Soil expert at Huntly
Land management expert Colin Seis will host a soil and pasture management workshop in Huntly on Wednesday, July 13 as part of the Healthy Landscapes program.
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Mr Seis owns and runs an 840ha property near Gulgong in NSW, and is highly regarded for his knowledge and work in regenerative farming practices.
The workshop, which will be held from 9am to 4pm at Huntly Memorial Hall, will cover managing perennial pastures (including native pastures), growing summer and winter multi-species crops, pasture cropping, soil health, soil carbon and nutrient cycling, theory session and farm walk.
To register for the workshop, visit: https://ColinSeis-Huntly.eventbrite.com.au (the $30 fee is to cover morning tea and lunch that will be provided on the day).
Torrumbarry Weir pool lowered
Water levels in the Torrumbarry Weir pool on the Murray River will be gradually lowered by up to 30 centimetres from July 11.
"Torrumbarry locals and visitors may notice minor changes to the height of the river in the weir pool until it is returned to near-full levels in late August," Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s Andrew Reynolds said
"We are lowering the level to reduce the risk of riverbank erosion. Holding weir pool levels steady for long periods can cause riverbanks to become saturated and more vulnerable to erosion from wind and the wash of passing boats.
"Even 30cm is enough to help reduce soil saturation and provide good potential for the growth of native fringing vegetation."
This routine operation is conducted annually by the MDBA in cooperation with Victorian and NSW water agencies.
Keep up to date with current operations at: riverdata.mdba.gov.au/system-view
New-look C4GS board
Leigh Findlay and Sarah Thomson are the new chair and deputy chair of the Committee for Greater Shepparton.
Established in 2013, C4GS is a not-for-profit, member-funded advocacy organisation with more than 120 business, community and public sector members.
Andrew Mann also joined the board.
After three years as chair, Lesley Hart has stepped down but continues on the board alongside Jane Macey, Sonke Tremper and Damion O’Callaghan.
Mildura cannabis facility gets nod
High quality medicinal cannabis products will be manufactured at Cann Group’s Mildura facility after the group was granted a Good Manufacturing Practice licence by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
The GMP licence enables ASX-listed Cann Group to manufacture therapeutic goods and undertake GMP testing at its recently commissioned Mildura facility.
Capsules and dried flower will be among the products manufactured at the facility, with Cann Group now able to conduct GMP-approved activities at its existing chemistry and microbiology laboratories onsite.
The new licence allows medicinal cannabis products manufactured at Mildura to be made available to patients through the approved access pathways in Australia and (subject to approvals) for export markets.
Since 2016 medicinal cannabis has been legally prescribed in Australia under the TGA’s Special Access Scheme to treat a range of conditions such as chronic pain and side effects from medical treatment such as chemotherapy.
Careers beyond the farm gate
Nutrien Ag Solutions is searching for data analysts, developers, chemists and agronomists to lead the next wave of agricultural evolution.
Applications are now open for the Nutrien Ag Solutions 2023 Agronomy and Agribusiness Graduate Program.
For more information, visit: https://www.nutrienagsolutions.com.au/graduate-traineeships-and-apprenticeships
Murray Irrigation has new chair
Noel Baxter was elected unopposed as chair of Murray Irrigation at its board meeting on Thursday, June 30.
Lachlan Marshall was elected the deputy chair.
The board confirmed the 2022-23 Strategic Plan would chart the next 12 months for the company under the direction of new chief executive officer Ron McCalman.
Mr Baxter said he was honoured to be elected as chair at such an exciting and important time for Murray Irrigation.
Mr Baxter was appointed to the board in 2018. He operates a mixed irrigation farming business near Berrigan and is a director of Baxter Family Farms, which also operates irrigation properties in the West Corurgan, Coleambally and Murrumbidgee irrigation areas.
GP talks climate change
South Australian general practitioner Kate Wylie will be the guest speaker at Beneath the Wisteria on Saturday, July 23, at 11am.
