Over the past four years, farmers, grower groups, and industry groups have been working with NACC to demonstrate innovation and sustainable farming practices on agricultural land across the Northern Agricultural Region.
Funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program has enabled NACC to provide grants ranging from $4,000 to $30,000, and support 36 farm demonstration projects across 103 sites, and 85 different properties in the region.
“It has been an incredibly successful project,” said NACC Sustainable Agriculture Project Manager Sarah Jeffery who coordinates the demonstrations.
“I feel so incredibly lucky to have been involved in helping to get new and innovative projects off the ground.”
Throughout this project, some $814,254 has made its way back to the community to catalyse and support sustainable agriculture outcomes.
NACC has worked with individual farmers, as well as with local and regional groups including the Liebe Group, West Midlands Group, Evergreen Farming, North East Farming Futures, Mingenew Irwin Group, Moore Catchment Council, WA Citrus, Southern Mango Growers, Western Citrus Alliance, and a number of businesses including Energy Farmers Australia, Spartel Pty Ltd, and Equii. The collaborations have also involved state and national organisations, such as Greening Australia.
Projects that have been funded over the last four years have included perennial grasses, liming, biochar, nitrogen leaching, poultry litter compost, dung beetles, and native grasses and shrubs.
“These grants have enabled groups and individuals to innovate and share their knowledge with others – to help overcome some of the challenges that agriculture faces in the NAR,” said Sarah.
“Continued innovation and sustainable use of our natural resources in the farming sector will ensure we can successfully farm into the future, and that agriculture will continue to be a key driver in the region’s economy”
For a full list of projects and available reports see the NACC Demonstration page at: https://www.nacc.com.au/project/farm-demonstrations/
This project is supported by NACC through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.
