Wednesday 18 April, 9.00 am - 4.00 pm
Hamilton Exhibition & Conference Centre,
Hamilton Showgrounds,
Shakespeare St, Hamilton
RSVP by Wednesday April 17 to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Thursday April 19, 9.00 am to 4.00 pm
Skipton Mechanics Hall
Anderson Street, Skipton
RSVP by Tuesday April 16 to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Christine Jones is an internationally renowned and highly respected groundcover and soils ecologist. She has a wealth of experience working with innovative landholders to implement regenerative land management techniques that enhance biodiversity,

increase biological activity, sequester carbon, activate soil nutrient cycles,
restore water balance, reduce soil acidification risks, improve productivity, and create new top soil.

Christine will explain the process of soil carbon sequestration and outline some simple steps landholders can take to activate soil building processes.

Christine will explain the process of soil carbon sequestration and outline some simple steps landholders can take to activate soil building  processes, hence reducing acidification and salinisation on their farms.
Attendees are invited to bring labelled soil samples for testing and discussion. pH test kits will be available on the day.

Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided.

Numbers are limited, RSVP early to avoid disappointment.

On 13 January 2012, the Victorian Treasurer directed the Commission to conduct an inquiry into Feed-in Tariff Arrangements and Barriers to Distributed Generation. The Commission is to provide a final report to the Government by 13 July 2012.

The terms of reference ask the Commission to assess the design, efficiency and effectiveness of feed-in tariffs, recommend whether existing feed-in tariffs should be continued, phased-out or amended and identify barriers to the development of a network of distributed renewable and low emission generation in Victoria.

An issues paper was released on 15 February 2012, describing the scope of the inquiry, the information the Commission is seeking, and outlining the process and timetable of the inquiry.

Further detail is available at  http://www.vcec.vic.gov.au/CA256EAF001C7B21/pages/vcec-inquiries-current-inquiry-into-feed-in-tariffs---barriers-to-distributed-generation

To register your interest, please email your contact details to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For more information, please contact Ms Robbie Taylor (administrative matters) on 9092 5832 or Mr Glen Hepburn (other matters) 9092 5811.

Submissions are due 19th March 2012.

Transport costs, a major factor in Australian agricultural competitiveness

The importance of transport costs for Australian agriculture has been highlighted in a research report released by the Australian Farm Institute, which has identified that for some commodities, transport costs can be equivalent to more than 40% of the farmgate value of agricultural commodities.

The research report Transport costs for Australian agriculture released today by the Australian Farm Institute provides details of transport costs as a percentage of farmgate value for twelve different agricultural case studies and highlights the importance of transport costs for agricultural businesses.

Despite the importance of transport costs to farm businesses, there is little published research that identifies either the scale of these costs for Australian farmers, or the extent to which these costs are changing over time.

This research identified that transport costs are between 4% and 48.5% of the farmgate value of agricultural products with the ratio being much higher for products such as grain. While these results cannot be extrapolated to respective agricultural industries as a whole, they demonstrate that for many products, particularly beef cattle and grain, transport costs are a major part of the total cost to produce and deliver the product to its destination.

This research shows that for certain routes, although ocean freight is often a major part of the cost and highly sensitive to the world price of oil, rail freight can constitute the highest share of the total transport costs.

The great advantage of this research is that it constitutes a benchmark against which changes in transport costs can be assessed and compared over time. It is also hoped that the Australian agricultural transport costs identified, as part of this research, will be able to be compared with transport costs incurred by agricultural producers in other countries.

This research has been carried out by Garry Goucher & Associates, Transport costs for Australian agriculture and is available at the Australian Farm Institute.

Australian Farm Institute members can download the report for free after logging on here.

Non-members can purchase the report here.

For information on memberships, please click here.

For more information, contact the Australian Farm Institute by email here or call 02 9690 1388

Recommendations that reduce Ballarat’s emissions.

Awarding of Certificates for Bioenergy Technology course

Within 80 km radius of Ballarat there is an annual amount of at least 300,000 tonnes of biomass that could be used to produce energy.- as heat, electricity or.  transport fuels. Presently this biomass is almost entirely unutilised, either going to landfill, burned, or left to decay with production of greenhouse gases.

A group that has just completed a 6 month distance bioenergy technology course provided by a Swedish university has produced nine short reports, and out of these a number of recommendations how this biomass could be cost-effectively utilised within the municipality of Ballarat. The course was auspiced and managed by Central Highlands Agribusiness Forum (CHAF).

The outcomes of implementing the main recommendations would be significantly reduced emissions, creation of up to 100 permanent jobs, reduction of volumes going to landfill, more money remaining in the local economy, and positive revenues or cost savings for the farms and businesses that are the source of these wastes and residues.

The potential benefits from use of the biomass identified by a number of mature technologies could mean Ballarat municipality producing up to 30% of industrial, commercial and residential heat energy needs, and up to 30% of transport fuel requirements, with the money previously spent on importing these energy forms then remaining in the community economy.

Use of mature technologies to produce up to 15% of current electricity needs is also technically and economically feasible, and several options are discussed  in the recommendations.

Andrew Lang, a CHAF member who coordinated the course and had visited the university in southern Sweden, says that the course has been completed at a very interesting time for Ballarat City.. “Many of the recommendations could apply to the new Ballarat West Employment Zone, and also come just when the new Carbon Tax legislation has been passed in Federal parliament. Our nine reports that contribute to the recommendations look at some possible solutions for the City and some major heat using businesses.

The awarding of the certificates of completion will take place between 2 & 3 pm on the 8^th February in the courtyard of Seymours on Lydiard. The group that completed the course includes people from Department of Primary Industry, Sustainability Vic, Corangamite CMA, two farm forestry networks, Grampians Waste Management, Vic Forests, Melbourne Water, BREAZE, and a natural resource management organisation.

If you are interested in attending the award ceremony please contact Pat Murphy, exec officer of CHAF, on 0413 810363, or Andrew Lang, course coordinator, on 0409 977048

Mentoring Program

At the YAPs conference last year, many of the attendees stated that having someone who is experienced in the agricultural industry and is willing to talk and provide information and support would be of great value, particularly due to the wealth of knowledge that older members have amassed over their careers.

We are now putting out a call for people who are either interested in mentoring a young person, or are a younger person who is looking for a mentor. We are aiming to match people who live in similar regions and are working (or studying) in the same industry to have at least one initial phone call and face to face meeting. Ongoing support will be on a monthly or as-needs basis.

The aim of the mentoring program is to help utilise the knowledge that is currently in the industry to help develop younger people who are just entering the industry or are looking to further consolidate their career within agriculture.

If you’re interested in what is involved in the mentoring program, or would like to be involved either as a mentor or mentee, please contact Ailsa Gibson at the VFF on (03) 9207 5563 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .