“It’s good for the deer. It’s good for the trees. And it’s free food.”

That’s Jeremy Clarkson justifying the hunting of wild deer on his 400ha Oxfordshire farm, Diddly Squat, as one of his “farming the unfarmed” schemes.

Clarkson says his farm has become overrun with deer, which caused enormous damage to young trees and that he, along with other farmers, had been asked by the UK Government to reduce their numbers. Enlisting the help of the British Deer Society to humanely hunt deer on the farm, he then turns his kill into venison hotdogs for sale at the Diddly Squat farm shop.

Elsewhere on the farm, he forages for blackberries to make jam and nettles to make soup in his mission to unlock the potential of half his farm. An old war bunker is transformed into a mushroom growing tunnel, Clarkson moves his free-range pigs into the woodlands, and he buys goats to control woody weeds.

While the nettle soup idea turns out to be a disaster, the free-range pigs and Lion’s Mane mushrooms prove to be profitable, and Clarkson has since joined calls for venison to be put on UK school menus.

Your average Australian farmer does not have an unused bunker for growing mushrooms or have the financial resources of Clarkson, but the need to diversify a farm business to make it viable is relatable.

Native foods and botanicals, for example, are a growing niche market, that some farmers in NSW have tapped into on their unfarmed land. Strawberry gum, lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, and wattleseed are all now hot items for distilleries to add unique Australian flavours to gins and other spirits.

Clarkson says it was lot of hard work, but farming the unfarmed did prove profitable.

The Clarkson’s Farm series is an honest portrayal of life for British farmers, and its limits of regulatory red tape, input costs, weather and farm profitability would ring a bell for Australian farmers.

Diddly Squat’s traditional cropping operations also made a profit, however Clarkson’s consultant, ‘Cheerful’ Charlie, takes all profits to buy seed and fertiliser for the following year, leading Clarkson to sum up the realities of running a farm as a business.

“I’m in the fortunate position of having other income streams,” the TV veteran says. “But if you’re a normal farmer and this is your full time and only job and you get two years when you don’t make any money, you’re screwed.”

• Read more: Biosecurity Commissioner to be appointed in 2024

Bringing venison to the menu

An estimated two million deer roam the British countryside, which is roughly the same as the feral deer population in NSW and Victoria.

Clarkson has been widely applauded by UK farmers and land managers for shining a light on the environmental impact of wild deer and the potential for producing a feral animal food product.

NSW Farmers similarly won broad support for an advocacy campaign that led to the removal of the protection status for deer in 2019. That allowed hunters in NSW to shoot deer, with landowner permission, on private land and send carcasses to licensed abattoirs for processing.

While COVID-19 restaurant lockdowns slowed wild venison’s uptake, an increasing number of chefs are putting it on the menu and championing it as a sustainable protein source.

“Australia has a unique scenario where we have millions of invasive deer causing harm that are incredibly nutritious and delicious to eat. Farmers want to see them removed just as much as conservationists do,” says Discovered Wildfoods Cofounder Tara Medina.

Discovered Wildfoods were one the first businesses to supply wild caught venison following the regulation changes and have taken and whole of supply chain approach to getting it on restaurant tables.

They process up to 5000 wild caught Sambar deer a year at two facilities in Albury and Beechworth in Victoria and work closely with professional hunters to harvest animals from private land.

“We would like to grow that number significantly because the latest estimate in Victoria alone is that there is over a million feral deer,” Tara said.

“90 per cent of our customers are in the food service sector, but the goal is to eventually have venison available as an affordable product at supermarkets for the wider consumer.

“It’s awesome to get recognition from chefs, but it’s a bigger accomplishment to get people to cook it at home and be excited by it, not intimidated by it. “

Tara, who is based in the Northern Rivers, said they focus exclusively on Sambar deer, meaning the only harvest area NSW is the southeast region.

“We think it’s the best eating venison and we set up a network of harvesters who are properly equipped to deal with a heavier animal. Fallow deer, which are more common in the rest of NSW and Queensland, are a lot lighter and lot gamier,” she said.

“A Sambar deer can be up to 250 kilograms and have more closer meat quality to beef. The number one hurdle you have to overcome is people perception of game meat.

“Venison from Sambar deer is a red meat protein source that is unrecognisable in terms of gameness.”

Tara said they get a 40 per cent carcass yield on human consumption cuts and the remaining bone and offal is used in the petfood industry.

The post Farming the unfarmed appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

The state’s first Feral Pig Coordinator, Bec Gray, is spearheading the charge to reach the Feral Pig Program’s target of 87,000 feral pig kills by July this year.

The coordinated assault from Local Land Services (LLS) and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) began in October and boasted the culling of 33,277 feral pigs in the first four months. 

Central to the program’s success has been the Feral Animal Aerial Shooting Team (FAAST), which comprises a dozen of the best LLS and NPWS shooters plus helicopter pilots and navigators. 

“We’ve certainly knocked some pigs down. The figure was up to 47,703 by the end of February (check before print) and that has come from aerial control programs as well as ground control through baiting and trapping,” Bec said. 

More than 41,000 of those feral pigs were taken out by the FAAST team across 21 different areas of NSW. 

“The reasons why aerial control is effective is that it has the ability to get more people involved and to cover a much larger area,” she said.  

“We like to support what landholders are already doing on the ground. We have been able to use the program’s funding to support local coordinated control efforts with aerial culling. 

Bec Gray, NSW Feral Pig Coordinator

“Part of the program’s intent is to encourage more landholders to get involved in locally coordinated trapping and baiting programs. The effectiveness of the program is really dependent on that.” 

The program also has three landscape control zones or hotspots for targeted aerial attacks. These zones have been prioritised based on feral pig densities, high-value agricultural production and environmental assets.

“One zone is down south and covers some of the Riverina, western and central west regions, the second is based around the Coolah region in the central west and the third zone is the north west region.” 

Bec said a further 24 aerial culling campaigns will be conducted to reach the target of 87,000 dead feral pigs. 

Bumper seasonal conditions across much of NSW has at times hampered the FAAST team’s ability to hunt feral pigs from the air. 

“We were expecting to it to be hot and dry and force the pigs to congregate at water points. Those favourable seasonal conditions for feral pigs continued though and that threw our plans out a little bit, but that’s where landholder participation in the program is so important. 

“The increased control effort through the program is protecting agricultural crops and livestock. It’s also about protecting the environment as feral pigs are a key threat for 146 different species, and I have seen what they can do to pristine rainforest environments.” 

Bec is based in Tamworth and came to the role with 12 years of biosecurity experience at the LLS working with farmers to manage feral pigs and other pest animals. 

“The bulk of my previous biosecurity work with the LLS was in the Walgett and Moree areas, which were subject to feral pig damage to crops and the environment. That meant working with landholders on feral pig management was a big part of the role.”  

Bec said feral pigs can do enormous damage to a wide range of crops and warned farmers about their impact on pending winter crop plantings like chickpeas.

“Chickpeas will often get hit by pigs at planting. They pretty much come in behind the plant and dig up the seed, causing a huge amount of damage quickly.” 

The NSW Government’s spend on control of feral pig populations will total $13 million in the 2023-24 financial year. The one-year Feral Pig Program also includes training events for farmers and covers the cost of treating grain to bait feral pigs for farmers participating in the Feral Fighters program.

NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said more than 2000 farmers have taken part in the State Government’s Feral Pig Program and almost 80,000 kilograms of free bait has been issued. 

“Farmer feedback on our investment into the Feral Pig Program has been positive,” Minister Moriarty said.

“This model has proven to be a leading approach to pest animal management, with biosecurity officers and landholders working side by side across private and public land.” 

Bec Gray, NSW Feral Pig Coordinator

Feral pig ground assault protects lambs

Southern Riverina sheep farmer Colin McCrabb modernised his ground offensive on feral pigs earlier this year with remote activated trap doors, cameras and baiting stations from key ally, the Murray Local Land Service (LLS). 

It has resulted in the trapping of more than 100 feral pigs on his farm in recent months and he has confidence that the pending lambing season will be safe from an invasive and menacing threat. 

“However, my biggest fear with feral pigs is the biosecurity threat. They are the perfect vehicle for spreading diseases like foot and mouth and leptospirosis. Plus, I just hate feral pigs,” Colin said. 

That loathing stems from attacks on lambs in the past on Colin’s 6900-hectare property at Wanganella, which runs two merino studs, a commercial merino flock and a herd of Shorthorn cattle. 

“We have had them predating lambs during the drought, and they also got into our rice crops when we grew them back in the early 2000s.” 

Colin said feral pigs had not been big on the biosecurity radar in the last decade in his region, but that all changed in the second half of 2023. 

“We had a few pig traps that had not been active for a while. I happened to notice a few signs of activity one day last year and got in contact with the LLS. They sent cameras and a phone activated trap door and one of those traps has got 74 pigs since December, which blew me away.” 

Another trap on the southern part of Colin’s farm has snagged another 20 pigs and more have fallen victim to strategically placed bait stations. 

“We’ve got some active biosecurity officers in the Murray LLS that have been very supportive,” said Colin. “It’s been practical support from local staff that has worked.”

If you enjoyed this piece about the Feral Pig Program, you might like to read about the rise of tick fever in NSW.

The post Target of 87,000 feral pigs to be culled by July appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Four years after The Farmer exposed unfair market conditions most chicken meat farmers still have zero processor competition and zero bargaining power, but the push for fairer market conditions has gained momentum in recent months. 

It’s coming in the form of strong advocacy for a Mandatory Code of Conduct from NSW Farmers, supported by the National Farmers Federation (NFF) and the Australian Chicken Growers Council(ACGC). 

The NFF completed a year-long investigation into the poultry meat sector in April that revealed a widespread lack of market transparency, misuse of market power and economic harm within the poultry meat supply chain.

Much of the investigative work was done by NSW Farmers Poultry Meat Manager David Banham, who spoke to about 150 farmers at workshops across the country and received a further 216 responses to a survey.

The message from farmers was clear: there was little to no choice in processors, growing contract terms were unfair, and there was a deliberate undermining of collective bargaining efforts. 

“There was clear evidence from farmers that there is an inequity in the system,” David said. 

The research project, funded by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), concluded that the Australian Government must implement a mandatory code similar to one introduced in the dairy industry. 

“Administered by the ACCC, the code will provide a regulatory framework that provides confidence and fair trading in the poultry meat supply chain and will support best-practice policy and regulation for growers and processors,” NFF CEO Tony Maher said.

Parts of the project’s final report mirrored findings from the ACCC’s Perishable Agricultural Goods Inquiry in 2020, which highlighted significant concerns about practices in the Australian poultry meat supply chain.

Only one processor – Inghams – accepted the NFF’s invitation to engage in the project. The major processors had been consistent in denying that price transparency between growers and processors was an issue and that a Mandatory Code of Conduct would be of benefit. The chicken meat processing sector’s peak body, the Australian Poultry Industry Association, agreed.

Farmers receive about 33 cents per kilogram to grow out chickens according to the ACGC – the national body for poultry meat farmers. A whole roast chicken from the supermarket, one of the lowest cost retail poultry options, cost about $7.27/kg (based on $12 for a 1.65kg chicken). So at best, growers were getting less than 2.7 per cent of the retail price.

“The reasons why growers want a Mandatory Code of Conduct are the same reasons dairy farmers did nine years ago, and that is they are utterly at the whim of the processor-supermarket consortium,” ACGC CEO Joanne Sillince said. 

“It’s even a bigger deal for poultry meat growers as dairy farmers at least had quite a few processors to sell to. In almost all cases, a chook farmer has only one processor to contract to. The only exceptions to that are southern Victoria and South Australia.” 

The publicly-listed Inghams Enterprises and the family-owned Baiada Poultry produce 70 per cent of Australia’s chicken. In NSW the market is dominated by Baiada and Cordina, which control predominately separate growing regions. 

“There is no question that a Mandatory Code of Conduct is likely to be the only way to engender fair negotiation and some transparency in the supply chain,” Sillince said.

“Having a Mandatory Code of Conduct does not mean you have to negotiate, but it does put enforceability around the negotiation, contracts and the outcome.

“It would give growers the support of the ACCC standing behind them with a very big stick to ensure negotiations were fair. It goes a long way to getting rid of the ‘take this price or else’ mentality.”

The ACGC did receive some feedback from growers who feared the potential for retribution from their processor and did not feel comfortable contributing to the NFF project.

“A Mandatory Code of Conduct would also change the interaction between the supermarkets and processors. For the first time, supermarkets will be able to see what farmers are getting paid,” Sillince said.

“The important part in the NFF report is that the supermarkets are backing a Mandatory Code of Conduct. The ACGC is heartened by the retailer response of offering to commit to a Mandatory Code of Conduct in this industry, and willingness to participate in a more transparent supply chain.”

The NFF’s final report on the project was provided to DAFF and Assistant Minister for Competition, Dr Andrew Leigh, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

From Junior Farmer to industry champion 

Lorraine Wilson’s entry into the poultry meat industry started 64 years ago with a NSW Junior Farmers project to grow out 100 chickens on the family farm at Kulnura. 

“I made 29 pounds and some shillings, and my father thought that wasn’t a bad return. We already had free range laying hens to mainly get rid of the weed problem, which they did,” she said.

Lorraine’s parents Ray and Joan Walpole, who were already growing vegetables, managing a young citrus orchard and producing free range eggs, took the bold step of investing in the first of three poultry meat sheds in 1959. 

Lorraine and her husband Rodger have continued the Wyuna Farms poultry meat venture to this day on the 19-hectare farm alongside son Greg and wife Kate. Five grandchildren also help out at different times and enjoy a farm full of activity.

“We’ve always diversified with three different income streams on the farm. It used to be tomatoes, citrus and layers and then it was citrus, layers and meat chickens. We got out of layers and replaced that with a landscape yard. 

“The last of the poultry meat sheds was built in 1994, allowing us to have up to 70,000 birds. The sheds and equipment have been upgraded many times especially in the good years and still perform well producing chickens that can get into the top quartile for quality in the contract pool.” 

Lorraine credits husband Rodger for much of the farm’s resilience to the challenges that have come to bear, such as the Newcastle disease outbreak in 1999 and a drop in farm gate prices for the citrus crop. 

“This farm would not have continued to this day if I had not married my Kiwi farmer. Rodger has played a huge part in the poultry meat business and managing the citrus orchard. He has also been active in the local NSW Farmers horticulture branch, the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary. Not bad for a former sheep and beef farmer in New Zealand.” 

Rodger moved to Kulnura in 1965 to help out on the farm when their workers left for high paying jobs on the M1 motorway construction.

“The next two decades were rewarding years of growth with meat chickens, layers and citrus. And we bought another 20-acre block to plant citrus. The farm provided for five families working and mostly living on Wyuna Farms. The citrus tree count reached 11,000 and we stopped growing tomatoes as a cash crop.” 

Lorraine said the family has not owned a commercial chicken meat chicken since the Junior Farmers project. 

“It’s always been a contract growing system for poultry meat farmers. It is quite unique for a farming operation to not own its stock.

“We have stuck with it because of the investment we have put into it, and it was a really good industry to be in.

“It started to go off a bit in the 1990s and now it’s not so hot, but we have a big investment in the sheds that can’t really be used for anything else. Our diversification plans were well in place before this and that has kept the farm going. 70,000 chickens these days is not enough for a liveable income.”

Lorraine said the rise of poultry meat to the top of the food chain for meat consumption has ironically been to the detriment of some smaller family farms. 

“In the days when we grew for Inghams, we were only allowed to have three sheds. Chicken meat started to get popular in the 1990s and the processors needed economies of scale to meet market demands and encouraged farmers to expand.” 

The Central Coast Plateau remains as one of five major poultry meat producing regions in NSW alongside Tamworth, Griffith, the Sydney Basin and the Hunter region.

Lorraine has been a champion for the poultry meat industry and local food production for decades and currently chairs the NSW Farmers Poultry Meat Committee. She first took up the mantle of representing the industry when Newcastle Disease hit the Central Coast region. 

Newcastle Disease reduced income for Wyuna Farms by around 90 per cent for nine months and it took more than a decade for the farm business to recover. 

