The Rural Leader November 2020

NOVEMBER 2020

A N E W P E R SP E C TIV E ON AGRICULTURE

RATE RISE FURY Bundaberg landholders slapped with 235% rate rise

PAGES 4-5

TALKIN’ CATTLE

Major breed societies discuss record-breaking year

PAGES 8-11

#EAT LOCAL Outstanding individuals committed to delivering Queensland’s top produce

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AG TRIUMPHS IN PANDEMIC www.rural-leader.com.au

Droughtmaster.com.au Photographer – Stacey Ford Photography

contents 4 Rural landholders battle council over rate rises

A CORSORTIUM of farmer groups have joined forces in what is quickly becoming a David and Goliath battle, as they rally against Bundaberg Regional Council’s decision to significantly increase the cost of rates on farmland.

7 Labor wins the Queensland election

page 18

AS Queenslanders have re-elected Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Government into power for another four years, The Rural Leader takes a look at what was promised to the agriculture sector during the election campaign.

8-10 Cattle breed organisations discuss big year

AN ‘incredible market’ has seen high demand and record-strong prices across all types of Brahman cattle in the commercial and stud industries this year.

14-15

Trending Topics

Anticipated drought-breaking rainfall across northern and eastern Australia this summer is expected to allow the national herd rebuild to gain pace, according to Meat & Livestock Australia.

page 8

18-19 Moble Homestead

A PROUD western Queensland pastoral family have found a unique way to diversify their 120,000acre sheep property, with the introduction of a homestay.

page 25

page 28

25 My Smoko Break

Hayley Maudsley is a successful author, having published two recipe books in recent years. She previously contributed weekly column for the Rural Weekly and runs her popular Facebook page My Smoko Break, which has 140,000 enthusiastic followers.

28-29

Smarter irrigation

33-35

Bush formals

As costs of production rise and sugar prices fluctuate, smarter irrigation and rotational fallow crops are helping deliver productivity gains for next generation Mackay cane grower Steve Muscat.

A collection of stunning images from right across Queensland of rural kids dressed up for their formals and graduations.

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Front cover image credit: Kellarni Creative - National Farmers Federation.

PUBLISHER - Myallyn Trust in association with The Longreach Printing Company - Andrew Stewart Woodford, Queensland, - 0411 722 680 andrewstewart@newsleader.com.au EDITOR

ADVERTISING SALES

ADVERTISING SUPPORT/DESIGNER

Candyce Grew

David Brereton

Anna Hamilton

Warwick, Queensland

Toowoomba, Queensland

Killarney, Queensland

0438 033 765

0408 332 846

0429 505 697

editorrl@newsleader.com.au

Davidbrereton@newsleader.com.au

adminrl@newsleader.com.au

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Annette Weatherstone

Colin Jackson

Clifton, Queensland 0428 844 937

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

salesrl@newsleader.com.au

Pene Grant-Taylor

DISTRIBUTION AND PRINTING

The Rural Leader is mailed direct to all Queensland farmers and graziers.

Subscriptions to be mailed to PO Box 1387 Woodford 4514 or emailed to adminRL@newsleader.com.au.

Distribution by Donna Gaines, Cocos Grove Pty Ltd, Virginia, Queensland.

The Rural Leader is printed by Spotpress, Marrickville, New South Wales.

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RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

Welcome to your Rural Leader

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publication.

elcome to the inaugural edition of The Rural Leader monthly

We are proud to present a new perspective on the agricultural industry.

While The Rural Leader is a new product in Queensland, the experienced team are not new to the rural and publishing industries.

Farmer and highly successful publisher Andrew Stewart of Myallyn Trust, in conjunction with The Longreach Printing Company, saw a gap in the market, with the closure of most local Queensland newspaper operations.

Andrew has started various successful and familiar newspapers including Owner

Driver and Blue’s Country Magazine.

Blue’s Country Magazine had a special connection with rural Queenslanders, especially through its long-time editor Colin Jackson. As editor-atlarge of The Rural Leader, Colin reflects on his long history in rural media in this first edition. (See Page 43.)

Andrew has teamed up with former employees from the popular Rural Weekly newspaper, including Editor, Candyce Grew, sales representatives David Brereton and Annette Weatherstone and sales coordinator Anna Hamilton.

Candyce is an award-winning journalist and was the Editor of the Rural Weekly for four and a half years, until its closure in June, 2020. She

grew up on a beef cattle and cropping operation in southern Queensland and has enormous passion for agriculture.

The Rural Leader is an independent paper that is passionate about supporting the agriculture sector.

David Brereton and Annette Weatherstone have over six decades of advertising experience between them – and are both driven to promote and represent the agricultural industries.

The monthly edition is delivered free to farmers and graziers right across Queensland.

Annette and her family live on the Darling Downs and run a small sheep operation.

Anna Hamilton has over a decade’s experience in the media industry. Anna and her family live on a beef cattle property outside Killarney on the Southern Downs.

The Rural Leader also runs a weekly print product inside the Longreach, Callide Dawson and Highland Leader newspapers.

The next Rural Leader monthly edition for December-January will be out on December 7.

Visit our website www.ruralleader.com.au for daily rural news updates and sign up to our weekly digital newsletter.

Like Blue’s Country Magazine, we welcome your feedback on any rural or lifestyle issues.

Post or email is good – we will read them all. Posted editorial submissions can be sent to 9 O’Donnell Court, Warwick, Queensland, 4370 or emailed to editorrl@newsleader.com.au.

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NEWS

Farmers versus council:

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Including Gladstone, who passed a special coronavirus motion to cap rate rises for all ratepayers.

The consortium consists of AgForce, Bundaberg Fruit & Vegetable Growers, Bundaberg Canegrowers and Canegrowers Isis and claims the council is forcing farmers off the land – due to more than 200 farmers having their rates double in price – with one farmer suffering a 235 per cent increase alone.

Goondiwindi Regional Council’s rates halved on 2019 with Mayor Lawrence Springborg stating “Council was extremely mindful of the impact of current circumstances - including the ongoing drought - in its preparation of the 2020-21 Budget.”

Candyce Grew EDITOR CORSORTIUM of farmer groups have joined forces in what is quickly becoming a David and Goliath battle, as they rally against Bundaberg Regional Council’s decision to significantly increase the cost of rates on farmland.

Bundaberg Regional Council Mayor Jack Dempsey said the region “has some unique challenges” with valuations “because property has experienced rapid gains in coastal areas and horticulture” while other sectors remain relatively stagnant.

“Valuations rose 46 per cent across the entire agricultural category. Most other ratepayers had little or no increase in their valuations,” Mr Dempsey said.

“To offset this, council either had to budget for an increased deficit (already $5.2 million) or spread the impact of higher agricultural rates across other categories.

“Councillors decided it would have been unfair on residential pensioners, mums and dads and small businesses for them to subsidise agricultural ratepayers whose wealth from holding land increased substantially.”

AgForce’s Tom Marland, who is also a grazier in the region, said Bundaberg was an agri-business driven economy.

South Burnett, North Burnett, Fraser Coast, Banana, Central Highlands, Maranoa and Western Downs Regional councils also capped their rates to CPI.

“In March, this year the Goondiwindi region saw huge changes in land valuations determined by the Queensland Government’s Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy,” Mr Springborg said.

“For example, some rural areas within our region - especially throughout the larger mixed brigalow farming and irrigated floodplains of Goondiwindi, and to the west around North Talwood - saw valuation changes ranging from zero to 80 per cent.

Some commercial and industrial properties experienced valuation increase of up to 120 per cent.

“To ensure that individual ratepayers are not too adversely affected by this year’s huge fluctuations in land valuations, council is maintaining a cap of 20 per cent on the rate increase for any one property.

Despite this, 441 of the 5,208 rate notices will unfortunately still include an increase

“Despite Bundaberg Mayor Jack Dempsey pledging to work to keep farmland rates increases at CPI (Consumer Price Index) in his 2020 pre-election campaigning, just months later farmers are reeling from rates increases up to 235 per cent,” Mr Marland said.

“That’s simply outrageous, and no one can afford that. We’re still in drought, we’re battling water security issues associated with Paradise Dam, and we’re dealing with COVID. “Right now, this region has 17 per cent unemployment.

“I know one farming family that has seen a jump of more than $30,000 in their rates bill. That’s a lot of money to be ripped from the community spend and put into council’s coffers.”

While Bundaberg Regional Council said land valuations forced rate rises, other ruralbased Queensland regional councils had adjusted their cents in the dollar to CPI.

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RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

of more than five per cent due to the increase in their land valuation but 573 rate notices will see a reduction of up to 40 per cent.”PLEA TO CEO BULLYARD farmer Lee-Anne Clark sent a personal plea to the Chief Executive Officer of Bundaberg Regional Council Steve Johnston. Mrs Clark wrote to Mr Johnston, speaking up not only for her family farm but for families living and working the land in Bullyard who also have been hit by the unexpected and unplanned-for huge bills.

“Like the majority of our neighbours and community, my family are farmers,” she said.

“We are honest and patriotic community members who give selflessly and rarely complain, as that is the nature of most country people. However, the latest iteration of our rate notices has left us shocked and confused.

“Despite public assurances by Mayor Jack Dempsey in the Canegrowers magazine leading up to the rates notice, the dramatic increase in rates, in our case double, has called into question the motives of local government if you consider that there is no additional benefits on offer.

“How can this be reconciled when, as is my understanding, the total rates bill from the community will increase by $5 million with all of the increase coming from Category 9 ratepayers. As a family business, I have calculated the recent rate notices as a total of close to $40,000 to pay for the year.

Five generations: Montanna, Graham, Sienna, Janette, Lee-Anne and Mitchell Clark are standing up against rates hikes of up to 235 per cent. Photo: Solana Photography

NEWS

Fighting ‘unfair’ rate hikes “I am at a loss to understand how this is justified. Some of our properties’ rates have more than doubled in cost.”

Mrs Clark told the CEO she feared for the future of the region.

Mrs Clark did not receive responses to her points from Mr Johnston.

Instead Mr Johnston sent Canegrowers and other farming organisations a letter saying farmers suffering hardship could “enter into a payment plan with council”.

He added: “Interest will apply to any balances that remain unpaid after January 1, 2021.”

THE BIGGEST BILL Bundaberg Canegrowers Director and third-generation farmer Dean Cayley said it showed “complete disregard” for a sector that is a cornerstone of the community.

“You have to wonder what game is being played here at a time when farmers and the whole community is facing hardship – drought, water security issues, exorbitant

power prices, COVID and unemployment,” he said.

“This is a rate rise that was delivered in a way that was stealthy and completely unexpected and is impacting all farming sectors.”

Mayor Dempsey said he was aware of the consortium running an organised campaign against the rate rises.

“Despite the pressure, council won’t be reissuing rates notices or providing a blanket concession to an entire category, thereby shifting valuation impacts to residential pensioners, mums and dads and small businesses,” he said.

“Agricultural industry organisations would give their members better value for money by raising awareness in Brisbane about the long-term pain of taking water from Paradise Dam. “As mayor I’ve always strived to unite our different communities and work with industry stakeholders to achieve the best possible outcomes for the Bundaberg region.

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“We might have disagreements from time to time, but we should all work together for the overall wellbeing of our community,” he said. Third generation cattle farmer Michael St Henry, said the rates were now their biggest bill.

“A $20,000 rates bill is bigger than our insurances, bigger than our fuel, bigger than any other cost.”

They run 850 head of cattle on 5,200 acres and have seen a rates hike of 80 per cent on 2019 levels.

“We are really wondering what Mayor Jack Dempsey is trying to do to us. Is he trying to get rid of us when we’re just trying to survive?”

Bundaberg Canegrowers, AgForce, Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers and Canegrowers Isis are driving a petition to bring rates back to CPI for all ratepayers, urban and farming.

Go to www.gopetition.com/petitions/donttreat-bundy-farmers-like-rubbish-reversethe-235-rates-hike.html

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INNOVATION

Farm goes to the city as COVID drives business online

Kay Tommerup

M Rim.

y husband Dave and I run Tommerup’s Dairy Farm in Queensland’s Kerry Valley in the Scenic

Our 200-acre property is a working dairy farm and in addition to the milk, butter and cream from our beloved Jersey cows, we also produce milk-fed heritage pork, paddock grown milk-fed veal, pasture-raised lamb, and pastured eggs.

And because we really love sharing our farm with others, we also have a growing agritourism business, offering farm stays, tours and special events. The agritourism was initially a response to the deregulation of the dairy sector in 2000, and our need to diversify our income streams. But it has become a much bigger part of life here than we initially anticipated.

Dave’s family have a long and proud history of farming in the area and we appreciate being able to share this with so many interested visitors.

Having grown up with a taste of farming life, on the semi-rural outskirts of Brisbane, it’s all I’ve ever wanted! As a girl my parents would take us out to country dances every weekend, and I kept going to these as a young adult.

One night I met Dave, we really hit it off and 25 years and two kids later (hi Harry and Georgia), here I am!

Dave’s the fifth generation of his family to farm here, his great great grandfather first selected and established the farm in 1874 and the original homestead, built in 1888 is now one of our farm stay houses. Dave and I live in his grandparent’s house built in 1939 – he spent his first couple of years living in this house with his grandparents so it’s very special for him to live here with

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his family.

With all this history and connection to the land, it was never really a choice of where we were going to live!

And of course, I was really happy to move here and make it my home too. If ever you have visited the Scenic Rim yourself you’ll know what I mean, it’s just the most beautiful part of the world.

Maybe this is why so many of our visitors go on to adopt our farm and family as their ‘country cousins’! It’s pretty incredible to see a bunch of school kids arrive, terrified of animals, and leave completely in love with them, telling me that they’ve had the best day ever! We love seeing how quickly the kids grow these relationships with the animals.

Since Queensland’s COVID-19 restrictions eased up around June, we feel like we’ve never been busier! People are itching to get out of the city and experience life’s simple pleasures.

Everyone has been so stressed this year, (of course!), and coming out to our farm, whether it’s for a picnic, a getaway, an educational experience or even a quick visit, seems to help. Our guests can sit on a rug and look out over the farm, share our beautiful produce and watch their kids run around. They also get to see and feed the animals, learn more about our local produce and build a connection to our farm and what we do. It’s a great scene!

I really think that we live in the best country in the world in terms of food supply and security.

Like most farmers we know, the pandemic didn’t affect our production so much, but it did change how we could get that food to our customers. So we adjusted and overcame that pretty quickly.

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

Our customer couldn’t come to the farm, so we took our farm to the city.

I set up an online store on our website, used social media to communicate our pivot plan and off we went, delivering our meat, dairy and eggs directly to our customers in Brisbane.

It was so popular we considered purchasing a larger vehicle so we could keep up with demand!

The connections we had already built with our customers meant it was quite easy to continue to get our farm product onto their family dinner table.

We hear the phrase “we’re all in this together” so much at the moment, and I think it’s important that we realise that this is certainly the case when it comes to food in Australia.

As farmers, we take a huge amount of pride in producing the highest quality products for our fellow Australians.

We need the consumer to take pride in being part of the food chain as well.

When consumers make a choice about what to buy, not just during COVID, but as part of their everyday life choices, farmers need them to see value beyond the checkout price. We need people to recognise the value in supporting sustainability, innovation, and quality – farmers can’t continue to strive for these things without knowing the consumer has our back too.

Food security is everyone’s responsibility and by connecting farmers and consumers, we can all feel part of shaping our food future.

The great part is, it’s never been easier to get to know the farmers and producers in your area or state or country. And the more you connect with the people

growing your food, the more you realise and appreciate how hard they are working to contribute to the economy and put good clean food on tables.

There are so many farmers now online, showing up on social media and virtually taking people around their farms and sharing their passion for what they do. I think this is a really positive move in terms of connecting farmers and consumers.

And of course it’s not the same as actually going to someone’s farm but even these online platforms can help grow a connection between the farmer in the paddock and the person sitting at the plate! And importantly, it provides an opportunity for consumers to ask questions and get direct answers.

For example, we really welcome people asking us (in person or on Instagram) why it matters so much when the price of milk goes up or down a cent or two per litre. It’s good to be able to explain that clearly, and convey to people how big an impact those price changes can make.

From then on, people aren’t just buying a bottle of milk, they’re making a considered choice because of what they know.

Because of the relationship they have developed.

When people do make those connections with their farmers, they value the produce so much more. And that’s good for everyone I think!

This story was originally published on the AustralianFarmers website.

AustralianFarmers is an online community powered by the National Farmers’ Federation and this story has been reproduced with permission.

Labor’s promises to Queensland ag

STATE ELECTION

Candyce Grew EDITOR

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S Queenslanders have re-elected Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Government into power for another four years, The Rural Leader takes a look at what was promised to the agriculture sector during the election campaign. $5.4 MILLION TO PROTECT FARMERS The Palaszczuk Government will provide another $5.4 million to safeguard Queensland’s vital agriculture industry, with more wild dog fencing and protection from disease. $4 million will be provided in Regional Agricultural Development Grants to fund more cluster fencing and other measures to help grow the sheep industry in Western and Southern Queensland. $1.4 million will be available in

Biosecurity Grants, to equip local councils, industry groups and natural resource groups to prepare for and respond to biosecurity threats like Panama Disease and White Spot.

The Premier said the price drops would start from July 1 next year – following on the heels of the Palaszczuk Government’s existing water price relief measures.

JUST ADD CHEAP WATER

Labor candidate for Burdekin Mike Brunker said Labor has also made local agriculture an election priority with commitment to build an Agricultural Centre of Excellence at Bowen TAFE.

Irrigation water costs for thousands of Queensland farmers will be cut by up to 50 per cent to grow jobs under a re-elected Palaszczuk Labor Government.

