Hello First name / friend, 

 

I write this to you from a chilly AGFEST morning! 

 

Another month has rolled around, and I'm here with your regular update. I'm still reflecting on the positive energy from our early April workshop – it was great to connect with so many of you!

 

This issue features a timely article on pit silage, a key topic that emerged from our discussions.

 

I also want to highlight the growing engagement on our WhatsApp group, where you can listen to a recording of the conversation with other producers and catch up on insights from Henric Nicholas, Bruce Jackson, and Daniel Goss.

 

Also in this issue: details on our new partnership with the Derwent Catchment Project for a biodiversity and carbon farming workshop, and Phil Graham's article on soil moisture based on the Farming Forecaster network.

 

Looking ahead, please note that as we work on securing new funding arrangements, this will be our last newsletter until July. We may also be a little quieter on social media during June, so we encourage you to stay connected through our WhatsApp group.

 

 

In April 2025, East Coast Primary Producers gathered at Mayfield Estate for a practical and forward-looking discussion about pit silage — an alternative fodder storage method that might suit our conditions better than you’d think.

 

Special guests Henric Nicholas, Daniel Goss from Tas Stockfeed, and local livestock vet Bruce Jackson shared their experiences and insights into how pit silage could become a valuable tool for farmers on the East Coast. 

 

One of the standout messages was that pit silage can last up to 20 years if stored properly. The event was proudly supported by the Tas Farm Innovation Hub. 

 

We're working with the Derwent Catchment Project on for this workshop that helps farmers prepare for emissions reporting, carbon farming, and biodiversity market opportunities.

The Tas Farm Innovation Hub, Ag Logic and Pinion Advisory are running a series of workshops on irrigated soils, with a focus on understanding how soil moisture data can inform on-farm practices. 

 

There's still just enough time to register for the upcoming Swansea sessions. You'll also find contact details on the registration page if you have any questions before you sign up.

Clean Up Australia and the Landscape Recovery Foundation are teaming up with East Coast Catchments and local Councils for a month of community action across beaches, parks and waterways along Tasmania’s east coast. So it's a great chance to make a difference to our beautiful shorelines.

You can set up your own event or check the map to find one nearby, with some local groups already organising regular clean ups.

Tas Farm Innovation Hub is hosting this online question and answer session so you can learn all about how solar can help Tasmanian farmers. There'll be insights from local Tasmanian farmers, researchers at the University of Tasmania's School of Engineering and the Agrisolar CRC will present interesting and innovative ways to use solar on-farm.

Farming Forecaster gives us the best guide to the current situation, the probes tell us

soil moisture is at very low levels. 

 

The modelled water data which you find by clicking on the “more pasture details” tells us how the current situation (at the start of April 2025) and shown by the red dot compares to the start

of April over the last 30 years. We are in the lowest 25% of values.

This is why we are seeing the black tracking line raising and falling in response to rain events. A

15 mm event might drive growth for 5 days but then growth slows and stops as the water levels

get too low for growth. 

 

This pattern will continue for the rest of autumn and winter due to lower temperatures and evaporation. This means that it will be possible to build feed in some paddocks if they are destocked. The aspect and slope of the paddock will have a big influence on the response to rain.

This is the data I look at on the BOM sites about the potential for rain. I ignore the coloured

graphs as they do not tell you by how much it might vary, a little or a lot can have the same

colour. 

 

If you expand the graph using the + symbol you get a more details map and then click on

the location you want. A second graph appears, the dotted line is the usual chance of rainfall

for this location using past data. 

 

It is divided into 5 groups, so there is a 20% chance of 10.8mm in April, 40% chance of 16mm, 60% chance of 24.7mm. This is what history has told us.

 

The bar graphs display the chance for April 2025. The lowest group has a 35% of occurring, the

highest is a 10% chance. The forecast for April has increased the odds of only 10mm from

20% to 35% (when you are on the site the % figure appear when you put your cursor over the

columns). 

 

The odds of getting between 16 and 54mm has not changed from chance, the bars

are sitting on the dotted line. Look at the stars (in the black area) only 1 is highlighted for the first

2 lines which means the past accuracy for this location and time of year has been low.

We are historically dry; the seasonal forecast is not giving us any strong indicators except that

we will not have a very wet autumn.

 

Below average autumn rainfall (30 to 50%) can still give us reasonable pasture growth. June’s

pasture growth is now more like May’s from 10 years ago. The pasture growth in FF tells us you

grow feed all through winter on the east coast, look at the slope of the shaded colours, compare

the east coast to the midlands.

 

Pastures with reasonable fertility will response to any rainfall events from now on, providing us

with pulse of green feed. That needs to be used by or saved for the stock with the highest needs.

Low soil fertility acts as a hand break on growth in cooler months even if soil moisture is

available.

 

Phil Graham

Graham Advisory

Yass NSW

6/4/2025