Grants on offer for local landowners

BYRON Shire Council is offering grants of up to $3500 to landowners and producers as part of its 2025-2026 Regenerative Agriculture Small Grants Program.

The program aims to encourage regenerative land management practices while improving on-farm productivity.

Byron Shire Council agricultural extension officer Mark Duncan said projects that boosted crop production and biodiversity would be considered.

“Projects that increase the land’s capacity to produce more crops and improve biodiversity, such as implementing composting systems, is just one example of a project that could be considered,” Duncan said.

“The grant provides not just a financial boost to kick start regenerative practices but also gives successful applicants a chance to later showcase the outcomes of their projects.

“This may inspire and encourage more landowners to adopt similar practices, making Byron Shire farms more sustainable, resilient and biodiverse.”

Projects funded under the 2024-2025 program included electric fencing and water infrastructure to facilitate rotational high-density grazing, beneficial insect releases in a macadamia orchard, biological treatments to improve soil health in a syntropic market garden, and the establishment of a worm farm to compost waste.

Primary producers, market gardeners and small-scale farmers are eligible to apply.

Applications close on Friday, October 3, with successful recipients to be announced in early December.

For more information or to apply, visit Byron Shire Council’s website.