Labor’s commitment will deliver: A 15 per cent cut in irrigation water charges for the 6,400 farmers who buy water from Queensland’s 35 state-owned irrigation schemes. This includes broad-scale crops like sugarcane.

A 50 per cent cut – half-price water - for fruit and vegetable growers, recognising the number of harvesting and picking jobs this could create.

Increased weaning, carcase and joining weights Superior grass finishing ability Lower bull cost per calf weaned

Annastacia Palaszczuk

TAPPING INTO FUTURE FOODS REVOLUTION The Palaszczuk Government will invest $1 million to deliver a business case to potentially make the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsundays regions a hub for future foods.

State Development Minister Kate Jones said the announcement came after strong lobbying from the Member for Mackay.

“Plant-based alternative foods and products like bioplastics that are made out of food waste have the potential to create thousands of jobs in this region,” Ms Jones said.

“We believe the Mackay, Isaac and Whitsunday regions tick all the boxes to be a world leader in this space.

“The business case we’ve announced will help us put in place a strategy to capitalise on this sector.

GET IN TOUCH What commitments would you like to see the Palaszczuk Government make to help the agricultural sector? Email commentary to editorrl@ newsleader.com.au.

HOW THE BREEDS FARED

Producers confident in rebuilding herds with black cattle Peter Parnell

D in 2020.

EMAND from both the seedstock and commercial sectors have pushed Angus cattle to record prices

The record average price for Angus bulls sold at auction this year reached $20,384.

Un-joined Angus stud heifers averaged $9,068, while PTIC commercial Angus females hit a record high of $3,900.

Add this to records for both steers and heifers at the Roma Saleyards and you get what appears to be unprecedented demand for black cattle.

Angus Australia CEO Peter Parnell said it was hard not to be surprised by just how strong bull

sales were this Spring.

“These outstanding results are a testament to the overall confidence in the market for high quality Angus genetics,” Mr Parnell said.

“I think it is highly correlated with sheer confidence in the beef industry, driven by cattle price.

“We’ve seen the same trend in the past, when a strong commercial cattle market will fuel a surge in bull sale results, it seems to even over-ride seasonal impact.”

Mr Parnell said the cattle market was fueling tremendous confidence among commercial bull buyers.

“Hopefully, our message about the impact of performance recording is filtering through – of the value

in investing in high performance genetics.”

Angus Australia’s marketing and communications manager, Diana Wood said the records showed commercial producers were looking to rebuild with a breed they could trust.

“Producers are going deep into their pockets to purchase Angus bulls and females,” she said.

“Each week we are seeing unprecedented demand for Angus females, across saleyards, AuctionsPlus and on property sales as restockers look to rebuild their herds.

“The demand for Angus females is Australia wide and in particular restockers are chasing commercial females with known

genetics and are willing pay top money for top quality Angus genetics.

Mr Parnell said it was evident there was a significant lift in genetic trends this year for the Angus breed index values which suggested significant culling of older, lesser performing females had taken place.

“We are seeing a greater rate of genetic progress this year in the ABI,” he said.

“It’s a response to a number of factors, partly that the message is getting through in terms of the value of selecting on performance.

“But given the amount of culling that’s occurred due to drought, the seedstock herd that is left is of higher genetic merit.”

Commercial producers prepared to pay top dollar for bulls

I

T HAS been an outstanding year for the cattle industry, with increased confidence and demand driving recordbreaking prices across stud and commercial fields.

Charolais Society of Australia general manager Colin Rex said it had been an interesting year for the breed, with increased sales and higher average prices amongst restrictions from COVID health protocols.

The top Charolais bull this year was bred by David and Sue Bondfield of Palgrove, Dalveen, Queensland.

The 24-month-old bull, Palgrove Pioneer (P) (R/F), weighed 984kg, had an eye muscle area of 144 square centimetres, and

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measured 42cm in the scrotal.

Len and Sue Bode, Percol Plains, McKinlay, purchased the bull sired by Silverstream Evolution (P) and from Palgrove Panache J1201E (R/F) for $64,000.

“Queensland sales have been particularly strong,” Mr Rex said.

“The confidence in the industry is really quite pleasing and it is reflecting in how much the commercial producers are prepared to pay for bulls.

“People who were lucky enough to get rain would see the Charolais cattle are taking advantage of the feed and efficiently converting it to muscle and growth.

“Our average, bull sale prices

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

this year in Queensland has been increased to $9,861 per head.”

we are still the number one European breed in Australia.”

To celebrate the breed’s 50th year in Australia, the society scheduled to hold the World Charolais Congress in August, which disappointingly did not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Rex said although the pandemic had put a stop to the world congress, Australian producers were fortunate to have quality online selling platforms to continue marketing their livestock.

“Across the board we’ve been disappointed we had to cancel our world congress,” Mr Rex said.

“Most stud breeders have been keen to adopt online selling, a lot more sales this year have gone online or incorporated online, especially with the borders shut,” he said.

“The event was planned and ready to go, but we will do it again in 2026.

“It is a shame we couldn’t celebrate our 50th anniversary, we were the first European breed in the country and have really blazed the trail for the rest of them and it is pleasing to know

“But we are still seeing cattle being sold all over Australia, whether it has been online or alternative methods.”

HOW THE BREEDS FARED

Brahmans set Australian record for commercial females

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Candyce Grew EDITOR

N ‘incredible market’ has seen high demand and record-strong prices across all types of Brahman cattle in the commercial and stud industries this year.

When The Rural Leader caught up with Australian Brahman Breeder’s Association manager Anastasia Fanning, she proudly described the breed’s exceptional year.

“Agriculture as a whole has been incredibly strong this year,” Ms Fanning said.

“It is great to see the commercial market strong and support the stud stock – it is a true credit to the Brahman breed.

“It shows how much the Brahmans are desired.”

In what is believed to be an Australian record price for commercial females, a pen of 104 Grey Brahmans sold for 1174.2c/kg liveweight at Charters Towers in September.

The No.9 heifers, averaging 302kg made $3546 a head, when bought by pioneer Brahman breeders the Joyce family’s Tropical Cattle Co, The Orient, Ingham.

They were part of a consignment of 266 heifers offered at the sale

by prominent Poll Grey Brahman breeders Kelvin and Margaret Maloney and Brad and Kelveen Hancock, Kenilworth Brahmans, Mt Coolon.

“It was incredibly exciting to see 100-odd heifers sell for that exceptional result,” Ms Fanning said.

“Brahman Week was also outstanding with so many top prices, we had $210,000, $180,000 and $140,000 – to average $12,400 was an exceptional result for the vendors and a credit to the presentation of their bulls.

“The previous top price at Brahman Week was $150,000, so to beat it twice was fantastic. And on the second day we saw a Red Brahman go for $140,000.”

The $210,000 bull bred by Steve and Theresa Taylor, Clukan Brahmans, Jambin, weighed 952kg.

The 27-month-old was progeny of JDH Mr Elmo Manso and Clukan Bella, and was purchased by two studs, Rosetta Grazing and Ruan Grazing, to become the most expensive bull sold this year.

The online livestream of the Rockhampton Brahman Week sale attracted 3,900 views.

“After the drought, there is a bit

of feed back in the paddock and as we get some more rain the market will continue to hold strong,” Ms Fanning said.

“We keep saying the market is short of cattle and there has been an enormous amount through the meatworks, but people who have grass also need to restock,” she said.

Ms Fanning said as field days and shows were cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the society continued to work on correlating data, measuring cattle and feeding numbers into BREEDPLAN. “Data is incredibly valuable to breeders,” she said.

“If you are not measuring what cattle are doing, you don’t have an understanding of where they are at or performing.

“The traits breeders are looking for is fairly general, some people may continue to look at BREEDPLAN – days to calving or mature beast weight - but others generally look at the structure of the animal - is it well-muscled, well structured, a completely developed bull?”

As coronavirus restrictions continue to ease in Queensland, Ms Fanning said the society is

positive Beef Australia will go ahead next May in Rockhampton.

“While it may not be to the capacity it has been in the past, certainly the international travel will be out of it and it is a terrible shame not to have them in the market to see what our cattle are doing,” Ms Fanning said.

“But it will be exciting for it to go ahead, we are expecting a large show team again. Each year we display a number of head in the pen section and it is always a wonderful display of bulls, cows and calves and heifers.”

For the first time this year the Australian Brahman Breeder’s Association ran a sale completely online.

“The Gympie Female sale actually achieved very good figures, it topped at $32,000,” Ms Fanning said.

“The vendors had plenty of visitors to their properties.

The lesser valued heifers would have benefited from a physical sale and I look forward to the sale returning to that in 2021.

Although the bottom heifers probably suffered a little.

“But I would say 99 per cent of our breed’s sales have had an online component to it in 2020.”

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HOW THE BREEDS FARED

Droughtmasters achieve ‘one of its best years’ to date Candyce Grew EDITOR

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N improved season, record cattle prices, and a progressive board has seen the Droughtmaster breed go from strength to strength this year.

Reflecting on 12 months in the job, Droughtmaster Australia general manager Simon Gleeson said there was confidence in the breed going forward.

This year the breed has seen five Droughtmaster bulls sell for in excess of $100,000.

The Droughtmaster National Sale held at Rockhampton in September topped at $160,000, to average $10,990 per head.

The sale topper was the 21-month-old homozygous polled Rondel Whiskey, bought in a three-way stud buy by the High Country, Nindethana Pastoral and Glenlands D studs.

Described as ‘one of the better sires of the year’, Whiskey weighed 836kg, and had a 142 square centimetre eye muscle area, and a 39cm scrotal measurement.

“It’s been a record sale year for us,” Mr Gleeson said.

“And that comes down to a number of factors – we are

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coming off the back of a pretty bad drought, the benefits of using Droughtmaster cattle or bulls are being recognised and there’s an uplift in the cattle market across the board.

“There’s a lot of confidence in the industry, particularly those looking at the seasonal forecast for a LaNina at the end of the year.”

Alongside great market conditions, the Droughtmaster society has been working hard behind the scenes over the past 12 months to roll out a strategic plan to help the breed move forward.

Mr Gleeson said following a survey of their membership last year, they were able to identify key areas to drive the breed, which included marketing and promotion across the complete supply chain, data analysis and the need for corporate partners.

Last year Japanese beverage company Asahi, launched Droughtmaster Lager which resulted in a partnership being formed with Droughtmaster Australia. The lager, now available in 90 pubs and clubs in Queensland is marketed as a “an easier drinking modern beer still tough for Australians.”

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

Mr Gleeson said they are also working to get Droughtmaster beef on the menu to serve alongside the beer.

“We’ve also just recently entered into a partnership with Ariat Australia, which is a really good fit for us, a lot of our members wear Ariat clothing,” he said.

“Through social media channels, we are looking at a number of different giveaways with Ariat and Just Country Australia as a way to increase our social media exposure.”

Mr Gleeson said Droughtmaster Australia is currently involved in a research project to provide its members with more data on Droughtmaster cattle in order to be able to promote the benefits of the breed in a competitive industry.

“One of the other big things people may have noticed is we have rebranded ourselves, we’ve changed our logo and colours and our slogan is now ‘Australia’s natural wonder’ and we’ve modernised our website,” he said.

Later this year Droughtmaster Australia will launch a promotional video aimed at telling the story of the cattle right across the supply chain.

Simon Gleeson

“We’ve spoken to producers and discussed the benefits they see in the cattle, we have filmed at feedlots, processing facilities, pubs and clubs and high schools who incorporate Droughtmaster cattle in their educational programs,” Mr Gleeson said.

“It will be quite exciting to see it launched – I showed some members a preview during the National Droughtmaster Bull Sale and the feedback was great.”

HOW THE BREEDS FARED

Focus on breeding commercially relevant Herefords

Candyce Grew EDITOR

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S demand increases for performance cattle, Herefords Australia is set to investigate the benefits of crossing the red and white cattle with northern breeds such as Santa Gertrudis and Brahmans.

Herefords Australia general manager Andrew Donoghue said after a successful Black Baldy trial, which found better maternal traits in crossbred dams and higher growth rates in crossbred progeny, they would look at how the breed fits into the northern climates.

“Herefords dominate in the centre of the Northern Territory,” Mr Donoghue said.

“It just goes to show their hardiness.

“Taking what we can out of the Black Baldy trial – I think there will definitely be benefits on the fertility on the maternal side and some carcass quality improvements on the steer side.”

Mr Donoghue said during 2020 the Hereford breed had sold extremely well commercially.

“They have been as strong as any other breed – in the grass finishing areas we are getting some very strong results.”

With a number of new directors on the Herefords Australia board, Mr Donoghue said the society had a new focus, which included continuing to make sure the breed was commercially relevant.

“We’ve introduced a new committee structure and have some good initiatives moving forward that’s going to benefit the breed,” he said.

“We are in the very initial stages of redeveloping our marketing strategy, increasing our focus on technical services and having a look at some good industry initiatives.”

Mr Donoghue said coronavirus had had minimal effect on sales.

“We had pretty solid plans in place for our national sale in May, when coronavirus first hit,” he said.

“It was the first of the sales to really be affected by it, but it achieved a fantastic result.”

The 55th Herefords Australia National Sale saw a top line-up of Hereford bulls sell to $55,000 and average $9040.

Held online via AuctionsPlus due to coronavirus restrictions, 100 of 110 bulls sold in the online sale for a clearance of 91 percent and a sale gross of $904,000.

The top price of the sale of $55,000 was paid for Yarawa South Paradise P112, offered by the Forster-Peel Partnership of Batlow, NSW. Mr Donoghue said the northern sales had also gone from strength to strength this year as a result of “a few lean years” and where beef prices are sitting.

The top priced Hereford stud

Andrew Donoghue

bull bred by Steve and Deb Reid of Talbalba Herefords sold for $100,000 at their on-property sale at Delemere, Millmerran in August.

Talbalba Emperor PO43, a horned 953kg, 24-month-old, was sold to Graeme Newnham, Cara Park Herefords, Delungra, NSW, and Ant Baillieu, Yarram Park Herefords, Willaura, Victoria.

Santa record broken twice within weeks

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ECORDS are made to be broken” are the words from Santa Gertrudis Breeders’ (Australia) Association general manager Chris Todd, as he describes what has been an outstanding year for the cattle industry.

Since the beginning of the year the Santa Gertrudis breed has held records on Auctions Plus for its commercial cattle, as Santa steers made 690c/kg and Santa cross heifers achieved 683c/kg.

In the stud sale ring, the top price breed record was broken twice within a matter of weeks.

Early in September the record was set at $110,000 by David and Suzanne Bassingthwaighte, when Waco Queenslander Q384

(PS) sold for $110,000 at the Yarrawonga Waco sale near Wallumbilla and was purchased

by Rob and Lorraine Sinnamon, Yulgilbar Pastoral Company, Baryulgil, NSW.

Just two weeks later breeders Scott and Wendy Ferguson, Glenn Oaks Santa Gertrudis Stud, Nobby re-wrote the breed record when they sold a classified “S” bull, Glenn Oaks Palo P1211 (PS), a son of Warenda Kilimanjaro K4 (P) for $126,000, at the Santa Central sale.

Buyers Tom and Anna Dunlop, Munnabah Santa Gertrudis Stud, Coolah, NSW partnered with Howard and Kate Courts, Glenalbyn Santa Gertrudis Stud, Wellington, to secure the sire.

“It’s nice to see competition

internally with our breeders,” Mr Todd said.

“We had not had a bull make over $100,000 before, to see the record beaten twice this year was incredible.

“40 years ago, you would have thought $30,000 was a hell of a lot of money to pay for a bull.”

Mr Todd said the coronavirus pandemic had impacted certain sales on the calendar, particularly after Queensland closed its borders for the second time in August.

“When the borders closed the second time, ag was not considered an essential reason to travel, unlike when the borders were closed in July,” he said.

“It meant Queenslanders were

not able to get across the border for some of the sales, causing those studs to miss out on buyers.

“While most incorporate an online aspect into their sale, it is not the same as being able to see the cattle you are about to spend a fair bit of money on to purchase.”

Coronavirus restrictions also prevented the association from hosting its annual standards day and delegates meeting, but Mr Todd is confident these events will be able to go ahead next year.

“We are also looking forward to holding our youth camp in January, we cancelled it this year due to the drought and cattle tick infestations.”

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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Realising the potential of animal welfare To meet consumer expectations and ensure future profitability in Australia’s beef industry, greater focus must be placed on the continual improvement of animal welfare practices during the handling and transport of cattle. susceptibility to disease.”

Mr Corr investigated how facility design can reduce cattle stress, improve handling and minimise labour requirements.

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hat’s according to 2019 Nuffield Scholar and Central Queensland beef producer, Alistair Corr, who with support from Australian Agricultural Company, Consolidated Pastoral Company, North Australian Pastoral Company, S. Kidman & Co, and Elders, explored how continual improvement of animal welfare is appeasing consumer expectations and increasing farm profitability.

Travelling across the United States (US), the Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Brazil, Mr Corr visited producers, processors, industry bodies, universities, private researchers and government authorities to identify global tools that prioritise high standards of animal welfare.

Among several strategies is the handling and transport of cattle, working to minimise the cause and effect of stress on cattle to achieve production gains and mitigate losses.

“Travelling in New Mexico, US, I visited Dr Lyn Locatelli, a veterinarian who was trained in the behaviour modification method, Low Stress Stockhandling (LSS), which looks at how the interrelationship between cattle behaviour and humans can be manipulated to habituate cattle to the expectations of conventional

12

production systems,” Mr Corr said.

“Cattle moved by force experience a great deal of stress, commonly from not understanding what they’re being made to do. However, through LSS, you can reduce this stress, as it uses body language in a pressure then release manner which, in the correct situational context, conveys information that cattle understand.”

In the report, Mr Corr said staff training, management and workplace attitude, all play a significant role in improving animal welfare practices and reducing cattle stress.

