Sustainable agriculture
Supporting farmers to implement regenerative agricultural practices
DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS AGAINST PESTS
A wide range of pest species are negatively impacting biodiversity, cultural values and agriculture within the Warrnambool and Moyne municipalities in Southwest Victoria. They include gorse, blackberry, hemlock, rabbits, foxes and emerging pest animals such as pigs and deer.
Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network has established a partnership with 15 community-based organisations and government agencies to work collaboratively on an education program that will directly address regional pest plant and animal issues.
The Developing Partnerships against Pests project will reduce the impact of these pest plants and animals by focusing on improving and strengthening the current management system for regional pest control.
Project participants include Warrnambool Coastcare Landcare Network, Glenelg Hopkins CMA, Warrnambool City Council, Moyne Shire, Agriculture Victoria, DEECA, Parks Victoria and community-based groups Friends of Pallisters Reserve, Kurri Kurri Co-op, Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group, Friends of Tower Hill, Killarney Coastcare Group and Warrnambool Community Garden. The partnership collective is supported by the Victorian Blackberry Taskforce, Victorian Gorse Taskforce and the Victorian Rabbit Action Network.
Multi-species pastures
What are multi-species pastures?
A multi-species fodder mix contains a diverse blend of 4-15 species across at least four plant families (legumes, grasses, brassicas and forbs) that are planted for fodder and soil health purposes.
What are the benefits?
Armouring the soil: Multi-species mixes containing annual plant species rapidly cover, or ‘armour’ the soil, which prevents wind, water and sun damage to the soil surface, helps reduce weed pressure and provides organic matter. If the mix contains summer active plants, extra groundcover also keeps topsoil shaded and cool, providing a stable environment for soil biology.
Filling feed gaps with a balanced diet: Feed gaps in livestock or mixed system farms can impact profit margins and reduce farm resilience. Multi-species mixes can be tailored specifically to produce feed when it is needed most. For example, summer multi-species are very effective at reducing the summer feed gap when European pasture species such as ryegrass shut down.
Improving soil health through increased diversity: The diversity of a multi-species mix improves fodder production, protects soil, improves ecosystem function and most importantly, supports a diverse and active soil biological population. The living roots of plants provide a food source for soil biology, by transferring carbon exudates from photosynthesis into the soil surrounding the root system.
Building climate-resilient farms
With the rapidly emerging impacts of climate change and the associated need for increased ecological and human resilience on farms, this project seeks to bring about significant practice change on farms in Southwest Victoria.
This project is designed to demonstrate practices that build drought resilience, encourage sustainable and regenerative farming practices that in turn benefit landholders, environment, local community and consumers.
Consisting of a series of four workshops and field days, it will highlight the drought resilience benefits accruing from revegetation and shelter-belts, multi-species pastures, water management and biodiversity measurement.
Successful outcomes will include a capacity to maintain or improve production and profitability through periods of increasing rainfall variability as well as a likely positive return on investment from the adoption of these practices.