retain workers, or do the workers need to be ready and available before the buildings go up?

WORKERS NEED HOUSES

Housing availability and affordability are often cited as key factors in ongoing labour shortages in regional areas. In what has been labelled a crisis, rental prices in some regional areas have almost doubled and property vacancies have reached single figure territory.

Data obtained on 13 September 2022 showed 17 rental vacancies in cropping hub Moree, where there were also 112 jobs advertised. In Griffith on the same day, there were just six rental vacancies and 300 jobs going.

Heidi Morris puts the competitive rental market in Moree down to Inland Rail workers being in town, and says it is affecting more industries than just agriculture.

“How are we going to attract doctors and nurses, who are already in short supply in regional areas, when they can’t find somewhere to live?” she queried.

According to Claire McClelland, chief executive of horticultural industry body Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, accommodation is the main limitation for employers in finding workers.

“It’s something the horticulture industry and agriculture more broadly need to get serious about,” she said. “Currently, there are several roadblocks.

There’s just not enough houses available in regional towns and council restrictions can make it difficult to build housing on-farm. Some farmers have resorted to purchasing properties in town.”

When it comes to housing for seasonal workers, experts have questioned whether the chicken or the

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

THE DEDICATED AGRICULTURAL VISA

Having a dedicated agricultural visa in place was a key industry policy driven by the NFF Horticulture Council. While it was adopted by the former Coalition government earlier in the year, it has been redirected by the current Labor government to the PALM scheme.

According to Claire McClelland, PALM is one of the main migration pathways farmers use to find workers for their farms. There are currently 20,000 workers in Australia under PALM, which is a consolidation of the Seasonal Worker Program and the Pacific Labour Scheme.

But Claire says one of the scheme’s main limitations is the six-month minimum period an employer must engage a worker.

“That six-month minimum is far longer than the typical duration of most horticultural harvests, leaving businesses in a tricky position,” she said.

While this requirement could change following a review of the scheme’s guidelines, Claire says a middle ground needs to be found between the reliability of PALM and the flexibility of the Working Holiday Maker (backpacker) programs.

“The PALM is great because many workers will return to Australia with the same employer year after year, so they become quite skilled,” she said. “If we can reach an outcome where workers can be engaged by multiple employers over the six months, as was tested in a pilot a few years ago, then that would be an ideal outcome.” l

TM

www.carbonlink.com.au

THE BIG ISSUE SAFETY

Safety first on farms According to data from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2021), one in five workplace fatalities happen on farms in Australia. NSW Farmers supports initiatives as well as workplace and behaviour changes that will reduce that number.

–

Words JEANETTE SEVERS

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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

A

UNITED WE STAND

Above and clockwise: Advocate with #PlantASeedForSafety, Chloe Dutschke, formerly a contract musterer across NSW; NFF president Fiona Simson; Owner of Kahmoo Pastoral Co, Kym Thomas (standing) with her family.

ccording to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there are about 87,400 farms in Australia, and 99 per cent of those are family-owned and operated. The Australia agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector employed an equivalent 318,000 people in 2021.

According to ABARES, the figure of 318,000 people applies only to Australian residents. In addition to this, it is estimated there is more than 35,000 people employed on Australian farms as overseas workers. They are among more than 1.6 million people employed along the agricultural supply chain in Australia.

At the recent Jobs and Skills Summit, held at Parliament House in Canberra in early September, National Farmers’ Federation president, Fiona Simson, said Australian agriculture is forecast to surpass $83 billion this financial year, despite significant workforce shortages.

The 2030 vision for Australian agriculture is an industry that is producing $100 billion per annum in food and fibre products. NSW Farmers is a partner in that goal, to deliver production valued at $30 billion by 2030.

Dependent on delivering those goals is a reliable, skilled workforce.

The Australian Government Roadmap to attract, retain, upskill and modernise the agricultural workforce, released in March 2021 at the same time as the National Agricultural Workforce Strategy, highlighted the need to modernise agriculture’s image, attract and keep workers, embrace innovation, build skills for modern agriculture, and treat workers ethically.

“People are critical. Right now, we know we have at least 170,000 vacancies in the workforce right across the supply chain,” Ms Simson said at the Jobs and Skills Summit.

Ms Simson endorsed an industrial relations system with enshrined workforce protections for the agricultural sector.

“Obviously the welfare of our workers and our people is critical,” she said. “We need to keep doing better in this space. We want to

attract Australians to our sector and we need increased migration streams, and appropriate visas and pathways to help fill the diversity of roles at all skill levels.”

In the outcomes statement from the summit, on the last page, the last paragraph is the only specific reference to agriculture: ‘Government, industry and unions will pursue solutions to better skill, attract, protect and retain workers in the agriculture sector through a tripartite agriculture workforce working group’.

Without referring specifically to the food and fibre sector, the summit outcomes statement does refer to the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme as part of a raft of recommendations to increase numbers of migrants to meet skilled labour shortages (including in regional areas) and to improve accountability around employment of migrant workers – including accountability about migration worker exploitation.

Workforce safety on the farm is a serious risk for everyone and accountability extends from machinery use to bullying practices, and includes drug and alcohol use, needlestick injuries, fatalities, an emergency response plan, and everything in between.

Among the risks is the transient nature of much employment within the farming sector – short term, backpackers, travellers, overseas workers, and contractors – which requires ongoing induction and review of safety practices and policies on the farm.

Most of the workers on farm are contractors. Almost equally spread among the remaining workforce are people working in a transient manner while travelling, permanent workers and family members. People employed through the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility scheme are a small percentage of the overall number.

Such a transient workforce raises risks around workplace safety responsibilities for farmers.

A five-minute health and safety check – the face of the Plant a Seed for Safety program – could be the difference ensuring someone returns home at the end of the day. Advocate >

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THE FARMER

29

THE BIG ISSUE SAFETY

with #PlantASeedForSafety, Chloe Dutschke, formerly a contract musterer across NSW, said conversations about health and safety were best done in toolbox sessions before and after jobs and during planning sessions, rather than within the pressure of work.

Chloe said she escaped serious injuries in a motorbike accident with a kangaroo because she was wearing a safety helmet and boots. Fortunately she was also wearing a radio and was able to call a co-worker for help, who organised for her to be transported to hospital. Communication is a serious consideration when a lot of mustering work is done in remote areas.

WORKSHOPS AND LEARNING CURVES

The Australian government recently committed $1.6 million to improve farm safety – specifically to improve farm safety practices and behaviour through a focus on increasing awareness and developing education tools and accredited training.

Intended audiences include school children, secondary school aged adolescents, teachers,

producers, station communities on remote pastoral properties, and specific industry targeted training through Grain Growers Ltd and Cotton Australia Ltd. Delivery tools will range from face-to-face workshops to app-based and online interactive game-based resources, webinars, farm visits with follow-up coaching that engages all farm business partners, creation of farm safety plans using peer-topeer learning, and tool kit discussions that integrate mental health, financial stresses and farm safety.

The pilot program delivered by Grain Growers Ltd will be multi-lingual.

NSW Farmers endorses the NSW Farm Safety Advisory Program, recognising that tools and support are needed that address the complexities of farming across the State.

SAFETY ON FARMS FOR CONTRACTORS

One of the most significant legal changes is the obligation of the farm business owner towards contractors – an obligation that was tested in court in 2019 and remains relevant.

Study – Kahmoo Pastoral Company Kahmoo Pastoral Company – an Australian White Sheep stud and commercial fat lamb operation and a multigenerational farming business with properties in NSW and Queensland – employs family members, contractors, overseas and backpacker workers and provides work experience opportunities for students.

Owner, Kym Thomas, said workers were employed for sheep husbandry, mustering and preparing livestock for sale, property maintenance that included troughs, machinery and repairing and building fences and stockyards, as well as establishing and managing forage crops and improved pastures. Planes, motorbikes and sideby-sides are used as transport around the properties.

Ongoing professional development is offered to the company’s employees, and Kym points out that various jobs require staff to work independently at times.

She contacted the NSW Farmers’ Farm Safety Advisory Program with some key concerns. Firstly, the difference in legislation between states regarding Work Health and Safety (WHS), and the fact that staff often worked on their

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THE FARMER

own. She also said there was limited ability for regular discussions about farm and workplace safety, and there was a need for tools and resources that were practical, adopted best WHS practice that would enable everyone to demonstrate their knowledge regarding farm safety.

During the border closures throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, telephone and emails were relied on for communication between the two properties. This extended to implementing an online electronic WHS book for the business.

“Employees could read, sign and refer to the electronic resources as required,” Kym said. “Everyone was able to keep up-to-date with the latest Covid-19 requirements in each workplace.

Safety Advisory Program for advice.

“Employees attended a drone course and used information about the safe operation of side-by-side vehicles, to enable them to work in a safer manner,” Kym said.

Drones are now being used on the farms to monitor livestock, bores and water troughs in real time. Other autonomous machinery have been developed to broadcast herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and even to aerial broadcast seed, particularly as infill where crops fail in patches.

Kym and her business partner Tony Reid recently attended a NSW Farmers’ BOSS skills workshop with its focus on farm owners and managers and ensuring they are up to date with their obligations to employees.

“Over time we’ve refined the information and our online WHS templates have now become a critical tool in the induction process of new employees and contractors. Using computer templates also means records can be updated and remain relevant for the two properties.”

This included employee management, including termination of employment, changes in the award entitlements including the status of regular casual employees, and the option to employ international workers.

The business recently adopted the use of side-by-side vehicles and drones, and Kym and her team looked to the Farm

“We’re now happy with the WHS framework we have in place at Kahmoo,” Kym said.

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

SAFETY FIRST

Left: Advocate with #PlantASeedForSafety, Chloe Dutschke and her dog while mustering; Below: A breakdown on who is actually working on farms in Australia.

A contractor fell from a motorbike on a remote northwest NSW farm and “sustained skull fractures which were capable of causing his death,” according to Judge Scotting, quoted in an ABC report.

The judge found the serious injury or death of a contractor from a fall or collision involving a motorcycle was predictable, especially because the contractor was not wearing a safety helmet.

The farm operator, KD & JT Westbrook Pty Ltd, was found guilty in the NSW District Court of failing to provide a safe work environment.

SafeWork brought the case to court, alleging that KD & JT Westbrook failed in its duty under work safety legislation. The farm operator relied on a station manager to supervise workers and contractors and their duties.

Judge Scotting said the defendant failed to require the deceased to wear a helmet or failed to give him sufficient information to make an informed choice to wear a helmet.

According to Safe Work Australia, an employer or person conducting a business has a legal duty to eliminate or minimise risks to the health and safety of workers and visitors in their farming business.

NSW Farmers, through the NSW Farm Safety Advisory Program, advises ensuring employees and contractors understand why a control measure is in place, to increase their level of acceptance – particularly if it’s a changed workplace procedure.

This could include using engineering to eliminate any need to work from heights, using personal protective equipment, or ensuring guards are always in place on machinery and equipment.

A critical factor in this relationship is ensuring written procedures are developed and practiced that support managers and workers to identify and manage health and safety risks, implement anti-bullying policies, limit exposure time to a hazardous task, and use signs to warn people of a hazard. l

https://www.nsw.gov.au/

mental-health-at-work/wor kplace-wellbeing-assessm ent?utm

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INNOVATION POULTRY PRODUCTION

Geothermal powered poultry meat A new hybrid geothermal and solar energy system could dramatically reduce emissions and energy costs for more than 800 Australian poultry farms.

–

Words MICHAEL BURT

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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

T

he Zerafa family’s renewable energy journey has stepped into the realms of using direct geothermal technology to further reduce heating and cooling costs on their poultry farm.

In an Australian-first for the poultry meat industry, their farm at Yanderra is a testing site for a new hybrid geothermal and solar heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

The University of Melbourne has teamed up with geothermal companies Ground Source Systems and Fourth Element Energy to install a 100-200 kilowatt (kW) geothermal heat pump system to work in unison with an existing 99kW solar system.

Early trial results indicate an 85 per cent reduction in gas usage for the geothermal powered shed compared to a control shed using traditional LPG-powered heaters and evaporative coolers.

It’s welcome news for the Zerafa family farm, which has an annual gas bill of around $140,000.

“We are excited about leading the way with this new technology and potentially expanding its use across more of our sheds,” said farm manager Simon Zerafa.

“We expect that another benefit of the system is that it will reduce chick mortality by removing the humidity associated with gas heating in existing systems.”

Ground Source Systems director Brad Donovan said they are working on refinements to further boost the power of the hybrid system.

“We’ve had a few teething issues, including dealing with the dusty environment that can occur on the farm,” Brad said.

“We had a similar issue when we first tested a geothermal system on a poultry farm on the Central Coast. We have been testing different filter mediums at Yanderra and have been getting better results.”

Brad said the project’s aim is to produce a report based in the Yanderra system that sets out a clear cost benefit analysis for poultry farmers.

“We are also exploring ways that farmers can be assisted with the upfront costs of retrofitting hybrid systems,” Brad said.

“There still needs to be gas in the tanks for emergencies, but the goal is to remove the annual gas bill. Instead of the farmer paying the gas company, we run the geothermal system giving the farmer significant cost savings.