“This was echoed by Dr Locatelli, who said that maintaining a positive attitude and focusing on the use of proper low stress handling techniques enables handlers to effectively communicate with cattle, while satisfying ideal welfare solutions,” Mr Corr said.

“When cattle are reacting to a stressor, they’re less likely to respond to subsequent influences.

“Increased cortisol levels released during periods of stress can also prevent the stimulation of the inflammatory and immune systems resulting in several physiological complications, from reduced reproduction rate to increased

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

“In Colorado, US, I was able to visit a cattle handling facility built by Dr Mary Temple Grandin’s facility designer, Mark Deesing, who demonstrated how the structural design and working function of yards can be congruent,” Mr Corr said.

“Theoretically the design embraces the animal’s instinctual behaviour to return to where they just came from, and by fostering this desire, producers can decrease cattle stress and make handling easier and safer.”

Though not as broadly adopted internationally or in Australia, Mr Corr also investigated indirect tools to increase animal welfare standards and policy, including the influence of transport monitoring.

“In the Netherlands, I met with Sanna Mesman, the national point of contact for animal welfare at the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, who was working to develop animal transport guidelines in relation to climate variability and extreme weather conditions,” Mr Corr said.

“In the development of these guidelines, trials were undertaken with precision monitoring company, Transport Genie, to monitor the climatic conditions in transit for a variety of species. It’s Ms Mesman’s belief that on-board monitoring will become a mandatory requirement for both animal welfare standards and to meet consumer expectations.

“Demonstrating accountability

and transparency is becoming increasingly important, as consumers play a greater role in deciding the difference between historical standards and future expectations.”

Mr Corr said the value of these strategies can be realised at a retail and market share level, by advocating the standards and demonstrating these through reporting and transparency.

“Profitability for the beef industry is achieved through both demonstrating standards at the retail level, and at the production level by reducing productivity losses and commodity discounting,” Mr Corr said.

“Baseline quality assurance programs implemented by industry groups and commercial companies provide the standards to retain market share and maintain integrity, allowing companies with high standards and transparency to achieve retail premiums.

“Though on-farm profitability is often the key to maintaining animal welfare standards, the continual improvement of animal welfare practices across the supply chain is critical to meeting consumer expectations and driving on-farm productivity and profitability.

“To meet consumer expectations, the Australian beef industry must place a priority on upholding the highest standards of animal welfare. By providing and sharing information about the techniques and tools available, producers will have the capabilities to enhance profitability, animal welfare outcomes and future sustainability of the industry.”

NEWS

Hundreds of ‘merry’ shoppers to descend on Southern Downs

ON December 5, a convoy of buses, filled with enthusiastic city people will travel from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, for a day out on the Southern Downs.

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he initiative by Brisbane woman Kristin Bonner, will see over 400 guests spread festive cheer to retailers and stallholders in the towns of Warwick and Stanthorpe who have been hit hard in recent years through drought, bushfires and coronavirus.

Merry Muster founder and Brisbane woman Kristin Bonner organised the inaugural event last year which saw 57 people from the city spend up to $17,500 in Dalby and Bell.

“2020 has been a really hard year, especially for people in regional areas,” Ms Bonner said.

“The event will put some much-needed money into the pockets of small rural business owners.

Southern Downs Regional Council has moved its annual Christmas to coincide with the Merry Muster, while Ms Bonner spoke to the Warwick Potters Place Gallery and Artspace about hosting a craft market.

More than 100 stallholders from across the region have signed up to take part, selling unique gifts that can’t be found in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast.

Those aboard the Merry Muster buses are also encouraged to bring an empty

esky which they can fill with fresh produce and wines.

“The Southern Downs has some of the best food offerings in Australia, ranging from fruit and vegetables to meats and cheese,” she said.

“We’ll be doing more celebrating at home this year, so it’s the perfect time to get creative in the kitchen and use some quality ingredients.”

A portion of ticket sales will also be gifted to two local charities on the day that are close to Ms Bonners heart.

For more information email merrymuster@gmail.com and to follow the event The Merry Muster on Facebook.

TOP

Founder of the Merry Muster Kristin Bonner.

TOP LEFT

Hundreds of shoppers returning to the coaches after a successful day of retail theorpy at Dalby and Bell last year.

BOTTOM LEFT

Shoppers spent over $17,500 on the Merry Muster last year, providing a much-needed boost to rural towns.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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TEN TRENDING TOPICS

Herd rebuild buoyed by anticipated summer rain across Australia

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nticipated droughtbreaking rainfall across northern and eastern Australia this summer is expected to allow the national herd rebuild to gain pace, according to Meat & Livestock Australia

outlook for the industry was positive.

“While the COVID-19 pandemic has disturbed some markets and market segments, overall, both global and domestic demand for Australian beef remains stable,” Mr Bull said.

“July’s projection forecast for a 17 per cent decline in cattle slaughter from 2019 levels remains unchanged, with 2020 slaughter estimated at seven million head.

Having fallen an estimated 12 per cent in the two years to June 2020, the Australian cattle herd is still forecast to increase by 1.9 per cent to 25.1 million head in the yearto-June 2021, encouraged by positive seasonal conditions across many production regions and high cattle prices.

“As a flow-on effect of a sharp decline in adult cattle slaughter, national beef production is now expected to contract 15 per cent year-on-year to 2.05 million tonnes carcase weight in 2020.

This contraction would represent the lowest level of national beef production since 2001.

MLA Market Analyst Stuart Bull said while Australia’s beef industry continues to face a series of unique and unprecedented market conditions across both supply and demand, the

Mr Bull said while global markets continue to face uncertainty from COVID19’s economic impacts, growth in population and middle-class incomes, combined with continuing effects of African Swine Fever on Chinese pork supply, underpin the appetite for Australian beef.

“The beef export forecast for 2020 remains unchanged from the July update, at just over one million tonnes shipped weight, a decline of 17 per cent relative to 2019,” Mr Bull said.

Mr Bull said looking at prices, with the focus on the herd rebuild and declining female slaughter levels, low supply and high demand should keep pressure on the cattle market.

Market and seasonal conditions strengthen Australian agriculture

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eflective of the strong position Australian agriculture is currently in, the NAB Rural Commodities Index was up 5.8 per cent yearon-year in September, driven by good seasonal conditions and largely encouraging price trends.

The NAB Rural Commodities Wrap details the substantial impacts La Niña is expected to have on Australian agriculture.

NAB Agribusiness Economist, Phin Ziebell, said increased rainfall means more grass and higher restocker demand for cattle, more inflows into depleted water storages and potentially higher grain yields.

New quad bike safety measures now mandatory

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“Historically, La Niña events have led to increased wheat production. This season, we expect an Australian wheat crop around 28 million tonnes – the biggest crop since the 2016 record,” Mr Ziebell said.

Reflective of the fastest runup in cattle prices in Australian history, the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator has been setting new records all year, the latest being 801c/kg.

“With the EYCI now at record levels, good rainfall in Queensland may push prices even higher, yet prices remain detached from global fundamentals, with demand in the US and Europe dependent

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LL new and imported second hand quad bikes sold in Australia must now meet the first stage of the government’s mandatory safety standard.

All quad bikes sold in Australia must be tested for lateral static stability, display the angle at which

on COVID-19 infection levels,” Mr Ziebell said.

Lamb prices have rebounded to year-ago levels, with the National Trade Lamb Indicator around 750c/kg.

While the spring flush is kicking in, it is expected the seasonal outlook will limit price downside risk.

Global Dairy Trade auction results have improved since September, although the demand outlook is mixed.

“Cotton prices remain fairly low, although we have seen relatively little change in AUD terms over the last few months,” Mr Ziebell said.

Polled gene testing for a more sustainable herd

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mproved animal welfare, economic benefits to producers and positive community perception are just some of the impacts that come from breeding polled cattle, paving the way towards a more sustainable beef industry.

University of New England Animal Genetics and Breeding Unit Research Fellow, Dr Natalie Connors, is well versed in polled genetics and testing.

She has spent five years researching and improving understanding in this area and, throughout that time, she’s witnessed the evolution of testing for polled genetics.

The genotyping landscape changed in 2017, with commercialisation of genotyping in Australia and an increase of labs.

This led to the adoption of the SNP test, which reads the DNA to pick up variations

relating to polled animals.

“The advantage of the SNP test is that producers don’t need to provide phenotypes, so it’s a simpler, more efficient and more accurate test,” Dr Connors said.

While SNP testing has been successful in identifying polled and horned animals, there’s still work to be done on testing for scurs.

“Unfortunately, when some producers are dehorning, they’re getting rid of anything that looks like a horn, including scurs, making collecting phenotypes for these animals very difficult,” Natalie said.

“We already understand the genetics of horns, and adoption of the polled gene will result in breeding them out, but now the focus is on achieving the same with scurs.”

Breeding program to strengthen chickpea industry

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he GRDC has launched its new Chickpea Breeding Australia program to improve chickpea production across Australia.

The GRDC Chair John Woods said the program was an excellent example of collaboration between the GRDC and NSW DPI that would deliver for growers across the country.

“This investment in both operations and infrastructure will result in significant increases in chickpea breeding capacity over the next five years,” Mr Woods said.

Chickpea Breeding Australia is a $30 million, five-year research collaboration between the GRDC and the NSW Government, and will be delivered from the NSW

Department of Primary Industries’ Tamworth Agricultural Institute.

A new $2.5 million worldclass glasshouse and controlled environment room facility has also been unveiled in Tamworth.

This state-of-the-art facility will be the headquarters for Chickpea Breeding Australia.

The announcement of the program also coincides with the launch of the latest Australian chickpea variety, CBA Captain.

This new erect desi chickpea variety has moderate lodging resistance and excellent harvestability with broad adaptation to all chickpea growing regions across Australia.

the quad bike tips onto two wheels on a hang tag at the point of sale, and carry a roll over warning label on the quad bike.

the Australian or United States standard and meet certain requirements of the United States or European quad bike safety standards.

rate of injuries and fatalities caused by quad bike accidents,” ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.

The owner’s manual must also include roll over safety information.

“This first stage of the standard is a significant step in improving the safety of quad bikes in Australia and addressing the extremely concerning

In October 2019, the Federal Government accepted the ACCC’s recommendation to introduce a new mandatory safety standard for quad bikes.

Additionally, the quad bikes must be fitted with a spark arrester that conforms to

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

TEN TRENDING TOPICS

Australia on track for above average winter crop

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ustralia is on track for a major recovery in grain production, with the winter harvest set to come in at above-average levels, according to forecasts by agribusiness specialist Rabobank.

In its Australian Winter Crop Production Outlook 2020/2021, the agribusiness bank says after three successive years of below-average production due to drought in many parts of the country, Australia’s “longawaited grain production recovery is here”, with the nation expected to

harvest 47.4 million tonnes of winter grains, oilseeds and pulses this year.

This is an increase of 63 per cent on last year and 16 per cent above the five-year average.

For New South Wales, it represents a staggering 366 per cent increase on last year’s harvest and for Queensland, 139 per cent – with all grain-growing states in Australia set to record an increase in production.

This will see Australia stage a major return to the global grains market, with Rabobank forecasting

the nation’s grain exports to increase 93 per cent on last year.

And exports would be supported by a relatively low Australian dollar (forecast to remain at around 70 US cents in the year ahead) and comparatively high global grains prices, the report said.

The report said with a La Niña now declared active by the Bureau of Meteorology – for the first time since 2010 – and expected to deliver a wet spring, this would help finish crops and improve soil moisture in the eastern states, ahead of summer crop planting.

Plan for nutrient removal impact when making hay

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rowers who cut crops for hay should consider the effect hay production can have on nutrient removal and next season’s nutrient budget allowance.

Norton Agronomic director and crop nutrition specialist Rob Norton said even a basic nutrient replacement strategy would need to change following hay cutting.

Dr Norton says soil testing to measure nutrient levels is important following hay cutting because hay contains greater concentrations of some nutrients than grain, and the quantities removed are also greater.

“Soil testing allows growers to understand where they are in terms of building, maintaining

or running down their nutrient levels,” he said.

“Removing the above ground parts of a cereal crop for hay typically takes up to three times more nitrogen than just grain removal.

It also removes up to 10 times more potassium and about five times more sulfur than if the crop was harvested for grain.

“The breakdown of the stubble straw usually recycles these nutrients back into the soil, so while cutting a droughted or frosted crop for hay may make immediate financial sense, the soil is missing out on that nutrient recycling and the subsequent nutrient budget may need increasing.”

New dung beetle species importation trumps COVID

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landmark stage in the Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers project has been reached with a new species of dung beetle landing on Australian shores.

Over 300 of the Onthophagus andalusicus beetles arrived safely at Canberra’s CSIRO importation facility after starting their journey from their native Morocco in 2019.

The beetles initially undergo stringent cleaning and rearing in a facility based in Southern France prior to their arrival in Australia.

O. andalusicus is the second species to be imported to Australia through the DBEE project, which aims to import three new species to fill current seasonal and geographic gaps of dung beetle

activity in southern Australia.

These introduced species are credited with the significant reduction of fly and nematode pest numbers in Australia, improvement of pasture growth and recycling of soil carbon and nutrients.

Onthophagus andalusicus is active in late winter and spring, in both beef and sheep dung – a huge plus for mixed farmers.

Hailing from northern Africa, it is estimated the beetle will thrive in climatic conditions similar to those in central and south Western Australia, southeast Southern Australia, northwest Victoria and central and southwest New South Wales.

Milestone for Emu Swamp project

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critical milestone in the construction of the 12,000 megalitre Emu Swamp Dam has been reached with the final phase of water sales with local irrigators underway. Emu Swamp Dam, Queensland’s first dam to be built in a decade, will provide water to 51 agribusiness customers and bring wide-reaching benefits to the Granite Belt in southern Queensland. The Palaszczuk

Government committed $13.6 million to kick start Emu Swamp Dam, with an advanced release of $6 million to fast-track the project.

The collective monetary support from irrigators will total $23.4 million, 28 per cent of the cost of the scheme, to be the highest proportion of private investment in water infrastructure in Queensland’s history.

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Power price a positive step forward

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anegrowers has welcomed a new option to help Queensland irrigators manage high electricity costs but said more work was needed to fix all the issues in the power pricing system.

“The confirmation from the Queensland Competition Authority that a new control load tariff, called T34, will be available as a primary tariff to farmers from November 1 is a victory for irrigators and comes off the back of years of lobbying from Canegrowers and other farm groups,” Canegrowers CEO Dan Galligan said.

Canegrowers is calling for the Queensland Government to commit to a suite of agricultural electricity tariffs

capped at 16c/kWh. T34 is close to that mark with a usage charge of 17.295 c/kWh and a daily fixed change of $1.18081 per day (both ex-GST).

Bundaberg grower Mark Pressler was part of a joint trial of the control load tariff run

by Canegrowers and Energy Queensland and said he was impressed.

“The tariff delivered some worthwhile cost savings for my business and the service interruptions were manageable,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to Ergon finalising its plan to send us text notifications so we know ahead of time when the power might be cut.”

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BUY FROM THE BUSH QLD

Side hustles demonstrate spirit of the bush Candyce Grew EDITOR

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EARS of relentless drought has prompted many farmers across the state to pursue a way to create an offfarm income, from making soaps in their shed, pouring candles or handcrafting jewellery and handbags.

When Darling Downs woman Kerri Brennan started her own small business, Little Miracles Maternity Wear, to help provide for her farming family, she stumbled across hundreds of other rural women in Queensland enjoying much success with their side hustles.

The Brennan’s 2000-hectare farm near Leyburn, west of Warwick, had almost completely dried up, and with five children, they could no longer rely on the farm as their sole income.

Being inspired by all the beautiful and unique products produced in rural Queensland, Mrs Brennan set up a Facebook page, Buy from the Bush Qld, designed to become a hub to help shoppers find handmade gifts created in the bush and in turn, helping farming families, financially.

A few years on and Mrs Brennan’s Facebook page has over 18,000 followers and a Buy from the Bush Qld directory is stored on a purpose-built website.

At the beginning of the year, Buy from the Bush Qld even toured western Queensland, providing social media workshops and one-on-one business coaching to bush businesses.

“We want to share the story behind the items you buy and show our urban friends the spirit of the bush as we push through drought and disasters like bushfires,” Mrs Brennan said.

“It’s more than buying a jar of jam, you’re supporting a family. But not all producers are computer savvy, and we want to show them how to join the online retail world, so they don’t miss out on such a unique opportunity.”

When The Rural Leader caught up with Mrs Brennan, her phone was ringing off the hook with queries about the latest exciting developments for Buy from the Bush Qld. “Christmas is coming, Buy from the Bush Qld is back in people’s

minds, it’s nice they haven’t forgotten us,” Mrs Brennan said.

of Fame wines for the museum to sell.

“I think people need something positive this year, Christmas is all about faith and family and I think coronavirus has made the value of our friends and family even more apparent, so there’s a lot of people who will celebrate even more so by spending their dollars.”

“I took a hit for the team and taste tested them – they were just beautiful and beautifully presented – in fact, I may need to taste test them again just to be sure,” Mrs Brennan joked.

BUSH SOUVENIRS THE Australian Stockmans Hall of Fame will feature Buy from the Bush Qld businesses in its gift store.

Mrs Brennan said she was excited to work with the Stockmans Hall of Fame at Longreach to promote Queensland’s homegrown creations.

“Instead of selling the same old stuff we see at every gift store, they will sell a beautiful range of products from Queensland businesses, from clothing to chocolate, to wine, it will all be there.”

Mrs Brennan said Moffatdale Ridge winery in the South Burnett had even created special Australian Stockmans Hall

“But it’s a really exciting step, it will be like walking into a whole Buy from the Bush Qld market space. We have ladies with businesses at Flinton and Augathella and they simply can’t get to the markets regularly, so to have their products sold at a major tourist destination will just be fantastic.

