Naturally Inspired Autumn 2013

MOB RULE In THE VINEYARD How livestock can be trained to be environmental managers

Inside: Bushfire recovery: the long road back Positive outlook for NRM regions Meet our new Landcare facilitator A new Aboriginal land conservation business opens

Naturally inspired AUTUMN 2013

sharing knowledge

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From the CEO

Several months down the track from the summer bushfires, affected residents and landholders are still coming to terms with their losses.

Joining a field trip with Derwent Valley farmers recently, it was inspiring to see the resilience and courage on display as farmers work together to seek solutions to the many problems which arise post-fire; erosion, weeds, the need to supply feed for stock and simply re-building. It is exciting to see that out of this adversity many farmers are seeking the opportunity to re-think and improve some of their operations, such as re-designing fence lines. It is a long road back to recovery. We will continue to work with farmers through this difficult time and assist where we can.

Tasmania was privileged to have a visit last month from Professor Fred Provenza, a world leader in harnessing animal behaviour to enhance ecosystem management. Professor Provenza generously shared his knowledge of the BEHAVE program with landholders in southern Tasmania and has inspired a number of viticulturalists to look at utilising the BEHAVE methods with livestock to manage weeds in vineyards year round. This approach sits well with other regenerative farming practices we have been working with farmers to trial with the aim of reducing the use of high cost fertiliser and herbicides, minimise labour, boost profits and enhance the environment. The next step with the BEHAVE program is to set up some trials in southern Tasmania.

After years in the planning, it is great to see pakana services, a new aboriginal land conservation business, open its doors for business. With the support of government, industry and the aboriginal community, this social enterprise has grown from the seed of an idea several years ago, to a fully fledged business. The business is being watched with interest nationally as a model to bring indigenous land management knowledge together with job opportunities to create a self-sustaining business. With a manager on board and lots of interested customers, we look forward to seeing many social benefits as well as environmental outcomes.

As the mild autumn days come to a close, we have had an exciting time planning our future direction as a business. NRM South has recently submitted applications to continue our ongoing regional delivery programs and undertake a range of interesting new projects (we submitted three competitive project bids to Caring for Our Country Target Area Grants and Biodiversity Fund grants. We also partnered on nine projects and supported fifteen others).

NRM South is committed to delivering on our current projects and programs, and we will shortly release some indications for our Business 2013-14 and beyond. I am looking forward to continuing to work with you all to deliver NRM in the southern region.

Kathleen Broderick

Above: Photo by Duncan Giblin Front cover: Photo by John Sampson

INSPIRING ACTIOn 2

GRAPE EXPECTATIONS

COVER STORY

Mob rule in the vineyard

Using sheep to graze and control weeds is a textbook trick that has been used by farmers for centuries, but it comes unstuck when sheep get a taste for the crop itself, and if the crop just happens to be part of Tasmania’s premier wine industry it can be a very costly mistake.

The training methods are simple and have proved highly effective around the world, including in Italy and Argentina.

However, work on animal behaviour by Utah State University’s Professor Fred Provenza and his team could solve this problem, while reducing costly outlays on labour, fuel and herbicides.

“A growing number of traditional grazing and mixed-enterprise farms in Tasmania are establishing vineyards,” he says. “And so growers often let sheep in once all the fruit has been picked from the vines, but Fred’s methods could take this to the next level by letting growers keep sheep in their vineyards all year round.”

Professor Provenza visited southern Tasmania recently, giving a public lecture and delivering a workshop on the BEHAVE program – Behavioural Education for Human, Animal, Vegetation and Ecosystem management.

The BEHAVE research and outreach program explores the principles of animal behaviour - by understanding how animals learn we can use their natural behaviours to manage weeds, enhance biodiversity, improve feeding systems, protect riparian areas and much more.

“I used to teach an animal behaviour course in the US and one year we had a group of wine growers from California,” he told farmers and students during a field day in April at the Jansz-Parish vineyard in Penna, southern Tasmania.

“They really wanted to raise sheep organically, but didn’t want the sheep eating their vines. We were able to show them how they could train an animal up in just a matter of days to avoid eating just about anything, and they really ran with this stuff”.

The BEHAVE research shows that animals start learning what to eat long before they leave their mother’s womb.

