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Women Only Permaculture Design Course
FreeRange Permaculture is conducting a womens only Permaculture Design Course from Sunday 29th November to Sunday 13th December 2009 at "Rosella Waters", Walkamin.
The course teacher will be Rosemary Morrow.
The Course fee is $1,300 and includes all meals and basic camping facilities.
Contact FreeRange Permaculture for more information or read the following attachment .
Alternatively call Kym on +61 (0) 407 243 298 or Georgie on +61 (0) 437 267 323
FreeRange Permaculture requests that you please book early to ensure one of the limited places available.
FarmReady Assistance approved Courses on offer
Topoclimate Australia currently offers 11 different registered courses on Farm Planning and Natural Resource Management ranging from one to three days duration. Courses include notes, Farming Smarter books, lunches and refreshments. These courses are suited to farmers and their partners, farm staff and Landcare Groups.
A minimum of ten participants are required for eligibility for FarmReady Assistance and can be held at a local hall, woolshed or similar meeting room.
Courses currently offered are:
- Using Farm Planning to Adapt to Climate Change
- Drawing up a Farm Plan for your farm
- Understanding the Soils on your farm
- Understanding Microclimates on your farm
- Diversifying into New Crops on your Farm
- Knowing your Farm, knowing yourself
- Understanding your Water Resources
- Understanding Salinity on your Farm
- Environmental Values and your Farm
- Sowing the right pastures for your farm
- Understanding Carbon Trading and your Farm
- OTHER SPECIFIC COURSES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
For further details of each of these courses please go to http://www.topoclimate.com/course-information.htm
To register your interest in these courses please go the the Topoclimate Australia website.
Cairns Post - Nola's Food Diary
Nola Craig of Australian Tropical Foods will be writing a new column for the Cairns Post Weekender supplement called Nola's Food Diary. Nola has contacted NSDA seeking input from interested people on the the following issues:
- Produce coming into season
- Food Events
- Regional Recipes
- New food products
- New menus
- New people in food (chefs etc)
- New restaurants or retail outlets
A Cairns Post representative has announced that IGA Supermarkets will be sponsoring the Reader Recipe with a $50 voucher.
If you are able to assist Nola, please contact her on:
New Australian standard for organic goods
A new Australian Standard imposes strict industry guidelines for the identification of "organic", "biodynamic" and "in-conversion" products .
The Queensland Country Life (K. Burke, farmonline, 9/10/09) reports that "it puts in place an agreed set of procedures for the production, preparation, transportation, marketing and labelling of anything claiming to be organic or biodynamic - from food to cosmetics and textiles". Click here for a full copy of the article.
Please click here to read a copy of the Standards Australia media release on the new standard AS 6000-2009 Organic and biodynamic products.
Health Benefits of Australian Native Foods
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has commissioned the CSIRO to produce the report Evaluation of Native Foods for Health-Enhancing Compounds. The recently released report looks at 13 native herbs and spices and fresh fruit samples, including fruits endemic to, or able to be grown in FNQ such as Davidson Plum, Lemon Aspen, Riberry, and Lemon Myrtle.
The report is targeted at:
- the Australian native food industry,
- the general food industry, and
- health-conscious Australian consumers with an interest in diversifying their daily diet with native Australian fruits, herbs and spices.
The reports recommends that "information obtained within [the] project can be used to promote and market products that are developed from the native plants evaluated in this study".
To download or purchase the full report please visit the RIRDC website.
Agroforestry - Australian Master Tree Grower Program
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC) has recently released a report The Australian Master TreeGrower Program - Providing a sound foundation for Australian agroforestry. This report summarises 13 years of research and development undertaken as part of the Australian Master TreeGrower Program (including tropical timber plantations) and provides a background for landholders and others considering involvement with a regional Master Tree Grower (MTG) course or Peer Group Mentoring Program.
The MTG courses include consideration of the sharing of information on agroforestry, farm forestry, private forestry or vegetation management on farms.
A copy of the report is available for purchase or downloading from the RIRDC website.
Please click here for more information about the MTG program and courses available.
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