“There will be homemade gift cards, soaps, completely unique and authentically Queensland products, and it means people can help support the bush even further while they are visiting.”

START SHOPPING For more information about Buy from the Bush Qld, search for it on Facebook or visit www. buyfromthebushqld.com.au.

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BUY FROM THE BUSH QLD

Kangaroo hide

creates beautiful boutique handbags WESTERN Queensland cattle producer Nanette Hughes has a unique passion for creating beautiful handmade kangaroo hide handbags

Candyce Grew EDITOR

and clutches.

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he long-time seamstress and quilter said after participating in handbag making workshops about three years ago, the tutor urged her to start selling her creations.

“It took me about six months to decide to have a crack at it – my husband bought me an industrial sewing machine,” Nanette said.

“When I looked into it, a lot of people were using cow leather for handbags. At the time I could only find two or three others in Australia specialising in kangaroo hide.

“So, I thought “bugger it, I’m going all Australian”. The product is grown in Australia, the leather I buy is direct from a tannery in Brisbane and I make the bags here.”

While the Hughes’ 730-hectare Flinton property hasn’t received much rain this year, there’s still substantial feed and water on the property, meaning they are not hand-feeding

cattle at the moment, leaving Nanette more time to create her one-of-a-kind handbags.

“We could do with a drop, but we are hanging in there, we do have a bit of dry lick out but are not onto the feeding wagon,” she said.

“We destocked in the dry, we are down to about 85 cows and 10 weaners, but with the price of cattle we can’t afford to restock at the moment anyway.”

Nanette describes the kangaroo leather as simply beautiful.

“It’s so soft and strong, I love the smell of it, it’s like a lovely new leather smell, I’m so impressed with it, it’s really great to work with,” she said.

It has been three years since Nanette launched Jazz N Pep Boutique, (affectionally named after her grandchildren Jasmine and Pepper) and she has made “well over” 100 handbags.

She’s sold her handbags at local markets in the past, but her most successful avenue has been through Facebook, with assistance from the online initiative Buy from the Bush Qld. “Prior to Christmas last year I had something like 14 custom orders, I was pretty busy,” she joked.

It takes around four to five days for Nanette to make a custom handbag, depending on size and design - two to three days if it is made from a pattern.

“Custom orders are so much fun, people get to choose their own colours and patterns, they really get quite involved in it and excited,” Nanette said.

“It means their bag is a complete one-off, there will never be another one exactly the same.”

Some may be surprised to know Nanette is not a woman of a thousand bags herself, instead she still carts around one of her first creations.

“I’ve got one of the originals, it’s a suede outer, it gets flogged in the truck, car and ute and it’s not showing any signs of wear and tear,” she said.

To see more of Nanette’s work, search Jazz N Pep Boutique on Facebook.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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ON FARM

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MOBLE HOMESTEAD

The Rutledge family have been in the Quilpie district since 1914 and have lived on Moble for five generations.

Following a stint overseas, Meg moved back to the family property, near Quilpie, in 2017, to help her parents build an exclusion fence.

PROUD western Queensland pastoral family have found a unique way to diversify their 120,000-acre sheep property, with the introduction of a homestay.

They are proud wool producers, keen environmentalists and passionate about their country and its sustainability.

During the drought in 2018 the family property was 75 per cent destocked.

“At the time we had the capacity to start a new project and diversify the business,” Meg Rutledge said.

Graziers

“The homestay did help support the farm during the dry in 2018. (The homestay) business tripled its income in 2019, and it should have tripled again this year, but has been hindered due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“It’s something that doesn’t take away any resources from our business, isn’t

reliant on the season or commodity prices and has really made me feel like I am making a contribution to the family business.”

Once completed, Meg decided she wanted to stay and make her own contributions to the business.

Having worked in a bed and breakfast in Spain, Meg drew on her passion for wining and dining guests and saw enormous potential for a homestay on the family’s historic sheep property.

“When we were growing up, our place was always jampacked full of friends and friends of friends,” Meg said.

“We’re very social people, so a homestay was just a natural fit for us.

“I could see it would be something quite simple to set up and I love food and entertaining.”

While Meg’s mum, Kylie, was keen to show off her

open gates of historic property for guests

This farming family has turned their passion for food and entertaining into a profitable side income, writes Candyce Grew…

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RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

ON FARM beautiful gardens, Meg thought her dad, Brian, might have a different reaction.

“When we started talking about all the plans and how we would do it, like cooking and setting tables on the lawn, we joked Dad would be getting home from being out in the paddock and hiding on his iPad in the bathroom away from everyone,” she laughed.

“But he probably gets the most enjoyment out if it, out of all of us.

“He’s so proud of Moble and he has a captive audience he can tell all about it, Mum and I are often left rolling our eyes in the pantry.”

Meg said while COVID-19 had reduced numbers early in the year, it had opened up a unique opportunity to reach a market of travellers who would normally be overseas.

“We’ve had a heap of Queenslanders come to our little corner, which is not usually where people would go on an outback trip of Queensland - it is probably more common for them to do a big loop up to Longreach and Winton,” she said.

“There’s not many other homestays like ours, so it’s really nice if people want something different and to have a connection to the land on a one on one basis.”

Moble has the capacity to run 12,000 merino sheep and 400 Santa Gertrudis Shorthorn cross cattle but their numbers are currently only sitting at about 25 per cent.

“We’ve had a really good season this year and the country is looking beautiful, but we are looking forward to hopefully having a really wet summer,” Meg said.

There is a range of options for guests, including staying in the family home, Moble Homestead, as well as garden huts and a straw bale hut, plus the shearer’s quarters for bigger groups.

“This year we really changed our focus and realised people wanted to stay a little longer because they had a bigger budget and couldn’t go overseas,” she said.

“While we don’t take our guests to work with us on the property, there’s a range of activities, including fully guided walking trails with Mum - they can walk anywhere between seven to 25km a day.

“We also offer fully catered camping trips – we have built a really beautiful camping site with flushing loos and showers!

“If they camp, we do all the cooking with wine and food, there is a nice waterhole at the bottom of Moble, so the guests get that sense of isolation and disconnect, there’s no phone service.

“We also do photography workshops and dad runs ironwork skills. In 2021 we are planning another cookery masterclass, flower arranging with our amazing local florist as well as private tutorials for smaller groups.

“But people are also welcome to just stay at the homestead, we will do dinner and breakfast and they can go and explore the local tourist attractions.”

All of the meat and produce for Moble Homestead is sourced locally from stores in Quilpie.

“We always get comments on how good the sausages are or how fresh the produce is,” Meg said.

“I try to buy only Australian wines from smaller wineries, sourcing directly from the cellar door or via a wine dealer in Melbourne.

“All our other alcohol and drinks are purchased from the local pub. It’s incredibly important to us that our business supports the local community.”

MOBLE LIBERTY For those working in the hot, dry and dusty heat of the Queensland outback, neck scarves are essential.

After seeing a particularly “rotten rag” around the neck of her niece, Katie, in 2017, Kylie decided to create something “a bit nicer” for the team to wear.

She now makes beautiful scarves out of Liberty of London fabric, with stunning floral patterns, that are 100 per cent cotton, meaning they are cool to wear.

“I started the Instagram page, Moble Liberty, and Mum also has an Etsy store,” Meg said.

“She’s moved into also making pillowcases and tea towels.”

Moble Liberty will also be featured in The Bush Christmas exhibition in Toowoomba this year.

LEFT

Guests are treated to delicious meals prepared with local produce.

TOP LEFT

In the garden at the stunning Moble Homestead.

TOP RIGHT

A beautiful Moble Liberty scarf.

BOTTOM RIGHT

A shot inside one of the guest rooms at Moble Homestead.

BOTTOM

Meg, Brian and Kylie Rutledge.

“It’s quite a handy business.

Mum sews a lot over summer when it is too hot to do anything else.”

GET IN TOUCH For more information about Moble Homestead visit their website www.moblehomestead.com.au.

Search Moble Liberty on Instagram or Facebook to see more of Kylie’s beautiful creations.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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ON FARM

Building a growing enterprise

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n a career spanning four decades, fruit and vegetable growers Des and Paula Chapman have endured three cyclones and drought on their Gumlu property in far north Queensland.

However, the couple has bounced back each time and today, Rocky Ponds Produce is thriving.

The husband-and-wife began their fruit and vegetable growing journey forty years ago on a small parcel of undeveloped land with one tractor and one truck for transportation.

“Everything had to be developed from scratch,” Des said.

It came down to trial and error when choosing which crops to grow before Des and Paula eventually settled on three major commodities: melons, capsicum and pumpkin, which they – along with their son Evan – still grow today.

Des is Managing Director of the business, which involves overseeing the entire growing process.

Off-farm duties include keeping up with all the relevant laws and legislation; keeping abreast of changes and developments in the industry; being aware of and adopting new trends; ensuring that Rocky Ponds has a competent workforce; being responsible for on-farm capital investment, and maintaining relationships with

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suppliers and customers.

Today, Rocky Ponds’ Produce lines include honeydew, rockmelon and piel de sapo melon; red, green and yellow capsicum; and butternut and Kent pumpkins.

Like most Australian vegetable growers, water has been an issue for Des and Paula, and the operation’s early years were marred by drought and two cyclones directly hitting the property.

“Over the years, we have built our own water storage with about 35 hectares being devoted to dams on the property,” Des said.

“The farm has been hit with cyclones, which has created a bit of damage, but you clean up and kick off again. It’s never affected us too much in our start and stop times; it’s created other challenges with diseases and crop losses, but we still manage to start and finish roughly the same time. It does do a lot of damage though.”

Des said that major challenges include maintaining a reliable workforce, along with keeping abreast of the red tape and huge compliance restraints on horticulture.

While these issues can be tricky to navigate, Des thrives working in the fruit and vegetable industry.

“There is always a challenge and a problem to solve. No season is ever the same due to the many variables, particularly weather conditions. I also enjoy marketing and managing our competition, as well as finding new markets and innovation with our own products,” Des said.

Des and Paula extend their enthusiasm for the industry to secondary school students, with Year 8 and Year 12 teachers encouraged to bring their classes out to tour the farm.

“Since starting this around eight years ago, we’ve already got probably eight to 12 people in the district going into horticulture and then other kids looking for farm work so they can work their way up.

So, if we’ve created 40 jobs in horticulture, I think we’ve done well,” Des says.

“I think other growers should encourage it, and horticultural groups like Growcom should start saying that these jobs are out there and they’re very much sought-after domestically.”

At the forefront of Des and Paula’s minds is business sustainability, and they are always on the lookout for the latest technologies that can help to improve growing efficiency, as well adhering to consumer trends.

“I always look to innovations and there are some exciting developments that could make a real difference to farming,” Des said.

“Robotics offers possibilities in planting and harvesting, while protected cropping could help fight some of the adverse weather issues that we face.

Our temperature-controlled nursery can be further developed for this use.”

The state-of-the-art nursery is the one of the recent investments made by the Chapmans, thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Coles Nurture Fund. Rocky Ponds Produce has been supplying Coles for over 25 years.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 R U R A L L E A D E R M O N T H L Y

Des said the nursery has produced tremendous results, with a considerable amount of plants grown.

“If it’s too cold outside, the nursery all shuts up and retains the heat; if it gets too hot, everything opens up plus cooling curtains come across the top to get the temperature down. Plants grow at the maximum rate and we get better outputs,” he said.

“We still buy seedlings from outside just in case something ever went wrong but we’re starting to create our own destiny.”

Des said that experience over 40 years has been a great lesson when it comes to maintaining disease resistance and ongoing sustainability of the farm.

“We now employ a full-time agronomist, and we undertake many variety trials to select the most disease-resistant plant varieties,” he says.

“We grow cover crops and engage in crop rotation for soil health. We also operate computerised irrigation and fertigation for reliability of application, and soil monitoring probes to measure water use.”

Des and Paula have been exporting their produce for 35 years, entering markets in New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates and, more recently, Japan.

Over that time, there have been changes including a steep drop in exports to Hong Kong. Des can see the challenges that lie ahead.

“I think the biggest threat that we’re going to see is that there are a lot of countries in the world now that are exporting.

ON FARM

in far North Queensland South America is very big – Mexico, Colombia and Brazil are exporting into Europe. I would say they’re probably in front of Australia, so we’ve got a little bit to learn, and we need better shipping. They’ve got better port facilities and their wages are much lower than ours,” he said.

However, Des isn’t overly worried.

“These countries may have advantages over us, but I still believe Australian product is superior,” he said.

Closer to home, Des and Paula make sure that they look after their Australian customers and don’t focus solely on export activities.

“They helped build us in the beginning and are still supporting us now. We’re extremely happy with the Coles system that we’re under. They have supported us very well and we’ll continue to support them,” Des said.

The future is bright for Rocky Ponds Produce, with Des and Paula’s son, Evan, playing an active role in the business. Evan returned to the farm 10 years ago, and it is likely that a succession plan will go ahead.

Meanwhile, Des is proud of what he and Paula have built over the past four decades, as well as their children’s success.

“Surviving and succeeding in this industry is an achievement. We are among approximately 30 out of 160 growers in the Bowen/Gumlu/Burdekin region who are still operating after 40 years,” he says.

“I am proud of the strong succession that is in place, with Evan taking on a major role in our farm management and exhibiting strong leadership and farming skills, while our three other children have their own businesses – and are doing well.”

Profile re-printed with permission by AUSVEG. Images supplied by AUSVEG.

N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 R U R A L L E A D E R M O N T H LY

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ON FARM

A different look at forage budgeting

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he COVID‑19 isolation period may have given some people spare time for new hobbies, but for Queensland beef producers Anthony and Anna Dunn, it was all hands on deck preparing their 2020 forage budgets.

It is only the second season the Dunns have incorporated satellite imagery and data to support forage budgeting on the Roma property they manage, Echo Hills, so manually verifying the data on‑ground was their top priority.

Anthony, Anna and their two daughters turned a break from home schooling earlier this year into a session in the paddock, armed with a quadrat, scales and a smartphone to measure, weigh and record five pasture quadrants for each pre‑determined satellite location.

Forage measurement and budgeting has been a lifetime practice for the property’s owner, Peter Thompson, and his family.

For decades, it has been routine practice to develop spreadsheets to record and forecast crop and pasture growth and rainfall events.

When Anthony joined the business 10 years ago, he embraced the system.

More recently, consultant Col Paton

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was employed to help develop more detailed forage budgets.

Traditionally, in autumn, they would use visual and physical assessments supported by historical data to establish dry season feed budgets through to late spring.

Two years ago, they started using Cibo satellite imagery to support this decision making.

“It was the driest period the property’s history and we felt it was a great time to start with a baseline and understand how much ground cover we need to retain to get the optimal gain when rain returns and to see just how quickly it does grow,” Anthony said.

FINE-TUNING THE SYSTEM While Anthony feels satellite imagery already paints a good picture, adding data from pasture measurements during the development phase will only make it stronger and more accurate.

“It doesn’t replace what you already do with your eyes, but it adds an objective element,” he said.

“Our main motivation was to use the best tools to help us manage climate variability while remaining productive

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

and sustainable.”

One of the other gains from satellite‑assisted forage budgeting for Anthony is the ability to create a robust, repeatable budgeting procedure which can be easily used by other staff members, including new employees.

The next steps in the evolution of the forage budgeting system at Echo Hills is automating rainfall data collection (currently collected at 15 gauges across two properties) and applying the budgeting to other feed sources such as forage oats and leucaena.

LESSONS LEARNED • Satellite imagery is an additional tool to support accurate forage budgeting.

• Map property and paddock boundaries first to make the satellite forage budgeting process easier.

• Forage budgeting doesn’t just improve pasture use – it also helps avoid overgrazing.

This article was originally published in the September/October 2020 edition of Meat & Livestock Australia’s Feedback magazine (mla.com.au/feedback).

ON FARM

Working with an eye in the sky

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sing satellite imagery to look at pastures offers northern cattle producers more than just an accurate measurement of biomass.

Two experts in this field – rangeland management advisor Col Paton and agricultural remote sensing specialist Phil Tickle – have developed a tool that enables more accurate and efficient forage budgeting.

“Using images from a satellite, calibrated to your property, gives you more accurate information on pasture yield variability and changes in the types of ground cover as the season progresses,” Col said.

Col and Phil will coach producers in a new training package, Satellite Assisted Forage Budgeting, delivered through MLA’s Profitable Grazing Systems (PGS) producer‑training platform.

Why use satellite forage budgeting?

While a simple forage budget takes pasture data and determines how long the feed on offer will last with current stock numbers, satellite imagery takes forecasting to the next level.

“Combining local knowledge, simple mobile apps and satellite imagery will significantly reduce the time required to gather field data for pasture budgets and will improve decision‑making,” Phil said.

Satellite assisted forage budgeting offers three major benefits:

each year, but the data from the imagery is consistent.

1. Improved planning

3. More efficient use of time

Pasture yields and quality can change rapidly and vary across paddocks, but satellite imagery picks up those changes. Updates are provided every five days, with real‑time information on how much feed is in each paddock, rather than a prediction based on growth from previous years.

Sustainable stock numbers can be determined at the end of the growing season, which reduces the risk of feed shortages. Monitoring pasture status and ground cover weekly through the dry season supports early decision making if conditions change.

