By Landcare facilitator
THE Western Port Catchment Landcare Network has organised tours to showcase some of the amazing works completed on large farms with the assistance of the Landcare Network.
The tours will focus on sites that are part of the Beef and Dairy Project and the Salinity Management Project.
The Beef and Dairy Project is funded through the National Landcare Program and has been very successful in demonstrating to farmers on large properties the practical benefits to their animals, pastures, soils and overall amenity of their properties of 10 metre wide indigenous native shelterbelts.
Assistance available to landholders is in the form of a fencing subsidy and plants and covers to part complete the project.
Landholders have to put in their own money to buy more plants and complete the fencing.
The plantings have grown very quickly with some trees reaching the height of two metres in only six months.
Productivity benefits noted by farmers have been increased pasture and animal growth as well as an influx of bird, bats and mammals that have worked on eating pest insect species from pastures and crops.
Added benefits have been increased amenity values of the properties that will increase over time making the properties more valuable if they are sold.
A tour of some of these properties will be held on Wednesday, 12 October.
The tour will begin at Peppermint Ridge Farm, 540 Tynong North Road Tynong North, at 10am and finish at 3pm.
Lunch will be provided.
Anyone interested in having a Landcare project on their property is encouraged to attend the tour to see the benefits for themselves.
A second tour will be held on Wednesday, 9 November also beginning at 10am at Peppermint Ridge Farm.
This time the tour will showcase the salinity sites that the Landcare Network has identified and assisted the landholders with.
The assistance takes the form of a salinity management plan, fencing subsidies and plants and covers to part way complete the project.
Landholders have to finance the rest of the project.
The salinity problem is a serious one in this area.
The background salinity reading for water should be 200 micosiemens but some sites have recorded reading of 8000 micosiemens.
Careful planning is needed to start reducing the impacts of salinity in these sites.
Anyone interested to attend these free tours with lunch provided should call Joan Szalman on 9707 3247 to book a place on the bus.
DIRECT SEED FIELD DAY
ANYONE interested to see a direct seed field day demonstration for creating native plant shelterbelts on farms is welcome to attend on Sunday 2 October at 1230 Murray Road, Bunyip, from 10am.
The Landcare Network will host this field day to demonstrate the speed and versatility of this method of creating a quick and cheap shelterbelt on bare land.
Morning tea will be provided.
A second demonstration will take place at Longwarry after the Bunyip site is planted.
Anyone interested should call the facilitator on 5942 8580 for more details.
