From the desk of Sophie, Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator.

After a long and challenging harvest, March was a refreshing change of pace for our growers and industry across the South Coast. Community workshops, harvest updates and field walks provided the space for our growers to catch up, share knowledge, and look towards the year ahead. Sophie and Letisha, our Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitators (RALFs), particularly value this time of year as an opportunity to hear from community across the region on the key challenges and opportunities facing our productive and natural landscapes.  

Our Land and Water team were excited to understand supply chain challenges facing the WA grain industry at the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s (GRDC) Harvest Updates in Esperance and Hopetoun, supported by local grower groups Southeast Premium Wheat Association (SEPWA) and the Ravensthorpe Agricultural Initiative Network (RAIN). Our RALFs also proudly supported the Gillamii Centre and North Stirlings Pallinup Natural Resources (NSPNR), “Agriculture in Transition,” forum in Tambellup, aimed to help growers in the region navigate the emerging world of natural capital. To round out a busy week, our RALF-West, Letisha attended the NSPNR “Sip, Swap and Yarn,” sustainable fashion event in Borden, which was an exciting and new way to approach fashion in the agricultural space.  

South Coast NRM also delivered a field day during March. The Subsurface Drainage Demonstration Day addressed waterlogging in a changing climate, in collaboration with drainage experts from California and GRDC. Thank you to all the growers and industry who attended. For those that missed out, stay tuned for our video and podcast on the subsurface drainage return on investment trial, funded by GRDC, coming soon.  

To finish off the busy month, our RALF-East, Sophie, is looking forward to attending the ASHEEP Autumn Field Walk, across the Esperance region, to connect with our livestock community and learn more of the key challenges and opportunities for this industry.  

Connecting with our community is at the core of South Coast NRM operations, and we are grateful for every opportunity we get to be out, in the field, learning firsthand with our region’s landholders. If you have an event coming up, reach out to us to see how we can support you. You can contact Sophie in Esperance (e) sophiew@southcoastnrm.com.au or Letisha in Albany (e) letishan@southcoastnrm.com.au