Users can assess information on paddocks even when they can’t access the whole paddock. For example, managers can do end‑of‑growing season forage budgets and plan the year’s stock allocation in paddocks before mustering begins. They can book trucks, develop supplementary feeding programs and plan dry season work reliably in advance. By participating in the satellite assisted forage budgeting program, producers will learn:

2. Greater consistency and accuracy

- how to combine paddock observations with satellite imagery to get precise paddock‑scale feed estimates

Once calibrated, the satellite imagery accurately quantifies the spatial variability of pasture yields and feed in paddocks, with less time spent manually verifying data on the ground. Calibrating requires collecting manual yield cuts and estimations from the paddock which are then used to improve the accuracy of predictions from the satellite imagery. By targeting on‑ground pasture assessments, users can save time and be confident the satellite is picking up precisely what is in the paddock. Station staff can change

- skills to reliably estimate and record pasture yields

- how to develop paddock‑scale forage budgets and assess how many livestock can be safely carried each season.

The training package also includes a 12‑month satellite imagery subscription for participating properties (up to the value of $1,000/ property).

This article was originally published in the September/October 2020 edition of Meat & Livestock Australia’s Feedback magazine (mla.com.au/feedback).

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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LIFESTYLE

Raq’s kitchen

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have been a remote area cook since 1996. Cooking on cattle stations, for shearing teams and in pubs. I run a page on Facebook called Raq’s kitchen, which I initially started to share my cooking with my family and friends but has since got more followers from all over. I also manage a large station cook’s group that is a meeting hub for remote area cooks where we swap recipes, gossip and support each other.

I have three gorgeous handwritten books that I started in 1996 when I was on my very first cooking job as camp cook on Carlton Hill station in the Kimberley. Each of my recipes tell a story and I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I enjoy sharing them with you. Each recipe has notations of who liked them or what it was best served with.

In the front of each book is a list of places I have cooked and that tells its own story.

When I was approached to do a monthly cooking column for the Rural Leader, I jumped at the chance to continue sharing my love for basic old-style cooking. I am excited to open your eyes to a part of Australia’s history that some of you may not be aware of the tough ol’ station cook and take you on a taste journey of old recipes that are steeped in tradition, history and hard times.

This month’s recipe was a favorite of that very first stock camp. I was as green as they come when it came to cooking. I had no idea what I was getting into when I travelled from Glen Innes, NSW to Kununurra, WA on a bus. I was fresh out of the RAAF and looking to see what civilian life had to offer. I arrived in Kununurra to be picked up by a tall and dusty vision in Wrangler jeans and Akubra

FIVE MINUTE ORANGE COCONUT CAKE (Sam and Loch were two of the ringers who loved this cake and would eat the whole thing if I had let them.)

Raqual Humphries

hat and was instantly smitten.

When I left, my friends said I would be back in six weeks and now 24 years later here I am still loving it.

I had to learn fast. I was going to be cooking in the middle of no where in an old silver bullet caravan kitchen and sleeping in a swag. I did not even know then what a swag was!

Thankfully, we had the best station cook, Emma who was kind and patient and extremely helpful and the boss’s wife Claire who was a bottomless pit of information and advice.

I not only had to learn to bake and cook but I had to learn how to butcher beef and what each cut was, How to cook corned beef and how to use left overs to get me through the two weeks between store deliveries. I think I did okay as no one died!

In the mornings I would walk around waking everyone up.

We all had our swags set up as far from the camp as we could… under trees or behind spinifex clumps. I had a small tape player (Remember those!), and I would play “Ringer from the top end” as loud as I could get it to get them all up and awake. The song by Slim Dusty was written about Carlton Hill.

They would stumble into the camp and each bloke’s coffee would be ready and waiting in his own cup which they thought was rather good.

This cake was my most requested. I am still not sure if it is because it was good or just because it was a cake that always worked. I sat down one day and converted the recipe from old pounds and ounces to measurements I could understand. I had also decided the idea of beating sugar and butter to a cream was a waste of my time so most of my recipes were also converted to “one bowl” cakes.

If you press it with your fingers and it does not bounce back give it a few more minutes. Let the cake to cool in tin for five minutes or so then tip it out onto a cooling rack.

Set oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line your cake tin of choice.

Ice with a basic orange butter cream icing.

In a bowl combine 1 ¾ cups self-raising flour, 125g softened butter, 2 eggs, 2 tbsps desiccated coconut, pinch of salt, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup milk, ¼ cup fresh orange juice and finely grated rind of half an orange.

- Do not open door to take a sneaky peak before the half hour or you risk your cake sinking in the middle.

Mix until well combined then set your beaters to a medium speed and let mix five minutes or until the batter is creamy and has changed to a pale colour.

Spoon into prepared tin and bake for approx half hour depending on your oven.

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RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

HINTS - If you need to add more milk then go ahead but not more juice or your batter will curdle.

- Room temp everything for best results.

You can reach Raqual at outbackdarling@gmail.com or search for her page on Facebook

MY SMOKO BREAK

Meet Hayley Maudsley

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ayley Maudsley lives and works on a property in Queensland’s Wide Bay with her husband John and their three young children, Heidi, Gus and Charlie.

“I am always baking, cleaning, crafting, sewing, doing all the things an old-fashioned stay-athome-mother does.

“Not to be old-fashioned, but because I enjoy doing all things.

Hayley is a successful author, having published two recipe books in recent years. She previously contributed weekly column for the Rural Weekly and runs her popular Facebook page My Smoko Break, which has 140,000 enthusiastic followers.

Hayley initially developed My Smoko Break to try out the recipes she kept seeing and showed the real world how they turned out in a regular kitchen.

“So, I just decided that I would pop a few home tips and ideas and recipes up that I found useful and for me to revert back to for quick reference and also for others.”

She’s surprised by the online response and the fact her inbox is often overflowing with messages from readers wanting advice, or a recipe they’ve seen on her page.

“It’s all very humbling and also social, which again, is why I started this.”

Hayley’s column will continue to be a regular feature in the Rural Leader thanks to the page sponsor Coco & Blush.

Got a question for Hayley? You can message her via the My Smoko Break Facebook page or email mysmokobreak@gmail.com.

Custard

patty cakes

Let’s start off with a practical recipe of mine for custard patty cakes.

They hold up well rattling around in the tucker box, they get bashed around in the school lunch bags, yet they can also be dainty for a tea party when served with piped icing on top.

They also work extremely well made into butterfly cakes (which is an overfull patty paper pan, cut the top off and slice the top in half, top the patty cake with fresh whipped cream and place a half of each top onto the sides of the top, giving it the butterfly effect).

For this instance (photographed) I made these for my son’s birthday celebrations to share with his classmates and for a week’s worth of lunchbox morning teas.

This recipe will make you exactly 24 normal size patty cakes.

You will need: 250g of margarine or butter 2 cups of sugar (I only ever have raw, but I am sure white sugar will work just as well) 2 cups of self-raising flour 1/3 cup of custard powder 1 cup of milk 4 eggs 2 capfuls of vanilla essence/ extract

Very simple and easy, anyone can make it, preheat a fan forced oven to 180 degrees, arrange your patty cake papers in muffin pans to prepare for baking and then just cream the butter or margarine (whichever you decide to use) and the sugar together in an electric mixer, and then proceed to gradually add all the remaining ingredients to the mixer and mix well until combined.

Coco and Blush

Place the mixture into each patty pan until half full, and place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes, until fluffy and brown.

For a delicious icing to top it off, combine one 250g packet of cream cheese icing with ½ a cup of butter (don’t use margarine here – make sure you use butter), 3 ½ cups of icing sugar, 1 tablespoon of milk and 2 capfuls of vanilla essence/extract again.

Mix well in an electric mixer and ice onto cool cakes.

You will have lots left over, but I like to leave a container of this icing in the fridge for any other cakes I might make up and it lasts for ages.

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ON FARM

Young grower returns to family farm to start a new chapter Geoffrey Todd has spent his life around agriculture.

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Robert Virtue s a boy growing up on his family’s farm in southwest Queensland, he watched his father grow cotton and was fascinated by the process of producing the fluffy white fibre.

Now in his 30s, Geoffrey has returned to the farm to build his own legacy as a grower.

Geoffrey’s father started growing cotton about 25 years ago on their property west of St George. The property was predominantly a cropping enterprise that farmed up to 1,400 hectares of dryland crops such as wheat and chickpeas, and, when irrigation water was available, up to 1,300 hectares of cotton, mung beans,

faba beans, wheat or chickpeas.

Geoffrey said ensuring his farm operated with best practice was a priority.

The farm is currently diversifying into livestock to achieve a higher return from grazing country.

Geoffrey’s journey towards becoming a grower hasn’t been a linear one.

He undertook a trade after school and worked as an electrician for a number of years, initially in Brisbane and then Roma and Miles.

“While working as a sparkie, on my time off I would regularly go home to help out when needed, but I always planned to return home full-time eventually,” Geoffrey said.

“Following the myBMP best practices program gives you a good baseline to ensure you’re not only complying but excelling in most areas of your operation like safety, environmental, and human resources.

“It’s a good standard to operate to, and if followed correctly, you’ll run more efficiently and sustainably.

“The Australian cotton industry is open-minded and progressive, so I think it is really important to continue to evolve and use new technologies and research that

the industry provides.”

Geoffrey said in his own region, the cotton industry provided employment opportunities for local people, which had a positive flow-on effect for local business, schools and families.

“Our Cotton Growers’ Association (CGA) also makes contributions to various organisations such as local schools and the annual art show.

We also host a grower’s awards night where we try to source everything locally to support the community.”

Geoffrey said he was keen to give back to the industry by being actively involved in his own CGA. “It’s a group where you can share ideas and network with other growers and regions,” he said.

“Although I have not been a grower for very long, it has been great getting to know the other farmers and obtaining knowledge of the industry.

“The St George region, like all cotton growing regions, has been in drought for the last several years. Although a moderate flood moved through the area in early 2020, considerable widespread rain is needed to break the drought.

“I am sure together we can continue to show resilience and contribute locally through these challenging times.

“Hopefully on the other side we will be smarter and more efficient farmers, which will benefit everyone involved.”

HON

DAVID LITTLEPROUD FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MARANOA

MP

Proudly supporting your farming community 57 Cunningham Street | PO Box 641 Dalby Qld 4405 E: david.littleproud.mp@aph.gov.au P: (07) 4662 2715 Authorised by the Hon David Littleproud MP, Liberal National Party, Dalby Qld

Focused on Maranoa’s future

www.davidlittleproud.com.au

COLUMN

‘We can’t afford politicians who prevaricate on fire mitigation’ Joanne Rea PROPERTY RIGHTS AUSTRALIA

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s I write this, there are more than 25 fires burning across Queensland with the most concerning being on Fraser Island and Kooralbyn in the Gold Coast hinterland.

There were many column inches written across all media about last summer’s horrendous fire season. For the first time the media gave extensive coverage to experienced foresters and fire scientists who had actual on-ground experience and who educated us not just about the extent of the fires but their intensity which is germane in forming policies for both mitigation and suppression.

Their comments had a common theme. After decades of neglect, (neglect which farmers and foresters had warned for years would eventually lead to the type of fires that we had), fuel loads were very high, minimal efforts had been made to reduce those loads, and the resultant fires were very intense. Very hot, dry weather made them difficult to impossible to control.

For those who live in close proximity to the Australian bush this news coverage gave some hope that next fire season, as a community, we would be more prepared, with fire mitigation being carried out with determination and visibility so that we the public understood that at least, something would be done to minimise the fire risk as well as could be expected.

After all, the fires, which were mostly started by lightning, will make no allowance for COVID. What happened instead is that various groups, including a clutch of foreign funded ex-fire chiefs and some politicians stole the headlines, vocally touting climate change as the main cause and absolving themselves of all blame. This allowed government at all levels to sit on their hands with few taking any visible mitigation steps to prepare for this summer’s fires.

A considerable amount of time at the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and the various State Inquiries has been devoted to Climate Change with a decades-long timeframe.

government land, firebreaks around national parks and the restoration, maintenance and construction of fire trails in broadacre government holdings, action has been disappointing in most states.

Instead, both Queensland and NSW have introduced habitat restoration programs for koalas.

While this may pull at the heartstrings of the concrete jungle dwellers it will do nothing to reduce the danger the koalas and other wildlife are in given a wildfire in that protected habitat.

It will very probably increase the risk.

Similarly, a plan to increase the number of protected koala

habitat tree species, species which included exotic flammable species such as Camphor Laurel, across NSW, was only modified after an outcry.

In NSW a plan to allow an increase in allowable fire breaks from an inadequate 10 metres to an only slightly less inadequate 25 metres was branded as “controversial”.

One needs to wonder what sense of collective amnesia we have, to have watched multiple stories every day in all media for months and yet have largely remained immobile for what little preparation time we had at our disposal.

Buried in the various reports, fuel loads and hazard reduction are discussed but we have had little time devoted to the immediate need to enact mitigation strategies for this year’s fire season which is already upon us.

The NSW Bushfire Inquiry did say that climate change had a role to play but that it did not explain everything. The Inquiry found that, “the extreme dryness of forested regions over large continuous areas was the determining factor in the size of the fires.” The “large continuous areas” is a subject for more discussion.

For those of us who expected action in reducing fuel loads on

Wishing all our clients all the best for 2021!

Tried & T es Australia ted wide

This will be the BEST INVESTMENT you ever make to PROTECT YOUR CARAVAN, HORSE FLOAT etc and ensure you have a safe journey Wayne Young 0409 477 231 Rick Young 0447 734 199 sales@airglidetowbars.com.au

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ON FARM

Smarter

irrigation delivering productivity gains As costs of production rise and sugar prices fluctuate, smarter irrigation and rotational fallow crops are helping deliver productivity gains for next generation Mackay cane grower Steve Muscat. Assisting with the complex task of irrigation management is the Queensland Government’s Farm Water Futures program.

John Flynn

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sharper than usual eye was being kept out as Steve Muscat inspected the rows of a freshly planted corn at his Homebush farm, accompanied by Mackay Area Productivity Services Senior Extension Agronomist David McCallum.

It was an impressive strike for the fallow crop, the second of three crops to be rotated through the block during a 24-month cane fallow.

Following the 2019 harvest, a crop of soya beans was zonally tilled into the trash blanket over the summer, with mill mud applied for nutrition.

The beans were harvested in May and sent to market as a successful cash crop. A bed renovation followed, prior to the corn being planted.

Just when everything appeared to be going right, the southerly march of the exotic pest fall armyworm into the Mackay region had Steve paying closer attention.

“Obviously we’re extensively checking for bugs with the introduction of that fall armyworm, it’s going to have its

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fair share of pressure in the crop. But at the minute it’s looking good,” Steve said as he inspected the leaves of the corn.

“From the planting rate and nutrition and water that we’re prepared to give this crop, we’re going to be targeting about 10 to 12 tonnes to the hectare in grain yield.”

For Steve Muscat and his father Joe, who together work 280 hectares of cane land in the Homebush and Oakenden districts, alternate cropping is now an everyday aspect of their farming business.

The primary objective has been to boost soil health by planting legumes in cane fallows. However, in an environment of low returns for sugar, the focus has shifted to growing opportunistic crops during extended fallows to diversify income streams.

“This block here, it’s actually under a 24-month fallow, we’ll harvest the corn off it then we’ll be going back into a soya crop in summer, then planted back into cane in April-June 2021,” Steve explained.

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

“With sugar at 10-11 cents a pound, it’s not much joy for anyone at the moment, so this is just one way of supplementing the income with some soil health benefits.

“With other blocks that we’ve done under the 24-month fallow system we see increased yields in the following cane crop.”

The increased yields have come as no surprise to David McCallum who, as an agronomist, is a firm advocate of alternate cropping.

Although a grass crop such as corn will require nutrition to take it to harvest, planting legumes before and after the corn crop will ensure plenty of nitrogen is fixed in the soil and available for the next cane crop.

“I think the diversity from cane to soya beans, to corn, back to cane just gives such a variety of biology in the soil, it helps with soil health,” David said.

“Soya beans are renowned for putting a lot of organic matter back into the soil, supplying nitrogen for the following crop and helping biology.

“It’s income to the grower if he does it

ON FARM well and the prices are reasonable so there’s benefits all-round.”

Irrigation management a crucial factor To manage a variety of crops working in rotation, irrigation needs to be precise. The Homebush and Oakenden districts rely on supplementary irrigation, especially in drier years.

The Muscats have invested heavily in irrigation infrastructure, including highly efficient, automated lowpressure overhead centre pivot irrigators that use less electricity, minimise water use and reduce the labour requirement.

With a variety of blocks suited to different delivery systems, high pressure water winches, flood irrigation and even trickle irrigation systems are used to keep the crops hydrated.

To keep a close eye on farm irrigation requirements, two systems have been employed.

One of the systems is the use of five relocatable soil moisture sensors, known as GDots, which were funded under the Queensland Government’s Farm Water Futures Program. These sensors measure soil moisture tension - how hard it is for the plant to extract water - at one specific depth in the soil profile.

These relatively simple sensors have proven especially beneficial for the interim fallow crops. As the plant’s root system grows, the sensor, a gypsum block, can be easily relocated.

“We’ve got the gypsum block in at about 150mm, right at the root zone”, Steve explained as he demonstrated how soil moisture was being monitored in the corn crop.

“As this crop develops and the corn starts throwing secondary roots

down, we’ll remove the gypsum block and take that down to probably around 300mm.

allow growers to monitor their crop water use in real time.

“Your gypsum block should be where the root zone and the extraction point is.”

“It’s basically a website. We can access that information on our phone or our computers at home,” Steve said.

When soil moisture is at full capacity, all of the fluorescent yellow flip dots on the sensor’s display are showing. As the crop extracts moisture and the soil dries out, the dots flip over, so fewer dots are showing.

“It’s like a tradition in the morning when you’re getting up to have your cup of tea or coffee, you’re flicking through the weather and that’s just the next page I go to, what our moisture probes have done in the past 24 hours.”

It’s a simple system that is helping take the guess work out of timing irrigation events.

Growers can also view data from neighbouring farms that are connected to the network, via the MAPS website.

“Prior to the use of GDots and moisture probes we were sort of guessing when we were going to do our irrigation,” Steve said.

