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2012 STATE BUDGET:
The Gippy scorecard

Most of a $14m spend on dairy research will be spent at DPI Ellinbank near Warragul and the ongoing investment in the Port of Hastings will have a big impact on Gippsland-sourced exports. A quick-glance list of what Gippsland agribusiness can expect from the Budget HERE

Low C future blueprint launched

April 3, 2012: Deputy Premier Peter Ryan has helped launch a major discussion paper for the Latrobe Valley at a conference in Morwell.

The Directions of Latrobe Valley Transition discussion paper was launched at a two-day Transition conference. Public discussion is now sought on the 24-page paper. Deadline for comments is May 9. Make responses to
www.rdv.vic.gov.au/latrobevalleydiscussionpaper
The paper was launched at the Transitions conference co-organised by the Gippsland Trades and Labor Council, Agribusiness Gippsland, Latrobe City, RMIT, Monash university AusIndustry and RDV.
The agriculture session, featuring dairy, horticulture, forestry and mning was jointly organised by Agribusiness Gippsland and one of our directors Christine Holland,(above) MCed the morning session.

GIPPY2PARLY ... there and back!
We took 20 future ag leaders of Gippsland to Victoria’s Parliament on November 22.
We visited the Minister, the mandarin and the media ... the law-makers and opinions shapers of Victorian agriculture.
Read about it here...

HAVE A READ!

Mike and Pip Cleeland, Gippsland sheep farmers, have released another book of fun bush poetry. Read HERE

OUR REVERSE RAINDANCE WORKED!An email from Finley dairy farmer Daryl Frost: "Dance worked well up here had about 20mm in last two weeks just right not too wet, has it stopped raining down there yet? My banker liked Weekly Times article thanks for passing on my name."

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS
Garry Blackwood, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture (right) at arbuthnot,_blackwood our board meeting, with chair Alex Arbuthnot

Fancy runnng a farmstay? Read the B&B ABC HERE ... BandB.pdf

Asphalt v agriculture

Farm land for urban expansion. Click here
Read the peri-urban report. Click here

Need a 'dirt-under-the nails' talk?
Farmers with grit in the spirit make great speakers for your club.
“Stories from the heart: open, candid and superb" - Alex Arbuthnot AM.
To organise a speaker, phone 0402 267 802 or email susanw@ptarmigan.com.au

Agritourism 101
What works here and overseas: Suggestions to boost agri-stays in a useful, easy-to-read dossier. Only $30 plus GST. Order via this website or at susanw@ptarmigan.com.au'

agribusiness_gippsland_logo

Hobby farmers = local earners: May 20 Who contributes more to the local economy: hobby or conventional farmers? More than 70 people heard first-hand from the researchers from the University of Melbourne/Agribusiness Gippsland/Mornington Peninsula Shire study. Click HERE for report or visit HERE for precis.

What can we learn from the west? sullyatloch_edited-1

Have a vision and appeal directly to the private investment/
development sector and governmentto drive development the way you want it … that’s the message that was directed at Gippsland last week.Lessons learned from the western side of Melbourne were delivered at the Agribusiness Gippsland lunch held at Loch on May 3. Guest speaker Stephen Sully, General Manager City Development at Brimbank City Council, explained how his municipality has planned to attract – and handle – the growth spilling out from Melbourne. READ MORE HERE

Not busy bees: farm labour hassles

Bumble bees, bad workers and penalty rates – the challenges facing Gippsland agribusiness were explained in detail at a two-day conference in Morwell in early April. Leaders of farming, assembled by Agribusiness Gippsland, explained factors restricting expansion of a sector that could help provide jobs for workers from the Latrobe Valley and beyond... READ MORE HERE

Hobby farming = local earner?

