One of our goals over the last few months has been to drive the collection of firsthand accounts of on-farm problems that producers and growers in our region experience.
Our Drought Resilience Coordinators and Adoption Officers have been visiting properties and farms, attending field days, and forums and workshops to learn about the problems that are impacting the sustainability and viability of these businesses. These are collated in our ‘problem statement capture platform’ to link with potential solutions. In some cases problems are matched with existing innovative solutions to be trialed on property or linked to researchers, entrepreneurs or existing ag tech companies that may be able to work on solving the problems.
This approach is helping to encourage ag tech companies, researchers and entrepreneurs to work directly with agribusinesses, and to improve the availability of on-farm practical innovations.
If you missed it, last month I shared with you a demonstration of a pregnancy breath test for cattle as part of this problem-solution match up. You can also watch a video of the demonstration at this year’s online Science to Practice Forum on 6-8 June. Our Program Leads, Allan Dale and Jane Oorschot and Digital Ag Innovation Consultant Kara Worth are all speaking at the Science to Practice Forum and will be sharing updates their activities that are empowering and building resilience across the region. Register here.
You’ll also be able to catch up with the hub team at the Northern Beef Producers Expo in Charters Towers on the 2-3 June, Soils to Food Conference in Atherton on the 3-4 June and Richmond Field Days and Races on the 9-10 June.
With regional events and the busy TNQ harvesting season well underway, it’s also a timely reminder for the community and individuals to take a moment and reflect on our work/life balance, mental health and wellbeing. Our good friends from the Queensland Royal Flying Doctor Service have developed a fantastic book, ‘Mental Health and Wellbeing on the Land’ that to provides support to individuals and families who are struggling with mental health issues and help break down the barriers that prevent people from seeking help. Download a copy today.
Until next time, keep safe and well,
David Phelps
Director
Transformational Agricultural Systems
Congratulations to our newest round of scholarship recipients – Honours students Sarah Cassells and Lucy Gardner and Masters students Declan Cargill and Alex Dodge.
Students were asked to submit their research topic and discuss how it aligned with the TNQ Hub priorities to ensure it would contribute to the current and future agricultural needs of Tropical North Queensland.
Read their abstracts.
Building Human Capacity
In partnership with Australian Women in Agriculture, Program Lead Jane Oorschot is running a free online People Management Series which will explore Management, Employee Engagement, Workforce Planning and Succession over four sessions starting 5th June. The workshop will help develop individuals’ capacity for managing people.
Spots are limited so register now.
The Hub and Node partner, Southern Gulf NRM are running three Ag Succession and Future Proofing Forums in Cloncurry 18th July, Richmond 19th July and Hughenden 20th July.
Hear from succession expert Scott Patterson who will give local business owners strategic advice and practical solutions on how to manage succession and negotiation to ensure your business remains sustainable and profitable during the succession or acquisition process.
Southern Gulf NRM CEO Geoff Penton will discuss Climate Change and Drought Resilience Planning and provide information on climate changes in the region over the years.
Register with Southern Gulf NRM by calling Nicki or Nicole on 4743 1888 or emailing admin@southerngulf.com.au.
Learn more about the Forums.
The Hub ran an Ag Inspirations tour (through the AgForce School to Industry Partnership Program) of properties around Cooktown in mid-April. Program Lead, Jane Oorschot said “the purpose of the three-day tour was for students to learn about careers in agriculture and explore some of the innovative practices that are occurring in their area. We wanted them to see that there are many different opportunities and career paths within the agricultural industry.”
Read more about the Ag Inspirations tour.
Women of the Gulf Savannah region came together at the end of April for an Influential Women Community Leadership Forum as part of our commitment to building human capacity in regional Queensland. The women took up the opportunity to attend the forum with the aim of building their confidence, self-knowledge, skills to work effectively with others and learn how to be a leader in their communities.
Read more about the influential women.
Agricultural Innovation
We’re calling on all producers and growers to submit your on-farm problems. Problems might include things that are impacting the sustainability and viability of your business. We then match these problems with existing innovative solutions that can be trialed on farm or we link them to researchers, entrepreneurs or existing ag tech companies that may be able to work on solving the problems.
You can enter your problem into our online problem statement capture platform directly to help capture issues that affect the agricultural industry in our region. Submit your problem here, or get in touch with the hub for more details.
Hub Highlight - National Soils Advocate visit
The TNQ Drought Hub and Hub Node, NQ Dry Tropics recently hosted the National Soils Advocate, the Honourable Penelope Wensley AC.
Ms Wensley spent two days to visiting several soils restoration and rehabilitation sites around the Burdekin region before travelling onto McKinlay, to launch Hub Node, Southern Gulf NRM and James Cook University’s (JCU) Resilient Soils and Landscapes Project.
Ms Wensley described the two days as excellent visits to diverse farm and soils research sites and thanked the team and landholders for sharing their extensive knowledge on gully remediation, landscape rehydration and improving soils health.
Know someone who wants to be involved?
What’s Next?
