Acquiring quality water, and storing it, is especially important in preparing and managing farm productivity. Today, farmers are using data-driven decision making to make the most of water storage in order to lower input costs and reduce risks.

NSW Farmers has identified climate variability and high input costs as key factors in growing farm productivity. Farm businesses need support to build resilience, adapt to change and sustainably manage the farm landscape.

According to NSW Farmers’ regional service manager, Daniel Brear when it comes to water, responsibility is shared between the environment and food and fibre production. “Farmers need reliable access to water to produce a crop year on year, to ensure animal health, and for fire safety,” he says.

The provisions for stock and domestic water are well known and immutable. These provisions also enable responses to fire on the property and in surrounding country.

But farmers need reliable access to water to support the growth and harvest of crops as diverse as citrus, grapes, rice and wheat.

“Irrigation crops need reliability of supply for the farmer to manage water across the year,” Daniel says. “One of the challenges we see is farmers stressed because they aren’t sure they will have enough water for their permanent crops – citrus and grapes and the like.

“Within the irrigation schemes in NSW, irrigators are at the whim of the regulators about what water they can access in any given year. The allocations are announced on July 1 and any change can occur during the year, depending on the season.”

Daniel said long term planning required consistency within that year and in following years, especially when crops need to be rotated and to forecast production.

Sustainable Water on the scene

Sustainable Water Pty. Ltd. was established by Jim Conley, and Ross Martiensen. Passionate about giving back to the land and helping agricultural productivity. They knew abundant water is available when you know where to look, so they began their mission to help rural communities; those who turn water into food and jobs.

To help farms never run out of water again, they researched and activated modern methodologies in underground water exploration and bore-water production. Utilising proprietary geophysical technologies, they locate, and pinpoint high-quality groundwater bore sites, helping hundreds of Australian farmers such as these: 

“I totally recommend Sustainable Water Solutions’ first-class service to anyone needing underground water to drought-proof their properties or just for a reliable water supply.”  – Jim, Qld 

“Sustainable water predicted various water amounts and qualities at various depths using high tech and delivered. Their three NSW customers before me also found great water.”  – Dave, NSW 

The Sustainable Water team analyses each property’s unique characteristics; surfaces, existing water resources, deeper geological water bearing structures, and geophysical data. 

Following water location, driller experience is then necessary. As they play a crucial role, Sustainable Water’s collaborates with qualified and reliable drillers also committed to sustainability. Their expertise aligned with Sustainable Water’s data-driven technology maximises success.

Bringing scientific technology and good old-fashioned hard work to the table, Sustainable Water continues delivering genuine solutions Australia wide. 

For more information contact Co-Founder Jim Conley, M: 0401 218 879 or jim@sustainablewatersolutions.com.au.

Farmbot’s way forward

You can’t be everywhere at once, and in today’s world of high fuel costs and labour shortages, you shouldn’t be, there are solutions that address these challenges. Farmbot is one solution, as a business they work with producers to understand operational costs and challenges. As the adoption of remote water management grows rapidly, so does the desire to incorporate additional elements of remote control. If you don’t need to drive to check the tank, why drive to turn on a pump.  

Andrew Coppin, Farmbot’s CEO, said ‘the company is continuously evolving their product range to improve processes for consistent incremental productivity and financial gains’.

With the launch of Farmbot’s Pump Control it marked a new era of autonomy and control for water management. By enabling the automation of pumps based on water level with a simple click from a phone. A change in management will result in multiple cost savings to a business including, the extended lifespan of pumps, reduced water waste and wear and tear on vehicles, and the obvious countless hours saved. By reducing the need for physical checks on water tanks and pumps, you can redirect resources to more of the 1% tasks. Farmbot’s Pump Control has been praised by customers and is becoming the popular choice for a completely connected water management ecosystem.  

More importantly, primary producers can reap the benefits of these solutions, as the Australian Federal Government aims to support the industry through the On Farm Connectivity Program (OFCP). Eligible producers can access a 50% discount on connectivity and on-farm technology with Farmbot Water Level Monitors and Pump Controllers being popular products of choice. This program is on a first-come, first-served basis, don’t hold off and be the one to miss out. 

For more information contact Farmbot at 02 9030 4760 or go to farmbot.com.au.  

Finding a balance

Daniel Brear says that farmers are concerned about the balance between water for the environment and water usage for food and fibre production.

Challenges include finishing off a winter crop, ensuring sufficient water for permanent crops – grapes, nuts, citrus and other fruit – and being able to plant an irrigated crop, whether that is broadacre cereal or fibre or grown in a more intensive production system, such as peas or potatoes.

“Obviously on farm storage is a huge issue and provides an opportunity for farmers to hold water when they need it,” he says. “We’ve seen in seasons where the allocations were turned off, that the market price to purchase water creates a situation where it isn’t worthwhile to finish crops.

“A zero allocation in July 2019 for people with temporary water on the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers led irrigators to have to downgrade the potential of their crops to hay,” he says. “That downgrade is tough when farmers want to produce the best crop they can from the water they have available to them.”

Daniel said farmers are using precision agriculture to monitor their water use and to identify new efficiencies that will enable them to balance their productivity and environmental responsibilities.

One example of this was co-irrigating rice crops to benefit wildlife conservation. According to NSW Local Land Services data, up to 1000 Australasian Bitterns benefit from changed agronomic practices among farmers who now grow short season rice varieties.

The Bitterns preference rice crops grown with early permanent water which provides them with a stable breeding habitat and 12.5 times the food source of frogs and tadpoles that support the adult birds and chicks. By the time the chicks are fledged and gone from the nest, it is time to harvest the rice.

“This is one example of how Australian farmers, as world leading irrigators, practice their responsibilities towards the environment, and produce a key food source for people within our country and overseas,” Daniel says.

“Australia’s farmers are focussed on balancing their need for water for production, and to delivering benefits for the environment.”

If you enjoyed reading about ag-tech for water storage, you may like to read about water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin.

The post Farmers turning to ag-tech for water storage support appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

The Australian Farm Institute has estimated digital technologies can increase the gross value of production in Australia by more than $20 billion per year. The CSIRO has estimated digital innovation has the potential to deliver $315 billion in gross economic value in Australia in the next few years, making it a key indicator for the nation’s gross economic value. And at KPMG, it is estimated that one in three new jobs in the agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries will be technology related. 

However, one of the challenges with using agritech in Australia is connectivity. 

The Australian Broadband Advisory Council, set up to advise the Australian government, has identified connectivity is critical to the agricultural sector, which is populated by small and medium sized family businesses. 

While the Australian Farm Institute has estimated full adoption of digital agriculture could yield $20.3 billion in gross value, the ABAC believes to achieve this, telecommunications connectivity in regional and rural Australia needs to be farmer-centric. 

Tech for farmers, by farmers

Although connectivity remains an issue, innovators are creating agritech that works around it. Mobble for instance, is livestock farm management software born from a need to keep everything to do with farm production simple. 

Mobble was created with offline capabilities and uses cloud-based software to connect multiple users and properties. 

“Mobble has been designed to replace the pocket-sized notebook that farmers have used for decades for daily note-making,” says founder and Chief Mobbler, Jock Lawrence. 

Developed by farmers for farmers, the idea behind Mobble emerged in 2018, on the Lawrence family farm in Avenel, Victoria, when they were looking for a practical farm management solution for their own production system. 

Jock Lawrence said Mobble was created to innovate and change based on users’ feedback. 

“Farmers know what they want. It is really important to us that Mobble is built on farmers’ feedback, listening directly to what they need and applying that in an easy-to-use solution. Mobble covers livestock records, stocking rates, mob and paddock treatments, historical events and sales. It makes regulatory compliance easy.” 

Jock Lawrence, Mobble founder

Jock said Mobble’s user-friendly capability means everyone involved  can put data into the farm management software and understand the reports. 

“Beyond farm management, Mobble is a way to connect the team and increase engagement levels across the entire farming business,” he says. 

Mobble is offering a free 21-day trial for NSW Farmers members. Go to www.mobble.io 

Sharefarming without ownership

Food production and connecting farmers with consumers has been taken a step further by Invest Inya Farmer (IIF). 

IIF enables people to invest in farming under a cooperative model, owning livestock or crops that are managed by the farmer alongside their own herds and production systems.

“It’s a form of sharefarm investing without owning the farm or equipment,” says IIF founder, Nathan MacPhee, of Mansfield, Victoria. “It also gives the farmer access to capital that means they can scale up their production.”

Nathan says Invest Inya Farmer is a world-first approach to agricultural production and investment, and funds are sourced from everyday people.

“When the crop and livestock are sold, everyone shares in the profits,” he says.

“If the livestock prices drop or the crop fails, the farmer doesn’t bear the cost alone.”

In the short time IIF has existed, 45 farmers from across Australia have come on board, and been matched with consumers interested in investing in their production.

Everyone is connected through a smartphone app.

Nathan himself has invested in a variety of commodities on farms across Australia, including ginger, pineapples, watermelons, beehives, fat lambs and goats. 

“I love all things agriculture, and I’ve developed a way for other people to learn about where their food is grown, how it is produced and marketed, and a way to support the realisation.”

Nathan MacPhee, Invest Inya Farmer founder

Upping adoption rates 

Before adopting digital agritech, farmers need to identify and quantify their
risk appetites. 

