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Federation Reserve Seed Collection Workshop

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:04:29 GMT

Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47.

The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen.

The children then broke off into smaller groups where they were able to go for a walk around the wonderful Federation Reserve, and learnt how to identify and collect their own seed. It was a fun, practical activity that gave the children a chance to investigate the different stages of seed production across a variety of endemic plant species. We then gathered to compare our findings and used activity sheets to sort and identify seed and seed pods according to shape, size and colour.

We finished the workshop with a group discussion about the science and biology of seeds.

Western Murray Land Improvement Group would like to thank Barham Public School for their eager involvement in the day, and are very excited about future events that promote Landcare education to our Junior Landcarer’s. Extended thanks also goes to Christine Dartnell from Barham Landcare for her participation and continuous efforts that she puts into Barham Landcare and Federation Reserve.

For more information please contact Stacey Waylen 03 5453 1577, stacey.waylen@wmlig.org.

Federation Reserve

Federation Reserve is located down the East Barham Road, Barham NSW. It is only 1.6km from the centre of town and is accessible at all times to members of the public who want to visit the spectacular site. It is a 10 hectare area with three walking trails, amenities and an amazingly diverse variety of over 125 endemic plant species with interpretive signage to assist in species identification. There is also a huge array of wildlife that can be found at the site- a sign of the importance of rich biodiversity and a great example of a healthy, local ecological community.

Federation Reserve

This event was a joint initiative between WMLIG, the NSW Government Department of Education, Barham Landcare and made possible through funding from the Australian Government National Landcare Program Initiative.

Field Day: Painted Snipe & Bittern

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:36:31 GMT

A summary of the day.

A ‘’Livestock Basics Day’’ workshop was organised by Young Country Networkers and Western Murray Land Improvement Group. 20 participants and industry experts attended at Guy Treweeks Induro White Suffolk Stud in Wakool, NSW.

Many farmers have been handed down livestock knowledge from their parents or other farm workers. Feedback obtained by previous event participants and Western Murray Land Improvement Group members have indicated that there appears to be a wide variation in practices and techniques.

This made people question whether what they had been taught or aware of was actually best practice, and whether they could apply other current industry and research knowledge to improve business efficiencies and animal welfare outcomes.

Their passion stems from the legacy of Evan Thomas, who endeavoured to provide on-farm habitats for significant wildlife such as the Painted Snipe.

Upon arrival, attendees were greeted with beautiful views of a number of different wildlife habitats. These included the Bunna Creek, a seasonal wetland, irrigation channels and lush rice crops. Children and adults alike puddled in the wetland, to try to spot waterbirds hiding in the thick cumbungi. Matt disappeared briefly into the reeds to try and flush out some birds, such as an Australian Little Bittern that could be heard but not seen. Despite his efforts, the birds remained elusive.

Matt did a quick survey for frog species in the wetland before heading over to a nearby rice crop to see if there was a higher density of species there. Experience has shown that rice provides a great habitat for frogs due to food availability, shelter and time of flooding. This proved to be correct with Matt finding over 10 tadpoles to show to attendees. He explained that these were "immature Spotted Marsh Frog, Barking Marsh Frog and Plains Froglets, which are common species found in the region". Although not found in the survey, the endangered Southern Bell Frog could be heard calling from within the rice bays. If you would like to learn how to identify frog species, try this phone app.

Just as Matt finished explaining how to identify frog species, another significant rice inhabitant appeared... an Australasian Bittern! While people gathered along the rice bank with binoculars at the ready, the bird took flight, allowing everyone a view of the strange specimen. Bitterns are known to use rice crops as a surrogate wetland for breeding and hatching young. However these bird are not always easily found, so a sighting was an exciting experience for all present. If you would like to find out more about the Bitterns in Rice Project you can check out their Facebook page.

The elusive Painted Snipe remained a mystery, with Matt admitting that he "didn't expect to see any, they are very hard to find".

Thank you to Neil Bull and Erika Heffer of the RGA Environmental Champions Program for organising and running the day. Special thanks to the Thomas family for hosting the field day and to Matt Herring for sharing his wildlife knowledge with attendees.

Livestock Basics Day

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:48:24 GMT

A summary of the day.

This presentation was followed by an insightful presentation focusing on the growing trends around online stock sales by Nutrien Ag stock agent Geoff McCallum. David Landini from Landini Industries covered the history of Australian wool production, as well as the basics of wool classing, understanding wool appraisal documentation and sales options. Lastly we saw a crutching and shearing demonstration by Guy Treweek, and then had a presentation from him covering everything from the day to day operations of running a sheep stud through to all the testing and accreditation that goes along with it.

The informative day began with presentations by Local District Vet from Murray Local Land Services Linda Searle in partnership with Border Vet Clinics Katrina Martin and Elzeth Erasmus regarding topics such as such as joining, pregnancy testing/scanning, lambing/calving, pest and disease treatments and animal health and pain management, as well as new novel pain management products on the market.

Practical demonstrations gave a great deal of insight into current industry standards. In particular, discussions around the current pain management legislation in other states gave some indication into the future of pain management practices for livestock producers in NSW and what will inevitably change and be required by law.

Participants walked away with a better understanding of how to implement proactive and preventative management techniques (e.g. biosecurity considerations regarding stock purchasing and segregation) as opposed to reactive responses (treating outbreaks to entire flock) to improve efficiencies and animal welfare outcomes.

Event Partners:

This was a joint event organised and funded by WMLG and Young Country Networkers

Wakool Feedlot Day

Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:16:56 GMT

On the 31st of January 2020, over 120 local farmers and agricultural experts attended a Feedlot Information Day held in Wakool. The crowd was a diverse geographical mix, with attendees from Lalbert, Piangil, Moulamein, Barham, Deniliquin and Wakool. As following with the 'young farmer' focus of the event, the majority (42%) of attendees were under 35, while 28% were 35-45 and 37% were 45+.

The day began with a workshop at the Wakool Club focused on livestock feedlot considerations. Presenter Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions discussed the pro's and con's of feedlotting versus containment feeding, the cost of feed and comparison of different systems. He emphasized the importance of feeding sheep protein to build muscle, wool and encourage growth. The group finished off with an understanding of how feedlots interacted with the whole farm system. Following this presentation, district vet Linda Searle (Murray Local Land Services), educated attendees on the range of livestock diseases or health complications associated with feedlot production systems.

After the workshop, participants began a tour of local feedlot operations. The first was the Colligen Creek Feedlot, owned by Dennis Gleeson. This established feedlot operates with the objective of finishing off prime lambs. Next was the Modbury Merino Stud, owned by the Bibby family who operated their feedlot as a tool to drought proof their sheep enterprise.

Sponsors of this event, the Young Farmer Business Program (YFBP) have run numerous workshops targeted at young agricultural professionals, such as their 'Bank Ready' workshops to prepare young farmers to invest in their first business. .

Resources:

Media Release

Modbury Merino Stud Brochure

Feedlot Day Presentation

Event Partners:

This event was a Young Country Networkers, WMLIG & Central Murray Best Wool Best Lamb initiative made possible through funding from the NSW Department of Primary Industries Young Farmer Business Program.

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:52:18 GMT

Want to keep up to date?

We circulate information about upcoming events, provide updates on our current and future projects, funding and education resources and much more.

If you are interested in learning more about the content we share, you can check out some examples of past newsletters below.

Media Releases

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:36:13 GMT

World Wetlands Day 2023

25th Feb 2023

Keeping our Fish In the River

19th Jan 2023

Breathing New Life in to the Barham Lakes

18th Jan 2023

Picnic at the Pollack

20th Mar 2022

Pollack Food & Fibre Day

15th Dec 2021

12th Feb 2020

Community Gathers for Innovation

Murray Connect Trivia Night

Mar 30th 2021

BredWell FedWell Workshops

9th Mar 2021

A Community Asset Worth Recovering

4th Feb 2021

A Day with Bruce Pascoe

4th Nov 2020

A Day of Innovation

23rd Oct 2020

WAIP Business Development Program

14th Aug 2020

Southern Riverina Councils Unite to Build Drought Resilience

3rd June 2025

Reconnecting River Country Program - Community-led feedback a unique opportunity

16th Aug 2022

In the News

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:11:40 GMT

Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin

The Leader

21st Dec 2022

Murray River fisherman of 30 years Matt Heslop is weary of seeing dead fish along the banks.

"To see photos of it is sad, but when you actually see it in the flesh

The Guardian Australia

14th Dec 2022

Scientists fear an ecological disaster is playing out in parts of the river because of 'alarmingly' low dissolved oxygen levels...

The ‘silent killer’ of flooding: Murray River fish in dire straits as water quality drops

A Night with Robert Hermann

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

23rd Apr 2023

Markets and trends were the hot topics for Mecardo founder Robert Hermann as he addressed the audience at the Moulamein Club on Monday night..

A Solutions Focused Approach

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

16th Mar 2023

Locals will have an opportunity to hear from Robert Herrmann at an event hosted by Western Murray Land Improvement Group.

Yabby Festival

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspape

2nd Mar 2023

The World Wetland Day Yabby Festival was a huge success on Sunday, February 26 as Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) took...h

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

9th Feb 2023

Being able to catch yabbies is a long-held tradition, but future opportunities to do so rely on keeping our wetlands and waterways healthy.

Come Yabby Fishing and Learn About Our Wetlands

Breathing New Life Into the Barham Lakes

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

26th Jan 2023

A combined community project will begin soon to restore and enhance the habitat of the Barham lakes complex, which in time, we aim for public recreation uses. .

Community Leads Fish Protection

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

8th Dec 2022

As the weather warms up and dissolved oxygen in the local rivers and creeks remain dangerously low, the community is leading the fish protection response.

Community and agencies rally to push vital fish saving solutions

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

10th Nov 2022

It’s terrible seeing dead fish, stressed Murray crays and the ongoing impacts of devastating flood water on properties and incomes...

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

29th Sept 2022

The recent NSW Legislative Council Committee investigating the long-term sustainability and future of the timber and forest products industry has...

Local Approach Leads the Way

Have Your Say On Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP)

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

8th Sept 2022

An important opportunity to have your say on the inundation modelling provided by the Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP) is currently open for feedback.

Interest In Hemp Grows

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

25th Aug 2022

Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s hemp information session had 20 attendees take part in the day that discussed the recent trials at Tullakool...

Reconnecting River Country Program

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

25th Aug 2022

A plan to have community at the forefront of co-design was the feature of Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s (WMLIG) Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP) Wakool presentation.

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

18th Aug 2022

Forget the munchies, this session is all business!

Hemp Session

FMD - Be Informed, Be Proactive

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

3rd Aug 2022

Central Murray Best Wool Best Lamb, in conjunction with Western Murray Land Improvement Group, is holding a Foot-and-mouth disease information session...

Planning is key to Running a Successful Sheep Business

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

30th Jun 2022

“Unless you have a plan written down, you haven’t got a plan,” was reinforced by Rick Ellis, coordinator of the Central Murray BestWool BestLamb group....

Farmers take back control with digital first

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

23rd Jun 2022

Farmer-owned environmental goods and services broker Regen Farmers Mutual is set to launch their digital platform this week..

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

5th May 2022

Technology is providing opportunities to improve farming systems and gather vast amounts of data...!

Sheepish to Adapt?

Hemp Insights Field Day 2

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

21st Apr 2022

As part of Western Murray Land Improvement Group's (WMLIG) AgTrends series, a second opportunity was provided to visit our industrial hemp trial site...

Reboot Your Soils

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

14th Apr 2022

Despite all our achievements, we owe our existence to a six-inch layer of topsoil and the fact it rains.” A quote often attributed to...

Picnic at The Pollack

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

17th Mar 2022

Enjoy a Picnic at the Pollack to celebrate 50 years of RAMSAR, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance...

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

17th Feb 2022

For a second, I thought I had stumbled into the mellow haze of Woodstock, but this pungent aroma had no buzz or medicinal properties. It was all about fibre and the seed.

Hemp Trials: Fibre & Seed, man

AgTrends Update

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

19th Jan 2022

Due to the current COVID-19 climate, our AgTrends ’22 Forum to be held at ‘Jeraly’ in Moulamein on February 16, 2022, has been restructured to be able to deliver smaller...

Indispensable Workmates

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

13th Jan 2022

“I just do it to pay the dogs back for what they have given me in a lifetime,” said Ian O’Connell, legendary dog trainer as he sat atop the sheep yard fence at John Lolicato’s Tullakool property Whymoul...

Pollack Wetlands Indigenous Food Fibre Day

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

23rd Dec 2021

As part of the UN’s Decade on Nutrition, Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) with Forestry Corporation, hosted a field trip to the Pollack Wetlands.

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

23rd Dec 2021

The $25,000 Wakool Innovation Fund winners have been announced..

Wakool Innovation Fund Winners

Loud & Clear!

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

28th Oct 2021

With just two days’ notice, community volunteers at the heart of the Koondrook Perricoota co-design welcomed a shiny entourage of politicians, bureaucrats and media...

Water Trading Info Session Held

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

7th Oct 2021

The Wakool Club hosted a water trading information session on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, facilitated by Western Murray Land Improvement Group.

Healthy cash injection for Pollack project

Deniliquin Pastoral Times

4th Sept 2021

Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s application for $50,000 to undertake 47ha of further revegetation work in the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest has been successful....

Deniliquin Pastoral Times

20th Aug 2021

Primary school students from eight local schools at Wakool, Barham, Tooleybuc and Moulamein planted more than 400 seeds and seedlings to contribute to the National Tree Day tally for 2021...

Hundreds of trees planted by students

Little For est Co-designed Watering to Commence

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

7th Oct 2021

The planned watering of Little Forest, a 300ha river red gum forest situated on the northern bank of the Murray River off East Barham Road.

Local initiatives secure funding from Murray Irrigation

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

30th Sept 2021

A School Tree Planting Day project, purchase of a CPR manikin and Women of Water are amongst the worthy causes rewarded funding...

$50,000 Funding for Further Pollack Revegetation

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

2nd Sept 2021

Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) have been successful in its application for $50,000 to undertake 47ha of further revegetation work....

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

19th Aug 2021

The first of three environmental water deliveries planned for areas within Koondrook-Perricoota Forest F21-22 commenced on August 7....

Pollack Watering Showing Signs of Success

Sheep Workshops on the Mark

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

24th Jun 2021

Last Wednesday a group of 40 local sheep producers attended a Lamb Marking Best Practice workshop organised by Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) and Central Murray...

Waste Works a Treat

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

29th Apr 2021

Kate Redfearn was at a fork in the road last year. Six years earlier, she had purchased 12 Good Eggs, a free-range egg farm located just...

Murray Connect Trivia Night Raises $1800 for LHMT

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

1st Apr 2021

Last Thursday, more than 90 community members came together to support Murray Connect’s first fundraiser trivia night “Gettin’ Trivvy With It” to raise funds for the Barham Local Health Medical Trust....

Country News

5th Mar 2021

What do the VFF, Greater Shepparton City Council, University of Melbourne, Elders, the Queensland Government and the Almond Board of Australia all have in common?

Borderless science hub for Murray-Darling Basin hangs in limbo

Sharing a Vision

Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper

4th Mar 2021

Friday, February 26, community members met at cluBarham to take part in a Koondrook–Perricoota (KP) Visioning Workshop facilitated by Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG). .

Leap with Beef

The Guardian

19th Feb 2021

Hayley and Matt Pattison have taken the leap into marketing their own beef, and they're not looking back.

With their young children, Troy, Levi, and Zali, they farm Poll Herefords and Angus Angus Hereford cross at their Burraboi Property, about 50km north-east of Barham..

Community Asset Worth Recovering

KOONDROOK AND BARHAM BRIDGE NEWSPAPER

FEB 4th 2021

Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) in partnership with Murray Local Land Services (MLLS) held a second community tour of the Koondrook-Perricoota (KP) Forest on Sunday.

The tour provided the opportunity for community members to visit three sites...

KOONDROOK AND BARHAM BRIDGE NEWSPAPER JAN

7th 2021

Last month’s tour of the Pollack and a similar site within Koondrook Perricoota forest hosted by Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) attracted over 45 attendees from Barham and surrounds, some making the trip from as far as Deniliquin, Moama, and Kerang...?

Borderless science hub for Murray-Darling Basin hangs in limbo

Bruce Pascoe to Lead Panel at Wakool Agri-Innovation Forum

KOONDOOK AND BARHAM BRIDGE NEWSPAPER

Oct 12th 2020

Award-winning indigenous author, Bruce Pascoe, will keynote the full day Wakool Agri-Innovation Forum, at the Moulamein Bowling Club on Thursday, October 15.

Mr Pascoe will be joined by a group of high profile agri-food thought leaders...

Buliding our community in advance

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Project background

Referring Murray River Council's (MRC) Adverse Event Plan (AEP) in 2020 via input from the local community including farm owners, local business owners, representatives from progress associations, crisis support and health services. Subsequently MRC has partnered with Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) to deliver upon the purpose and vision of the AEP building on resilience principles that focus on building community capacity.

With a growing risk of climate related impacts, it is vital that our community is well prepared. This project will assist in planning for these risks and help increase our resilience.

The project will build a stronger community by increasing resilience to changing conditions and diversify the community by creating competitive and quality services, improve infrastructure, agriculture production and more employment opportunities, which will translate to greater economic return for our region. This will ultimately increase long-term community health outcomes and safety.

