Course on sustainable land management

FARMERS are being encouraged to sign up for the next Healthy Landscapes holistic grazing management short course, which starts on 2 August.

The City of Greater Bendigo’s climate change and environment manager, Michelle Wyatt, said the short course guides farmers in implementing sustainable land management practices on their properties, using grazing animals.

“They will learn how holistic grazing can be used to support diverse, native pastures, healthy animals and productive farms and put these learnings into practice on their own property,” she said.

“Previous participants have told us that the course has given them the confidence to implement the things they learned because there is a network of people doing similar things who they can troubleshoot with and learn from.

“They have said it’s a great way to meet local farmers and rural landholders who are also interested in improving their properties.

“The content is appropriate for a broad range of farmers and it helps landholders identify low-cost ways to start improving the health of their pastures and broader farm.”

The course is open to landholders across the Greater Bendigo, Macedon Ranges Shire Council, Hepburn Shire Council and Mount Alexander Shire Council and is a joint project of the municipalities with North Central Catchment Management Authority, Coliban Water and Melbourne Water.The course cost is $150 for each farming property and includes discussions, tutorials, six visits to farms, and participants’ properties.

Applications close on 28 July. It will take place between 2 August and 16 May.

Go the the Community Services section of bendigo.vic.gov.au for more information.