There is a lack of national mandated standards around storage and use of data in Australia, with the Privacy Act 1988 the principal piece of Australian legislation protecting the handling of personal information about individuals. 

This lack of mandated control prevents some people from adopting agritech. 

A farmer’s risk appetite might also depend on their production scale. 

Manufacturers of tractors and associated equipment expect their customers to provide personal and production data about how they use these assets. 

This data helps to identify faults within the system that can be remotely managed, especially in a country as large as Australia where technicians are hours if not days away, and spare parts are often stored overseas. 

Crop assessment can be done remotely, but the validity and accuracy of that valuation is reliant on populating tools with data that is sufficient to provide a mean averaging for comparison. 

Reflecting the experience of farmers, the Australian government’s Digital Foundations for Agriculture Strategy is very clear that good connectivity is key to adopting digital agritech. 

The Australian government’s Agri-Tech Expert Working Group identifies that the focus of national carriers is on population centres and key transport corridors, rather than local scale connectivity.

This opens the door for innovation, including farmers installing bespoke solutions, and the rise of small and medium sized service providers deploying connectivity solutions at a fraction of the cost of the main carriers. 

In late 2023, the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts announced the On Farm Connectivity Program, to provide rebates to eligible equipment suppliers for connectivity/solutions equipment sold to
primary producers. 

Suppliers can claim between $3,000 and $30,000 for the agritech assets they sell and install where primary producers use them to improve connectivity and adopt digital agribusiness solutions.

If you enjoyed this story on agritech, why not check out this piece on how technology is being used to solve rural crime.

The post Differing approaches to taking up agritech appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Large properties in particular are at risk of being targeted by criminals, and security systems can be a visual deterrent to them. The same technology that’s used for security can also be used to monitor water infrastructure and identify when livestock are using it, fences, yards and machinery, and identify expected and unexpected visitors as they enter the property via the main gate. An alert can be transmitted to the operator, or an external security officer, for any of these situations. 

Western region NSW Farmers regional service manager, Caron Chester, said rural crime costs landholders and businesses millions of dollars every year. 

This was measured in theft and criminal damage and increased insurance premiums.

“Theft of livestock, produce, equipment and machinery, illegal shooting, trespass and other crimes affect people’s livelihood and wellbeing,” she says. “Reporting criminal activity is crucial to creating a secure and thriving environment for everyone.

“Simple security measures that deter criminal activity include locking trucks, tractors, sheds and petrol tanks and using permanent engraving to mark equipment.”

Presenting at one of the workshops, Detective Chief Inspector Cameron Whiteside said cameras are also a deterrent, and serve to identify and record criminal activity. 

This is very helpful when it comes to identifying and prosecuting criminals. 

Trespassing and theft

A common theme at the workshops hosted by NSW Farmers was trespassers identified as a significant issue, and theft was also a common link. 

Surveillance systems was a common solution, and so was placing signs on fences and gates, warning of prosecution, in conjunction with surveillance systems. 

When farmers first approach Earle Swan, of OES Systems, to discuss security and monitoring systems, he seeks to identify the services they actually need, to provide usability and value.

Earle said theft can vary from deconstructing a shed to its slab, and stealing everything in the shed as well, or stealing diesel from a tank, to theft of tractors and other machinery. Or monitoring who is walking or driving through gates. 

“Alarm systems can be put on anything these days,” Earle says. “This includes on remote properties where security and surveillance may be challenging. 

“OES Systems provides alarm monitoring and intrusion alarm systems on properties all around Australia,” he adds. “Camera systems can monitor gates, equipment and infrastructure. You may want to monitor a water source with a camera, but if you have 18km of water infrastructure that needs monitoring, you can also put technology on that. Tracking security hardware and software can be installed
into anything.

 “OES Systems also provides alarm monitoring and intrusion alarm systems which communicate to a 24-hour monitoring centre. 

“This means if someone is opening a tractor door at 2am in the morning, and overnight sowing or harvesting is not part of planned operations, the intrusion system will report in real time to the control room that someone is opening the
tractor door.” 

The property owner or manager receives an instant alert on their mobile phone and by email of the activity and that an alert to police is pending. 

“Current apps give you the flexibility to monitor your site from anywhere, at any time,” Earle says.  “A key feature of our system is its ability to be customised and to integrate with other systems, so you end up with a comprehensive solution for monitoring and managing your site remotely.” 

Monitoring assets, and biosecurity

Monitoring information provided by property owners has enabled criminal activities to be successfully prosecuted. 

“Any security on a farm – from locking tractors and sheds to a comprehensive monitoring system – can make criminals think twice about targeting a farm,” says Caron Chester from NSW Farmers. “Some of the strategies are common sense, many of them are easy, and all of them make it harder for criminals to get away with crime.”

A point that came out of the workshop, was that landholders need to inform the workers on their property if cameras are installed.

Another common theme from attendees was biosecurity – especially how this was breached when people from off-farm handled livestock without the farmer’s knowledge.

MLA representatives discussed the integrity of the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) and the importance of ear-tagging aimals for lifetime traceability. 

Australia’s red meat industry’s Lifetime Production Assurance program manages on-farm food safety, animal welfare and biosecurity risks. 

As livestock producers know, the national vendor declaration is a legal movement document that underpins and enables the NLIS database to track livestock movements around Australia. 

The NLIS is crucial for biosecurity and food safety, and has an important role in investigating livestock theft.

George Basha, Integrity System Company, a subsidiary of MLA, said the NLIS database should make it easier to identify stolen livestock, and return them to their owners. 

He said this was why all livestock location data and movements need to be recorded on the NLIS database. All livestock producers should also undertake an annual reconciliation of their data, to ensure accuracy. 

There are a range of resources available to farmers on the NLIS website, at https://www.integritysystems.com.au/identification–traceability/national-livestock-identification-system/

MLA has recently undertaken a review of assets and is developing an app and other electronic information that is intended to make it easier for primary producers to use the NLIS and NVD systems. 

Of course, using the NLIS database to identify stolen livestock depends on the thieves not cutting out and replacing the original tags on the stolen animals, which is a common practice. 

Branding and other marks, such as notches and tattoos, are also helpful for recovering stolen animals that haven’t been slaughtered soon after they are taken. Police also use DNA to identify stolen livestock. 

Other issues raised in the workshops included illegal hunting, machinery theft, drone activity, guns and cybercrime.

To read more about stopping rural crime, click here.

The post Using tech to combat crime appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

“We based the first gathering and the speakers around the kind of issues we saw – grief and loss, drought, deb, intergenerational relations on farm,” Marg says.

“I’m astonished it’s still going. It was a real hold-your-breath moment at the end of the first gathering, waiting to see if another group would put up their hands to host it the next year.

“It’s a lot of work for volunteers to organise the gathering.

“The format has endured. The reasons it works is having excellent speakers, we learn from each other, and the focus is on having fun and celebrating being rural women.”

It was renamed the Rural Women’s Gathering in 1999.

This year, the gathering returns to Orange. It also continues to be supported by the Rural Women’s Network, which is part of government department, Women NSW, and operates under the auspices of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

This year’s gathering was going to be held earlier in spring, but the date was shifted to November.

This year’s gathering has also been shortened to Saturday and Sunday, rather than a three-day event.

“I think that was a good idea, to shorten the gathering,” Marg says.

“Attendees will still hear women telling their stories, and there’ll still be interesting workshops and tours of the local area to participate in.

“There’s also a lot of financial support that’s been made available to help women attend.

“One of the important aspects of the gatherings is accessing funding to pay the costs for women to attend.”

NSW Farmers is a long-time supporter of the gathering.

“The gathering is a really important opportunity for women in agriculture to come together and talk about the things that are challenging them in their communities,” says Kathy Rankin, NSW Farmers Policy Director – Rural Affairs and Business Economics and Trade.

“Gatherings like these help women to develop and build skills and capacity to contribute in their communities and more broadly.”

Since 1993, the gatherings have been held at Orange, Gunnedah, Yanco, Cobar, Tocal, Cooma, Moree, Wellington, Kempsey, Bourke, Temora, Coonabarabram, Bega, Grafton, Hay, Coonamble, Junee, Wentworth, Gloucester, Parkes, Upper Hunter, Coolamon, Glen Innes, Broken Hill, Narrandera, Merimbula, Walch, Forbes, Guyra and returning to Orange in 2023.

The gathering continues to be supported by the NSW government each year, through the Rural Womens Network, a department now within Women NSW.

For women, by women

One of the speakers at this year’s gathering is the new Minister for Women, Jodie Harrison, who is also the Minister for Seniors and the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault.

The NSW Rural Womens Network reports through Women NSW to her.

“The intention of having the Rural Womens Network and Women NSW within the Department of Premier and Cabinet is to ensure it is recognised as relevant to more than agriculture or primary industries,” Jodie says.

“It is relevant to government decision-making across a lot of ministries, and the issues that women face are considered at the heart of government decision making.

“We’ve dedicated $3.7 million over four years for the Rural Womens Network to administer a range of programs, to ensure women in rural and regional areas are heard and listened to, and providing increased support to lift women up.

“This includes funding to assist women to attend the gathering in Orange, sponsoring five women to attend the Thrive conference, and supporting the Agrifutures Rural Woman of the Year awards.

