A Christmas message
It’s that time of year again – the silly season is very much upon us!
This is just a quick note to wish you a Merry Christmas and to give you a quick update of what’s happening here at Rural Connections in the New Year.
Aside from wishing you a Merry Christmas (and all that stuff) I also wanted to acknowledge you for your encouragement and support for my business since I started about this time last year.
The office will only be manned periodically from Christmas Eve until Wednesday the 2nd of January 2008. If you have any enquiries please call 0409 196 861 and leave a message on the message bank. I will return your call at the first available moment.
I would also like to take this opportunity to say take care during the holiday period and wish you all the best for your plans and ambitions for next year.
I sincerely look forward to working with you to advance you and your business in 2008!
Back paddock have found the answer to 1080!
I have mentioned previously that I have been working on the 1080 project interviewing farmers for Rural Development Services in Hobart.
I was having a quick flick through the Back Paddock pages in Weekly Times a moment ago and the photo above caught my eye.
Back Paddock reckons that all we need to do now is train a few more of these bounty hunters to control the raging rabbit populations.
They say “it’s so simple it’s a wonder no one thought of it before.”
The fox is a natural enemy for the rabbit, but there are only so many bunnies that a fox can eat in a day, right?
So, Back Paddock are saying forget 1080, strychnine and calicivirus. All you have to do is give these trained foxes a .222 with a scope and they can quadruple their kill for the day.
Who would have thought that managing the rabbit was as simple as giving foxes a gun licence!
My FIRST cover shot published!
I just wanted to share a special moment with you!
Small Farms Magazine recently printed an article I had written about growing Truffle’s in Australia.
When I picked up a copy of the magazine from my local newsagency at Sorell, I was blown away to find one of the photos I had taken for the story on the front cover of the December 2007 edition.
I was especially thrilled as this was the first article I had written for them – it was also my first cover shot too!
Get Rachael Treasure’s Autograph
For those of you who own books written by Rachael Treasure but don’t have them signed heres your chance to get to get her autograph for the cost of a couple of stamps and envelopes.
Rachael’s webmaster, Allan, has made some neat labels, so you can get them autograph and stick them inside your books.
To get your labels signed with a personal message on it, all you need to do is send a stamped self address envelope, together with the name and the message you wish for Rachael to write, to:
Labels C/- PO Box 9, Sorell, TAS 7172.
If you want them before Santa arrives you had best send your stamped self addressed envelopes soon.
Rural Women’s Scholarships
This is a great opportunity for women – please circulate amongst your networks and consider applying today!
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The Department of Primary Industry and Water has four rural women’s scholarships on offer. Scholarships applications close 15th December 2007.
The scholarships provide a unique opportunity for regional women involved in agri-business and the seafood sector across Tasmania to pursue leadership and development opportunities and are one of the few programs nationally that offer the opportunity for rural women to effect change within their industry.
Wanted – Landholders who do not use 1080
Printed in the Tasmanian Country 7th December.
Rural Development Services is conducting research into landholder decision making about the use or non use of 1080 to manage browsing animals.
We are currently interviewing landholders who have used 1080. Now we need to interview landholders who do not use 1080 to find out how they manage the issues.
Your involvement in this study is important so we can be sure we have all the approaches represented.
The interviews will take 1 hour and will be conducted on your property at a time that suits you.
If you are available to be interviewed please contact Dr Carla Mooney on (03) 6231 9033 or email info@ruraldevelopmentservices.com
Rural Diary – December 2007
Clearing Sale A/C GM & D Bendall
13 December
96 Hoggs Lane, Hagley, Tasmania
Contact Robert Bryant on 0418 130 592
Clearing Sale A/C J & J Sheppard
15 December
100 Deviation Road, Westbury, Tasmania
Contact Wayne Revell on 0428 725 214
Clearing Sale A/C TD & JE McCarthy
14 December
Back Levendale Road, Levendale, Tasmania
Contact Drew Skinner 0408 130 809
Dairy Soil & Fertiliser Workshop
10-11 December
Togari Hall, Togari, Tasmania
RSVP to Geraldine Treloggen on 1300 368 550
Island State Rodeo AGM
14 December
Deloraine Hotel, Deloraine, Tasmania
1st Birthday held at Redbanks
Rural Connections 1st Birthday is actually a few more days away however last night a small group of family, friends and clients gathered at the function centre of Redbanks Fish & Field to mark the occasion.
With Christmas not far away we had to get in early to secure a booking at the popular and beautiful Redbanks Lodge. As it were, lots of people where unable to attend because of prior commitments such as work Christmas dinners.
Rural Connections guests were hosted for the evening by the lovely Lindsay & Jo who are the owners and operators of Redbanks.
TAFE to offer new rural training
Conventional farming methods sometimes focus on profit which often requires landholders to work against nature by applying artificial fertilisers to increase production which in turn compromises the biodiversity of the land and ultimately these methods end up costing farmers more money.
While I am not a ‘Greenie’ I do believe that farming should be done in a sustainable manner. I personally would prefer to farm in a way that makes me a profit while managing resources, building diversity, and improving production sustainably.
That’s why I was delighted to find an advertisement in The Mercury Newspaper today which is calling for expressions of interest to study a Certificate IV in Agriculture which concentrates on Organic Production. This course is offered by TAFE’s School of Natural Resource Management and Horticulture.
Here’s how the advertisement reads:
The 8×5 Wool Profit Program invites you…
8X5 Wool Profit Program South Eastern Group extend an invitation to you to attend their meeting to be held this week.
A number of South Eastern Farmers have been meeting together for around 18 months as part of the 8×5 Wool Profit Program funded by Australian Wool Innovations and co-ordinated by Warren Hunt of TIAR.
The 8×5 Wool Profit Program has been running since March 2003, and is now in its second phase of 3 years. Over this time it has held numerous meetings and specialised workshops across the state regarding sheep management and pasture management issues.