“We had always been members of NSW Farmers, but the impact of Newcastle disease changed everything. I decided that we all needed to take some responsibility to help ourselves and I became active at that time.”

Lorraine takes the same view with addressing the issues of unfair contract terms, no processor competition and lack of transparency that were raised by farmers in the NFF project. 

“I just want to see the industry return to one that is successful for everyone in the supply chain, from the farm to the consumer. That’s what made it a good industry to be in and it could be again. We just need to make it attractive again as a family farming business.”

To read about the possibility of geothermal powered poultry meat, click here.

The post The fight for a mandatory poultry Code of Conduct appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Gustaf and Siggi have been teaching the Viking way of preserving food with a no-waste approach to processing meat as a business opportunity for farmers in NSW for the past 15 years. 

While they now proudly call the Coffs Coast region home, their Icelandic roots remain strong and have made their way into hundreds of farming businesses across northern NSW to grow value-adding opportunities. 

“We had both always wanted to come to Australia. We had both applied for visas even before we met, but we were too young. I don’t know why it had to be Australia, perhaps it was the Viking desire in us to travel afar,” Gustaf said. 

The couple spent 10 years living in Sweden before moving to Australia 35 years ago with two young boys in tow. Gustaf grew up on fishing boats in southern Iceland while Siggi spent much of her childhood years on a mixed farm in the middle of the small island nation. 

“My brother had a business building fishing trawlers in Eden, so I went there to ply my skills from Iceland,” Gustaf said. “My brother was a master in building fishing boats and moved the business to Portland in Victoria.” 

Siggi and Gustaf oddly found Portland too cold and moved to the sub-tropical climate of the Coffs Coast region. Siggi continued her nursing career while Gustaf focussed on using their business and food preparation skills to open a restaurant that used traditional Viking methods of cooking food on
hot rocks.  

While Gustaf tapped into the bounty of local fresh produce and seafood for the Royal Viking restaurant, Siggi revived her Icelandic cheesemaking and meat curing skills, and joined her husband in becoming a qualified business trainer. 

“I did a few cheese and meat platters and some beef jerky for friends, and they absolutely loved it, and I was loving making food that I grew up with,” Siggi said. 

“The other main reason why we started to offer value-adding workshops for farmers was because so many people we met from regions west of Coffs Harbour wanted to learn how to make more from dairy and meat products, including from animals like deer, pigs, and goats.” 

Siggi Ragnarsson

“That includes how to make things like gourmet sausages and meatballs with the right herbs and spices, and our simple bacon made from pork belly has been a real hit.

“All the ingredients we use are natural. There are no preservatives or nitrates.”

Cool farming in Iceland 

Siggi learned the fine arts of cheesemaking and meat curing while working on her family farm in Iceland. The farm had sheep, horses, cows and vegetables and produced enough food to feed family and friends throughout the year.  

“It was a very busy time from late March through to September on the farm in Iceland. We worked 12 to 14 hours a day to get everything done before winter,” Siggi said. 

“You make everything on the farm during that time. That includes all your cheeses, cured meats, jams, preserving vegetables and making liver and blood pudding. Winter in Iceland is the time to feast, drink and party.” 

Iceland is about as far away from Australia as you get, both in terms of distance and types of farming systems. We do, however, share a love of sheep meat and wool. Up until the 1980s, Iceland’s sheep population was more than three times that of the country’s 230,775 residents, with lamb being the most popular red meat. Today, the sheep-to-human ratio has reduced to 1:1, with 368,600 sheep remaining on the island. 

Siggi says Icelandic sheep are well-adapted to the country’s harsh conditions as they are direct descendants of the sheep brought in by early Viking settlers. 

“The lambs are almost always all born in May when the saudburdur (lambing) starts. This is a very exciting time for all the farmers, and they get help from friends and family.”  

The sheep graze on the mountainous pastures during the short summer months and are kept indoors during the winter and fed on preserved grass. 

“Iceland is not big on beef, because of the challenges of having them indoors for up to six months of the year. There are some goats and pigs, and horse meat is also consumed in Iceland,” she says. 

Siggi was astounded at the amount of meat and offal that was not preserved when farmers in northern NSW told her how they broke down a carcase on farm. 

“Some farmers I have met during the workshops did not know what to do with the rest of the carcase once all the traditional cuts are made besides feeding it to the dogs. I could not believe it,” Siggi said.

“When it comes to meat, everything is used in Iceland. I have been able to show farmers here how to get more value out of the carcase through using much more of it and value-adding.” 

Siggi Ragnarsson

“We have also helped a farmer out in Lismore who wanted to do something with the deer on his property. We taught him about the right ratios of salt and other ingredients to cure deer meat and he is now making salami.” 

Siggi said much of the traditional farming and food preservation methods remain to this day in Iceland, but greenhouse technology has modernised and diversified the small agriculture sector. 

Iceland’s abundant geothermal energy is powering these greenhouses, providing the heat to extend growing seasons and create favourable conditions for crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and capsicums. 

“Just about everything is grown in Iceland now. They even have tropical crops like bananas and coffee grown in greenhouses,” said Siggi.

Video pivot for Viking Kitchen food training

Gustaf said teaching value-adding and business opportunities to hundreds of farmers and other people in regional towns had been a privilege for a former Icelandic fisherman. 

“The people we have met in these small communities out west are such special people. They really stick together, and they are so grateful to us for coming out. It has been so enjoyable,” Gustaf said. 

“We held a lot of the workshops in community schools and halls, which were amazing places to get to. The schools got a financial benefit out of it too, and a lot of farmers are connected to these schools.

“It was very sad times for us when the COVID pandemic put a halt to our face-to-face workshops and travelling to these wonderful communities.” 

The couple were determined to continue teaching their Viking Kitchen food preparation and business acumen to farmers, so Gustaf put his multimedia skills into transforming the workshops into video content. The couple now sell the video training sessions as part of small business package, which also includes all the required herbs and spices, recipes, promotional materials to use at markets and business
management tools. 

“Australia does have the best food in the world. Our workshops are about getting the best value out of that food for a farm business or someone that wants to start a new business.”  

Gustaf Ragnarsson

Head to vikingkitchenfood.com.au for more information on the Viking Kitchen Food workshops and small business packages.

The post Value-adding with a Viking flavour appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Stephen Pumpa’s generational family farm is about to be surrounded by one of Australia’s largest solar energy developments.

French renewables company Neoen has started construction of the Culcairn Solar Farm project, which will span 1,000 hectares and border Stephen’s farm on three sides.

The fourth-generation farmer objected to the development application over the four-year consultation period but has now accepted he must adapt to the glaring new neighbour.

“It’s a massive change in land use from agricultural to industrial. The land that they are leasing has been cropped for 15-plus years, and is probably 98 per cent arable,” Stephen said.

Stephen runs a 720-hectare mixed farming enterprise encompassing meat, wool, grain and fodder production.

“They have been granted to do whatever they are going do, so we are just going to have to work on protecting ourselves and our business. It’s a good spot with a good climate and the soil allows us to grow and produce all sorts of things.”

From rural to industrial

Neoen says the 440 MWp solar plant, which will connect to the on-site 330 kV Transgrid transmission, will have the ability to provide power to 155,000 homes.

“I will be treating them just like any other rural neighbour, notifying them when I am burning off or moving livestock,” Stephen says. “However, the public liability insurance issue has created a huge uncertainty for our business.

“I know that farm businesses can get up to $50 million in public liability insurance, but if fire gets away from our place and only damages 10 per cent of a $600 million investment, you are gone for at least $60 million. You could become insolvent overnight.

“My insurance company said I could insure for as much as I like, but once you go above that $50 million, the premium costs are prohibitive. It’s gone from a rural setting to an industrial setting and no insurance implications have been considered.”

Stephen said he voiced these concerns during the consultation process and has met with company representatives on several occasions to discuss buffer zones and right to farm implications like movement of machinery and livestock and cropping operations.

“You are always talking to different people though, so not a lot gets resolved,” he says.

“With the exception of the Greater Hume Council, the government departments to this point have showed little to no understanding of farming businesses. They had no answers to my questions and concerns raised during the consultation process.

