Girls & Grass  Advisory Group

by Debbie Shea, Girls and Grass Facilitator

The Perennial Pasture Systems (PPS) group recognises the importance of farmer health and well being in enabling farmers to make cohesive and informed management decisions. These decisions are often made jointly with partners and/or parents and/or siblings. This understanding has led PPS to be more inclusive to all members of the farm business and has resulted in the formation ofGirls & Grass.  

PPS recognises and celebrates the essential contribution that rural women make to not just their own farms but the wider rural community. Girls & Grass AG (Advisory Group), with support from Rural Bank, provides opportunities for members to come together in a friendly and supportive environment to learn from their peers and build on their skills and knowledge.

Girls & Grass works closely with the PPS Committee of Management to value add to the existing calendar of events, as well as conducting their own activities. The venues for events are scattered throughout the region from Elmhurst to Pomonal and from Lake Bolac to Stawell. The COVID-19 restrictions have meant a postponement of open events the last one being a coffee morning at the Willaura Bakery in March.  The ‘Conversation over Coffee’ social gatherings are a way of keeping in touch.

The Girls & Grass AG works closely with other organisations to benefit our rural community.  When high profile speaker Sue Pieters-Hawke was engaged to speak last year, Girls & Grass formed a steering committee with Grampians Pyrenees Primary Care Partnership, Ararat Rural City Council, East Grampians Health Service, Northern Grampians and Grampians Community Health to maximise the opportunity.  This resulted in Sue speaking at the Girls & Grass dinner held in Great Western, an afternoon tea at Pyrenees House and a morning tea at the Lake Bolac Bush Nursing Centre.  In all over 150 people heard from Sue and her experience with caring for her mother Hazel suffering from Alzhiemers.

Planning is well underway for the regular ‘Xmas in July’ Dinner, especially seeing the restrictions are slowly lifting, hopefully by July we will be able to enjoy getting together.

For membership or information contact Girls & Grass Facilitator; Debbie Shea: mobile 0418 205 353, email debbiejshea@gmail.com.

Southern Farming Systems delivering extension in the Glenelg Hopkins Community

By Michelle McClure, SFS Hamilton, Streatham and Geelong Branch Coordinator

Southern Farming Systems is delivering information to the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment area on Sodic Soils through community events and Women on Farms program with support from Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Community Events

SFS hosted a Sodic Soils webinar on the 17^th April 2020 with Cam Nicholson.  This webinar was part of the GHCMA Soils Program and is available on the SFS You Tube Channel.

SFS delivers 3 community events every year with groups in the region on the topics of soils, pastures, climate and crops. Expressions of interest will be advertised to groups through the landcare newsletter later in the year.

Women on Farms

SFS has established two Women on Farms groups in Lake Bolac and Hamilton regions since 2017. 

We have run 8 sessions in each location covering the topics:

• Climate & Soils
• Pasture Production
• Crop Production
• Livestock Production

And 4 advanced sessions on Integrated Weed Management.

The last 2 sessions on IWM were forced to go online due to COVD-19 restrictions allowing more than the local groups to further their knowledge on the topics of IWM. The recordings from these last 2 sessions are available on the SFS You Tube Channel (click for IWM Session 3 or IWM Session 4).

The next round of Women on Farms Sessions will be announced after 30 June 2020.  The current members of the Women on Farms Groups have been asked to select the topic they would like delivered.

To join the group you can contact Michelle McClure mmclure@sfs.org.au or join their Facebook page Glenelg Hopkins Rural Women.

Recycling grain bags

By Stuart Horner, Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group

The Grampians Central West Waste and Resource Recovery Group (GCWWRRG) has been working with the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), farm suppliers, local government and Sustainability Victoria (SV) to develop a process for collection and reprocessing flexible agricultural plastics. As things currently stand, there is no effective mechanism for the collection and re-use of these products.  Some small scale and piecemeal recycling arrangements exist,  but the longevity and stability of these arrangements cannot be assured.  GCWWRRG is looking to develop a more robust, broader scale and nationally uniform approach to this problem, based on the Drum Muster and the Canadian grain bag product stewardship precedents already in existence. 