“That might have been from a drive around the farm, to ‘oh gee I think it’s dry, we need to water’, otherwise it was a scheduled program making sure our nutrition and herbicides are irrigated in to stop movement.

“We probably thought we were irrigating right before, but now we know.”

In addition to the GDot sensors, the Muscats employ a more sophisticated system to monitor irrigation demands in their cane crops.

Five fixed soil moisture capacitance probes, strategically located on the farms, measure soil moisture at 10cm intervals from ground level to a depth of 80cm.

The fully encapsulated Enviropro probes are connected to data loggers that upload information via the 4G mobile network to an online interface.

Mackay Area Productivity Services has partnered with firm Outpost Central to deliver the technology and software applications, which

The system was established with funding through the Queensland Government’s former Rural Water Use Efficiency program. Ongoing upkeep of the network is being assisted with funding provided to MAPS via CANEGROWERS, by the Queensland Government’s Farm Water Futures program.

On the ground it’s allowing extension organisations like MAPS to keep the systems up-and-running and continue to assist growers in managing irrigation.

“The equipment does get damaged and does have wear and tear on it so this funding is really important for us to keep this project going,” David said.

“It’s really important for us as an extension organisation to keep working with growers on irrigation efficiency.

“To get better sugarcane you have to water it efficiently, be timely and not waste the water because power and water are really expensive.”

The next step is to get growers connected to the irrigation management tool Irrigweb, where they can enter paddock data, soil data and irrigation techniques into a software system that will assist with management of irrigation events.

It’s a work in progress in Mackay but with several growers already interested, there are hopes of delivering further efficiencies in irrigation management.

“Yield is determined from a very young age in most plants so our goal is to try to maximise our yield to maximise profitability of our business,” Steve said.

“We don’t want to be over-irrigating and wasting that commodity and we’ don’t want to be under-irrigating and reducing our yields.”

This story was originally published in the Australian Canegrower magazine and republished with permission.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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QRIDA AWARDS

Value-added potato products help family farm meet consumer demand and local jobs

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emand for convenient vegetable products, specifically potatoes, has allowed a family farm to invest in new infrastructure which will create local jobs and supply the first potatoes of their kind in Australia.

Wickham Family Farms has been operating for 60 years with sites at Killarney, Warwick, Gatton and the Atherton Tablelands but changing consumer demand means Director Kerri-Ann Lamb has had to adapt their business to suit changing market trends.

A new project is designed to broaden the market for Queensland potatoes, delivering to wholesale, quick service restaurants and food manufacturing companies an easy option, by having pre-cooked and chilled potato products.

Wickham Farms Killarney was one of 15 businesses to receive a cocontribution grant of up to $250,000 under Round Three of the Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant program administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA).

The Pasteurised Potato Line project will utilise the existing advanced production line allowing Wickham Farms to provide a versatile cooking application, developing new products that have consistent quality, easy preparation, longer shelf life, and more suitable for food service and also to be exported,

both interstate and internationally.

Ms Lamb said the products would deliver consistent quality, with a desirable shelf life, without compromising freshness.

“The end user will value the products versatility, reduced preparation time and waste,” Ms Lamb said.

“The new product also aligns with domestic and international demand and trend for value added convenience products which reduce labour costs and waste, ultimately saving the end user.”

The project will create 16 agricultural jobs, another four during construction as well as supporting four indirect jobs.

“Increasing opportunities for skilled labour in rural communities is rare, and this opportunity will create several new skilled roles,” Ms Lamb said.

Wickham Farms supplies whole brushed potatoes to supermarkets and fresh cut vegetables to food manufacturers, quick service restaurants, wholesale and food service.

The entire business has grown from two employees in the 1970s to employing over 70 people today in roles such as farming, harvesting, grading, processing, packaging, quality control, maintenance, administration, and logistics.

“Our fresh cut division was founded about 25 years ago, as we sought a value-added option for vegetables that did not meet supermarket specifications,” Ms Lamb said

Diversification into pumpkin and

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N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 R U R A L L E A D E R M O N T H L Y

QRIDA AWARDS

Protective cropping the way to grow for horticulture producers

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s consumer demand for fresh produce increases and weather becomes more unreliable, horticulture producers are turning to protective cropping methods to gain greater control.

Southern Downs vegetable producer, Bratasha Farms, is a preferred supplier of premium gourmet tomatoes, capsicums and Asian vegetables to major Australian retailers who originally used traditional farming methods to grow their producer.

After many years of farming experience, they identified the need for change to a more secure growing method, and to meet the consumer demand for perfect vegetables.

Bratasha Farms was one of 15 businesses to receive a grant of up to $250,000 under Round Three of the Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant program which is administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA).

Director Raymond Bertinazzi said the funding would be used to expand their current protective growing facilities by two hectares.

“The funding we received will be used to construct an additional two-hectare hightech, fully enclosed, climate-controlled cropping system, fitted with LED lighting to artificially extend the day length and circulation fans to improve ventilation.”

Mr Bertinazzi said that protective farming was becoming increasingly popular among horticulture farmers to influence the environment conditions their crops grow under.

“The protected cropping industry is the fastest growing food sector in Australia, with approximately 20 per cent of the value of total vegetable production in Australia now grown under protective structures.

“The results from this extensive research has confirmed there was a substantial increase in yield, noticeable improvement in product quality, reduction in chemical usage by up to 30 per cent, reduction in fertiliser by up to 15 per cent and a reduction in water consumption by nearly 30 per cent using protective copping methods,” he said.

The shift from paddock to protective cropping has provided Bratasha Farms with a greater return per hectare of production and an increase in demand for products.

Bratasha Farms will also use the RED Grant funding to construct a purposebuilt greenhouse fabrication facility for other producers looking to build their own protective farming facilities.

“This will be the first of its kind in South East Queensland and will be an entirely new industry to the small rural community and will make the conversion to greenhouse production so

much simpler for the other growers,” Mr Bertinazzi said.

The project is expected to create up to 41 direct and indirect jobs during and post construction.

broccoli production boost for Texas jobs

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family farming business in south west Queensland is investing in new infrastructure to boost local jobs and the state’s supply of butternut and jap pumpkins and broccoli.

Rural Economic Development (RED) Grant program administered by the Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority (QRIDA).

Brothers Dougal, John and Greg Finlay and their families operate Finlay Farming on an aggregation of farms, Emu Plains, south of Texas including intensive irrigated crops with a rotation of Lucerne hay, cotton, peanuts, ryegrass haylage and various other legumes.

The funding will support an investment in extending the packing shed to a size that allows efficient processing of butternut and jap pumpkin and broccoli including washing, handling and storage. It will also involve staff accommodation to support local on-farm employment.

Plans to move into supplying butternut and jap pumpkins and broccoli, along with a shortage of local workforce accommodation, has allowed the company to invest in new infrastructure to support an increase in production.

The project will also allow for flexibility for trial products such as processing zucchini and spaghetti squash currently in development.

Up to five new jobs will be created through the project, as well as three during construction and another two indirect roles.

Finlay Farming Company was one of 15 businesses to receive a co-contribution grant of up to $250,000 under Round Three of the

CEO Bruce Finlay said the project would enable them to expand production of butternut pumpkin over an earlier and

extended period into target markets and had also added broccoli to their winter production schedule.

“We can also get more efficient at handling, washing, and grading with larger covered areas in the extended packing shed,” Mr Finlay said.

Mr Finlay said the project was dependent on local employment.

“There is a large increase in inputs and turnover in these high value crops. The inputs are acquired locally, and the project is only made possible by the additional staff.

“There is almost no accommodation available locally so living on farm is important to have the reliable staff available. These employees then become a part of the local community and spend locally for their needs and activities on an ongoing basis,” he said.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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SOCIAL

Bush students graduate in style

Logan Sheppard graduated from Charleville State High School. She is currently doing a school-based hairdressing apprenticeship, which she will continue doing full time on completion of Year 12. Logan is going to further her studies in beauty and makeup.

Photo: Samantha Cornelius

Kate Parker graduated from The Cathedral College, Rockhampton.

Photo: Rowdy Travis Photography.

Sage Potter graduated from Emerald State High School. Sage would like to be involved in the horse industry. She is planning on working next year at a training facility.

Photo: Jodie Potter Photography.

Shaelee Taylor graduated from Marist College, Emerald.

Shaelee would love to live and work in the rural sector and hopefully travel. Photo: Tessa Lane.

Khobi Itzstein graduated from Charleville State High.

Photo: Russell Itzstein.

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RURAL LEADER  NOVEMBER 2020

SOCIAL

Georgia Gray graduated from Blackheath and Thornburgh College at Charters Towers. Georgia aspires to be the very best at whatever life throws at her.

Photo: Betty Pemble.

Toby Gale graduated from The Cathedral College, Rockhampton.

After graduation, Toby has big plans of heading north to work on a large property to expand his knowledge before returning home to work on the family farm.

Photo: Rowdy Travis Photography.

Lucy Hansen celebrated her formal with her classmates at Dalby State High School. Lucy is from Wandoan and boards at Dalby Bunya Campus. Lucy has employment starting next year with MDH on Dunbar Station as a first-year station hand.

Jye Austin graduated from Redeemer Lutheran College, Biloela, Queensland. Jye’s plan is to gain his chopper license and go mustering in the Territory.

Photo: Tegan Clarke Photography.

Jaydan Coaker graduated from St George State High. He aspires to be a helicopter pilot.

Photo: Kappys Kaptures.

Bailey Schneekloth graduated from Townsville Grammar as a boarder from Normanton. He is thinking of becoming an auto electrician.

Skye Kerr graduated from St Ursulas College, Yeppoon. She plans to study medicine at university.

Photo: Abby Edminstone - Springton Road Photography.

Brock Olive, from Dingo, Central Queensland graduated from Caloundra City Private School. He relocated eight hours from home on his own to follow his golf career. He aspires to be a professional golfer.

Photo: Tanya M Olive Photography.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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SOCIAL

Jordyn Olditch graduated from Blackheath and Thornburgh College at Charters Towers. Jordyn loves working with horses, whether it is campdrafting or mustering and everything in between. She is currently contract mustering.

Photo: Betty Pemble.

Kate Jonsson graduated from All Souls St Gabriel’s school in Charters Towers. She is from Charley Creek Station south of Prairie. Kate has secured job as teacher aide at a small one teacher school close by while she decides what to do with her life.

Wallace Noakes graduated from The Cathedral College, Rockhampton.

Photo: Rowdy Travis Photography.

Rylie Mullins graduated from St George State High School. Rylie’s future aspiration is to become a registered nurse so she can help those in need.

Photo: Chloe Turvey Images.

Sophie Wright graduated from Gladstone State High School. Sophie’s future aspirations are to go to university and study criminology and psychology.

Photo: Michelle Ann Studios.

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Erin Landsberg graduated from Charleville State High School and plans to attend UQ next year.

Photo: Katrina Lehman Photography.

Bush students graduate in style

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

Capturing the beauty of working with livestock

6.1 2.1

NEWS

5 Photo 1: Georgie Connor from GDL Rockhampton won the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Photo Competition with this photo she called “Mates”. This photo was featured on the front cover of the ALPA annual report and Georgie won a $300 gift voucher to spend with an ALPA supporting business.

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Photo 2: David Amor, Amor Livestock Dubbo, was a finalist in the ALPA Photo competition with his shot “Penned up ready to load”.

Photo 2.1: David Amor’s photo “Wet sheep” was also a finalist.

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Photo 3: Rachel Boyd of TopX Roma was a finalist in the ALPA Photo Competition with her shot named “Sale Day Inspection”.

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Photo 4: Christine Maroni, Hayes & Co Harrisville, Silverdale took this shot called “Agents in Action” which was a finalist in the ALPA Photo Competition.

Photo 5: Ashley Naclerio, Stockplace Marketing, Richmond took this stunning shot called “Orange Rain”.

Photo 6: Sarah Packer of TopX Roma captured “Sale-o Sunset”.

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2

Photo 6.1: Sarah Packer also snapped “TopX Auctioneering” which was a finalist in the ALPA Photo Competition.

RM6731240

OPINION

‘Sorry’ is one of the most powerful words Have you ever done anything wrong? If you answered in the negative, I am here to tell you that you just did as you haven’t been honest with yourself.

Dennis Hoiberg THE RESILIENCE WHISPERER

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ll of us, sometime in our life will either deliberately or inadvertently do the wrong thing to someone in our world. I wish that statement wasn’t true but unfortunately it is.

I don’t think too many people actually start out to offend or do the wrong thing - it either just happens or more critically, it is perceived to have happened.

So, my question to you is when you do the wrong thing, what are you going to do about it?

Over the last month, I have observed people doing, saying, maybe even thinking the wrong thing. They have been players on the global and national stage as well as within my own client base.

Little mistruths or actions lead to bigger things which threaten to damage the fabric of a relationship, a family, an organisation, or a community.

I am sure that we wish these mistruths or inappropriate actions never happen, but

they do. And they lead to real and sometimes serious consequences.

So how do we break the cycle?

For me, it starts with our own values and behaviours. What do I genuinely believe and how do these beliefs translate into behaviours? What responsibility am I going to take for the cause and effect of my behaviour?

If I can take responsibility for my actions, I can also take responsibility for addressing the consequences.

The first action I can take is to be genuinely sorry for my action and to sincerely apologise. Elton John once sang “sorry seems to be the hardest word.” I wonder why this is the case?

Is it because by saying sorry I accept responsibility for my actions and thereby put myself “out there”? If this is the case, then saying sorry is one of the more powerful words you can use.

Is it because I am ashamed by my actions? If this is the case then again, saying sorry proves itself to be a powerful word.

Of course, actions speak louder than words and for the word sorry to have any depth and credibility, it needs to be accompanied by actions that intentionally address the hurt.

If these actions do not support the word, then deep down we know we are not being authentic.

Once sorry is mentioned and appropriate action has followed suit, then the relationship can progress and move on.

In fact, the action of trying to amend the situation and relationship because someone has done the wrong thing can actually be one of those “sliding door” moments that brings a relationship together and takes it into another level of commitment, genuineness, and joy.

But what if the other person doesn’t accept my most sincere and authentic apology? Well, you

have no control over that and that says more about them then it does about you! So, don’t use that as an excuse!

Doing the wrong thing has an opportunity to amend and to truly cement a relationship.

Sorry is not the hardest word to say, it is the hardest word to do. So, just do the right thing.

Dennis Hoiberg, The Resilience Whisperer, shares his lessons and stories from working with regional and rural communities around the world helping them bounce forward through change and challenge. He is a highly skilled practitioner and with strong understanding of human behaviours and patterns.

Keen to sell cattle in current market

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Gerard Walsh COLUMNIST ELLING cattle is a bit like performing on the ice in skating.

You seldom get a perfect score in either, but we had a perfect 10 from 10 for cows and calves at a cattle sale in southern Queensland in mid-October.

I said to my agent the cows and calves should made $1200 and he agreed.

A day later, he gave me the price, $1910, for four Angus Cows and Calves.

We seldom sell cows and calves as a unit and are generally advised to sell the cows and calves separately for the best return.

A big Brahman trade cow with a dash of Hereford made $1278 which is about what I expected.

She was originally from North Queensland and the last of a mob of 70 bought as heifers.

I better add I have never tried skating on the ice but are aware

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of the legend of Torvill and Dean and their perfect score.

On our property, Coolesha, it is the CEO (my wife Margaret) who is usually keenest to sell.

I surprised her this time when I suggested we sell some cows and calves.

While not everyone in the Rural Leader coverage area has cattle, there are cattle grazed all around the state.

I have a journalist mate in western Victoria who told me a couple of weeks ago they were having their best rain in years and all the creeks were running bankers.

Sounds like the general rain we had in Queensland in January and February has now fallen down south.

HAY PURCHASES DURING the drought, we fed sugar cane tops from the Jacobs

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

Well area in Queensland, fodder hay and stubble from across southern Queensland and 20 large rectangular bales of oaten hay from northern Victoria.

The oaten hay was transported to a fruit growing area, Stanthorpe, and then to our property.

This year, we bought 50 heifers that went through the saleyards at Blackall.

You could tell by looking at the cattle at that time that the season was harder in Blackall than southern Queensland.

We have never bought cattle from Western Australia so perhaps that is the next challenge.

If I mention buying cattle in the west, the CEO will definitely be keen to go west and have a look – she hasn’t been to the other side of Australia.

HELPFUL HINT IF you want to make a bit of

money for a holiday and you have a farm, odds are there is $10,000 or more scrap metal just lying around.

It doesn’t take a massive implement to weigh one tonne and the rate is better than $200 a tonne.

I was at a clearing sale in midSeptember at Southbrook and one scrap buyer almost had his finger on speed dial as he bought lot after lot in the battle of the scrap buyers.

In the next month, I will sell some more scrap metal and help fund a little break away once a year.

Gerard Walsh and his family run an 840-hectare beef cattle property, Coolesha, in Southern Queensland, which has been in the family since 1887. He is a recently retired sports journalist after 29 years and is now spending more time on the property.

COLUMN

Glyphosate needs to be in ag’s future

There is a saying that if you stay around long enough, you see most things and in my case that is appearing to be true.

Paul McIntosh AGRONOMIST

I

have been doing a few talks about the possibility of farming in the future without glyphosate and other herbicides.

I believe we still need to strongly support the positive science behind our use of glyphosate in our Australian farming systems. (Note I said our Australian farming systems.)

So that leaves a big question mark over the home garden market use patterns, which is quite a large volume in our Aussie communities.

So how does my supporting the correct and safe practical use of our number one herbicide in glyphosate, connect with the photo here?

More importantly what sort of a crop is this on the ground in these long rows?

Well it is our favourite winter pulse crop of desi chickpeas and normally at this time of year, you see them in their normal pattern of being upright and brown to various shades of green.