WMLIG will deliver activities aligned to the strategy that:
Provides community with climate decision-making support tools for business planning purposes via information sessions
Diversify the economy and capture value at home through improving collaboration and information sharing to encourage innovation.
Provide information sharing to encourage innovative approaches to land management.
Investigate and share information about novel approaches to building a self-reliant community.
Partner with MRC to form and engage a skilled leadership team from the geographical footprint across MRC. The team will identify and respond to strategic priorities, track implementation of projects, identify emerging issues or amendments to the AEP.

Resilience principles

A community led recovery
Plan in the good times to be prepared for the bad times
Continuous learning and improvement

Strategies include

Build resilience with adaptive methods
Diversify the economy and capture value at home
Build the capacity of the community
Provide clear, timely and accurate communication

Project deliverables

On farm water management program

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About the Project

The On-Farm Water Management Project will help farmers reduce the impact of drought by preparing and implementing an on-farm water management plan – a plan that determines water needs (stock and domestic) and the capacity to meet these needs through storage (dams, tanks, waterways).

Landholders will then be able to undertake proven on-farm design and actions to ensure they have adequate water in the right places across the farm (through storage and reticulation via pipes and troughs).

Farm Water Management Planning (FWMP) will be developed at workshops and subsequent 1:1 (or small group) follow-up sessions to finalise the plans. Field days at 10 demonstration sites establishments across the region will provide clear examples of proven design options and tangible evidence of the benefits of completing a FWMP.

We've got plenty of On-Farm Water Management Workshops planned for February 2025. Click the link to see the list on our upcoming events page

For more information on this project, please contact Luke by email at luke.ward@wmlig.org

The Web things

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event was made possible through funding from the Murray LLS through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

On Monday the 16th of October six people attended a social media and website workshop held at the WMLIG office. The workshop was presented by Joe Lochery of Rebel Web Solutions, who has been involved in website design and development for 15 years and social media management for 10 years. Over this time he has worked with a diverse client base from large corporate companies through to small rural businesses. Joe is passionate about helping local communities and has been integral to WMLIG's online presence.

In the workshop, Joe explained that the first step was to identify "who you are speaking for, speaking with and speaking to" to ensure that the content you provide is relevant to consumers. He also spoke on the importance of having a good website, "users must be able easily find what they are looking for and able to find answers to their questions. if they can't find any answers within your website content, you need to allow them somewhere to ask a question".

For social media, there is an important algorithm to remember: video beats photo, while a photo beats words . Most social media is consumed on a phone, so your content must be suitable for that format. For those with existing social media pages, there is a new platform called BeLive.Tv now available which will allow easy broadcasting of live interviews with multiple people involved. This area will be where your audience will be consuming.

Lastly, Joe emphasised, "you must be able to measure your return on investment of time or money" to see how effective current methods are in obtaining your goals. Google Analytics is a good way of doing this and has the ability to report on many aspects of consumer activity.

Resources:

For further information on designing or managing websites and social media, contact Joe Lochery ( REBEL WEB SOLUTIONS ) on 0477849780 or admin@rebelwebsolutions.com

Wakool Sheep Nights

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

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Grain Storage and Handling

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

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Project Summary

On 20-21st March 2017 29 people attended On-Farm Grain Storage and Handling workshops in the regions of Stony Crossing and Dhuragoon, NSW.

These workshops were hosted participants' farms so that presenter, Peter Botta, could demonstrate the effectiveness and use of different grain storage systems and equipment.

Peter allowed an interactive format for the day, encouraging participants to drive the content of his talk. Producers were able to discuss their storage experiences and weigh up the pros and cons of each grain storage system.

29 workshop attendees

80% of the Australian grain treated with phosphine gas therefore critically important that growers implement best practice

Two grain protein and moisture tester options presented

Preventative treatment the best way to mitigate risk

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The Impact

Peter covered topics such as:

Principles of grain storage – insect identification, the ecology of insects, grain hygiene
Pros and cons of different grain storage options such as silos vs grain bags and cost of different systems
Grain storage treatments and their use - chemical options, managing resistance, regulatory requirements and OH&S implications.
Changes in grain storage and future market needs – food safety, pesticide residue free grain, meeting market needs
Chemical and non-chemical treatment options
Aerating grain for cooling and drying
Pressure testing silos

The Solution

Peter's key point was that “with more than 80% of the Australian grain treated with phosphine gas, the nation’s grains industry is highly reliant on the effectiveness of this fumigant. It is therefore critically important that growers implement best practice when storing grain.” His recommendation for best practice management was to only fumigate in pressure sealed silos and utilise dryacide as a preventative treatment to reduce risk developing of insect resistance to phosphine gas.

Dion Costigan (Link Brokering) also presented on the latest in grain protein and moisture testers. He showcased 2 products which were commercially available to farmers. The first was a grain protein indicator, which can assist in decision making and product consistency by allowing grain of similar characteristics to be stored together, potentially increasing overall commodity value. The second product was a grain moisture indicator to ascertain whether the sample is appropriate for storage conditions. Grain which is too high in moisture can release heat and create a humid environment in a silo, encouraging pest infestation and other grain issues such as mould.

Business and Technology Forum

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event is a WMLIG and Rice Extention joint initiative, made possible through funding from Ricegrowers' Association of Australia Environmental Champions Program, Murray Dairy & the Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

14th June 2018, Barham NSW

Fifty one people attended the Barham Business & Technology Forum held at CluBarham, as part of a joint initiative between Rice Extension and WMLIG. Three forums were held in the local district, the first at Barham on the 14th, followed by Deniliquin and one in Griffith on the 28th of June.
All forums followed a similar theme with topics individualised to suit the interests and needs of agricultural professionals in each region. The driving purpose for these events was to 'provide information to aid management decisions within the local farming community'.

Barham local, George Warne (RMCG) started the day with a presentation on 'The Elephant in the room- Horticulture'. Many irrigators are concerned about the impact that increased horticultural planting downstream of Swan Hill may have on the provision of peak-season delivery capacity of water, particularly between the Barmah choke and the SA border.
The issue is that there is about 9.600ML per day available from the Edwards & Murray rivers to provide downstream users, as compared to Murray Irrigation Limited who can divert more than 10,000ML/day in mid-summer! Horticulture (Almonds in particular) are experiencing high prices, in some cases up to $24,000/ha or $2,000/ML of gross profit is generated by these crops. Hence they are extremely competitive for water, especially during peak summer demand times. The area of almonds planted has increased dramatically in the last 15 years, with more still projected to come there is potential for annual water demand to increased to 195,000ML (15,000 hectares x 13ML/ha requirement). At peak demand this would equal 1,900ML per day.
WHY THIS MAY NOT BE A PROBLEM:

Users upstream of the Choke and within MIL are not directly impacted

Peak demand is in January & February, so only a short overlap with summer crops

The industry will continue to become more water efficient and trees may not need 13-14ML/ha

There are opportunities to call on MIL and the Torrumbarry scheme to channel water around the choke

Caroline Graham, the co-founder of Safe Ag Systems followed George's presentation with a heartfelt explanation of the importance of Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) in the Agricultural Industry. Caroline spoke from personal experience about the difficulty of figuring out how to be compliant, with so many irrelevant and laborious forms to fill out. However, she pointed out that agriculture has one of the WORST track records for WHS. "Agriculture accounts for almost one quarter of all workplace fatalities in Australia- staggering statistics given we employ less than 3% of the total workforce!" she emphasised. This has turned the regulatory focus onto agriculture. Many farmers are not aware they have work health and safety obligations even if they don’t employ others. So how do we go about tacking the massive undertaking of WHS? Caroline developed the cloud-based program 'Safe Ag Systems' which contains policy templates, health and training registers of employees, hazard identification and emergency alert capabilities.

Continuing on the theme of safety and legislation, Allan MacArthur (RMS) presented on the Transport Chain of Responsibility which has recently been brought into affect. He outlined the main duties of primary producers:

Your main duty is to make sure that your conduct does not contribute to unsafe practices by a transporter.

Provide information about goods so that the transporter knows which vehicle and permits are required.

Make sure that there is safe access to your property and equipment (or people) necessary for loading.

Avoid offering any incentives for drivers to exceed speed or mass limits, or to drive while fatigued.

Presentations then turned to the importance of financial management in the business. Tony Hudson (Hudson Facilitation) presented on how to use financials for forward planning. He claimed that: "the most common financial record for business in Australia is the annual tax return. However, studies have shown that over 75% of farmers don’t know how to read these documents, or know how to adjust this information to see how the business is really performing".
So, if we don’t know how the business has been performing, how do we know what to change to maintain its prosperous future? Through both the P2P Agri Program and Tony's ESSENTIALS or MANAGEMENT courses or even using the Farming the Business Publication you can gain a great understanding of the financials in your business and use it to analyse future opportunities.

Glen Wilson, a Business Financial Planner (Commonwealth Bank), shared some tips and tricks on how to protect your business through Insurance and Superannuation. The first step was succession planning. Understand where the business is set to go in the future, who will be involved and how this will work. His next point was whether to self-manage superannuation or not, he felt that although it could be a useful tax tool, the process was time consuming and the gain may not be worthwhile for the effort. Lastly, he spoke about insurance protection, in particular- knowing the difference between 'stepped' and 'level' premiums for insurance. Although stepped premiums seem cheaper at the beginning, you can be caught paying huge amounts later in life. Therefore, even though level premiums may seem high at the beginning they are far cheaper in the long run.

To give attendees a snapshot of ways to strengthen their business, a panel of three presenters was organised. The first was Neil Bull (RGA Envrio Champions Program), who was representing the Water 2030 Group. This group was initiated to assist farm managers to deal with the complexities of managing irrigation farm businesses post irrigation water reform. The collaborative group holds four sessions where participants:

Seek and share knowledge and experience to engender entrepreneurial skills.

Develop and deliver their business plans.

Have plans challenged by peers to identify risk, opportunities & maximise outcomes.

Troy Mauger (Rice Extension) spoke on the Water for Wildlife and Rice project. This project evolved from an idea Peter Mcdonald and Roger Knight had been considering since 2016, to establish a vehicle to access irrigation water for sustainable and profitable rice production and associated wildlife. The project was separated into two components: Water for Wildlife and Water for Rice. Water for Wildlife is currently running a pilot program through the crowd funding platform Pozible to raise $12,000 to assist with the extra costs associated with growing a “wildlife” friendly rice crop. The Water for Rice component is likely to result in an online water leasing platform, however this is still in development. A business case has been prepared to form a co/op as the vehicle to manage Water for Wildlife and Rice.

Katrina Myers (Barham Avocados) presented on 'approaching the unfamiliar' as her family had when they decided to grow and expand their Avocado business. She spoke about the considerations they made and the learnings they gained along the way, Originally, they found that developing a strong connection with consumers and expanding the business was the main challenge. They did this through clever marketing online and through face-to-face communication with consumers. Sustainability was also a large factor in their business and alterations to inputs toward composts and other 'natural' amendments helped to do achieve this. Finally, innovation is a key element in their business and as such, they are currently looking into protected cropping to help prevent frost damage, water loss and reduce overheads.

Another way to strengthen your business is having the ability to retain trained staff. Melva Tyson presented on how Murray Dairy are doing this through their Employment, Farm Transitioning, Leadership Pathways and Careers programs.
So what can you do, as the CEO of your business, to ensure that you offer an enticing work place that future staff will seek and current staff will stay for the long term?
The condensed to-do list seems simple and includes the following:

Have a clear vision

Create a Culture

Communicate

Know exactly what is required of you as the employer.

There are many other ways to ensure that employees will stay with your business, such incentives, rewards and most importantly, understanding your staff and what they need.

The forum ended with a focus on innovation using precision agriculture for farming enterprises.
Using irrigation monitoring and managing equipment can provide large benefits for farming businesses. Alleena Burger (Moulamein Cropping Group) explained that there are a large range of moisture monitoring products on the market, and at times it can be hard to determine which one will be most useful for your business. The Moulamein Cropping Group compared 5 mositure monitor systems locally, across a range of irrigation layouts. Key messages from this were:

Moisture meters that had online capabilities were more likely to be used but can have issues with mobile service, customer service and can be costly to purchase with ongoing subscriptions required

Meters that had to be checked in the paddock were significantly cheaper and in some cases, much easier to visually assess moisture in-crop if the farmer was going past the crop regularly (eg: G-Dot).

James Brinkhoff (CeRRF) then spoke about the applications for moisture meters and how you can get the most out of these products. Using moisture monitoring tools, growers and advisors can assess root system draw depth (the size of the bucket), periods of plant stress from waterlogging or drought, soil characterisation (sand, loam, clay) and implement irrigation scheduling. It should be noted that capacitance probes must be calibrated to local soil types, whereas tension measurements (eg: gypsum blocks) are soil independent. There is potential for your moisture monitoring system to be connected to a bigger network of weather stations, machinery and Wi-Fi phone service.

Adrian Orloff spoke about the infrastructure available through WaterSave, enabling farmers to take the 'guess work' out of irrigating. This involves affordable LoRaWAN gateways, micro-weather stations, pump flow meters and soil moisture sensors on irrigated farms.By receiving real-time alerts the moment a paddock is sufficiently irrigated, farmers are saving up to 20% in power and water costs. These solutions can be retrofitted to current irrigation systems, which reduce the cost of adoption for farmers. Most importantly, farmers are no longer at the mercy of telecommunications companies as the WaterSave sensors do not require SIM cards to operate.

Precision agriculture during harvest is also an exciting innovation which is already occurring in-field. Jonathon Ham (Landpower) is the product manager for the LEXION header in Australia and New Zealand. He gave an overview of the CEMOS automatic system which is used to optimise the machine settings entirely automatically. The CEMOS system will continuously adjust combine settings based on the current harvesting conditions to ensure maximum throughput, top grain quality whilst keeping fuel consumption to a minimum. A ‘top’ operator might be able to beat the system at any given moment but will not be able to keep the machine optimised throughout the whole day of harvesting. All the operator needs to do is activate the automatic functions, sit back and enjoy the ride!

Protein Testing on the run may also be the way of the future, Phil Clancy (Next Instruments) explained. In the last few years, NIR analysers have been adapted to fit on a combine harvester in order to collect protein, oil and moisture data as the grain is stripped. Next Instruments have developed the CropScan 3000H On Combine Near Infrared Whole Grain Analyser that provides farmers with On- the-Go Protein Maps. These maps have the ability to improve flexibility and return on grain by enabling the grower to make decisions based on the protein content of their grain at harvest. A grower could choose to blend the grain in the paddock by selectively stripping the red area and combining with grain from the green areas to raise the grade from ASW to APW. In effect blending in the paddock could result in a $30 per tonne increase in revenues for those areas where the grade was ASW.

A massive thank you to all the presenters for this forum, which either generously gave their time or charged reduced rates for their services. Their generosity ensured that a great range of topics were able to be covered in a cost-effective manner for attendees. Thanks also to ClubBarham which provided a great venue and catering!
WMLIG still has a number of resources from this event, feel free to contact us if you would like any additional information.

Government and strategic planning

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This project is supported by Murray Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Governments National Landcare Program.

17-18th May 2018, Barham NSW

Through the Training and Skills round 2018 The Murray LLS community team aimed to support community, Landcare and producers groups to carry out education and skills training that would build the groups capacity and make them more resilient and competitive in a future with less funding certainty.

Beginning with group surveys and an EOI application round, Murray LLS with the Murray Landcare collective gauged where the course interest was, five course subjects Grant Writing, Marketing, Mapping and data recording, Governance and Strategic management were the most popular courses requested. Murray LLS with Murray Landcare collective ran 12 courses across Murray region in these five disciplines, 193 individuals from 23 difference community groups attended.

With guidance from WMLIG, Steven Bowman a seasoned board advisor, with a great depth of experience and skill facilitating board reviews and strategic management process was chosen to run the Strategic management and Governance courses. He has held numerous senior executive, CEO and board positions with Australia and USA and co-authored over 14 books in strategy, governance and executive leadership.

Over the whole 2018 Training and Skills round 93% of the attendees surveyed said the courses they attended would build the capacity of their groups. When strategic planning attendees were surveyed two months later 78% believed the Strategic plan will encourage practice change and 100% believe there will be a positive long term impact or legacy from the Strategic planning masterclass.

Surveyed representatives quoted:
“The way in which the information was portrayed gave the feel that opportunities are endless. In a region which is so heavily impacted by loss of skills and wealth in the area, this is a great motivator. I think it also helped to strengthen community groups to be better able to meet goals and prepare for any challenges ahead.”

“The Strategic Planning course created motivation to make changes and also improved understanding on how a strategic plan can be helpful and provide focus for the group”

“Increased awareness of standards will encourage and increase confidence in the administration of the group, better outcomes.”

Special thanks to WMLIG’s Laura Kaylock and Roger Knight that did a great job at organising the Barham events.

By Susie Buckley
Murray Local Land Services
Land Services Officer

Fencing and Biosecurity

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event is a WMLIG and Central Murray BestWool BestLamb joint initiative, made possible through funding from the Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

14th March 2018

Thirty eight landholders heard that deer are the top emerging pest in Australia, during a fencing and biosecurity workshop held in Mallan, NSW.
During his presentation on biosecurity issues including emerging pest risks, John Nolan from Murray Local Land Services (MLLS), indicated that deer have the potential to colonise up to 90% of Australia'a land mass and must be considered a real pest risk.
MLLS re-iterated that they need to hear about any deer sightings so that control strategies can be implemented. Mr Nolan assured participants that the information on deer sightings will be kept confidential so that landholders do not draw unwanted attention, including deer hunters.