Sunday, May 20 will see the much-awaited launch of our joint research project examining the local economic effects of farming. Earlier this year four University of Melbourne Business School post-graduates (pictured with Gillian Stewart – agricultural economic development officer with Mornington Peninsula Shire) compared the local financial footprint of lifestyle farms with conventional farming. The launch will be held at The Briars, Mt Martha, as part of the free Peninsula Pastures and Produce day from 10am to 2pm, organised by the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA. Ph: 8781 7945.

Say cheese, Mr Premier

Premier Ted Baillieu launched the inaugural GippyFarmLife photo competition with a photo opp, visiting the Agribusiness Gippsland/WGCMA stall at Farm World. The competition runs until November and is seeking images of regional farms, farmers and food in primary student, secondary student or open categories. Email gippyfarmlife@gmail.com or Facebook at Gippy Farmlife or tweet @GippyFarmLife, or WGCMA, PO Box 1374 Traralgon 3844 or ph 1300 094 262. Accepted entries will be displayed via Facebook and Twitter. Winners will be announced at the Gippsland Show and displayed at Farm World 2013. Participants aged under 15 need parental approval. Captions of 15 words or less, please. Supported by Lardner Park Events, West Gippsland CMA, Bunyip Food Belt, Agribusiness Gippsland and the Regional Landcare Facilitator Program.

Read the latest from Gippsland farming: March 28, 2012
Does hobbyfarming earn more for the local economy than conventional farming? Why did the Premier say ‘cheese?’ PLUS… some excellent news for Gippsland goat meat suppliers… ALL IN GIPPYAGCHAT… read it here…GippyAGchat57 March26

Gippy2Parly... the findings

Read the full report and the participant responses to our Gippy2Parly visit HERE

Awards ... awards ... awards
Gippsland emerged as Australia's pre-eminent region in the NABagribusiness awards announced on December 1. HUGE congratulations to Warragul's Robert Radford, named Australian Agribusiness leader of the year. Also featuring in the finalist lineup was Fresh Leaf Herbs of Clyde and the Macalister Demo Farm at Maffra. One of the judges for the national awards was Agribusiness Gippsland chair Alex Arbuthnot AM.

And more awards ... awards... awards...

Agribusiness Gippsland was honoured to be involved in two Gippsland Business of the Year Awards – helping judge the agribusiness awards for Baw Baw and East Gippsland shires. Winners of each, respectively, were Dream-Time Wholesale Nursery and Capra goat cheese. The first won the award for its outstanding use of technology and the second for the dogged excellence of a young entrepreneurial couple. Meanwhile, we celebrate – vicariously – the astonishing round of wins clocked up by Longwarry Food Park, named Baw Baw Business of the Year and Victoria’s exporter of the year. Congratulations to all...

Learn more/Earn more? ... read the report
An Agribusiness Gippsland/University of Melbourne study linking income levels with post-secondary education has found people do earn more if they learn more … and the correlation is stronger working on a farm than working in agribusiness. Read report HERE and see the video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRBECsBW-Cs

How can we keep them on the farm?
The State Government is looking into what agriculture can do to attract and retain young farmers and to respond to an ageing workforce. Agribusiness Gippsland has prepared a submission to the inquiry, headed by Rodney MP Paul Weller. We will be attending the inquiry hearings at Nambrok and Leongatha on September 20 and 21. Click on the link … AGI_20110726_youngfarmer_inquiry-final.pdf

ABARES/Victorian agribusiness conference a real hit
We did it! We organised a conference that booked out motels from Drouin to Morwell. We had more than 100 people each day share insights into agribusiness. And all organised inside eight weeks. HERE...

Latrobe options in agribusiness: ABC Bush Telegraph interview
What are the job options in agribusiness for Latrobe Valley coal industry workers? Click HERE

"We stand at the threshold of what may well be the greatest challenge in history …Global demand for food will more than double in the coming half-century" … Julian Cribb

FOR TOMORROW'S MILLIONS
Gippsland started the planning for a regional food plan – possibly the first in the nation – with two well-attended forums in Bairnsdale and Warragul in July. About 50 people joined the discussions starting with soil health and ranging across skills and public well-being.

