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Catching up with Ang Hammond

  • 1.  Catching up with Ang Hammond

    Posted 23-10-2023 16:20
    Edited by Gabrielle Stacey 23-10-2023 17:26

    Catching up with Ang Hammond 
    Landcare Farming Project Manager
    Landcare Australia

    Profile by University of Southern Queensland 

    Image Credit: Ang Hammond at Landcare Wirra Field Day | Photography by Amy Holcombe Photography

    Your role - what is it and what does it involve?

    I am the Landcare Farming Project Manager.  The Landcare Farming Program (LFP) aims to strengthen the connection between Landcare and Australian agriculture sectors and build agricultural community resilience. 
    The objective of the LFP is to identify, share and promote awareness and uptake of information and practices for adoption of management practices that improve soil and water health and maintain or increase biodiversity. 
    The LFP will assist in building the resilience of all Australian producers and their rural communities through improved participation in environmental stewardship, innovative land management practices and validating new research that improves farm productivity and protects the health of our soil, water and biodiversity. 
    The LFP strategy intends to align Landcare strengths, capacities & local priorities with agriculture RDE&A strategies, BMPs and individual industry sustainability reporting strategies.   

    A lot of my work is about listening to producers, being in the paddock with them, understanding what issues and opportunities they face and listening to them.  It is a wonderful job – I feel in a way I am a sort of a Lorax for Primary Producers, in that I can take their message to the organisations we collaborate with and assist with designing effective strategies and programs for our industry.  I am very proud of the Ag industry & really enjoy doing my best to be supportive of the industry as a whole.

    What most excites you now regarding the work you do in relation to drought resilience?

    Drought resilience is at the forefront of agricultural thinking and rural community health.  Ever since Europeans started to learn how to manage land in Australia to produce food and fibre, we have struggled with understanding and managing the Australian climate in a production agriculture sense and in a human resilience sense. 
    As Dorothea Mackellar wrote in 'My Country' in 1908, "I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains, Of ragged mountain ranges, Of droughts and flooding rains." The huge climatic variations we are subjected to in Australia particularly affect our rural communities and industries.  So, the work we do at Landcare Farming to support farmers, graziers and their families and communities is multi-faceted. 
    We are lucky to be able to work with producers to investigate soil, pasture and livestock management systems to promote environmental health to ensure the long-term sustainability of the environment we all depend on for food, fibre, health and happiness.  

    A huge part of our work is effectively collaborating with other industry partners, such as the Drought Hubs, to support primary producers and land managers, to better understand how to manage their land and support one another in droughts and flooding rains.

    Continue reading at unisq.edu.au/

    #LandManagement
    #ClimateChangeImpacts
    #SustainableFarming
    #SustainableAgriculture
    #National


    #FarmingAgriculture

    @Angela
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    Gabrielle
    [City] NSW
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