A study tour to New Zealand later this month will look at regen and sustainable farming ideas that could be implemented in south-west Victoria.
Eight local farmers and representatives from the Heytesbury District Landcare Network (HDLN) will visit the South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) along with local farms and research sites during the tour funded by DemoDAIRY Foundation.
DemoDAIRY Foundation secretary Ian Teese said the tour leaving on June 23 would be a follow-up to a larger scale study tour earlier this year that took a group of Young Dairy Network members to the North Island.
“Along with the benefits of attending SIDE, they will get to see different systems with a bigger emphasis on environmental impacts and sustainable farming,” Mr Teese said.
The group will visit the Lincoln University’s commercial-sized research farm and the HDLN representatives will look at regen farming, including research projects at Massey University.
Mr Teese said it was hoped the group could return with ideas for suitable projects in south-west Victoria.
Jake Musson, who works on his family dairy farm at Macarthur, will be part of the tour and is keen to find out more about the economics of farming in New Zealand and their low input systems.
“It will be good to experience the farms in New Zealand and there will be plenty of networking opportunities,” Mr Musson said.
“I’m interested in farm economics and New Zealand farms are lower input systems compared to our region so it will be interesting to see what we can glean from them,” he said. It will be his first trip to New Zealand.
At SIDE, tour members will get to learn about Integral Health Dairy Farm Project, EcoPond’ effluent treatment technology, drivers of N Loss to water, and mitigation strategies, irrigation and water use efficiencies, setting up a successful winter grazing system, and building resilient cows.
SIDE is a two-day conference for farmers, led by farmers. Established in 1998, it provides a forum for those involved in the South Island dairy industry to evaluate and apply knowledge, skills and technology to their business. SIDE is the largest event of its type in the country.
DemoDAIRY Foundation is supporting and organising the tour. Visit the DemoDAIRY Foundation website https://www.demodairy.com.au or contact DDF secretary Ian Teese on 0427 358987 or itag@bigpond.com for more information on DDF or the Powell Legacy Fund.
CAPTION…South-west Victorian farmers on an earlier New Zealand study tour supported by DemoDAIRY Foundation.