“This project is a world first in terms of a direct comparison on one farm. It would never have happened if it wasn’t for the input of the University of Melbourne.”

GEOTHERMAL FIRES UP CARBON CREDENTIALS

Across Australia, annual energy bills for poultry farms amount to approximately $80-$100 million, and despite boasting good carbon credentials, they emit around 1.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

University of Melbourne Professor Guillermo Narsilio said the project team has identified 827 poultry farms across Australia that meet the conditions needed to transition to hybrid geothermal and solar energy.

“Australia is in an ideal position to lead the development of this technology and reap the benefits in several intensive farming sectors,” Professor Narsilio said. >

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INNOVATION POULTRY PRODUCTION

Renewable energy scheme darkens solar expansion George Zefara said the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target (RET) scheme is limiting the family’s solar expansion aspirations.

George, wife Katrina and son Simon run the poultry meat farm at Yanderra that is the test site for the hybrid geothermal system. It already boasts a 99kW solar system that is paying for itself, but George wants to take more advantage of the sun’s energy.

“Our electricity bill now is about $15,000 a month in summer and around $6,500 in winter. The solar system we have has reduced the costs by around $4,000 per month in summer and $1,500 in winter,” George said.

“It was a wise investment, but our hands are tied behind our back when it comes to wanting to expand our solar system. Once you get past 99 kilowatts, you are classed as a power station,” he explains. “We would like to install more solar panels, but are not eligible for the rebate if you are over 100kW.” The federal government provides solar rebates as an incentive for small and large solar systems under the Renewable Energy Target (RET).

Solar systems under 100kW are classed as small-scale and are eligible for the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), which works by issuing Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) to help with installation costs.

Solar projects greater than 100kW are treated differently, with separate segments known as the Large-Scale Renewable Energy Target (LRET). Incentives are provided through Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) and there are no upfront rebates.

The market price for LGCs has crashed in recent years due to large number of commercial solar projects being commissioned, making it unviable for farmers like George.

“It’s a big problem for our business and other poultry farms,” he says. “It’s another one of the reasons why we are happy to be involved in this trial to reduce our gas costs. It’s still early days, but we do believe the geothermal system will work in doing that.”

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“We have world-class engineering expertise, ideal solar conditions, and the space to install geothermal systems.

If we can achieve 15 to 20 per cent market uptake in the Australian poultry industry, it would reduce at least one tenth, or 160,000 tonnes of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.”

The project is funded through a $318,000 grant from the Federal Government’s Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which supports the global transition to net zero emissions by accelerating pre-commercial innovation.

ARENA CEO Darren Miller said the project should provide an important case study to drive uptake across the sector.

“Heat pumps represent a viable alternative to traditional heating systems in helping to reduce emissions from Australia’s meat and poultry industry,” Darren said.

“Ground Source Systems is showing what’s possible with the demonstration scale project and we’re hoping that the valuable knowledge gained will encourage even the larger poultry companies to jump on board and look to heat pumps as a viable solution for their energy needs and net zero goals.”

The project team estimates the new system could reduce the sector’s total greenhouse gas emissions by around

one million tonnes CO2 from 1.8 million tonnes to 0.8 million tonnes per annum, with 100 per cent uptake.

“The hybrid energy costs for farmers would be between 75 and 90 per cent less than existing systems, subject to the farm operation method, with installation costs likely to be fully recovered within three to six years,” Darren said.

GUIDELINES PUBLISHED FOR CHICKEN MEAT FARMS

The AgriFutures Australia Chicken Meat program has published new environmental and planning guidelines for new and experienced farmers.

The guidelines include environmental management recommendations, development application planning and innovative p o w e r, w a t e r, l o c a t i o n a n d infrastructure designs and plans.

AgriFutures Australia Chicken Meat Program Research Manager, Annie Lane, said the guidelines – a national first – will play a key role in encouraging environmental and socially sustainable development of and production on Australian chicken meat farms.

“The guidelines provide a simpleto-use framework with essential information to help the chicken meat industry adhere to principles of

P OULTRY PRODUCTION TO SAVE THE PLANET

Professor Guillermo Narsilio says that if Australia can achieve 15 to 20 per cent market uptake of using geothermal power in poultry production, it would reduce 160,000 tonnes of the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

FROM THE GROUND UP

Top left then clockwise: A farm’s chicken yard after the geothermal infrastructure has been installed and covered; Ground Source Systems Director Brad Donovan with poultry farmer George Zefara; The innovative hybrid geothermal and solar application in the ground before being covered and put to use.

BY PHIL SOMERVILLE

environmental sustainability, as well as drive the industry’s economic development,” Annie said.

“Chicken meat production uses the least amount of water of all intensive livestock industries and has the lowest greenhouse gas footprint.

These factors are essential when considering the sustainability of the industry and the impact on the Australian environment.”

According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, chicken meat has the lowest environmental footprint of any meat, largely because chickens are highly efficient converters of feed into meat.

A comprehensive environmental impact report accepted by the CSIRO in September has backed the industry’s green credentials. It determined the carbon footprint, fossil energy use, fresh water consumption and land occupation impacts for conventional and free-range production systems.

The ‘Environmental impact assessment of the poultry industry in Australia: chicken meat’ report highlighted further room for improvement with alternative feed proteins, technology adoption and practice change to maintain or reduce impacts as production expands to meet consumer demand. l

What is direct geothermal energy?

Direct geothermal energy uses the ground as a heat source in winter and a heat sink in summer for heating and cooling buildings.

The technology involves using ground loops and heat pumps.

Water is circulated through the ground loops, which comprise of pipes built into building foundations, or into specifically drilled boreholes or trenches.

In winter, heat contained in the circulating water is extracted by a ground source heat pump (GSHP) and used to heat the building. The cooled water is reinjected into the ground loops to heat up again to complete the cycle.

In summer, the system is reversed with heat taken out of the building and dumped to the ground.

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A well-oiled machine Weather has impacted the yield from Australia’s olive harvest, with rain affecting production volumes, but innovation is helping the industry to roll on.

–

Words JEANETTE SEVERS

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INDUSTRY OLIVES

Olive groves are also complementing organic farming practices. At Wymah Organic, Mary Done combines table olives and olive oil production alongside pasture-grazed sheep and cattle in an accredited organic agriculture system.

Last year, the fruit harvest from NSW groves saw about 20,000 tonnes of olive oil produced, more than doubling 2020 production of this biennial crop.

There are 32 olive processors in NSW, with two of them producing up to or more than one tonne of fruit – Rylstone Olive Press and Rylstone and White Chapel Grove at Colo Vale.

STATE OF PLAY IN 2022

T

he olive industry in Australia began with groves planted by early Europeans, but there was a major increase in interest and investment in olives in the 1990s, with a focus on two specific products – olive oil and table olives.

There are over 10 million trees growing across about 21,000 hectares, mostly in southern Australia.

Most groves are concentrated to a couple of dozen producers, but small growers are still a critical part of the industry. Olive oil accounts for about 96 per cent of exports, with table olives accounting for the rest.

There is an increasing global demand for high quality extra virgin olive oil – commonly referred to these days as EVOO – and many NSW regions are ideal for growing olive groves to produce it.

Olive groves vary from one hectare to 300 hectares and are planted in NSW across a diverse range of environments from the subtropical north coast to the western Riverina.

The NSW olive industry consists of 6,193 hectares of groves, which is about 15 per cent of the total area in Australia planted to olives. Only Victorian and South Australian groves produce more olives.

As a recognised tree crop, olive trees have been integrated into vineyards and livestock enterprises in NSW. Eagles Rest Wines and Adina Winery, both in the Hunter Valley, have diversified into olive oil production. The fruit complement each other, with different harvesting times.

SHAKING THINGS UP

A tree shaker in action.

Shaking the olive tree is the most common way commercial growers harvest fruit.

According to Michael Southan, CEO of the Australian Olive Association, 2022 was considered an ‘off year’ for some growers in the biennial cycle of fruit production.

This meant many groves would not produce a bumper harvest, while other growers’ trees were in their ‘on’ production year. Some producers were able to hire teams to handpick their fruit – a much slower method than mechanical harvesting – which would have led to fruit spoilage.

Torrential rains across the east coast have influenced the cost of production, fruit set and increased the risk of sooty mold to many olive groves.

Unfavourable conditions including floods in the Hunter Valley meant pollination was reduced in many groves and this was detrimental to fruit sets.

While growers in other parts of NSW were affected less by the wet weather, the shortage of labour and fertiliser, and freight inefficiencies across Australia’s agricultural sector is also impacting on the olive industry.

Michael said harvest was mixed across the country – some olive groves yielded well this year, while others had little or no fruit to harvest.

Fortunately, irrigation costs have been lower because of the ongoing wet season and low water prices.

“The groves that performed well are showing the benefits of tree regeneration and pruning, while other groves suffered from insect damage or ongoing heavy rain, meaning it was too wet to mechanically harvest the fruit,” Michael said.

About half of Australia’s olive trees were at risk from persistent pests and diseases, including the olive lace bug and scale. A strong focus of the industry is disease control and biosecurity, which includes on-farm industry development activities focussed on irrigation, disease and pest control, as well as pruning.

EMBRACING THE FUTURE

Integrated pest management and technology are part of the future of the olive industry in Australia.

Apps enable growers to use desktop and mobile technology to access satellite imagery about groves.

This is an area with huge potential, including understanding topography and the climatic impacts.

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commercial growers to assess the ability of remote sensing technology to assess disease risk, plant health and monitor water use.

The Australian olive industry, in a partnership with government, Hort Innovation and Western Sydney University, funded an integrated pest and disease management extension program that aims to connect growers with current practical information and advice, with a particular focus on black scale, olive lace bug and anthracnose.

On-farm workshops, online tutorials, fact sheets and industry training are part of the ongoing rollout of this project.

Research led by NSW DPI is focused on identifying yield impact against irrigation deficits of 50 and 75 per cent. Water deficit treatments are being implemented at an olive grove operated by Boundary Bend Olives in the Riverina, using remote sensing to monitor the health of the trees and identify plant stress experienced by the trees. These results will be correlated with final fruit yield, oil yield and oil quality.

The research is a collaboration between NSW DPI, University of New England, Central Queensland University, Boundary Bend Olive Groves, Hort Innovation and the

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

Growers continue to favour growing olives to produce EVOO. Webinars and the two-day Processing Course were well attended in 2022, focusing on grove management for optimal fruit production, and best-practice processing and storage.

International research measuring the effect of hot temperatures and extreme weather events on plants is also expected to benefit olive trees, understanding how a warming climate influences a plant’s immune system and therefore its productivity, and whether breeding can make plants heat-resilient.

Autonomous vehicles (or robots) are gaining traction when it comes to harvesting and maintaining groves. Already robots are being used on 405,000 hectares of Australian farmland, particularly for slashing grass among groves, spraying herbicide and insecticide, mitigating the impact of climate and weather patterns, and compensating for the lack of workforce.

Swarm Farm has robots in Queensland, NSW and WA, distributing pesticides at a lower application rate.

Swarm Farm principal, Andrew Bate, said

the robots had cut pesticide application by about 580 tonnes across his customer base.

Mobile and internet connectivity was the key challenge for effective use of robots.

There is also the challenge of developing codes of practice for their use – a topic which is still being negotiated between industry groups and regulators.

Zero waste is another future focus of the industry, and conference attendees in October heard the latest about developing a closed loop supply chain in their production system. The pomace – minced skins, flesh and seeds, combined with water – results from the oil extraction process. Pomace is used as composting material and stock feed.

Some processers are burning crushed olive seeds in furnaces to provide energy to drive their oil extraction and processing systems.

As Australian agriculture moves towards a net zero carbon future, there are also opportunities for olive groves to increase in number across the landscape, providing a dual purpose – growing fruit above the ground and developing carbon sequestration underground to earn carbon credits that can be accounted against production emissions. l

O ODLES OF OLIVES

Crates of olives harvested from the central west region ready to be transported to a local press; Frantoio olives, which are suitable for table olives or pressing into olive oil. They have a pleasant nutty flavour when pickled.

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www.kings.edu.au

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE UKRAINE

With sword and sickle A local’s view on how farmers are living, working and surviving in the Ukraine during the invasion of Russian troops.

–

Words IHOR PAVLIUK

A

lmost every Ukrainian can call himself a farmer, because historically, our people settled around the country in small communities, reclaiming free fertile plots of land. Ukraine is located at the crossroads of key routes between Europe and Asia – so many invaders have passed through, but none of them have remained.

Therefore, every Ukrainian, when plowing the land, has always kept a sword near him in order to be ready at any moment to protect his family. Many centuries have passed, but this necessity remains relevant, because even a peaceful grain grower today is forced to become at least half a soldier.

centre of the country have an average annual amount of 400-500mm or more, then in the south and east severe droughts occur almost every year. Therefore, in these regions, farmers mainly sow winter wheat and barley as well as sunflowers.

On the other hand, farmers in the south of Ukraine were actively developing irrigation systems before the war. Excellent vegetables, watermelons and melons, and even rice was grown there. Now all this is either destroyed or captured by the Russian invaders. So for Ukranians, it was the first summer without the famous Kherson watermelons from the south. If a kilogram of watermelon in the store used to cost 15-20 cents, now it has become a product for the elite, that costs close to one dollar.

