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Achieving future goals with whole farm planning

GIPPSLAND farmers will have an opportunity to investigate a range of farm management practices and planning tools in an upcoming whole farm planning course to be held online during July and August. Livestock Industry Development Officer James Paulet said the whole farm planning course assists with goal setting for future business planning by presenting farmers with relevant information to better understand their farm as it is, and to identify potential areas for improvement. “The content includes computer farm mapping, farm design and layout, soils and land classing, and climate risk management,'' he said. “By the end of the course, participants will have developed a whole farm plan of their property with the aim of making the most of their current infrastructure and assets, while also being presented with ideas to help them realise the potential of their property in line with land capability." Mr Paulet said the whole farm planning course is relevant to farmers of all ages and experiences, with different farming enterprises. “Course presenters have expertise in a variety of topic areas including soils, farm biosecurity, climate and pastures.” The free online course is being offered by Agriculture Victoria over six weeks and follows a successful course held late last year and is highly recommended by several of the participants.

Gippsland farmers will have an opportunity to investigate a range of farm management practices in an upcoming online course in July and August.

Photo: File

West Gippsland farmer Margaret McDonald, who attended the last course, said the presentations were amazing. “We are all from different backgrounds and have a different emphasis on farming,” she said. Churchill farmers Donna and Michaela Lawless said the presenters for each segment were engaging and very knowledgeable. “We would highly recommend the whole farm planning course,” they said. Farmers interested in attending the course should contact James Paulet on 0447 695 839 or at james.paulet@agriculture.vic.gov.au

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Kathleen Murphy runs Gippsland Microgreens Farming in her garage at Briagolong.

Photos: Stefan Bradley Driving growth in microgreens

Stefan Bradley

OPERATING out of her garage, Gippsland Microgreens Farming founder Kathleen Murphy says the biggest challenge facing her Briagolongbased, family owned business, is that many people don’t know much about microgreens. Ms Murphy, who previously worked in a health shop, started the microgreens producing business in July last year with her partner, Eden Barberio, a rouseabout working offshore. “We’ve been vegan plant-based eaters for nearly seven years now, so we’ve always grown microgreens and sprouts on our window as a hobby, because it’s nutritionally dense,” Ms Murphy told the Gippsland Times. “During COVID, we wanted to run a business that not only helps people, but can provide for us as a family as well. So Eden asked why don’t we look into microgreens? “We did research and a course on microgreens to get more knowledge on how to grow them, the costs and its benefits. The passion was already there, so we had to make sure that financially it could sustain us. Which it can! So we grow about eight microgreens now.” The garage houses microgreens such as pea shoots, red Russian kale, wheatgrass, sunflowers, broccoli, purple radish, rocket and amaranth. “It’s been an interesting time to start with all the COVID lockdowns that were occurring last year,” Ms Murphy said. “We’re finding that people don’t know a lot about microgreens, so we've been educating them. Basically, microgreens are small versions of their mature counterparts. So broccoli microgreens are the same as (mature) broccoli, but the microgreen ones are more nutrient-dense. “And I think the flavour of the microgreen rocket is much more intense than the regular rocket. “For some people, microgreens are just a salad addition to their food, but you can actually add it to smoothies, soups, curries, sushi and pastas, as with the mature vegetable counterpart. Microgreens are more than just a garnish.” Ms Murphy said the goal is to eventually take the microgreens out of the garage and into a shed. “We’d either have it outdoors with natural sunlight or keep doing what we’re doing with the lights inside. We’re looking at selling seedlings as well.” Ms Murphy has also been running plant-based cooking classes. “I recently showed people how to make a microgreens pesto. There’s so much flavour in the pesto, and it’s quick and easy,” she said. “A lot of people are sending me recipes or photos of the dishes they’ve been making, so the feedback has been really good. Locals in Gippsland are very supportive and give a lot of encouragement.” Unlike for many fruit and vegetables producers, Gippsland Microgreens Farming do not require increasingly more expensive fertiliser to grow their product, and the price of soil and seeds have not soared. However, higher electricity prices, inflation and fuel prices have made an impact. “We have to be smarter with our deliveries because we do a lot of kilometres. I go from here (Briagolong) to somewhere like Warragul in a day. That’s a lot of driving,” Ms Murphy said. “And we have to keep the temperature in the garage below 21 degrees, and they’re well circulated with the fans, but that all adds to the cost.”