District Veterinarian, Scott Ison also presented to the group and outlined the five key diseases sheep producers should be mindful of when considering their biosecurity. Ovine Johne's Disease (OJD), Ovine Brucellosis (OB), lice, footrot and drench resistant worms are all flock diseases which can have significant impact on production but can also be prevented or controlled through good biosecurity practices.

The workshop concluded with a hands-on session for completing the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program form with participants. Scott said it is a requirement that landholders complete this form and have a copy with them on the farm. The Western Murray Land Improvement Group has forms available for producers. Contact Rick Ellis on 0487372357 for more information.

Warratah representative, Mark Thompson was also on hand and presented technical information about fencing material including differences in material construction and application to prolong the life of the fence and make it easier to repair. An interactive session provided participants with the opportunity to try new knots, tools and techniques to consider when fencing.

The Mallan Community Hall benefited out of a partial new fence and gate co-sponsored by Warratah and the Western Murray Land Improvement Group. Thank you to all the community volunteers who helped with fencing and preparation for the day!

Women in Rice

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event is a collaboration between Rice Extension and WMLIG, made possible with funding from AgriFutures & Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

21st November 2018, Wakool NSW.

Rice Extension created the women in rice network with the aim to connect and empower rural women involved in the rice farming business.

These groups have a focus on sharing knowledge, building skills and growing confidence to make good business decisions, with rice as the common theme. Events are aimed at women of all ranges of experience, knowledge and association of the rice industry.

Women in Rice at Wakool was the fifth networking event held by Rice Extension. This event focussed on the variety and complexity of the roles of women in the agriculture sector and of the importance of surrounding yourself with valuable connections.

Belinda Allitt from AgriFutures shared her experiences in communicating positive stories in the ag sector. She explained that understanding your own personal brand values when communicating either on social media, supporting a cause and in advocacy is a must: “Every like, share, follow, ask, reaction, donation, comment demonstrates and reflects on your personal brand”. Each attendee went home with an understanding of their own brand values.

The day also included workshopping Rice$cenario to build confidence to use the tool to prepare water budgets, gross margins and compare different scenarios in their farming enterprises.

Lauren Mathers from Bunderra Berkshires provided an insight into managing and growing a family farm business, including the challenges and innovations associated with this. Lauren discussed her experience with crowd funding, farmer's markets, online marketing, agritourism, value adding and the new Microabattoir initiative she is involved in.

The women were very positive in their feedback ranking the day on average 9.4 out of 10.

Drought Smoko

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event was a Central Murray BestWool BestLamb, WMLIG and Ricegrower's Australia initiative, made possible with support from the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme via the Murray Local Land Services.

Two 'Drought Smoko' events were held on the 3rd April, at the Mallan Community Hall and 22nd May at the Tullakool Hall with the purpose of bringing together community members impacted by drought, for an informative networking event. Thirty two people attended these events to learn about the latest information on weed control, pest management, stock health and Murray Darling Basin Authority's community engagement processes.

Stephen Battenally (Weeds Biosecurity Officer, Murray River Council) kicked off the event, describing council's role in protecting and managing our roadsides, bushland biodiversity and biosecurity. As part of the current Biosecurity Act, weeds of concern in the locality have been identified as: Sagitteria, Silverleaf Nightshade, Gazania (African daisy), Galenia and Spiny Burr Grass. For weeds such as Silverleaf Nightshade, Stephen recommended pegging out and mapping the infested area to gauge the effectiveness of control measures undertaken. This weed is notoriously hard to kill. Ploughing only aids the spread of this weed and glyphosate spray has little effect on controlling the population.

The council's latest campaign, 'No Space for Weeds' has been created to inform people of new and emerging threats before we get another outbreak similar to that of Bathurst Burr or Paterson's Curse. Residents may have seen red guide posts on the side of roads. These guide posts highlight priority one weeds on Roads and Maritime controlled roads to inform workers of the presence of these weeds. Currently, the Council uses bio-agents for controlling Paterson's Curse, Horehound and Bridal Creeper. Bio-agents are insects that aid in the control of certain weeds and are widely spread throughout the former Wakool Shire region. If you would like to know if you have bio-agents on your property you can get in contact with the Weeds Officer. For more information on weeds of significance, there is an app called 'WeedWise' available for download on your phone or tablet.

Scott Ison (Animal Biosecurity & Welfare Team Leader, Murray Local Land Services) discussed the potential spread of disease from feral animals such as pigs and goats. At this stage the majority of resources are spent on keeping disease out of Australia. He highlighted that extensive testing is undertaken on products imported into Australia, as that is where disease risks are most likely to originate from. Modelling figures suggest that disease outbreaks could cost the Australian economy $50 billion dollars.

In terms of managing contamination from stray livestock found on your property, producers can use the Property Identification Code (PIC) on animal eartags to identify owners/locality by logging into the Local Land Services (LLS) website or by making an enquiry to the LLS over the phone.

John Nolan (Regional Pest Management Coordinator, Murray Local Land Services) explained that LLS work closely with Local Government, National Parks, State Forest and landholders to control pest species. In the last 6 months there has been an aerial monitoring program undertaken to find out baseline population data for species such as feral pigs. Surveys using thermal imaging were undertaken in the Werai Forest, Wanganella, Moulamein, Splitter Creek (Albury) and Little Billabong (Holbrook). It is hoped that by determining a baseline population, that the success of control measures on feral pigs can be more accurately gauged.
Deer are also an emerging problem for the region. The Eastern parts of NSW are in the grip of a feral deer population explosion. A ban on spotlight hunting deer on private property in NSW, has been lifted in response to the magnitude of the problem.

Rabbits still remain the largest economic and environmental pests facing our districts. LLS has released the K5 calici-virus and landholders can be provided with a vial as part of a co-ordinated approach with neighbours. In addition, the LLS still provide rippers and baited carrots for rabbit control.
Part of John's role is to meet with groups of landholders who have identified a pest species and would like to work together on a coordinated approach to control the pest. John is actively seeking landholders to contact him to assist with monitoring and control measures.

Neil Bull (Environmental Champions Program, Ricegrowers Australia) explained the Australian Sustainable Rice Platform and what it meant for the industry. SunRice is looking to adapt an international sustainable rice platform with the aid of funding through the National Landcare Programme and Murray Local Land Services. The program will help SunRice demonstrate the care for environmental, social and economic factors within the rice industry. This may lead to better returns for growers through access to premium markets. It will aid the improvement of on-farm production systems which will complement the existing Environmental Champions Program undertaken by the rice industry. Australian rice is already world leading in water use efficiency and sustainable production systems, so this program will be a great addition to highlight the industry's environmental credentials.
Roger Knight (Regional Engagement Officer, Murray Darling Basin Authority) works as a conduit between the MDBA and the community, to suggest how basin programs could be better rolled out. Roger spoke of the importance of having good data to help inform both sides of the discussion with sound knowledge. He endeavors to share information about the operating considerations for the river systems, including planned flooding, system constraints and the determination of water resources.

Event summary courtesy of the Koondrook Barham Bridge Newspaper.

Managing Pests and weeds

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

The Managing Established Pest Animals and Weeds (MEPAAW) project, was a component of a broader state-wide Established Pest Animals and Weeds initiative program managed by NSW Department of Primary Industries.
The MEPAAW project saw Landcare NSW working with Landcare groups and networks across NSW to facilitate the delivery of workshops and activities aimed at increasing landholder uptake of best practice management of invasive species.

WMLIG worked with the Murray Local Land Services to provide landholders with tools to identify, control and contain pest and weed incursions from spreading and convey biosecurity responsibilities.

Two workshops were held in 2019 at the WoodLeigh Woolshed at Gonn and at the Dhuragoon Fire Shed on the 23rd - 24th of September. These workshops were designed as a networking opportunity between landholders, local and state government agencies and industry representatives. The two events were attended by 41 people and reached 1500 people. Target species within the Murray Regional Strategic Pest Animal Management Plan were the focus of discussion, including: Deer, Pigs, Fox Galenia, Silver Leaf Nightshade, Arrow Head and Box Thorns.

It was identified that landholders wanted to learn more about the increasing pest population, especially with the recent media on African Swine Fever. Presentations covered: the feral pest population in State Forests and National Parks, current control measures being enacted and future plans; disease risk from deer and pigs; landholder biosecurity responsibilities; identifying, monitoring and reporting pest species using tools such as 'WeedWise' and 'Feral Scan'; and the importance of coordinated, co-operative control by working with neighbours to manage pests.
Presenters included John Nolan (Regional Pest Animal Coordinator), Scott Ison/Linda Searle (District Vet) and Stephen Battenally (Biosecurity Officer).
Attendees were particularly interested in methods of pig control using free feeding gain prior to the poison being laid to improve the hit rate. Prior to attending these workshops 54% of participants described themselves as having 'some' knowledge of invasive species management and 64% described themselves as having some confidence to undertake invasive species management. After the workshops 75% of participants felt they had 'a lot' of knowledge and 69% felt they had a lot of confidence to undertake invasive species management.

Please note: From September 6th 2019, a NSW Game Hunting licence is no longer required when hunting wild deer on private land. Individuals seeking to hunt deer must have permission to hunt deer from the landholder or manager as well as a current firearms licence.

Industry Diversification

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Industry Diversification

About our Industry Diversification Projects

Our Industry Diversification Projects explore the potential for producers to shift away from traditional income streams or look at adding new incomes steams to their existing operations with the aim of encouraging positive economic growth and development.

Some current and past projects in this category include exploring commodity value adding products, trialing new crops and varieties such as Industrial Hemp or developing new off farm or farm extension business opportunities.

Wakool Agri-Innovation Program

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Overview

The Wakool Agri-Innovation Program was designed to help farmers and businesses to explore opportunities to innovate, diversify, and value-add in their businesses. Developed in partnership with Regionality, the overall aim of the program was to encourage regional prosperity and opportunity by supporting the development of high value agricultural, food, and tourism sectors.

In support of regional innovation, skills acquisition, and community strategy, this program includes the delivery of capacity building workshops, two Agri-Innovation forums, subsidised conference attendance, and business development programs. In addition to capacity-building programming, funding has also been allocated to research into a digital trading platform and a regional product identity, forming an 'Agrisystem'.

'Capacity Building' and 'Agrisystem' form the two major facets of the program.

This program is funded by the Australian Federal Government via the Murray Darling Basin Economic Development Program . WMLIG successfully obtained this funding in 2019. Project activities commenced in 2020, and was completed in April 2022.

Capacity Building deliverables

The Capacity Building facet of this project incorporates education, training, business development, innovation, and leadership programming to stimulate professional development, diversification, and economic prosperity in the Wakool region.

Deliverables for this facet included:

Business Development Program

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About the program

The Business Development Program (BDP) was part of the Wakool Agri-Innovation Program (WAIP) which was a major project funded by the Australian Government under the Murray-Darling Basin Economic Development Program. The aim of the BDP was to support producers in the Wakool region to explore value add opportunities and income diversification options, which would help support producers through adverse times.

The program took place over two rounds and was facilitate by consultants Regionality. It brought together 21 local producers and business owners and their ideas to provide an alternative or additional income stream for their business.

The sessions helped producers understand alternate pathways to market, to embrace opportunities, and build resilience through diversification and value adding beyond the farm gate.

Program Overview

It was intended that each of the two rounds of the BSP would consist of six full-day workshops that supported producers through a comprehensive pre-feasibility process to;

Understand their focus or purpose, core values and a framework for business decision making;

Identify spare capacity (property, product or IP);

Refine and ground truth their business concept;

Explore fundamental innovation related business concepts and processes;

Assist in helping producers to understand the farm to consumer value chain, developing brand framework and marketing strategy;

Guide producers through the key considerations in assessing the financial viability of your proposed venture;

Help producers to understand the relevant compliance and regulatory requirements and;

Connect producers with key people in industry, government agencies and programs that can support and assist you in the development of your business.

Business Development Program Success Story

Fooch - By 12 Good Eggs

Waste Works A Treat

Kate Redfearn was at a fork in the road last year. Six years earlier, she had purchased 12 Good Eggs , a free-range egg farm located just outside of Moulamein in partnership with her parents. Business was going well and there was capacity to take the next step, but she was unsure of the best way to propel it forward. One option she was considering was a traditional path of increasing the number of chickens on farm and in turn increasing her supply of eggs. Which would mean finding more customers and more channels to sell through. Kate however also had a business challenge in mind that had always bothered her - waste.

Waste at one point seemed like an inevitable business challenge. Eggs for human grade consumption are meticulously selected. If there was the finest hairline fracture, invisible to the naked eye (luckily there are machines for that), it meant that an egg would be cast off. Then there’s eggs that are too big, or too small, or those that have defects. The ones which shells are too weak, meaning they are likely to break in transit. There is also the challenge of seasonal egg trends and matching supply demand on a short shelf -life product. Kate estimates that she was wasting 2.5 percent of her egg production each week. Apart from it being disheartening to see her and her parent’s hard work being thrown away, there is of course the matter of lost income. She also could not help but think that she was involuntarily contributing to a bigger picture

And waste is a big issue. According to the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment food waste costs the Australian economy $20 billion each year. It is reported that Australians waste around 7.3 million tonnes of food annually or one in every five bags of food shopping that we purchase. Money and resource wasted aside; it also has a negative environmental impact making up more than five percent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. Kate acknowledged that following the path of producing more eggs without a plan in place to utilise waste would lead to even more waste being produced.

So, she started researching. She toyed with the idea of making egg pasta, but food safety and the labour involved was complicated. Plus, there was still the issue of eggshell waste. Then Kate came across the idea of pet food. With the rise in popularity of Doggy day spas, Barkuterie (yes, charcuterie platters for your dog), designer collars and leads, it is fair to say that people have gone barking mad for their dogs. Dogs are treated more like family members than well, pets. According to Business Insider Australia, in 2019 the pet industry was worth more than $12.2 billion. With 5.7 million households across Australia having at least one pet, and two in every five households (38 per cent) having dogs as pets, and all trends pointing to owners spending only increasing on their precious pooches, this seemed like a market worth having a crack at. Dog treats would allow her to utilise 100% of the egg waste (shells included) generated on farm. And from there, the idea of Fooch, “Premium dog food for your pooch” was born.

When the opportunity presented itself for Kate to participate in our Business Development Program facilitated by the Regionality , experts in helping producers innovate and value add, she decided to use it as a forum to flesh out and workshop her idea. Reflecting upon her experience in the program Kate thinks that “being around like-minded people and being able to workshop ideas with Regionality gave me the inspiration and motivation to pursue this idea. Taking a step back and looking at our values was a pivotal point in the business. We concluded that diversifying and value-adding to our existing product was the way we wanted to move forward.” Whilst COVID-19 set the program some significant challenges including turning most of the program into zoom meetings rather than face-to-face sessions as initially planned, Kate persisted and at the end of the program had her business plan set out and ready to implement.

Kate spent lots of time researching and trialling various recipes. They had to be healthy but of course also delicious to dogs. With all the cooking trials, she needed some willing participants. So, she spent a few months getting family and friends to trial the treats on their dogs. Eventually settling on a mixture of her would-be-wasted eggs, oats, turmeric, apple cider vinegar and parsley and mint as a base recipe. She also uses dehydrated meat bones to incorporate meat flavours. The treats use all-natural ingredients, you could even eat one yourself if you were curious, although you probably enjoy seasoning on your food. Currently cooking operations are undertaken at home, often with her four-year-old little helper Henry. Kate is making one large batch a week but planning on scaling up operations off the back of plenty of positive customer feedback. She is not ruling out expanding out to our feline friends in the future either.

Kate sells her dog treats Fooch at the Echuca Market every fortnight and will soon be selling them online on 12 Good Eggs website . The Business Development program is an initiative of Western Murray Land Improvement Group and is part of the Wakool Agri-Innovation Program funded the Australian Government’s Murray-Darling Bason Economic Development Program. The Business Development program is facilitated by Regionality who specialise in helping producers understand alternate pathways to market, diversification, and value-adding beyond the farm gate. A second round of the Business Development Program will be commencing in May 2021. The program is free and open to producers in Wakool area and surrounds. To register your interest email admin@wmlig.org or call 03 5453 1577.

Case Study

Industrial Hemp Project

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About the Project

The potential of the hemp industry in Australia is positive and is experiencing strong growth. There are new technologies emerging which are seeing improved production and the development of value added products is also driving demand.

In order to determine the feasibility of Industrial Hemp to be considered a viable summer crop inclusion in the Western Murray region, we have engaged a number of partners and consultants in feasibility studies and trials across 2021-2023. An outline of the pre-feasibility study compiled by The Wedge Group can be viewed below.

WMLIG is exploring further funding options to continue its work on trialing industrial hemp as a viable potential summer rotational crop. Additional funding will be vital for WMLIG to have the capacity to conduct ongoing demonstrations of the crop, and to capture the data for its potential adoption by interested landholders in 2023 and beyond.

Project Update - February 2025

The WMLIG Hemp Project has made significant strides since its inception. A feasibility study was completed in 2023, involving a collaborative approach with local landholders.

The project focuses on a short value chain and building products, with the study concluding in February 2024, forming the anchor of the Investment Memorandum.

Currently, we have a contact list of over 200 potential growers and investors. Seed investment ranging from $500k to $1m is now open for local investors.

