Local graziers are taking advantage of support while planning for what is forecast to be a tough winter season.

Grass budgets, setting critical dates and adaptive planning dominated discussion when members of Watershed Landcare’s Grazing Group met recently.

“Members are preparing for a tough winter and are having to make different decisions because they don’t have their usual backstop. A lot of people don’t have the the feed or fodder reserves they had this time last year, and that’s been a big factor in decisions.” said Grazing Group Coordinator, Claudia Wythes.

“It’s a good time to re-group and members are taking advantage of support, running plans past each other and having a sounding board for their decision making.”.

The Grazing Group provides participants with support, mentoring, vibrant and interactive conversation and new ideas. The group comprises of local graziers with diverse operations, from breeding to trading, and everything in between.

Much of the discussion was focused on making a plan based on current conditions and the best information available but also being prepared to adapt that plan if conditions change.

“Just because it’s rained don’t stop thinking about it. What stock have you got on hand? What water have you got? Is the quality good? Do you need to get it tested?” said Ms Wythes.

“A decision made on planning is better than a decision made because you had to, under pressure.”

Recognising the importance of rest, especially when paddocks are under pressure, to maintain groundcover was also a principal factor in graziers decision making. Current conditions mean longer rest periods need to be scheduled when planning grazing, for example when getting paddocks ready for spring lambing.

The Watershed Landcare Grazing Group meet on-farm four times a year to discuss seasonal, production, marketing and management strategies and decisions and to explore topics of interest through guest speakers.

Want to find out more about the Grazing Group and how you can get involved? For further information contact Claudia Wythes, Watershed Landcare Coordinator, on 0412 011 064 or claudiawythes@watershedlandcare.com.au

The Grazing Group is supported by Watershed Landcare and is a part of the NSW Government’s Local Landcare Coordinators Initiative, supported through the partnership of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW.

Local landholders and pest managers will be introduced to some cutting edge remote sensing technology at two Watershed Landcare workshops to be held on 27 and 28 March in Gulgong and Pyramul.

A team from New Zealand’s Encounter Solutions will be discussing their long-range wireless sensor networks for rural and rugged areas, with applications for pest control operations. The backbone of the wireless network is the solar-powered Celium Hub, using the Iridium satellite or cellular networks to transport data from the field to a smartphone that can be deployed anywhere in the world.

Celium networks have been used to monitor pest traps the length and breadth of New Zealand and last year were trialled in the Cooper Basin, South Australia. This trial, in partnership with the NSW Department of Primary Industry and Australian Wool Innovation Ltd, looked at alerting the team when wild dog traps were triggered.

Foot-hold traps were set with a Celium Mole, a device hidden in the ground beneath the trap, that transmits an alert when the trap was sprung, sending a notification to the team. The Celium Moles communicated with a series of Celium Hubs, deployed for maximum coverage of the target trapping area. The trial also tested transmission quality and speed and enabled refinement of the application of the Celium Network.

“I can see a lot of potential for this system in our area. Checking traps is time consuming, on top of regular farm activities especially in dry times like we are experiencing now.” said Greg Lawson, chairman of both the Hargraves Hill End Wild Dog Group and the Mudgee Merriwa Wild Dog Association.

Mr Lawson is keen for landholders to come along and talk to the Encounter Solutions team.

“The alert system would be great to trial in our area, it could save us a huge amount of time and cost and ultimately improve welfare outcomes for trapped animals.” he continued.

The Gulgong workshop will be held at the Gulgong CWA Hall on 27 March and the Pyramul workshop will be held at Green Hills Crossroads Shearing Shed, Pyramul on 28 March. Both workshops will run from 9am to 4pm.

Attendance is free with morning tea and lunch provided, all welcome. For more information or to register please contact Watershed Landcare Pest Animal Group Coordinator, Beth Greenfield on 0438 090 525.

Want to learn more about our local creatures of the sky? A couple of great events are coming up where you can get out and about and explore woodland bird and bat habitat and hear from experts about their ecology. These events are supported by Central Tablelands Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

As part of Australian Bat Night the Central Tablelands LLS will be hosting a Mudgee Bat Night at Putta Bucca Wetlands on Friday, 22 March.

Come along and learn about our local creatures of the night, their habitat and what makes them special. Bat Ecologist Marg Turton will be speaking about the importance of bats and how to attract them to your property.

The evening will also include a night time walk to spot and listen to both insect- and fruit-eating bats at the wetlands, kids activities: making a bat mask, colouring in a bat or folding a bat origami and, a free BBQ dinner.

Central Tablelands LLS is also inviting anyone interested in our local woodlands and the birds which call them home to attend a morning of learning about Woodland Birds on Farms, focusing on protecting the Regent Honeyeater, on Thursday 28, March.

The event will commence with morning tea at the Cooyal Hall where we will hear from Ross Crates from The Australian National University about his recent research on the Regent Honeyeater and its recovery. Dr Crates studied the Regent Honeyeater as part of his PhD research and will offer an insight as to why this critically endangered bird has been disproportionately affected by habitat loss.