DELVING INTO THE LAND

ON THE FRONTLINE

Although Ukraine is 13 times smaller than Australia in size, it is the largest country in Europe and home to over 40 million people. Ukranian farmers cultivate approximately 42 million hectares of fields, and two-thirds of this area represents some of the most fertile soils in the world – called chernozems. This is a black, oily soil, which has a lot of potassium and phosphorus, and most importantly, humus.

Over the past decades of intensive use, Ukranian soils have been depleted, but they still allow farmers to get a high yield of many crops, often with a minimum amount of fertiliser. In those regions where a sufficient amount of moisture falls, the yield of corn can be from 10 to 14 tonnes per hectare, wheat from 6 to 10 tonnes, sunflowers from 3 to 5 tonnes, and the same amount of soybeans. Given that Ukrainian farmers use mineral fertilisers and pesticides sporadically, in a good year this allows them to maintain high profitability.

However, Ukraine, like many regions of Australia, is very dependent on rainfall. If the north, west and

If only the problems were just about watermelons.

On February 24, 2022, apocalyptic images unfolded before our eyes.

I was sleeping peacefully in my bed one night, knowing that I had to take my cat to an appointment in the morning. Then at 4:30am I was awakened by two explosions. My first thought was that perhaps a piece of roof fell from the house onto the car, due to strong winds. But a minute later my mother called to say that the war has begun.

I got dressed and rushed to the petrol station, because I read somewhere that in such cases the first thing to do is fill up the car. At the petrol station, I found out that both rockets exploded one and a half kilometres from my house on the territory of an old military unit.

Do you know what a person regrets in such moments? That they had not prepared for such a situation properly. That they did not have a large supply of fuel and medicine, no weapons and no secluded safe place to take their family.

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FARMING AND FLEEING

Top to bottom: Grain silos, factories and a village in Ukraine before the war began; Civilians leaving their homes in hope of safety, during the Russian invasion.

But this regret quickly passes because you understand that you will not be able to hide from the enemy, and that now your life and freedom are closely connected with the life and freedom of all your 40 million compatriots.

It is difficult for the average person to take care of themselves and their families during times of war, but imagine that at the same time the fate of several tens or hundreds of people depended on you? It was this challenge that the majority of Ukrainian farmers had to face, and to solve.

A very specific type of agribusiness has developed in Ukraine. Until 1991, all the land was cultivated by state collective farms. Each village had its own separate state farm.

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into small plots – shares, ranging from one to eight hectares, depending on the region. These shares were distributed to former workers of collective farms, and today they are owned by elderly people or their heirs.

However, until the summer of 2021, these plots could not be sold – only independently cultivated or leased to other farmers. So, in Ukraine, farms of a new type have appeared, with an area from several tens of hectares to several hundred thousand hectares.

But the average farmer has from 1,000 to 5,000 hectares of land, and such agricultural companies are in the majority. Almost all the land on which they grow bread is rented. Every year the farmers pay money or give grain to the owners of the land shares.

That is, in addition to hired workers, each Ukrainian farmer cooperates with several tens or hundreds of families from whom he rents land.

Typically, lease agreements are signed for five to six years. After this period, the owner of the land can choose any other farmer. To prevent this from happening, the farmer who is cultivating the land at the time is doing everything to keep this land for himself: he pays more per hectare, provides various bonuses, provides his equipment for free, and so on.

In fact, this is a real symbiosis of farmers and local residents. Indeed, in the settlements where the fields are located, there are roads, schools, first-aid posts

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PRODUCE AND PEOPLE

Top left then clockwise: Despite the raging war, farmers continue to find innovative ways to get around rising costs, in order to produce food and fibre for millions of people in Ukraine and beyond.

and other infrastructure. The state does not have the money to completely repair all this, so it is often farmers who use their money for repairs.

Therefore, when the war began, each farmer was forced to take care not only of his business, but also of his employees and the owners of the land shares that he leases. This is a voluntary social function that our farmers perform.

For example, a farmer I know from the south of Ukraine, in the first days of the war, began distributing flour and cereal to people so that they would have food in case the shops were closed. Another farmer from my town in central Ukraine was handing out milk from his farm, and his neighbours were handing out chicken eggs. This helped many people – psychologically as well – because when chaos threatens the country, it’s nice to realise that there are people who are ready to take on more responsibility and help other people.

But although farmers in Ukraine are considered rich people, it cannot be said that they easily survived the outbreak of the war. The end of February in Ukraine is the time when tractors are preparing to enter the field just before the start of spring field work. Most farmers were waiting for the supply of new equipment, spare parts, seeds, fertilisers and diesel fuel. And all of these resources are stuck in ports, in the warehouses of dealers, or have not yet arrived from abroad at all.

“When the war began, each farmer was forced to take care not only of his business, but also of his employees and the owners of the land shares that he leases.”

And a very serious problem began…

My friend farmer Sergyi had been waiting for an already paid seeder from Germany for six months – from the beginning of the war. It was miraculously not destroyed or stolen by the Russians in the south in the port, then they managed to transport it to Kyiv.

Then it was sent to the west of Ukraine, when fighting began near Kyiv, then on to the centre of Ukraine, and only six months later it fell into the hands of its owner in the south.

The problem was not only in stopping the supply of equipment, but also in the shortage of all other resources. Many farmers were forced to sow grain without fertilisers and pesticides, and in doing so, it halved the seeding rate.

The bigger problem – fuel shortages – started in March 2022 and lasted until July. After Russian cruise missiles hit a large oil refinery, Ukranians were left without fuel for cars and tractors. It was a real nightmare. I remember how, in order to pour 20 litres into the tank of a car, I stood in line for six hours at a petrol station. At the same time, it was still necessary to constantly monitor the situation, because gasoline and diesel fuel were brought in no more than once every seven to ten days. If you did not have time to stay in the queue, then you’d miss out on fuel.

It’s hard to imagine how Ukrainian farmers solved

THEN AND NOW

Top to bottom: A peaceful village in the mountains of Ukraine before the war; A volunteer hands out boxes of food and supplies to Ukrainians fleeing their country.

this problem, because they needed tens and hundreds of tons of diesel fuel in order to carry out their spring sowing campaign.

Many of them were forced to abandon spring tillage and save on the work of other units. In addition, if you managed to find fuel somewhere, then the price was two or more times higher than before the war.

So, if one litre of diesel cost 29 hryvnia ($1.41 AUD), now it costs 52 hryvnia ($2.50 AUD).

During the period of fuel shortage, the price rose to 65 to 75 hryvnias ($3.65 AUD) for one litre. In those regions that were close to the front or were occupied, 100 hryvnias ($4.87) was demanded for one litre.

Moreover, no one had any money, and they still don’t. Russia blocked the main sea route for exporting grain from Ukraine, so almost 20 million tons of unsold grain remained in the warehouses of Ukrainian farmers. Now the grains from the new crops have been added to this. Our farmers have adapted any buildings available and have turned them into granaries. And although for a month and a half ships with grain have been gradually heading out to sea, this problem is being solved very slowly. Only those farmers who have livestock farms and their own mills for food production are making things work.

It is very difficult for all Ukranians right now. Parts of fields will remain unsown, and now farmers sow winter wheat, barley and rapeseed without fertilisers, because there is no money.

However, although it sounds strange, they have managed to adapt to the conditions of the war. Our country’s economy was destroyed by 40 per cent, but it has slowly begun to recover. People have established new logistics and business connections and are developing new areas of production.

I’m sure everything will be fine. We cannot and do not have the right to retreat, because the Russian invaders spare no one, not even children.

I am writing these lines at a time when the Ukrainian army has gone on the offensive and is liberating dozens of cities and villages in the east and south of the country. This is creating an incomparable joy, along with such sorrow for the dead.

And I want to thank the people of Australia for the invaluable help they provide us. After all, some Ukrainian lives were saved by things such as the armoured vehicles sent by Australia.

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TRADE CHRISTMAS PRODUCE

BUTCHERS IN ARMS

Dave Bligh (left) and his nephew Andrew Bligh with some of their produce – ham, bacon and salami.

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THE CHRISTMAS RUSH Leg ham and turkey are great to eat all year round. However, the majority of sales take place in December. We talk with two producers about how they deal with the Christmas rush.

–

Words IAN LLOYD NEUBAUER Photography PAUL HENDERSON-KELLY

I

n the early 1960s, the father of Dave Blight – co-owner of Bringelly Pork and Bacon – bought 10 acres at Leppington in Western Sydney and started breeding pigs and chickens.

“I’m a second-generation farmer and now we have the third and fourth generations working here too,” says Dave. “Originally we sold our pigs to an abattoir but in the 1970s we built a meat processing plant and put a butcher’s shop at the front of the farm to sell directly to the public.”

The company’s top selling product is leg ham, which they sell most of at Christmas, and a lot of detailed planning goes into the process of getting them from paddock to plate.

“We start by choosing legs that are suitable for ham, trimming them and freezing them,” says Dave. “We then pull them out in early December and cure them, soak them, smoke and cook them. Then we package them ready for customers to take home and glaze.”

Time is obviously a limiting factor, so the plant runs 24 hours a day in December to make as much product as possible.

“We do a lot of maintenance and repairs in the last few months of the year to make sure we can make it through the Christmas rush, and that includes having a lot of backup mechanisms ready to go,” Dave explains.

“One year, about three weeks before Christmas, we melted the

electricity line right off the telegraph pole because we were using so much power. Because of our backup generators, we only suffered about six hours of downtime. The next day the electricity company came and installed a new fuse box. But if we didn’t have those generators, we would’ve lost a lot in sales.”

Labour is a challenge for the business, especially with staff shortages affecting the entire country.

“We’re a family business, we pull together and we also understand that our working days can be up to 16 hours long,” says Dave. “We usually have eight full-time staff but that doubles in December. We are also able to tap into our extended family who help us with rudimentary jobs such as putting sticky tape on boxes, filling plastic bags and answering the phone.”

To get everything done and make the most of the Christmas rush, everyone works through Christmas until January 8.

“We have lots of customers from different cultural backgrounds, including Orthodox Christians, and they celebrate Christmas on January 7. It’s nowhere as big as December 25, but it’s definitely worth keeping the business open,” Dave says.

Dave has some advice for other producers – and that’s to diversify.

“Selling all your product in one go and focusing on one thing is not an economically viable business model, no matter how much you earn, because >

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you need to keep your systems and people going all year round,” Dave says. “That’s why we’ve developed our own line of products including sausages and salamis. This is really top-quality stuff that we sell to butchers and to pizza shops. We believe our small goods are some of best in Australia.”

SUMMER’S BIGGEST TURKEY

“In 1999 I married my husband Angus and moved to his family farm at a little village called Murringo, near Young in the Southern Tablelands,” says Sonya Dowling of Enviroganic Farm – a certified organic chicken and turkey producer.

“Angus’ father was an old-school grazier but he was always interested in organic farming and followed organic practices long before there was such a thing as organic certification,” Sonya says.

“We did some research at the time and discovered there was a shortage of certified organic meat chickens, so we started with 50 chickens a week. It went really well and gradually increased that to 200 chickens a week, then started with organic turkeys.

By 2015, we were producing 5,000 to 6,000 certified organic turkeys every Christmas.”

During the first few years, Sonya confesses that the workload was manic, especially in December. In these early years, the business was using contractors in Sydney to do the processing.

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“We have lots of customers from different cultural backgrounds, including Orthodox Christians, and they celebrate Christmas on January 7. It’s nowhere as big as December 25, but it’s definitely worth keeping the business open.”

– DAVE BLIGH Co-owner of Bringelly Pork & Bacon

FAMILY BUSINES SES

Below left then clockwise: Sonya Dowling, husband Angus and their daughter Anna (19) on their Enviroganic Farm; Bringelly bacon arrives to a butcher; Andrew and Dave Bligh inspect some produce.

“They did their best but they would leave feathers on birds and spots of blood in the poly bags, closed with tie-ons – the shelf life was poor and the product was just not up to scratch,” says Sonya. “I was doing the sales and marketing myself – looking after all the smaller retailers and organic shops. I was burning the candle at both ends.”

Everything changed when the company started working with a big name brand.

“That step made our business what it is today,” Sonya says. “A few weeks before Christmas, contractors turned up with their trucks, machinery

FROM PADD O CK TO PLATE

Top left then clockwise: Free range, organic turkeys; Dave Bligh with one of his piglets; Butchered pork ready to be dispatched.

and catchers and transported the turkeys to their processing site not far from here. It was amazing to see them at work. They freight a percentage of the product and sell them under another brand.

Though most of it is sold under the Enviroganic Farm brand.”

Another thing that made the business a success was signing up distributors in each state.

“This allowed us to focus on what we are good at – production – leaving them to despatch our turkeys in stores. We still have to be super organised for the Christmas rush,” says Sonya.

“That means every year come June or July, I start requesting my distributors to place their orders, which

requires their orders from retailers,” Sonya explains.

“It’s not an exact science and we have to work with ballpark figures.