“We’ve reinvigorated the Hidden Treasures Honour Roll, and are calling for nominations of women who are under the radar, women who are fundamentally part of their community and getting on with what they do.

“Through the Hidden Treasures Honour Roll we want to recognise and honour these women in rural NSW.”

The Minister has an interesting combination of ministerial portfolios, with relevance to rural women.

“There are overlaps between these portfolios and they impact across a number of other senior ministerial portfolios,” Jodie says.

“Health because domestic violence and sexual assault survivors are frequently needing help within our health system. These issues also have multigenerational and trauma effects, and unless we support the victim properly there will be ongoing effects.

“They are also connected to police, and access to transport and housing generally.

“In the next couple of years, there will be a large number of core and cluster specialised womens’ housing becoming available in regional and rural NSW.”

The combination of portfolios is part of a trajectory for the Minister, which includes service as a youth member of the Salvation Army, where she learned about helping people as part of giving service to others; and as a local government employee where she was the inaugural chairperson of Newcastle City Council’s Women’s Advisory Panel lobbying for workplace improvements in women’s equity.

This led to Newcastle City Council becoming one of the first local government entities to apply 12 weeks employer-funded paid maternity leave.

“Women often don’t always see the value of their own work, and governments have more work to do in that space,” Jodie says.

“This includes recognising women spend a lot of time out of the workforce and are much more likely to end up with less retirement savings than men.

“Historically, society devalues the work of women, an attitude which is inherited within an industrial system.

“As Minister for Women I want to be able to deliver programs that help women
to develop confidence and get into experiences they otherwise might not be able to access.”

That includes return-to-work pathways programs, that funds projects for helping women who experience barriers to employment.

“It may have been a long time since they applied for work, and they need help pulling together a CV, or other assistance,” Jodie says.

Kempsey, Bega Valley, Goulburn, Yass Valley and Upper Lachlan are among the regions funded through this program.

A digital literacy program was rolled out for women in Ballina, Lismore and Richmond Valley, especially with a focus on senior women.

“I consistently hear from women that as they age, they want to remain engaged,” Jodie says.

“Councils get funding to deliver digital literacy programs through their libraries.”

Supporting small businesses

Other government-funded programs include grants to assist women in small business, to provide them with resources, support and networks to access finance to begin a small business, or grow an existing business. NSW Farmers is a recipient of these grants, along with Regional Arts NSW and NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce.

NSW Farmers’ Kathy Rankin said the organisation was fortunate to be one of three successful tenderers for this annual program.

“It will enable us to support women on farms to enhance their participation in business,” she says.

“Women are often partners in business decision-making on farms, and responsible for financial management.

“The NSW Farmers grant will focus on supporting the development of skills and capabilities of women on farms, to build their knowledge, to connect to other businesses, to look at innovation, and to build local support networks.

“For example, some women might want to establish an online e-commerce platform or other develop some other value adding process for their product.

“We’ve made a commitment to run a number of workshops and activities across NSW and we’ve employed a coordinator part-time to lead that.

“We are asking women in the regions – ‘what do you want’ and ‘how can we best help you to participate’ – giving them the opportunity to lead decision making according to their needs.”

A new chapter

The Rural Women’s Network has funded a commemorative book about the 30 years of gatherings.

Noreen Byrne, an employee of the Rural Women’s Network, has edited the book, drawing on the memories and memorabilia of women who have attended the gatherings once or many times.

Ms Byrne said the book dedicates a couple of pages to each gathering.

“Women have shared their programs, photos and newspaper articles they kept,” she says.

“We also did a search at the State Library of newspaper articles.

“Putting the book together has been an interesting project.

“The local committees were very creative with their over-arching theme at each
gathering.

“A theme connecting the gatherings was the importance of women supporting each other in an informal way and understand how they were experiencing similar challenges to other women.”

The book will conclude with the Orange 2023 gathering.

“At the Orange gathering, I’ll get some photos that will go into the book, to commemorate the 30th year,” Ms Byrne says.

“That will form the final chapter.”

The Rural Womens Network will then make the book available to the public.

To read about the winners of the Rural Women’s Award, click here.

The post Breaking down barriers with the Rural Women’s Gathering appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

At Conference, both female and male delegates were tabling motions and raising their hands to be elected to leadership roles.

Women in agriculture in NSW are driving both innovation and tractors, milking sheep, responsible for the finances of the farm business, negotiating contracts and making decisions.

They are vitally involved in their communities, as members of the Country Women’s Association and the school parents committee, as well as volunteering in the canteen at their children’s sports events.

On top of that they’re climbing the corporate ladder.

Within NSW Farmers there are women members elected onto committees, including as chairperson. The Vice President of NSW Farmers is Rebecca Reardon and three of the nine board members are women. Rebecca holds a degree in Agricultural Economics, is co-owner of a mixed farming business, and holds a number of directorship roles.

She has been actively involved with NSW Farmers as Chair of the Grains Committee, on Executive Council, and was Treasurer on the NSWF Board for the past eight years.

Last year, Rebecca stepped up and was elected Vice President of the organisation for two years and emphasises that women must be as visible ‘at the table’ as they are in the paddocks.

“Women are integral to the fabric and landscape of modern-day farming,” she says. “They are practical, smart, well educated, knowledgeable, hard-working and strategic. That’s why it is so important and terrific to see them at the table, helping drive agricultural policy and advocacy.

“I encourage women out there who are interested to put up their hand – the future of farming and our families will be better for it.”

THE NEXT CROP

The future is bright for the next generation of agricultural stars, and four of the five NSW Farmers 2023 Tertiary Scholarship recipients are young women. The scholarships are awarded based on a wide gamut of skills and qualities: academic performance, commitment to agriculture and rural communities, leadership qualities and communication skills.

Likewise, farming women who are catching attention in the public eye are doing so since they demonstrate a breadth of experience and skills, whether they have been working in the tractor, the dairy, the paddock, or the office.

Elke Cleverdon is a cattle breeder, Cate Hardy is growing seed crops, Keiley Noble is negotiating hay contracts, and Cressida Cains is milking sheep and crafting cheese.

But there are many facets to each of their lives.

Keiley Noble: WINNER, RURAL ACHIEVER AWARD

After growing up in the Dubbo region, and gaining a double degree in agriculture and business, Keiley Noble had an accelerated introduction into agriculture, marrying a harvest contractor and moving to Narromine.

The couple have a young daughter and Keiley is responsible for marketing and sales in the business. She has taken the business online, which has expanded their sales territory.

“It can get quite intensive, and I now include dinner drop-offs in my itinerary,” she says.

Keiley also works as a drought policy officer, and she said this enabled her to contribute her lived experience and those of her community into her role in the Department of Regional NSW.

She has added marriage celebrant to her roles, specifically offering her services to people involved in agriculture.

It was her own experience trying to find a celebrant who understood her and Ross, taking into account their youth and connection to the land and rural areas, that led her to study to become a rural celebrant.

Living in a rural district and working remotely, Keiley noticed there were more, especially younger, women moving into her community.

The opportunity for people to work remotely and live in rural areas has been a bonus for regional and rural communities. Keiley noticed it was easy for remote working, while an opportunity and bonus for lifestyle, could lead to social isolation.

“I noticed so many great women out here were working remotely and weren’t feeling connected post pandemic,” she says. “I thought, what can I do for my region?”

Keiley formed Western Rural Connect to help people form more social connections. It has helped her develop new skills and friendships.

“Forming the committee has helped each of us build connections and develop leadership abilities,” Keiley says.

“We work in different industries and live in different regions, but working together we can achieve great things, including social change.

“Social connections are definitely at the core of everything.”

Through Western Rural Connect, the wider group is planning an end of harvest social event.

“In our region, 59 per cent of businesses are in the harvest industry,” Keiley says. “But everyone works in isolation on a daily basis.

“This will bring us together socially.”

Her work in connecting people through Western Rural Connect, and her passion for helping to build resilience in rural towns, combined to garner this year’s RM Williams Royal Agriculture Society’s Rural Achiever Award in April, throwing her into the spotlight as a mover and shaker.

Following this, Keiley is set to tell her story as a guest speaker at this year’s NSW Women’s Gathering, to be held in Orange in November.

Elke Cleverdon: FARMING BY THE NUMBERS

Elke Cleverdon said she thought there was a lot of misconceptions about who farming women are.

“Women in agriculture are major contributors to the sector – as farmers, agricultural consultants, agronomists; in many roles including working off farm in careers,” she says.

“Virtual reality and working from home arrangements means people can live in regional and rural areas, and that’s bringing high calibre people into rural areas who complement the existing population.”

Elke is joint-owner of an Angus cattle breeding enterprise at Harden, and is responsible for financial and risk management and strategic planning for the business.

She is also a CPA accredited accountant with a background in rural banking, and has completed an MBA and the AICD Diploma.

“Women bring so many skills and experiences to farming and to rural areas,” she says. “Farming is not about heavy lifting any more.

“There’s now equipment and tools and machinery that mean jobs don’t need physical strength.”

One of the innovations Elke and her husband Charlie invested in, after assessing their business risk, is an automatic weighing system in the paddock, located near the cattle licks.

“On a daily basis, the Optiweigh gives us control over animal management,” she says. “Now we know exactly what the weight of each animal is on a daily basis.

