Liebe Group Spring Field Day: 20 Years On and Still Going Strong

About 150 farmers, researchers, industry people, students and teachers flocked to West Buntine recently to attend the...
Home 🞂 Newsroom 🞂 Liebe Group Spring Field Day: 20 Years On and Still Going Strong
About 150 farmers, researchers, industry people, students and teachers flocked to West Buntine recently to attend the Liebe Group’s 20th Spring Field Day.

Attendees were treated to more than 20 speakers and researchers who provided updates on the latest agronomy trials, varieties and technologies.

As usual with the Liebe Group Spring Field Days, visitors travelled from most cropping areas across  WA’s Wheatbelt region and some even came from as far as South Australia and beyond.

Alex Keamy, the Group’s Vice President, welcomed the visitors to the event and said while it had been a challenging season, he was thrilled with the great turn out on the day.

“It’s a very fitting way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Liebe Group,” Mr Keamy said.

Stuart McAlpine, one of the group’s co-founders who has been involved right from the beginning, said the Liebe Group SFD had become well-known and respected for its independent, non-biased trials and for giving farmers direct access to researchers, agronomists and other experienced growers.

“Twenty years is a long time for this group to be functioning and I am so pleased with the way the younger group continues what was begun many years ago,” Stuart said.

The rolling program on the day featured a wide range of speakers and information on weed control, cereal herbicide systems, national variety trials, agronomy and nitrogen management strategies, seed treatments for root disease management in wheat, control traffic farming, and comparison of tillage methods for lime incorporation.

Of key interest to NRM practitioners and NACC supporters was an excellent presentation by Dr Ben Coles of Wide Open Agriculture who spoke about their innovative farming business model that aims to support new and existing farmers to engage in diversified and regenerative farming systems.

Dr Coles said their business model is about diversification in farming to address the challenges of the ongoing climatic and sustainable land management issues, while boosting regional populations in the State’s shrinking agricultural communities.

NACC Regional Landcare Facilitator Stanley Yokwe who attended the event said he was pleased to join the Liebe Group members in celebrating their 20th Anniversary.

“Liebe Group is a very proactive and successful NACC partner which has achieved great projects and delivered high quality events in the region,” he said.

“Looking ahead, I believe the future for Liebe Group is very bright.”

On behalf of NACC, Stanley congratulates the Liebe Group team and members for their 20 years of hard work, creativity and dedication, and for the great partnership with us over the years. Happy anniversary!

 

The Liebe Group 20th spring field day was supported by NACC through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme as part of the Regional Landcare Facilitator project. Other funding for the event came from the Elder Scholz Rural.

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In 2020-21 I talked about ‘raising the bar’. In 2021-22 we worked on setting the bar on fire. Over the last 12 months, the team at NACC NRM has not stopped.

The Sustainable Agriculture team has extended the program’s reach through collaborations with grower groups in the regions. Specifically, the Beyond Reasonable Drought project and Grower Group Alliance – South West WA Drought Innovation Hub – Geraldton Node project. The Beyond Reasonable Drought partnership with grower groups supported farmers across the region to improve the environmental sustainability of their agricultural production and drought resilience. The outcomes of this project have been consolidated through our successful Expression of Interest to the South West WA Drought Innovation Hub, with support from grower groups across the region, to host the Geraldton Node of the Hub. The program continues to focus on working with agricultural networks to share technical expertise and provide opportunities that will improve land management practices in agriculture across the region.

The conservation outcomes of ranger teams have expanded through work on several land tenures. Maintaining Heritage sites such as Willi Gulli, Racecourse Paddock and Buller River has long been a priority. During 2021-22, the teams have increasingly focused on threatened species and ecosystems.

To this end, Western Mulga rangers have improved management across 19,000 ha for the conservation of Malleefowl through firebreak and access management. They completed the maintenance of water holes and supported the monitoring of over 90 Malleefowl mounds.

Similarly, the Kwelena Mambakort Aboriginal Corporate ranger team have contributed positively to Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo populations by installing artificial hollows and habitat restoration.

All ranger teams have collected native seed, propagated native plants for restoration, and planted native vegetation in key locations across the NAR. Seed collection provides valuable industry experience and has facilitated the planting of over 100,000 seedlings during the year.   

In September 2021, the NACC NRM team delivered the WA Threatened Species Forum, held in tandem with the National Malleefowl Forum. Given the impact of COVID and the timing of this event, having more than 100 delegates from all over Australia was a significant achievement. The two Forums brought together 12 events over five days and featured 14 local artists, 25 businesses and 36 youth participants.

Following the successful relaunch of our updated NARvis, NACC NRM was invited to help lead a significant piece of strategic planning work for the region with Mid West Development Commission and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. With funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, the consortia delivered a Regional Drought Resilience Plan covering the shires of Northampton and Chapman Valley and the City of Greater Geraldton, along with significant technical analysis of drought vulnerability for the South West land division. The development of this plan also included extensive community consultation to ensure that local knowledge and technical advice guided the development of priorities for action.

This planning work links to existing NACC NRM on-ground projects, including Beyond Reasonable Drought and the Chapman Catchment Collaborative regeneration project.

It was a busy year for events with face-to-face events becoming commonplace again. During 2021-22 we hosted events in Gingin, Moora, Dalwallinu, Cervantes, Jurien Bay, Walkaway, Nabawa, Perenjori, Kalannie and Morawa. We supported events in Karakin, Thundellara, Perenjori, Paynes Find, Wubin, Cataby, Warradarge, Northampton, Yuna, Dalwallinu and Dandaragan.

We also supported on-ground works throughout the region, including at the following locations Yuna, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Merkanooka, Goodlands, Kalannie, Bunjil, Yardarino, Canna, Kondut, Latham, Kadathinni, Nabawa, Red Gully, Sandy Gully, Waddy Forrest, Devils Creek, Perenjori, Bowgada, Ellendale, Wandana, Namban, Hill River, Warradarge, Gillingarra, Regans Ford and Moonyanooka.

Our region is vast – slightly larger than Tasmania, which for comparison, is serviced by three separate NRM organisations. Covering the NAR region and its many environmental threats is challenging. We continue to focus on partnerships and collaboration to address this challenge. We know that by working with our community through passionate delivery of collaborative on-ground projects and education, the community will value and actively protect our region’s natural capital.

This year we have launched a new Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). The RAP Working Group consulted widely and developed an Innovate RAP which Reconciliation Australia approved in March 2022. The activities to fulfil these commitments are now in full swing.

Sadly, at the end of 2021, we farewelled former NACC NRM CEO Shelley Spriggs, who lost a long battle with cancer. Shelley was an inaugural inductee to the NRM Leadership Honour Roll. I will always be grateful for her guidance and no-nonsense approach, not to mention her passion for life.

While we have said farewell to some, we have welcomed many new faces across all programs, including our Administration team. We have also hosted a school-based trainee from Nagle Catholic College who has been working towards a Certificate II in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. This trial position has been very successful, and we look forward to making this opportunity available again in 2023.

During 2022 we have taken on new projects that align with our organisational and program objectives, and we have successfully completed some great initiatives that support continued conservation and sustainability outcomes. I want to thank the whole team who continue to go above and beyond for the organisation and each other proving their ongoing commitment to our purpose and our values.