We are also working on business structures, market development, and engagement, with Investment Round 1 targeting $25m for land purchase and the establishment of a hemp precinct focused on block manufacturing.

We have applied for government support through the Regional Precinct & Partnership Program and are awaiting assessment.

Additionally, we have applied for $28.5m of which $18m will be to cover 100% of our infrastructure CAPEX. Industry Growth Program application to be finalised soon.

Our Vision

High-quality, competitively priced natural building materials.
Environmentally sustainable building materials that reduce energy costs and help build healthy homes – ‘a home that breathes’.
Offering farmers in our region an alternative crop, building business resilience.
Supporting our rural community as it adapts to an economy with less water and the removal of the local redgum industry.

Field Days Photographs

Boosting Yield In the Murray

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Project Summary

The results from the combined 2016-2017 Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Moulamein Cropping Group trials of lentil, chickpea and Durum Wheat crops planted at two sites at "Tiquito" (Dhuragoon) & "Northdale" (Moulamein) were attended by 21 people on September 19th 2017.

The trial aim for the two legumes was to provide an assessment of waterlogging tolerance in varieties, differing irrigation techniques (overhead irrigation, flood irrigation, beds & subsurface drip), and optimal timings of fungicide application.

The focus of the ICC 'Irrigated Durum Trial' was to test different products and fertiliser rates to find the best way to consistently achieve 13% protein in Durum grain.

Attendees listened to the findings and participated in a tour of the trial plots.

The Solution

A series of presentations on the findings were presented by the following team:

- Damian Jones, Irrigated Cropping Council
- Alleena Burger, Moulamein Cropping Group
- Laura Kaylock, MCG/WMLIG
- Leigh Vial, Deakin University
- Sam North, NSW DPI

Tackling Tough Times Together

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Project Summary

A diverse group of 64 people attended the Tackling Tough Times Together workshops on the 8th & 9th of October 2019, at Mallee Rising in Swan Hill, the Moulamein Bowling Club and the Wakool District Services Club.

The key theme for these events was innovation and diversification opportunities to drive resilient, sustainable business within the region. As part of this, guest presenter Sarah Nolet travelled from Sydney to facilitate three mini-workshop activities from the Farmers2Founders national innovation program. The workshop activity was supported by presentations from Paul Dillon, founder of Mallee Rising, which operates as a local social enterprise/co-working space, and Tony Flett who is a NSW Rural Financial Counsellor based in Deniliquin, NSW.

The Solution

Sarah encouraged participants to interact by suggesting they find someone they didn’t know and learn about any innovations they had undertaken or agtech they had recently integrated into their business. Afterwards, they were asked to form groups of 4-6 people who weren’t familiar with each other. This tactic immediately eased any tension in the room, resulting in some lighthearted banter and few wry jokes. One of which included Sarah’s introduction of herself:

“I was raised on a small hobby farm in Silicon Valley, California, where my father and I mostly grew rocks and squirrels. It wasn’t until I went on a gap year that I really started to find my passion for agriculture.”

However, one of her most important tactics was to lay down ground rules at the start of the workshop:

“While I know it is a key factor in your business right now, I want to ban the use of the ‘D’ and ‘W’ words today: drought and water. They are very important but unfortunately I don’t have the solutions to them, otherwise I would be presenting about something very different. What I can help with is looking at other current trends in the agricultural industry, like changing consumer demand or new agricultural technologies.”

Sarah asked numerous questions which caused groups to pool their knowledge and experience with existing agtech and link these with current threats and opportunities. She provided inspiring examples of businesses which had successfully innovated, adopted agtech, value added to existing products or connected with consumers to increase market demand. Finally, she opened the floor to anyone who had innovated within their business to share their experience.

Paul followed on from Sarah’s presentation in Swan Hill to explain his experience with digital disruption and agtech, including the opportunities he can see for local business:

“The future for co-working spaces as innovation hubs in a region is huge, just recently we ran the Digital Innovation Festival in Swan Hill, which brought in a range of innovators to share their experience with business owners. One such entrepreneur, Thingc Robotics showcased their autonomous robotic weeder which was developed to address horticultural labour shortages. I believe there is a lot of opportunity for us to be part of connecting businesses with technology and this will have positive implications for the local economy.”

In Moulamein and Wakool, Tony kicked off the day by detailing what drought support is available for producers in NSW and how it could relate to their business. Although this was a different speed to the innovation presentations, Tony explained how he used some of the positive mentality that Sarah encouraged to push his clients:

“I like to challenge my clients to test the assumptions they are using to make decisions. Some of the funding options allow businesses to make changes now, not only to cope with trying conditions but also to be ready to capture opportunities once the conditions improve.”

The impact

Organiser, Laura Kaylock was impressed by the community response to these events.

“We had a great mix of age, agricultural backgrounds and an even split of genders. All of which contributed to some interesting discussion on innovation and opportunities for local businesses. Everyone left with a smile on their face, which really was the best part of it all. Times are tough, and it’s important that we stick together.”

At the end of the workshops, participants were asked what they would change in their business/job after the workshop, some responses included:

Be aware of technology and how it can improve profitability
Consider consumer trends and think about linking ideas with companies
Start working on using tech in pastures & crops, improve livestock ID and record keeping

Participants felt that the most useful part of the workshops were:

To learn what agtech is being used in the local farming area
Being able to network with likeminded, innovative people
Using a positive approach to encourage progress & innovation

Breaking New Ground

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

T his event was a Rice Extension initiative, co-hosted by WMLIG and made possible through funding from AgriFutures Australia and the Murray Local Land Services .

In July 2019, following the success of the 2018 Business and Technology Forum, Rice Extension again partnered with the Western Murray Land Improvement Group to launch the Breaking New Ground forum. This event was designed to give growers the tools to become more resilient to drought and begin farming for the future by providing access to information on business management, the latest technology, dealing with drought, mental health and wellbeing.
"We found that agtech and farming practices are changing so rapidly, the potential is endless, but often growers weren't exactly sure what might be appropriate for them and where to go first. We designed the forums to bring the information to growers and give them the tools to pioneer new practices and technology in their own businesses to improve productivity" - Rice Extension Officer, Charleton Glenn.
Presenters were selected to provide information and tools to improve existing, or pioneer new practices and technology in their own businesses.

The forum was well attended with 46 farmers and industry members participating. There was an encouraging inter-generational mix of age groups, with 42% of attendees between 52-65 years, 31% under 35 years of age.
The range of topics presented included precision agriculture, farm benchmarking, managing livestock during drought, the availability of drought funding and services, off-farm investment and using electronic identification to collect and utilise flock performance data.

As a result of the workshops, participants suggested they would make changes to their business by:

Implementing soil testing zones in their paddocks, use satellites or drones to collect in-crop information and apply fertiliser using variable rate technology.
Engage a farm benchmarking consultant to get more information about their business performance.
Start using electronic identification for their livestock to improve enterprise performance.

There was also time for participants to network over morning tea and lunch, to ask any extra questions of presenters or simply take the time to socialise with like-minded people.

We would like to thank our wonderful presenters for giving their time to attend the event, including: Peter Brick - Decipher Ag , Tim Haines - Farmanco , Scott Ison - Murray Local Land Services , Tony Flett - Rural Financial Couselling Services , Scott Mildren - Provincial Wealth & Paul O'Donnell - Brian McCleary & Co Accountants , Elise Bowen - Sheep Data Management .

Water for Wildlife and Rice

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Water For Wildlife & Rice farming achieves triple bottom line outcomes by producing ecological and socio-economic benefits, a win – win for nature and production.

Caldwell farmer, Peter McDonald first had the idea of Water for Wildlife and Rice (WWR) after seeing once thriving rice crops habitats reduced to bare, lifeless paddocks.

Much of Australia's water (especially in the Murray-Darling Basin) is managed for either agricultural or environmental purposes. As it stands the two management processes are in parallel and no one site aims to deliver outcomes for both wildlife and agriculture. By tweaking the agricultural landscape, food production and enhanced biodiversity conservation can occur at the same time, achieving win-wins for agriculture!

Peter teamed up with Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) and Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA) and others to formulate the project that has since attracted partners including the Federal Government’s Farming Together initiative.

The team decided that the project had to be capable of achieving a triple bottom line through socio-economic and ecological outcomes for it to be successful. With this in mind, the project was split into two focus components: 'water for wildlife' and 'water for rice'.

Water for Wildlife

The water for wildlife component will facilitate investment into enhancing existing rice crops to provide suitable surrogate wetlands for a diversity of over 40 species of birds, 6 species of lizards, 2 species of snakes, the Eastern Long Necked Turtle and 6 species of frogs. This will be achieved through crowd funding and guided farm tours for tourists. This kind of investment will benefit the many natural species in the area whilst maintaining a known income from the lease of the water, through the water for rice project.

Rice crops have long-acted as surrogate wetlands for which species including the endangered Southern Bell Frog and Australasian Bittern have utilised in their breeding and feeding cycles. The crops, along with the farm dams and irrigation channels used to deliver the water, form temporary wetlands that sustain wildlife populations that are not necessarily provided for in environmental water delivery programs.

An increase in water prices along with a decrease in the water available in the district has meant that many farmers have adopted water-saving measures to grow their rice, but this has had an impact on the wildlife habitat.
With up to 75 days less days of water being held in a rice crop in what is kind of like a pond, native species have been forced out of crops and often at crucial breeding stages.

The link for the crowdfunding Water for Wildlife and Rice page and explanatory video can be seen below:

Water for Rice & Wildlife Crowd Funding

Water for Rice

The water for rice component was designed to facilitate the relationship between rice growers demanding water with supply from entitlement owners in the Central Murray Region.
WWR aim to engage Water Entitlement Owners (WEO) in the Central Murray Region – for example retired farmers – who are no longer actively using their water, however want to keep their water entitlements within the local area to become members of a Co-operative venture. WWR will also engage Rice Growers interested in increasing their water security to grow rice in the region as members.

Those who currently farm irrigated land in the Murray Valley rely heavily on water entitlements owned by others to fulfil their irrigation needs for rice production (and/or grain, fodder, dairy). This project aims to encourage WEO to lease their GS entitlement to local farmers for a defined period, rather than punting on the allocation market to keep water in the region. Access to irrigation water means productive farms which provide business and employment opportunities for people in our communities. If people are retained, so are education and health services.

To test the viability of the lease option against trading on the allocation market, a case study was conducted looking at leasing 100 GS entitlements leased at 5% of the capital value for three year periods over the past 20 years. At today’s value of $1300/ML that lease payment at 5% would be $6,500 per year.
Based on the last 20 years of water availability, the return to the water owner from leasing or selling on the allocation market was the same on average, if zero allocation years were excluded from the analysis. There was a $3/ML difference on average when zero

Leasing Water vs the Temporary Market

In-depth Water Market Analysis (RMCG)

DID YOU KNOW:

Rice is a water intensive crop and growing it is entirely dependent on the availability of water for irrigation. In periods of drought or when there is low or zero water available, rice cannot be grown.

Rice can only be grown on approved soils and is regulated by the rice water use policies of the various irrigation corporations

The Australian rice industry leads the world in water use efficiency. From paddock to plate, Australian grown rice uses 50% less water than the global average.

In the region rice farming has flow on effects to other sectors of the economy and plays an important role in maintaining jobs, propping up the retail sector and infrastructure (i.e. Rice Mills).

Australian rice growers play an important role in food security as rice sustains two-thirds of the world’s population (Rice Growers Association of Australia).

Rice farms are a haven for all sorts of plants and animals. Rice bays and irrigation channels are an ideal home for insects and animals including turtles, water birds and billions of frogs.

The urban communities of Deniliquin, Finley, Jerilderie, Moulamein and Wakool have a high dependency on irrigated agriculture. Around 90% of businesses in these centres are directly reliant on irrigated agriculture. Rice and dairy producers make up around 75% of the farm businesses and have a high dependency on irrigation

National Tree Day

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

In celebration of National Tree Day last month and thanks to our wonderful sponsors Murray River Council and Murray Irrigation Limited, 8 local schools and educational groups including almost 600 children received native trees from local nursery Tulla Natives alongside a little planting kit to make their contribution to the national tally.

Schools also received gardening goods to keep for future use. All plants and products were sourced from local businesses. We hope to have inspired a few budding future Landcare contributors!

We have included a summary of the day including pictures kindly supplied by the schools and have listed the locally-sourced gardening tools that they each received.

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School participation

In total, 8 schools and education centres participated in this project including:
- Barham Pre School
- Barham Public School
- Barham High School
- Moulamein Primary School
- Moulamein Pre-School
- Wakool-Burraboi Public School
- Wakool Pre School
- Tooleybuc Central School

Barham Preschool received:

1 x Composter 105L
1 x Greenleaf Yard Cart 60L
1 x native tube plant for each child to take home and some hedging natives for along a fence within the yard

Barham Public School:
3 x Gardenmaster Post Hole Shovel
1 x Gardenmaster Garden Rake
1 x Neta Retractable Hose Reel
7 x Cyclone Hand Trowel
1 x Wobble-Tee Lawn Sprinkler
A specialised plant pack from Tulla Natives with plants suitable for the project area.

The Year 6 children buddied up with Kinder and they spent a Friday afternoon planting together. They planted up the Fairy Garden at the school with suitable grasses and small shrubs for the space.

Barham High School:
3 x Yates Watering Can
6 x Gardenmaster Hand Trowel Soft Grip
2 x Spear & Jackson Landscapers Rake 18 Tines
1 x Greenleaf Yard Cart 60L
1 x Vertical Garden Planter
1 x Greenleaf Retractable Hose Reel Grey 20m
2 x Gardenmaster 3 Prong Cultivator
2 x Gardenmaster Post Hole Shovel Fibreglass Long Handle
1 x Wobble Tee Lawn Sprinkler

Year 10 students from Barham High School planted trees and shrubs they had recently purchased for a Bee Garden project. The school also held various activities throughout the day all related to National Tree Day involving children from all classes and each student was also encouraged to wear green to signify the day.

Moulamein Preschool:

Moulamein Preschool received:

Fruit Trees in pots
1 x Gorilla Carts Poly Garden Cart
Various vegetable seed packets to the value of $80
15 x Gardenmaster Hand Trowel Soft Grip

Moulamein Primary School:

Moulamein Primary received:

1 x Gorilla Carts Poly Garden Cart
1 x Cyclone Post Hole Shovel
1 x Cyclone 14 Tine Landscapers Rake
1 x Gardenia Roll-Up 20 Retractable Hose Reel
1 x Wobble-Tee Lawn Sprinkler

Wakool Preschool:

Wakool preschool received:

1 x Worm Farm Café Rectangular
8 x Rhino Gloves Junior Gardener Kids
8 x Gardenmaster Hand Trowel Soft Grip
8 x Fiskars Fork Aluminium
1 x Composter 105L Black
1 x Neta Retractable Hose Reel 15m
Each child also received a small flowering native shrub to take home and plant in their own gardens.

Tooleybuc Central School

"With the assistance of Stacey Brooke the local Landcare coordinator and project officer we were successful in gaining funding from both the Murray River Council & Murray Irrigation Limited to support the project. We are very grateful for what they have supplied."

Tooleybuc Central School received:
• 1 x 105L Composter
• 1 x Gardenmaster Long Handle Rake
• 1 x Wobble-Tee Lawn Sprinkler
• 1 x Poly Garden Cart
• $150 mixed native plants from Tulla Natives suitable for your large outdoor space/Ag Plot area

Event Partners

National Tree Day 2021 was supported by Murray River Council and Murray Irrigation Limited.

CSU Environmental Education

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Key facts

The issue

Providing expert knowledge to various school groups of ranging ages can be challenging, whilst ensuring content is engaging and relevant.

It can also be difficult to find a common place for these types of activities to occur in a central location.New Paragraph

The Solution

On the 1st and 2nd of December 2020, Professor Robyn Watts (Charles Sturt University) conducted environmental science workshops with 6 local school groups. With students attending from Moulamein Public School, Wakool Burraboi Public School, Barham Public School and Barham High School, these workshops were delivered to a broad range of age groups.

Under a contract with a Commonwealth Environmental Water Officer to deliver on the Wakool River monitoring, engagement, and research project, these workshops provided students with an opportunity to learn about water species and water quality assessment.

The impact

These workshops saw the Murray Connect facility transformed into a science classroom. 35 microscopes were transported from the Charles Sturt Campus (Albury) to Barham, each strapped carefully into a bus seat for the journey. Under these microscopes, students studied fish larvae, small crustacea, and water bugs.

Several tanks of water were brought into Murray Connect. Students measured the oxygen content and overall quality of each tank, learning about the survival of aquatic species as impacted by water quality.

Learnings

With an approximate total of 120 students attending these workshops, the program provided a great opportunity to showcase Murray Connect and bring schoolchildren back into the retired St. Josephs building.

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Seed Collection Workshop

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

On the 24th of October 2020, Western Murray Land Improvement Group along with Barham Landcare, held a fun and interactive workshop involving local Primary School children at Federation Reserve in Barham NSW.

Two primary school classes from Barham Public School attended the workshop that saw Kindergarten on their very first out of school excursion. They were buddied up with Grade 3/4 and accompanied by 6 teachers and assistants from the school- making the total number of attendees 47.

The workshop was facilitated by Barham Landcare volunteer and group treasurer Christine Dartnell and Local Landcare Coordinator (hosted by WMLIG) Stacey Waylen.