“The foetal taste system is fully functional during the last trimester of gestation,” says Professor Provenza. “So they’ve already experienced whatever flavours are in mum’s stomach before they come out of the womb.”

Once born the learning curve continues, with young animals ingesting new tastes through their mother’s milk, watching what mother eats, social interactions with other animals, and feedback signals that tell them which plants they need to eat to get the balance of nutrients and toxins their bodies need.

David Sanderson from Wine Tasmania says he has always favoured using stock in vineyards to keep vegetation under control, but that up until now it has not been possible to do this all year round.

“If you could keep sheep in your vineyard during spring they could be used to control that growth rather than the vigneron having to rely on herbicides and labour-intensive slashing.

The methods can also be applied to other land management areas, using grazing as a tool to reduce use of expensive machinery, fossil fuels and toxic herbicides.

The grazing management field day with Professor Fred Provenza was organised by the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, NRM South and SPROUT Tasmania.

The professor was in Tasmania on a UTAS visiting scholar award.

You can download videos, fact sheets and other resources about the animal behaviour research from behave.net Right: TIA’s Dr Kerry Bridle, Professor Fred Provenza and vigneron, Tony Scherer at Frogmore Creek vineyard.

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SHARING KNOWLEDGE

OUT OF THE ASHES Recovering from fire: the long road back

Three months after the fierce January fires in the Derwent Valley, a busload of local farmers came together to help each other find solutions to the many issues arising from the aftermath.

A field tour was organised by Derwent Catchment NRM South committee vice-chairman Matthew Pitt to show farmers the impacts of the 2012 and January 2013 bushfires, which have scarred more than 20 farming properties in the area.

He also lost a stand of pine trees planted in the sixties to stabilise the soil bank down by Lake Meadowbank. Getting them out will be another huge expense, and he needs to start thinking about what he’ll replace them with.

It was also an opportunity for farmers to share information about how they are recovering from the fires - tackling issues such as soil erosion, pasture recovery and getting boundary fences back up.

“The biggest challenge after a fire is making what’s left of the property function as a farm,” says Jim.

The 2012 fire, known as the Meadowbank fire, burnt an estimated 2000 hectares and at one point lit up a fire front more than a kilometre wide and three kilometres deep.

The second, the Lake Repulse fire, was part of the firestorms that raged across Tasmania in January this year. It burnt out 11,608 hectares in the Derwent Valley area, while on the Tasmana Peninsula the Forcett fire destroyed 25,687 hectares.

The Lake Repulse fire burnt just under 1500 hectares of Jim’s Allwright’s property and he says it was like a war zone, with choppers flying everywhere.

Three months down the track farmer, Jim Allwright, is only just coming out of damage control.

“The fire here was really intense,” he says. “We lost 200 sheep, half our poppies, an entire wheat crop and two thirds of this year’s cherries.”

Since the fire he’s managed to put back a lot of the fencing, but it can be dangerous out in the paddocks, with most of the old paddock trees so severely burnt they are still falling down. Nearly all will have to be removed, and that will require big, expensive forestry equipment.

Where a wheat crop once stood is now bare, wind-blown paddock. Jim hopes the weeds that sprung up after the fire will help keep some of the topsoil down, but knows that the reality is most of the nutrients have been blown away by the dry summer winds.

He’s now working with NRM South’s bushfire farm recovery program to get a mix of chicken manure and sawdust onto the paddock to help stop further erosion and seed nutrients back into the soil.

In comparison you could say Tom Clark is lucky, and his easygoing manner would probably let you get away with it.

For Tom, like most farmers in the area, his first priority after the fire was to get boundary fencing up, and a few internal fences built so that he could control stock grazing once the pasture was healthy enough to let cattle and sheep back in.

But fencing doesn’t come cheap. Matthew Pitt puts the cost at roughly $8000 a kilometre, and Tom’s farm lost about 18km of boundary and internal fencing. In all, it is estimated Derwent Valley farmers lost 200km of fencing to the two fires.

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One of the good things that has come out of the fire on Tom’s property has been the burst of forest re-growth that is taking place at the bottom of his paddocks, and Tom is now working with NRM South’s farm recovery program to fence it off.

