Caring for the land
Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (09:40): Annette Cavanagh and her father Rod, as members of the Yellow Creek–Dairy Creek Landcare Group, have done a tremendous job in creating and then publishing a brochure, ‘Caring for the land: sustainable agriculture’. The brochure explains how combining caring for the environment and good farming practices can bring about positive changes to our environment. Rod and Annette share their expertise in agricultural practices, conservation biology and environmental science together with expert opinions to develop environmental strategies. These include refraining from clearing natural bush areas, limiting topsoil disturbance, limiting use of chemical sprays and rotating pastures to encourage plant and soil development. Well done to Rod and Annette for identifying opportunities for improvement and being proactive in ensuring those opportunities come to life. I had great pleasure in being involved in the launch of the brochure at Homewood Hall during a rabbit management session. The feral rabbit has a devastating effect on our native biodiversity and agricultural productivity, and local landholders are very keen to learn and implement good control techniques.