“It was an exciting activity to do and we encourage families to go and enjoy the natural environment at the reserve.” Hannah & Lana (BPS Students)

An excerpt from the Barham Public School Newsletter. Term 4, week 5, 2020.

The workshop begun by the students all standing in a large circle and looking at, touching and investigating various types of seeds and seed pods from all around Australia. Some of the children were quite fascinated by the varying shapes, sizes and forms of seed pods. Some seeds were endemic to our local region, and others were from as far as Cape York QLD. One of the group favourites was a large Banksia Prionotes seed pod, with one of the children suggesting it resembled a ‘grumpy old man’s face’. All of this interaction led to a discussion where the children then learnt how seeds are protected in all the varying types of seed pod, and why this protection is so important for species survival.

The children then broke off into smaller groups where they were able to go for a walk around the wonderful Federation Reserve, and learnt how to identify and collect their own seed. It was a fun, practical activity that gave the children a chance to investigate the different stages of seed production across a variety of endemic plant species. We then gathered to compare our findings and used activity sheets to sort and identify seed and seed pods according to shape, size and colour.
We finished the workshop with a group discussion about the science and biology of seeds.

Western Murray Land Improvement Group would like to thank Barham Public School for their eager involvement in the day, and are very excited about future events that promote Landcare education to our Junior Landcarer’s. Extended thanks also goes to Christine Dartnell from Barham Landcare for her participation and continuous efforts that she puts into Barham Landcare and Federation Reserve.

For more information please contact Stacey Waylen 03 5453 1577, stacey.waylen@wmlig.org.

Federation Reserve

WORKSHOP PARTNERS

Possum Magic

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

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Painted Snipe & Bittern Walk

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This event was a WMLIG and Ricegrowers' Association of Australia joint initiative, made possible through funding from the Murray LLS through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme and support from Murrakool Land for Wildlife and the Bitterns in Rice project.

50 people ventured out to 'Cambria', a local farm in Tullakool, NSW on the 20th of December to learn about on-farm wetland environments from renowned ecologist Matt Herring. The evening walk was hosted by the Thomas family, who have a long history of natural resource management on their farm.
Their passion stems from the legacy of Evan Thomas, who endeavoured to provide on-farm habitats for significant wildlife such as the Painted Snipe.

Upon arrival, attendees were greeted with beautiful views of a number of different wildlife habitats. These included the Bunna Creek, a seasonal wetland, irrigation channels and lush rice crops. Children and adults alike puddled in the wetland, to try to spot waterbirds hiding in the thick cumbungi. Matt disappeared briefly into the reeds to try and flush out some birds, such as an Australian Little Bittern that could be heard but not seen. Despite his efforts, the birds remained elusive.
Matt did a quick survey for frog species in the wetland before heading over to a nearby rice crop to see if there was a higher density of species there. Experience has shown that rice provides a great habitat for frogs due to food availability, shelter and time of flooding. This proved to be correct with Matt finding over 10 tadpoles to show to attendees. He explained that these were "immature Spotted Marsh Frog, Barking Marsh Frog and Plains Froglets, which are common species found in the region". Although not found in the survey, the endangered Southern Bell Frog could be heard calling from within the rice bays. If you would like to learn how to identify frog species, try this phone app .

Just as Matt finished explaining how to identify frog species, another significant rice inhabitant appeared... an Australasian Bittern! While people gathered along the rice bank with binoculars at the ready, the bird took flight, allowing everyone a view of the strange specimen. Bitterns are known to use rice crops as a surrogate wetland for breeding and hatching young. However these bird are not always easily found, so a sighting was an exciting experience for all present. If you would like to find out more about the Bitterns in Rice Project you can check out their Facebook page .
The elusive Painted Snipe remained a mystery, with Matt admitting that he "didn't expect to see any, they are very hard to find".

Thank you to Neil Bull and Erika Heffer of the RGA Environmental Champions Program for organising and running the day. Special thanks to the Thomas family for hosting the field day and to Matt Herring for sharing his wildlife knowledge with attendees.

Barham Lakes Project

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About this project

This combined community project funded by CluBarham aims to restore and enhance the habitat of the Barham lakes complex. The project consists of 5 stages, with the project team currently working through stage 1 of 5.

This first stage of rehabilitation stage aims to establish a threatened native small-bodied fish nursery and refuge site at the old swimming area. Targeted small-bodied native fish include endangered southern pygmy perch and purple spotted gudgeon.

Our role is to provide project management experience and bring together a cross-sectional community taskforce.

December 2024 Update - Spring has sprung!

Whilst we're melting in this recent warm weather, our wetland plants are booming!

Vegetation planted at Barham Lakes in October by students from Barham High School and Deniliquin High School has taken off in the last few weeks.

Wetland species such as Water Primrose (Ludwigia peploides subsp. Montevidensis) and Swamp Lily (Ottelia ovalifolia subsp. Ovalifolia) have shown significant growth during the last month. We look forward to seeing what other species pop up over summer.

This new growth is enhancing our Native Small-Bodied Fish nursery, and we hope the Purple Spotted Gudgeon's released in May are loving it!

About the Barham Lakes

The Barham Lakes complex is a 15ha site consisting of four man-made lakes originally constructed by CluBarham during the 1980’s and was initially stocked with native fish species including Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch and catfish.

The complex lies adjacent to the Murray River and Eagle Creek cutting and is situated approximately 1km from Barham township.

Up until approximately 2018, Barham Lakes complex was an area of public access for recreational fishing and 4km of walking tracks.

Given its proximity to the Murray River and Eagle Creek, Barham Lakes Complex has been identified as an important ecological site using environmental and consumptive water to develop threatened native fish breeding areas.

Barham Lakes Precinct map

Local School Involvement

The CluBarham Lakes project is a community project building an ongoing partnership with several community groups including Barham High School.

During the pilot stage or stage 1 of the project, Students from years 7, 9, 10 and 11 are assisting in revegetation and rehabilitation of the old 'swimming hole' into a threatened small-bodied native fish nursery.

Student participation is being aligned with NSW Science Curriculum.

Barham High School students will continue to help with revegetation works throughout the project life under the supervision of Barham Landcare volunteers.

Flood Management

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

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Group of Forests

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

The Living Murray Project

Assist Forestry Corporation to engage and communicate with stakeholders

Facilitation and administration of stakeholder reference groups for consistent engagement in the delivery of environmental watering events

Complete field surveys and assessments for intervention and condition monitoring for the TLM

The Groups of Forests Projects

We define the Group of Forests as the River Red Gum Forests of Koondrook-Perricoota (NSW) and Gunbower (VIC).

This group of forest spans from the town of Echuca (VIC) to Barham (NSW) and spans over 50,000ha of River Murray floodplains. The forests are considered both an icon site and a Ramsar protected site.

We work across a number of projects with out project partners. that come under the Group of Forests as identified by community interests and needs. These include the Pollack Enhancement Project and the Little Forest Management Plan.

As well as projects relating to positive ecological outcomes, we also host events and field days to various locations in the forest.

Our community's vision for their forest

In 2021, a community vision was developed for the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest.

A healthy working forest where native species can flourish, and where local communities can connect and co-manage the forest for future generations."

A detailed report on the visioning process has been recorded. Achieving these outcomes for our community is at the heart of all our Group of Forests project

Our role

Our role across the Group of Forest projects is to:

Communicate community needs and it's vision for the forest.

Help enhance the condition of the forests, including sourcing funding for and completing revegetation, improving the condition of native wildlife and delivering environmental benefits.

Improve community knowledge of the forest's profile and it's cultural and ecological significance through information sessions, communication materials, and field trips.

Provide administrative assistance to the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) made up of landholders, community groups, local government and industry members.

Whilst these are our current key roles, we are open to developing them based on community interest and needs.

Group of Forests projects & events

Weekly reports

We keep a record of Koondrook-Perricoota Overbank summaries. These include information on water delivery, inundation levels and areas and general observations on wildlife, vegetation and more.

Copies of these reports can be found at the below links.

Koondrook-perricoota overbank reports

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

Hailing from the UK, Dan cut his teeth as a grazing & pastoral property manager in far western QLD.

He ran his own consultancy for over 10 years in this field before making the move over to Forestry, working in native hardwood plantations and ecology departments before his role as icon site manager and project manager.

Dan now runs his own private consultancy business DOD Hutton based in Deniliquin NSW. He specialises in field work, water management and he also facilitates indigenous and broader community liaison/consultation.

Dr John Conallin

John holds a PhD in Natural Sciences, his work focusses on capacity building through research of local stakeholders (primarily government and community) with a n emphasis on learning and pragmatism balanced with precision and acquiring evidence for use within decision making.

John respects the local visions people have for their own backyard and builds the capacity of the local community to be involved in how their local natural resources are managed.

Our project team works closely with John across a number of projects relating to the Group of Forests, specifically with the protection and rejuvenation of native fish populations.

John has also worked and based his research extensively in South East Asia with native fish communities in Myanmar.

Koondrook-Perricoota Alliance

The Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) was established on 16 July 2013 in partnership between the Joint Indigenous Group (JIG) and the Community Operational and Planning Assessment Committee (COPAC) which were established after construction of the Koondrook Perricoota Forest Flood Enhancement Project (KPFFEP).

The KPA is formed by community, local government and industry members that have a vested interest in how environmental watering is managed in the Koondrook- Perricoota Forest.

WMLIG provide governance and administrative support to the KPA.

Want to be kept updated with what's happening across our forest projects?

Join our mailing list to receive occasional email updates.

Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

Reconnecting River Country

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) collaborated with the NSW government's Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP) to gather feedback from the community about removing barriers that hinder water delivery for the environment in the southern-connected Murray-Darling Basin. Through 7 regional events held over two months, WMLIG engaged landholders and community members, resulting in a detailed 72-page "Data to Actionable Insight" report.

The report covered community opinions on various aspects, including flow options, inundation extent, environmental risks and benefits, mitigation measures, landholder negotiation, and community co-design. It contained valuable information gleaned from workshops, surveys, meetings, and conversations, along with 130 geo-located constraints suggestions within more than 200 comments from participants.

Constraints, referring to obstacles in water flow, were identified as barriers to maintaining healthy river, wetland, and floodplain ecosystems. The RRCP aimed to address these impediments, which had been persistently problematic despite previous government efforts. In response, the program underwent a relaunch after community consultation, with selected community organizations leading local feedback projects for improved engagement.

WMLIG orchestrated an extensive engagement campaign encompassing workshops, an online survey, meetings, and media outreach. Workshops held across the Murray inland delta involved ecologists and experts who facilitated discussions and collected data on proposed flow options and inundation maps. A working dinner and surveys further captured insights on negotiation frameworks, mitigation measures, and potential impacts.

The outcome was a distinct contribution to the ongoing struggle to remove constraints in environmental water management. The community-led process was lauded for its effectiveness compared to previous government-led efforts. The report highlighted the abundance of local knowledge and commitment to addressing environmental issues associated with RRCP's flow scenarios. However, it also noted skepticism about governments' ability to access and utilize this valuable knowledge effectively.

WMLIG's experience revealed that deeper engagement led by local experts can yield valuable information for programs that previously faced engagement challenges. The positive feedback centered on the combination of government information and local knowledge, though concerns remained due to the lack of complete government data for environmental risk assessments. The report concludes that the community's recommendations are a step toward progress, but their adoption by RRCP leaders remains uncertain.

Full report can be viewed below.

This project was funded by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

Gee Gee Bridge Revegetation

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Key Facts

1,100 locally grown endemic plant species were planted

6 months of ground preparation and project planning occurred prior to planting

13 community members participated in the tube stock planting day

Continuous site monitoring will ensure the ongoing success of this revegetation project

The Issue

Due to structural age and safety concerns, a new bridge has recently been erected by Roads and Maritime Services NSW replacing the original Gee Gee bridge on Noorong Road in Noorong/Wetuppa NSW. This has meant a new bridge approach has been constructed, leaving the old roadway approach area bare with degraded and compact soils.

The Solution

Murray River Council with consultation from Roads and Maritime Services NSW worked with Western Murray Land Improvement Group to strategize a plan to transform this now unused and degraded site back to a healthy and revegetated landscape. WMLIG created a specific project plan to bring the site back to a healthy environment including sowing groundcovers and planting endemic plant species.

Preparations of the site included deep ripping, spreading of embankment materials, spreading of Gypsum to assist in breaking down the compacted soils, and the spreading of topsoil to rebalance the soils that have been heavily burdened by compaction and construction. The site was then prepared for the planting of 1,100 tube stock which involved creating wide depressions with central holes bored for the plants themselves creating an area for each plant that could maximise water harvesting from subsequent rainfall events- allowing more moisture to be captured.

The tube stock was then planted at the site and watered in immediately. Guards were also installed on each individual plant, and since planting a fence has also been erected providing further protection of the area from pest pressure.

Since planting, we have been fortunate enough to have received rain events at all the right times which has helped the project so far to be a great success. Manual watering will occur when needed over Spring and Summer to ensure the plants continue to survive and grow.

The impact

Continuous monitoring and support of the site and the project will ensure we can enjoy watching this important revegetation area grow in the years to come.

The project was also registered as a participating site in the 2021 Planet Ark National Tree Day program, meaning the plants that were planted all contributed to the National Tree Day planting tally.

African Box Thorn Removal Program

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About this project

Western Murray Land Improvement Group received funding from the Murray Darling Healthy River Program to support and form a working group with other local and regional authorities to develop a detailed project plan for the removal of African Box Thorn.

This project targets 4,200Ha of Boxthorn infestations on both sides of the Murray River. In collaboration with Landcare, local and regional government authorities and specialist contractors, we will work closely with private landholders with severe infestations to provide education and technical support as well as project management oversight needed to coordinate the complexity of multiple land tenure Boxhorn control activities.

At a glance

Control of over 4,200 Ha of African Boxthorn

Reduce the impacts of this noxious weed on floodplain ecology and agricultural land.

Promotes cross-tenure and cross-government partnerships in delivery of regional weed strategies.

Aligns to the Murray Biodiversity Management Plan

Supports local product manufacturing and service industries.

Promote education and information (e.g. websites).

Four field days planned

Due to start Winter 2023 with completion due 2024.

A map of the eligibility area for the removal program has been provided.

We collected Expressions of Interest from interested landholders to undertake African Box Thorn Removal on their properties.

Please note a requirement to be part of this project involved a 15% contribution upfront as well as a number of criteria for participation which are listed in EOI/terms and conditions document.

Program eligibility and EOI

For any enquiries about this project please contact:
03 5453 1577

In the news

Project partners

Thus project is supported by funding from the Australian Government's Murray-Darling Healthy Rivers Program. Other collaborative partners include Murray Local Land Services, Murray River Council, Myall Landcare and local landholders.

Maximising Drought Resilience with Natural Capital Opportunities

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Decision Support Tool

The tool guides farmers on initial natural capital accounting assessments which can assist with quantifying and planning land management areas designated for natural capital projects. This approach can lead to more informed decision-making and improved resilience to climate variability.

A tailored drought resilience and natural capital index helps with initial planning when weighing up natural capital assets with options on how to improve them.

The farmer-designed tool includes a decision matrix to aid in understanding which environmental goods and services provision may be worth investigating. Participating in programs that reward farmers can provide additional income streams and help recovery after drought but the markets are emerging and information is scattered.

The co-design group found that community support and network building were a key element of drought resilience and aggregated natural capital projects across a landscape were and could increasingly play a part in improving drought resilience.

The project was based on several findings that forming networks and engaging in peer-to-peer learning can help farmers share best practices and new tools for managing drought and other climate risks. Collaborative approaches leads to wider adoption of effective drought-ready production and natural capital management strategies.

The tool was also designed to help farmers leverage future support programs and grants for drought and climate change preparedness. If financial assistance for on-ground works - fencing, water point efficiency, establishing containment areas, crucial for managing stock and maintaining farm productivity during droughts - are made available, farmers can see ahead of time where this may have multiple benefits for natural capital projects.

For more information, please contact Jacqueline McArthur at Jacqueline.McArthur@wmlig.org

Murray Inland Delta primary producers have another advantage when it comes to improving drought preparations with our natural capital and drought resilience decision support tool designed by the region’s farmers.

Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG), with support from the Southern Innovation Hub, convened farmers from across the delta plus experts in environmental markets, banking, drought resilience and farm sustainability to co-design a handy tool to help land stewards get on the front foot when it comes to maximising their natural capital advantages.

TOOL: Download the Natural Capital and Drought Resilience Decision Support Tool below

Download the presentations from our co-design workshops below April 11 and May 8 and watch video of workshop 8th May 2024

Environmental Markets

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Environmental markets represent a forward-thinking approach to funding environmental conservation on private lands. By recognising the economic value of natural resources and ecosystem services, these markets create financial incentives for land managers to protect or enhance nature. This approach not only benefits society but also provides tangible advantages to private businesses.

At WMLIG, we are proud to have completed several projects in this space. We invite you to explore our work below:

Please contact our Environmental Markets Project Officer Jacqueline McArthur for more information at Jacqueline.McArthur@wmlig.org

River Country Biolink

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

The River Country Biolink Guide

The River Country Biolink Guide is designed to inspire both discussion and action towards regeneration of the Murray River inland delta.

WMLIG’s The River Country Biolink project, supported by WWF-Australia , bought together farmers, environmental market experts, ecologists, landscape rehydration experts, and traditional owners to co-design a plan for an environmental product - a hydrated biolink - that complements food and fibre growing and maximises the potential of our region’s man-made and natural capital assets to achieve a premium.

