🌸 Welcome to the season of Kambarang
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RegenWA newsletter
October 2023
Welcome to the Noongar season of Kambarang, which is known as the second spring. This is a transformational time of the year, full of brightly coloured flowers exploding across the landscape. Native plants from orchids to kangaroo paws to Acacias and Banksias bring the landscape alive with colour. A species of particular importance is the Australian Christmas tree or Mooja (Nuytsia floribunda) putting on a wonderful display with its bright orange flowers.
The RegenWA team have been busy out and about at numerous events, connecting with our community, with Dowerin Field days and the 2023 Regen Agriculture Conference in Margaret River being some of the highlights.
If you haven't done so already, it's your last chance to tell us what you think about RegenWA in our member survey. We would love to know how we can better serve you with relevant information, events and other opportunities. The survey closes on 1 November 2023.
Keep reading for recent news, upcoming events including Bruce Maynard workshops, and other useful resources we have found for you.
Have an upcoming event? Want to share your story or find out more information? Contact us at info@regenwa.com, @regenwa on Twitter/X, @regenwa on Instagram or visit our website.
REGENWA EVENTS
Image: Landcare Australia
Bruce Maynard is coming to WA this October!
Bruce Maynard is one of Australia's leading agricultural innovators and is the current Bob Hawke Landcare Award winner for excellence in sustainable agriculture. Over 30 years, Bruce has pioneered the fields of No Kill Cropping, Stress Free Stockmanship, Self-Herding and Grassland Grain.
There are three opportunities this October to learn from Bruce:
- 24 October - Regenerative land and livestock management - Wandering
- 27 October - Stress Free Stockmanship and FEED365 Field Walk - Mandurah
- 28 October - Stress Free Stockmanship - Calingiri
These events are supported by the WA Regenerative Livestock Producers Inc, Lotterywest, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation through their Soil Wise Program, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Wheatbelt NRM, Northern Agricultural Catchments Council, and the Peel-Harvey Catchment Council.
Wheatbelt Integrity Group (WIG) Field Day
The Wheatbelt Integrity Group is hosting their annual field day and farm tour, featuring key speaker Ken Bailey, in Newdegate on 25 October. To be held at the Newdegate Bowling Club, it will include a field walk on Hollands Track Farm.
Natural Capital Accounting Field Day - Northam
WA Regenerative Livestock Producers and Landcare Farming will host a Natural Capital Accounting Field Day in Northam on 22 November. Participants will have the opportunity to learn about environmental accounting, account stratification and aggregation of field data, and participate in practical field exercises.
These field days are being delivered as part of the Landcare Farming Natural Capital Accounting Benchmarking project (NCA) – a joint project between Accounting for Nature and Landcare Farming.
NEWS
Regen Ag Conference a huge success!
And that’s a wrap! The recent Regenerative Agriculture Conference was a great success, with more than 300 attendees hearing from an incredible line up of speakers sharing their expertise. Read more
Landcare Australia Innovations in Ag videos
Check out the three videos from Landcare Australia and Perth NRM showcasing local farmers who are implementing innovative agriculture practices on their farms. View videos
UWA Farm to Port Survey
A research team from UWA are seeking survey participants in order to help better understand the operational experiences and daily challenges faced by grain growers. Read more
Exploring Soil Health - A WA Landcare Network Video
Explore soil health with farmers and producers, featuring Emeritus Professor Lyn Abbott speaking about the importance of soil health and her Soil Health app. View video
CSIRO research on Regenerative Agriculture economics
Get involved in research looking at the effect of regenerative agriculture on farm business profit and risk. For more information, contact Sadeeka at sadeeka.jayasinghe@csiro.au or call 0405 355742.
National Soil Survey
The National Soil Survey aims to understand soil issues, knowledge gaps and research, and extension opportunities across Australia. Results will help inform the design and delivery of targeted soil interventions to address priorities under the National Soil Strategy. Complete survey here
OPPORTUNITIES & SUPPORT
Soils for Life Cropping Discussion Groups
Connect, learn, and share with fellow farmers in the new online Cropping Discussion Groups - aimed at providing support to farmers as they transition their farm and implement regenerative cropping practices. Read more and register your interest.
Soils for Life Soil Health Challenge
Soils for Life are running a free Soil Health Challenge for farmers around Australia. The challenge will provide a simple system to monitor soil health, to measure the success of your management choices. Read more
DPIRD Farm Business Resilience Program
The Farm Business Resilience program aims to help farmers identify gaps in their business strategy and provide them with the tools they need to prepare for, and manage, risk and improve farm business resilience. Read more
OTHER EVENTS
- UWA Ridgefield Farm Open Day; Pingelly; Fri 6 Oct
- 2023 Biodiversity Conference; UWA Club; Tue 10 – Thu 12 Oct
- Farmer Gardener Workshops; Badgingarra/Dandaragan; Thu 12 Oct
- EarthWhile Australia – Soil Microscopy Workshop; Trigwell; Mon 16 - Tue 17 Oct
- EarthWhile Australia – Soil Microscopy Workshop; Donnybrook; Tue 24 - Wed 25 Oct
- RCS Workshops; Multiple Locations and Dates
If you have upcoming events, or see an event the RegenWA community would be interested in, make sure you hit us up on info@regenwa.com, @regenwa on Twitter, @regenwa on Instagram or on our website.
REGEN ONLINE
Farming for the Future podcast - the podcast explores natural capital from an ecological and economic perspective. Check out their latest episodes.
CSIRO Natural Capital Accounting Handbook - this practical guide for Australian companies and landowners shares how to measure and incorporate natural capital such as air, water, soil and living things. Learn more and download the handbook (PDF) here.
SOILHEALTH App - this free app gives you access to soil health knowledge from UWA Emerita Professor Lyn Abbott. The app includes an eBook, podcasts and seven soil health animations. Available on the Apple App store and Google Play.
True Cost of Food: Food is Medicine Case Study - check out this report by Tufts University, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, which explores the "food is medicine" interventions and programs. Read the full report here.
RegenWA Network Membership
We ask all our members to share this newsletter with their contacts and community groups and invite growers to register (no cost) regardless of what type, size, location, interest, and knowledge level of biological farming.
A diverse community is a strong, healthy community.
RegenWA is supported by Perth NRM through funding from Lotterywest, Commonland and Soil Wise.
Soil Wise is funded by the National Landcare Program Smart Farms Small Grants – an Australian Government initiative. It is supported by Healthy Estuaries WA – a State Government program.