The Inland Silver Peppermint Eucalyptus tenuiramis is listed as a threatened community in Tasmania, and Tom’s keen to use the rebuilding process as a chance to fence it off and make the most of post-fire re-growth.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance,” he says. “New seedlings are growing down there in the forest really well, and if we don’t take advantage of the opportunity now this forest will just keep dying back.”

Joining the field day were Bushfire Recovery Taskforce Chief Damian Bugg QC and John Harkin from the Bushfire Recovery Unit, as well as local farmers Tim Gebbe, who has a property at Ellendale, and Bob Shoobridge, who had 600ha burnt out by the Meadowbank fire.

Local fire brigade chief Patrick Ransley and his wife Kim also took part.

Half their farm was burnt by the Lake Repulse fire, but they are proud of the fact that well planned vegetable gardens and lucerne paddocks surrounding their beautiful celery-top pine house slowed oncoming fires and created a safe haven for local fire fighters.

“I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime carting rock to clear those paddocks so that I could plant them with a fire buffer of dryland lucerne,” says Patrick.

“But after the fire I can see that it was worth it. Those paddocks provided a safe place where you could settle your mind and a sense that you could defeat the fire.”

Dr Kerry Bridle from the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture, NRM South weeds co-ordinator Karen Ziegler, and Ken Moore, our Regional Landcare Facilitator, were also on-hand to answer questions.

“The Lake Repulse fire in January caused devastating damage to many farms in the Derwent catchment,” says Ken. “This field day is part of NRM South’s program to help get farmers back on their feet by giving them a chance to see what other farmers are doing to recover from fire, re-establish their businesses by rebuilding farm infrastructure and tackling issues such as soil erosion, pasture regeneration, stock management and weed control.”

NRM South CEO Dr Kathleen Broderick was deeply impressed by the spirit and innovation she saw during the field day.

“You can’t stop catastrophic fires like those we saw in January,” she says. “But once you hit recovery mode farmers can take advantage of the rebuilding process to better plan their farm by planting crops that will slow future fires, or changing the layout of farms to improve grazing and fence off remnant vegetation.”

Ending the day at Jim Allwright’s property was a sobering reminder of the impact bushfires have had on the region. The tops of his cherry orchard have been cut off where they were scorched by the Lake Repulse fire, and the beautiful, big old paddock trees scattered across his farmland bare the brutal marks of an intensely hot fire.

Bushfire Recovery Program NRM South is now offering support to farmers who have been affected by bushfires to help with the farm recovery process.

The projects are provided with funding from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country and eligible activities include: • Farm recovery planning and advice • Managing soil erosion • Weed management and hygiene to prevent weed spread • Soil health and pasture recovery • Remnant vegetation recovery • Rehabilitating riparian zones and corridors • Internal fencing to maximise productivity and NRM outcomes • Planning laneways, livestock and watering points, sheds and fuel storage

“When you live on a farm there’s so much to do that you can’t afford to spend too much time crying over what you’ve lost,” he says.

• Future fire mitigation

Opposite Page Left: Ken Moore, Bob Shoobridge, Jim Allwright and Matthew Pitt take a look at bushfire recovery on Bob Shoobridge’s Fenton Forest property.

To apply visit the NRM South website - nrmsouth.org.au

Opposite Page Right: Boxthorn resprouting after fire.

This Page Right: Pines planted in the 1960s on Jim Allwright’s property to stabilise soil were destroyed by fire.

For more information phone Southern Tasmanian Regional Landcare Facilitator Ken Moore on 03 6221 6117 or Derwent Catchment NRM Committee member and local farmer Matthew Pitt on 0419 628 230.

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WELCOMING KEN MOORE Ken Moore has joined NRM South as its Regional Landcare Facilitator. Ken hit the ground running with NRM South in January, delivering grants, workshops and the Farm Bushfire Recovery program.

He was born and educated in Western Australia, where both his grandparents and parents were farming pioneers in the state’s southern Karri forests area – an area similar to some of the wetter Tasmanian farming areas. He now owns the family farm and has practical experience in dairying, livestock grazing and irrigated agriculture.