The biolink project was created to be a ‘living business case’ and blueprint for accessing biodiversity and carbon markets.

The River Country Biolink Guide consists of two parts - an outline of the co-design process and recommendations plus a comprehensive conceptual design report for landscape rehydration of the biolink's Sheep Wash Lagoon and Horseshoe Lagoon by the Mulloon Insitute.

The complete guide and the two reports can be downloaded here.

About the project

The River Country Biolink project is a response to the emergence of markets in carbon sequestration and biodiversity restoration (nature repair) coupled with global changes in supply chains accounting for impacts on the climate and the natural world herald an enormous shift in business rules.

Farmers, as land stewards of 55% of the Australian land mass and primary producers at the top of the value chain, are inextricably tied to the challenges and opportunities the changing market dynamics will present.

Farming communities in the Murray River inland delta, have already experienced market failure of a natural resource and are determined to ensure the design of emerging environmental markets and accompanying supply chain pressures do not present both perverse incentives and the same rapid transfer of wealth and water from their region and others.

The River Country Biolink co-design project, a work in progress, is an invitation to think deeply and take action on seeking sustainable ways to resource and be rewarded by whole-of-landscape regeneration as it complements sustainable food and fibre growing.

The proposed River Country Biolink at Gonn, NSW: Up to 10km x average 30m of wildlife corridors extending from the Murray River towards the Wakool River. Landscape rehydration of Sheep Wash Lagoon and Horseshoe Lagoon are a focus of the project.

Environmental Services

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About our Environmental Services

Our Environmental Services range from project management, stakeholder and community engagement, revegetation services, environmental water projects, wildlife surveys and more.

We work with our project partners to protect and improve the land, waterways, and ecological conditions of the place we love to live.

You can read more about our projects below.

Our Projects

Barham Lakes Project

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

December 2024 Update - Spring has sprung!

About this project

Whilst we're melting in this recent warm weather, our wetland plants are booming!

Vegetation planted at Barham Lakes in October by students from Barham High School and Deniliquin High School has taken off in the last few weeks.

Wetland species such as Water Primrose (Ludwigia peploides subsp. Montevidensis) and Swamp Lily (Ottelia ovalifolia subsp. Ovalifolia) have shown significant growth during the last month. We look forward to seeing what other species pop up over summer.

This new growth is enhancing our Native Small-Bodied Fish nursery, and we hope the Purple Spotted Gudgeon's released in May are loving it!

Key facts

Currently in Stage 2 of 5

Our goal is to establish a threatened native small-bodied fish nursery and refuge site

Combined community project between WMLIG and six clubs/organisations

We provide project management experience and on-ground coordination of cross-community organisations

1000 Southern Purple-Spotted Gudgeon fingerlings released May 2024

About the Barham Lakes

The complex lies adjacent to the Murray River and Eagle Creek cutting and is situated approximately 1km from Barham township.

Up until approximately 2018, Barham Lakes complex was an area of public access for recreational fishing and 4km of walking tracks.

Given its proximity to the Murray River and Eagle Creek, Barham Lakes Complex has been identified as an important ecological site using environmental and consumptive water to develop threatened native fish breeding areas.

Barham Lakes Precinct map

Local School Involvement

Project gallery

In the news

Media Release - Breathing New life into the Lakes
18th January 2023

Media Release - Small Bodied Fish Nursery Barham Lake
20th May 2024

Media Release - Fish Hotels

6th August 2024

Please note that the Barham Lakes precinct is currently closed to the public.

Project Partners

This project is a combined community project, funded by CluBarham. Project partners include CluBarham , Barham Land Care Group, Eagle Creek Trust, Barham District Services Memorial Angling Club , Moama Local Aboriginal Land Counci l and Barham High School.

Group of Forests

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

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The Living Murray Project

Our role in the Living Murray is to:

Assist Forestry Corporation to engage and communicate with stakeholders

Facilitation and administration of stakeholder reference groups for consistent engagement in the delivery of environmental watering events

Complete field surveys and assessments for intervention and condition monitoring for the TLM

The Groups of Forests Projects

We define the Group of Forests as the River Red Gum Forests of Koondrook-Perricoota (NSW) and Gunbower (VIC).

This group of forest spans from the town of Echuca (VIC) to Barham (NSW) and spans over 50,000ha of River Murray floodplains. The forests are considered both an icon site and a Ramsar protected site.

We work across a number of projects with out project partners. that come under the Group of Forests as identified by community interests and needs. These include the Pollack Enhancement Project and the Little Forest Management Plan.

As well as projects relating to positive ecological outcomes, we also host events and field days to various locations in the forest.

Our community's vision for their forest

In 2021, a community vision was developed for the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest.

A healthy working forest where native species can flourish, and where local communities can connect and co-manage the forest for future generations."

A detailed report on the visioning process has been recorded. Achieving these outcomes for our community is at the heart of all our Group of Forests projects.

Our role

Our role across the Group of Forest projects is to:

Communicate community needs and it's vision for the forest.
Help enhance the condition of the forests, including sourcing funding for and completing revegetation, improving the condition of native wildlife and delivering environmental benefits.
Improve community knowledge of the forest's profile and it's cultural and ecological significance through information sessions, communication materials, and field trips.
Provide administrative assistance to the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) made up of landholders, community groups, local government and industry members.

Whilst these are our current key roles, we are open to developing them based on community interest and needs.

Group of Forests projects & events

Want to be kept updated with what's happening across our forest projects?

Join our mailing list to receive occasional email updates.

Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

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Weekly reports

We want to hear from you!

Got an idea for a project or event based on or in the forest?
We would love to hear about it!

Who we work with

We work with a small team of experienced and skilled consultants across the Group of Forests projects.

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

Gee Gee Bridge Revegetation Project

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Key facts

The issue

The Solution

The impact

The revegetation project has been so far successful. The seedlings planted have all thrived and are showing healthy new growth leading into Spring. The groundcover species sown has also so far shown a mostly successful germination, considering the rain we have received has in the later part of Winter has slowed down.

Continuous monitoring and support of the site and the project will ensure we can enjoy watching this important revegetation area grow in the years to come.

The project was also registered as a participating site in the 2021 Planet Ark National Tree Day program, meaning the plants that were planted all contributed to the National Tree Day planting tally.

Project Partners

This initiative was made possible by the NSW Landcare Program. A collaboration of Local Land Services and Landcare NSW Inc. supported by the NSW Government.

The Pollack Wetland

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new postAbout the Pollack

The Pollack Wetland or simply, the Pollack is a 700ha flora and fauna nature reserve in the Gunbower-Koondrook-Perricoota Forest. The Pollack is geographically secluded from the rest of the Forest, encircled by private property with access limited to approved project partners or by permission only.

A large amount of evidence of cultural heritage has been found in this area, providing evidence that the site was once an ecologically rich area, viable of supporting our First Nation's People.

Since the regulation of the Murray River, the frequency and duration of flooding within the Pollack has been dramatically reduced. As a result, the area has seen a drastic decline ecological condition. WMLIG

An environmental watering program introduced in 2016 has seen improvements to the area, with wildlife such as native fish and birds returning to the area to live and breed.

Our role

We received funding from Murray Local Land Services as part of their Catchment Action NSW Program to undertake activities to enhance and maintain the ecological condition of the Pollack Wetland. The project is currently in its third year.

As part of this funding program, we have organised a range of work including pest and weed control, revegetation work and community engagement activities. A major component of the community engagement has been to provide on-ground opportunities for local community members to witness and discuss the delivery and outcomes from environmental water.

We have hosted multiple tours throughout the project, engaging community members, schools, local landholders and other stakeholders. We are passionate about supporting the community and see their vision of the forest come to life.

Environmental Watering

The Pollack's environmental watering program was introduced using surrounding Bringan Trust channel infrastructure. This program is a collaboration between FCNSW, the NSW Office of Environment, the Bringan Irrigation Trust and the local community.

Under this scheme, flows are delivered via the pumping station on the Murray River and travel 10km through open channel to the Pollack. In working with landholders, some of the channel constraints have been removed, enabling up to 25ML/day water delivery.

The water delivery is much slower than a natural overbank event, with the last watering taking over 85 days to inundate 158ha.

Reports & Resources

Project partners

The Pollack Enhancement Project is made possible by funding from Murray Local Land Services through their Catchment Action NSW Program.

Thanks to local landholders Tanya and Graeme Heffer for allowing the project partners and participants to gather and access the Pollack via their property

Tours of the Pollack Wetland

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Tours of the Pollack

Tours of the Pollack Wetland are very popular with a diverse range of community members. We endeavour to run tours yearly dependent on funding opportunities.

The Pollack is geographically isolated from the rest of the Koondrook-Perricoota, encompassed by private property. All visitors require permission from private landholders to enter. The appropriate permits and permissions are always gained by our team when organising tours or site visits.

Sign up to our newsletter to keep updated on when the next tour of the Pollack is coming up.

All Pollack tours

The Living Murray

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

About The Living Murray Program

The Living Murray (TLM) is one of the most significant river restoration programs in the country. TLM commenced in 2002, following scientific and community concerns the ecological health of the Murray was in serious decline. It is a joint initiative of the Commonwealth government and state governments of NSW, Victoria, ACT, and South Australia, coordinated by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA).

Western Murray Land Improvement Group are involved with the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Icon Site. The icon site manager of the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest is Forestry Corporation of NSW (note Gunbower is managed as a discrete site by North Central CMA).

The Living Murray focuses on six selected icon sites:

Barmah-Millewa Forest
Koondrook-Perricoota-Gunbower Forests
Hattah Lakes
Chowilla Floodplain and Lindsay-Wallpolla Islands
The Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth
River Murray Channel

The MDBA describes the icon sites as culturally, socially, and ecologically significant, containing high conservation floodplains, wetlands, and forests. Each of the icon sites has distinctive and unique characteristics and most are also recognised under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and other international agreements. The TLM icon sites were the pilot project designed specifically to find a pathway for planning, policy, legislation, consultation, construction, and operations for other similar projects that have followed.

Key to restoring the ecological health of the icon sites was to reinstate more frequent flooding through the delivery of environmental water flows. The construction of infrastructure such as delivery channels and regulators, as well as native fish and turtle passageways, allows for efficient, targeted, managed water delivery. Restocking and revegetation activities are another important piece of the puzzle.

Monitoring fish, bird and vegetation environmental outcomes, Indigenous partnerships, and involving the community are also vital to show change over time/validate the outcomes of environmental water use.

Our Role

Our role in the Living Murray is to:

Assist Forestry Corporation to engage and communicate with stakeholders
Facilitation and administration of stakeholder reference groups for consistent engagement in the delivery of environmental watering events
Complete field surveys and assessments for intervention and condition monitoring for the TLM

With a purpose to develop a cohesive community vision for the Koondrook-Perricoota (KP) Forest, a series of community engagement events were facilitated by WMLIG between December 2020 and April 2021. Over 160 participants attended the event series, culminating in a community vision for the Group of Forests (KP, Campbell’s Island and Little Forest):

“A healthy working forest where native fauna and flora flourish and local communities own and co-manage for the future.”

As part of this vision, members identified a series of key themes and interests which were deemed important to the future of these beautiful forests. Read more about this unique vision here.

The Community

To realise the full potential of the project and recognise the significant investment made so far, third party impacts require addressing. The Forestry Corporation of NSW, and the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA), is collaborating closely with other stakeholders to address the third-party impacts. Continuation of the timber industry is critical. The KPA has been working towards a positive triple bottom line outcome for the forest for over 15 years, showing the commitment and investment in the project by the local community.

Infrastructure

Infrastructure works enable efficient, targeted delivery of water for the environment. Construction of key structures to deliver water to the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest occurred between 2010-2013, with a total cost of around $100 million.

Monitoring and evaluation is regularly conducted across the Basin, with progress and outcomes summarised by the MDBA in a series of report cards for each Icon site. You can access the report card for the KP here. Explore the link for an explanation of grades and to see how conditions have changed over time.

Koondrook–Perricoota Forest Report Card 2023–24

There are four upstream structures:

The off-take regulator and channel which directs water from the Murray River above the Torrumbarry Weir. This has the capacity to deliver 6,000 ML (megalitres – one million litres) a day.
Two regulators at Swan Lagoon; the upstream one is the critical entry point into the forest.

There are seven downstream structures:

Thule, Calf, Cow, Barbers & Barbers Overflow Ck regulators.
The return channel and regulator.

A small commissioning event occurred in 2014, with approximately 12% (3,500 ha) of the forest inundated. A second management event occurred in 2019, similar in size to 2014. The use of the infrastructure, even at small flow rates, identified a requirement for further works to mitigate third party impacts. Approval for a works project to address these issues occurred in 2017. Part of this work, including the construction of 6.2m of levee, has been completed.

Our work in print - Published Articles

Pollack Wetlands Indigenous Food and Fibre Day

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Field trip to the Pollack Wetlands

As part of the UN’s Decade on Nutrition, we partnered with Forestry Corporation, hosting a field trip to the Pollack Wetlands, food and fibre displays and a barbecue for 40 community members.

The visit to the Pollack Wetlands allowed the community to see first-hand the amazing transformation and rehabilitation of the area from recent watering events, whilst learning about its natural resources.

Environmental Consultants Dr John Conallin and Dan Hutton lead the group show-casing the food and provisions of the Pollack Wetlands.

Contributors to the day also included Bio-Anthropologist & Archaeologist, Colin Pardoe and Luke Pearce, Fisheries Manager for the Greater Murray region with the Aquatic Ecosystems Unit.

Indigenous food sources the group encountered were varied and included water ribbon seeds, native gudgeon, turtles and yabbies.

Photographs from the trip

The hour and half field trip was followed by a barbecue at Murray Connect, giving attendees the chance to view food and fibre displays and discuss with exhibitors, Roseanne Farrant and Sonia Robertson. Murray Local Land Services also provided a display to provide some Indigenous information on the area.

The Murray Connect lunch also gave the group the opportunity to sample some of the Indigenous foods. Cooked yabbies, fried battered gudgeon, and water ribbon seeds were on the menu along with standard barbecue fare.

Luke Pearce also showed the group how to prepare the infamous European Carp for the table with many pleasantly surprised with the eating quality.

Another native food source on the day was “Murnong”. These tubers from the native Yam Daisy were grown from seed by Luke and brought along to sample.

This field trip allowed community to explore the natural resources our region has to offer and also see first-hand the regenerative local environment work and it’s positive, rewarding results.

Fodder and Fish

Luke Pearce came along to the Indigenous Food and Fibre Day with homegrown “Murnong” or Native Yams to sample. Luke grew these himself from seed from the Yam Daisy plant. The flavour and texture is similar to a water chestnut with a slightly bitter finish when raw but can be seasoned and roasted giving a flavour similar to Jerusalem Artichoke.

Considered carp on the menu?

Watch the video of Luke Pearce preparing this exotic pest of the waterways.

Pollack Community Tour January 2021

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

In partnership with Murray we held a second community tour of the Koondrook-Perricoota (K-P) Forest on 31st Jan 2021. The tour provided the opportunity for community members to visit three sites within the forest, including the Pollack Swamp Inlet, Pollack Lagoon, and the Smokehouse Lagoon.

The purpose of both mid-December’s and January's tour was to demonstrate the positive effects that managed environmental watering has had in the Pollack, to raise awareness of the current poor condition of the broader KP Forest, and to lead a bottom-up community-led approach for a shared vision of the forest.

As a result of community interest and a desire to provide input into the future projects of the KP Forest, a community meeting is planned for late February. This session will provide community members with an opportunity to be part of local decision making and form social connections.

To preliminarily scope out a community vision and objectives for the forest as well as topics of interest for seminars in the future, a short survey is available below. Hard copies are available for pickup at 27 Thule St Barham. All community members are welcomed to participate in this anonymous survey.

December 2020 Community Tour

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

In December 2020, we hosted a tour of the Pollack Swamp and Smokehouse Lagoon in the Koondrook Perricoota (KP) Forest. The tour attracted over 45 people from Barham and surrounds, some making the trip from as far as Deniliquin, Moama and Kerang.

The tour included three stops: the Pollack Swamp Inlet, the Pollack Lagoon, and lastly the KP Smokehouse Lagoon. The purpose of the tour was to demonstrate the positive effects that managed environmental watering has had in the Pollack, to raise awareness of the current poor condition of the broader Koondrook KP Forest, and to lead a bottom-up community-led approach for a shared vision of the forest.

Photos

“After working on this project for the last ten years, this area will not last another ten without irreversible damage”.
Dan Hutton, Environment Consultant & Koondrook Perricoota Project Team Lead speaking broadly of the Koondrook Perricoota Forest.

MLFW Pollack Tour

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

Key facts

Attended by 35 community members

Average sightings of 10-15 red belly black snakes per day

Waterbirds returned to the Pollack but did not breed

Murrakool Land for Wildlife and WMLIG held a Pollack Swamp tour for the community to view a local environmental watering program and learn about it's objectives and outcomes. Dan Hutton, the environmental consultant managing this site in conjunction with Forestry Corp NSW, led the tour. Thirty five people took the opportunity to explore parts of the reserve.