A Statewide agricultural plastics working group is being established, involving Waste and Resource Recovery Groups, the VFF and several shire councils.  An Initial meeting between SV, the VFF and GCWWRRG has established common ground around  the need to develop a collection and recycling system.  The VFF indicated that there was unanimous support by VFF members at the recent grains  conference to take action on ag plastics,  with a view to spreading the cost of retrieval and processing across the entire supply chain, including manufacturers, suppliers and farmers.   The working group is in the process of  sourcing  the details of manufacturers and suppliers into a database to inform the next steps of the process.

To raise awareness, GCWWRRG has also instigated a competition  for the best use of agricultural plastic in the creation of a fashion item or accessory.  The intent of this exercise is to raise awareness of the problem of agricultural plastic waste, and to draw upon the skills of the local fashion industry and general public to develop a potential avenue of ongoing scalable and commercially viable re-use of agricultural plastics. Secondary benefits may include raising overall awareness of waste in the fashion industry and the prompting of  innovative solutions to other waste problems from both the fashion and allied industries. The website is live at ballaratethicalfashion.com.au/voguegonerogue.

GCWWRRG is a Statutory Authority established under Section 49C of the Victorian Environment Protection Act (1970). Our Mission is ‘To reduce waste and maximise recycling and resource recovery through information sharing, project development and collaborating with local government and industry.’

An update on the Grampians Region Climate Adaptation Strategy

By Daryl Scherger, Grampians Region Climate Adaptation Group

The strategy is starting to come together with the Regional Climate Adaptation Group (RCAG) developing a preliminary draft.  Two biodiversity projects being considered for this year are :

• A project is to develop a rationale, a species selection and a practices guide for the purpose of maintaining and enhancing headwater stream biota health and biodiversity within peri urban landscapes.
• A landscape genomic analyses of Grampians Region biodiversity to develop a management framework for preserving patterns of endemism and maximising environmental resilience under climate change.

More projects are needed for subsequent years of the strategy and I’d recommend the Upper Hopkins Group to put forward their projects for consideration.  The amount of funding available has yet to announced but the Victorian Government has committed to long term support of the strategy.

A website for the strategy program is being developed and will be launched soon.  Anyone wanting more information can visit https://engage.vic.gov.au/grampians-region-climate-adaptation-strategy or call 136 186

News from the Beyond Bolac Catchment Action Group

by Anthony Casanova, Facilitator for the Beyond Bolac Catchment Action Group

The Beyond Bolac website has been recently updated, and you are invited to click on the link below and to have a look around. The website now includes a wide range of information and links on the natural attributes of this district, especially via the menu tabs along the top of each page. The process of pulling these various topics together was an experience that highlighted the fact that we do live in a unique part of the world.

Initially the focus of the added information was based around the themes of runoff across the catchment and its influence on the health of Lake Bolac. This was the issue that led to the formation of the Beyond Bolac group. Recently there has been renewed interest in revisiting these issues, and we are in the fortunate position that over the decade since BBCAG began there has been a large amount of new knowledge gained on this topic. The major aspects can now be accessed from the site. The website also pulls together an overview of the wetlands and biodiversity of our region.

There were a few objectives that lie behind developing the website. Firstly it is a vehicle for publicity for BBCAG, but that on its own would be of limited value. Secondly, the themes and issues on the site will be useful for giving an overview to people such as researchers or decision makers who may be coming from outside to work on a particular aspect of our catchment. For them to be able to see their field in the wider catchment context can help with setting priorities or to raise new questions that might otherwise have been overlooked. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we hope that the site will act as an information resource for the local community. Many valuable links and pieces of information exist on the web, but often they are buried away and at times they can be difficult to uncover. We would like our site to continue to develop and for it to be an accessible ‘go to’ point for that role.

The BBCAG site can be found at www.beyondbolac.org.

Tussock seedlings germinating over autumn break

By Ivan Carter, Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party

Now is the time to check your property for the noxious weed serrated tussock (Nassella trichotoma).

Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party (VSTWP) Community Engagement Officer, Ivan Carter said recent rains and an early autumn break in some parts of Victoria has been good for crops, but unfortunately, has also been good for the growth of serrated tussock.

“We’re urging landowners to use any spare time they might have to survey their properties for serrated tussock plants.

“Controlling serrated tussock before the plant goes to seed is critical to prevent further spread, lost productivity and increased costs of control,” Mr Carter said.

Serrated tussock can germinate at any time of the year after rain, but mostly in autumn and winter.

Plants and new seedlings can be removed manually using a pick or shovel or spot sprayed using a registered herbicide, depending on the size of the infestation. Newly germinated seedlings will appear bright green, be erect and will stand out from the other grasses in a pasture.

The VSTWP has developed an online video and information sheets to help landowners identify this noxious weed, which can be viewed at www.serratedtussock.com.

Mr Carter said before flowering, serrated tussock has a lime green appearance. When flowering, the flower-heads have a distinctive purple colour developing as the seeds ripen in late spring and early summer. These features help serrated tussock stand out from the native tussock grasses.

“Serrated tussock has a fine leaf and will roll smoothly between the index finger and thumb, while native Poa tussocks feel as though they have flat edges.

“The leaves also feel rough when you run your fingers downwards due to fine serrations. A mature serrated tussock plant can produce thousands of seeds in a season, blowing up to 20 kilometres from the parent plant.

“Controlling mature serrated tussock plants before they flower and seed can be done with a registered herbicide, manual removal or cultivation.

“Having a healthy pasture and competitive ground cover is one of the most important aspects to weed management and serrated tussock is a prime example of a weed that does not like competition and well-established pastures,” Mr Carter said.

Serrated tussock now covers more than 250,000 hectares of land in Victoria and large infestations require ongoing management and the integration of several control techniques.

For further information, please visit www.serratedtussock.com, or contact the VSTWP (info@serratedtussock.com, 0422 605 953).

Native grassland restoration at Woorndoo

By John Delpratt, Woorndoo Land Protection Group

In late 2017, the Woorndoo Land Protection Group was awarded a DELWP Biodiversity On-ground Action grant to expand an area of restored grassland at Woorndoo, and to undertake several experiments aimed at enhancing the species diversity of an established native grassland.

An initial 1.25 ha restoration was sown into previously-cropped roadside in 2013. The site extends to the north east from the corner of Bolac Plains Rd. and Woorndoo-Streatham Rd. A thin layer of top soil (approx. 80 to 100 mm) was removed to reduce the soil weed seed and bud bank and the levels of soil nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. This is designed to reduce competition from agricultural weeds during the critical establishment phase of the new grassland community. The site was sown with a diverse mix of locally-collected native grassland species, both grasses and herbaceous wild flowers (forbs). The sowing and subsequent establishment of the grassland was very successful and formed the basis for the DELWP-funded project.

The new project had two main objectives.

1. To restore a further 1.25 ha adjoining the 2013 site.
2. To undertake three experiments over two years aimed at increasing the diversity of forb species and the presence of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda triandra) in the 2013 restoration.

The restoration sowing was scheduled for spring 2019 to allow time for the production and collection of seed resources. The experiments used both sown seed and tube stock planting to refine methods for enhancing the diversity and abundance of forbs within an established native grassland, and to increase the abundance of Kangaroo Grass by tube stock planting. The three fully replicated experiments (forbs from tube stock; forbs from seed; Kangaroo Grass from tube stock) were applied over two years and four seasons (autumn 2018; spring 2018; autumn 2019; spring 2019). Monitoring of establishment, survival and growth is on-going. Broadly, survival and growth of most of the nine planted forb species has been good, the Kangaroo Grass is establishing well but, for a number of possible reasons, only a few of the fifteen direct-sown forbs have established. I will report more fully on these interesting experiments once the establishment period for all seasonal treatments has passed and the data has been analysed. Interestingly, the 2013 site, including the experimental area, was burnt a few weeks ago – a further challenge for the transplants and seedlings. For the rest of this note, I’ll report on the implementation and progress of the 2019 direct sowing.

The 2019 site extends for a further 1.25 ha along the Woorndoo-Streatham Rd. The site replaces part of an area of roadside cropping (wheat and canola) that extends for about 10 km towards Nerrin Nerrin. The final crop on the new site was canola, harvested in 2018. We had budgeted to have the site graded to 100 mm depth in autumn 2019. This coincided with adjacent roadworks for Tilt Renewables’ Dundonnell Wind Farm. The road contractor, Zenviron, agreed to grade the site at no charge to WLPG. This was a substantial saving to our project budget, which allowed us to include a large tube stock planting of Kangaroo Grass and locally-important forbs, in addition to the direct sowing.

Note: Kangaroo Grass is a key species in the region’s natural temperate grasslands. It is always included in our seed mixes but it is relatively slow to mature and to assume its role as a dominant species. Similarly, while a number of forb species, particularly daisies, establish in good abundance from direct-sown seed mixes, other species will take many years to develop large populations. While the primary focus of our restorations is direct sowing because it can be achieved at any scale, for an impatient (and ageing) operator such as myself, it is important to see if it is feasible, on a limited scale, to quickly establish large stands of Kangaroo Grass and rare or culturally-significant forbs such as Button Wrinklewort (Rutidosis leptorhynchoides) and Murnong/Yam Daisy (Microseris walteri), within recently-sown native grassland communities.

The sowing was completed in October 2019. With good follow-up rain over summer and a wetter- than-average autumn, we are seeing excellent growth of native grasses, particularly Wallaby Grass (Rytidosperma species) and various local daisies.

The grading of the site, prior to sowing, was completed in a race against a rapidly approaching autumn break; it was raining as the job was being completed. As a result, the site was not a clean as we would have hoped and there has been more growth of agricultural annual weeds than we would have liked. The most abundant of these weeds is Wire Weed (Polygonum aviculare). While this is disappointing, the good cover of Wallaby Grass should start to suppress this, and other annual weeds over the next few growing seasons – something to watch.

The planned tube stock planting (approx. 6000 plants), which was to have been completed by Landmate, has been delayed by Covid-19. We had planned an autumn and spring planting, in line with our experiments. The stock is ready and in need of planting. We now plan to condense the planting into a single effort in late winter or early spring, depending on the availability of a planting crew. Any later than early spring risks a rapid drying of the soil profile and a failure of the tube stock to establish before summer – potentially leading to large losses.

The Group’s 2013 restoration was an outstanding success – a tribute to a strong community effort and a successful collaboration with Moyne Shire Council. The more recent sowing has doubled the area of restored native grassland and allowed us to learn more about establishing additional species within an established native grassland.

As part of the DELWP project, the Woorndoo Land Protection Group has held increasingly well-attended annual seminar/field days in late spring. In view of the uncertainty surrounding Covid-19, this may not be advisable this year. However, we certainly will be holding an occasion at Woorndoo to report on the completion of the DELWP project as soon as it is safe to do so.

If you would like to follow our progress or become a volunteer, we have a ‘visible’ Facebook page (Woorndoo Land Protection Group) and an email list. To be added to our email list, please email woorndoolandprotectiongroup@gmail.com.

Update on the Stavely Ground Release

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR) will host three community information sessions in June for local agricultural landholders to help you learn more about minerals exploration and your rights, environmental safeguards and the obligations of minerals exploration companies. The sessions are relevant for landholders in the areas around Glenthompson, Caramut, Chatsworth, Minjah and west of Mortlake. 

Due to current coronavirus restrictions on social gatherings, these sessions will be held online:
Wednesday 10 June – 12.30pm-2pm
Wednesday 10 June – 3.30pm-5pm
Thursday 11 June – 7pm-8.30pm

You can register for a session via the department’s website.

Each 90-minute session will include presentations from representatives of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and Westrock Minerals.  There will be opportunity to ask questions. During these sessions they will present the range of support available to assist landholders in any discussions with minerals explorers about potential access to your property.

If you need further information or believe that you might have difficulty accessing online sessions but would still like to be involved, please contact Donna Mongan on 0436 662 399.