Dr Wylie is concerned about the impact climate change is having on her patients, both physically and mentally, and raises the issue of climate change either opportunistically or directly depending on a patient’s particular problems.
Her concern is such that she has created her own website: ‘Climate Medicine’.
For more information, contact Robert Mclean on: r.mclean7@icloud.com
Tree planting at Winton
To celebrate National Tree Day (Sunday, July 31), Winton Wetlands — Australia’s biggest wetland restoration project — is having three major tree planting events.
One event will be specifically for schools — on Friday, July 29 — and the other two will be for members of the general public — on Sunday, July 31 and Sunday, August 28, from 10am to 2pm.
Volunteers of all ages will be able to assist with planting of ‘tubes’ that will grow into river red gums and other types of tree and shrubs native to the wetlands reserve.
The planting is part of a project funded by Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority that will improve a corridor of vegetation that runs about a kilometre from Winton North Rd to Green’s Hill.
Individuals and groups coming on the day will be supervised, enjoy a free lunch, learn more about how plant ecosystems work, experience the benefits of healthy outdoor activity — and have fun.
For more information, email Luke.Legudi@wintonwetlands.org.au or phone 5766 4462.
Medal wins for TAFE apprentices
Two first-year Commercial Cookery apprentices won medals at the state finals of the AUS-TAFE Culinary Trophy held at Bendigo TAFE on June 28.
Maddison Schloss (employed by Brown Brothers Winery) won a bronze medal and Tayah Jack (employed by Bright Brewery) won a silver medal.
This success follows the apprentices’ earlier success at the regional finals held at Wodonga TAFE last month where they both won bronze medals and secured their place in the state finals.
The apprentices replicated their winning dishes from the recipes cooked for the regional finals.
Maddison cooked pan-fried pork scotch with potato rosti, orange and rocket salad and dill yoghurt. Tayah made Chinese-style pork san choy bau with julienned cucumber and carrot and chilli.
The dishes had to be served within set time constraints, and were judged on creativity, hygiene, presentation, cooking skills and taste.
Grants seed renewal projects
Applications are now open for ANZ’s Seeds of Renewal program, with grants of up to $15,000 available for not-for-profit organisations in remote, rural and regional areas to support the ongoing prosperity of regional Australia.
The program is administered by the Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal.
This year, the program is offering a share of $250,000 to community organisations in remote, rural or regional locations for projects aligned to four focus areas: environmental sustainability; financial wellbeing; housing access; and projects that assist local communities to thrive.
Applications close at 5pm on August 3.
For more information, visit FRRR’s website.
Sir Douglas Nicholls honoured
Australia Post has released a new stamp in honour of footballer, pastor, Aboriginal rights campaigner and state governor Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls.
The Yorta Yorta man was born on December 9, 1906 at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Mission, on the NSW banks of the Murray River.
Australia Post Group’s Michael Zsolt said the release marked the 50th anniversary of the knighting of Sir Doug, the first Indigenous Australian to be knighted.
Sir Doug Nicholls died in Mooroopna in 1988, and was honoured with a state funeral. His name lives on through the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Round (AFL) and the federal electorate of Nicholls in northern Victoria.
The Pastor Sir Douglas Nicholls stamp and associated collectables are on sale now at participating post offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online while stocks last.
Tourism gongs for towns
Victoria’s Top Tourism Town Awards have been announced and Bendigo has taken gold in the Top Tourism Town category and Heathcote has won bronze in the Top Small Tourism Town Award.
City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Andrea Metcalf said the wins capped off an exciting few months for the municipality.
“We are thrilled to have won these awards, which recognise the importance of tourism to regional communities,” Cr Metcalf said.
“We are delighted that people have found Bendigo and Heathcote to be such wonderful and memorable places to visit, and I could not be prouder of the way our local business community has rallied to warmly welcome people back as pandemic restrictions have eased.”
As the winner of the Top Tourism Town (population over 5000), Bendigo will now go on to compete at Australia’s Town Tourism Town Awards to be announced in the next few months.