“Care for the environment is also lacking, given the proposed removal of ancient gum trees and the associated destruction of an entire ecosystem that comes about with the establishment of an industrial estate.

“I support renewable energy and use it on my farm, but not large-scale projects in the wrong place on prime agricultural land.”

Insurance woes widespread

Stephen Pumpa’s public liability insurance woes are shared by fellow farmers in the Central West of NSW and in Victoria.

Bathurst-based Nationals MLC, Sam Faraway, told parliament that farmers with properties adjacent to solar farms in the Central West have been refused public liability insurance.

The Nationals Member for Northern Victoria Region, Gaelle Broad, said farmers in her electorate have also raised concerns about skyrocketing insurance premiums.

Ms Broad said farmers could lose everything if found negligent of accidently starting a fire with a chainsaw, slasher or grinder and it spread and caused damage to solar infrastructure.

“With current farm insurance anywhere between $10 million and $20 million, some farmers have been told they may need to look overseas to find higher levels of insurance,” Ms Broad said.

“It is clearly not enough when you consider developments such as the Meadow Creek Solar Farm near Wangaratta – with a proposed value of $750 million – or the Cooba Solar Project in Central Victoria, with a proposed development that includes 740,000 solar panels in Colbinabbin.

“Some farmers have been told that to obtain the right level of insurance cover they will be facing a $50,000 rise in premiums each year.”

Farm insurance concerns were also highlighted in the 2022 NSW Ag Commissioner’s ‘Renewable energy generation and agriculture in NSW’s rural landscape and economy’ report. 

It states farmers provided evidence that their insurer would not increase public liability cover above $20 million.

“In the absence of adequate insurance coverage, some neighbouring landholders may feel compelled to adjust their land use practices in order to mitigate fire risk such as changing from cropping to grazing and bear a loss of productivity and profitability of that land,” the report states.

The report backed a recommendation from the NSW Farmers’ Billabong (Henty) branch that when suitable insurance cannot be obtained, the developer should indemnify neighbouring farm businesses for reasonable, uninsurable risks relating to typical public liability cover.

Stephen Pumpa said all farms within a five-kilometre radius of a ‘solar factory’ should have indemnity.

“Direct neighbours such as me are not the only ones who could be impacted,” he says. “A fire could start on a property 10 kilometres away and quickly spread. It’s certainly happened before.

“Drop a pin on the site and indemnify all farmers within a five-kilometre radius. It’s a simple solution that should be pursued.”

The Ag Commissioner also recommended that renewable project applicants should cover any additional public liability insurance costs incurred by neighbouring landholders, and the standard commercial agreement should include clauses to compensate for any land use constraints imposed by a lack of insurance.

NSW Farmers has consulted with The Insurance Council of Australia, who indicated that any additional cover sought would likely be available in the market but at a higher premium in line with the higher coverage limit provided.

Negotiating a future

Minister for Energy, Penny Sharpe, said the Department of Planning and Environment’s Private Agreement Guidelines highlights the need for renewable energy developers to consider negotiating agreements with neighbouring landholders.

The guidelines, described as the ‘Energy Policy Framework’, went on public exhibition in November 2023, and will be officially released in early 2024. (I’ll check on this before print)

The guidelines explain how the impacts of renewable energy projects and transmission infrastructure will be assessed and managed and are intended to promote transparency and clarity about where and how development occurs.

However, there is no mention of solutions to public liability insurance issues for neighbouring farms.

“Although the indemnification of liabilities is a commercial matter between developers and landholders, including those adjacent to renewable energy developments, my department will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to monitor this issue,” Ms Sharpe said.

“I understand that the fire risk for renewable energy projects is very low. There are fire risks around transmission lines. The biggest fire risks are extreme weather events.”

Renewable project developers are required to conduct a Bushfire Risk Assessment as part of their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). This Assessment includes consulting with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), ensuring access to fire fighters, water supply, understanding vegetation hazards and managing those with protection zones, and preparing a Bushfire Management Plan.

The NSW RFS has developed a draft Operational Protocol for incidents involving large scale solar arrays and battery storage systems.

If you enjoyed this story on public liability insurance, you might like to read about the case for and against nuclear energy in Australia.

The post Public liability insurance backs farmers into a corner appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Artificial Intelligence may not have the ability to predict what many farmers across NSW would describe as the state’s wettest drought in recent months, but it is fast becoming a new advisor for weather forecasters.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is embracing the technology and tech giants such as Google and Huawei are jostling to release the fastest and most accurate machine-based systems.

The ECMWF, which is regarded as the world’s top forecasting agency, began to generate its own experimental AI forecasts last year and countries across Europe are intensifying the development and implementation of AI across their weather forecasting chains.

“Machine learning has a huge potential to improve our forecasts and services and will allow us to better protect all citizens from the impact of severe weather,” says Roar Skalin, Director General of Norway’s public meteorological service Met Norway.

“From the recent and very promising results we are seeing now from our own experiments and ECMWF on a global scale, it is clear that this is a direction we must forcefully invest in.”

Traditionally, weather forecasts are worked out using the laws of physics and powerful supercomputers making complex calculations based on observations from weather stations, satellites and buoys.

AI technology issues a weather forecast based on historical data and has the advantage of being inexpensive to run on desktop computers.

Researchers from Google’s DeepMind AI project claim to have developed a machine-learning model that predicts hundreds of weather variables for a 10-day forecast in under a  minute.

Google’s AI model, called GraphCast, is trained directly on the reanalysis of historical weather data. Experimental results were recently published in the journal Science, with researchers stating it “predicts weather conditions up to 10 days in advance more accurately and much faster than the industry gold-standard weather simulation system”.

GraphCast significantly outperformed the most accurate traditional forecasting systems on 90 per cent of 1,380 verification targets, and its forecasts support better severe event prediction, including tropical cyclone tracking and extreme temperatures. It can also take in the current state of the Earth’s weather and the state six hours earlier, then outputs how the weather will be in six hours’ time.

Fellow tech giant Huawei also launched its own AI forecasting system called Pangu-Weather last year. It is built on a deep neural network trained on 39 years of reanalysis data, which combines historical weather observations with modern models.

Researchers tested Pangu-Weather against the ECMWF’s operational integrated forecasting system and found that it produced similar accuracy in mere seconds. Pangu-Weather was also able to accurately track the path of a tropical cyclone, despite not having been trained with data on tropical cyclones.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says it has been proactively engaging with research on AI capabilities for weather forecasting.

“This area of research is one of many initiatives the Bureau actively pursues to improve its services to government, emergency management partners and the community,” the BoM spokesperson said.

The results on short term weather predictions from AI models are promising, but they are unlikely to replace conventional weather prediction models anytime soon.

AI-powered forecasting models are trained on historical weather data that goes back decades, which means they are great at predicting events that are similar to the weather of the past. As farmers would know, we are working in an era of increasingly unpredictable seasonal conditions.

Soil weather critical to irrigation efficiency

The weather tech revolution is also driving improvements in irrigation efficiency with businesses like Finley-based Schedule-it Irrigation able to generate seven-day crop watering programs that are down to the millimetre.

Schedule-it Irrigation uses the latest in soil moisture probe technology to combine soil ‘weather’ measurements with data from the monitoring of crop water usage, canopy temperature sensors, crop phenological models and weather forecasts.

Farmers can then adopt real-time irrigation recommendations using a cloud-based platform that can also provide season reports, in-field warnings, and monitoring of crop and water usage data by skilled irrigation scheduling specialists.

“Knowing the water status of your paddocks is essential to define the water needs of your crops according to the phenological stage and your crop management,” says owner Brett Orwin.

“This combined with your soil type, irrigation system parameters, soil moisture monitoring and weather factors are all used to set up an irrigation schedule that sets out the frequency and volume of water necessary to optimize water usage and crop health.

“This forecast is most useful if it includes at least a seven-day forecast in millimetres for broadacre cropping and hours for orchards and vineyard to irrigate. Irrigation forecasts giving exact values in millimetres or hour saves time and ensures accuracy and efficiency.”

Brett and wife Marcelle established the business in 2021 with partner Peter Brunt after moving from South Africa to the Riverina region to work in the agriculture sector.