Before joining us, Ken worked in Canberra for over four years as a senior research manager at Land & Water Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the private consulting company, Inovact. He managed national research programs in water management, rural communities, weeds and people development. As a consultant, Ken has led economic, environmental and social assessments of Australia’s apple and pear, vegetable, rice, cotton, wine-grape, beef, dairy and turf industries.

The Australian Government recently announced funding for Regional Landcare Facilitators under the Sustainable Agriculture stream of Caring for our Country over the next five years.

Regional Landcare Facilitator, Ken Moore.

“A key aim of my work will be to encourage and assist the adoption by farmers of regenerative agricultural practices and minimising intensive use impacts,” he says.

“This can be achieved through demonstrating that regenerative agriculture is profitable for farm businesses and natural resources.

Profitability for natural resources is having them in prime condition to produce healthy crops and livestock profitably for farm businesses into the future.”

You can contact Ken on 03 6221 6117, 0447 604 231 or kmoore@nrmsouth.org.au

POSITIVE OUTLOOK

Federal funding announcement gives NRM South confidence for next 5 years

NRM South has welcomed recognition by the Federal Government of the ongoing role of Regional Natural Resource Management organisations in building a healthier and better protected environment, that is well managed and farmed sustainably.

NRM South has been invited to submit an application to access a notional allocation of $1.84 million in funding per annum for the next five years from the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country initiative. If the full allocation is accessed, this is commensurate with the current funding, albeit with a small decrease.

The Regional Delivery funding also includes continuing support for a Regional Landcare Facilitator who will continue to lead our sustainable agriculture program.

Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kathleen Broderick, said the funding will allow NRM South to plan for the next five years with confidence.

“We look forward to continuing to work with farmers to manage their land sustainably; to supporting local communities to undertake on-ground activities; and collaborating with land managers, industry, and researchers to improve knowledge of our environment and enhance management practices.”

In other announcements, NRM South will receive funding under the Regional Natural Resource Management Planning for Climate Change Fund to incorporate climate change mitigation and adaptation approaches into the natural resource management plan for southern Tasmania. We will also host a Carbon Farming Extension officer for the next three years in a partnership project with RM Consulting Group, NRM North and Serve-Ag.

sharing information 6

PAKANA SERVICES

Getting down to business

A new social enterprise has commenced providing land conservation services and valuable opportunities for Aboriginal Tasmanians to work on the land.

OUT AND ABOUT

Weeds, soil health and native species were hot topics at recent rural shows and community events.

The business, pakana services, is being initially hosted by NRM South to support its development into a fully independent, self-funding enterprise.

In the aftermath of the January bushfires, the Bream Creek Show and Hamilton Show attracted thousands of people, illustrating the incredible community spirit shown by Tasmanians in supporting fire affected areas.

Pakana services manager, John Easton, says the aim is to give all Aboriginal Tasmanians the chance to gain valuable skills working on jobs such as track building, revegetation and weed control.

NRM South attended both events, talking to landholders about the increased risk of weed invasion after fire and outlining practical steps that can be taken to get on top of the problem quickly.

“There are not a lot of opportunities for Aboriginal Tasmanians to work on land, to work on country,” he says.

At Agfest, there was a lot of interest from farmers in improving soil health and carbon farming and volunteers from Understorey Network, were at hand to provide native species advice specific to the different Tasmanian regions. Another focus on interest was weeds, with many landholders battling blackberries, gorse, serrated tussock and Spanish heath.

“I want to see Aboriginal people employed and doing the sort of work that lets them go back home to their families and friends and say gee, that’s good, I’m enjoying myself and I’ve got great new skills.”

A team made up of representatives of the Australian and Tasmanian governments, NRM South, the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, consulting group, GHD and members of the Aboriginal community has been instrumental in developing the venture, and an independent board has been appointed to govern the business.

The newly formed Board, chaired by Faye Tatnell, is working on the incorporation of the new business.

The project is one of a number of similar initiatives being developed across Australia with funding and support from various sources including the Australian Government’s Indigenous Coordination Centre and Caring for our Country.

For further information about pakana services contact John by email at john.easton@pakanaservices.com.au Above: Track building and weed control are among the many jobs that pakana services can undertake.

The Speakers Forum also had a weed theme at the Treadlightly Envirofest, at the Royal Tasmanian Botanic Gardens. Take home message of the day was that just because a plant is for sale at your local nursery don’t assume it is safe; it could escape your backyard and become a serious environmental problem.