“Given organic turkeys are such a niche product – they take 12 to 13 weeks to grow from chicks which is a longer timespan than conventional turkeys – we all have to work as a team to avoid disappointment.

“Some leave it to the last minute and call me a few days before Christmas asking for 10 turkeys! l

Note: Due to Covid-19 and the labour shortage crisis, Enviroganic Farm will sadly not have certified organic turkeys available this Christmas.

They will be back in 2023! l

Spiced honey and orange glazed Christmas ham INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• 3/4 cup of orange juice • 1 cup sieved orange marmalade • 1 cup of honey • ¼ cup Grand Marnier or whisky • ½ teaspoon of nutmeg • 5kg leg of Australian ham • 60 cloves

1. Remove the skin from the ham carefully to expose the fat.

2. Score the fat into diamonds and stud the ham with cloves.

3. Combine orange juice, nutmeg, honey, marmalade and Grand Marnier into a saucepan and simmer over low heat until the ingredients have dissolved. Continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

4. Place ham into a large baking dish and brush with the glaze.

5. Bake ham in the preheated oven at 170° Celsius for one hour, basting frequently.

Recipe provided by Australian Pork NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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ore farmers across New South Wales could soon be swinging their gates open to visitors, thanks to a new policy that makes it easier to set up small-scale agritourism opportunities. This includes running activities such as farm experiences, cellar doors, cafes, farm stays, roadside stalls, fruit picking and hosting small weddings.

The new policy, to commence December 1, will simplify the planning rules for establishing these agritourism elements, where farmers will not need to seek additional permission or approvals from their local council, while larger operations can still be progressed through a development application pathway.

“We’re making it cheaper and easier for our farmers to diversify their income by starting, running and growing agritourism experiences,” Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said at the policy launch.

“Farmers who want to innovate and share a taste of their region with visitors shouldn’t be held back by red tape. That’s why we’ve introduced clear definitions and new planning pathways to allow activities that meet the policy to happen with either faster or no planning approval.”

It is hoped that by making it easier to establish on-farm tourism ventures, farmers will have the opportunity to add value to their existing agricultural operations, and increase their resilience to the economic impacts of natural disasters such as bushfires, flood and drought. It will also boost sustainable tourism and give more people reason to visit regional and rural NSW. BOOM IN AGRITOURISM

Agritourism in Australia is a booming field which is expected to reach $18.6 billion in value by 2030.

Agritourism’s potential to contribute to regional economies was cemented in 2020, as Covid-19 disrupted global supply chains and local food production was put into the spotlight. Limited overseas and interstate travel also helped put regional and rural NSW on the map as top travel destinations.

Not only will the new policy allow farmers to diversify their income and establish their farms as agritourism destinations, it will also respond to consumer sentiment and demand, offering more of a connection from farm to plate by educating visitors on where their food and fibre comes from.

For example, the Harvest Festival in June 2022 brought 31,500 visitors to the Central Coast region to explore and celebrate its hinterland communities, resulting in an economic input of around $2.9 million.

Minister for Planning and Minister for Homes Anthony Roberts said the finalised policy will support the burgeoning agritourism industry. >

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Opening up the farm gate Farm stays, roadside stalls and fruit picking are some of the winners from the state government’s new policy that makes it easier for farmers to set up agritourism opportunities.

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Words EMILY RICHES

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BUSINESS AGRITOURISM

“Agritourism is a growing sector for both the Australian and NSW economies. It’s important we provide a clear and simple pathway through the planning system,” he said.

THE POLICY

In addition to introducing more clear and simple pathways to launch agritoursim activities, the changes will help to address previously inconsistent agritourism policies that varied widely from council to council, and increase clarity around what activities require approvals.

New planning pathways will allow certain activities to happen with either fast-track (complying development) or no planning approval (exempt development) with development standards that will minimise impacts on neighbours, rural roads and the community.

The new and amended terms include farm gate premises, where visitors interact with produce from the farm, such as fruit picking, sales, tastings, workshops and cafes; farm experience premises, where visitors can experience life on a farm including tours, horse riding, weddings, functions and retreats; and farm stay accommodation, including camping.

For example, you will be able to run a small farm gate business by using an existing building on your farm to set up a store, café, or tastings and workshops to highlight your land’s produce. To do this, you must meet certain requirements, including: use up to 200 square metres of the building; operate during 8am to 5pm Sundays to Fridays or public holidays, and 7am

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PICK OF THE BUNCH

Clockwise from top left: Pick your own strawberries; Telegraph Retreat Cottages, Cooperabung; NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Chair and Deniliquin farmer Louise Burge; Ba Mack Farmstay, Mudgee; Hillbilly Cider, Bilpin; farm homestead; Bistro Molines, Mount View. Images: Destination NSW.

to 5pm on Saturdays; host a maximum of 100 visitors at a time; and provide parking on your property.

Landowners will also be able to rebuild farm buildings destroyed by natural disasters without planning approval to help future-proof their farms.

Existing agritourism operations that are already lawfully operating are not impacted by the new planning instruments.

INITIAL CONCERNS

Prior to the announcement, there were concerns from farmers that the new policy would restrict current agritourism businesses, with proposed caps on limits to visiting days and hours, and the number of guests. According to Hawkesbury City Mayor Patrick Connolly, this would particularly disadvantage smaller farms and farm businesses such as pick-your-own.

“Areas such as Bilpin rely heavily on pick-your-own and other agritourism businesses to make use of small parcels of agricultural land that could not otherwise be used for commercial agriculture. We want to protect our rural and agricultural character, but we can’t do that if these reforms leave small agricultural lots that are no longer economically viable,” he said.

However, after consultation with local farmers, the policy was amended to ncrease these caps to ensure they were fit for purpose.

Louise Burge, NSW Farmers Conservation & Resource Management Committee chair said, “We’ve been able to work constructively with the Department of Planning and Environment and Minister Roberts’

office, and Agriculture Minister Saunders’ office as well, to raise our concerns about the proposed changes, including caps on visitors per day and days per year for pick-your-own operations, and make some sensible changes to support more realistic number caps.

“As well as providing easier opportunities to establish small scale agritourism activities, these changes help to protect and retain agricultural land by keeping primary production as the main business for the property.”

FUTURE-PROOFING FARMS

Farming can be an unpredictable and volatile business.

Ultimately, Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders said the policy will encourage locals to not only boost their revenue but also future-proof their farms.

“The last few years have been really tough on farmers as they recover from the drought, bushfires, floods and the pandemic. Reforms like these will help landholders build resilience by providing another source of income,” Dugald said.

Minister for Tourism Ben Franklin added that there are now endless avenues for primary producers to drive productivity and cash flow to their doorstep.

“It’s all about using the land in new and innovative ways, complementing existing businesses and giving people more reasons to visit regional areas,” Ben said.

“The pandemic has seen NSW residents spend more time exploring our amazing state, and these activities will attract tourists and put rural communities on the map as drawcard destinations.” l

Should cellar doors open to cider?

Currently, the definition of a cellar door in NSW is restricted to wine made from grapes. This precludes cider, other fruit wine and honey mead producers from being able to access the same opportunities to operate and develop under NSW planning laws.

Cider Australia, the industry body representing cider producers in Australia, believes that the definition of a ‘cellar door’ should be modernised to encompass other fermented beverages.

Executive Officer, Jane Anderson, said Cider Australia did submit a request to change the definition of cellar door premises to a building or place that is used to sell wine or other alcoholic or non-alcoholic fermented beverage by retail as part of the consultation process.

“It looks like the cellar door definition was not changed as part of the agritourism changes,” Jane said.

“However, we did receive a letter from the department that promised on-farm cideries would be captured under the farm gate premises definition. It is still a little uncertain for our producers in NSW until we see more detail.”

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FLAIR FOR HAIR Hairdressing has come a long way in the bush. On-farm salons and a universal movement using hair waste to help combat environmental spills are examples of unique regional approaches to hair salons.

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Words SUE WALLACE Photography PIP FARQUHARSON

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BUSINESS HAIRDRESSING

C

ountry hairdresser Grace Apps has been hairdressing for 13 years, and after farming mates started regularly dropping in for a haircut when they couldn’t get into town for an appointment, she decided to “reclaim her kitchen”.

Grace and her partner Tom Matthews – who live on a property called Montana in Piney Range, near Grenfell – purchased a donga in March. They kitted it out as a comfortable and cosy drop-in salon complete with a basin and a massage chair.

Grace called the salon Studio 650.

“So many farming friends just didn’t have the time to make hairdressing appointments weeks out and get into town and they often left it until they really needed a haircut. This set-up makes it easy – I take last minute calls and they just pop over to the farm,” she says. “The response has been amazing.”

SALON SOCIALISING

Grace knew she wanted to be a hairdresser from the age of five. “I even wrote in my first schoolbook which I still have that I wanted to be a hairdresser,” she says.

“There’s something about helping people look better than when they first arrive that’s very satisfying. I could just never see myself doing anything else.”

Alongside hairdressing, Studio 650 has become a catch-up zone for farmers to enjoy a chat and some downtime.

“I have seen farmers after they have had their hair cut chatting on the deck for a couple of hours talking about all different things which is really great – it’s always good for mental health to have that social connection,” she adds.

Grace also finds that having your hair done in a salon provides an opportunity to chat about things that you may not feel comfortable talking about with family and friends.

“Over the years I have found people blurt out things to hairdressers that they may not have discussed with others – it’s just the way it is,” she says.

Grace also works at VaVoom Hair Studio in Grenfell a few days a week, and she says that her town and country work makes for a great combination. >

“I love the peace and solitude away from the hustle and bustle of the town and I think my clients do as well – it’s inclusive and exclusive and often you have the whole salon to yourself.”

GRACE APPS Owner of Studio 650 NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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BUSINESS HAIRDRESSING CUTS AND CONNECTIONS

SUSTAINABLE SALONS

It seems farmers are conventional in their cuts – there have been no requests for mullets or colour, but many like to have a wash and the massage chair turned on high.

Grace also does women’s cuts and colours as well as children’s trims – everyone loves the farm salon and its relaxed atmosphere.

“It’s a friendly low key and quiet environment – I had a mother and her young baby in last week and it was very convenient and cosy for them,” she says.

Grace says she finds farmers often overlap for appointments and strike up a yarn on the spot.

“I had three blokes in here one day and there was lots of talk about cropping and floods and the weather of course,” she says. “I also see people who don’t know each other, striking up conversations and making a connection.”

More of a city girl who grew up in Young, Grace says it didn’t take her long to adapt to country life and she enjoys helping out on the sheep and cropping property when she can.

She’s an outdoor girl and loves their four working kelpies – Flick, Elsie, Susie and Jen. She now hopes to continue to build the on-farm salon clientele so she can work from home.

“I love the peace and solitude away from the hustle and bustle of the town and I think my clients do as well – it’s inclusive and exclusive and often you have the whole salon to yourself,” she says.

As for that massage chair – it gets a good workout. “One farmer says there’s no way he’s having a hair cut without the massage chair on high.”

Grace says.

The potential of human hair may have been overlooked in the past but Australian eco warriors Paul Frasca and Ewelina Soroko are focussing their attention on its potential to help the environment.

The couple established Sustainable Salons in 2015 and after five years of research, signed up the first salon four years ago.

Today, there are about 1.400 salon members from the hairdressing, barbering, beauty and pet-grooming sectors across Australia and New Zealand who have joined the journey to zero waste.

“Sustainable Salons rescues up to 95 per cent of salon resources from landfill and finds repurposing solutions that benefit the environment and give back to our community,” Paul says.

The program provides all in-salon separation bins and outside collection bins to suit the salon’s needs and offers a fortnightly collection service directly to the salon door.

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PONYTAILS, PLASTIC AND PROCEEDS A HAVEN FOR HAIRD O S AND SO CIALISING

Clockwise from bottom left: Grace works on one of her local clients; Entrance sign of Grace and Matthew's farm; Grace and her partner Tom Matthews work as a team to ensure they balance life and work.

“Hair clippings are collected from the salon floor and stuffed into stockings to make hair booms that can one day help clean up oil spills along coastlines and hair is also repurposed in local community gardens for composting or used in sustainable art installations to educate the community,” he adds.

The program also collects donated ponytails of 20cm or longer which are distributed to charitable organisations to create wigs for those suffering from cancer or alopecia.

So far Sustainable Salons has collected more than 28,700kg of hair.

“Sustainable Salons is the largest donor of ponytails in the Southern Hemisphere,” Paul says.

The program also encompasses plastic packaging which is sent to specialist local plastics recyclers where it’s cleaned and made into outdoor furniture, landscape supplies and new product packaging, keeping it in circulation and out of our oceans.

All aluminium, foil, colour tubes, cardboard, paper, magazines, razor blades, unwanted tools and select disposables are sold for recycling, and the proceeds are donated to OzHarvest and KiwiHarvest to provide meals for hungry people.

“A full head of foils provides a quarter of a meal to someone in need,” Paul says. “We also help gather and organise hairdressers to support local charity haircutting events, such as DoSomething Day, Homeless Connect, and our own collaborative community initiative in Sydney, Eat.Shop.Chop!”