Dan outlined that historically, the Pollack Swamp was 1.4m deep and had an impressive number of earth mounds where the traditional Barapa Barapa people lived along the water way. Carbon dating of charcoal within the mounds has dated the mounds as far back as 3000 years. The lagoon had a very active bird population with bee eaters, cormorants and even a sea eagle.

About this tour

Tour date: 24th February 2019

Since regulation of the Murray River, the frequency and duration of flooding within the Pollack was dramatically reduced. During natural high flows, the 220ha swamp, fills from the Barbers Creek through a small channel called the Pollack Creek. Flood waters exit the Pollack via a capillary of flood runners rejoining the Barber Creek to the north. The water flowing via the Pollack Creek would typically cover the swamp in just 3-4 days.

Under the environmental watering program, water is delivered through the Bringan Trust channel infrastructure. Flows are delivered via the pumping station on the Murray River and travel 10km through open channel to the Pollack. In working with landholders, some of the channel constraints have been removed, enabling up to 25ML/day water delivery. The water delivery is much slower than a natural overbank event, with the last watering taking over 85 days to inundate 158ha.

The project is a great example of how a well thought out project can deliver great environmental outcomes with the modest 2GL water use. The Pollack has long been recognised as a significant waterbird breeding site with historical breeding records of both the Eastern Great Egret Ardea modesta and the Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia (both listed as Threatened Species in VIC) and many other species (Disher, 2000; Hutton, 2017).

While the waterbirds did return for the watering event, they did not actually breed. Temperature and the timing of watering are thought to be factors.

Guide Dan Hutton, spoke of average sightings of 10-15 red belly black snakes per day. He spoke of some of the challenges in managing the site with feral animals, and even the overpopulated red gum saplings which historically would have been drowned out with more frequent flood events. One option being considered to control the feral animals is to fence critical parts of the Pollack, although the fence will take some time as it has to limit feral animal traffic but allow natives such as Echidnas to pass through.

This event was a joint WMLIG & Murrakool Land for Wildlife initiative, made possible through funding from the Murray Local Land Services Catchment Action NSW Program and Murrakool Land for Wildlife.

Project partners

Thank you to the landholders who allowed the group access to the Pollack via their property.

Griffith Industry Tour

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:41 GMT

In March 2020, we organised and coordinated a tour for local producers of the Griffith, Whitton and Coleambally areas, in the north-western region of the Riverina region of New South Wales.

Whilst it was a challenge in COVID-regulation times, our organisers, Stacey and Amy, did a great job in selecting a line-up of some of the most impressive and inspiring businesses that have successfully innovated existing product or created new products utilising spare capacity.

Many of the businesses that the group visited looked at value-adding options, supply chain innovation, collaboration and diversification opportunities.

A few key take outs and highlights from the group included:

This project was funded by the Australian Government under the Murray–Darling Basin Economic Development Program.

The Griffith Industry Tour is part of our Wakool Agri-Innovation Program.

Funding Partners

- Being introduced to sun-drying heat tunnel technology and water-saving technology which has increased water efficiency significantly at Naturally Dried Prunes.

- Traceability of product was interesting to the group as displayed by Aquna Murray Cod who implement a vertical integration system, meaning that they can trace their product at every stage of the supply chain.

- Coleambally Community Farm, a 379 Ha non-for-profit working demonstration farm which allows various community organisations to participate in various agricultural pursuits for experimental, demonstration and fund-raising purposes.

- A tour of Australian Made Panel board (AMPAN), panel board that is made from fractured rice stubble. Unlike standard chipboard or MDF, the production of AMPAN does not rely on the use of timber but fractured rice stubble providing a solution for farmers post-harvest.

One attendee commented that he was impressed by what can be achieved when "community has a can-do attitude and gets on with the job and finds huge capital through partnering and collaboration to bring different skill sets in to achieve a common goal."

Throughout the tour the group got a taste of fresh local produce and sampled some of the local brews on offer.

We will be running another industry tour later in the year, with a location still to be decided.

Knowing your soils

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:25 GMT

This event was a WMLIG initiative supported by Rice Extension and made possible with funding from the Murray LLS through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

19-20th March 2018

Sixteen people attended a soil analysis workshop in Wakool and Deniliquin in late March. This workshop was created with the initiative to help producers understand their soil and gain confidence to investigate soil constraints. Producers are familiar with the physical appearance of their topsoil, but often overlook the importance of their subsoil characteristics and capability when making management decisions.

Sue Briggs and John Fowler from MLLS presented on the key components of the physical characteristics such as identifying soil colour, texture, structure, compaction layers and root growth. The two sites were irrigated Lucerne stands, identified as Sodosols. They displayed a sodic layer at the top of the “B” horizon and are the common soil type of the region.

Sodosols are renowned for poor soil structure due the high level of sodium on the clay surface. This was demonstrated by placing a bit of the soil into a dish of water and the water turned “cloudy” or “milky”. However at both sites the Lucerne root was able to grow through that layer.

Pauline Mele, the principal research scientist for AgriBio followed Sue’s presentation with a discussion on soil biology within farming systems. She began by stating: “Our soil biology is very resilient and remains dormant in the soil during dry periods and can even change its state to handle different oxygen levels during soil saturation.”

Currently, research in soil biology is still in the discovery phase. Microbial populations within our soils are the most diverse and complex of any system. There is still a lot to learn about how these microorganisms can influence agriculture, but there huge potential for their future use.

Pauline cautioned, “if you are considering the use of products that claim to add beneficial biology to your soil; always trial a small area over a few years to assess if it is influencing your crops. The hard thing about adding biology to a system is that you are applying a living organism, so storage can be an issue and the environment it is being added to may not be suitable for successful colonisation. At the end of the day, what are you trying to achieve with that product? Will the microbes be suitable for that purpose? Our research is only just beginning to ask these questions, so can a business be confident their microbial mix is fit for the job?.”

The WMLIG would like to extend thanks to Michael Shannon and Steve and Linda Fawns for hosting our soil workshops and providing soil pits for the day, as well as the North Central Catchment Management Authority for donating soil handbooks (available at the WMLIG office) for attendees.

Working Dog Training

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:14 GMT

This event was supported by Murray Local Land Services through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

4-5th September 2017

Eleven people attended the 2 day Dog Handling Workshop with Ian O'Connell in early September.
The clinic was initiated by local farmer Mark Martin, who wanted to improve his animal husbandry- starting with his dogs. Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Central Murray Bestwool Bestlamb enlisted the services of 'Doghouse Training' to run a clinic in Wakool, NSW.
Participants were asked to bring their own dogs to work with sheep provided. These sheep were separated into two yards of differing size so that dogs could be worked according to their training level.
Ian started the Dogs in a small yard with 4-6 sheep to build their confidence, giving constant praise for any interest shown by the dog toward the sheep. "You've got to judge a dogs temperament and train accordingly, it's a real balancing act to get it right". Throughout the clinic, Ian demonstrated the importance of 'pressure and release' tactics while training a dog. "Sometimes you have to use a lot of pressure to get the response you need, but this should always be followed with a big reward", he explained while using short, sharp tugs of the lead to get a dog's attention. As soon as the dog relaxed, Ian responded with an excited "Good boy, good boy!" during pats.
Once the dogs were confident around sheep, participants were asked to use a rake to start guiding their dog around, creating corridors between the dog and the wall. Ian suggested this tool was to be an extension of the participant's arm and should follow behind the dog as a guide. "They have to get used to the training aid, you just can't guide them without it. The small amount of pressure from the rake keeps them from going where they want to go, they are incredibly aware of it". Lastly, Ian emphasised the importance of forming a bond with your dog, "It doesn't matter if you only do sheepwork a few months per year, just make sure your dogs sees you at least 2 times a day and gets used to you calling them and teaching little things."
Participant Robert Grant praised the clinic, saying "we should be doing this type of thing more often, maybe once or twice a year, it's so important".

Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Central Murray Bestwool BestLamb would like to thank Mark Martin for the venue and use of his sheep, as well as the Barham Bakery and the Riverside Café for the delicious morning tea and lunch provided.

Ian O'Connell of Doghouse Training demonstrates how to start guiding a dog around sheep using a training aid.

Mid Row Banding

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:03:07 GMT

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Mid-row Banding in a Post Rice Crop

The mid-row banding project has been running in the local area since 2015 on researcher Leigh Vial's property, North Dale. This property is situated 40km from Moulamein NSW and 33km from Swan Hill VIC.
Leigh saw the need for better nitrogen management within his rice stubbles. In his experience, the moderately sodic clay soils on his property were able to retain moisture post flooding in a rice crop, minimising the need for irrigation the following season. However, crops grown in rice stubble are always nutrient poor and suffer waterlogging during the growing season. As a result copious amounts of nitrogen are applied to these crops, with much of it being lost from the system.
Leigh decided to trial mid-row banding his nitrogen to slow the conversion of Urea into plant-available nitrate. In theory, the high concentration of nitrogen should inhibit microbial activity on the fertiliser until later in the season. The longer that fertiliser is in an ammonium state, the less likely it is to be lost via leaching or waterlogging. If successful, this should result in lower crop nitrogen requirements, labour and increased yield potential.

In 2015 Leigh enlisted the help of our Project Officer, Laura Kaylock to create a trial protocol and take in-crop samples to measure crop uptake of banded nitrogen. The first year produced promising results, with strongly visual differences in crop growth between different banding concentrations. Apparent nitrogen use efficiency was around 19-30% and high grain protein suggested that potential yield was not obtained due to a dry finish.
Using a SPAD chlorophyll meter (N Tester), a nitrogen uptake graph was created. This showed that plants did not begin to access the bands until 10 weeks after sowing and were accessing banded nitrogen after flowering.
Last year the trial experienced prolonged periods of waterlogging, which slowed the uptake of banded nitrogen until 13 weeks after sowing. Again, nitrogen was still being accessed until after flowering but not to the extent of 2015. Nitrogen use efficiency reached 10-17%.

In 2017 the mid-row banding trial received funding from the Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme , the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Murray Irrigation Limited . Through this funding, the services of the Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin were obtained to provide and analyse soil moisture content and drone images.

The 2017 trial was conducted in a rice bay that was cropped with a 5 t/ha barley crop in 2016, but not pre-watered. Wheat was sown on the 16th of May at 85 kg/ha to a depth of 3-5 cm, with 150 kg/ha MAP + 1.0% Zn. A Bettinson disc drill with 18 cm row spacings was used. Every third row was blocked to seed and MAP, and only urea was placed in this row (at about 7 cm depth) for the 104N MRB and 150N MRB treatments. No fertiliser was placed in the mid-row band for the other treatments.
The early topdressing treatment was applied at GS31 on the 28th of July, immediately prior to the waterlogging treatments were applied on the 29th of July. The late topdressing treatment was applied between GS32-33 on the 16th of August prior to a small rainfall event.

Yields of all treatments were modest, driven primarily by a small number of grains per head. This is not surprising, as neither the dry nor wet irrigation treatments had ideal conditions. The dry treatment would have suffered from substantial water stress by the first irrigation on September 19th as the field was not pre-irrigated. The wet treatment was exposed to 10 days’ inundation beginning July 29th.

Midrow banding preserved much of the N as ammonium until 91 days after sowing (DAS), successfully preserving the N from a waterlogging event. Only 5-8% of the mid-row N was in the mid-row by 131 DAS, just after flowering. When waterlogged, mid-row banded N achieved similar grain yield, grain N and ANRE as topdressing after the waterlogging event, but less than a particularly efficient topdressing before the water-logging event. When dry, the treatment effect was the same. Both topdressed treatments had similar or better ANRE than MRB, the early topdressing probably due to the topdressed N remaining in the ammonium form and surviving the waterlogging event.
Mid-row banding of N showed an acceptable response in both waterlogged and non-waterlogged conditions, but similar or less than highly effective N topdressing treatments.

Funding for this trial has been continued for the 2018 season by the GRDC. Three sites across the Moulamein district will be used to assess the impact of different irrigation practices on the nitrogen use efficiency of mid-row banding at sowing.

For more information, contact Laura: laura.kaylock@wmlig.org.au

Alternative uses for Australian Rice straw

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:02:14 GMT

A summary of the impacts & solutions of stubble burning.

A summary of the impacts & solutions of stubble burning.

The issue:
Rice crops can leave stubble loads of up to 15 tonnes if a 12 tonne per hectare crop is grown. This poses a significant issue for farmers due to blockages and poor seed-soil contact when sowing a consecutive crop. To cope with this constraint, often stubble is burnt 1-6 months after harvest to improve trafficability and establishment of the following crop. This poses both an environmental and economic disadvantage, as studies suggest that burning reduces nutrient levels and releases carbon dioxide, monoxide and nitrous oxide which can increase the likelihood of human respiratory problems and contribute to greenhouse gases.

The solution:
Local farmers volunteered their rice paddocks in 2017-19 for some incorporation demonstrations to showcase whether commercially available implements and amendments were a viable management alternative for rice stubble. Treatments applied included mulching, rolling, incorporation using an offset disc, speed tiller and deep ripper in different combinations. Amendments such as UAN, NPKS and microbial inoculants were also trialled at high rates to observe if this sped up decomposition. Lastly, a case study booklet collating alternate management practices across the industry was published as a reference document. A link to this booklet can be found below.

The impact:
The demonstration sites indicated that acceptable stubble breakdown could occur over 4 months during summer using an offset disc plough with at least 2-3 passes of the paddock. Mulching before incorporating stubble was beneficial for a more even incorporation but did not necessarily speed up decomposition. The case study publication has been well received by the industry. We hope that both the demonstration and extension material will encourage farmers to consider alternative management options by providing more access to information about the pros and cons of different options available to them. Alternate management options could lead to soil health improvements (build up in soil organic matter and retention of nutrients), improve social licence for the rice industry, lead to lower fertiliser inputs and some would lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Learnings:
We found that implements such as the speed tiller and deep ripper did not do a great job of incorporating stubble. The tiller was unable to cut through the straw and experienced blockages and the ripper left large clods resulting in poor stubble-soil contact necessary for breakdown. Rolling stubble after incorporation or applying fertiliser and microbial amendments made no significant difference to the speed of decomposition.

Project partners

This project run by the Moulamein Cropping Group in conjunction with the Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Rice Extension as part of the Australian Government's National Landcare Smart Farms Small Grants Program.

We would also like to acknowledge local farmers Michael, David, Laurie and Andy for donating their land, equipment and time to make this project possible.

Building our Community in Advance

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:50 GMT

Resilience principles

A community led recovery
Plan in the good times to be prepared for the bad times
Continuous learning and improvement

Strategies include

Build resilience with adaptive methods
Diversify the economy and capture value at home
Build the capacity of the community
Provide clear, timely and accurate communication

Project background

Referring Murray River Council's (MRC) Adverse Event Plan (AEP) in 2020 via input from the local community including farm owners, local business owners, representatives from progress associations, crisis support and health services. Subsequently MRC has partnered with Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) to deliver upon the purpose and vision of the AEP building on resilience principles that focus on building community capacity.

With a growing risk of climate related impacts, it is vital that our community is well prepared. This project will assist in planning for these risks and help increase our resilience.

The project will build a stronger community by increasing resilience to changing conditions and diversify the community by creating competitive and quality services, improve infrastructure, agriculture production and more employment opportunities, which will translate to greater economic return for our region. This will ultimately increase long-term community health outcomes and safety.

WMLIG will deliver activities aligned to the strategy that:

Provides community with climate decision-making support tools for business planning purposes via information sessions
Diversify the economy and capture value at home through improving collaboration and information sharing to encourage innovation.
Provide information sharing to encourage innovative approaches to land management.
Investigate and share information about novel approaches to building a self-reliant community.
Partner with MRC to form and engage a skilled leadership team from the geographical footprint across MRC. The team will identify and respond to strategic priorities, track implementation of projects, identify emerging issues or amendments to the AEP.

On-Farm Water Management Project

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:48 GMT

We've got plenty of On-Farm Water Management Workshops planned for February 2025. Click the link to see the list on our upcoming events page

About the Project

Landholders will then be able to undertake proven on-farm design and actions to ensure they have adequate water in the right places across the farm (through storage and reticulation via pipes and troughs).

Farm Water Management Planning (FWMP) will be developed at workshops and subsequent 1:1 (or small group) follow-up sessions to finalise the plans. Field days at 10 demonstration sites establishments across the region will provide clear examples of proven design options and tangible evidence of the benefits of completing a FWMP.

Managing Rice Stubble Post Harvest

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:46 GMT

A summary of the impacts & solutions of stubble burning.

The issue:

Rice crops can leave stubble loads of up to 15 tonnes if a 12 tonne per hectare crop is grown. This poses a significant issue for farmers due to blockages and poor seed-soil contact when sowing a consecutive crop. To cope with this constraint, often stubble is burnt 1-6 months after harvest to improve trafficability and establishment of the following crop. This poses both an environmental and economic disadvantage, as studies suggest that burning reduces nutrient levels and releases carbon dioxide, monoxide and nitrous oxide which can increase the likelihood of human respiratory problems and contribute to greenhouse gases.

The solution:

Local farmers volunteered their rice paddocks in 2017-19 for some incorporation demonstrations to showcase whether commercially available implements and amendments were a viable management alternative for rice stubble. Treatments applied included mulching, rolling, incorporation using an offset disc, speed tiller and deep ripper in different combinations. Amendments such as UAN, NPKS and microbial inoculants were also trialled at high rates to observe if this sped up decomposition. Lastly, a case study booklet collating alternate management practices across the industry was published as a reference document. A link to this booklet can be found below.

