Dear First name / friend, 

 

Suddenly it's February – you'd blink and you'd miss it! 

 

My conversations with farmers this past month have told me that the grapes have been growing well this season. I hope the weather continues to provide favourable conditions. 

 

As usual, this newsletter has some information about happenings and events in the district. Mel Fazackerley from the Landscape Recovery Foundation (LRF) has provided us with news on the current NRM office role with council – you'll find more info here, including contact details.

 

Last month I had a meeting with the project management team from the Tas Farm Innovation Hub. We are beginning to talk about what the future direction for East Coast Primary Producers might be after this funding round finishes in May 2025.  We have one more workshop that I'm working on for late March; more details will be in next month's newsletter. 

 

Until then,

 

Unfortunately, Glamorgan Spring Bay Council's Natural Resource Management (NRM) Officer resigned in late 2024. But the Landscape Recovery Foundation (LRF) – which has been working with the council to deliver some NRM services – will continue to deliver additional NRM Services until 30 June 2025. 

Mel Fazackerley and Nigel Palfreyman will work together to provide an extended role during this period. Nigel has been working on the Glamorgan Spring Bay Weed Action Plan and the review of the Bicheno Flora and Fauna Plan. He also lives in Bicheno and will be able to provide on-ground support, while Mel will continue to play a strategic coordination and liaison role, overseeing the implementation of the GSB NRM & Climate Resilience Strategy and communications. 

 

If you have any questions, you can contact the council on 03 6256 4777 or Mel on Mel.Fazackerley@landscaperecovery.org

 

Run by the Tas Farm Innovation Hub, Ag Logic and Pinion Advisory are running a series of workshops on irrigated soils. This two-part workshop is suitable for primary producers interested in understanding how soil moisture data can inform on-farm practice and utilises experience and principles relevant to the Richmond region. (There are also workshops being run with region-specific insights in Longford, Burnie, Scottsdale and Swansea).

This Resilient Farming Tas webinar is facilitated by Dr. John McPhee from Agriservices and and Dr. Fiona Kerslake from Ag Logic, who have developed a guide to help you think about the questions to ask when considering investing in ag tech. It's designed to be a discussion session where you can bring your questions and concerns to the table to develop an understanding of where you are at now, barriers and opportunities when using agricultural technology and planning for the future.

Starting in autumn, this new expanded series of workshops will run annually from 2025-2028 for people who own a property of up to 100ha in the Coal Valley, Channel or Huon Valley region and want to get the most out of it.