HAIR TO HELP OTHERS AND THE PLANET

Paul explains that by collecting small amounts from a large salon network, Sustainable Salons is the first company to recycle excess chemicals in the salon industry. These are pooled and sent to chemical recycling plants where they’re neutralised and turned into recycled water used in roadworks and construction.

The program also employs people with a disability in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and across the ditch in Christchurch. They partner with organisations to provide purposeful work within their repurposing streams.

WorkPower (WA) and Kilmarnock (Christchurch NZ) work with staff to sort and prepare the materials for recycling and repurposing.

Paul says it’s an exciting time as Sustainable Salons grows and he believes it is important for regional communities to get on board.

After much research his company has developed a soil fertiliser called Hair No Sh*t using granulated

hair. Now produced in small amounts in pods, Paul says that in the future it could be used in farming operations.

“Hair in its raw form is 50 per cent carbon and rich in nutrients and amino acids which is transferred back in the soil,” Paul says. “Everyone loves hair when it’s on your head but as soon as its cut and on the ground, it’s been overlooked and discarded until now.

We are passionate about turning the waste products into future resources.”

Paul hopes the hair mats become the number one manufactured, commercially available product used for spills at sea and on land.

“By using hair, we’re tapping into an environmentally friendly, sustainably-sourced, and infinitely available material that’s currently going to waste. In the process, we’ll eliminate the need for harmful plastic, synthetic and chemical products being unleashed in our environment where they can potentially do more harm than good.

“Hair may be as old as the earth, but it’s a futuristic resource we haven’t quite mastered yet.

If there’s one industry that can change that, surely, it’s hairdressing.” l

THE TIDES ARE CHANGING

Top left then clockwise: Owners of Sustainable Salons, Paul Frasca and Ewelina Soroko; Rubbish from a salon being sorted; Clearly labelled and branded recycle bins for salons.

All photos supplied by Sustainable Salons.

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SPECIAL REPORT CARBON FARMING

Reforestation and increasing biodiversity on farms, or farm forestry, is formally defined as a minimum land area of 0.2 hectares with a minimum tree height of two metres and tree canopy of 20 per cent.

Image by Green Collar.

THE CARBON CALCULATION Even though it is now a hot topic on many farmers’ lips, the complexities of carbon farming are mind boggling.

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Words JEANETTE SEVERS

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F

or those who have dived into carbon farming already – or even just the researching of it, they’ll know that the complexities run deep. They may have been following the Kyoto Protocol, Paris Climate Accords and COP26 discussion towards global climate action and support. They may have planted trees around waterways and in gullies to reduce erosion, purchased new farm vehicles with lower emissions, started feeding seaweed or other supplements to livestock to reduce methane emissions.

To add to the complexities, this year the Federal government has undertaken a review of the integrity of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and the broader impacts of incentivised emissionreduction activities. The Review Panel’s report with recommendations will be handed to the Federal government on December 31.

ACCUs are a financial instrument awarded to projects that can prove energy efficiency, renewable energy generation and carbon sequestration. One ACCU represents the avoidance or removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. ACCUs can be traded or sold much like shares on the stockbroking market, under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011.

Over time, the Australian government has appointed a number of national schemes to enable carbon credits to be traded. The latest is the

CLEAN AND GREEN

Reforestation is a key part of developing the value of carbon credits against farm production.

Image by Greening Australia.

Emissions Reduction Fund, a voluntary scheme offering landholders, communities and businesses to run projects that avoid the release of greenhouse gas emissions or remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere.

Obviously, the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) is the means for the Australian government to prove greenhouse gas emissions are offset. The ERF enables the private sector, in response to consumer and stakeholder demand, to invest in ACCUs to meet their legal baseline emissions requirements and de-carbonise their business operations.

The demand for ACCUs would increase if international carbon registers could access Australian farmers’ carbon credits to offset their emissions – part of article 6 of the Paris Agreement – and one of the considerations of Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator going forward.

The bottom line is, ‘carbon farming’ or claiming ACCUs against your farm production is incredibly complex, but you can do it. Eventually, as with many things, it may become consumer driven – meaning that if you want a premium for your farm production, you’ll need to prove your farming practice.

Like any capital investment or engagement, when beginning the process towards claiming carbon credits against your farm production, due diligence is absolutely necessary.

There is no back pay applicable to claiming ACCUs against your emissions. You may have planted trees > NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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and improved pastures for decades, but measuring emissions reduction through the act of planting trees, shrubs or pasture, or other mitigation activities, begins after you sign contracts with a commercial management and measuring certification service.

After you’ve signed the contracts, it may take at least five years before you have comparable results you can claim or trade.

LAND TENURE IS COMPLEX

What happens underground matters too, as carbon can be measured there as well. Carbon sequestration occurs after vegetation takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into healthy soils where microbes utilise the carbon.

However, land tenure is a complex entity. You as the farmer own a title to land, but it is still to be clearly identified if only you can claim against the sequestered carbon stored underground.

Approximately half of all land in New South Wales is owned and managed by the State and leasing crown land brings with it complexities.

The sovereign rights over land are relevant, given that sequestered carbon is measured below the topsoil, and the root systems of perennial pastures can be a lot more than half a metre underground. This is still to be clarified and tested legally.

NATIVE TITLE CLAIMS ARE ALSO RELEVANT

Charlie Hawkins is one of two Business Development Managers at CarbonLink – a carbon aggregation company. He has been working with land managers in Queensland, and helps landholders to negotiate Native Title approval for them to bequeath carbon credits for the work the lessee is undertaking to sequester carbon in the soil.

“ACCUs are issued to the owner or proponent of the land. When that land is under Native Title, there are specific contractual arrangements that need to be brokered,” Charlie says.

These are the things you need to take into account when you want to begin measuring your emissions and offset them against mitigation activities that include sequestering carbon into your farm’s soil. On top of all that, the sequestering activities are secured against your land’s title.

“If the farmer is recalcitrant on their land management strategies and plans, the soil carbon measures will identify that,” Charlie says. “The regulator will place a carbon maintenance obligation on the land title. This is because carbon sequestration is applied against the land title.

“If you are the lessee of the land, you will need a contract from the owner to ensure carbon sequestration entitlements from your management are bequeathed to you.

“Crown land managers can provide consent to a lessee to develop carbon credits.”

There are also aggregation opportunities. These are when a number of like activities being undertaken by multiple landowners can be registered as effectively

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LINES OF SIGHT

Cultivating lines in the soil prior to reforestation planting, and if the trees grow this will eventually enable carbon sequestration. Image

by Greening Australia.

“Like any capital investment or engagement, when beginning the process towards claiming carbon credits against your farm production, due diligence is absolutely necessary.” one project. Aggregation relies on all parties undertaking their responsibilities fairly.

Aggregation is considered a significant step towards combining a goal of reversing biodiversity loss across landscapes. It involves many individual properties through scalable reforestation solutions, and creates a cumulative carbon aggregation and sequestration solution to climate change.

In 2022, Greening Australia registered with the Clean Energy Regulator an aggregation that involves seven landholders across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, with reforestation activities across 440 hectares.

As well as the potential for carbon credits to earn financial revenue for the landholders involved, degraded land will be restored with shade and shelter for livestock, habitat restoration, and increased biodiversity in the landscape.

FARMERS ARE THE HEROES OF REFORESTATION

Reforestation and increasing biodiversity on farms, or farm forestry, is formally defined as a minimum land area of 0.2 hectares with a minimum tree height of

and dying during drought. Therefore the Australian government opted out of article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol, choosing not to report on emissions resulting from land-use management.

This decision effectively means there are no incentives for the Australian agricultural and forestry sectors to alter their land management practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nor is there an incentive for other land managers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, including resource mining companies and landfill operators.

But the ACCUs were created as a form of personal property that is recompense for farmers and landholders to voluntarily sequester carbon against reforestation and revegetation, and reduced emissions from their livestock, fertiliser, crop cultivation, and paddock or savannah burning.

If those farmers and landholders engage in a formal agreement to sequester carbon, those carbon credits are part of a whole-of-country investment that the Australian government can bank on for international kudos.

BENCHMARKING AND MEASURING CARBON FOR CREDITS

two metres and tree canopy of 20 per cent. However, for forestry activities to be eligible, they have to alter the land’s use from what it was on January 1, 1990.

By enabling reforestation, farmers are considered the heroes in an economy that will still allow resources extraction and mining. After all, without a minerals extraction industry, how will we own cars, mobile phones, computers, refrigerators, washing machines, and a lot of things we take for granted in our normal lives?

For governments to take meaningful action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, reforestation by the private sector is seen as a viable solution, given the benefits of improved biodiversity – trees and other vegetation extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and a hydrated and healthy landscape enables that CO2 to be converted to carbon in the soil, where it is sequestered and available for use as ACCUs. The Australian government has argued that droughts and bushfires occur too commonly in this country and release large amounts of carbon dioxide, from burning trees and from vegetation decaying

GREEN HEROES

Top: Flora and fauna and aquatic surveys are undertaken to prove improved biodiversity as part of the landholders plan to sequester carbon in the soil. Images

by Green Collar.

Below: Surveying the biodiversity and measuring growth of vegetation needs to be undertaken to provide the data that helps prove a landholder’s work is contributing to carbon sequestration.

Image by Greening Australia.

ACCUs are an incentive for Australian landholders to increase the carbon stock of their land, to offset against their production emissions, and remove some of the uncertainty for land users wanting to invest in longterm carbon sequestering activities.

It also opens up the possibility of selling carbon credits on either voluntary domestic or international markets, through formal emissions trading mechanisms.

So long as the farmer is able to baseline, monitor and measure carbon in the soil, they can prove it is being sequestered. Sequestered carbon is carbon that is stored in vegetative biomass and soils.

“It’s beneficial to the producer to plant trees and shrubs and change the way they manage pasture, with lighter stocking rates and ensuring groundcover,” Charlie Hawkins says.

“Carbon sequestration has to become part of day-to-day farming – and most farmers are doing it already. And extrapolating what they are doing so it can then be measured and reported will help them to gain the benefits of ACCUs. The carbon market brings all that to the table.”

Given that it’s a long-term perennial investment, the farmer’s land management strategy would be formally developed, including identifying what grazing or sowing practices were changing and how, what are the reforestation initiatives to be undertaken, and if country is to remain fallow.

The land management strategy would be signed off with an agronomy specialist who understands how the plans demonstrate carbon will be sequestered in the soil.

With approval from the government regulator, soil carbon will be benchmarked and begin to be measured over time. > NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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Building stable soil carbon: new tools available for farmers Everybody is talking about carbon, but there are few tools actually being provided to those farmers who are serious about increasing their stable soil carbon. Whether looking to participate in carbon markets or simply trying to harness the co-benefits of increased soil carbon – increased crop yields, better water retention, and better nutrient uptake – there are now new technologies available for farmers.

“Building soil carbon is nothing new to farmers, and while there has been an increased focus on the importance of soil carbon and the growth of carbon markets, there has been relatively few tools delivered to support this,” says Loam Bio Co-Founder and Global Head of Agronomy, Guy Webb.

Precision agriculture and technology have key roles in identifying sequestered carbon. In fact, ACCUs are based on the use of technology to prove carbon sequestration.

Satellite imagery helps map the property initially, and over time ongoing mapping identifies changes in the landscape, including increasing vegetation mass attributed to grasslands and reforestation. In the same way, drones are used over landscapes to photograph biomass above the soil.

Initial and ongoing soil core sampling occurs to measure and identify deviations in carbon, as well as other nutrients.

Vegetation, aquatic, bird and other wildlife surveys undertaken by stakeholders measure the initial and increased biodiversity of flora and fauna on the farm. Initiatives that reduce soil erosion and increase water hydration within the soil can be baselined and measured for changes in sequestered carbon.

Farmers can use production data to measure and prove production efficiencies against their reforestation and landscape restoration work.

This data measures weight gain in livestock in landscapes that are stocked and grazed to protect vegetation groundcover, fenced to protect waterways and raise shelterbelts.

Data enables the farmer to measure crop yield in landscapes where minimal or no tillage occurs, and where reforestation around broadacre paddocks reduces erosion from wind, helping to stabilise the soil. This may include measuring the effect on the soil of reduced fertiliser use, and increased sowing of nutrient-fixing crops, such as legumes and pulses, as a break crop. l

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CARBON CREDITS

Increasing vegetation biodiversity enables plants to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the microbes in healthy soil convert that to carbon which is sequestered in the ground. The sequestered carbon can be measured and converted to carbon credits. Image

by Green Collar.

“As an agronomist, I obviously spend a lot of time working with farmers, and you have to understand what makes their business tick.

In simple terms, as with any business, you have to maximise yield and minimise risk – and having more carbon in the soil does both those things.”

After three-years and millions of dollars invested in product development – including through collaborations with University of Western Sydney (UWS) and Australian National University (ANU) – Loam Bio has its first seed treatment ready for market.

The Soil Carbon Inoculum Package (SCIP) for Barley and Canola has been deployed in the field and is seeing consistent increases of stable soil carbon being built, along with increased crop yields.

Loam is now working with growers to increase their crop’s ability to capture significantly more carbon from the atmosphere, making participation in carbon projects more profitable for growers – without sacrificing any of their current farm management goals.