As this annual chickpea plant matures somewhat irregularly and patchy, we have conventionally gone and sprayed the paddock with some knockdown herbicides like glyphosate as one example.

This makes harvesting easier, along with better quality chickpeas in the header bin.

Now this is all very legal and duly registered practice in many countries including Australia. Most importing countries have an MRL (maximum residue level) as we do, and this amount is talked about as 0.01mg per kilo or whatever number is decided for these minute residues of pesticide.

When an importing country decides to have a zero tolerance to a particular pesticide, they state the MRL as 0.00 mg per kilo.

In other words, even a trace of a specific pesticide means rejection of that load or import consignment of crop type.

Now I see as a peculiarity the current state of affairs that USA has a 0.00 mg per kilo or nil tolerance level to many of our pulse crop exports to them, yet many crops like soybean and other pulse crops in the US are regularly sprayed pre harvest with glyphosate.

So, with increasing world scrutiny on glyphosate use in any use practice, my thoughts and actions have been to look at ways of farming, whilst reducing the amount of glyphosate used in crop.

Now in the last summer

of 2019/20 the Australian Mungbean Association have conducted replicated plot trials on a whole range of herbicides including known organic ones, plus swathing plot trials.

This gave me some encouragement and subsequently a friend and former farmer client in Farmer Greg actually did an entire paddock in swathing of mung beans.

It all worked very well and successfully and backed up exactly what we saw in the UQ swathing trials, conducted by well know weeds researcher in Bhagirath Chauhan.

So, if it works in mung beans, could it work in our chickpea crops?

Here it is and I commend the northern NSW farmer who has given it a fairly large commercial trial.

This is what I saw earlier this week after quite a deal of rain had fallen on these swathed rows of chickpeas.

Unsure how it is going to turnout, due to the recent rain events, however there is certainly a fair few pods separated from the bush and lying in the wet top soil.

This swathed windrow of chickpeas is so thick, it is

acting like garden mulch and keeping soils and organic matter very damp. Plus, our chickpea pods with seeds in them, which is not good.

Typically, when you get the grease guns out for the header in harvest preparation, it begins to rain and I am quite sure that this is not what we wanted on the new potential desiccation process called swathing or windowing in our chickpea crops.

On this occasion, rain events on swathed chickpeas, may not be a good thing and conventional desiccation with a herbicide maybe a more profitable way to proceed for our bold farmer.

Time will tell when we finally get it off the paddock into a silo.

Glyphosate use in our farming systems is still very much needed and applied with huge benefits in maintaining our soil structure and moisture retention, as well as massive reductions in water or wind erosion levels in our fallow country.

Time will tell what our Aussie farming community will achieve in new farming practices in the future with the help and backing of science and of course, old agronomists chipping in as well.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

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OPINION

Rising up to take control of our lives Tricia Agar COLUMNIST

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t is with great excitement that I write this column in the newest rural magazine – the Rural Leader. After the demise of the Rural Weekly, many of us in rural Australia were hoping that an independent publication would arise out of the ashes of the winter of newsprint discontent.

By the time you read this, the most important US election in history of the world along with our very critical Queensland elections, should both be over.

The ramifications of both of these pivotal events for many people will only be clarified, when viewed in a rear-vision mirror, with the fulness of time bringing into focus the depths of change that the globe has been rushing toward at a break-neck pace.

Being able to discern the signs of the times is not for the faint hearted. Having an enquiring mind is frowned upon today as ridding the world of independent thinkers, has been the focus of the global agenda for many decades.

Main-stream media has made an industry out of exerting mind control upon the unwitting viewing public, dumbing down the current generation has become big business.

As President Trump has aptly coined the phrase “fake news” and has proceeded to call out at every turn, the insidious machine of lies and deception in the effort to focus the public’s attention that they are being played by these ruthless agents of spin.

Sadly, many people are unsuspecting and have been duped by the media, politicians, bureaucrats, and globalists. The big end of town is playing a deadly game and the pawns, are the gullible public.

Using fear is an age-old ruse of war. The people have been conditioned in the past decades to accept without question directions from politicians, bureaucrats and the police.

The unrelenting bombardment of fear-based images about the coronavirus via the media, has been as frequent as the mortar fire upon the battlefield of the Somme in WWI. The relentless missive which seeks to reenforce the perceived deadliness of the coronavirus, which apparently is lurking waiting to jump on poor unsuspecting souls from door handles, lift buttons, funerals, churches and weddings, but not from football stadiums packed with people or racemeetings, Bunnings, Coles or Woolworths.

Governments using the cloak of protecting people from the “pandemic” have ripped away our personal freedoms and human rights as easily as pealing a banana, using

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the threat of arrest, forcing the citizens into being prisoners in their homes all under the guise of public safety and “stopping” the China-virus.

I find it astounding the numbers of people that have blindly followed the advice given by politicians and officials during the COVID-19 “pandemic” all the while chanting the mantra – we must stay home to stay safe, and then proceed to thank these same freedomdestroying politicians for “protecting” them.

Even when there are proven cures for COVID-19, the media along with their partners in crime – the UN, governments, bureaucracies and the globalists, are hiding these medicines from the public in a huge cover-up in order to usher in a global economic and social re-set, determined to bring in a new world order, that favours the privileged and renders the vast bulk of the world population powerless, shifting the money and the control from the people into the hands of the elite.

Consider if you will those who have suffered the most in the past eight months. The elderly in nursing homes who have been left defenceless and mostly dying of broken hearts as they have been denied being visited by their families in their twilight years, locked inside against their will and yet being denied the proven medicinal treatment for COVID-19 – hydroxychloroquine (now banned with the threat of jail sentence in Queensland and Victoria) and Ivermectin – two very cheap and readily available drugs.

Small business, the engine room of our

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

economy has been thrown onto the rubbish heap, left to wither and die as quickly as a sun-shower in December, while the government proceeded to lock up and lock down the nation and sent the economy spiralling into a recession that we didn’t have to have.

It appears that governments would rather see the economy go to the dogs, then put a halt to the madness of this virus that has cures, and when correctly reported, has had no worse effect on the bulk of the world population, then influenza.

I believe it is the time for us to shake off the shackles of panic and start to embrace our lives as the future generations depend upon the actions that we take today. We need to rise up and force governments back into their place – for the people, of the people by the people, and refusing to have our democracy plundered.

Politicians that are elected can just as easily be unelected, but we need to use our people power and refuse to be beaten down by those who seek to control us.

Tricia Agar and her family run a wool and cattle operation at Wyandra. Tricia is the founder of the popular Bush Kids Facebook page and has a keen interest in promoting the bush culture and helping to provide links between the city and country. Tricia also runs The Bush Store that sells unique, Australian-made handbags and accessories.

Creating a vision with the

next Queensland Government

Stephen Barnard GROWCOM CEO

B

y the time this column goes to print, Queenslanders will have cast their vote on who they want to see form the next Queensland Government. Regardless of which side of politics wins the election the Queensland industry has one request – let the handbrake off horticulture.

(QHC) released its election platform, A green spring in Queensland, the launch pad from which the Queensland horticulture industry will propel itself to even greater long-term sustainability and profitability.

Despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, horticulture remains resilient and possesses some of the most promising potential for a rebound of the Queensland economy. We are the second largest and fastest growing agricultural sector.

Among the commitments the QHC was seeking was a new deal with the next Queensland Government.

For an industry with so much promise here in Queensland, we lack a vision of where we want to be and a plan of action to get us there. There are statewide strategies in place for the charter fishing and craft brewing industries but not for the $3 billion production horticulture industry.

Ensuing Queensland has a thriving and prosperous horticulture industry will be of critical importance – not only for creating new jobs, and to the regional communities that rely on agriculture to survive, but to all Queenslanders who want access to high-quality, nutritious food to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We are calling on the next Queensland Government to convene a summit of leaders in horticulture to set a new vision for our industry within the first 100 days of forming government.

We want a dedicated industry strategy developed and an industry-led group to oversee its implementation and evaluation.

Prior to the election the Queensland Horticulture Council

The QHC was also seeking commitments from the next

Queensland Government on improving water and energy affordability, and investing in drought and climate initiatives, sustainability, innovation, skills and training, biosecurity, transport, and export market development.

Each of the competitive advantages the Queensland horticulture industry currently enjoys will be challenged in some way by competitors using new, disruptive technologies.

We are still enjoying the legacy of past significant investments into research and the development of tropical horticulture. This pipeline of improvements must continue to flow.

So we are also calling on the new Government to develop a R&D strategy for tropical horticulture, to focus our strengths and draw research investment into Queensland from interstate and overseas.

Politicians can no longer afford to overlook these critical issues that will support the continued

growth and development of the horticulture industry in the years ahead.

If the new Government hasn’t already agreed to deliver on our requests, it’s never too late to start the conversation.

Whichever side has won the election and forms the next Queensland Government, Growcom commits to working collaboratively with those in office as we lead the Queensland horticulture industry into the future.

The QHC is the preeminent forum for deliberating horticulture policy in Queensland. It is comprised of representatives from Growcom and each of the major regionally based grower groups and associations.

To learn more about A green spring in Queensland visit our website: www.growcom.com.au/agreen-spring-in-queensland.

Advanced ag technology

now opening doors

Bruce McConnel FOOD LEADERS AUSTRALIA GENERAL MANAGER

Q

ueensland farmers are constantly looking for new ways to do new and exciting things. Right now, we have the coming together of a number of items that will allow us to be one of the most technologically advanced industries in Australia.

Recently, we had the announcements from the NBN that now allow businesses and farmers to apply, in certain regions, to have fibre delivered right to their place of business.

This will heavily accelerate their ability to take on new technology, to get new data, to run their businesses in a way we have never run before. The possibilities are endless in what this greater connectivity will mean for the farmers and for their businesses.

There has also been a $3 million investment from the Government for an Agtech and Food Logistics Hub in Toowoomba. The ability for that hub to now connect the best agtech entrepreneurs and new ideas to our industry, to solve the problems our industry wants figured out, and have industry lead that discussion through defining their problems is something we have never seen before. In the coming months, we

will see more as this develops, but come 2021, industry will be able to define what problems they are facing and then go global in their search for the solutions.

Matched with the NBN and connectivity, the growth and adoption of technology in our region should accelerate on a level we have never seen before.

Whether that means better yield monitoring, better utilisation of staff and resources, more access to training, or just better animal welfare outcomes and better profitability for businesses, all of these things are possible through the connectivity and the network available to maximise that.

The University of Southern

Queensland, through the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence, are leading the way in which regional economies can super charge this as well. Together, we now have a known network of people who are allowing farmers to have the best technology available at their fingertips in the easiest way possible to adopt.

This is a really exciting time for the state and also acknowledges what the Darling Downs is known for, which is the fact that across our region and Southern Queensland, there are some fantastic entrepreneurs and farmers adopting the best technology on a new, advanced level.

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

39

#EAT QLD

Dedication to ‘eating local’ recognised in state campaign Outstanding individuals committed to delivering Queensland’s top produce have been recognised in the Queensland Government’s #eatqld campaign.

Candyce Grew EDITOR

M

inister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said the #eatqld campaign encouraged the community to eat local, stay healthy and support jobs in the state’s agricultural sector.

“Our produce is second to none.

We are urging everybody to explore Queensland-grown food and when you do, we ask that you take a photograph and share it online using the hashtag #eatqld,” Mr Furner said.

“By eating Queenslandproduced meat, seafood, fruit, nuts and veggies you support everybody that brings that food to your table.”

A cut above the rest Teys Australia Rockhampton general manager Wasantha

40

Mudannayake was named as a #eatqld Champion.

Member for Rockhampton Barry O’Rourke said Mr Mudannayake was a shining example of what could be achieved with a career in the agriculture and food processing sector.

“From humble beginnings 30 years ago working nights as a floor cleaner at Teys Australia Beenleigh, Mr Mudannayake studied hard at university to further his professional development, rising to become general manager in 2006,” Mr O’Rourke said.

“Mr Mudannayake now oversees the second biggest meat processing plant in Australia with an annual turnover of more than $620 million and employing more than 900 people.

“Mr Mudannayake is a passionate mentor who advocates for numerous

RURAL LEADER NOVEMBER 2020

traineeships, apprenticeships and multicultural opportunities in the workplace and also serves the community as a member of the Advance Rockhampton Board and the Queensland Government’s Manufacturing Ministerial Council.”

TOP LEFT

Mr Mudannayake said being named a #eatqld Champion provided a great opportunity to promote the top-quality meat from what is widely regarded as Australia’s beef capital.

FAR RIGHT

“I am proud to support local beef producers who continually rise to meet the various challenges thrown their way to deliver truly world-class products,” Mr Mudannayake said.

“Working for Teys Australia has given me a great insight into the quality of our locally produced beef and I encourage everyone to get behind our local producers.

Bee All Natural’s Natasha and Jason Roebig.

TOP RIGHT

Tablelands to Tabletop’s founder Angela Nason.

Freckle Farm owners Rob Bauman and Deb McLucas.

#EAT QLD “It has been a great privilege and honour to work for Teys family under the inspiring leadership of Brad Teys for close to 30 years which allows me to grow as a leader and contribute to the business and communities in Central Queensland.”

Innovation delivers Far North Queensland food delivery service Tablelands to Tabletop was been named an #eatqld Champion for their creative approach to delivering Atherton Tablelands produce to consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Angela Nason originally started Tablelands to Tabletop as a way to help her father sell his limes after restaurants, cafes, and businesses were closed down due to COVID-19.

Harnessing the power of social media, Angela began selling boxes of limes as a healthy way to boost vitamin C but quickly saw her business grow as other farmers saw an opportunity to sell produce such as dragonfruit, coconuts and avocadoes rather than having it go to waste.

Tablelands to Tabletop now buys produce from 30 local Atherton Tablelands farmers and delivers to customers on the Tablelands and Cairns, Karumba, Weipa, the Torres Strait, and local restaurants and cafes.

Tablelands to Tabletop founder Angela

Nason said being a #eatqld Champion was a natural fit for someone who had built their business using social media.

“The response I received to shouting out to my friends was central to the success of Tablelands to Tabletop, so being a #eatqld Champion seems a perfect way to promote the wonderful produce of Atherton Tablelands farmers,” Ms Nason.

“We are blessed to have so much wonderful fresh food produced in this region and I am truly excited to be

playing a part in seeing it get from the farm to the table.

“Healthy food is essential to a healthy body and mind and, in these very different times, doing something to promote our wonderfully delicious local produce while supporting local farmers seems like a perfect way to contribute to the community.”

Sweet as honey Leading South East Queensland raw honey producers Natasha and Jason Roebig were also named an #eatqld Champion for their passionate efforts to raise the profile of boutique raw honey throughout Queensland.

Member for Jordan, Charis Mullen, said as the founders of Bee All Natural, Natasha and Jason had enthusiastically supported new honey producers and ensured the honey was produced ethically and sustainably.

“Natasha and Jason are true innovators who have created their own fruit and spiced infused raw honey and creamed honey ranges using repurposed fruit to avoid waste and create alternative revenue streams for farmers,” Ms Mullen said.

Queensland has some of the best honey producers in Australia and now is the time to bring this to everyone’s attention,” Mrs Roebig said.

“Whilst recent seasons have certainly been a challenge for beekeepers, we are one of the many honey producers across Queensland that prides ourselves on the pure product that our bees produce.

“Our business lives by our motto Straight From The Beekeeper - and, as an #eatqld Champion, we will promote our fabulous beekeepers and their terrific products to give consumers confidence in the provenance of our products and the industry.”

A different approach Mackay regenerative agriculture business Freckle Farm was named an #eatqld Champion in recognition of its sustainable and ethical approach to farming.

Since 2008, owners Rob Bauman and Deb McLucas have run their 265-hectare property near Eton using the principles of holistic management to benefit their animals and the environment.

“Additionally, they have created education platforms and social media groups to strengthen industry relationships and become respected mentors.

As fourth generation farmers, they have drawn on considerable experience and expertise to pioneer a chemicalfree approach to farming that means the cattle, pigs and, chickens on their property graze on natural pastures.

Natasha and Jason’s passion for beekeeping and their innovative educational platform, Inclusive Beekeepers Training Facility, were recognised in 2019 when Natasha won the Queensland AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

Their visionary approach has been recognised with a gold medal at the 2019 Australian Food Awards for their wood smoked ham, and, at the 2018 Australian Food Awards a bronze medal for their eggs, a gold medal for their bacon, and Best in Class for their branded pork.

Natasha Roebig said being named an #eatqld Champion provided a wonderful opportunity to spotlight Queensland’s honey industry and our great state’s food producers.

“Jason and I strongly believe that

Freckle Farm owner Deb McLucas said being a #eatqld Champion would help them spread the benefits of sustainable farming practices. .......continued on page 42

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

41

continued from page 41 “We believe very strongly in the principles of holistic management and work with the natural systems to achieve positive outcomes for our animals and our environment,” Ms McLucas said.

“By using tools such as biodynamics, rotational grazing and multi-species cropping, we are able to produce food which does not rely on artificial inputs and aids in the recovery of the environment and the local community.

“As a #eatqld Champion, we will be able highlight the benefits of sustainably produced food that will further enhance Queensland’s reputation for produce that is safe, healthy and delicious.”

Vintage drop South Burnett winery Clovely Estate was chosen as an #eatqld Champion for its commitment to showcasing the distinctive flavours of the South Burnett region and the imagination and determination to grow its business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more than 20 years, Clovely Wines has produced a range of red, white and sparkling wines that have become some of Queensland’s most-awarded wines.

Cellar Door in Red Hill, Brisbane to support local growers, producers and suppliers.

Clovely Estate’s General Manager Aaron Stephan said being named a #eatqld Champion provided an opportunity to showcase the South Burnett’s fresh and delicious produce.