“That naturally means we can manage our water and pastures.”

Elke works part time with Rural Financial Counselling Services NSW, and holds a number of board directorships including a regional credit union.

Before she achieved the paid directorships, Elke spent many years within voluntary roles in her local community, mostly around her children’s activities, but also including Young’s cherry festival and the Local Land Services.

“In your local community, you get out what you put in,” she says.

These days she uses a mix of virtual reality and in-person attendance to acquit her board director roles.

“The past couple of years has accelerated acceptance of virtual appearance at meetings,” Elke says. “It’s very important to have that flexibility for rural women.

“Face to face attendance enhances your professional relationships with other directors, but virtual reality is a suitable option.”

Last year Elke participated in the Diversity in Agricultural Leadership program run by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF).

Participation directly led her to apply for and be elected to a portfolio of board directorships, and created unexpected opportunities.

“Being selected for the NFF Diversity in Agriculture Leadership program was a catalyst for me,” she says.

“I was paired with a mentor who helped me understand my values and skills, and we discussed what boards I might be interested in.”

It helped her value the skills she already had, and develop the confidence to attend events to network and identify opportunities for this next step in her professional life – gaining a portfolio of paid board directorships.

“I’ve learned to look at opportunities to network. I sit down and think about who might be there and who I might want to talk to.

“I’ve found it gets less scary the more times I do it,” she says.

This year, Elke was part of the National Farmers’ Federation sponsored group of farmers who travelled to Ireland, England and France in May.

Elke now feels she has the confidence and capability to mentor other women.

Cate Hardy: FROM THE TRACTOR TO THE DESK

Another farmer who has taken advantage of virtual reality to be engaged in her wider community is Cate Hardy.

Cate farms in partnership with her husband, Perry, and their two sons, Stephen and Thomas, in the Coleambally irrigation district.

Cate shares tractor duty with the rest of the team.

“I’ve always been on the tractors, ripping or mulching crops,” she says. “In my district – principally cropping – the women and men are equally involved in farming.”

Cate’s role includes financial management – she is the primary contact for the bank manager and accountant – and liaising with the business’s agricultural consultant.

“We all have our roles outside of tractor work,” she says. “I enjoy economics.

“Perry’s primary role is sourcing contracts. Stephen is responsible for human resource management. Thomas is the person who our specialist agronomist goes to for anything to do with the seed crops.”

Outside the farm, Cate has always been involved with the CWA and local sports clubs.

She was inaugural president of the local squash club and still coaches junior squash. She is also a squash and racquetball player.

Cate was president of the Sturt Group CWA and involved with NSW CWA. She was a member of Tocal College’s educational advisory committee because of their commitment towards leadership development and actively promoting women in agriculture into their courses, apprenticeships and the workplace.

“As an organisation, I was very impressed with them,” Cate says. “It was a group that was really good to work with.”

The meeting formats were a mix of in person and virtual.

These days anxiety limits Cate’s interaction with people – except with the children she coaches – but virtual meeting formats enable her to participate outside the farm.

“On the farm, chronic anxiety doesn’t impact my life because I don’t have to deal with crowds and multiple people,” she says. “I prefer to deal with people one on one and 99 per cent of the time it’s over the phone or on site on the farm.

“It’s an environment where I’m in control of what’s happening to me.”

Cressida Cains: AWARD ALUMNI

Cressida Cains and her husband Michael are first-generation farmers, turning a passionate interest in cheesemaking into a viable dairy sheep farm at Berrima.

Cressida milks the sheep, is in charge of lamb care and responsible for animal welfare and management, as well as making cheese alongside Michael.

Innovators, they engaged with NSW authorities to develop the guidelines so they could make cheese from unheated raw sheep’s milk.

Their first retail forays were at farmers markets, building a customer base, and they developed a relationship with a distributor to sell their Pecora Cheese products into the food service sector.

The business employs five people, plus themselves, on the farm and they have recently expanded their wholesale offerings into a shopfront in Robertson, a nearby town.

“Pecora Cheese and Wine is a wine bar for locals and tourists, providing charcuterie plates using our own brand and other cheeses, local wines and beers,” Cressida says.

“One of the aims of the business is to provide another small business for improving employment opportunities.”

In 2020, Cressida received the NSW Rural Women’s Award and went on to be named the national runner-up.

She is now the NSW Chair of Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award Alumni, was elected to the Australian Women in Agriculture board and is a member of her local farmers’ market committee.

Cressida says participating in the Rural Women’s Award kickstarted her leadership journey with workshops and mentoring opportunities.

“It gave me a big boost in my confidence and being able to phone any of the women in the alumni, to learn from them, has really benefited me,” she says. “Women farmers are very accomplished, very innovative and entrepreneurial.

“Farming has changed because technology is evolving; and what constitutes agriculture benefits women.

“Women are very good at taking up technology, working at the coalface, and bringing forward innovation into their farm businesses.”

THE 30th RURAL WOMEN’S GATHERING

In 1992, Marg Carroll, co-owner of Redbank Corriedale stud at Molong, was working as a health worker, when she heard about the Women on Farms Gathering at Numurkah, in Victoria.

Marg and Ronnie Hazelton took a busload of local women to the gathering, and it inspired them to organise a similar gathering in NSW.

“A month later I began my new role as coordinator of the NSW Rural Women’s Network,” Marg says.

Marg and Ronnie recruited a volunteer committee to organise the NSW Women of the Land Gathering in 1993, at Orange.

They duplicated the format of the Victorian gatherings, which was farm visits, workshops and women’s stories. Their initial key guest speakers were Christine Hindhaugh and Pat O’Shane.

“We based the first Gathering and the speakers we invited around the issues we saw in our community – drought, debt, depression, domestic violence, intergenerational relations on farm, grief and loss,” Marg says.

Marg and Ronnie didn’t know at the time if it would only be a one-off conference, but in fact it has since been held annually, renamed the Rural Women’s Gathering in 1999.

The Gathering continues to be supported by the Rural Women’s Network, which recently became part of Women NSW and now falls under the auspices of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

“It was always important to have support from key managers within the department,” Marg says. “Those allies made a difference.”

It has meant seed funding for each conference, and the ability to tap into resources to assist women to attend who otherwise would not be able to.

This year the 30th Gathering is set to be held in Orange over three days, from November 24 to 26 – the format has endured.

The Rural Women’s Network and NSW Farmers continue to be supporters of the Gathering.

Noreen Byrne, a senior project officer in the Rural Women’s Network, is editing a book showcasing 30 years of Gatherings. The book includes history and anecdotes from members of organising committees and attendees.

The post At the top of her game: female farmers to watch appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Mussel farming captures a highly nutritious and popular animal that is raised in nutrient-rich warm marine waters, in sheltered bays. In NSW, there are two licensed farms. One is a 50-hectare marine farm lease site in Twofold Bay, Eden, where mussel spats are grown and harvested; the spats are the baby molluscs and can only be harvested under licence.

In NSW, Twofold Bay is the only known reliable area for spat settlement. The second farm, also a 50-hectare leased site, is in the Marine Park of Jervis Bay, where the spats are replanted and blue mussels are grown out and harvested for market.

Both farms are leased by Blue Harvest, founded in 2005 as a sales and marketing agency representing shellfish farmers. In 2018, the principals of Blue Harvest formed South Coast Mariculture (SCM), and that business has been developing the mussel farms since 2021.

“Our mussel farm grew out of an opportunity to invest in Jervis Bay, within the marine park,” says SCM managing director Sam Gordon.

The journey to be mussel farmers began before then for Sam Gordon, Jim Doyle and their partners. Already operating Blue Harvest in the retail, hospitality and restaurant sector, they were frustrated with the undeveloped potential of a NSW mussel industry.

This included opportunities to value-add the product, develop a sustainable processing practice, and identify export opportunities for the Australian blue mussel, so they ‘put their money where the mussel was’ and invested in downstream supply chains to further develop the industry.

“We knew we had a market demand, and we knew we had natural competitive advantage with access to markets and incredibly fertile water for our ‘paddocks’,” Sam says.

Along the way the team has dealt with the triple whammy of bushfire, COVID-19 and floods, and the consequent effects on their mussel beds.

They’ve also invested to create a sustainable business that now employs 30 people between Jervis Bay and Eden, and at peak production operates 52 weeks a year.

Operating as a marine farm

Mussel farming is commonly practiced on longlines or rafts. Long ropes are anchored and looped, and raft-farming uses ropes suspended from an anchored raft.

In NSW, longlines are preferred over rafts, for aesthetic reasons. Using longlines also enables the farm to complement recreational diving and boating activities by the general public.

The NSW government has authorised mussel farming (under licence) within the Jervis Bay Marine Park, and that, in itself, creates a shared user component. Of course there will always be a proportion of the farmed stock lost through fishing by humans and predation by marine life.

“It’s a very positive story to be working in a marine park,” Sam says.

“Mussel farming creates an artificial reef that’s a floating area. We encourage recreational fishers and divers to be in the lease area. The whale-sighting tourist boats have incorporated the reef into their tours.”

Operating in a marine park creates an overlay of additional complexity, but Sam has found a way of dealing with it.

“There’s more reporting, independent audits and studies (in partnership with universities and research agencies) that need to be undertaken because it’s a marine park,” he says. “We deal with more than 20 government departments.