“To have access to a technology that makes it economical and easy for farmers to build carbon in soils – and build yield – that is a very powerful tool for farmers.”

To learn how these new technologies can integrate into your cropping system, email our agronomists at info@loambio.com

cONNECTING STUDENTS WITH AGRICULTURE Kids to Farms is a program aimed at increasing awareness in primary-school students about agriculture through excursions to farms, farmer visits to schools, and other resources.

If you want to help students learn more about food and fibre, get in touch today.

This project is supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Find out more: www.kidstofarms.com.au kidstofarms@nswfarmers.org.au

SPECIAL REPORT SOIL HEALTH

THE ONLY WAY IS UP Dire reports incorrectly claim the world has only 60 or 100 hundred harvests left before our agricultural soils are depleted, but Aussie farmers are meeting the challenge of improving soil health.

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Words DARREN BAGULEY

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GETTING THEIR HAND S DIRTY

Agronomy team Sam Morris and Dr Brooke Bruning.

Image by Monique Lovick.

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E

very so often a claim will pop up in the media that due to soil degradation, the world’s agricultural soils only have 100, 60 or even 30 harvests left before a burgeoning population faces starvation.

While any number of soil scientists have debunked these claims, the fact is postGreen Revolution, modern cropping practices have been degrading our soils.

The good news, however, is that in the past fifteen years or so, Australian farmers have been embracing a host of new conservation farming practices such as no-till/low-till, stubble retention, controlled traffic and have a huge range of products available to help them improve soil health. Nevertheless, the first step is to realise the need to focus on soil health.

Loam Bio co-founder, Guy Webb, believes farmers have always understood soil is the foundation of their cropping and farming enterprises. “But I think we have been down a few blind alleys where we thought we are doing the right thing, and it turns out we have not been,” he says.

“When I was a young fella growing up, it was

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D OWN TO EARTH

Above and below: Soil sampling with the Loam Bio team Chris Shafto and Dr Brook Bruning; Loam Bio microbes. Image by Monique Lovick.

“It’s not a silver bullet but if people are using the practices that are conducive to supporting the biology in the soil, these products will definitely help kickstart the soil biology, especially if a farmer is in the process of converting from conventional methods.”

SONJA KALLIO Co-founder and Managing Director, Sonic Natural Farming

really the thing to do to plough a paddock a couple of times, and then scarify it two or three times to get a beautiful fine seed bed like a veggie garden. It looked beautiful – nice and flat and fine tilth – but we did not realise that we were completely destroying the structure and letting all the carbon out.”

Loam co-founder and CPO, Tegan Nock, adds “In terms of soil biology, the work we are doing is very much a new discovery space. In Australia, where you have peak saturation of conservation farming practices, the more we are learning in terms of the interactions of biology within the soil system, the more we realise there is so much we have not historically understood about the key drivers of soil health.”

Sonic Natural Farming co-founder and managing director, Sonja Kallio, suggests, “We have not really understood what degrades the soil and what produces good soil. But over time farmers have witnessed soil degradation, rather than improvement, from using conventional farming methods as chemicals and fertilisers destroy the microbiological life in the soil that actually makes soil productive.

MAGICAL MICROBES

Left to right: Loam Bio greenhouse in Orange.

Image by Monique Lovick; Small plot trials at Canowindra, NSW. Image by Rachel Lenehan.

“It has taken a long time for that to become apparent and up until recently we have not had the technology to really be able to see and learn about the microorganisms that are at work,” she says.

SOIL BUILDING

According to Sonja, Sonic’s flagship products – a Liquid Fish Hydrolysate Fertiliser and a Liquid Seaweed Biological – are based on fermentation methods that have been around for many years. Using fish processing waste, the liquid fish hydrolysate is an organic nitrogen substitute.

“Seaweed has one of the highest diversity of minerals and trace minerals in any plant,” she adds.

“It’s going to give your soil all the minerals and trace minerals that it needs, and then it’s activated with beneficial microbes, which is really the key to soil building.

“It’s not a silver bullet but if people are using the practices that are conducive to supporting the biology in the soil, these products will definitely help kickstart the soil biology, especially if a farmer is in the process of converting from conventional methods.” > NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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SPECIAL REPORT SOIL HEALTH

SAVE OUR SOIL

Clockwise from top left: Loam Carbon Project Lead, Torben Heinzel, Loam Co-founder and farmer from Trangie, Mick Wettenhall, Loam Co-founder and Head of Agronomy, Guy Webb. Image

by Rachel Lenahan; Loam Bio's microbial lab. Image by Monique Lovick; SNF Coop production.

According to Sonja, Sonic was also concerned about the amount of plastic in our environment and has sought to address that by offering a model where the product can be produced on farm. “We didn't want to just become another company that's mass producing and shipping products around the country in single use plastic containers,” she explains.

“So, we’ve worked pretty hard on devising a model that enables a farm requiring at least 2,700 litres a year – which is about the usage of a medium size farm – to produce the product on-farm. Sonic will set up the brewing system, supply all the ingredients and visit about once every five weeks to keep the system running for them.”

SEQUESTERING CARBON

Loam Bio has a team of 62, with the majority of the team focused on Research and Development, as well as product development.

Tegan explains, “The team has developed a biological soil carbon inoculum that enables agricultural soils to sequester more carbon. By adding

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the inoculum to what a farmer would typically do with conservation or regenerative farming practices, it increases the amount of carbon that can be added or held stably within agricultural soils.

“At a high level, the inoculum increases both aggregate and mineral associated organic matter within soil and those are the components that make up Total Organic Carbon (TOC). As carbon is the basis of soil health, by increasing TOC, farmers are increasing their soil health. We’ve done a lot of work with academic partners to have third party validation of the fact that we’re increasing carbon overall so farmers also have the potential to monetise that carbon.”

Tegan says Loam Bio has developed the product so farmers don't have to completely alter their farming practices. However, the potential to be able to build carbon is higher for farmers who are implementing conservation farming practices. She adds there may also be a need make changes to a chemical regime to have biologicals working at peak performance.

“For example, with about 50 per cent of the seed

fungicides out there, we're comfortable to be able to apply with and have good compatibility with,” she says. “So, the key thing is understanding the chemical regime to make sure that our compatibility understanding is strong enough to implement it into that system.”

MONITORING IS KEY

The key to understanding whether any change in farming practice is making a positive difference or not is through monitoring, and soil health is no different. Farmdeck enables farmers to gain better visibility and understanding of their farm’s soil in real-time and historically by collecting data remotely through remote Internet-of-Things (IoT) soil monitoring sensors.

From a real-time perspective, precise monitoring of a farm’s soil allows producers to better predict its needs; preventing over or underwatering, saving costs, and allowing farmers to produce healthier, stronger crops seasonally.

The Farmdeck app takes the data derived from

HITTING PAY DIRT

Clockwise from top left: Guy Webb, Loam Global Head of Agronomy; Loam Bio co-founders Tegan Nock, Guy Hudson and Frank Oly; The Farmdeck Soil Monitoring feature uses real-time data to monitor and improve soil health and vitality.

the sensors to help improve soil health and vitality by understanding its watering and temperature needs.

Sensors can be placed at a single depth or multiple depths within the soil, enabling farmers to receive accurate readings of moisture levels, temperature, sensor signal strength and battery/solar voltage at each placement.

Once a soil monitoring system has been in place over time, farmers are able to gain insight and make improvements by analysing soil history.

Farmdeck’s Soil Monitoring feature gives farmers the ability to look back at soil temperature, humidity and moisture levels from the date of sensor installation up to the day of the sensors last reading, daily. These levels are displayed in multiple user-friendly graphs, displaying moisture, temperature and voltage of solar and batteries. l NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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SPECIAL REPORT FARM SAFETY

SCAMMERS TARGET FARMERS Business scams are becoming more prevalent, and with the help of technology and less face-to-face interaction, more professional.

All businesses need to be on high alert.

–

Words MICHAEL BURT

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STAY SCAM-AWARE

The full impact of scams is unknown because a third of victims don’t ever report it, but of the 292 reports of agriculture scams from January to August, 219 involved tractors or machinery.

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eports to the ACCC’s Scamwatch show Australian farm businesses lost more than $1.2 million to scammers between 1 January and 31 August 2022, an increase of more than 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The most common scam targeting farmers involved the sale of tractors and heavy machinery, with losses to this scam alone topping $1 million so far this year.

NSW residents were most impacted with $373,487 in losses from the 78 reported in the state.

“Scammers are ruthlessly luring farmers and rural businesses with seemingly good online deals on tractors and other farm machinery through fake websites or bogus classifieds on legitimate platforms and publications,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

“Unfortunately, we have seen a concerning rise in agricultural scams in recent years, as farm businesses increasingly purchase machinery online. These scams are causing substantial financial losses and emotional devastation.

“Scammers are highly sophisticated in the ways they impersonate a business – some fake websites have ABNs for instance – which is why we are urging farmers and business owners to be alert to the scam risks and do extra checks to avoid getting caught out.”

Scammers trick people through a range of everevolving methods such as providing a contract of

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HEAVY LO S SES

The most common scam targeting farmers involves the sale of tractors and heavy machinery, with losses already topping $1 million this year.

sale, answering questions about the potential sale of machinery by phone or email, or offering a free trial period once money is deposited into an escrow account, which is actually part of the scam.

Independently verifying the existence of a business by searching the address of the business and calling a nearby business, is an important step in ensuring the seller is who they say they are.

“Many scams can be revealed by doing an internet search of the exact wording in the advertisement. Never click on a link provided to you by the seller or pay upfront, even if you are promised that the money will be refundable. Ask to pay at the time of delivery or pickup,” Mr Keogh said.

“Scammers may advertise machinery at lower prices than the typical market rate.

As always, if it looks too good to be true or if you feel pressured in any way, chances are it’s a scam.”

– MICK KEOGH ACCC Deputy Chair

“This is a really stressful time for farmers with the terrible weather, high input costs and supermarkets trying to keep prices low, so to lose money to a scammer is just unthinkable.”

– DEB CHARLTON NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee chair

“If possible, inspect the machinery in person or via live video first. Scammers will often have an excuse as to why machinery can’t be inspected in person and that is a red flag for any buyer.

“Scammers may advertise machinery at lower prices than the typical market rate. As always, if it looks too good to be true or if you feel pressured in any way, chances are it’s a scam,” Mr Keogh said.

Farmers are also being warned against giving too much personal information as scammers are targeting more than just money.

“Legitimate sellers will only ever ask for enough information to deliver what you’ve ordered, so it is important not to give too much personal information over the phone or online as you may fall victim to identity theft,” Mr Keogh said.

Farmers, regardless of whether they have lost money, are encouraged to report scams and learn more about how to get help on the Scamwatch website.

YOUNG FARMERS HIT HARDEST BY SCAMMERS

Young farmers aged 25 to 34 incurred the highest total reported losses to scammers, amounting to $440,275.

LO SING GAME

NSW Farmers Rural Affair Committee chair Deb Charlton (right) says younger farmers are among those hit hardest by online scams, accounting for more than two thirds of scam losses.

NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee chair Deb Charlton said younger farmers were more likely to shop online, which accounted for more than two thirds of scam losses.

“This is a really stressful time for farmers with the terrible weather, high input costs and supermarkets trying to keep prices low, so to lose money to a scammer is just unthinkable,” Mrs Charlton said.

“We don’t know the full impact of scams because a third of victims don’t ever report it, but of the 292 reports of agriculture scams from January to August, 219 involved tractors or machinery.

“On average tractor scam victims lose more than $16,000, and young farmers from NSW are those hardest hit.”

Mrs Charlton said with online safety in the headlines, it was critical for farmers to protect themselves and their businesses.

“If it’s too cheap it’s probably too good to be true, so always do your research and take your time if you’re buying online,” she said. “We’ve also heard about fake invoice scams costing farmers more than $320,000 this year, so make sure you double check details even on invoices you’re expecting.

“At the end of the day there are crooks out there trying to take your hard-earned money, so take a little extra precaution and stay safe.” l NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

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U G LY S I D F E E TH

OF

F O O D WA S T E

Globally, we throw away 1.3 billion tonnes of food every year. Fresh and delicious produce that is deemed not pretty enough for our supermarket shelves – despite having no major defects – is tossed into landfill.

–

Words MATILDA MEIKLE

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ENVIRONMENT FOOD WASTE

B

y combining environmental sustainability with commercial sensibility, start-up Good and Fugly is reducing the amount of food we waste in Australia while also delivering natural produce straight to customers’ doors. The company’s founder, Richard Tourino, is passionate about making a difference, driving this move towards cleaner living and helping to connect farmers to their local communities one box at a time.

Wasted food also has a bigger impact on the environment than the production of consumed food, as it releases methane into the air through the process of decomposition. The more food we waste, the more toxins we release. In total, food waste accounts for approximately 3 per cent of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.

If that wasn’t enough, food waste costs our economy around $36.6 billion each year. That’s money that could be better spent in a variety of sectors if people were smarter about their food consumption choices. >

FO OD WASTE FIGHTERS

Richard Tourino (above) holds a Good & Fugly box, with produce deemed ‘not good enough’ for supermarkets sourced straight from farmers.

