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News Stories
Graziers learn of Reef Rescue grants at
Glenalpine field day
The 60 producers who gathered at
the O’Sullivan’s property Glenalpine near Collinsville for a
grazing industry field day run by AgForce in conjunction with NQ
Dry Tropics last month saw how the 40km of fencing paid in part
by the Australian Government’s Caring for our Country Reef
Rescue program was rejuvenating native grass, improving rain
infiltration and reducing runoff.
 This
field day and a following one at Bowen River Hotel resulted in
20 graziers inquiring about Reef Rescue grants.
NQ Dry Tropics Project Manager
Linda Hygate said there’s $1.3 million available to graziers in
the Burdekin to carry out on-ground works. The majority of funds
will be spent in the priority region of the Bowen, Bogie and
Broken catchment areas.
Queensland
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Strategy for Grazing BMP underway
Substantial
progress has been made towards a strategy to guide development
of a grazing land management practice framework across reef
catchments. AgForce believes the Reef Rescue program has been a
timely catalyst to coalesce the grazing industry toward an
industry-based BMP framework.
 AgForce
recently hosted the first Reef Wide Grazing Group meeting where
six Regional NRM Groups, Meat Livestock Australia and Department
of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation’s Qld Primary
Industries and Fisheries agreed to work towards an overarching,
consistent and comparable Grazing Best Management Practice (BMP)
framework.
AgForce
Principal Reef Rescue project officer Marie Vitelli said this
grazing framework will directly link to other processes such as
MLA’s accredited Agrisure module, proposed Environmental Risk
Management Plans in the Reef Protection Amendment Bill and
Delbessie Leasehold Land Management Agreements.
Producers improve efficiencies through
Grains BMP
 In
partnership with the Queensland Department of Primary Industries
and Fisheries and the Fitzroy Basin Association, AgForce
established three grain growers groups in the Rolleston, Banana
and Jambin regions of the Fitzroy catchment.
Capella
grain grower David Brown pictured said it helped him improve
spraying efficiency.
“Through the
Grains BMP process and seeing spray technology consultants
Graham Betts and Bill Gordon, my awareness of how to get the
best performance out of our Rogator 1074 self-steer 24m spray
rig has improved,” he said.
A total of
80 growers participated in the program over a three-month
period. The Grains BMP is a free, voluntary online system that
assists grain growers improve profitability and sustainability
by examining growing practices against best practice standards
of pesticide application, farm design and rainfall, pest and
soil management. For more information visit
www.grainsbmp.com.au.
Graziers upskill to protect reef
AgForce’s
partnership with other Reef Alliance members and industry
organisations has contributed to the Australian Government’s
Caring for our Country’s goal of Protecting the Great Barrier
Reef.
Two hundred
producers in the Fitzroy, Burdekin and Burnett Mary Catchments
have attended AgForce’s property computer mapping and GPS
workshops, improving property planning and marking of protected
areas. These 200 graziers contribute to the national target of
1500 pastoralists improving monitoring and management of run-off
areas.
 Laurel
Heatley, wife of Meat and Livestock Australia chairman Arthur
(Don) Heatley, attended a property computer mapping workshop at
Home Hill in June with her two daughters-in-law Sheree and
Laurel.
Mrs Heatley
said property computer mapping will help determine the best
cattle stocking rate for their new property, Rangemore, located
about 50kms away from Byrne Valley.
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