“I had to take up meditation to deal with all the paperwork.”

“We knew we had a market demand, and we knew we had natural competitive advantage with access to markets and incredibly fertile water for our ‘paddocks’.”

SAM GORDON
Managing director of South Coast Mariculture

The downside

The 2019/2020 bushfires that impacted the Shoalhaven and Sapphire coastlines of NSW left behind burned trees around Twofold Bay. The subsequent flash floods in early 2021 washed this timber into Twofold Bay, and Jervis Bay saw an influx of round bales swept off surrounding farmland into the marine environment.

“The logs washed into our leases and got tangled in our spat lines,” Sam says. “We lost about $1 million of spat.

“The round bales washed into our leases in Jervis Bay, creating problems there.”

Natural runoff was also compounded by the excessive floods – with excess nutrients flooding into the Bay and the risk of e-coli, the mussel leases were closed to harvest.

While a seasonal occurrence of macroalgal blooms was expected, no one could plan for an influx on this scale.

The effects of natural disaster were compounded by supply chain problems that meant ongoing challenges with establishing and expanding the business.

“When COVID-19 hit we were still in the start-up phase,” Sam says. “We were getting a purpose-built boat constructed in Tasmania. We were trying to import specialised pieces of equipment from overseas, and needing them to be commissioned here.

“We wanted marine drill specialists from New Zealand to help us set up the artificial reef, but they couldn’t come to Australia.

“Instead we purchased a marine drill that leaves a minimal environmental footprint and we had to wait for that to be imported; but it means we have that asset we can use when we want to.

“Of course, everything was affected by border closures.” While the effects of historical events – floods, macroalgal blooms – were part of the company’s risk management plan, it was based on Jervis Bay being normally closed for six days a year.

“In 2022, the mussel farm in Jervis Bay was closed to harvesting for 25 weeks,” Sam says.

“Mussels are filter feeders, and the advantage of Jervis Bay is the confluence of warmer waters coming from the east intersecting with cold water coming up from the Antarctic.

“The water flowing from Antarctica is oxygen rich and carries a lot of plankton and krill. These nutrients mixing with the warm water creates a (healthy) bloom, which the mussels feed on.”

Unfortunately the additional nutrients created a dangerous bloom that led to substantial stock losses, as the mussels continued to grow and eventually became too heavy for the ropes they are growing on. They fell off.

“Mussels take 14 months to two years to grow to harvest size,” Sam says.

“We can normally harvest 12 months of the year, but because we had to stop from March to July, our production cycle was thrown out and the mussels got too heavy and fell off the lines.”

“Looking to the future, and the risk of climate change impacts, we’ve broadened our supply base and are bringing Victorian mussels to Sydney markets.”

SAM GORDON
Managing director of South Coast Mariculture

Improving the process

The idle harvest period enabled Sam and his partners to improve their meat processing system, invest in a significant warehouse facility, and install a solar power facility and water recycling equipment.

The live holding tanks have ultraviolet light and biological filtering installed in a closed loop system. The company has also installed a specialised deep chill ice machine from Canada that extends the shelf life of live mussels.

They invested in eco-friendly packing materials: compostable mesh bags accredited to European Union export standard and recyclable trays that enable the mussels to be modified atmosphere packed.

The company also doubled the size of the farm within the existing lease in Jervis Bay.

Production has increased to meet demand for fresh mussels, transported daily to Sydney, and for value-add products. Sam says that the company is also exploring export opportunities.

“Starting this month (July) we’ll be packing our processed meat products, as well as fresh mussels.” There are a lot of value-add opportunities for mussel meat.

“We’re looking to do mussel pots and pickling, brining and smoking mussels – processing mussels makes the meat more accessible for people who don’t want to eat a live animal.

“A lot of products are made out of dried mussel meat: omega-3 health products and pharmaceuticals, equine health products, and dog pet food treats. What you’re able to do with mussel meat protein is up to your imagination, according to Sam.

“Business continuity is your friend, and we’re able to harvest more mussels by value-adding from products stored in our warehouse.”

South Coast Mariculture is also spreading its risk against other natural disasters and extreme weather impacts. They recently broadened their supply base and are collaborating with mussel farmers around Port Arlington, in Victoria.

“Looking to the future, and the risk of climate change impacts, we’ve broadened our supply base and are bringing Victorian mussels to Sydney markets,” Sam says. The logistics involve collecting the Victorian mussels and keeping them moist and cool during road transit to Jervis Bay. These mussels are then placed in the live holding tanks.

“They get a nice refresh, and then they’re able to be processed,” Sam says.

He also says that disease and cross-contamination risks from the Victorian mussels are mitigated by the ultraviolet light and biological filtering in a closed loop system in the live holding tanks.

The post Developing mussels: spotlight on a unique NSW industry appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Champion NSW wool classer Racheal Hutchison did Australia proud at the recent 2023 Golden Shears Sheep Shearing & Woolhandling World Championships in Scotland.

Featuring 380 competitors, including 78 wool handlers from more than 30 countries, the competition was held in June at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.

Racheal and Victorian wool classer Mark Purcell won the Trans Tasman Championships earlier in the year and travelled to Scotland as part of the Australian team.

Mark is Australia’s national wool handling champion and Racheal is the runner-up Australian champion, an eight times Australian champion wool handler, and runs a contract wool harvesting team.

Rachael finished with a sixth in the world championship wool handling final, which was won by Rosie Keenan from Scotland.

Racheal and her family travelled to the United Kingdom a couple of weeks before, to practice with the different fleeces.

“The fleeces in the UK are different to Australia,” Racheal says. “They’re matted, like carpet wool.”

“At UK competitions they also don’t skirt the fleece. I’ve been studying the rules and practising rolling the fleece. They want us to roll it like a Swiss roll and tuck in the neck.”

Racheal started working in the wool industry when she was 16 years old, although she was brought up in the industry – her father and brothers were shearers.

“I didn’t know much different,” she says. Racheal spent five years as a rouseabout in her brother Bill Hutchison’s shearing team. He was also competing in shearing competitions, and Racheal tagged along, competing in the wool handling contests. She also competed in her first Trans Tasman wool handling competition in 2007.

In 2008, with her first baby in a pram, Racheal undertook a Certificate IV woolclassing course, through TAFE at Dubbo. At the same time, she also took over organising Bill’s contract team.

Fast forward a few years, and with her third baby at foot, Racheal added her brother Danny Hutchison and his contract shearing and wool classing team to her original one. Danny has since retired and Racheal is now responsible for organising up to 16 workers, at any time across one to three sheds in the Gilgandra district.

Racheal’s partner, Jeff Rout, also works for her. “I decided to offer to run the combined team and it’s grown,” Racheal says. “The main crew have their own farms that they’ve purchased by working as shearers and wool handlers and classes.”

Wool harvesting continues to be a family affair. During school holidays, Racheal and Jeff include their three children in the contract team. Maverick and Conrad are in the shearing team and recently competed at the 2023 Trans Tasman contest in New Zealand.

“[Daughter] Sasha has also pitched into help and picks up the belly wool and sweeps the shed,” Racheal says. “There are a lot of improvements in conditions in shearing sheds.

“We’re starting to see farmers install toilets – or hire temporary toilets. There’s more sheds with running water and soap. Those types of conditions build positive relationships between the farmer and my crew.

“We need each other and together we’re having a positive impact in the wool industry.”

Racheal says the opportunities in the wool harvesting industry include travel around the world.

“It’s also quite good money and there’s a variety of people you meet,” she says.

The role of the wool classer, who manages the shed, is integral to success for wool production. Racheal says the wool classer is the shed overseer, ensuring everyone turns out good quality work throughout the process.

“The wool classer is managing that shed all day,” she says.

“They’re managing and developing the skills of the people. They’re responsible for ensuring the good quality of the farmer’s clip that goes into the bale at the end of the day.”

Racheal says there is added responsibility because more people are entering the wool industry without a background in the fibre.

“But everyone in the crew has skills to share with others,” she says.

Experts in stains, burrs and other wool flaws

The Australian wool industry is a founding partner in the development of a World Championship competition. In the wool handling section, wool classers are tested on their ability to scan a fleece and quickly identify – in seconds – the stains, burrs and other flaws.

“Competitors are judged for their workmanship on the board and their preparation of the fleece and oddments,” says national wool handling trainer Tom Kelly.

“In the workplace, you keep practising your skills and you then go back to competition to compete against the best.

“The whole purpose of competing is to help develop your wool harvesting skill set.”

Tom said the Australian team were strong competitors, and were match-fit for the World Championships, coming off the back of a strong shearing and wool handling season.

“You’re dealing with seconds of time. You have to be economical with your technique and ensure there’s a good team environment so the stain is kept out of the clip.”

TOM KELLY
Trainer and assessor

Adding value at speed

A tonne of wool can be converted into a lot of products: apparel, car seats, floor coverings, curtains and more. Wool blends with other fibres to make insulation and other products.

The pressure on the wool classer is to maximise the value of the fleece to the grower.

“When you’re a wool handler and you go to your daily work, your job is to get the fleece away from the shearer, but you’re also trying to value add to the farmer’s 12 months of work to prepare the fleece,” says Tom Kelly.

Tom is a national trainer and assessor for shearing and wool handling, and the immediate past chair of Sports Shear Australia.

“Wool handling is unique because you have to work in a team,” Tom says.

