The newly formed Owingup Kent Growers Group (OKGG) has grown to include over 30 properties, with new members joining all the time to support new farming practices, soil health, bird life, water health, and pasture management. The group is excited to announce that they will be holding regular events in the Kentdale Hall and around the catchment, where they will share ideas, showcase their progress, and recruit guest presenters and experts from across Australia.
Some of the topics that will be discussed at future meetings are feral control, weed control, new practices to support the important relationship between soil, pasture and animal health, drought resistance, interpreting soil test results, optimising fertiliser applications, improving the spread and survival of dung beetles, carbon credits, and recycling of on-farm plastics.
There are also opportunities to add to this list of topics, and share your knowledge, experience and expertise.
RSVP for the first meeting: https://www.wicc.org.au/rsvp-to-okgg-24th-feb-2023.html
OKGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.
Contact Kylie Cook; 0427529077[KC1] ; or Benita Cattalini; okgg@wicc.org.au for more information.
Some of the topics that will be discussed at future meetings are feral control, weed control, new practices to support the important relationship between soil, pasture and animal health, drought resistance, interpreting soil test results, optimising fertiliser applications, improving the spread and survival of dung beetles, carbon credits, and recycling of on-farm plastics.
There are also opportunities to add to this list of topics, and share your knowledge, experience and expertise.
RSVP for the first meeting: https://www.wicc.org.au/rsvp-to-okgg-24th-feb-2023.html
OKGG is funded in part by the Western Australian Government’s State Natural Resource Management Program.
Contact Kylie Cook; 0427529077[KC1] ; or Benita Cattalini; okgg@wicc.org.au for more information.
OKGG past workshops
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Growing pasture in a drying climate
OKGG’s explored how to better grow pasture in a drying climate. Ron Watkins, farm landscape planning consultant, outlined his approach considering multiple elements when planning infrastructure on farms. Next, Paul Sanford, experienced pasture researcher from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), spoke about emerging research identifying feed gaps and pinpointing what farmers can do to ensure abundant feed year-round. |
Cartoon by Claudia Simpson
OKGG members at the Graeme Sait workshop
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Soil Health and your wealth
OKGG hosted a 2-day workshop, ‘Soil Health and your wealth’ with Graeme Sait, author of popular podcast ‘Nutrition Matters’ and CEO of Nutri-Tech solutions. Over 60 farmers attended the workshop at the Denmark Riverside Club on the 15-16th June, hearing about a range of problem-solving strategies to boost productivity and profitability, sustainably. |
Gavern House from Alpha Pest Control
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Managing Feral Animals
OKGG workshop on managing feral animals at the Kentdale Hall on 25th May 2023. Gavern House, from Alpha Pest Animal Solutions, spoke to the group about the issues facing them on their properties. Many farmers reported problems with foxes, feral cats and rabbits on their properties, impacting both their livestock and native wildlife. Gavern explained that trapping, shooting and the careful use of targeted 1080 baits (sodium fluoroacetate) were all valuable in a combined strategy to have the greatest impact in protecting native wildlife. 1080 baits are particularly valuable in Western Australia as native animals have a high tolerance to the compound, as it is also found in over 30 species of plants native to Western Australia. A specialized baiting technique (buried egg baits) used by Gavern minimizes the likelihood of baits being moved by birds, to further protect non-target animals. |
Cartoon by Claudia Simpson