Combet came to town 225px-Greg_Combet
An invited audience of 150 people at Kernot Hall, Morwell heard the Minister for Climate Change explain Government policy, the day after Canberra flagged its first serious consideration of a carbon tax. The forum, staged with assistance from Latrobe City Council, was organised by Agribusiness Gippsland with RMIT University and the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council. Click HERE

Latrobe session puts the $$ into smallholdings

Finding a niche and making it pay was the secret shared with more than 50 people who attended the Latrobe City Council’s annual small holder forum which attracted participants from Melbourne to Bairnsdale ..."Thank everyone for running the workshop today. The speakers ... were very interesting and inspiring to listen to. Also the catering was the best food I've eaten at a conference!”

2010_08_29_0012_edited-1 We got stuck into it! …

More than 70 young agribusiness professionals met at Pakenham in October 2010 MC was Agribusiness Gippsland director Courtney Ferguson (left). Presentations
- Roger Wilkinson Trends in rural Victoria Wilkinson_Pakenham.ppt
- Peter Sale on new advances in deep manuring VAB_Packenham_1.ppt
- Participants gave the day an average 80% approval rating.

Generously supported by DAFF and NABagribusiness

Overseas farming inspires ag-educator

2010_08_29_0016 Overseas farming models offer insights for future Gippsland farming practices according to Babis Lagos, head of rural studies at Education Centre Gippsland (ECG) HERE ...

2010_08_29_0012

(left) August 2010 AGI board meeting at ECG

On air ... farming future
What does water mean to your farm? Click CCwhitepaper ABC report aug31 2010 to see what ABC Gippsland discussed …

Climate vs food = our biggest challenge: ag group

Upping food production while curbing greenhouse gas emissions will be the biggest challenge facing Gippsland farming in the next decade. Click here...

A feast of brainfood at Warragul forum
We had 80-plus attendees of our food forum at Warragul in August 2010 Go to NEWS. Keynote presentations - click here PLUS: Prof Margaret Alston. Click here, CSIRO’s Brad Ridoutt. Click here and Deakin’s Prof Mark Lawrence. Click here PLUS Amazing stories of adaptation, resilience and survival from Gippsland women farmers. Click here

Independent report into rural land use planning
July 20 mick_murphy 10: Issues such as housing development on arable land, including subdivisions of small holdings, have been considered the independent Future Farming Rural Planning Group headed by Mick Murphy(pictured left). Click here for their recommendations:

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Our partners are:
Bass Coast
Baw Baw
Cardinia
Casey
East Gippsland
Latrobe City
Mornington Peninsula
South Gippsland
Wellington
West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority
(... and we thank them !)

Our supporters are:
Monash University
Southern Rural Water
Lardner Park

Gippyagchat: latest edition
(Nearly 7000 'yes please' recipients)
Click to read the latest
Edition 59 HERE
Past editions
Edition 58 HERE
Edition 57 HERE
Edition 56 HERE
Edition 55 HERE
Edition 54 HERE
Edition 53 HERE
Edition 52 HERE

Get GippyAGchat, our must-read news e-bulletin for Gippsland agriculture and agribusiness. With nearly 6000 'yes-please' readers. FREE every third Monday. Are you on the list? Email ptarmigan2@internode.on.net

GIPPYTABLE: (... "Eating and drinking are the most fun you can have sitting down"...)
Latest recipes include:
Gippy Steak Sanger
HERE
PLUS: Lynn Jamieson's dukkah, Peter Anthony's idiot-proof rice and Tanya's vegetarian lasagne with meat ... here.
And grab the prize-winning mudcake recipe from Leongatha Secondary College too ...

You gotta laugh... HERE
and HERE
and HERE
and HERE
and HERE
and HERE

Reproduced by permission from OUTthere,the inflight magazine of Rex Airlines Airnorth and Skywest Airlines,produced by Edge Custom Media www.edgecustom.com.au

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