“The shearer is an individual but the wool handling and classing team has to work together.

“A wool classer walks into a shearing shed and is under a lot of pressure.

“The shearer is shearing the sheep quicker and has got a fast work flow happening. Then you, the wool classer, is relying on the wool handlers to use their skills to prepare the fleece, ready for you to class.

“You’re dealing with seconds of time. You have to be economical with your technique and ensure there’s a good team environment so the stain is kept out of the clip.”

How the fleece is thrown and subsides onto the table affects how fast and accurately the classer can skirt and identify where the stains are.

The wool processing company sends feedback about the clip to the farmer and wool classer.

The representative of the wool company will also provide feedback to the wool classer about what is needed for the market.

“The wool classer can help the farmer identify how to better prepare their fleeces before they even come off the sheep,” says Tom.

“When the wool classer puts their stencil on the bale, that accredits and audits what the grower has done for the past 12 months, and justifies the preparation of the clip.

“Ultimately the grower’s sheep and wool enterprise is about getting the best return back to the farmer.”

Getting a foot in the door

Training in the industry can begin under the tutelage of a parent or other relation.

Shearing and wool handling schools are held in sheds, based on interest. There is also formal accredited learning through TAFE.

“The wool harvesting industry is a skilled industry,” Tom says. “Regular shearing and wool handling schools are held every month through the year.

“With a week-long introductory skills course, people get an opportunity to ignite a fire to be involved in wool harvesting.”

That ignition can carry a person a long way in the wool industry.

Stacey Lugsdin, a wool classer in Hay NSW, came into the wool industry – and agriculture – by marrying Ian Lugsdin, a sheep producer. When the couple diversified their businesses, which saw Ian running a Toyota dealership, Stacey stepped up to manage the farm.

She is in charge of developing and managing a self-replacing Merino flock, with up to 3500 breeding ewes, producing 20 micron fleeces.

The flock is side-sampled before shearing, and shorn every six months for lamb survivability.

The first thing Stacey did in her new role was to learn wool classing.

“I went to Deniliquin TAFE one evening a week for 18 months,” says Stacey. “I absolutely loved it.”

She went on to undertake further development as an elite wool classer, classing SRS sheep.

“My wool classing developed my love for what I do,” she says. “It started a journey I adore.”

Stacey also learned to shear, to gain an insight into setting up the handpiece and how the fleece comes off the sheep. She can still crutch a sheep if necessary.

Being responsible for the wool clip at home, Stacey realised there was a lot of complexity to growing wool. She became interested in genetics research and started measuring fleece weights and traits.

“I found I loved wool, I had a massive passion for wool,” Stacey says.

As her expertise as a wool classer grew, Stacey was offered a TAFE teacher’s role, instructing at shearing and wool handling schools and teaching a Certificate IV.

“The TAFE systems offers a two-year course to develop the skills the wool classer needs,” she says.

A few years later, in 2014, Stacey applied to university to learn more about wool production. It led her to study for a diploma in agriculture in wool production.

“I learned everything about wool from how it grows on the skin, marketing and the supply chain,” she says. “I went to university to get reinforcement and formal recognition for my own self-learning from observation.”

At the same time, Stacey began electronic tagging every ewe on the property and recording their fleece data.

“Using Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs), I’m looking at data I can measure,” she says. “And it’s objective data.

“Seeing the wool we produce, and bringing in the ASBVs, fleece and micron testing, has enabled us as a family business to get to a product we’re happy with at this point.

“We manage the flock with individual animal management, and each sheep has to grow a really good fleece, that weighs well, is ethically raised, and has the characteristics a buyer is after.”

She recognises how her own learning trajectory has really benefited their wool-growing business.

“The value of wool classers in the industry is they are trained in preparing wool that is uniform in length, strength and the co-efficient of variations is less than 20mm,” Stacey says.

“To the trained eye, that’s easy. Wool classing students need to keep gaining the knowledge needed to ensure Australia’s wool clip retains its reputation for being a good quality product.

“The wool industry is also becoming more technology savvy.”

Stacey says the challenge in the industry now was to empower wool classers to manage the shed.

“The wool classer is meant to be the manager of the shed,” she says. “We have to teach those who are graduating how to deal with people, and empower them to study and learn management skills.

“Having people taught their skills thoroughly, enables them to have skills that become natural instinct.”

Could early stage domestic wool processing return to Australia? Read more here.

The post Gilgandra’s champion wool classer appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

The prolific range of options has developed in response to land use changes that enable NSW landowners to offer farmstay accommodation and camping, as well as value-adding to farm businesses.

The options available have gone beyond a few renovations to the old shearing shed or stables to make them usable as overnight accommodation.

The expansion of industry work-from-home options has also lent itself to bespoke ‘tiny homes’.

It extends into buildings that can be used for cellar doors, restaurants, cafes, events and visitor information centres – or home businesses such as hairdressing salons, yoga rooms or art studios.

Last year, NSW Farmers successfully lobbied the state government to develop policy that enabled the growth of agritourism activities on farms.

Farmers who want to set up a simple nine square- metre roadside stall that is secure against pests and the elements and is on their property, can do so.

Up to six buildings can be used for tourist accommodation, with guests staying a maximum of 21 consecutive days.

Each council area will have different requirements and should be consulted before putting down footings on your new venture.

Biosecurity issues should also be identified and a risk-management plan developed.

Camping or glamping on the farm

In 2022, Rod and Desley Bailey of Homegrown Organic Farm at Rolland Plains added camping to their business model, offering bookings through Hipcamp.

Desley said the family began their agritourism venture with two camping sites in one of their paddocks. They are planning to expand to four sites, including a more rugged camping experience.

Many of their campers enjoy the farm experience and extend their holiday activities into the surrounding district, including bushwalking, swimming and visiting local waterfalls.

Kenneth Sauer of Hipcamp said the organisation wanted to be the partner of choice for farmers wanting to offer camping options on their land.

After changes to the planning system in December last year, over 100 farms have registered with Hipcamp.

“Hipcamp creates new revenue streams for farmers,” Kenneth said.

“This is money farmers can invest in fences, machinery, revegetation along creeks and waterways.

“They also build friendships with their campers. Farm stays include paddock camping, caravan and RV sites and cabins. Farmers provide the venue and identify what type of experience they want to offer; and Hipcamp gives them the tools to easily manage their bookings.”

Insurance and customer support is built into every booking made through Hipcamp. Farmers list their properties according to the experience they want to offer and what is available. Dale Brook farm in Western Creek offers campsites without amenities, so campers know they need to be self-sufficient.

Higher Ground Retreat at Shark Creek in the Clarence Valley is an off-grid property that offers onsite glamping tents, a homestead to rent, and a variety of camping and caravan site options. The owners also provide a camp kitchen as well as a composting toilet and shower amenities for guests.

Farmstays are a global movement

Camping pods, bunkhouses, camping and caravan sites with and without amenities – these and more are all options available through outdoor accommodation specialists Pitchup.com, in their collaborations with farmers and landowners. There are sites in 67 countries registered on the Pitchup website, with many on working farms.

Pitchup has helped hundreds of farmers in the United Kingdom to host camping holidaymakers – and has extended that offering to many other countries, including Australia and particularly NSW following a change in planning rules.

When the NSW government simplified its planning rules for agritourism, this became a huge opportunity for farmers to create a new income stream, said Pitchup founder Dan Yates.

“Bookings in NSW on Pitchup.com have grown 191 per cent in the past 12 months compared to the previous year,” he said.

“Farmers have a huge opportunity to recoup lost revenue through diversification.”

So long as the properties are ‘working’ farms, at least 15 ha and zoned for primary production or a rural landscape, the owners qualify to host campers under the NSW planning rules.

One popular NSW site on Pitchup.com is Cardiff Alpacas on a sugarcane farm in Clarence Valley. Campers can choose a powered or unpowered site – with the option of a full cooked English breakfast delivered to their RV or tent.

Within the Illawong Nature Reserve is a more upmarket offering for adults – luxury self-contained private cabins near Broulee and within a 10-minute walk to a long sandy beach.

A home away from home, on the farm
Peter Biddulph, the owner of Affordable Container Homes Australia, is a builder whose business is constructing kit and bespoke houses for farmstays, weekenders and permanent accommodation.

Upgrades include floating floorboards, 900mm vanities, sliding doors up to four metres wide, and Hardiplank cladding in bushfire overlay areas. But this is on top of standard 75mm-thick insulated exterior walls, double-glazed windows, 2.9m ceilings, modwood decking, and kitchens with quartz stone benchtops, dishwasher, oven and rangehood.

“People ask for modifications. My last client wanted an island bench and a food pantry,” Peter said.

“One client wanted the shower room built but to do the plumbing and fit-out themselves. People ask for compostable toilets. We can create any modifications, including dongas.

“We have standard floorplans but they can be custom designed for the client’s needs. It doesn’t cost too much extra to move walls around.”

This includes building homes that are off-grid.

One of Peter’s clients wanted a house with solar panels and water tanks built on their 300-acre property in the Lachlan Valley.

“It was set up as a weekender originally, but now they live there and work from home, and only go to Canberra for work when they need to,” he said.

Ecotourism expands the farm experience

From luxury eco-tourism accommodations to stunning and practical tiny homes, Elsewhere Pods are designed to inspire.

