Tas

The Westbury Show, Tasmania's third oldest agricultural show, will be on again at Westbury Showgrounds on Saturday 5 November 2022.

Farmers in the Darling Downs have had to contend with four floods in six months from November 2021 to May 2022 while elsewhere in Queensland and northern New South Wales the damage has been widespread and devastating. Following flooding down south in recent weeks, Rural Aid’s team of counsellors are conducting welfare checks on Rural Aid’s registered farmers.

The Tasmanian Government has signed a Partnership with the Australian Government under its Rewiring the Nation initiative to take the next steps in a Tasmanian energy package comprising of Marinus Link, the North West Transmission Development and Battery of the Nation.

“It is the fight of the fundamental industries – food and power. We should never plan for one to miss out over another.   If the past few years have taught us anything - pandemics, geopolitical unrest and floods, it is we don’t know what is around the corner. Uncertain times call for brave infrastructure investment decisions": Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers CEO Hugh Christie.

Rabobank's Marcel van Doremaele said while assessment of damage was still in a very early phase, farmers would be dealing with a range of issues including damage to grain and horticulture crops, as well as pasture and feed. In addition, he said, there would be impacts on summer crop planting programs, disruptions to milking, as well as flooded sheds and damage to other farm infrastructure, machinery and access roads. "Added to this, there will be logistical concerns in relation to harvest and getting livestock to market,” he said.

Come and celebrate the 165th Longford Show on Saturday the 15th of October. We are a very family friendly show, there is lots of free entertainment to see throughout the day.

Burnie’s Hellyers Road Distillery has been named 2022 Tasmanian Exporter of the Year at a gala event in Hobart ... Hellyers Road took out the title after being named the Small Business Award category winner earlier in the evening.

The forestry sector in Tasmania supports more than 5,700 direct and indirect jobs, many of which are in our rural and regional communities. Our forestry industry delivers a wide range of renewable products which are essential to the community.

Ian Sauer, TFGA President believes that it is time for an independent or parliamentary review into legislation such as Land Acquisition Act 1993, Irrigation Company Act 2011, Hydro-Electric Corporation Act 1995 and other associated legislation, which allows for the authorised acquisition of land for the purpose of infrastructure ... An irrigation scheme was fully sold before the relevant GBE approached the Scott-Youngs’ and informed them they would need to acquire around 5 per cent of their land to locate a dam. This parcel included 20ha in the middle of the farm. Right outside their front door.

Citizen science has made an important contribution to an FRDC-funded project to predict the impact of climate change on three fish species of increasing recreational and commercial importance in Tasmania ... Data from the project was gathered from several sources, including fish frames (skeletons) donated by recreational fishers at 16 drop off points around Tasmania, which yielded 801 frames in the 24 months to July 2021. Frames were also donated by commercial fishers and fish processors.

The peak national organisation representing forest scientists and professionals has refuted claims that native forest harvesting in Tasmania has impacted negatively on the climate. Forestry Australia President Bob Gordon said on the contrary, the carbon sequestering power of growing trees meant sustainable forestry played a key role in reducing the state’s carbon emissions.

An invited presentation by Associate Professor Matthew Harrison from the University of Tasmania presents a summary of recent research in climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emissions mitigation for the agriculture sector. Questions are welcome.

Dr Jennifer Lavers. Since 2007, the Adrift Lab research team based in Tasmania has been fortunate to visit Lord Howe Island in Apr/May to study plastics ingested by two mutton-bird species, Wedge-tailed and Flesh-footed Shearwaters. The database contains a wealth of information on the origin of items (e.g., bottle caps, balloon clips) and amount consumed by each bird species. Over time, it’s become one of the longest-running plastic monitoring programs in the world (certainly in the Southern Hemisphere).

In addition to a 2,000 litre tank, the new tanker contains 650 litres of water set aside for crew and vehicle protection sprays in the event of a burnover. It also includes brackets to hold breathing apparatus cylinders as well as a cabin that allows a crew of five to travel safely together.

Nicoli Barnes, UTas. It has been suggested that biochar improves animal health and liveweight gain. It has also been suggested that biochar reduces enteric methane and, by increasing carbon content in the manure, may improve soil carbon over time. Together these effects would theoretically reduce whole farm emissions. In an MLA-funded research programme, we are testing this theory using in a farm experiment near Deloraine, Tasmania.

Two new studies led by Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS, UTAS) scientists provide an approach for accurately assessing the carbon storage capability of seaweed before it is factored into carbon offset initiatives, and highlight the need for further research into the impact of extending seaweed forests offshore into oceanic ecosystems.

In the UK, Pitchup.com supported a successful campaign to extend permitted development rights allowing change of use of land for camping. This small change to planning rules facilitated the opening of 1,000 pop-up campsites across the country over the summer season, primarily at farms, and helped over 300,000 holidaymakers book a much-needed break in the outdoors.

When it comes to the big-ticket items for Tasmania the federal budget doesn’t meet Tasmania’s needs for agriculture. The infrastructure spend on water and roads only provides small change for Tasmania. Water is 0.18% of national spending and roads are 0.55%.

The author has set himself an enormous task to survey in depth the history of the Surrey Hills district of north-west Tasmania. Fires, Farms and Forests represents the culmination of much detailed and careful research, combined with the author’s extensive personal experience as a forester, and, in particular, his role managing the native grasslands and buttongrass moorlands on Surrey Hills. All this enables the author to weave a story which encompasses both general history as well as specialist insights into the management of land and forests.

Shona Markham already had a busy life in northern Tasmania, but the pace is likely to quicken in 2022 as she takes the reins of Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations ... Despite her experience with Rio Tinto and previous leadership roles, the Weipa general manager position is a job like no other on the company’s books.