Hi Landcarers

We are well and truly in the depth of show season. We are fortunate that in our rural communities we have the opportunity to hold these special events.

Our city cousins definitely miss out, not having these special annual community events. Not only are they a celebration of our rural area, but also a chance to catch up with people that we haven’t seen in a while.

It has been enjoyable spending time at the Parkes Show this week. The Farmer’s Day had a fantastic showcase of presenters. I am looking forward to catching up with Forbes locals at the Forbes Show next week.

After the success of the Compost on the Farm workshop at Bedgerabong, we are pleased to be working with Australian Native Landscapes (ANL) and AgriWest to host another workshop in the Parkes area on Friday, 14 October.

I will have more details on the venue for the workshop next week, but in terms of content, we will have the expertise of Roger Crisp, Sales Agronomist with ANL, Guy Webb and Luke Wood, Agronomists with AgriWest and we will have a chance to kick the dirt (or mud) and have a look at a property already using ANL compost.

Through this program you will learn more about using compost on your property and have the opportunity to talk with industry experts, compost producers, rural advisors and farmers who are already using compost.

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There has been a second confirmation of Russian Wheat Aphid (RWA) in a wheat crop in the Erigolia area of the Riverina, which is approximately 300 kilometres north east of the first report near Barham, and approximately 200 kilometres north of the Victorian border. This detection indicates RWA is further spread in NSW than may have been thought. NSW DPI continue to ask growers and agronomists to be on the lookout for symptoms, inspect their crops for aphids and sample and report anything that may be under question. Providing samples will help to better track the spread of the aphid through the grain growing areas of NSW as well as inform growers to help with management.

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We are fortunate to have several regular collection points for DrumMuster containers in our area, but do you have agvet chemicals that you need to dispose of? The ChemClear collection starts in October and you need to register now by 2 Spetember. Click here go to their website or ring 1800 008 182 to register for the NSW collection in October.

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The next National Parks Association (NPA) walk will be held on Wednesday, 7 September at ‘Orana’ on the Eugowra Road. Walkers are to meet at the gate at 9am. This is a 6 kilometre walk.

If you are intending to walk, please contact Andy Tom on 02 6862 2536 the evening before the walk.

Walkers are reminded to bring along enough food and water for the entire day as well as suitable clothing, footwear, hat and sunscreen. A pair of good binoculars and a fold up chair is recommended. A $2.00 donation for each walker is appreciated.

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Please continue to share your fungal photos (please keep them nature related – no bodily growth thanks), on our facebook page. I have a few more to upload from a recent NPA walk that the group are kindly letting me share – they are uploaded, go and have a look.

As usual, links to items in this article are available on facebook or 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!