CEO Matt Decarne describes Elsewhere Pods as a new type of prefabricated and customisable tiny home which creates a seamless connection to the natural environment. The designs are visually striking with double glazed glass panels surrounding almost the entire structure.

“We’re seeking to create a premium eco-tourism experience for our clients” Matt said.

“With growing popularity of cabin stays and glamping, Elsewhere Pods provides a luxury option to encourage mass market adoption.

“By providing dedicated eco friendly accommodation in regional and tourist areas, we hope to alleviate pressure on housing affordability, by reducing the demand for traditional homes on short stay platforms.”

Tiny home models are 2.4m wide and range in length from 6m to 12m. The width can also be doubled to 4.8m.The frame is constructed with a titanium magnesium alloy making it extremely strong and lightweight.

The Elsewhere Pod can be secured in place with eco-friendly screw piles or installed on a trailer for customers who require flexibility. They can also offer off-grid connections, including solar power, water collection, composting toilets and grey water systems.

“And some minor retrofits mean our products can comfortably satisfy most BAL rating requirements,” Matt said.

“We’ve had customers use the pods for ecotourism accommodation, as working from home office spaces, studios and even small homes.”

Last year, a concept model was selected as an award winner with Airbnb’s OMG! Fund beating out over 10,000 competing designs in the international competition.

The cantilevered ‘Kangaroom’ model is a multi-storey, mirror glass pod system being built in Daylesford and will enable guests to view native wildlife, while minimising their footprint.

Agritourism grows after policy change

On December 1 last year, the NSW government agritourism policy commenced, enabling farmers to value add their income streams, with diversified business offerings that included tasting rooms, produce stores, visitor information centres, event organisation, onsite
accommodation and camping.

“We’re making it cheaper and easier for our farmers to diversify their income by starting, running and growing agritourism experiences, such as farm stays [and camping], cafes, cellar doors, retreats, roadside stalls, fruit picking and small wedding venues,”said Deputy Premier, Paul Toole, at the time.

“Farmers who want to innovate and share a taste of their region with visitors [should be supported by] clear definitions and new planning pathways that allow these activities with either faster or no planning approval.”

Craig Huf, chair of the North Coast NSW Farmers branch, welcomed the changes and said farmstays provide opportunities for farmers to control access to their land while creating a new income stream.

NSW Farmers was a significant influencer in the policy reforms that have enabled landowners to diversify into agritourism, including hosting camping and farmstay guests. Agritourism is expected to grow the NSW economy as part of gross national production. The NSW government estimates that agritourism will grow the Australian economy to $18.6 billion by 2030.

The post Farmer wants a tourist appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

The Breed Improvement category judges a cow on visible traits such as its size and proportions. The Meat Quality category is open to carcases judged on fat quality and content.

At the most recent Olympics, pairs of breeding cows and fattening cows were paraded, prodded and turned into prime steak in a competition to identify the best Wagyu beef. At the end of the competition, the best breeding cows and carcases were sold at auction.

What is at stake is the ability to breed and lay down intramuscular fat: the last fat deposited within the muscle.

The soft fat in Wagyu beef has a lower rendering point than other beef. Intramuscular fat is metabolically expensive to achieve because the breeder or finisher has to hold onto the animal for longer, feed it for longer and allow the animal to lay down weight slowly, which helps give the beef its famous marbling.

Then there is the delta-9 desaturase gene, which converts stearic acid (saturated fat) into oleic acid, which Wagyu cattle are selectively bred to enhance.

Readers would be familiar with oleic acid being predominant in olive oil as mono-unsaturated fat. This same dedication to excellence continues to influence and drive the passion of Wagyu cattle breeders in Australia. Their passion is driving breeding at the cutting edge of data collection, with an eye on the future for customers and consumers.

When a pedigree Wagyu heifer bred by Jon and Robyn Elphick of Inverell sold for $400,000 in NSW last year, there were 45 international bidders from 10 countries among the 260 registered bidders, in person and online, at the sale.

The winning bidders, Yulong Investments, bought Sunnyside S0014 for an embryo transfer program, using elite semen and recipient cows.

Origins of Australian Wagyu

The Wagyu breed was introduced into Australia in the 1980s and 1990s as a minor breed in a very niche market.

Science was part of the breed’s growth from the beginning, figuratively and literally. Genetic analysis was centred around growth – or size – of the Wagyu animal, while matching animals to breed for eating quality and marbling traits.

Because the Wagyu animal was generally owned by the one farmer throughout its life, that enabled breeders to rapidly develop a collection of useful data.

This was incredibly important, given only 300 animals were allowed out of Japan and into Australia.

That initial courage that breeders demonstrated has now been vindicated with global interest – to the extent that Australian Wagyu genetics have been exported into many other countries.

The high marbling and eating quality traits in the Australian Wagyu have attracted interest from Asian countries, including the Japanese market, where premiums of at least 10 per cent are paid for the meat.

Export markets are growing

Last year, the three North Asian markets of China, Japan and Korea imported more than 62 per cent of Australian beef exports by volume.

Wagyu breeders want to be part of that and, according to the Australian Wagyu Association, Australia is the largest global exporter of Wagyu branded beef.

A Meat Standards Australia research project is looking to identify a quantified ‘Wagyu effect’ involving feedback from thousands of consumers across Australia and the Middle East participating in sensory testing.

The United Arab Emirates is involved because it has been identified by Meat and Livestock Australia as an emerging market for Australian-grown Wagyu meat.

The sensory test, describing the eating quality potential of a beef product, involves 72 head of cattle, including purebred Wagyu, Bos Indicus F1, Angus F1 and purebred Angus.

Recent changes mean Wagyu is part of that F1 progeny testing for carcase and feed performance. This has opened the potential for using Wagyu bulls as terminal sires, whose offspring will be used for meat.

The Australian Wagyu Association currently holds the world’s largest Wagyu genetic database, with more than 25,000 full-blood animals registered in the system.

Wagyu is also set to benefit from a project identifying country of origin markers that guarantee the meat is produced in Australia. Technology trials to identify authenticity were developed in Japan, Singapore, the UAE, China and the US which use Blockchain technology to secure supply chain integrity, providing customers with a trusted provenance story.

Provenance stories have also benefited from the growth of the Wagyu Branded Beef Competition. In 2023, there is a record 58 entries from 28 individual brands competing across five classes.

Collecting data with Circle 8

Jeremy Seaton-Cooper, of Circle 8 Bulls, has recently been validated and recognised for his discipline of applying data to breeding, a trait that leading Wagyu breeders are well known for.

There are four Breed Object Indexes that are designed to optimise profit outcomes from commercial breeder, self-replacing, Fullblood terminal and F1 terminal production systems. At the time of writing, Circle 8 Bulls stud has the number one Self-replacing Index (SRI) value bull in the Australian Wagyu Association (AWA) database, as well as the number one female and seven ranked females (as heifers).

“This accolade reinforces that our breeding objectives are on the right trajectory, but at the end of the day, we won’t treat the females any differently,” Jeremy said.

Weaned earlier this year, the two heifers will be flushed (have their fertilized embryos non-surgically removed from the womb) then turned back into the herd to mature. They’ll then go through the normal practical joining and rejoining program to identify if they deliver on their genetic promise.

“A cow earns her keep by having a calf, raising a calf and getting back in calf,” said Jeremy. “Commercial breeders need guaranteed fertility, and that’s what we’ll be looking for from these female cattle.”

Jeremy has been collecting performance data from his Angus cattle for 20 years, and from day one within his Wagyu breeding program.

He is pleased to see AWA supporting data collection on Wagyu F1 progeny.

“I think Wagyu bulls are stepping away from being a fad to join to any cows to try and capitalise on a premium for an F1 feeder steer,” Jeremy said.

“I see the day coming when Wagyu bulls will be a mainstay of commercial beef production. Wagyu-sired beef product will be readily available on supermarket shelves and in all levels of dining experience due to its superior eating quality.”

Jeremy Seaton-Cooper, Circle8 Bulls

“The Wagyu bull will be used as a terminal sire at the start of the production system, taking advantage of the Wagyu breeds’ high libido and calving ease traits.

“A maiden heifer is the hardest thing to get a calf out of on the farm, and a two-year-old heifer is the hardest beef cattle to get back in calf on the farm.

“The Wagyu breed can fix a fertility issue in your herd and add eating quality to the meat harvested from the animal.”

Growing the Marathon family

Last year, a new chapter in Wagyu breeding was written when Michael and Susan McCosker purchased the Codenwarra Wagyu herd. The Codenwarra herd was bred by Michael’s late uncles, Robin and John McCosker, who visited Japan in 1997 and subsequently began their career as pioneers in bringing the Wagyu breed to Australia.

Michael and Susan have amalgamated those generations of breeding with their own herd, Marathon Wagyu, combining heritage genetics with modern cattle traits.

“The Codenwarra herd still strongly recognises the Sumo genetics it’s bred from. We’ve bred our Marathon herd by implementing embryo transfer and artificial insemination, using some high-performance animals to rapidly expand our genetics,” Michael said.

“Now we have a good mix of well-bred animals, with established fertility, mothering, growth and marbling traits.

“Our fertility is excellent and we’re achieving some great results through artificial reproduction. Using artificial reproduction is a great way to stay at the forefront of genetic improvement technologies.”