The former dairy farmer and agronomist spent almost a decade working with irrigation scheduling technology in South Africa and decided to transfer those skills to the food bowl of NSW.

“It’s about eliminating the guesswork from irrigation to conserve water, save time, and reduce costs,” Brett says.

Marcelle said they are proud to be a Program Partner in the federal government’s On Farm Connectivity Program, which provides eligible suppliers with up to a $30,000 rebate for sales of digital farming technology to eligible Primary Producers to help improve their connectivity and productivity.

“Eligible farmers can use the grant for something that will make a real difference on their farm, like adopting an agtech solution that tells you what to irrigate in millimetres or hours in real time to your phone or PC,” Marcelle says.

“One of the grant program’s objectives is to get farmers to take advantage of advanced farming technology like we do to improve productivity.”

On Farm Connectivity Rebate Program

The Australian Government has put up a total of $30 million for the On Farm Connectivity Rebate Program over two years. Round 1 made $15 million available in 2023-24, with applications closing on 31 May 2024 or until funding is exhausted, whichever occurs first.

The grant (rebate) amount will be up to 50 per cent of the cost of eligible equipment items. Eligible Primary Producers can only access the program (and rebate) through an eligible Equipment Supplier like Schedule-It Irrigation.

Contact Schedule-It Irrigation on 0456 579 171 or email admin@schedule-it.com.au

To learn more about El Nino, click here.

The post AI is forecast to take over weather technology appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

John Kelly is not a nuclear scientist. He is third generation cropping and livestock farmer from Wongarbon (close to Dubbo) who is passionate about protecting land for food and fibre production.

Like most farmers, John is pretty good at maths and believes the numbers stack up for nuclear power to be a viable ingredient in Australia’s energy mix.

“Nuclear power stations have a working life of over 60 years and can use up to 97 per cent of input uranium. Four hundred and forty-two nuclear power stations have been built in 31 countries around the world but none in Australia,” John says.

“I think some of the billions of dollars of taxpayers money that has been spent on renewable energy projects should have been used to build a few small modular nuclear reactors.”

Small modular reactors or SMRs produce less than 300 MWe, in comparison to larger plants that can produce more than 700 MWe.

John began researching nuclear energy as an alternative to proposed large-scale solar projects on farming land in the Central West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

He put forward a policy motion to the 2023 NSW Farmers Annual Conference calling for the overturning of a ban on nuclear power generation in Australia. The motion was supported by John’s local NSW Farmers Dubbo branch and passed by conference delegates as policy.

Prominent Coalition members have expressed the same view, and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) says Australia’s march towards net zero is being restrained by a failure to see nuclear energy as a key solution to reducing emissions.

“If nuclear power is good for Canada, France, the US, South Korea, Sweden, Belgium, and Japan, then why isn’t it good enough for Australia?” says MCA CEO Tania Constable.

A global political divide

Canada, France and South Korea are forging ahead with upgrading and constructing new nuclear reactors, but there are many nations that share the current Australian government’s opposition to nuclear power.

The political divide on nuclear energy is evident in the European Union. Germany stopped producing electricity from nuclear power plants in April last year and Italy, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland have pledged to be nuclear energy-free. Britain, France, Poland, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary want to keep nuclear power in their energy mix and plan to build new reactors.

In Australia, The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 both prohibit nuclear power generation. Similar prohibitions exist under the laws of every state and territory.

Our long-held anti-nuclear sentiment remains strong and is backed by Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, who has firmly ruled out any moves to adopt nuclear energy in Australia.

The case against nuclear energy

Cost, development time and waste management are the key practical barriers to nuclear power ever becoming part of Australia’s energy mix.

Last year, Minster Bowen put a $387 billion price tag on replacing retiring coal-fired power stations with nuclear reactors, which the Federal Coalition has espoused as the solution to a net zero energy transition.   

This figure is based on the CSIRO’s 2023-34 GenCost draft consultation report, which concluded renewables have the lowest cost range of any new-build energy technology, even when considering additional integration costs such as storage and transmission. GenCost is an annual collaboration between the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Nuclear SMRs emerged as the highest-cost technology explored in the report. Australia would need more than 70 of them to replace coal-fired power stations at an estimated capital cost of $18,167/kW (in 2030 dollars), compared to large-scale solar at $1,058/kW and onshore wind at $1,989/kW.

“A review of the available evidence makes it clear that nuclear power does not currently provide an economically competitive solution in Australia – or that we have the relevant frameworks in place for its consideration and operation within the timeframe required,” the report concluded.

Chief Executive of the Smart Energy Council, John Grimes, agrees and says SMR technology promoted by nuclear power advocates has no proven commercial viability.

“There is no evidence of their safe and consistent operation, or viability. In November, the only SMR development in the US was terminated,” Mr Grimes said.

“There are no SMRs in operation outside of Russia and China, and none under construction in Europe.

“We need energy, decarbonisation and cost-of-living solutions this decade. As former Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel has noted, it is hard to imagine first operation of small modular reactor (SMR) technology before 2040.

“Nuclear power is prohibited in Australia and to overturn these bans and establish the new regulatory and compliance regime would take years and would only be the start of the process of developing a nuclear industry.”

Mr Grimes said sites for reactors would need to be identified with rigorous approval processes and securing a social licence in Australia would be difficult.  

“All of this means nuclear would not be ready to deploy in a climate-necessary timeframe in Australia.

“Therefore, we must continue to deploy the commercially viable and proven zero-emissions technologies of firmed solar and wind power as rapidly as possible.

“Australia enjoys the global advantage of superabundant solar and wind resources, and unlike some economies where nuclear energy is established, Australia also has available landmass for renewables infrastructure and the opportunity to share the benefits with communities.”

The treatment of nuclear waste is also problematic. Identification of sites for consolidated disposal of Australia’s radioactive waste from medical and other uses has been difficult in the past due to environmental and cultural heritage concerns.

Environmental, community and farming groups have also raised an issue close to the hearts of many Australians – water scarcity. Nuclear power plants require significant volumes of water from uranium mining and processing, through to reactor cooling.

The case for nuclear energy

Ultra-low emission credentials are the biggest tick for nuclear energy.  

Nuclear fuels like uranium are not a renewable energy source, but only miniscule amounts are needed to generate the same electricity that a coal or gas power plant would. Just one kilogram of uranium will produce the same energy as 2.7 million kilograms of coal.  

According to the Canadian Nuclear Association, nuclear energy helps avoid 80 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year in Canada. About 15 per cent of Canada’s electricity comes from nuclear power, with 19 reactors providing 13.6 GWe of power capacity.

“Nuclear is the fastest way to decarbonise and it is in for the long term,” says Robert Parker from Nuclear for Climate Australia.

Mr Parker is a construction and design civil engineer who a became a nuclear convert in 2007 while studying climate change science. He completed a master’s degree in Nuclear Science at the Australian National University and now spearheads Nuclear for Climate Australia.

The lobby group has taken delegations to France and South Korea where nuclear power is king, but Mr Parker is most excited about a SMR project in Ontario, Canada.

“Ontario Power Generation are probably one of the world’s most knowledgeable nuclear operators, they have 50 years of experience in safely operating nuclear facilities.

“They were building one SMR using the BWRX 300MW plant from General Electric when we were there in August 2022, and have subsequently decided to build four.”

Mr Parker said factory-built SMRs are not like vast and expensive first-generation nuclear power plants with infamous names like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl or Fukushima.

“When it comes to grid scale for the general consumer to use, you need SMRs that are 300MW in size. SMRs are cut down versions of existing large nuclear plants that provide a simpler and safer way to make the technology work and only require 2.7 hectares of land.

“Comments about small modular reactors not yet being available is irrelevant. We have the reactors available now that can decarbonise our grid at a known cost.”

Mr Parker estimates it would cost around $2.5 billion to construct an SMR in Australia.

He said larger reactors like those being built in South Korea could replace retiring coal-powered stations in the Hunter Valley and the La Trobe Valley region in Victoria, while Wagga Wagga could be home to an SMR.

“Wagga Wagga is sitting on the national grid and has a reliable water source from the Murrumbidgee.”

Mr Parker does agree set up costs for wind and solar projects are cheaper, but believes figures in the GenCost report do not represent a full system analysis of the grid.

