BestFarms News and Events

BestFarms Berries and Bushland

Twelve people from the BestFarms network recently had the opportunity to tour Drovers Rest Organic Berry Farm, observing how environmental monitoring is used as an integral part of overall business management. Drover’s Rest is a certified organic berry farm located near Bridgetown, Western Australia, supplying fresh and frozen berries to local and interstate markets.
The owners, Errol and Irma Seymour, opened the property to the BestFarms network to allow interested people to see how the environmental management of the property has progressed over time and how these practices compliment their berry production. Errol said, “We farm in a sustainable manner, sincerely caring for our environment - and BestFarms have helped to meet this aim and provide credit for work done”. After a tour of the processing facility all participants donned sturdy shoes and suncream and walked a route across the property which included revegetation sites, bore and dam sites, wetlands and berry production areas. Errol demonstrated water monitoring for the bore, and discussed pasture, revegetation and weed management. “This day demonstrated that monitoring can be slow but is a useful process” said Jenny Gardner, BestFarms facilitator, “In the short term it can influence the farm decision making with results possibly taking several years to become apparent. The land of Drover’s Rest is responding to years of careful management as proven by monitoring results of recent years.”
BestFarms is run through the Blackwood Basin Group and is funded by the South West Catchments Council. If you are interested in future BestFarms workshops or would like further information, please contact the BestFarms team at the Blackwood Basin Group Office on 9765 1555 or go to the BestFarms website at: http://bestfarms.mysouthwest.com.au

Volunteers needed Every Thursday night at Waychinicup National Park, near Albany and other local areas, the SCRIPT funded Western Ground Parrot Recovery Project conducts “listening” surveys. The Western Ground Parrot is endemic to the WA south coast and is a critically endangered species. The Project is looking for some people to volunteer to “watch the sun set and the stars come out ...and with a little luck… hear some ground parrots!” The Thursday surveys depart Albany at 7.15pm and return at about 10pm. If you would like to participate, please contact Mike Barth at the Dept of Environment and Conservation (Albany Office) at email michael.barth@dec.wa.gov.au or telephone 9842 4519.

WA Water Reform Plans Released

The WA Government has released a range of water management reform plans as part of the requirements of the National Water Initiative which the state signed in April last year.
One of the major plans is the Blueprint for Water Reform in WA, which provided a range of
key recommendations about the State’s water management. The reforms of the Blueprint follow on from the recommendations of the Irrigation Review Steering Committee’s Report of 2005, which looked at current and forecast water use across all sectors in WA and initiated a significant water reform agenda in the State.
Also released is the final draft of WA’s Implementation Plan for the National Water Initiative, which provides detail on how the national reform agenda will be applied in WA and sets out the key time-frames for delivery.
Both the final draft of the Implementation Plan and the Blueprint for Water Reform can be found at the SWCC website http://swcatchmentscouncil.com (–under the heading News and Events – SWCC Newsletter Update 38).

Landcare Exhibit at the Balingup Small Farm Field Day

Congratulations to all of those groups involved in the Landcare Exhibit at the Balingup Small Farm Field Day held on Saturday 21st April. The exhibit was Highly Commended under the Best Stall Award, along with two other exhibits.
The exhibit was coordinated by Cheryl Hamence, Natural Resource Management Officer for the Blackwood Valley Landcare Zone and featured a variety of information about Landcare and how we can manage our precious resources, particularly water.

PHOTOS: Team leader, Wendy Wilkins gives a helping hand in the BBG tent.

Walk out the back door and go fishing?

We are looking for new producers to grow trout in inland saltwater
The Blackwood Basin Group is working with the Saltwater Trout Alliance to identify and support new producers in the South West region. The Saltwater Trout Alliance Inc is a small group of farmers that sells between 3 and 5 tons of saltwater trout a year. The production of trout is undertaken as a farm diversification activity by the landholders and we wish to increase production by increasing the number of participating producers. To assist prospective producers trial aquaculture the Blackwood Basin Group and the Saltwater Trout Alliance are offering a comprehensive support package for
a limited number of new producers. Eligibility for this support is subject to satisfactory site and water assessments.
If you are in the Blackwood or Peel Harvey Catchment, have saltwater on your property and are interested in the possibility of using it to
grow fish then we are able to provide a free site assessment.
Please call the Blackwood Basin group on 9765 1555 for a site assessment request form or for more information.
A Blackwood Basin Group Project

2007/08 State and Territory Landcare Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2007/08 State and Territory Landcare Awards. There are ten categories with awards to recognise individuals, school, universities, local councils, primary producers, indigenous groups and many others.