“We celebrate the South Burnett region and the best of local fare in everything we do,” Mr Stephan said.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clovely Estate launched Forage Pantry Provisions at their City

“Clovely Estate is a place where we love to be and where our enthusiastic small team come

together to plant, to grow, to nurture, to imagine, to harvest, to press, to bottle and cultivate a sense of community and village.

“Being named as a #eatqld Champion endorses our vision to unite with other producers and partners to promote the joy of unique local fare produced with passion.”

#eatqld Champions Previous #eatqld Champions include Creek to Coast host Scott Hillier, Walkamin entrepreneur Krista Watkins, Bowen horticulturalist Carl Walker, and the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre’s Executive Chef David Pugh.

To nominate someone as an #eatqld Champion, email agriculture@ministerial. qld.gov.au.

DIRECT MAIL YOUR MESSAGE TO QUEENSLAND FARMERS AND GRAZIERS

Covering the heart of Queensland, from the coast and across the vast outback.

Call our sales team Dave on 0408 332 846 davidbrereton@newsleader.com.au or Annette Weatherstone on 0428 844 937 salesrl@newsleader.com.au

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To get the latest rural news Check out www.rural-leader.com.au

Positive conclusion to a great career

M

Col Jackson PUBLISHER - THE LEADER GROUP UCH WATER has flowed under the proverbial bridge since I began my career in the newspaper industry 60 years ago; that was a time of hand-set type, lumbering presses and ink up to the armpits.

My work title was “printer’s devil,” which meant that the dirtiest, hardest and arduous jobs were mine — even though I was in effect signed-up as an apprentice.

Those times were so different to that of the present: today, everything that I did by way of type composition right through to the finished pages of a newspaper or book are now done on a laptop, with a huge colour screen in front of me — and a massive computer memory that often reminds that perhaps I am wrong.

That is one aspect which I eschew: I prefer to have control over the computer, and not vice versa.

I look back on my formative years when my main mode of transport was a bicycle, I played football and swam at the local pool — and my father was a keen gardener.

As the third generation of a rural regional newspaper family, the ethos was that if you’re going to print the news relative to the local farming community, it was essential to not only understand agriculture — but to live it.

From an early age, my father was keen on gardening and a passionate poultry fancier.

In a news article printed in both The Brisbane Courier, (Friday, August 9, 1929) and The Telegraph (Tuesday, August 13) there was a record of a Farm Boys’ Camp at the 1929 Royal National Show (later The Ekka), where young men from across the state were accommodated at the showgrounds. My father travelled the furthest, while all others were from the south-east.

He said he was especially pleased to be with them, “because he was amongst boys who were doing the same sort of work as he had been doing most of his life.”

He chatted to them about the advantages of country life. “For one thing, it brought-out the initiative in a lad.”

The Premier appeared to be in his element when talking to the Farm Boys.

“On his farm, a man is his own master — and he secured a return from his own efforts.”

He pointed-out to the boys that they were obtaining the benefit of experience: “When I came to a Queensland farm years ago,” he said, “I did not know much about it — not half as much as you know now.”

They had had to learn from experience — and to pay for it.

“You are being taught from the beginning,” the Premier advised.

“You know it is quality that counts.”

Boys who went in for the country life were doing well for the State as well as for themselves.

Of course, there were drawbacks.

Nothing was more heartbreaking than a drought, but there was the compensation of good seasons.

He urged them to remember that breeding meant more profit.

They should never say, “This is good enough.”

“On the contrary, their motto should be: “Nothing is good enough unless it is the best,” Premier Moore said.

“It was continual trying and effort from which they got good results.”

“And finally,” he said, “on the farm you are your own master — that is a great thing.”

The Premier of the day, Mr A E Moore, spoke to the group during the luncheon hour.

It’s informative that even though these events took place 90 years ago, and agriculture was in its formative years in this nation, there were the institutions and the topics that continue to resonate today.

“I would rather be on a farm than in the job I have now,” the Premier confided, and was reported to be in a genial mood.

Professor J K Murray, of Gatton College, addressed the boys on a relevant topic: breeding, feeding and weeding.

“The State depended for its success on agriculture and stock,” he noted.

“About them at the Exhibition they saw evidence of everything that stood for Queensland’s wealth.”

He pointed out to them that Queensland’s biggest crop was not wheat or maize or peanuts — it was grass.

“Sheep and cattle lived on grasses and clover.

And he posed the question: “Was there a way of improving the grasses?”

“If you lived off nothing except bread and butter, you would soon have a craving for meat,” Professor Murray said, using those remarks as a parallel to the top-dressing of a paddock, thereby increasing its amount of feed.

It was for them to study such problems, and not to imagine that their education was finished when they left school.

There were many instructive papers published in the interests of the farmers.

There was a man in Victoria running four sheep in 1929 where he ran one in 1917-18 — because he was top-dressing his pastures.

He pointed-out to them, however, that they did not yet know what was the best top-dressing for Queensland pastures.

But they had to think of the future of their crops.

He spoke to them on the need of weeding their cattle — or culling them.

Finally, he warned them to look to their methods: “If your management is bad,” he said emphatically, “you will go bankrupt.”

My father encouraged me to embrace gardening, and to look after the soil, for without healthy earth, there can be no nutrition in what we eat.

I now have a hearty respect for anything that has its origins in our earth — from beef and red

wine to vegetable and flowers.

And I still have the ribbons from local agricultural shows for champion roses and blooms and vegetables that I have grown with my own hands.

Yet that was also the catalyst for one of the most outstanding and enjoyable roles in my publishing career — that of Editor-at-Large of Blue’s Country Magazine — which was in print for some 35 years and closed in June 2017.

Call it fate or karma, but three months into retirement I had a call to come to Longreach for a fortnight as relieving editor of the local paper.

More than three years down the track, I am still in The Outback — a wonderful place to live — and am involved in the resurrection of a rural magazine in a modern format, with a young, experienced team who can take the interests of the farming sector into a buoyant future.

And I can look back on my father’s insistence that I learn about agriculture that has given me the chance to travel Australia and the world learning and writing about agriculture in all its forms. Farming is not only universal but also uniting of people across the globe.

Last but not least, let’s not forget those wonderful people who live on the land and work daily to maintain their soil so as to provide the population with nutritious food that also provides Australia with an envious reputation for healthy foodstuffs.

These people are the salt of the earth.

• Col Jackson is a member of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ).

NOVEMBER 2020 RURAL LEADER

43

REAL ESTATE

Ideal

retirement property

A

property established to provide great living and easily maintained and located within 7km of Pittsworth and just a 40-minute drive to Toowoomba City.

A top cattle fattening grazing block with an excellent stand of blue grass. Soft hollows and sweet ridges, originally timbered with mountain coolabah and wilga.

Approximately 60 acres used for growing fodder crops.

The brick homestead is privately set back with extensive views, from the veranda, living areas and each bedroom, over the Balgownie flats to the Southern Downs.

The air-conditioned open plan living room is also complimented with wood heating and opens out to both the front veranda and the northern covered outdoor area.

There is an office and four bedrooms, each with a built-in robe, the master has a walk-in robe plus ensuite.

Main bathroom has separate bath, separate shower and vanity. There is a powder area and separate toilet.

There is a four-bay open shed with power, approximately 25’x25’ barn, approximately 50’x35’ machinery shed, an equipped bore with electric submersible pump with timer.

Plenty of water storage with four tanks and a large gully dam, the property is divided into six main paddocks, which is connected via a central laneway and water is reticulated to each paddock.

A list of plant and machinery is available.

Price: Expressions of interest close November 27 Land: 263 acres Agent: Ray White Rural Pittsworth Matt Cleary | 0428 987 340 Inspection: By appointment

Sale

6 106.74 Ha (263 Acres)

‘Foles Hill’ 647 Clifton Road, Pittsworth Top fattening & grazing country within 7kms of Pittsworth, 40 mins Toowoomba.

Spacious homestead privately positioned, has extensive views over the Balgownie Flats & Southern Downs from verandah. Open plan design, air conditioning, woodheater, covered outdoor area. Open shed/workshop, 2 x 30 tonne silos, barn, machinery shed, cattle yards, loading ramp, vet cattle crush. Equipped bore, tanks, large gully dam.

raywhitepittsworth.com.au

Expressions of Interest Closing 27 November 2020, 5pm View

By Appointment

Matt Cleary 0428 987 340

REAL ESTATE

Large home on eight acres

G

NF Warwick are pleased to offer to the market this amazing lifestyle block located on the edge of the township of Killarney.

Representing an outstanding opportunity to acquire sound rural acreage in an outstanding location with a beautiful large family home in an elevated position with a simply amazing outlook.

The house consists of four large very generous bedrooms with built-ins, a recently renovated bathroom with all modern fixtures with an additional separate toilet and shower, a large practical kitchen with island bench and combustion stove, an open living and dining area with timber floors, second living area with wood fire heater and downstairs den/teen retreat.

Plenty of room for car/boat or bike storage with a three bay undercover fully lockable garage with access through to the rear of the house.

Two large outdoor entertaining areas, tennis court and pool round things off for this already impressive home.

Things only get better out the back. The property is approximately eight acres in size with five acres of highly productive black soil cultivation and an additional two-acre grazing paddock.

The boundary is fully fenced with the house yard separated with timber fence.

A two-bay horse stable and powered storage shed finish off an already impressive lifestyle block.

Do not miss your opportunity to view this property before it slips through your hands.

INTERESTED? Location: Border Road, Killarney | Price: Contact agent | Agent: Matthew Grew GNF Warwick | 0457 861 212 | Inspection: By appointment

OUTSIDE THE BOX

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View catalogue at www.auctionsplus.com.au Enquiries Harvey Weyman-Jones 0414 941 788

Goovigen farmer, Peter McLintock is pioneering a unique solution to stop packs of wild dogs killing sheep, calves and goats in Central Queensland.

John Bell

“W

ild dogs are a growing concern for graziers throughout Australia and not just from dingoes, but from feral domestic dogs and hybrid mixes with dingoes, Mr McLintock said.

“They attack all kinds of stock including cattle and goats and these animals are most susceptible during berthing birth, when packs of wild dogs target the mothers and draw them away leaving their babies unprotected.

“But donkeys are answer to these increasingly horrid attacks, which is why I breed donkeys, as they are the ideal guard animal - as they simply hate dogs.

“One local grazier was regularly losing calves every year and then they bought four Jacks (donkeys) off us to run on 600 acres.

“This was two years ago and since then they haven’t lost one calf, as their donkeys became part of the herd and actually go out of their way to protect the mothers during their calving times.”

Mr McLintock said he gets regular phone calls from people desperate for a solution as they have been losing mostly newborns and young stock from continual dog attacks.

“I have people telling me horrendous stories of losing stock for years and the problem is only getting worse.

“One family came back from holidays only to find a huge number of their sheep and goats had been slaughtered.

These wild dogs didn’t even eat

all they killed as they obviously were in a frenzy and just kept killing.”

David went on to say that he follows-up on all the donkeys that leave the farm and to date everyone who has purchased donkeys for guard duties has had no more dog problems.

“Although one donkey can protect a lot of stock as he sees them as his family, it is simply not possible for one donkey to protect a large herd over a huge number of acres.

“Donkeys need to be in the area where the dogs are predating and to do this effectively, more than one donkey is required on larger properties.

“Once the donkey either sees or hears the dogs he or she will attack them.

“However, if there is only one donkey on a larger property, then you run the risk of some of the dogs drawing the guard donkey away from the mothers and leaving their babies vulnerable to the remaining dogs.”

“Donkeys are a herd animal and they bond perfectly with other animals and once that bond has been made, then your donkey will protect his new family and chase down the dog or dogs, killing them or injuring them with either his hooves or his teeth.”

David added that many people are now aware that donkeys are very intelligent animals and are fearless when it comes to dogs.

“Donkeys also make wonderful pets.

“Usually we recommend donkeys to be either twoyears-old or above if wanting them to protect stock immediately.

“However, with baby donkeys, you get the best of both worlds.

“Donkeys thrive on affection and in a short number of weeks after bringing a baby home you will be having the sweetest of cuddles because to the donkey, you arepart of his new family.

“Then they grow up loving you as his new “herd family” “Then once trust is established between him, the herd and you, getting him to come to you will never be a problem as he will always come over to you wherever his is in the paddock.

“Once your donkeys have bonded with the herd, their natural herding instinct means they will almost never want to leave them so are not prone to wandering away.

“This also guarantees that they will be there when the dogs come calling and it also means that those dogs will think twice before calling again and more than likely will go to the neighbours place next time, who hasn’t got donkeys.”

David said donkeys are gaining in popularity because they are pure and simply the answer to wild dog problems.

“They are loving and friendly animals, low cost, minimal maintenance, eat the same as your stock and live to a ripe old age.”

SPECIALS

SPECIALS KEEP THIS LIST NOVEMBER STOCK CLEARANCE RHS - TUBE RHS LENS

PIPE - PIPE

SIZE

EACH

5 - 8M 75x50x4 PTD ..................... $60 120 - 2.8M 75x75x4 GALV ................... $55 3 - 3.1M 125x125x4 PTD ................. $40 RHS - NEAR NEW BUNDLES

64 LENS - 2.4M

LEN/$

• 40 x 40 x 2 PTD .................................... $4 • 38 x 38 x 3 PTD .................................... $6 LENS

QTY

LEN

305 61 20 7 58 208 14

6.5M 6.5M 6.5M 6M 7.2M 3.4M 4M

TAPERED FLANGE BEAM

SIZE

EA/LEN

32NB 3.2MM RED .......... $35 40NBx3.2MM RED ......... $40 150NBx4.9MM RED ....... $160 219ODx4.8MM BLACK... $170 20NBx2MM GALV........... $18 20NBx2MM GALV........... $10 273ODX6.4MM...............$180 BUNDLES ONLY RHS - MASSIVE SIZE - RHS

• 450x350x12.5 • 9M LENS • 1360KG/LEN

32/36 - 2.4M 50x50x2 GALV ........................ $8 BUNDLES ONLY

• 2.4M - LENS • 36LENS - BUNDLE

$1800 ea $1300/PAIR

• 4Mx2M (ask for photo) • CONCRETE ABUTMENTS

LEN/$ • 72 - 100x50x3 PTD ............................... $8 • 540 - 75x40x2 GALV ............................ $8 BUNDLES ONLY

FLAT BAR GALV

LEN

SIZE

20 15 76

2.5M 2M 2.5M

80NBx4.9MM BLACK ... $45 80NBx5.5MM BLACK ... $50 80NBx4.9MM GALV ...... $55

EA/LEN

8MM - FLOOR PLATE ...............EACH

9 - 3000 x 700 .......................$80 2 - 5800 x S 1420 O .....................$300 L 5 - 2000 x 570 .......................$80 D 11 - 3000 x 570 .....................$80 4 - 1000 x 1000 .....................$80 3 - 2400 x 1200 ....................$240 10MM - PLATE

3 - 2400 x 1200 .....................$380 12MM - PLATE

3 - 2400 x 1200 .....................$440 25mm PLATE 28MM PLATE

$70ea

20 - 600 x 600 .......................$100 7 - 620 x 620 .........................$100 20 - 1880 x 128 .....................$70

WHEEL RIMS

QTY

PLATE NEAR NEW

5 - 3000 x 1500 .....................$850

• 150x6 • 6M 17 LENS ONLY

STRAINER - POSTS - PIPE

• 100x45 - 7.2 K6/M • 9M LENS 9 ONLY $160ea

6MM - PLATE

$1400/Len CATTLE GRID - HEAVY DUTY

LIPPED CHANNEL

TRUCK COWLING RAIL

• 720MM DIA x 720MM HIGH • 300K6/EA • ROLLER/FIRE PIT $300ea

RuralMASSIVE Steel Supplies

10MM PLATE

200 - 200 x 200 .....................$15

SIZE RHS

Cec & Ben have 75 years experience in supplying steel to the rural market FAX 07 3848 2099 7AM - 7PM - 7 DAYS |

www.ruralsteelsupplies.com.au

Ben Fox M 0418 107 788 E: benfox@xstraders.com.au

Cec Fox M 0418 721 100

E: chfox@ruralsteelsupplies.com.au

HEAVY WALL

PRICE INCLUDE GST - STOCK BRISBANE

RHS – TUBE

450 X 350 X 12.5MM • 9M LEN / 1360KG / LEN • $1400 / LEN SHED POSTS • ENTRY WAYS • ROAD DRAINS • TREE PUSHERS FIELD LEVELER • LOADING RAMPS • BRIDGE BEAMS

GALV. WELDED MESH

CATTLE – GRID – HEAVY 4M X 2M • BEARER 200 X 100 X 4 RUNNERS – 75 X 75 X 6 • 660KG

$1800 EA

Concrete abutments $1300 / pair

GOAT PANELS

1200 X 2200 • 8 RAIL – 20NB PIPE

$70 EA

Rural Steel Supplies

182 ONLY

PIPE – LARGE – DIA 219MM OD • 4.8MM WALL 6M/ LENS

$180 EA

7 ONLY

Bundles only - 7 lens / Bundle

• 2000 X 1800 SHEETS S O • 100 X 100 L X 4MM D MESH $20 SHEET INCL GST 50 AVAILABLE

47

CEC & BEN HAVE 75 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN Ben Fox M 0418 107 788 • E: benfox@xstraders.com.au SUPPLYING STEEL TO THE RURAL MARKET Cec Fox M 0418 721 100 • E: chfox@ruralsteelsupplies.com.au Fax 07 3848 2099 • 7AM - 7PM - 7 Days GST N O V E M B EPRICE R 2 0 2INCLUDE 0 RURA L L- ESTOCK A D E RBRISBANE www.ruralsteelsupplies.com.au