Dairy farmers benchmarked against new code of practice

The latest review of dairy effluent management on South West farms by Western Dairy has shown considerable improvement in the areas of storing and reusing effluent since the last review in 2016. The review provided the opportunity to revisit benchmarking of effluent management across Healthy Estuaries WA catchments following upgrade work completed under the Dairycare […]
Industry expert explains nutrients in your garden

If you are gardening in the Geographe Catchment, tune into this informative recording from the Bay OK workshop “Gardening on Sandy Soils”. Shannon White from Baileys Fertilisers informed participants about products they can use in their gardens to ensure plants are getting the nutrients and water they need to thrive. He explained that gardeners with […]
Citizen science helps understand possums in backyards

Busselton and Dunsborough residents have turned their torches to the trees for the 2022 Western Ringtail Possum Tally. An increase in participation by residents in the annual Ringtail Tally has helped improve the understanding of western ringtail possum habitat in urban backyards and public open space. In its 7th consecutive year, the Tally builds a […]
Nutrient best management practices guideline Guidance For beef, sheep and dairy grazing enterprises in south-west Western Australia

New guidelines to assist farmers and reduce environmental impacts Best practice guidelines to assist South-West grazing farmers with on-farm management of nutrients New guidelines will help farmers maximise stock productivity, while reducing nutrient runoff and environmental impacts on our local waterways Guidelines part of the McGowan Government’s $25 million Healthy Estuaries WA and Revitalising Geographe […]
July Grazing Matcher farmer meeting

The sun was out for the July Grazing Matcher meeting at the Payne Farm in Metricup last week. A healthy discussion on the influence of soil type and residual phosphorus in south-west soils was led by Joel Hall, from Department of Water & Environmental Regulation. The group had lots of interesting questions about how fertilising can […]
Monitoring water quality across the South West

Rain, hail or shine the DWER south west water quality monitoring team are out and about in boats, cars or kayaks monitoring water quality of south west estuaries and catchments. The small team, based in Busselton and Bunbury, monitor the Leschenault Estuary, Hardy Inlet and Vasse Wonnerup wetlands and their catchment’s monthly. Results from estuary […]
New trials to provide insights for best practice soil management on sandy soils

Two new trial sites on dairy farms in the Vasse and Scott River catchments have been launched to demonstrate how top-dressing applications of Iron Man Gypsum (IMG) can keep phosphorus on farms where it is needed, instead of being washed into our estuaries where it can cause algal blooms and water quality issues. IMG is made up […]
Ringtail Tally a Success

GeoCatch has completed the 2022 Western Ringtail Possum Tally, with citizen scientists reporting possum sightings in their gardens and backyards across Busselton and Dunsborough over four weeks. The annual tally aims to improve knowledge and awareness of critically endangered western ringtail possums living in urban areas. The results are shared across the wider community and […]
Bay OK Winter tips for the garden

The winter solstice has now passed and the lengthening days signal our plants to start growing. So, what should we be doing in our gardens this winter? We have received a reasonable amount of rain in June and July, but it is still less than the long-term average for the South West. This means that […]
uPtake project team win two fertiliser industry environmental awards

Individuals and companies in the Australian fertiliser industry working to improve environmental outcomes were recognised at the recent 2022 Fertilizer Industry Environmental Awards, with two of the three national award recipients representing teams working to protect waterways in Western Australia. CSBP Fertilisers was awarded the Fertilizer Industry Platypus Environmental Award for its contribution to the uPtake project. […]