Restoring streams a win for farmers and waterways
Local farmers protecting streams in the Geographe Bay Catchment are finding their actions benefit more than just the environment. As part of GeoCatch’s Rivercare project, 15 local farmers will undertake stock-exclusion fencing and revegetation along waterways on their properties in 2022. Local father and daughter team, Ian and Nikki Slee, have signed up for […]
Grazing Matcher farmers learn secrets for good hay and silage
As we patiently wait for drier conditions to start the hay and silage season, farmers taking part in the Grazing Matcher group are getting ready to put what they’ve been learning into practice. Treeton farmer Nick Healy hosted the August meeting where the group heard from Smart Cow consultant Dario Nandapi on how to optimise […]
Local farmers protect rivers
Ten local farmers have been busy installing stock-proof fencing and planting along the riverbanks on their property. Together, the farmers have put in a huge effort this year, installing 15km of fencing and planting close to 10,000 local native plants, with support from GeoCatch. One farming family involved is Nick and Emily Healy, along with […]
Arum lily fight gains momentum
The high turnout at GeoCatch’s arum lily control workshop indicates that community interest in controlling this invasive weed is high. Almost 60 landholders and volunteers attended the workshop to learn about the biology and control methods for arum lily. A key message was that while arum lily is increasing its range in our Catchment, control […]
Grazing Matcher gets Geographe farmers thinking
Seven Geographe farm businesses are increasing their knowledge and application of grazing best practice by participating in the Grazer Matcher program. Grazing Matcher aims to improve productivity and profits for farmers and minimise impacts to the environment by supporting farmers to adopt best practice grazing management across their sheep and beef farms. This includes implementing […]
Farmers do their bit for the Bay
A recent soil testing workshop brought together farmers from across the Geographe Bay Catchment to get a better handle on their soil nutrients. Thirty-seven farmers were involved in this year’s soil testing program, with 20,000 soil samples collected across 670 paddocks. Since 2009, 240 farmers have participated in soil testing in the Geographe Bay Catchment, […]
GeoCatch gets the dirt on soil testing
The GeoCatch Sustainable Agriculture Team have supported their local farmers by increasing their soil testing capacity this summer. While the program has been previously available through GeoCatch and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, this is the first year that GeoCatch staff have done the soil sampling themselves. “Soil testing is a critical […]
Farmers delve into fascinating world of dung beetles
Local farmers signed up in droves to learn more about dung beetles over a lunch time webinar hosted by GeoCatch this month. Kathy Dawson, South West coordinator of the Dung Beetle Ecosystem Engineers project and Manjimup farmer Doug Pow, spoke about the importance of dung beetles and their roles in nutrient cycling, pest control, soil […]
2019 uPtake trials results
Hot off the press are the results from 2019 uPtake trials! Results from 19 trials to date, including 3 trial sites in the Geographe Bay Catchment, are showing the national critical values for phosphorus (P) used to inform fertiliser recommendations are relevant for South West WA. The 2019 results summary is now available. UpTake will […]
Beetles with benefits
Dung beetles not only reduce fertiliser costs for farmers, they help manage the summer flies that plague the Geographe Bay Catchment each summer. Recognised as ecosystem engineers, dung beetles have played an important role in sustainable farming since they were introduced to Australia in 1967. GeoCatch Project Officer, Jenelle Schult, has been working with local […]
