Meet the member - SBPA committee meets Shelley Hancock

As part of our aim to build better networks, the SBPA committee this week met with State member Shelly Hancock. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a relationship and inform Shelley of some of the issues facing beef producers in the Shoalhaven. These include:

•  Unsustainable farm gate returns
• High land prices inhibit scale
• Smaller enterprises have higher unit costs of production
• Inability to consolidate loads of produce to larger markets (logistics for B-doubles)
• Full pricing – the costs of land rehabilitation and biosecurity fall on producers but also benefit the community
• The need for supply chain participation to take advantage of programs such as MSA (Meat Standards Australia)
• Need to increase regional awareness of local produce and for local shops to buy locally (cost considerations)
• Transition to Local Land Services potentially leaving the sector short of expertise
• Lack of solid data on the producers’ share of retail price

 Shelley proved to be a good listener and the door is now open for dialogue as new issues arise.

Know your responsibility when people come on your farm to help out

Spaces remain for the In Safe Hands workshop – Milton Showgrounds next Tuesday May 21, 9am – 1 pm. To register email
jai.cooper@conservationvolunteers.com.au now as time is running out.

  ·        Are you unsure how recent changes to WHS legislation will affect you?

·        Are you thinking of, or already, hosting conservation works on your property or land that you manage?

·        Are you wondering if your safety management system is comprehensive and would like to develop a complete one?

 

It’s only “common sense” to have a good safety management system in place.

 

For more information and how to register - see below.

“In Safe Hands” is a Safety Management System designed for community groups in practical conservation.

The content and processes have been adapted from Conservation Volunteers Australia's own system which is based on our 30 years of knowledge and
experience in managing volunteers in practical conservation.

The toolkit has been updated in 2013 and includes reference to recent changes in legislation. Workshops for Landcare and other community
groups in NSW have been made possible through funding from the NSW Government’s Landcare Support Program. There is no cost to workshop
participants.

Conservation Volunteers will conduct training in the practical use of the In Safe Hands Toolkit. 

Milton “In Safe Hands” Workshop
Milton Showgrounds, Croobyar Road, Milton
Tuesday May 21: 9am – 1pm (includes morning tea)
Please register to attend by emailing:
Jai Cooper - NSW Trainer, Conservation Volunteers
jai.cooper@conservationvolunteers.com.au
In your email, please indicate location of the workshop you are attending.
An electronic copy of the In Safe Hands Training Toolkit will be provided by return email.

Feedback from earlier workshops:
“Great materials and workshop”
“Need to have more of these workshops... to all Landcare networks and groups”
“Good to see WHS in a real Landcare setting”

Is your herd as good as it could be? April on-farm event now on 26 April

With most of our herd assessments completed, join us for our April event where well known assessor Jim Hindmarsh will discuss his observations, provide some guidance on markets and opportunities for our members. For more details go to our event booking page. This is an SBPA event not to be missed.

Last chance Local Land Services consultation

Tuesday April 9th is the last chance to have your say in the current LLS consultation period - at least in person.

Don’t forget to register online.
Location: Moss Vale, Moss Vale Services Club, Corner Argyle & Yarrawa Sts,

When: April 9, 9.30 am-12.30 pm

http://engage.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/locallandservices

Event Postponed

The April on-farm herd assessment workshop has unfortunately been postponed due to a double booking. This will be rescheduled ASAP. Berry/ Nowra herd assessments have now been completed and initial feedback is that the exercise has been very valuable to members involved.

Is your herd as good as it could be? Do you know how it measures up against other Shoalhaven Beef members? Don't miss our April on-farm workshop at Milton.

As part of SBPA membership, all members are entitled to an annual free herd assessment. This year assessments will be undertaken by Jim Hindmarsh on 21 and 22 March and 12 April. Jim Hindmarsh is a stock and property agent and accredited assessor for AuctionsPlus. He will not only address our April meeting, he will also conduct a herd assessment with us to help us hone in on desirable traits, and market opportunities relevant to our own herds. Jim will discuss:


•Observations of SBPA member herds from the assessments (noting Milton member assessments will take place after the meeting on Friday 12 April)
•Key traits to consider improving in our herds
•Market opportunities based on herd quality observed
•The meaning of all those stock types on a sale report
•An onsite herd assessment – warts and all – to help us train our eyes to desirable and undesirable traits.
Members free, non-members $20 per person.

Please note the earlier start time of 8am - this is to enable Jim to complete the Milton herd assessments in good time on Friday. Apologies to those travelling from the north. We're sure the event will be worth the earlier start, and you'll miss the Nowra traffic mess.

Click here for further details and event registration.

SBPA on farm workshop, Friday 8th February 2013

Are you out of the woods yet with the late January rain? The season may have turned for now, but for how long? All members know how tough it has been over the last seven dry months. This month we focus on drought management strategies, how you managed and what you might do next time. It is also timely to discuss quick recovery strategies.


For more details of this event please click here