Above: Talking about natural resource management at the Bream Creek show.

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Southern Tasmania is one of the most environmentally diverse areas anywhere in Australia. Its wealth of natural resources – including soil, water and coastlines and the native vegetation and wildlife they support – underpins the economic prosperity, social well-being and environmental health of our community.

NRM South’s job is to protect and enhance these natural values for the benefit of current and future generations of Tasmanians. We do this by working closely with hundreds of organisations, agencies and community groups as well as thousands of individuals to implement the Natural Resources Management Strategy for the region.

HOBART OFFICE STAFF Dr Kathleen Broderick, CEO kbroderick@nrmsouth.org.au.......................................03 6221 6111 Vani Welling, Operations Manager vwelling@nrmsouth.org.au...........................................03 6221 6171 Cathy Limb, Communications and Engagement Manager climb@nrmsouth.org.au................................................03 6221 6122 Sheena Bell, Finance Coordinator sbell@nrmsouth.org.au.................................................03 6221 6118 Geir Rodven, Business Services Coordinator grodven@nrmsouth.org.au...........................................03 6221 6112 Laura Joss, Administration Officer ljoss@nrmsouth.org.au.................................................03 6221 6111 Daniel Panek, Monitoring and Reporting Coordinator dpanek@nrmsouth.org.au.............................................03 6221 6199 Ruth Osborne, Community Support Liaison rosborne@nrmsouth.org.au..........................................03 6221 6161 Dr Magali Wright, Biodiversity Coordinator mwright@nrmsouth.org.au...........................................03 6221 6142 Jill Jones, Coastal, Marine and Estuarine Coordinator jjones@nrmsouth.org.au...............................................03 6221 6126 Genevieve Simard, NRM Information Coordinator gsimard@nrmsouth.org.au.......................................... 03 6221 6177 Marianne Milles, Executive Assistant mmilles@nrmsouth.org.au.......................................... 03 6221 6121 Karen Ziegler, Weeds Coordinator kziegler@nrmsouth.org.au.......................................... 03 6221 6114 Ken Moore, Regional Landcare Facilitator kmoore@nrmsouth.org.au........................................... 03 6221 6117

Our three clear priorities are to: • deliver programs and services that make the biggest difference to the most important areas • share knowledge and inspire positive action across the region • build partnerships with organisations and individuals ranging from state and local government to schools, community groups and farmers.

PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS STAFF Stuart Pengelly, SCAT Coastcare Facilitator stuart@scat.org.au........................................................03 6221 6160 Danielle Hardie, D’Entrecasteaux Channel Project Coordinator dhardie@kingborough.tas.gov.au..................................03 6211 8236

LOCAL AREA NRM TEAM Andrew Winkler, Acting Mountain to Marine Facilitator (Hosted by Kingborough Council) awinkler@nrmsouth.org.au...............03 6211 8299 or 0428 259 156 Rosie Jackson, Catchments to Coasts Administration and Communications Officer (In partnership with Glamorgan Spring Bay Council) rosie@freycinet.tas.gov.au.............................................03 6256 5051 Terry Higgs, Catchments to Coasts NRM Coordinator (In partnership with Glamorgan Spring Bay Council) terry@freycinet.tas.gov.au.............................................03 6256 5051 Steve Joyce, Derwent Catchment NRM Officer (In partnership with Derwent Catchment NRM) steve@derwentnrm.com.au............................................. 03 6286 3211 Jennifer Milne, NRM Officer (In partnership with Tasman Council) jennifer.milne@tasman.tas.gov.au....... 03 6250 9221 or 0418 354 919 Tim Ackroyd, Huon Valley NRM Facilitator (In partnership with Huon Valley Council) tackroyd@huonvalley.tas.gov.au...................................03 6264 0324 Sandy Leighton, Sorell NRM Facilitator (In partnership with Sorell Council) sandy.leighton@sorell.tas.gov.au..................................03 6269 0008

313 Macquarie Street (PO Box 425) South Hobart Tasmania 7004 Tel: 03 6221 6111 Fax: 03 6221 6166 Web: www.nrmsouth.org.au