Check out our Events calendar to see what’s happing in the agricultural industry around Tropical North Queensland and throughout the country. Some upcoming events to keep an eye out on are;
- Northern Beef Producers Expo, Charters Towers, 2 – 3 June
- Hort Connections, Adelaide, 5 – 7 June
- Tropical Innovation Festival, Cairns, 5 – 9 June
- 2023 Science to Practice Forum, Online, 6 – 8 June
- Elders FarmFest, Toowoomba, 6 – 8 June
- Earth & Country Community Day, Mareeba, 10 June
- National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo 2023, Dubbo, June 21
What's Happened...
Here’s what the TNQ Hub team have been up to recently.
Horticulture Round Table, 4 April
Regional Soils Coordinator Dhiraj attended Hub Node, Cape York NRM’s Horticulture Round Table where Government and Industry representatives presented to horticulturists and growers around the Lakeland region on Water Quality, Drone Technology, Alternative Shelf Stable Income Stream/Food Waste and Value Adding on Farm Opportunities.
At the Round Table, Dhiraj was able to talk to attendees about soil health in their region and steps they could take to improve their practices.
Bundaberg AgTech Showcase, 13-14 April
Ag Innovation Program Lead, Nicole Lucas, and Digital Ag Engagement Consultant, Kara-Glenn Worth, attended the Agtech Showcase in Bundaberg, hosted by Regional Business HQ.
Nicole and Kara enjoyed hearing from agtech providers about the advances in technology utilised in the Bundaberg, Wide Bay and Burnett Region. They also got the opportunity to visit a local cucumber farm to see how they are using agtech to improve their production and processes.
National Drought Hub Knowledge Broker Meeting, 17-18 April
Knowledge Broker Rachel Hay attended the National Drought Hub Knowledge Broker meeting in Adelaide where the group identified the Knowledge Broker role in each of the Hubs, what was working well and what they hadn’t cracked yet.
The group discussed key opportunities for collaboration and information sharing between the hubs, project delivery models and synergies between other programs, industry bodies and the Hubs. The Knowledge Brokers met with the Productivity Commissioner, Joanne Chong to share their views about the effectiveness of the Future Drought Fund Drought Hubs program.
The face-to-face meeting gave the team an opportunity to build cohesiveness across the national Knowledge Broker network.
Indigenous Food and Business Expo, 15 November
Regional Soils Coordinator Dhiraj, Adoption Officer Keerah and Senior Research Officer Ana attended Hub Node, Reef Catchments’ Annual Innovative Grazing Forum to meet with the community and see first-hand the progressive learnings, experiences and demonstrations aimed at evolving the regions’ grazing.
The three-day forum included a conference and two field trips that included forage and pasture trials and examples of practice change in farm management.
Apply Now! Grants, Programs amd EOI's
- Applications are now open for Terrain NRM’s Indigenous Education Bursary Fund. Recipients will received $3,000 to assist them in financing their studies in natural resource management, environmental studies, sustainable development, agriculture, or conservation. Applicants must be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, over the age of 16 and enrolled, or about to enroll, in a course of study at a recognised educational institution. Applications close on Friday June 30th 2023. Find out more.
- Female Founders Co-Investment funding is available to innovative female founded businesses undertaking a new pre-seed or seed capital raise. The Fund will help Queensland female founders access Government funding, support Queensland female founders across a wide range of industries to grow innovative businesses, increase the number of female founders participating in the Queensland innovation ecosystem, and help to grow an investment pipeline for female founded businesses. Find out more.
- Drought and Climate Adaptation Program are calling on producers in Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia to complete their short benchmarking survey on managing drought and climate variability. Your responses will help inform their future program planning and help map climate variability management and drought trends. The Drought and Climate Adaptation Program is a Queensland Government initiative to improve producer drought and climate risk preparedness and business resilience. Complete the survey.
- Hort Connections, Australia and New Zealand’s premiere horticulture conference and trade show, is supporting growers to attend the 2023 and 2024 conferences. Growers will be able to apply for funding of up to $1,000 for eligible expenses (Grower Conference Pass to attend the conference, accommodation associated with the conference, and flights). Availability is strictly limited and applicants must provide documents to prove eligibility. Find out more.
The TNQ Hub can provide Letters of Support (LoS) to assist with your application. Please email details of your application and how it applies to future drought resilience to tnqhub@jcu.edu.au and we will supply a LoS if applicable.
Are you looking for funding to enable your idea to become a reality? Visit the following Regional Development Australia initiative to find grants available in the TNQ Drought Hub region.
- RDA Townsville and North West Queensland Grant Finder
- RDA Tropical North Grants
- RDA Greater Whitsundays
TNQ Hub has worked with our NRM Node and industry partners to develop regional priorities. These are a useful resource in writing grant applications.
Resources
Animal Health Australia are offering online courses for graziers, land managers, stock and station agents, transport company staff, sale yard operators and other key people involved in the cattle industry. These courses relate to emergency animal disease preparedness, arrangements and biosecurity.
TNQ Drought Hub Nodes