The winners will receive state-wide recognition, attend the 2008 State Landcare Awards Gala Dinner in Bridgetown and be flown to the National Landcare Awards Ceremony to be held in Canberra next year.

Entries for WA close on 28 September 2007. For more information, please contact Glen Brown on 9368 3191 or email: gpbrown@agric.wa.gov.au, or visit the website http://www.landcareonline.com/page.asp?pID=93

Men of the Trees Planting Schedule

The Men of the Trees Inc 2007 Planting Schedule is on their website at www.menofthetrees.com.au under the events page. There are various plantings this year from overnight country trips to smaller day plantings. Online registration forms are now available but if you have further queries, please contact Erin Keefe (Planting Co-Ordinator) on 08 9274 4842 or 0428 593 274 or email mottplanting@iinet.au

“BestFarms is a practicable and userfriendly management tool developed by farmers for farmers, and its success is a credit to the BestFarms team and the Blackwood Basin Group,” added Mr Dilkes. To build on this great achievement, BestFarms will continue to maintain its continuous improvement policy and keep doing what it does best, working with landholders to promote sustainable and profitable farming.

BestFarms Celebrates 5 Years of EMS Success

BestFarms Environmental Management Systems (EMS) is this month celebrating its fifth year of delivering EMS training to landholders and farmers in the South West of Western Australia, a great achievement in landcare. BestFarms assists landholders in identifying and addressing environmental issues on their properties, and getting recognition for the environmental works they have already achieved.

A 5th Birthday Celebration, followed by an afternoon monitoring workshop will be held on Thursday 6th December at the Boyup Brook Club from 9.30am onwards, and the BestFarms team is encouraging anyone interested to attend.

"For a landcare project to consistently deliver workshops, support and field days over five years is a great achievement which we are proud to be celebrating," said BestFarms Coordinator Kirsten Martin. "BestFarms key focus is on supporting participants as they develop and implement their EMS, and as this is an on-going process, it's great that we have been able to provide that on-going service".

The BestFarms project is a sustainable agriculture program delivered by the not-for-profit, community organisation, the Blackwood Basin Group, with funding from the Australian and State Governments and administered by South West Catchments Council. The project has been recognised as the Blackwood Basin Group's flagship project and has recently received the Australian Business Award for Environmental Responsibility for 2007, as well as being a finalist for the Regional Achievement & Community Awards in the CSBP Environment and Sustainability category.

BestFarms Continues Monitoring Kit Availability

Funding from the South West Catchments Council (SWCC) and South Coast Natural Resource Management (SCNRM) has assisted the BestFarms Environmental Management Systems (EMS) project to continue to provide monitoring equipment kits for their participants and potential participants. These kits will aid in the on-going monitoring of their EMS farm action plans.

BestFarms Monitoring Kits were developed in 2006 by the BestFarms Team and 25 have been distributed in the South West Region since then. There are still 40 available kits in the SWCC Region.

The monitoring kits will provide BestFarms participants with subsidised, on-ground monitoring equipment to help them implement and monitor their Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

"The kits are a fantastic opportunity for BestFarms participants to own and use practical, on-ground equipment that will help them to monitor water, soil, biodiversity and climate on their properties. Each kit contains over $400 worth of monitoring equipment. Monitoring record results from participants will be used to gauge the success of the project in the long term and to ensure that the on-ground actions being implemented are having a positive impact." Said Project Coordinator Kirsten Martin.

Expression of interest forms, are available to those interested in obtaining a Monitoring Kit. Please contact the BestFarms Team at the Blackwood Basin Group Office on 9765 1555 or check out the BestFarms website at www.bestfarms.com.au

"BestFarms was developed in 2003 as a management tool made by farmers for farmers. Over the last five years we have continued to improve the system to make sure that it is still relevant and useful, and we now have over 120 participants in the South West who are implementing a BestFarms EMS on their property." said Ms Martin.

BestFarms recently delivered workshops to landholders in the Northern Rivers catchment of NSW, making it one of the first national EMS systems in Australia. Further workshops in WA will be provided in early 2008 and BestFarms Monitoring Equipment Kits are available for participants to help monitor the results of their EMS actions.

If you would like to attend BestFarms 5th Birthday Celebration, please contact the BestFarms Team at the Blackwood Basin Group Office on 9765 1555.