FACING THE ISSUE

In Australia, we throw away 3.1 million tonnes of food a year. In fact, 25 per cent of our national produce doesn’t even leave the farm. This wasted food ends up in landfill, left to decompose rather than arriving on supermarket shelves and being sold at cheaper prices, or helping to feed those in need.

While this is a major issue, it’s not just food that’s being wasted in the process. As we know, agricultural production requires resources such as land, water and labour, so the more food that’s thrown out, the bigger the impact is on Australian farms. Over-production leads to reduced land quality, degradation of soil and disruption to biodiversity. When farmers throw out their produce, they’re letting go of valuable time and money, which could be spent growing other resources.

“By delivering boxes of rejected fruit and veg directly to customers’ doorsteps each week, straight from the farmers who grew them, they’re aiming to limit the amount of waste across the nation and better educate customers in the process.”

– RICHARD TOURINO Founder of Good & Fugly

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ENVIRONMENT FOOD WASTE

GROWING THE PROJECT

THE GO OD, THE BAD AND

CHANGING THE CONVERSATION

Good & Fugly is trying to bring food waste to an end.

By delivering boxes of rejected fruit and veg directly to customers’ doorsteps each week, straight from the farmers who grew them, they’re aiming to limit the amount of waste across the nation and better educate customers in the process.

These ‘fuglies’ may have been refused by the major supermarkets simply for being too big, too small, not perfectly shaped, or having minor cosmetic issues such as scratches on the skin. Instead of farmers having to dispose of this fresh produce, Good & Fugly takes it off their hands, creating their weekly boxes and giving all excess produce to food rescue service OzHarvest, which ensures it’s put to good use feeding the homeless and the under-privileged.

THE FUGLY

Richard’s experience in helping to build a car sharing company into a national brand gave him great insight into developing strong customer relationships, which he has carried over into Good & Fugly. His aim is to “change the conversation so that there is no longer a price disparity between fugly and ‘perfect’ fruit and veg.”

It’s a big challenge, but one that his team is well on the way to achieving.

Richard says he has been blown away by the support from local communities and customers.

“Our customers love the concept, they love fuglies, and they want to support our farmers,” he says. “We can change the way in which people see and appreciate food.”

In July this year, the company launched a

BY PHIL SOMERVILLE

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In Australia, we throw out 3.1 million tonnes of food every year, which costs the economy $36.6 billion and contributes to 3 per cent of our annual greenhouse gas emissions. Good & Fugly is aiming to change that.

“The more food we waste, the more toxins we release. In total, food waste accounts for approximately 3 per cent of Australia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.”

– RICHARD TOURINO Founder of Good & Fugly

crowdfunding campaign to help raise money for a national rollout. So far, Good & Fugly only operates in NSW, but with over 500 investors over the course of a few months, the future is filled with possibilities.

Good & Fugly is also partnering with brands such as Cornersmith and Tumbleweed, helping to spread their message across all areas of food, including cooking.

Their Chief Nutrition Officer, Callie Ford, is assisting in this mission to emphasise the connection between food production and delicious meals.

KEEN TO GET INVOLVED?

Over the past two years, Good & Fugly has delivered more than 200,000 kilos of fruit and vegetables, and they already have more than 2,000 regular subscribers.

For farmers looking to contribute, Richard has launched the Farmers Hotline. They can call Good and Fugly on 1300-FUGLY, and they will arrange to take their cosmetically rejected produce at a fair price and deliver it directly to customers.

The hotline is an attempt to combat a system that favours supermarket supply chains, and gives local growers the opportunity to share their produce with the community, while reducing the amount of food that goes to landfill.

The team works closely with farmers across Australia to better understand their needs and how they can be supported.

For those wanting to assist Good & Fugly from home, you can sign up to receive a fruit and veggie box, or either a veggie-only or fruit-only box.

Richard and the team are thrilled at the contributions of people across the country, because the goal has always been to “show customers the connection between their food and farmers, water use, landfill effects, and their own health and wellbeing”. l

NRAR is coming to a field day near you Field days are a fantastic opportunity to ask questions about metering, basic landholder rights, water access licences, or work approvals. With a range of fact sheets and handy e-tools, we’ll help you know the rules.

The next stop for our friendly NRAR officers is Primex Field Days, site number G25a.

Visit our website to learn more about NRAR.

Natural Resources Access Regulator nrar.nsw.gov.au | 1800 633 362 | nrar.enquiries@nrar.nsw.gov.au

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY

Jack, Robert and James Mackenzie of the successful and innovative Macka's Australian Black Angus Beef enterprise.

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COMMUNITY NEW GENERATIONS

Father, sons and a unique business well done A firmly established work ethic and a passion to breed the best cattle seem to feature in the DNA of the dynamic Mackenzie clan, owners of the successful and innovative Macka’s Australian Black Angus Beef enterprise. They use the world’s best genetics to produce quality, grass-fed, grain-finished Angus-verified cattle.

Words SUE WALLACE Photography TNM CREATIVE MEDIA

M

acka’s is a fourth-generation family business with its roots dating back to 1884 when Archie Mackenzie – who was raised by his two aunts – ran cattle around Port Stephens.

The growing enterprise that prides itself on a fresh, clean and green farm-to-plate operation, now involves eight properties located in the Gloucester and Port Stephens regions.

The dedication is hereditary – Archie’s son, Bruce, now 83, rarely misses a day in his buggy checking the black Angus cattle, and even Covid-19 didn’t slow him down.

Bruce, who was involved in local government for 50 years, knows the family business is in good hands with his son, Robert and grandsons, James and Jack, so he can now enjoy his other passion: horses. Bruce has a thoroughbred racing stable at the family property Oakfield Park in Salt Ash (near Port Stephens) and his horses have had some impressive wins over the years. >

“What also helps Australian farmers to succeed is that our product is renowned around the world for being fresh, green, clean and now sustainable. This puts us ahead of the rest. ” Director of Macka’s, Robert Mackenzie, 53

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COMMUNITY NEW GENERATIONS

“I wasn’t confined to a backyard like some of my school mates were.

I believe this helped me forge the skills I have today and helped me to be more independent in things I try to achieve. ” James Mackenzie, 28 LEARNING FROM PAST GENERATIONS

Robert Mackenzie, who lives at Oakfield Park, says his biggest dream was seeing sons, James and Jack return to the family business and he hopes his daughter Danielle, a hairdresser, will also return one day.

“It’s why I’ve poured so much of myself into our ventures,” he says. “It motivated me to continually add facets to the business so that it would always be exciting to James and Jack, and motivate us to keep growing and provide for all of our families. It’s very satisfying to see the next generation involved.”

Being an only child can be lonely for some, but Robert grew up busy on the farm with mates around him who are still close friends.

“I have fond memories of growing up on our property and feeling free in the wideopen spaces, playing cops and robbers with my mates and home rodeos in the paddocks for a bit of fun,” he recalls.

“Also, there was always the fun in finding new ways to make a buck. Whether it was buying a hundred chooks so I could sell the eggs, or buying a couple of dairy cows so I could milk them and sell the milk – I used to sell it for 50 cents a litre – it was exciting.

“Although I once planted a 100-metrelong row of zucchinis it was horrific,” he says. “Have you ever seen how quick a zucchini grows? I couldn’t pick them fast enough.”

Robert is involved in every aspect of the business and he has always felt a responsibility to his forebears and is grateful for their effort and hard work. He admits there are challenges at times, but says it’s always important for each generation to understand the others and to appreciate their input.

“My grandfather and father built a perfect foundation and instilled the work ethic that I needed to be able to grow the business to where it is today,” he says. “It’s a very complex business with so many moving parts. I am heavily involved in the day-today activities across the eight properties of 6,474 hectares, running 3,500 commercial Angus cows.”

As well as developing a successful Angus stud, the family has a large pasture improvement program. “We are very passionate about presentation, sustainable farming, best farming practices for animal welfare and we are focused on becoming carbon neutral,” Robert explains. “The

biggest challenge for me is not having enough hours in the day.”

Robert says that more than ever before, people are looking for a quality product that comes with a great story. “The people who can deliver that are reaping the rewards,” he says. “What also helps Australian farmers to succeed is that our product is renowned around the world for being fresh, green, clean and now sustainable. This puts us ahead of the rest.”

BACK TO THE FAMILY FARM

Robert’s eldest son, James says he always knew he would return to the family business but was just unsure of the timing.

“Due to the fact university was reasonably flexible, I was able to continue working for the family business on some weekends and university holidays so the transition from university to working back in the family was relatively easy as I was always involved to some extent,” he says.

James lives on one of the family properties in Williamtown Flats, and he says his role includes the development of various projects.

“I have a great team I am able to work with to complete a wide variety of >

CLEAN AND GREEN

Macka’s runs 3,500 commercial Angus cows, with a focus on best farming practices; Robert with the team from 6Head Sydney.

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“Seeing where my grandfather has come from to building what we have today is inspiring. The challenges and sacrifice he made to better the life for his family is something I’ll never take for granted. ” Jack Mackenzie, 27 tasks, from farm irrigation installations to road building, dam cleaning, cattle yard building, fencing, machine manufacturing and there’s a large number of day-to-day jobs which vary significantly,” he says.

“There are many highs and lows of working in any business, but I think the highs of working with the family is the ability we have to make decisions in a timely manner.

We’re able to work as a team to analyse what we want to achieve and make changes or decisions quickly.

“The lows at times can be a result of not seeing eye to eye on something, but I believe this is no different to any other workplace.”

James is extremely proud of his farming heritage.

“I think it’s interesting to think that our ancestors decided to settle here in Port Stephens. Out of all the regions to choose from in Australia, I’m glad they chose this area,” he says. “I think it’s great to know we are involved in something that has been important for so many generations continually adapting to changes in farming practices and technology.

“I’m proud to work in a family environment knowing that our ancestors worked in the same area with the same goals, but just on a smaller scale to what we are achieving now. I hope that I can continue to be proud of the next generation and beyond to see where the family can be when I am Bruce’s age.”

Raised on the family’s Salt Ash property, with holidays and weekends spent on another farm at Gloucester, James loved his farm experiences doing everything from cattle work to fencing, concreting and welding.

“I wasn’t confined to a backyard like some of my school mates were. I believe this helped me forge the skills I have today and helped me to be more independent in things I try to achieve,” he says.

James attended Armidale University before returning to the family business and still enjoys doing different things to broaden his skills.

“Throughout the labour shortage of Covid-19 and lockdowns I took some time away from the family farm to help farmers with harvest,” he says. “For this I was driving trucks, tractors and harvesters as well as welding and fixing machines where it was needed.”

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Robert’s youngest son Jack lives with his fiancée Alex and their 4-month-old son Harry, in Williamtown.

“My role in the business is difficult to define. Our management structure is quite unique, so my role is quite hands-on whilst still overseeing multiple aspects of the operation,” he says.

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“I like the variety of the work and no two consecutive days are the same. I love the fact that I get to see Alex and Harry throughout the day, and being able to involve them in my work life is something we all enjoy.”

Like his brother James, Jack always knew he would be involved the family business to some degree, but didn’t realise the potential for growth in the business, and he wasn’t sure if it would be a lifelong career for him.

So he did an apprenticeship at Diesel Pro as a diesel mechanic, and also gained his commercial helicopter license at Townsville Helicopters which he may use in future developments within the family business.

Recalling his childhood, Jack says growing up on the land laid different foundations to learn and grow from a very young age.

“It gave us the opportunity to spend lots of time with our parents and grandparents and I always loved riding the quads and motorbikes and building things,” he says. “I still have toys I built with dad that Harry will play with one day.”

Jack says he’s excited about carrying on the family business and believes that what sets them apart is aspiring to be industry leaders in not only cattle operations, but agriculture.

“We are always developing and evolving, and we have a team that loves what they do and see how much their role in the company is valued,” he says. “Our business is extremely focused on creating good relationships within the local community, with our neighbours and within our team. Without this our business wouldn’t exist and we are extremely grateful for everyone being on the journey with us.”

Looking at the family and the business, Jack considers Macka’s to be unique.

“Seeing where my grandfather has come from to building what we have today is inspiring,” he says. “The challenges and sacrifice he made to better the life for his family is something I’ll never take for granted. I’ll forever pass down the story of hard work and sacrifice to the following generations,” he says.

Jack finds the hardest thing about working with family is dividing work and family time.

“Being able to switch off from work and enjoy each other’s company without the discussion of work always being the hot topic isn’t always easy,” he says.

He hopes one day little Harry may also join the family business, but that’s a long way off.

“I would like him to, but I wouldn’t pressure my children into doing something they didn’t want to do, so time will tell. But I’m hopeful he will grow up loving it like I did,” he says. l

COMMUNITY NEW GENERATIONS

PULL OF THE LAND

The Mackenzie family have eight properties in the Gloucester and Port Stephens regions, covering 6,474 hectares; Jack, 27, and James, 28, returned to the family business and are extremely proud of their farming heritage; their grandfather Bruce, 83, still rarely misses a day in the buggy checking on the welfare of the Black Angus cattle.

Jack and James Mackenzie.

Bruce Mackenzie.

