Farmers and natural resource management practitioners are encouraged to attend an event in the Northern Midlands next month showcasing how revegetation can enhance farm health and productivity and strengthen climate resilience.
The paddock walk on Friday, 1 November, will explore managing native vegetation on farms for climate resilience and bug biodiversity.
It is being delivered by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy with support from the TAS Farm Innovation Hub through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
The Midlands Conservation Partnership Coordinator at the Tasmanian Land Conservancy, Pierre Defourny, said the event was an excellent opportunity to see revegetation in action.
“The paddock walk will be held at Milford, a 1,875-hectare mixed farming enterprise, and is the final event from a project funded by the TAS Farm Innovation Hubwhich saw 97ha of farmland planted in the Midlands with over 60,000 native trees, shrubs and grasses over the last two years,” he said.
“This field day will cover different approaches to managing or re-establishing native vegetation on farms, to maximise ecosystem services and climate resilience and provide habitat to a range of species which can make an important contribution to farm health and productivity.
“Landholders Jan and Geoff Hamilton have already re-established close to 70ha of native vegetation on Milford since purchasing the property about 10 years ago, and we are encouraging people to come and see this amazing work for themselves.”
The Director of the TAS Farm Innovation Hub, Sandra Knowles, said the Hub was pleased to be able to support such an important project to help strengthen drought resilience in the Midlands.
“This project is a great example of how restoring native vegetation on farm can positively impact on farming enterprises, and in particular, helping farmers be more resilient to drought and a changing climate,” she said.
“The benefits include helping to raise the water table, preventing rainfall run-off, improving soil health, and providing shelter for animals during the dry weather.”
The paddock walk will look at three native vegetation sites, explore different approaches to manage revegetation of farms, and discuss biodiversity monitoring utilising the invertebrate habitat assessment tool.
Registrations can be made at this link and are essential by Monday, 28 October.
The TAS Farm Innovation Hub is one of eight hubs nationally funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund. The Hub is based at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture (TIA) at the University of Tasmania and delivered through an extensive network of industry and community partners.