Michael McCosker, Marathon Wagyu

All data is important to the breeding plan and Marathon Wagyu steers consistently perform impressively, with the most recent cohort demonstrating marble scores averaging 8.3. The AUS-MEAT beef quality grading system uses a scoring range of 0 to 9+ with the latter being the highest grade of exceptional marbling.

“We’ve got a base herd of large females with plenty of growth, and we’ve achieved this without compromising on carcase quality,” Michael said.

“The recent Marathon Wagyu steer drop sold well, which gives us confidence knowing that our extensive data collection is benefitting not only feedlot buyers but also producers who are buying our herd’s genetics. We are selling our genetics all over Australia and internationally.”

Michael McCosoker, Marathon Wagyu

Marathon Wagyu recently purchased an MIJ camera and the principals use this to collect carcase data on both their and customers’ cattle in the abattoir.

“It’s something we like to do so we can consistently measure and verify carcase traits including marbling of every animal. This gives us traceable data that we can use when making future breeding decisions,” Michael said.

This attention to detail also transfers to production operations at the Codenwarra property in Emerald, Queensland. The family grows irrigated cotton, silage and grain on the property, as well as producing their Wagyu herd.

“Codenwarra is also home to a comprehensive backgrounding system that the family uses to grow out steers; and an artificial insemination facility where they store semen.

“We work with some amazing nutritionists, veterinarians and reproductive technicians to breed animals we are really proud of, and that we believe meet the needs of the modern Wagyu industry in Australia,” Michael said.

“We have premium semen in storage and some great bulls coming forward. This means we have something to suit most producers, whether they have large established herds or they’re just beginning to build their herds.

“We have the data to back each animal and that’s something people can rely on.”

If you enjoyed this feature on Australian Wagyu, you might like to read our story on the McKenzie family of Macka’s Australian Black Angus Beef enterprise.

The post What’s at stake for Australian Wagyu? appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Dairy Australia’s Picasso Cows curriculum program for primary students aligns a school with a local dairy farmer and teaches children about their favourite dairy food. It has involved more than 1,000 schools since 2009. 

These are just some examples of why the key for achieving $30 billion by value of agricultural production by 2030 is education. Agricultural education programs teach students how to be farmers, and trains tomorrow’s scientists, nutritionists, teachers, drone pilots, software developers, agronomists, and many others. 

In NSW, education department figures reveal the number of students enrolling in HSC level agricultural electives has remained steady at around 1,500 students.

Agriculture is already embedded within compulsory food and technology subjects in years 7 and 8, and schools and teachers are also encouraged to come up with ways to integrate agriculture and food production into the food and technology subjects. 

There are four specific agricultural schools in NSW, and approximately 300 government and non-government schools offering agriculture and VET primary industries elective subjects. 

For many rural children growing up embedded within an agricultural environment, importance is placed upon learning about a wider world, and to help them do that, a number of schools offer scholarship programs. Here we look at some of them. 

Preparing young women for the modern world

One of the biggest girls’ boarding schools in NSW is Loreto Normanhurst, and more than 85 per cent of the school’s boarders are from rural NSW. There are more than 190 boarders at the school in 2023, contributing to a broad and rich culture of experiences and learning, fostering friendships for life among the student cohort. 

Loreto Normanhurst’s Bursary and Scholarship program is focussed on enabling girls from rural and Indigenous backgrounds to access the school’s holistic curriculum. 

Celebrating 125 years of excellence in education, the school is not resting on the laurels of past achievements, and instead, is looking to the future. 

A 30-year masterplan includes a new purpose-built boarding school due to be opened in 2025. This will provide increased boarding accommodation to more than 200 students, flexible communal spaces, and reflect the school’s vision to create a modern, ecologically sustainable home for boarding students.

The boarding school is available for students needing full time and flexible boarding options. This includes catering for students participating in extra-curricular activities, who also live locally.

The school’s open day on March 4, 2023, is an opportunity for families to tour the school and learn from existing students about their experiences at Loreto Normanhurst. 

loretonh.nsw.edu.au

Agricultural and equestrian pursuits 

The only co-educational boarding school in Bathurst, Scots All Saints College boasts a working farm for cattle and sheep, an equestrian centre, as well as full showjumping and cross-country courses. 

The College Farm is set on about 40 hectares of the campus and hosts both Limousin and Australian White studs, livestock cross-breeding and finishing programs, and rotational cropping. 

A unique feature of Scots All Saints College is the facility for boarding students to bring their horses to school during the term. The equestrian centre is close to the boarding houses, and students can choose between shared paddocks, large private yards, or a combination of paddock
and yard. 

The well-appointed boarding houses provide accommodation for students in years 7 to 12, enabling them to walk to class and participate in a variety of after-school tutorial and homework programs.

When students are participating in sporting fixtures and cultural events, the parent accommodation enables remotely located families from a distance to attend and enjoy their child’s involvement. 

An annual scholarship program assists with tuition and boarding costs, and is open to new and existing students seeking to join Scots All Saints College in 2024. 

Students are invited to apply for a number of scholarships – academic, all-rounder, agriculture and performing arts – music, dance and drama.

scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au

Making positive connections

A sense of belonging is crucial for positive wellbeing and learning for many people, and in particular adolescents. Wesley College’s boarding facility, Learning in Residence, provides an innovative and contemporary home for students in years 9 to 12. 

The eight two-storey residences each house up to 16 students and one staff member. Small group tutorials and individual learning assistance supports students to complete their homework and assignments, balanced against sport, performing arts, community service, debating and other co-curricular activities. 

During the year there are numerous opportunities for creating positive connections between boarders, with initiatives including welcome letters from peers, community dinners, a gratitude box, student acknowledgements and weekly check-in conversations with mentors. 

Student feedback, combined with staff input and resourcing, has led to the development of a variety of activities and events that anchor students to their cohort and community. 

Wesley College’s boarding facility is situated within the school’s spacious Glen Waverley campus, and it offers weekly and full-time boarding – catering for the needs of students from afar and near. Students from metropolitan Melbourne, rural and regional Australia, and international locations, all benefit from staying at Wesley College’s boarding facility. 

A leading co-educational open-entry International Baccalaureate World School, Wesley College’s Senior School students have a choice of academic pathways – the Victorian Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program. 

Learning in the Harbour City

Located only eight kilometres east of Sydney’s central business district, Kincoppal-Rose Bay is nestled in among extensive private bushland, with easy and direct access to harbour beaches.

Kincoppal-Rose Bay school educates boys and girls from three years of age to the end of year 6. From years 7 to 12, Kincoppal-Rose Bay educates young women, offering day and boarding places at the school. 

The school’s Sacred Heart values are central to contemporary learning and practice, and the school is part of an international network of 150 schools across 41 countries. This unique network provides students with the opportunity for international exchanges, on their quest to becoming globally minded citizens. 

Against the serene backdrop of Sydney Harbour, boarders at Kincoppal-Rose Bay live and learn on the picturesque edge of Australia’s biggest city, with the natural bushland and foreshore setting providing opportunities for an array of exercise and outdoor activities. 

Boarders can also take advantage of the many cultural and learning opportunities within Sydney, visiting museums, galleries, local cinemas, local markets and sporting games within a short distance.

On weekends, boarding staff facilitate an array of activities on campus and around the city, including beach activities and water sports such as kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and surfing.

krb.nsw.edu.au

Boarding closer to home

Boarding regionally at Kinross Wolaroi co-educational school in Orange is increasingly a strong option for parents wanting to keep their children connected to home and family, while receiving an education with academic challenge, and co-curricular opportunities. 

Of the 1,100 students attending Kinross Wolaroi School from prep through to year 12, around 320 of them are boarders. Boarding is available from years 7 to 12, and about 40 per cent of the senior school students are residents in the boarding facilities. Boys live on the main school campus, Wolaroi, and girls live on a separate campus five minutes away. 

The majority of students boarding at Kinross Wolaroi School are from families living in regional NSW, and they relish the extra opportunities at the school – from supported homework study, to a busy weekend activity program, and creating friendships that will last a lifetime. 

The emphasis on creating a boarding home at Kinross Wolaroi School helps students to develop independence and a strong sense of self. 

Parents are welcome to visit during term time, enabling families to spend quality time together, while their children benefit from a strong academic program on a regional campus. 

Extra curricular activities include debating, rowing, the cadet program, pathways to higher level sport and academic challenges, and participation in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. 

kws.nsw.edu.au

Investing in the future 

Agriculture is embedded within STEM education – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – and has been recognised as a highly technical and specialised field of learning for future generations. To this end, the NSW Government has made agriculture compulsory as an education topic. 

To ensure mandatory agricultural education within the syllabus by 2024, the aim of the current NSW Government, resources need to be allocated for teacher professional development and supporting curriculum material within and outside the classroom. 

The NSW Government has also committed to investing in a new Centre for Excellence in Agricultural Education and has acknowledged the importance of partnerships in delivering high quality lessons and activities. 

The Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia, through its Primezone Academy and Farmer Time programs, hosts more than 600 curriculum-aligned food and fibre education resources, aiming to embed the value of Australia’s food and fibre production in schools and community.

If you enjoyed this feature on agricultural schools, you might like to read our story on agricultural programs in regional schools.

The post Ag schools are cream of the crop appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.