The impact:

The demonstration sites indicated that acceptable stubble breakdown could occur over 4 months during summer using an offset disc plough with at least 2-3 passes of the paddock. Mulching before incorporating stubble was beneficial for a more even incorporation but did not necessarily speed up decomposition. The case study publication has been well received by the industry. We hope that both the demonstration and extension material will encourage farmers to consider alternative management options by providing more access to information about the pros and cons of different options available to them. Alternate management options could lead to soil health improvements (build up in soil organic matter and retention of nutrients), improve social licence for the rice industry, lead to lower fertiliser inputs and some would lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

Learnings:

We found that implements such as the speed tiller and deep ripper did not do a great job of incorporating stubble. The tiller was unable to cut through the straw and experienced blockages and the ripper left large clods resulting in poor stubble-soil contact necessary for breakdown. Rolling stubble after incorporation or applying fertiliser and microbial amendments made no significant difference to the speed of decomposition.

To read the full project report and case study booklet, refer to the below.

Alternative uses for Australian Rice Straw Bookletase study booklet, refer to the below.

Project Report

We would also like to acknowledge local farmers Michael, David, Laurie and Andy for donating their land, equipment and time to make this project possible.

Project partners

Mid-row Banding in a Post Rice Crop

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:44 GMT

he mid-row banding project has been running in the local area since 2015 on researcher Leigh Vial's property, North Dale. This property is situated 40km from Moulamein NSW and 33km from Swan Hill VIC.

Leigh saw the need for better nitrogen management within his rice stubbles. In his experience, the moderately sodic clay soils on his property were able to retain moisture post flooding in a rice crop, minimising the need for irrigation the following season. However, crops grown in rice stubble are always nutrient poor and suffer waterlogging during the growing season. As a result copious amounts of nitrogen are applied to these crops, with much of it being lost from the system.

Leigh decided to trial mid-row banding his nitrogen to slow the conversion of Urea into plant-available nitrate. In theory, the high concentration of nitrogen should inhibit microbial activity on the fertiliser until later in the season. The longer that fertiliser is in an ammonium state, the less likely it is to be lost via leaching or waterlogging. If successful, this should result in lower crop nitrogen requirements, labour and increased yield potential.

In 2015 Leigh enlisted the help of our Project Officer, Laura Kaylock to create a trial protocol and take in-crop samples to measure crop uptake of banded nitrogen. The first year produced promising results, with strongly visual differences in crop growth between different banding concentrations. Apparent nitrogen use efficiency was around 19-30% and high grain protein suggested that potential yield was not obtained due to a dry finish.

Using a SPAD chlorophyll meter (N Tester), a nitrogen uptake graph was created. This showed that plants did not begin to access the bands until 10 weeks after sowing and were accessing banded nitrogen after flowering.

Last year the trial experienced prolonged periods of waterlogging, which slowed the uptake of banded nitrogen until 13 weeks after sowing. Again, nitrogen was still being accessed until after flowering but not to the extent of 2015. Nitrogen use efficiency reached 10-17%.

In 2017 the mid-row banding trial received funding from the Murray Local Land Services through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Murray Irrigation Limited. Through this funding, the services of the Centre for Regional and Rural Futures, Deakin were obtained to provide and analyse soil moisture content and drone images.

The 2017 trial was conducted in a rice bay that was cropped with a 5 t/ha barley crop in 2016, but not pre-watered. Wheat was sown on the 16th of May at 85 kg/ha to a depth of 3-5 cm, with 150 kg/ha MAP + 1.0% Zn. A Bettinson disc drill with 18 cm row spacings was used. Every third row was blocked to seed and MAP, and only urea was placed in this row (at about 7 cm depth) for the 104N MRB and 150N MRB treatments. No fertiliser was placed in the mid-row band for the other treatments.

The early topdressing treatment was applied at GS31 on the 28th of July, immediately prior to the waterlogging treatments were applied on the 29th of July. The late topdressing treatment was applied between GS32-33 on the 16th of August prior to a small rainfall event.

Yields of all treatments were modest, driven primarily by a small number of grains per head. This is not surprising, as neither the dry nor wet irrigation treatments had ideal conditions. The dry treatment would have suffered from substantial water stress by the first irrigation on September 19th as the field was not pre-irrigated. The wet treatment was exposed to 10 days’ inundation beginning July 29th.

Midrow banding preserved much of the N as ammonium until 91 days after sowing (DAS), successfully preserving the N from a waterlogging event. Only 5-8% of the mid-row N was in the mid-row by 131 DAS, just after flowering. When waterlogged, mid-row banded N achieved similar grain yield, grain N and ANRE as topdressing after the waterlogging event, but less than a particularly efficient topdressing before the water-logging event. When dry, the treatment effect was the same. Both topdressed treatments had similar or better ANRE than MRB, the early topdressing probably due to the topdressed N remaining in the ammonium form and surviving the waterlogging event.

Mid-row banding of N showed an acceptable response in both waterlogged and non-waterlogged conditions, but similar or less than highly effective N topdressing treatments.

Funding for this trial has been continued for the 2018 season by the GRDC. Three sites across the Moulamein district will be used to assess the impact of different irrigation practices on the nitrogen use efficiency of mid-row banding at sowing.

For more information, contact Laura: laura.kaylock@wmlig.org.au

Training for the Doghouse

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:42 GMT

4-5th September 2017

Eleven people attended the 2 day Dog Handling Workshop with Ian O'Connell in early September.

The clinic was initiated by local farmer Mark Martin, who wanted to improve his animal husbandry- starting with his dogs. Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Central Murray Bestwool Bestlamb enlisted the services of 'Doghouse Training' to run a clinic in Wakool, NSW.

Participants were asked to bring their own dogs to work with sheep provided. These sheep were separated into two yards of differing size so that dogs could be worked according to their training level.

Ian started the Dogs in a small yard with 4-6 sheep to build their confidence, giving constant praise for any interest shown by the dog toward the sheep. "You've got to judge a dogs temperament and train accordingly, it's a real balancing act to get it right". Throughout the clinic, Ian demonstrated the importance of 'pressure and release' tactics while training a dog. "Sometimes you have to use a lot of pressure to get the response you need, but this should always be followed with a big reward", he explained while using short, sharp tugs of the lead to get a dog's attention. As soon as the dog relaxed, Ian responded with an excited "Good boy, good boy!" during pats.

Once the dogs were confident around sheep, participants were asked to use a rake to start guiding their dog around, creating corridors between the dog and the wall. Ian suggested this tool was to be an extension of the participant's arm and should follow behind the dog as a guide. "They have to get used to the training aid, you just can't guide them without it. The small amount of pressure from the rake keeps them from going where they want to go, they are incredibly aware of it". Lastly, Ian emphasised the importance of forming a bond with your dog, "It doesn't matter if you only do sheepwork a few months per year, just make sure your dogs sees you at least 2 times a day and gets used to you calling them and teaching little things."

Participant Robert Grant praised the clinic, saying "we should be doing this type of thing more often, maybe once or twice a year, it's so important".

Western Murray Land Improvement Group and Central Murray Bestwool BestLamb would like to thank Mark Martin for the venue and use of his sheep, as well as the Barham Bakery and the Riverside Café for the delicious morning tea and lunch provided.

Workshop: The Web of Things

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:41 GMT

In the workshop, Joe explained that the first step was to identify "who you are speaking for, speaking with and speaking to" to ensure that the content you provide is relevant to consumers. He also spoke on the importance of having a good website, "users must be able easily find what they are looking for and able to find answers to their questions. if they can't find any answers within your website content, you need to allow them somewhere to ask a question".

For social media, there is an important algorithm to remember: video beats photo, while a photo beats words. Most social media is consumed on a phone, so your content must be suitable for that format. For those with existing social media pages, there is a new platform called BeLive.Tv now available which will allow easy broadcasting of live interviews with multiple people involved. This area will be where your audience will be consuming.

Lastly, Joe emphasised, "you must be able to measure your return on investment of time or money" to see how effective current methods are in obtaining your goals. Google Analytics is a good way of doing this and has the ability to report on many aspects of consumer activity.

Resources:

For further information on designing or managing websites and social media, contact Joe Lochery (REBEL WEB SOLUTIONS) on 0477849780 or admin@rebelwebsolutions.com

On-Farm Grain Storage & Handling

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 17:35:37 GMT

Key facts

Resources:

For further information on designing or managing websites and social media, contact Joe Lochery (REBEL WEB SOLUTIONS) on 0477849780 or admin@rebelwebsolutions.com

Project Summary

On 20-21st March 2017 29 people attended On-Farm Grain Storage and Handling workshops in the regions of Stony Crossing and Dhuragoon, NSW.

These workshops were hosted participants' farms so that presenter, Peter Botta, could demonstrate the effectiveness and use of different grain storage systems and equipment.

Peter allowed an interactive format for the day, encouraging participants to drive the content of his talk. Producers were able to discuss their storage experiences and weigh up the pros and cons of each grain storage system.

29 workshop attendees

80% of the Australian grain treated with phosphine gas therefore critically important that growers implement best practice

Two grain protein and moisture tester options presented

Preventative treatment the best way to mitigate risk

Group of Forests

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 06:50:03 GMT

The Living Murray Project

Our role in the Living Murray is to:

Assist Forestry Corporation to engage and communicate with stakeholders
Facilitation and administration of stakeholder reference groups for consistent engagement in the delivery of environmental watering events
Complete field surveys and assessments for intervention and condition monitoring for the TLM

Our community's vision for their forest

In 2021, a community vision was developed for the Koondrook-Perricoota Forest.New Paragraph

We define the Group of Forests as the River Red Gum Forests of Koondrook-Perricoota (NSW) and Gunbower (VIC).

This group of forest spans from the town of Echuca (VIC) to Barham (NSW) and spans over 50,000ha of River Murray floodplains. The forests are considered both an icon site and a Ramsar protected site .

We work across a number of projects with out project partners. that come under the Group of Forests as identified by community interests and needs. These include the Pollack Enhancement Project and the Little Forest Management Plan.

As well as projects relating to positive ecological outcomes, we also host events and field days to various locations in the forest.

A healthy working forest where native species can flourish, and where local communities can connect and co-manage the forest for future generations."

The Groups of Forests Projects

A detailed report on the visioning process has been recorded. Achieving these outcomes for our community is at the heart of all our Group of Forests projects.

Our role

Our role across the Group of Forest projects is to:

Communicate community needs and it's vision for the forest.
Help enhance the condition of the forests, including sourcing funding for and completing revegetation, improving the condition of native wildlife and delivering environmental benefits.
Improve community knowledge of the forest's profile and it's cultural and ecological significance through information sessions, communication materials, and field trips.
Provide administrative assistance to the Koondrook Perricoota Alliance (KPA) made up of landholders, community groups, local government and industry members.

Whilst these are our current key roles, we are open to developing them based on community interest and needs.

Want to be kept updated with what's happening across our forest projects?
Join our mailing list to receive occasional email updates.

Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

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Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

Weekly reports

Koondrook-perricoota overbank reports

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

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Dr John Conallin

John holds a PhD in Natural Sciences, his work focusses on capacity building through research of local stakeholders (primarily government and community) with an emphasis on learning and pragmatism balanced with precision and acquiring evidence for use within decision making.

John respects the local visions people have for their own backyard and builds the capacity of the local community to be involved in how their local natural resources are managed.

Our project team works closely with John across a number of projects relating to the Group of Forests, specifically with the protection and rejuvenation of native fish populations.

John has also worked and based his research extensively in South East Asia with native fish communities in Myanmar.

Koondrook-Perricoota Alliance

Barham Lakes Project

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 06:42:49 GMT

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Koondrook-Perricoota Forest Community Email List

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Email Address *

First Name *

Last Name *

Want to be kept updated with what's happening across our forest projects?
Join our mailing list to receive occasional email updates.

Weekly reports

Dan Hutton, DOD Hutton, Director (Consultant)

Resilient Pastures Project

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 04:31:31 GMT

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About the Project

The Resilient Pastures for A Changing Climate Project is running between 2021-2025 and aims to improve 4,000ha of farming and grazing practices. It aims to demonstrate adaptive natural resource and farm management practices which have the ability to build resilience in the agricultural landscapes within the Western NSW Murray region and beyond.

The project aims to improve long term drought resilience and farm sustainability by increasing the productivity of old irrigation land which has reverted to dryland. Demonstration sites will be used to evaluate novel drought-tolerant pasture systems including a biodiverse mix of regenerative pasture and forage species.

Project highlights

30 landholders engaged

4000ha of improved farming and grazing practices over 4 years

Mix of locally proven medics, grasses and clovers encouraged

Improved soil health through increased ground cover and natural capital over time

The project involves bringing together local producers for training events and field days which will detail:

- Preparation and recovery from drought.
- The benefits of ecosystem services to a productive agricultural system.
- Productivity, soil health indicators and profitability of the demonstration sites.
- Localised and knowledgeable agronomist providing tailored advice to land holders.

Through the project, a decision support tool will be designed for implementation by local land holders, to assist with pasture species selection based on a number of localised factors.

Resilient pasture systems have additional benefits to just offering drought resilience. They also improve soil moisture availability, reduce erosion, provide ground cover, increase soil carbon levels and reduce soil compaction.

Farmer benefits/commitments:

1 Soil test

1 on 1 assessments agronomy consult

Access to future training and events

Decision support tool

Knowledge-sharing with peers

Ongoing project support from WMLIG

1 Our expectations of participants:

Current NSW land holder with a farming operation <40Ha withing a three hour radius of Barham NSW

2 Complete any relevant project surveys

3 Dedicate time to implementation

4 Attend field days and training events

5 Proactive positive attitude and willingness to learn

6 Access to a suitable block of land for improvement, with the intent of ongoing farming

7 Access to data collected from improved paddocks (e.g. yields and soil tests) and area of operation.

For more information on this project, please contact Tahlia by email at tahlia.stewart@wmlig.org

Project History

This project builds on a previous project, Economically Viable Options for Retired Irrigation Land (EVORIL) which took place over five years from 2013-2018.
EVORIL was initiated as a result of declining availability of irrigation water in the south-west Riverina region of NSW. The aim of the project was to investigate the economic feasibility and productivity of various pasture species sown on previously irrigated land that has reverted to dryland.

EVORIL provided farmers with hands on appreciation and capacity to measure critical factors in establishing, growing and managing alternative pasture species varieties through replicated trials and demonstrations on farms. These trials assessed the suitability of grasses (including native species), legumes, saltbush and other native shrubs as part of a diverse landscape mosaic.

A summary and results from this project can be viewed below

read the report

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Federation Reserve Seed Collection Workshop

Field Day: Painted Snipe & Bittern

A summary of the day.

Livestock Basics Day

A summary of the day.

Event Partners:

Wakool Feedlot Day

Resources:

Event Partners:

Newsletter

Media Releases

World Wetlands Day 2023

Keeping our Fish In the River

Breathing New Life in to the Barham Lakes

Picnic at the Pollack

Pollack Food & Fibre Day

Community Gathers for Innovation

Murray Connect Trivia Night

BredWell FedWell Workshops

A Community Asset Worth Recovering​

A Day with Bruce Pascoe

A Day of Innovation​

WAIP Business Development Program​

Southern Riverina Councils Unite to Build Drought Resilience

Reconnecting River Country Program - Community-led feedback a unique opportunity

In the News

​Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin

The ‘silent killer’ of flooding: Murray River fish in dire straits as water quality drops

A Night with Robert Hermann

A Solutions Focused Approach

Yabby Festival

Come Yabby Fishing and Learn About Our Wetlands

Breathing New Life Into the Barham Lakes

Community Leads Fish Protection

Community and agencies rally to push vital fish saving solutions

Local Approach Leads the Way

Have Your Say On Reconnecting River Country Program (RRCP)

Interest In Hemp Grows

Reconnecting River Country Program

Hemp Session

FMD - Be Informed, Be Proactive

Planning is key to Running a Successful Sheep Business

Farmers take back control with digital first

Sheepish to Adapt?

Hemp Insights Field Day 2

Reboot Your Soils

Picnic at The Pollack

Hemp Trials: Fibre & Seed, man

AgTrends Update

Indispensable Workmates

Pollack Wetlands Indigenous Food Fibre Day

Wakool Innovation Fund Winners

Loud & Clear!

Water Trading Info Session Held

Healthy cash injection for Pollack project

Hundreds of trees planted by students

Little For est Co-designed Watering to Commence

Local initiatives secure funding from Murray Irrigation

$50,000 Funding for Further Pollack Revegetation

Pollack Watering Showing Signs of Success

Sheep Workshops on the Mark

Waste Works a Treat

​Murray Connect Trivia Night Raises $1800 for LHMT

Borderless science hub for Murray-Darling Basin hangs in limbo

Sharing a Vision

Leap with Beef

Community Asset Worth Recovering

Borderless science hub for Murray-Darling Basin hangs in limbo

Bruce Pascoe to Lead Panel at Wakool Agri-Innovation Forum

Buliding our community in advance

Project background

Resilience principles

Project deliverables

On farm water management program

About the Project

The Web things

This event was made possible through funding from the Murray LLS through the Australian Government's National Landcare Programme.

Resources:

Wakool Sheep Nights

A Community Asset Worth Recovering

A Day of Innovation

WAIP Business Development Program

Blackwater events cause mass fish deaths across the Murray-Darling Basin

Murray Connect Trivia Night Raises $1800 for LHMT