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COMMUNITY FARM DOGS

Digger Dog from The Farmer magazine Digger the staffy may not have his own farm yet, but he’s working on it.

WORDS BY MICHELLE HESPE

want bacon, fried chicken, pizza and chips with chicken salt. All available at the bowlo where our office is.

It’s amazing what some customers will give away if I show them my cutest face. And the little kids are usually a pushover.

IF YOU BECAME FAMOUS FOR ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Having a gold leaf coat.

IS THERE SOMETHING YOU DO THAT DRIVES YOUR PARENTS MAD?

Waking them up too early by staring them straight in the eyes for an hour.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ANOTHER ANIMAL AS A FRIEND, WHAT WOULD IT BE AND WHY?

I have a best friend called Chewbacca (Chewie for short). He’s a groodle, and so we’re a bit of an odd couple really.

Staffies usually eat oodles for breakfast.

FAVOURITE THING TO PLAY WITH? REAL NAME AND NICK NAMES:

Digger. But I also go by Digger Dog, Digs, Dig Digs and Digger Doo. FAVOURITE THING TO DO ON THE FARM?

Confession: ‘My’ farm is not really mine.

My mum is the editor of The Farmer and we are city slickers. But we love travelling in remote Australia and so we regularly go to a farm owned by Kelly in Ben Bullen, and there I have hundreds of hectares to myself. I am pictured here by the river relaxing on my favourite grass mound. Kelly has five staffies and a goat, and I love chasing the goat.

Jumping on to my parents while they are in bed at 4.30am, or breathing heavily in their faces until they feed me at 5.30am. I’m a bit of a solid rock, so my landings are not that gentle.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FOOD?

REALLY NAUGHTY?

I am allowed pig ears and sardines and they are good. But really, I just

THE FARMER

A spade I found in the garden, and a duck that honks when I squash it.

WHAT DOES EVERYONE LOVE ABOUT YOU?

I have endless love to offer, give really great cuddles, and my impersonation of a really flat butterflied chicken makes everyone laugh.

WHAT IS YOUR WORST HABIT?

HAVE YOU EVER DONE SOMETHING

I spend my days at the office, and love

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eating the waste paper bins and the handles of spades (Digger by name, Digger by nature) but one day I ate an entire pile of magazines. I thought the office looked great covered in confetti, but no one was happy with me. I did see mum trying not to laugh though.

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ANY LAST WORDS?

I hope we move to the country one day – I am working on convincing my parents to buy a farm. Last time I was there I saw this big herd of enormous black dogs with huge heads and hoofs and weird big ears. They look a bit dopey but I reckon they’d be fun to play with.

MARKETPLACE

The saleyards We’ve rounded up the best Aussie-made products to put some spring in your step this summer.

Compiled by EMILY RICHES

IM-PECK-ABLE SERVICE

Attract beautiful native birds to your garden with this hanging bird feeder.

Designed for nectar and honey eaters, this feeder is constructed from a combination of plastic and Australian Ash, making it weatherproof, practical and accessible for your feathered friends. $40 nektavite.com.au

THIRST QUENCHER

The “world’s best beer glass” is finally here after 18 months of development. Its smell profile has been highly tuned through computer modeling and led by professional testing. Bring the enjoyment of a cold fresh beer at the end of the day to another level. $70 denverandliely.com

ON THE GO

Frank Green’s sleek reusable water bottles are great when you’re on the go. The stylish chrome collection comes in four reflective colours and is designed to keep your drinks hot or cold for hours (while looking good too). $69.95 frankgreen.com.au

SUSTAINABLE SCARVES

LIGHT IT UP

Jaff Designs is a “paddock to product” Alpaca farm.

These scarves are dyed using eucalyptus leaves and barks for a super soft, stylish and sustainable finish – and thanks to the natural dyeing process, each one is unique. $384 jaffdesigns.com.au

These steel travel fire pits are cleverly designed to be completely portable, packing flat inside a carry bag. They’re easy to transport and quick to set up. All that’s left to do is grab the marshmallows. $238.95 recycledmats.com.au

SUD-SATIONAL

TOP HOT CHOC

Camp Eco strives to create products which will keep you and your campsite clean, while also looking after the environment around you. Their body suds are suitable to be used as hand and body wash, and come in a recyclable bottle, with all contents sourced locally. $14.90 campeco.com.au

Using only the best organic ingredients, this chocolate powder is perfect for anyone wanting a rich and satisfying hot drink.

Simply add a few teaspoons to some warm milk and stir! $11.95 nibandnoble.com

CLIP IT GOOD

Quickly and easily attach your hat to your bag or belt, and keep it securely fastened with the added lock function. These hat clips come in a variety of bright and fun colours to suit everyone. $24.95 klipsta.com

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

THE FARMER

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NSW home to Australian Farmer of the Year NSW Farmers Walcha branch member Michael Taylor was named the 2022 Australian Farmer of the Year for progressing a sustainable farming legacy that his family began in 1839.

Words MICHAEL BURT

2022 Australian Farmer of the Year – Michael Taylor

T

he Taylor family’s historic farm, Taylors Run, is home to a flock of superfine merino sheep, a mixed Angus cattle herd, a timber mill, farm stay accommodation and plenty of trees.

It is also home for the 2022 Australian Farmer of the Year, Michael Taylor, and his family – wife Milly and children Remy, Lydie and Nina.

The sixth-generation farmer’s new Australian Farmer of the Year title was announced in September at the Kondinin Group and ABC Rural 2022 Farmer of the Year Awards in Canberra.

His nomination for the award stems from his reputation for having a futurefocused approach to sustainable farming, agroforestry and value-adding.

“I did not even know I was nominated for the award. There are so many farmers out there doing good things, so it really is a privilege to be involved,” Michael said.

Taylors Run is spread across 610 hectares near Kentucky in the New England

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region. His sister Kath and husband Hamish Caddy farm on a separate nearby property also once owned by Michael’s parents John and Vicki.

“I am also currently leasing another 700 acres from my uncle,” he says. “We bought another 200 acres during the drought in 2019 that was literally a block of dirt – not a blade of grass on it. It was a risk at the time, but it has recovered well.”

Through tree planting and rotational grazing, Michael has increased stocking capacity, lambing percentages, reduced degradation, and sequestered carbon for the future.

“My family has been farming in the New England region of NSW for more than 180 years, and I would like to see them still farming this area for centuries to come.

“My ancestors were always looking for new ways of doing things. We’ve continued getting stuck into adopting sustainable farming practices.

“I have followed in my parent’s footsteps

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

Timber plantings on Taylors Run are carefully planned to maximise environmental benefits and pasture production.

of caring for our land with regenerative goals and showing how farmers can integrate a successful grazing enterprise with an agroforestry program.

“Regenerative farmers is a new label for us. The best thing that has come out of the regenerative ag buzz is a deeper discussion about what sustainable ag means. Sustainable ag is good agriculture.

It’s more about what we need to take out rather than how much we can take of the land.”

Michael is an active member in the wool industry – supporting grower groups such as Tablelands Merino – and he is a founding member and director of Australian Ethical Merino Growers Co-operative.

Both grower groups, and the family’s ongoing close relationship with Italian wool processors such as GS Schneider and Reda, demonstrate Michael’s commitment to bridging the gap between growers and customers through education and traceability.

COMMUNITY MEET A MEMBER

Recently he collaborated with Haute Couture designer Sofia Crociani and local Australian brand Simple Chic, on separate projects to tell the story of sustainable wool growing.

“Our main market is the Italians looking for the high curvature wools that we produce,” he says. “In terms of wool production, we are quite small, so it is important to work directly with our Italian processors.”

BUILDING A FUTURE WITH TIMBER

Agroforestry has contributed significantly to supporting Michael’s aim to run a sustainable and regenerative enterprise.

“We manage 180 hectares of Radiata Pine and other mixed species, which we can mill on-site,” he says. “We replenish what we harvest and are keen to share the importance of integrating agroforestry into modern farming operations.

Taylors Run.

“I have followed in my parents’ footsteps of caring for our land with regenerative goals and showing how farmers can integrate a successful grazing enterprise with an agroforestry program.”

“We are harvesting pine this year that was planted by my father 35 to 40 years ago. We’ve been planting more pine since then, some of which is 400 millimetres in diameter at just 14 years of age.”

Michael said the mobile Mahoe timber mill provides a profitable valueadding opportunity.

“There is a lot of demand for timber, but the prices for logs have not really increased. The sawn timber we mill on farm has though. Selling a few cubic metres of

sawn timber is equivalent in profit to a full truckload of logs.

“The timber was a valuable source of income during the drought when there was no water and virtually no stock.”

Michael said the tree plantings provide much more than income and drought resilience.

“I’ve found that we have increased pasture production with the tree shelter,” he says. “The trees are fully integrated with the grazing operation. Once the trees are established after three to five years, those areas are subject to the same rotational grazing as other areas.

“There is also plenty of scientific literature out there on the benefits of having trees for mental wellbeing.”

Michael’s network and knowledge of agroforestry has been recognised nationally through awards and presentations, but most importantly as a local mentor for other farmers wanting to manage trees on their farms.

Last year, Michael partnered with Southern New England Landcare to co-host an event focused on the concept of silvopasture – where trees and shrubs are incorporated into pastures for forage and grazing purposes. l

Name: Michael Taylor Farm: Taylors Run, Kentucky NSW Farmers Branch: Walcha Years as a Member: 5

Why am I a NSW Farmers Member?

Merino sheep grazing under tree shelters at Taylors Run.

“NSW Farmers have definitely helped in providing the resources for supporting the process of being a good employer, which is so important for a farm business like ours. And I get a good deal with Bunnings on building materials through the PowerPass card.”

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

THE FARMER

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Help protect your livelihood. NSW Farmers is your voice – we are only as strong as you make us. The greater our numbers; the greater our voice.

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More needs to be done to stay safe

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Use your voice, become a member at nswfarmers.org.au or call 1300 794 000.

Contact the Member Service Centre on 1300 794 000 or your local regional services manager:

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www.nswfarmers.org.au 02 9478 1000 @nswfarmers

THE TAIL END

Farm hit by space junk Drought. Floods. Pandemics. Labour shortages. Trade embargoes. Spiralling energy costs. These are just some of the things that keep farmers up at night.

Now they can add another potential curveball to the list: space junk plummeting to Earth at a speed of up to 25,000km per hour. Words IAN LLOYD NEUBAUER

J

LAND AHOY !

When space junk re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it normally burns off or lands in the sea.

Not this time – below is the space junk on Jordan Hobb’s farm.

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ordan Hobbs, a cattle farmer near Tumbarumba, who found a one-metrelong skateboard-shaped bit of space junk on his property in late August, told the ABC: “I wear a cowboy hat but I am considering wearing a motorcycle helmet.”

When space junk re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it normally burns off or lands in the sea.

Reports of it hitting land in Australia were very rare – until recently. The last significant confirmed incident was in 1979, when sections of Skylab – the US space station – crashed in a remote part of Western Australia.

But Jordan is the third farmer to have discovered space junk on his property this winter following a widely heard sonic boom believed to be caused by the re-entry into the atmosphere of Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew-1 Dragon spacecraft, which was launched in November 2020.

On July 25, Mick Miners, a sheep farmer near Jindabyne, stumbled across a mysterious

NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2022

three-metre high black obelisk embedded into the ground in a remote part of his property.

“It’s a bit of worry when things just start falling out of the sky,” he told the national broadcaster. “It’s a fair size. It’s sort of wedged into the ground pretty well. It must have fallen pretty hard I would say.”

The first person Mick contacted was his neighbour Jock Wallace, who also found space junk on his farm. “It’s quite exciting to think that it’s fallen into your paddock, and there might be a whole lot more out there too, in other peoples’ paddocks. I don’t think you’d fare too well if it landed on you though,” he said.

Dr Brad Tucker, an astrophysicist at The Australian National University in Canberra, told the podcast, Briefing: “As we launch more and more things up, the likelihood of this happening more is a real risk and a real worry, so we have to find better ways of limiting space junk,

getting rid of space junk, and have proper controls on space junk.”

Such controls do not yet exist, perhaps because no one has ever been killed or even injured by space junk. A new study published in science journal Nature Astronomy calculates there is, on average, a 10 per cent chance of one or more casualties from space junk over the next decade.

Mick and Jock made many enquiries to get to the bottom of the mystery, including local police, the Australian space agency and Brad at the Australian National University, who contacted SpaceX on their behalf.

After visiting Mick and Jock’s farm to inspect the wreckage, SpaceX agreed to set up a global hotline for other people to report space junk.

Now the two sheep farmers have an even more compelling yarn to tell, about how they created change in the world’s most famous private space company. l

www.nswfarmers.org.au

I’m a Member of NSW Farmers because…

“I am one of the great defenders of farming organisations like NSW Farmers you will ever find because together we stand, united we fall. All farmers in NSW need NSW Farmers to be able to take a united stand on issues that matter to us.”

Terry Fishpool - Tottenham Branch

Join NSW Farmers today www.nswfarmers.org.au 02 9478 1000 @nswfarmers

New tools for farmers More carbon Bigger yields Better margins w ww.loambio loambio.com .com