“Wind and solar plants do produce electricity cheaper than nuclear, but it becomes more expensive when you integrate it into the grid.

“The large cost issues for wind and solar are that they need large amounts and storage and long transmission lines which must be oversized to cope with peak outputs.

“The short life span of wind, solar and batteries compared to 60 years for nuclear power is also a key cost driver.”

Nuclear for Climate Australia supports an energy model that has 17 per cent of electricity coming from solar, 10 per cent from wind, 69 per cent from nuclear and 4 per cent from hydro.

“Results from our modelling show that a system that includes nuclear energy in the mix will provide consumers with electricity at a cost nearly half that of a system totally dependent on wind and solar.”

Mr Parker said concerns about nuclear power’s high-water demands are valid, but new hybrid cooling technology in SMRs is cutting water use by up to 80 per cent.

“A 300MW SMR with hybrid cooling would use 68 litres per second or about 2 million cubic metres of water per year. This does require some additional energy from the plant to keep the cooling system going, resulting in an about 8 per cent loss.

“There is also the opportunity to use recycled water. One of the largest reactors in the US in the Arizona desert, for example, uses recycled sewage water from Las Vegas.”

In relation to waste management, Mr Parker said deep geological repositories have proven to be a safe measure.

“A small nuclear plant will have about 8 tonnes of used nuclear fuel a year. This waste is very dense, and it is radioactive for 400 or 500 hundred years. Finland has elected to put it about 500 metres underground in deep granite. This type of system has had a ruler over it many times and experts agree it’s a sensible and safe method.

“However, 97 per cent of the energy is still sitting in that uranium. So, countries like China, Russia and Japan are looking to use fast neutron reactors that will burn up that energy and you are left with much less waste. Companies such as Bill Gates’ TerraPower are investing in this technology.”

If you enjoyed this piece on nuclear energy, you might like to read about this piece about renewable diesel.

The post The case for and against nuclear energy in Australia appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Imagine no more. Drone swarm technology is becoming reality thanks to AI, and it is poised to revolutionise farming practices in ways that were once unthinkable.

Researchers are delving into advanced methods of drone control using ‘swarm intelligence’ based on the collective behaviours of insect colonies and flocks of birds, as well as AI techniques to teach drone swarms to respond to new or unexpected situations.

Inspired by the biology of a bee, researchers at Harvard University are developing RoboBees, which are about half the size of a paper clip and fly using “artificial muscles” to potentially pollinate crops. They have not been flown outside the lab yet but have demonstrated co-ordinated behaviour in large groups.  

AI is also being used to mimic the natural world with swarms of larger drones. Canadian start-up Fast Forest announced plans last year to release a ‘flock’ of AI-directed drones armed with air pressurised cannons to plant tree seeds. The group estimates a single drone operator would be capable of planting 100,000 seed pods per day, with the goal of planting one billion trees for reforestation by 2028.

In simple terms, drone swarms are a collection of drones that communicate with each other to accomplish a task as one cohesive unit. The use of AI enables the swarms to autonomously navigate and avoid obstructions like trees and animals.

Agricultural drone expert and trainer, Ben Watts, said the future of farming with swarms of drones is a compelling vision that promises increased productivity and efficiency.

“I see real merit in this technology for high value horticultural crops for time-critical pest and disease management that could be quicker than using machinery,” Ben says.

“There are some absolutely amazing things happening that will be game-changers, but there are some obstacles to this technology in Australia.”

Ben is well versed in the regulatory, safety and farming aspects of drone technology after training thousands of farmers through the NSW Farmers Association Drones in Agriculture program, which is funded by AgSkilled.

“Advances in technology are outpacing legislation in Australia. There are safety and privacy concerns that do need to be considered with any use of a drone.”

Ben said commercial interest in adopting the technology in Australia is limited due to strict regulations, cost and a lack of research and development on its applications in agriculture.

Drone swarm technology was used last year as part of a human-machine team demonstration at Puckapunyal conducted by the Australian Army’s Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO). The Australian Defence Force has also collaborated with their British and US counterparts on a military trial of AI-enabled drone swarms.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has approved the technology for use in the entertainment industry, with companies like the Central Coast’s Swarming Drones offering animated sky shows from up to 100 drones.

Farmers can use multiple drones or drone swarms for tasks such as spraying broadacre crop if they have a remote pilot licence (RePL), a remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate (ReOC) and gain CASA approval to operate more than one drone at a time.

LyonAg leads the way

Agricultural drone technology companies such as Tamworth-based LyonAg Drone Solutions are using multiple drones to spray up to 45 hectares per hour in broadacre crops. It is not classed as drone swarms as multiple operators are involved, but they are working in unison through ‘routing segment’ technology that gives each drone different sections of the paddock to cover.

Owner of LyonAg Drone Solutions, James Lyon, travels across eastern Australia in a truck that features a 40kVA generator to keep the energy up to his team of four hardworking DJI T40 drones. 

“Each drone carries 40 litres of liquid and it pumps it out at 12 litres per minute. In ideal conditions, that can result in covering up to 15 hectares per hour, but in most cases we get 12.5 hectares per hour done,” James explained.

“The DJI drones we use don’t support the swarming feature at this stage. We have played around with it, but it’s still too problematic, for a number of reasons.”

James said AI advances will change that, as it has for using drones as a precise identifier and killer of agricultural and environmental weeds.

A small team of software engineers have helped James incorporate AI weed detection algorithms and software into his drones that can then interface with the DJI ecosystem and direct spray drones to target weeds.

“The AI algorithms learn to identify the weeds based on colour, texture and contrast to surrounding plants, and we can also filter based on size and height of the plant,” says James.  

“The drone does a mapping mission of an area to detect weeds. All those AI-detected weeds are then loaded via our software into the DJI spray drone system for spot spraying and variable spray programs.

“For example, we can also do that with the spot dropping of herbicide granules on woody weeds in grazing country. We did this on a station in North Queensland, using AI to detect exotics weeds like Chinese apple. We then 3D printed measuring devices to add to the bottom of drones to precisely drop just 30 grams of Graslan granules on top of the tree.

“It is a very exciting space to be involved in. It’s also expensive because the technology moves so quickly that your investment can become obsolete in less than a year.”

NSW Farmers members can access exclusive DJI drone packages suited for farming businesses through partner Prisma Tech. Contact Prisma Tech on (02) 4258 3489 or info@prismatech.com.au.  

CSIRO releases AI-driven weed app

The CSIRO has used its AI identification model to develop an app to help farmers, land managers, local councils, and Landcare to manage local weed burdens.

Launched in December last year, the mobile and web-based app WeedScan is supported by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and the South Australian, Queensland and Victorian Governments. It allows users to identify, report and map priority weeds simply by uploading a photo of the suspected weed.

Dr Alexander Schmidt-Lebuhn, Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, says that WeedScan is a powerful tool, driven by a world-class CSIRO AI identification model and training on more than 120,000 weed images.

“Our AI model has been trained on weed images captured by botanists who travelled the length and breadth of Australia, and then tested across Australia by a range of users such as farmers, community groups and agronomists,” he says.

“The AI has the smarts to identify hundreds of priority weeds, and other weeds to give us the edge we need in the fight to protect our natural environments and agricultural landscapes.

“Users simply take a photo of a suspected weed and upload it to the app. The AI model assesses the photo against verified images of weeds. Within seconds, WeedScan suggests possible plant identifications, with degrees of confidence for each suggestion.”

WeedScan can be downloaded from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android). The tool can also be accessed via WeedScan’s website with supporting resources including user guides and an introductory ‘how-to’ video.

To learn more about the use of drone technology in agriculture, click here.

The post Drone swarm technology is shaping the agricultural industry appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Prescriptions for medicinal cannabis have reached 500,000 since federal legislation passed in February 2016, and local crops grown under strict conditions are now springing up in regional areas. 

Regional NSW only has a handful of licensed medicinal cannabis farms, with two of the more advanced operations in Alstonville and Armidale now employing almost 100 people. 

The Australian industry is predicted to grow to a market value of $1.3 billion by 2033 and the NSW Parliament features a Legalise Cannabis Member of the Legislative Council in Jeremy Buckingham. 

