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Draft subregional NRM Plans will soon be available for comment until 22 December.
Please visit the Natural Resources South East website, where you will be able to view all four plans.
Hard copies will also be available upon request.
Comments can be submitted via email, or by writing to us at SE NRM Board, PO Box 1046, Mount Gambier SA 5290, or calling an NRM Planning Team member on 8735 1177.
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Create your own Bushfire Plan, in 3 easy steps! |
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Making a choice when a bushfire threatens is too late. The majority of people in bushfires die fleeing their homes at the last moment. Don't wait until the last moment, create your own 5 Minute Plan now!
Start your Plan Now!
If you would like to know more and get some assistance in being prepared for a bushfire, please come along to the Bushfire Ready workshop:
Wednesday 22 November, 7pm
Millicent Pistol Club, Rocky Camp
The meeting focuses on the area's bushfire risk, bushfire behaviour, how to protect your house and property, personal safety and bushfire survival planning.
For further information please contact Megan Hurrell, CFS Community Engagement Officer via phone 0428 114 222.
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Small Farms Expo
Natural Resources South East are hosting a Small Farms Expo, for small land holders who would like to learn more about managing their property in their spare time. The Expo is on:
Sunday 26th November
10am – 2pm
Attamurra Golf Club, Mount Gambier
For further information and updates on speakers and sessions, please visit the Small Farms Facebook page.
You can also register here
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Thank a farmer on National Ag Day |
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Tuesday 21 November is National Agriculture Day, and Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA) and Primary Producers SA (PPSA) want you to join them in celebrating the State’s farming sector.
National Ag Day is the inaugural national celebration of Australian agriculture, showcasing all aspects of our agricultural sector. There’s a lots of ways individuals, schools, businesses and communities statewide can show their appreciation. You can:
Get informed: Check out PIRSA’s fact sheets, videos and education resources all about SA’s primary industries here.
Shout it out: Take a picture or video and tell us why our farmers are so great. Make sure to use #ThankafarmerSA and #AgDay. And remember to tag us on Twitter: @PIRSA_SA
Spread the word: Use our posters and social media resources at your workplace, school or community to share the many reasons why we should #ThankafarmerSA.
Choose SA: And Eat Local. Show your support for our State’s farmers by buying local.
Drive safely: Remember it’s the season slow moving machinery are on our country roads, so be patient and give them a thumbs up as you go by.
Go national: There’s more great ideas on how to celebrate #AgDay at the National Ag Day website.
We look forward to celebrating National Ag Day with you. Keep an eye out on social media for #ThankafarmerSA as we will be sharing more news, events and activities.
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Herbicide Resistant Ryegrass
Annual ryegrass (ARG) is one of the major crop weeds for more southern areas of Australia. ARG is a genetically variable species that must receive pollen from another ARG plant (out crossing). ARG can produce up to 45,000 seeds m², capable of having populations over 1000 plants m². These factors make it a prime candidate for developing herbicide resistance (GRDC website).
Ryegrass herbicide resistance in South Australia is highest in the South East. Ryegrass has the greatest resistance to trifluralin which is aided by the alkaline soils within the region. In addition to trifluralin, glyphosate resistance in crop situations, pastures and roadsides in the South East of SA affects not only ryegrass but also Brome and Barley grasses, Wild oats and wild radish and sowthistle. This is the highest level of resistance to glyphosate anywhere in SA.
Managing herbicide resistance can be summarised by three key steps:
1. keeping weed numbers low;
2. monitoring weed control – know what you are dealing with and what has survived; and
3. stopping the seed set of weeds (GRDC website).
Selecting the appropriate management practice and applying it at the right time is critical for dealing with ryegrass numbers and its effects on crops.
Key areas of management as identified by Bill Roy, a Western Australian agronomist, included preventing seed return by exhausting the weed bank. This was one of the critical aspects of reducing the impacts of ryegrass on farm. Once the seed bank had been reduced, the use of crop competition was found to be one of the best tools to combat ryegrass.
At the 20th Australasian Weeds Conference 2016 held in Perth, WA, future measures to address weed management included, digital farming, spray sensors/robots including drones, cover crops, stronger crops. GM cropping may be inevitable, as well as targeted tillage and old mechanical farming techniques like mouldboard ploughing.
Please see the following links for further information:
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Free Christmas Trees!
Free Christmas trees will be available from Natural Resources South East at the Mount Gambier Farmers Market (between the Library and the Cave Gardens) on:
Saturday 9th December from 9am-12pm
The free trees are Aleppo pines which invade native vegetation, and have been removed as part of an effort by Natural Resources South East staff to control this declared weed. Supplies are limited so get in early!
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2017 Weed Buster Drawing Competition |
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The Weed Buster Drawing Competition is back, and will once again challenge kids to use their imagination and drawing skills to create a pest plant of their own.
The competition is open to children aged 0-13, and prizes are on offer for the most imaginative creations. The best entries will also be displayed at the Mount Gambier Natural Resources Centre.
To enter simply download and print the entry form, draw your creation in the space provided, write your full name and address on the back, and send your entry to Natural Resources South East, PO Box 1046, Mount Gambier, SA 5290. Entries may also be hand delivered to the Mount Gambier Natural Resources Centre at 11 Helen Street, Mount Gambier.
Entries close Monday 20 November.
Check out the gallery of past entries for some inspiration. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!
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How are our blowfly and lice treatments performing? |
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This is a question that is not easily answered. Do you know what chemical groups are effective against blowflies or lice in your flock? Make the dollars you spend on treatments really count. Australian Wool Innovations (AWI) and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) have jointly funded a project to determine insecticide resistance profiles of the Australian Sheep Blowfly and the Sheep Body Louse across the major wool producing regions of Australia.
To do this they need maggots from fly struck sheep or fleeces from lousy sheep. If you have any sheep struck contact Narelle Sales at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute for a collection kit. The kit has reply postage paid. If you have lousy sheep contact Narelle to arrange for your lice to be tested.
After testing you will receive the results for your flock. Your confidentiality will be maintained as your property will be identified by a code and the results only attributed to a region or state. At the end of the project you will also receive the results showing how products are performing in your region or state.
If you are interested in taking part in this project please contact Narelle Sales, via email or phone (02) 4640 6446
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Vegetation Types in the South East – more than meets the eye!
Stringybark Woodlands – the latest release in the Natural Resources South East series of six Fact Sheets is now available to download here.
Stringybark woodlands are found throughout the South East and provide important habitat for many native species. In spring the flowering heath is a myriad of colour which attracts pollinating insects and honeyeaters. Brown Stringybark and Desert Stringybark are 2 of the 3 types of seeds eaten by the endangered Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (they also eat Buloke seed, a primary food source for this species).
Please feel free to download, save or print any of the fact sheets and share them with your friends and family. Beautifully illustrated and easy to read – great for school projects too.
For more information call Natural Resources South East on 8735 1177.
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SA Tree Watch
Help us learn about tree decline problems in your region!
Paddock and roadside trees are an iconic and vital part of South Australian agricultural landscapes. The purpose of the SA Tree Watch website is to allow local citizens to assess the health of trees in their area and add this information to an interactive map.
To begin, or to find out more information, please see the flyer or visit the website.
For further information contact Tracey Strugnell, by email or call 0427 750 050.
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