Greg Reid, Project Officer, NSW Department of Industry and Investment who willl be a keynote speaker at the forums.Clarence Valley small crops producer Derek Palmer has taken a 50 acre forested block and turned it into an organic vegie growing business and urges farmers to learn how by attending one of the Sustainable Agriculture Fourms being held across the region in May.
“We purchased the property about 10 years ago and in the first year of production our return was less than 1kg per plant," Derek said.
"Four years on we are averaging 5kgs return per plant and there’s capacity to increase that result. This has only been possible with an investment in organic soil improvement”.
Derek owes his success to taking part in a Sustainable Farm Management Plan funded by Northern Rivers Food Links project and delivered by project partner the NSW Department of Industry and Investment.
Now other farmers can hear about the support Derek received by attending one of the Northern Rivers Sustainable Agriculture Forums being held held on Tuesday 3 and Wednesday 4 May in Murwillumbah, Ballina, Casino and Maclean.
The Forums, hosted by Northern Rivers Food Links, will showcase successful, innovative and sustainable food production practices in a changing climate.
Keynote speaker at the forums, Greg Reid, Project Officer, Project Officer, NSW Department of Industry and Investment., said soils were often the weak point for farmers.
"Relatively small management changes combined with new forecasting tools can make a big difference over time to food security”, Greg said.
At the forums Mr Reid will showcase the Sustainable Farm Planning Project and his work with 20 local farmers/landowners on individual sustainable management plans.
Derek's farm now has open woodland pastures surrounding the central cropping area and 1,000 olive trees are in a new orchard. Dams in each paddock - six in total - are linked to back up the main irrigation supply. Productivity in the pastures has been boosted by the use of a home-made spike aerator so that rain from spring storms is absorbed by the soil instead of being shed as runoff.
“For me, all of this underscores a really important point - small farms can be sustainable and we farmers can still make a reasonable living if we are smart and get our farms functioning well – organics has been my solution and I’ve proven it to work”.
The forums are free of charge. For more information, or to register, visit www.northernriversfoodlinks.com.au or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
To be considered for a detailed farm consultancy, farmers should lodge an expression of interest. Forms are available from the Food Links website www.northernriversfoodlinks.com.au or by ringing Greg Reid on 6672 2770.