All seems well for this emerging crop, but Lucy is distraught at what the industry has shaped into. 

Nurse on a mission

The former nurse’s push for medicinal cannabis law reform began after witnessing the positive impact on her son Dan’s quality of life while suffering through bowel cancer.

Medicinal cannabis was illegal in Australia at that time, prompting Lucy and Dan to start the United in Compassion organisation in 2014 in Tamworth to advocate for patient access to herbal medicinal cannabis extracts. The Australian Government legalised the cultivation, production and distribution of the drug for medicinal purposes in 2016. Sadly, this was one year after Dan succumbed to bowel cancer. 

“My motivation has always been putting patients first by improving access to affordable quality products and building a healthy industry here in Australia.” 

Lucy Haslam, medicinal cannabis advocate

“Australia is missing out on an incredible opportunity and importing a lot of cheap rubbish from overseas. Some companies are not serving their patients well. It’s all about making a dollar. 

“The Federal Government allowed imports because there was no domestic supply when it was first legalised. We expected that to be a temporary measure to fill the gap, but then came Covid-19 and the industry realised it’s much cheaper to buy it overseas, a model which predominates to this day.

“The biggest problem for patients now is how to navigate the system to find good doctors who provide quality care and one-on-one consultation to assess whether a product is suitable. There are now around 500 products out there in the market.

“I believe that has led to some patients getting second-rate medicines, which has caused me much grief over the past several years,” she says.

Medicinal cannabis products are classified as either Schedule 3, Schedule 4 or Schedule 8 medicines, depending on the levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or tetrahydrocannabinol: cannabidiol (THC:CBD). Most medicinal cannabis products are Schedule 8 (S8) medicines, also known as controlled drugs. Products containing cannabidiol only are Schedule 4 (S4) medicines, also known as prescription only medicines. 

Orchestrating change 

Lucy is also co-founder of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association (AMCA), although she stepped down as chair in November after 10 years of service. However, her fight for patient access to quality products will continue through United in Compassion and her position as a life member of AMCA. 

Lucy said the ACMA has turned its attention to boosting domestic production through an Australian Cannabis Cultivators group launched in November.  

“We’ve spent a lot of our time in producing education materials for doctors, nurses and pharmacists. Now we have farmers and growers on the radar. 

“We have the best conditions in the world and the highest standards in the world to grow medicinal cannabis here and we are just not taking advantage of that.” 

Lucy Haslam

“The potential economic and employment opportunities could be huge for regional towns, and that is part of the reasoning behind the new cultivators group. 

“It is quite a specialised crop to grow for medicinal products and there are many strains, and there is much that can be learned from growers working together.” 

Lucy admits that the cost of establishing an approved facility for growing cannabis is a significant barrier for farmers. “The standards that you must achieve in a facility is incredible,” she says. “There’s lots of quality assurance compliance because you are making a medicine.” 

In for the long haul

NSW Farmers member David Blight is five years into seeking approval to grow cannabis varieties for medicinal products on a farm at Rossmore in Western Sydney. 

The second-generation farmer’s family business has an approved pharmaceutical processing plant and has been growing hemp for food consumption for five years. Their farming enterprise also includes Bringelly Pork & Bacon and Bringelly medicinal honey. 

David said they are waiting on approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to produce medicinal cannabis products. 

“The next step is to get the license from the Office of Drug Control. That used to cost around $5,000 a few years ago, now it is around $55,000,” David says.  

“We started out thinking it would take five years to get a license, but it’s looking more like it will take seven years. It’s a long process to get the tick in the box to say you can put a seed in the ground.” 

Cultivation, manufacture, importation and exportation of medicinal cannabis is tightly controlled by the Office of Drug Control (ODC), the TGA and local state and territories.

“Then there is also the task of working with the medical sector to find a doctor who will prescribe your products. That’s where the big pharmaceutical companies have the advantage.” 

David says the current compliance regime is prohibitive for  those involved in small-scale production. 

“The idea being driven by those who pushed for change to make it legal was that it would be part of a cottage industry for medicinal products, but that direction has changed. 

“It’s now a better economic proposal for larger companies who can invest and afford all the compliance costs than it is for small to medium sized farming businesses.” 

David said they will press ahead with their investment despite the significant barriers. 

“We are in for the long haul. The only way the industry can evolve is through further deregulation of the laws to enable farming businesses like ours to diversify into medicinal cannabis products. We will be ready when that happens. We have learned that you need to diversify a farming business and it may well be that one of our future generations can develop that market.” 

David Blight, farmer

“It is a plant that has been used for medical purposes for thousands of years. The prohibition campaign in the US changed all that, but attitudes are swinging back towards its health and wellbeing benefits.” 

Care for a cannabis salad? 

New AMCA chair Emily Rigby says medicinal products are just one of many marketable attributes of the Cannabis sativa plant. 

“For farmers, there are so many opportunities beyond the medicinal world for this plant, from hemp production through to foods for human consumption and wellbeing products.”

Emily Rigby, AMCA chair

“It has been an underutilised plant due to prohibition, but this is changing as we see Australia and the world coming out of prohibition.”  

Emily has a strong background in production horticulture and has been involved in the establishment of a cultivation and research facility in southeast Queensland. 

Emily says an application was lodged with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) in late 2021 to allow for the use and sale of low-THC hemp leaf, seed sprouts and roots for human consumption. Hemp oil and seed products were approved for human consumption in 2017. 

“We are eagerly awaiting the outcome of this application. Imagine going into a restaurant and ordering a plate garnished with cannabis microgreens. It won’t get you high, but it would be unique and healthy.

“That opens a lot of opportunity for farmers to grow a viable crop, as it could be grown under a state hemp license if the application is approved,” she says. 

“We are hoping to be able to use more of the plant, such as the leaves, that do have nutritional value. There is a lot of leaf biomass waste in the medicinal sector that could be utilised.” 

THC, or Tetrahydrocannabinol, is the principal psychoactive constituent in cannabis that results in the ‘high’ for users. 

Emily says Australian farmers do have the expertise to capitalise on commercial opportunities when it comes to producing food products from low THC cannabis plants.

“We could also be a looking at the world of ornamental horticulture. It is a quite an attractive plant that has lots of diversity on offer as a garden or indoor plant – all low in THC of course – but this is not legal in Australia yet.” 

Emily says AMCA’s new Australian Cannabis Cultivators group will be a key plank in building collaboration and research amongst farmers growing cannabis for a variety of end uses. 

“While medicinal products are certainly a growth opportunity, it is a significant investment including installing all of the current security requirements, and there is still a large regulatory burden. 

“You are growing a schedule eight medicine with high THC varieties, so it is understandable that there will be security obligations and regulatory hoops to jump through.”

If you enjoyed this story on medicinal cannabis, you might like to read our piece on the burgeoning hemp industry.

The post Shaping a home-grown medicinal cannabis industry appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ for school scholarships, with every school offering something different in terms of the rewards and requirements. Some schools offer full scholarships, while others may offer a single-year scholarship, discounted fees or just cover tuition costs. 

The differences between a scholarship and bursary can also create some confusion for parents. Scholarships are awards of financial aid unique to each school, and are often judged on merits including academic performance, student character and values. 

A bursary is a kind of scholarship but is generally means-tested and available to help families that may have financial difficulties meeting the cost of tuition fees from their preferred school. 

Most importantly, parents should assess how the school will nurture learning and personal development. Fortunately, families in NSW are blessed with independent boarding schools that aim to foster good values, personal growth and excellence in education in those formative years. 

Regional centres such as Orange, Bathurst, Mittagong and Armidale are home to some incredible schooling and scholarship options. Some are located on hundreds of acres and offer spectacular extra-curricular and sporting facilities. Sydney also chimes in with scholarship opportunities for rural families at award-winning schools like Loreto Normanhurst in the city’s northern suburbs. 

Here is what is on offer from five highly regarded independent boarding schools in NSW. 

Living and learning together at Scots All Saints College in Bathurst

Regional families looking for boarding school options are drawn to Scots All Saints College in Bathurst for its open spaces, strong academic offering, co-curricular activities and vibrant, welcoming community.