BestFarmers have funding success with Groundworks
One of the criteria for Groundworks funding is that the applicant has a farm plan, EMS or quality assurance in place. Landholders who have an EMS fit this criteria and more than 10 BestFarms participants were successful applicants in the latest round of Groundworks funding.
Congratulations to everyone who was successful in funding!
Case studies about participants who received funding and what they are achieving will be featured in coming newsletters and on our website.

CARBON NEUTRAL - Planting trees on Farms
Assistance for Farmers in native revegetation and oil mallee plantings is available from Carbon Neutral, an initiative set up by Men of the Trees.
Men of the Trees is a society which has been active since 1979, supported by volunteers to educate and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Men of the Trees are seeking sites to place Carbon Neutral Seedlings for the 2008 planting season. They will be planting over 750,000 seedlings for both Biodiversity and Oil Mallee Plantings. All plantings will be accredited through a national programme named 'Greenhouse Friendly'.
There are some guidelines in having an accredited planting and also some incentives for landholders. If Men of the Trees is unable to make the site a community planting they are willing to pay either the landholder or a contractor to complete the planting.
The Carbon Neutral Programme is designed to allow individuals, organizations and government to offset carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis through tree planting. For more information on how this could be of use to you as a landholder or for offsetting carbon emissions contact mottplanting@iinet.net.au, phone 92744842 or check out the websitewww.menofthetrees.com.au

BestFarms Finalists in Regional Achievement & Community Awards

We are extremely proud to announce that BestFarms was one of only four finalists for the CSBP Environment and Sustainability Award in the Regional Achievement & Community Awards. Congratulations to Dalgorup Primary School who won the Award! Congratulations also to BestFarms Participant Liz Parker and the Boyup Brook Telecentre who were also been notified as finalists in their categories!

Angela Hales moved to Boyup Brook five years ago with her family and lives on a 132 acre property on the Blackwood River at Jayes Bridge.
Angela works for BestFarms as a facilitator and is also the local Waterwatch coordinator.
"Both roles provide an excellent opportunity to assist people to learn more about how we can all work together in a sustainable manner to ensure we pass on better, well managed resources to our children."
Graduating with a Bachelor of Applied Science from the WA Institute of Technology, Angela worked in environmental health, with various shire councils before moving into state government.
Angela believes that her previous experience and knowledge provides her with a good understanding of the principles which BestFarms applies to environmental management.
Her roles have always required her to assist people take a systematic approach to managing processes, by ensuring what is done is recorded & verified.
The BestFarms team are pleased to have Angela on board as a Facilitator and also as an active and enthusiastic landholder utilising the BestFarms EMS process.

The EMS Association has instigated these awards to:

- Reward and recognise farmers and small business operators who have successfully implemented an environmental management system.
- Promote the adoption of sustainable management practices on all farms and within small businesses in Australia.
- Inspire people through the shared experience of innovative approaches to EMS in Australia.

The awards will demonstrate that use of EMS allows both profit and sustainability to be achieved. As such the awards offer a valuable opportunity both for promotion of individual businesses and encouragement to others to adopt EMS.
We urge you to enter for an award. EMS users in the past have all stressed how important it has been to hear the stories of others to encourage and support their own endeavours.

BestFarms Finalists in Regional Achievement & Community Awards - We are extremely proud to announce that BestFarms was one of only four finalists for the CSBP Environment and Sustainability Award in the Regional Achievement & Community Awards. Congratulations to Dalgorup Primary School who won the Award! Congratulations also to BestFarms Participant Liz Parker and the Boyup Brook Telecentre who were also been notified as finalists in their categories!

Blackwood Basin Group wins Australian Business Award

BestFarms Environmental Management Systems (EMS), a flagship project of the Blackwood Basin Group, has been recognised with the Australian Business Award for Environmental Responsibility in its industry category at the 2007 Awards. The Awards showcase organisations that demonstrate the core values of business excellence, corporate responsibility and commercial success in their respective industries.
BestFarms was developed to assist landholders in managing environmental impacts on their properties and to gain recognition for their environmental stewardship. The BestFarms Project began in 2005 and has already conducted numerous workshops for over one hundred participants; helping to change land management practices and protect the environment across the South West of WA. Each BestFarms EMS workshop shows participants how to identify the environmental impacts on their property and to develop, implement and monitor an action plan which will provide a systematic and sustainable
approach to profitable environmental practices. Blackwood Basin Group’s Chairman Derek Dilkes said “This award is a great achievement and recognition of the hard work of the BestFarms team, as well as all of the landholders in the South West who have participated in the project.”