CY253 Cape York Progressive P2PGrazing Network FINAL Report_June_2020, Endeavour River Productivity Network Project:- 1/4/2020 to 1/6/2020.
This project is funded through the state governments Extension and Education program and delivered in partnership by Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated, Cape York NRM and South Cape York Catchments. The project has piloted a new way of delivering extension services to famers and graziers in the Endeavour and Normanby River catchments. The new extension model is called Focus Farm Peer to Peer extension model. The model comprises a Focus Farm initiative, one to one (1:1) producer consultations, facilitated group (peer to peer) learning and data sharing. We have been phenomenally successful in implementing this model across both the Endeavour and Normanby River Catchments.
We have managed to also get the Information out to a much bigger target audience across Cape York Peninsula. This has included Western Cape and Central Cape Producers. There is certainly a great interest and need for this Information to be shared and utilised in all sort of Grazing and Horticultural Operations all over Cape York Agricultural extension is about delivering the most up-to-date information and technology to industry.
It is about enabling farmers and graziers to meet the challenges to make practice changes that lead to better business and environmental sustainability. Our two Focus Farms have provided producer groups with the opportunity to view and trial new innovation and technology before incorporating it into their own farm practice. Current land remediation trials have been conducted on the Focus Farms, This has given producers, in particular, the chance to evaluate low-cost high-impact gully erosion management techniques. It has given them the ability to see the results and to decide whether they can take the technology home with them.
A big challenge for this project was the lack of the second field day where we would have been able to let the producers physically have a look for themselves. The CO-VID 19 Lock-Down has also contributed to not being able to physically demonstrate the use of these technologies fully or efficiently. As a result, a lot of videos and photo evidence has been taken. We will be trying to get this out to as many of our producers as possible in the coming months. Hopefully down the track we will be able to hold further field days to be able to track the progress of these trials over the different seasons if resources permit.
This has been a group of producers working together on common goals and sharing information for both private production and public benefit. They have been brought together by this Extension Service Pilot Project. We have proved that Facilitated learning groups are most efficient at coordinating access to specialist skills providers. The facilitator is a local landholder, and a non-profit indigenous Land Management Group with good industry knowledge and well connected to the extension network. The Endeavour and Normanby Catchments Productivity Network.
Having been established, this producer group has trialled new products and technologies (through Focus Farms) and have met regularly to share knowledge with one another. Guest speakers and industry specialists have been used to help solve local level issues and expand group knowledge and skills. Group Facilitator Trevor Meldrum (Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated) has facilitated the group. Trevor, along with Oliver, have organised group gatherings, sourced funding for specialist consultations and networked both regionally and cross-regionally to maximise the group’s exposure to current technology.
We held regular steering committee meetings held all over the catchment areas, with participating peer to peer members, CYWAFAI_INC staff, the Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator.
This made sure that all projects and associated project plans and outcomes were delivered for a very small capital cost.
We have also continued working one on one with the signed-up Landholders. We will continue to do so if there are resources available, moving forward. The signed-up landholders include a mix of graziers and horticulturist who have stock as well. This has consisted of helping them with their weed control and to formulate pest management plans for their properties. We have helped build up tremendous capacity within the landholders.
At this stage they now have two liaison or extension officers to go for help, That is Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated’s, Trevor Meldrum, and South Cape York Catchment’s Jessie Price.
We have promoted the project through attending several community events. The project was promoted at the Cape York Local Marine Advisory Committee meeting. Promotion has been done at the Cape York NRM Board Meetings, Queensland Water and Landcarer’s, Advancing Queensland, and other regular zoom hook-up’s throughout the year. Although we have been severely restricted by the CO-VID 19 Lock-down for the last three months, we took the took some of the interested people to our work sites, all the while obeying the CO-VID rules. This has been extremely limited. A large amount of video and photographic evidence has been collected. This shows what we hope to achieve with the project, and how we have progressed.
We are hopefully of distributing all of this via one on one extension service meetings with all interested parties. That is when we are allowed to operate fully and legally. We have regularly promoted the project on our social media sites,
Facebook,
Website, and
Twitter.
Overall, the contract project milestones have been achieved and have been delivered extraordinarily successfully. Conducted the follow up Steering Committee meetings for the Project via our CYWAFA_INC phone hook-up held when we could. This builds upon previous steering committee meetings held earlier. By working with the land holders, we completed and reviewed all of the Land Holder Property Pest Management Plans. By working with Landholders and supplying them with our Community equipment we have built up the experience and capacity of the Landholders to carry out Weeds ID and Chemical and Non-chemical control methods for the weeds identified as a Priority on each of their Pest management. This included the Declared weeds under the Bio-Security Act 2014.
Major weed species present were, Sickle Pod, Lantana, Bauhinia, and Gamba Grass. Minor weed species present were, Mossman Burr, Chinese Burr, Sensitive Weed, and Singapore Daisy. Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated are working in conjunction with individual properties as a part of the strategic Peer to Peer Project in the South East Cape York Area. This includes all the productive land areas within Laura Valley, Cooktown, Endeavour Valley, Mt Amos, and Rossville.
We have also been able to target and incorporate a whole lot of extra producers from the Western, Northern and Central parts of Cape York. A much wider group is interested in what we have to offer. This has been done mostly by our on-ground extension officers We would have been able to share this knowledge at the various Field days and Events that are held each year in the Cape, but CO-VID 19 put a halt on all of that.
The main objective is to strategically improve the productivity of their properties, located in Cape York Peninsula. The Graziers and horticulturists are to be commended on their efforts and their willingness to help. They were keen to work as a team. Most producers are only too glad to have help available on the ground, in the form of Extension Officers who are experienced. Not all people have access to On-Line services. Most are more comfortable with one on one face to face meetings as they know who their extension officers are, and they trust them. CYWAFA_INC, Cape York NRM, Normanby Rangers, Valley View Station and Traditional Owners, are to be commended for their professionalism and willingness to get the job done.
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