Set on over 200 acres, the day and boarding college has specialist programs in agriculture, music, visual arts and performing arts, a farm, and numerous sports facilities including a strength and conditioning gym, pool and playing fields.  

Well-appointed boarding accommodation is comprised of three separate houses, two for girls, one for boys, with an additional dedicated junior boys house to open in late 2024.  

All senior school living and learning facilities are located on one campus, allowing for boarding students to walk to class and easily access after-school tutorial and homework programs, special interest clubs, sport and co-curricular activities. A dedicated bus transports boarders to a wide variety of out-of-school activities including sport, dance, music, shopping and entertainment outings.

“Extension co-curricular programs in music, visual art, equestrian and cattle teams are matched with dedicated teachers and professionals who encourage students to explore new challenges,” said Head of College, Richard Ford. 

“Students can bring their own horse to school for weekly lessons and regular training is provided by professionals in show jumping and flat work, cross country
and polocrosse.”

Scots All Saints College’s diverse range of scholarships are open for applications until 30 January for current and prospective students entering Years 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11 in 2025.  

“We understand the financial challenges facing rural and regional families and have designed our bursary and scholarship program to encourage interested students to enrol, immerse themselves in college life and work hard to achieve their full potential.” 

Richard Ford, Head of College

Farming families are invited to attend Open Day on 10 February, to meet staff and students, tour the facilities and see first-hand the benefits of a Scots All Saints College education. 

For bursary, scholarship and Open Day information, visit scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au or contact the Enrolments Registrar at enrol@scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au or (02) 6331 3911.

Open day at Loreto Normanhurst

Loreto Normanhurst’s award-winning holistic learning model and boarding facilities will be on show for parents and students at an open day on Saturday, 9 March. 

There is much to explore in the historic school’s expansive grounds, which will soon include a new innovative and purpose-built Boarding School due to open in 2025. 

“The new state-of-the-art boarding facility will foster an environment that nurtures personal growth and holistic development for all students,” said Director of Boarding Kate Kovacs. 

Mrs Kovacs said boarding has long been an integral part of the school’s identity and is “interwoven into the fabric of our school”. 

“We proudly welcome over 85 per cent of boarders from regional and rural Australia, as well as students from across the Sydney basin, interstate, and overseas.” 

Mrs Kovacs said boarding at Loreto Normanhurst opens doors to a myriad of extra-curricular and curriculum options. 

“The immersive nature of boarding life not only provides a structured and supportive environment for academic growth but also introduces a diverse range of extra-curricular activities that fosters holistic development in sports, arts, leadership, and other enrichment activities. 

“Students gain exposure to a broader spectrum of experiences, preparing them for future challenges and equipping them with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in diverse academic and professional settings.” 

Independence, connections and friendships are nurtured at Loreto Normanhurst with comprehensive pastoral support that fosters self-confidence and broadens students’ perspectives. 

Mrs Kovacs emphasises the importance of a sense of belonging and connection across age groups. 

“The sense of belonging is critical. It’s about feeling connected, not just with your immediate peers, but across age groups. When these girls leave school, they’ve got great friends and great connections.”

Kate Kovacs, Director of Boarding

To register for Open Day, visit www.loretonh.nsw.edu.au/pages/open-day. For additional information, feel free to contact enquiries@loretonh.nsw.edu.au

Making a Frensham education possible for all

Through assistance provided by Frensham School’s Scholarships Programme and Winifred West Foundation’s Educational Grants, girls from rural Australia are given the life-changing opportunity of a Frensham education. 

Two such recipients of these Educational Grants are Millie and Alex Bolger, hailing from the village of Wombat in the South West Slopes Region of NSW. 

Millie had seen the Frensham school calendar at a boarding expo and she also knew some older girls in the Wombat/Harden/Young area who attended the school. 

“They were great people to be around, who really loved their families. They were so inspiring and I wanted to be a Frensham girl.”

Millie Bolger, Frensham School student

When Millie was in Year 8, a local family wrote a beautiful letter of recommendation for her, and then the Bolger family began the application process for means-tested support. To the entire family’s great joy, Millie was awarded a place at Frensham, starting in Year 9. Alex followed Millie to Frensham and they both have so many fond memories of their formative years in boarding at the school.  

“We would never have been able to put the girls through Frensham without the support that we received. Looking after ill parents, both of us working full-time, trying to give your children the best possible education… we’ve just been so grateful,” said their mother Gen. 

Frensham invites applications for Educational Grants from parents who are committed to the ideals of the school, and whose daughters have shown a strong capacity for involvement, the pursuit of excellence, and the heartfelt willingness to contribute to the welfare of others. It is intended that Educational Grants be awarded to those whose financial circumstances would preclude them from enrolling on a full-fee paying basis.

Applications for 2026 support will open in March 2024. For more information, visit www.frensham.nsw.edu.au/admissions/scholarships.

Becoming a part of Stannies history 

Enrolling in the boarding program at St Stanislaus College is a transformative decision that promises not only academic growth but also the nurturing of lifelong values.

Located in the picturesque town of Bathurst, Stannies fosters a unique environment where boarding students develop independence, resilience, and a strong sense of community. 

Living on campus creates a bond among students that extends beyond the school years, forging friendships that last a lifetime. The shared experiences, whether in the dormitories, during study sessions, or engaging in extracurricular activities, contribute to a rich tapestry of personal and social development for boys. 

The College has a long history dating back to its founding in 1867, and this tradition is woven into the fabric of daily life at the school. 

“Boarding students immerse themselves in this storied history, becoming part of a legacy that values academic achievement, leadership and service,” said Head of College, Lindsay Luck.

“The College’s commitment to holistic education is reflected in its approach to fostering not just academic success but also the development of well-rounded individuals prepared for the challenges of the future.”

Lindsay Luck, Head of College

“Enrolling your son at St Stanislaus College is an investment in his academic and personal growth. It’s a choice that goes beyond education; it’s a choice to embrace a transformative journey toward a brighter and more fulfilling future.”

Beyond the academic curriculum, boarding students at St Stanislaus College benefit from extracurricular activities, sports, and cultural events. These opportunities provide a platform for students to discover and nurture their talents, be it on the sports field, in the arts, or through leadership roles in various student organisations.

Stannies’ two-year scholarships are now open for Year 7 in 2025. The three categories are Academic, Creative Arts and All Rounder. The application is online at stannies.com. 

Achieve an all-round education at Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange

Kinross Wolaroi School immerses your child in a diverse and expansive co-curricular and academic program that fosters a growth mindset, builds resilience and builds a strong sense of self. 

A leader in education for over 130 years, with 1,100 students from Pre-kinder to Year 12 and 350 boarders, the Orange-based school is one of Australia’s largest co-educational boarding schools. Boarding is available from Year 7 and boarders make up 40 per cent of the senior school, hailing from both city and country NSW, as well as interstate. The school offers co-ed boarding with boys and girls accommodated on separate campuses. 

Its 2025 scholarship and bursary program is open for registrations up until 26 January. The categories include Boarding Scholarships for Years 7-11 and Academic Scholarships for Year 5 and Years 7-11. 

“Many assume that the extraordinary education we offer at Kinross Wolaroi School is out of reach, but we are committed to creating pathways for talented young people, no matter their background or financial position.”

Dr Andrew Parry, Principal of Kinross Wolaroi School

Dr Parry said the extra activities at Kinross Wolaroi School are what makes the school come to life. 

The extra-curricular choices include debating, cadets, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, musical ensembles, private music tuition, annual school musicals and much more. Alongside traditional sport options, the school also offers nationally recognised swimming and rowing programs.

Kinross Wolaroi School was also recently granted membership to Round Square, a worldwide association of 230 schools in 50 countries which share a commitment, beyond academic excellence, to personal development and responsibility. 

“As a Round Square School, we focus on the connection between character education and academic success, celebrating internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, service, leadership, and adventure,” Dr Parry said. “This provides our students with the opportunity to discover and explore experiences within a global context.” 

For more information about educating your child at Kinross Wolaroi School contact the Admissions Team on (02) 6392 0303 or email admissions@kws.nsw.edu.au.

If you enjoyed this piece on school scholarships, you may like to read about NSW Farmers Tertiary Scholarships which bolster future careers in agriculture.

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