Agriculture: Agriculture Blog

AGFest, new Library items incoming, Magazine routing and a little news to round out the issue

New Library Items on the way:

Keep an eye open in the coming weeks for the following new titles currently on order:

Dirt to Soil by Gabe Brown

ISBN: 9781603587631

Publication Date: 2018

"A regenerative no-till pioneer."--NBC News "We need to reintegrate livestock and crops on our farms and ranches, and Gabe Brown shows us how to do it well."--Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation.

Gabe Brown didn't set out to change the world when he first started working alongside his father-in-law on the family farm in North Dakota. But as a series of weather-related crop disasters put Brown and his wife, Shelly, in desperate financial straits, they started making bold changes to their farm. Brown--in an effort to simply survive--began experimenting with new practices he'd learned about from reading and talking with innovative researchers and ranchers. As he and his family struggled to keep the farm viable, they found themselves on an amazing journey into a new type of farming: regenerative agriculture. Brown dropped the use of most of the herbicides, insecticides, and synthetic fertilizers that are a standard part of conventional agriculture. He switched to no-till planting, started planting diverse cover crops mixes, and changed his grazing practices. In so doing Brown transformed a degraded farm ecosystem into one full of life--starting with the soil and working his way up, one plant and one animal at a time. In Dirt to Soil Gabe Brown tells the story of that amazing journey and offers a wealth of innovative solutions to restoring the soil by laying out and explaining his "five principles of soil health," which are: - Limited Disturbance - Armor - Diversity - Living Roots - Integrated Animals.   The Brown's Ranch model, developed over twenty years of experimentation and refinement, focuses on regenerating resources by continuously enhancing the living biology in the soil. Using regenerative agricultural principles, Brown's Ranch has grown several inches of new topsoil in only twenty years!

 

 

Sustainable Farm Finance by John C. H. Mitchell; Bruce J. Chapman; David B. Lindenmayer

ISBN: 9781486316496

Publication Date: 2022

Farm finance is a topic that is not often discussed but is vital to the success and longevity of these unique family businesses. Sustainable Farm Finance draws upon the practical, on-farm financial experience of John Mitchell, a grazier in New South Wales who saved his family farm, transforming it from financial peril to a successful business. The story of his success, and how he achieved it, is told here with input and insights from economist Bruce Chapman and scientist David Lindenmayer, to create a useful and highly readable resource for property managers in Australia. Filled with tips and suggestions for how to better manage your own farm finance, as well as real-life examples of their application in regional Australia, this is an essential resource for farmers who wish to maximize the financial outcomes of their land. Features: An easy-to-read guide to farm finance from a successful and experienced Australian land manager. Features case studies from real-life experiences running a family farm. Includes practical tips to assist with your own farm finance.

 

 

AgTech: An introduction by Darren Price, Jennifer Laffan and Scott McKinnon

ISBN: 9781760584818

Publication Date: 2021

This publication is a practical guide to all things digital in agriculture. Reading this publication will help producers—large and small—to navigate through the complicated world of technology and connectivity in agriculture and better understand the language, devices, use cases, installation techniques and communications and so much more. It gives practical tips around what suppliers of products can and should provide as well as discussing the build-your-own applications.

As always you can see what new items have been added to the Library collection by checking out the New Books page on the Library website here: New Books

AGFEST Returns in 2022

After a 2 year break due to COVID, AGFEST 2022 is set to start tomorrow with four field days in the paddock at Quercus Park, Carrick from 24th to 27th August and online from 27th August to 2nd September. TasTAFE is taking part in the careers section of the expo and will be providing information on the range of courses offered in the Agriculture stream from site number S38 on South Street. With 487 exhibitors this year's festival is set to be a great experience with something for everyone. You will need to book your tickets online as there will be no gate sales available.

News:

Could a national livestock gene bank future-proof endangered farm animals?

After a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth Disease in the UK in 2001, the country bolstered its national livestock gene bank to better protect many of its rare domestic breeds including sheep, cattle and goats. The bank securely stores semen and embryos cryogenically frozen as insurance against natural disasters and disease outbreaks. Many countries have similar gene banks however Australia does not. The current outbreak of foot and mouth disease in our regional neighbour Indonesia and the risk to our livestock industry because of it has led many in the industry to question why Australia doesn't have such a gene bank scheme in place. Such a scheme would better protect some of our rarer and heirloom species of livestock such as the rare Tamworth and Wessex saddleback pigs. You can read more about this article at the ABC Rural website here: ABC Rural

Bacteria-killing sachets a world-first agtech tackling food loss in transit and reducing landfill

A South Australian agtech company has developed low dose hydrogen peroxide vapour satchets for shipping containers to prevent food spoilage by reducing bacteria and extending the shelf-life of produce. The goal of the company is to get more food in mouths and less in landfill. Following successful trials and a grant by the SA Government, the company is now looking at expanding its product to markets Australia wide. You can read more on the ABC Rural website here: ABC Rural

Grapegrowers urged to quit

Red winegrape growers are being urged to consider pulling out their grapes as the industry battles plummeting prices, a glut of wine and soaring farm input costs. Read more on the Daily Wine News website here: Daily Wine News

Updated fire danger rating system will be rolled out next month. Here's what you need to know

A new $50 million national fire danger rating system will be rolled out next month, replacing a system that is more than half a century old. Experts hope it will provide the community with clearer and more consistent messaging about the fire danger in their area on any given day, and make it easier for firefighters to understand how a fire might behave if one breaks out. The updated fire danger rating will have four levels instead of six and will use eight vegetation types instead of two to inform the fire danger rating on any given day. Signs across the country will also be uniform so there is consistency in warnings across regions. Read more about the new system on the Landline website here: ABC Landline

For Teachers:

New Magazine Routing Service

Teachers, are you aware of the new Magazine Routing Service the Library is now offering? Subscribe to the mailing list for your favourite magazine titles and when new issues arrive the Library will send you a scan of the cover and contents page for your selected magazine. You can subscribe to the mailing list for as many magazines as you want. The Library can also provide you with a scanned copy of a single article from that issue if something sparks your interest. Please note, due to Copyright restrictions, we can only provide one scanned article from each magazine issue.

If you'd like to borrow the magazine, you can place a hold on the magazine through the Library catalogue and select your pick up location from the drop down list (instructions here: Placing a hold). Alternatively get in touch with your nearest TasTAFE Library and the friendly staff will place a hold for you. Select your preferred magazines at the following webpage: https://forms.gle/yN2LwZfpVx6XvmmB9

Till next time,

Jeremy