Events

The 2023 SAI Platform Field Trip focussed on two days in the Orange district in NSW. Day one in Orange was spent visiting the NSW Department of Primary Industries’ research station, to inspect perennial grains and long-term pasture trials. We visited Loam Bio to learn about its microbial technology to sequester carbon in the soil (check out this video https://lnkd.in/gG6gc7JX). And we finished the day with a visit to local organic wine producer See Saw Wine. Dinner guest speaker was Professor Mark Morrison form Charles Sturt University who outlined his extensive social and behavioural research into soil stewardship. The second day focused on sustainable farming practises in action. At Gundamain Pastoral at Eugowra, the Herbert family are adopting leading sustainable agriculture practises while taking an active role in industry-wide sustainability initiatives. This includes the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework, which seeks to put numbers on sustainable practises in beef production. Then it was off to Stuart McDonald’s property ‘Belmont’ at Canowindra, where he integrates livestock into his continuous grain-cropping enterprise to establish a more robust and resilient farming business. This includes the use of a single-disc seeder, which enables sowing through stubble. Stuart is also experimenting with various cover crops and will be trialling the LoamBio carbon sequestration technology this year.