5 minute read
Productivity Through Smart Farming
Productivity Through Smart Farming
Farmers, tradespeople, service providers and anyone living on the land are invited to get involved in the new Energy Smart Farming Community of Practice.
The Community of Practice provides a great place to find information and chat about energy efficient and renewable energy technologies and practices that improve farm productivity and resilience. The Community of Practice is a collaborative project between Agriculture Victoria and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries with participation from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Sustainability Victoria and Regional Development Victoria. Community of Practice Leader, Liz Hamilton, said the new Energy Smart Farming Community brought together farm energy experts including farmers, service providers, advisors, researchers and community advocates to share energy knowledge, research and solutions to help make Australian farming more profitable. 'Energy is crucial for agricultural production with factors such as rising energy costs of gas, diesel and electricity impacting most farmers,' Ms Hamilton said. 'Energy reliability and the financial barriers such as the high up-front cost of investment, concerns about return on investment and uncertainty around appropriate technologies create significant challenges to farmers looking to make the best energy investment decisions. 'Saving energy on farms not only helps farmers to sustain profitable businesses, it can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.' The Community of Practice is designed so that participants can share and build on the existing knowledge around practical energy and money saving solutions for farmers by providing access to relevant information, resources and people who can help with energy efficiency and renewable technology. Key features of the Energy Smart Farming Community include peer-reviewed articles on energy-saving initiatives and renewables, farmer case studies, online events, as well as the ability to ask energy-related questions of the community. This initiative is part of the Victorian Government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan, which is supporting producers to improve energy usage on-farm.
For more information, visit the Energy Smart Farming page: www.extensionaus.com.au/ energysmartfarming/ on Extension Australia's website.
Hort Connections 2021
After being postponed in 2020, Hort Connections is back with planning underway to welcome delegates to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from 7–9 June 2021.
Looking slightly different due to COVID-19 restrictions, Hort connections is still the biggest event in the Fresh Produce Industry. This year’s conference theme, “Celebrating the international year of fruits and vegetables,” will recognise the horticulture industry and the important role fruits, vegetables, and floral industries have in human nutrition, health and wellbeing, and global food security. More details on key speakers and the 2021 schedule is yet to come, so keep an eye out!
Visit www.hortconnections.com.au
For more information on the event.
Recipe: Thanh’s Water Spinach Stir Fry
Thanh, the fruit nerd, shares his mum’s famous water spinach stir fry that he and Duncan cooked in the season finale of Plate of Origin. Thanh shared his dish on the Market floor late last year in a Market Cooking Demonstration. Only taking 3 minutes to cook, this delicious dish is the perfect plant-based dinner for those nights you want to impress without the fuss.
Ingredients
¡ 1 tbl vegetable oil ¡ 150gm water spinach ¡ 1 tbl water
¡ 1 tsp garlic ¡ 1/2 tsp bullet chilli ¡ 1/2 tsp salt ¡ 1 tsp corn starch ¡ 1 tbl cold water
¡ 1 tsp fermented chilli beancurd
Method
1. Add oil to your saucepan or wok and heat on the stove. 2. Once heated, toss water spinach into the sizzling pan. 3. Add a splash of water to help cook the spinach through while remaining crunchy. 4. Stir through beancurd, garlic, chilli, salt, cornflour and one tablespoon of water. 5. Toss together until the spinach is evenly coated and serve on rice.
Note: This dish should only take a few minutes to cook, be sure not to overcook as this will weaken the integrity of the spinach. Traditionally this is served on jasmine rice however you could whip this up as a side dish or even serve on rice noodles if you want something different.
Calendar of Events
Labour Day
Monday, 8 March 2021
Good Friday
Friday, 2 April 2021
Easter Monday
Monday, 5 April 2021
Hort Connections
7–9 June 2021
Fresh State Special General Meeting
Wednesday, 24 March 2021
Easter Sunday
Sunday, 4 April 2021
Anzac Day
Sunday, 25 April 2021
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