Hi Landcarers

Stay safe on the roads if you are travelling over the school holidays!

Speaking of safety, the NSW Government is offering rebates of up to $500 towards the purchase of compliant helmets, operator protective devices, the purchase of a safer vehicle, and undertaking training courses tailored to farmers.

SafeWork NSW is partnering with a number of organisations within the NSW farming community with the aim to of helping keep farmers safe on their quad bikes.

Particular attention is given to ageing riders, children under the age of 16, vehicle selection and the carriage of passengers.

Detailed information on the application process will be made available on the SafeWork NSW website from late July 2016

Farmers or employees of farmers that live in NSW, operating a business in NSW with 20 or less full-time employees (or equivalent), that own a quad bike that is used for work purposes may be eligible to apply.

The 2016 Grains Research Update will be held at the Forbes Services Memorial Club on Tuesday, 26 July between 9am and 1pm. The Update is provided to growers and advisers from the region to enable them to find out more about research developments and advice about progressing cropping enterprises.

Some topics that will be covered are: longer season wheat varieties; crown rot, scald and spot form net blotch; soil acidity crop yield impacts and management; dual purpose wheat and canola crops; harnessing crop residues and tillage; management of resistant ryegrass.

Cost for the session is $30 and $20 for each additional person from the same business. Doors open at 8.30am. Registration via grdc.com.au

Did you catch the latest Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) Climate and Water outlook for the next quarter on Landline on the weekend? It is an excellent summary in under five minutes.

It tells us that most areas are likely to see above average rainfall between July and September 2016 and for our area it is likely to remain cooler.

In the north of Australia and in Tasmania they are likely to have warmer conditions than normal, or to put it another way, their chance of exceeding the median maximum temperature is above 70%.

The Bureau website has heaps of interesting information on forecasting, climate, stream flows and interesting snippets on regions around Australia. If you missed the BOM report, go to bom.gob.au

Another source of information that you might find interesting is Adapt NRM. This is a national initiative that aims to support Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups to include climate adaptation in their planning.

Yes, it’s about adapting to climate change. You don’t believe in that mumbo jumbo? Great! Go to their website and have a look at what they have to say. Regardless of it you are a ‘believer’ or not, the information on this website is a helpful tool and will give you heaps to think about.

For anyone who has to include planning for their business (which is most of us), their planning approaches have some interesting considerations, from assessment, strategic planning, implementation planning and action, monitoring and reflection.

This adaptive planning isn’t just about planting more trees and locking away sections of native vegetation. It involves conservation, infrastructure development, systems management and much more. We have got nothing to lose by reviewing our approaches, but we have a lot to lose if we don’t at least consider some alternative options.

As usual, links to items in this article are available on our website at centralwestlachlanlandcare.org and I can be contacted at our office on 02 6862 4914 or email me at cwllpo@hotmail.com

Until next week, happy Landcaring!