Devondaler-June-2015

18
JUNE 2015
DEVONDALE MURRAY GOULBURN
MG FarmC@re
Trees, carbon offset values outlined
By MARK JAGO
FIFTEEN dairy farmers and
Devondale Murray
Goulburn More from Less
project staff gained valuable
insight into how trees can be
used to their full advantage on
farms.
MG’s More From Less project
organised a tour of Jigsaw Farms
owned by Mark Wooton and Eve
Kantor in south west Victoria.
Jigsaw Farms is made up of
two large land parcels totalling
6700ha running a mixed grazing
operation. A fine wool sheep
flock, a prime lamb operation
and a self-replacing beef herd
make up the mixed grazing operation.
The underlying focus of
Jigsaw Farms is to integrate a
profitable highly productive
stock and agroforestry operation
while adhering to environmental
guidelines.
This philosophy has led Mark
and Eve to work on planting out
many of the non-productive
areas of the farm with either permanent
plantings (55 per cent)
or agroforestry plantations (45
per cent of plantings, managed
on a cycle of harvest and
replanting).
“Looking after the non-productive
areas of the farm in this
way has helped us gain efficiencies
in production from the
farm,” said Mark.
Mark spoke passionately about
the projects they have undertaken
for carbon offsetting. The
plantations on Jigsaw Farms
cover include 1.2million trees
that act as a carbon sink, taking
in carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and storing carbon
in the trees, also known as terrestrial
sequestration.
The farm expels less than or
equivalent amounts of carbon
Devondaler Murray Goulburn suppliers and Field Services Officers get ready for a visit to Jigsaw
Farm in south west Victoria.
Planting of trees
is not seen as
taking land from
production, quite
the opposite, as
the evident lift in
grazing production
is attributed to the
shelter provided
by the trees.
dioxide through its operations,
especially through reduced use
of fuel powered equipment
which has enabled the farm to be
carbon neutral.
Planting of trees is not seen as
taking land from production,
quite the opposite, as the evident
lift in grazing production is
attributed to the shelter provided
by the trees.
Jigsaw Farms also participates
in other carbon offset projects to
continue to lower its environmental
footprint.
Water also plays an integral
part on the farm.
All waterways and creeks have
been fenced off and revegetated,
wetlands created and linked to
other plantings to create biodiversity
corridors.
Bird surveys are completed
every season and have been
undertaken for many years and
not only have bird numbers
increased but so have the number
of different species.
“Climate change is an issue
whether you believe it or not,”
said Mark.
“We have been able to demonstrate
the reduction of the impact
to our business through what we
have done on farm.”
Some of the benefits Jigsaw
Farms sees from planting trees
and protecting waterways are;
● future income from wood
products,
● shelter for stock welfare and
productivity,
● shelter to lift winter pasture
production,
● contribution to climate change
mitigation through CO2 capture,
● habitat for wildlife and
● prevention of nutrient build up
in waterways.
As a result the farming system
is more resilient and adaptive.
Methane, which comes from
ruminant stock on farms and
land fill, is a major contributor
to greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.
By finding ways to reduce
methane levels expelled by ruminant
stock there will be less contributing
to atmospheric greenhouse
gases.
To address this issue, Jigsaw
Farms has begun the process of
improving the genetics of their
animals so they are more efficient
in converting feed to wool
and meat.
A number of positive outcomes
are realised with
improved reproductive rates
resulting in increased lamb and
calf numbers on the ground per
breeding unit.
On Jigsaw Farms, the fertilizer
strategy aims to lift Olsen P levels
to around 20+ resulting in
the paddocks running at an average
stocking rate of 18-20
DSE(dry sheep equivalent) per
ha, close to double the district
average.
This makes the business more
profitable while decreasing the
methane intensity from the business
through increased productivity
from the same area.
MG, via the More from Less
project, aims to assist its dairy
farmer suppliers to investigate
these same links between
increased productivity and
reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
The visit to Jigsaw Farms,
made possible by the More from
Less project funding from the
Australian Government, left the
MG dairy farmers with a lot to
digest.
This included the observation
that while Jigsaw Farms and
their own dairy businesses were
vastly different, there were
many common issues and
opportunities.
Everyone who attended
thought the visit was informative
and worthwhile with some suggesting
that one day was not
long enough to take in all that
Mark and Eve have achieved.
MG suppliers wishing to learn
more about increasing their productivity
and lowering their
environmental footprint can call
their local FarmC@re facilitator
through MG Field Services.
New guide book launched to
help minimise mastitis issues
A NEW set of easy-to-use visual
guides has been created by
Dairy Australia’s (DA)
Countdown 2020 team to help
farmers minimise mastitis in
the dairy.
The wet winter months
increase the risk of mastitis, a
disease not only painful for the
cow but damaging for milk
quality, production and business
profitability.
The Countdown Shed Guides
feature key aspects of the
Countdown 2020 Farm
Guidelines and clearly illustrate
the steps required to prevent,
monitor and treat mastitis
through a pictorial format.
Dairy Australia’s Program
Development Manager, Erika
Oakes, said the guide was tough,
durable and a ‘must-have’ for
the dairy.
“The catalyst for this project
is that we have had lots of
feedback from farmers saying
they wanted something they can
refer to that is instructional
and easy to understand,” she
said.
“For example, I often get calls
from farmers asking how to
mark cows, so now they will be
able to hang this up in the shed
and refer to it when they need.
“While the Shed Guides will
be useful for all staff milking
cows it would also be a great
document for training new
staff,” Erika said.
The new Countdown Shed
Guides pack also includes a
bonus high-quality milking
apron and will be available free
to all those undertaking Cups
On Cups Off courses.
Shed Guides packs, limited
to two per farm, can also be
ordered at www.dairyaustralia.
com.au/shedguides.
Coles backs business
COLES will establish a
Nurture Fund to help small
Australian food and grocery
producers, farmers and manufacturers
to innovate and grow
their business.
Through the Coles Nurture
Fund, Coles will allocate $50
million over five years in grants
and interest-free loans to fund
the development of new market-leading
products, technologies
and processes.
Coles Managing Director,
John Durkan, said the fund
would be open to businesses
with less than $25 million in
annual revenue and 50 or fewer
full-time employees.
“The Coles Nurture Fund is
one way we can offer support
and encouragement to small
Australian businesses looking
for assistance to take the
next step in creating more
productive and innovative
ways of working,” Mr Durkan
said.
“Modest financial support
can make the difference in
getting great ideas up and
running.” Small business
entrepreneurs can submit
requests for funds, along with
their business plan, for review
by the Coles Nurture Fund.
Application forms for the
Coles Nurture Fund are available
at www.coles.com.au/nurturefund
and applications
should be submitted to nurturefund@coles.com.