Huw Evans from Central Tablelands LLS will also speak about actions you can take to care for your woodland. The day will also include a visit to Munghorn Gap Nature Reserve to see what Regent Honeyeater habitat looks like and will conclude with a BBQ lunch.

These events are free and all are welcome to attend.

For more information about these events, or to RSVP please contact Evelyn Nicholson, Land Services Officer with Central Tablelands LLS, on 0427 637 907 or email: Evelyn.Nicholson@lls.nsw.gov.au.

The Mudgee Bat night will be held at the Putta Bucca Wetlands, Putta Bucca Rd, Mudgee on Friday, 22 March from 5:30pm with BBQ dinner at 6:00pm. Please RSVP for catering purposes by 18 March.

The Woodland Birds on Farms event will be held at the Cooyal Hall, Wollar Rd, Cooyal on Thursday 28, March starting at 9:30am for morning tea. Please RSVP by 22 March for catering purposes.

Watershed Landcare is a grassroots community organisation and we work together with our community to support an integrated, productive and sustainable approach to land management. The group has been active in our region for 21 years, working with the community to encourage positive change and progress from a people, prosperity and environmental point of view.

Our area covers approximately 900,000 ha (9000 km²) stretching to Gulgong in the north, Burrendong Dam in the west, the Turon River in the south and the Wollemi National Park in the east. Members include established landholders, town and village residents, land managers, people with country retreats and local businesses.

Our activities, field days, workshops, seminars and projects focus on topics of importance to our members, and consultation with our community is an important aspect of the planning process.

As well as conducting a survey, the group recently held a project planning session. The Management Committee and Coordinators met with members and representatives from the wider community to identify and design projects that meet the groups’ strategic objectives as well as community needs.

The group brainstormed project ideas to engage, empower and support our community to achieve a resilient and sustainable environment within our district. The day was very successful with many great ideas flowing.

Watershed Landcare’s priorities will continue to focus on projects and activities that address sustainable agriculture, improving soil and grazing management and biodiversity, including the protection of threatened and vulnerable species and communities.

Raising awareness of issues relevant to our local environment and supporting people to create change through capacity building and sharing of knowledge and skills remain important core values to the organisation.

Do you have a great idea for an event or project we could run, want to get involved or want to find out more about what we do?

Visit our website, www.watershedlandcare.com.au, or contact one of our Coordinators, Claudia Wythes on 0412 011 064 or Agness Knapik on 0435 055 493 or email: info@watershedlandcare.com.au.

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Box Gum Grassy Woodland is the shortened name given to the endangered ecological community ‘White Box, Yellow Box, Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland’. This community is characterised by a sparse shrub layer, a diverse mix of native grasses and herbs, and is dominated by the eucalypts White Box, Yellow Box and/or Blakely’s Red Gum. Grey Box may also dominate or co-dominate in the Nandewar Bioregion.

Prior to European settlement Box Gum Grassy Woodlands were widespread along the western slopes and tablelands of The Great Dividing Range, occurring from Southern Queensland through to Central Victoria. Despite this wide ranging distribution, Box Gum Grassy Woodlands are rather specific in the geographic and environmental factors governing their distribution.

Soil fertility is the most important environmental factor governing the localised distribution of Box Gum Grassy Woodlands. They are closely associated with fertile clay loam soils of moderate depth on flat to undulating terrain, along the lower slopes of the Tablelands and Western Slopes in New South Wales. Within the Watershed Landcare region they occur mainly in areas with a 550 mm to 800 mm annual rainfall and an elevation below about 700 m above sea level.

On steeper, less arable and rockier ground, Dry Sclerophyll Forest replaces Box Gum Grassy Woodland. Dry Sclerophyll Forest may be dominated by the same tree species but the understorey is predominately shrubby, rather than a grassy one.

Today less than 4% of Box Gum Grassy Woodland remains, much of which is highly fragmented and in poor ecological condition. The productive and fertile clay loam soils are the reason, because when Europeans settled an area for agricultural purposes they would have first chosen the most productive parts of the landscape.

Many large hollow bearing trees of the Box Gum Grassy Woodlands are isolated and under stress, or reaching the end of their life span. Natural recruitment is rare due to much of the Box Gum Grassy Woodlands being converted to crops and pastures. Large hollow bearing trees provide habitat for a myriad of insects, birds, reptiles and mammals, shade for livestock, and give the landscape its quintessential Australianness. These trees cannot be replaced in the short to medium term and need to be protected from the added nutrients of livestock camps and the cultivation of soil close to their root system.

Watershed Landcare have launched our ‘A Home Among the Gum Trees’ project and we are seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from landholders in our region. Funding of $7,000 is available to conduct on-ground works to protect mature hollow bearing paddock trees in Box Gum Grassy Woodland. EOIs close 15 February.

For more information or to submit an EOI, visit our website.

The Watershed Landcare ‘Home Among the Gum Trees’ Project is supported by Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government and is a component of the Driving Corridor Connectivity Project funded through NLP2.