The Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and local Landcare groups have launched what they call the 'Small Blocks, Big Dreams' project to help smallholders become better land stewards.
Corangamite CMA chair Cath Jenkins, said peri-urban development meaning significant sections were now being managed by small property owners.
"The Corangamite CMA is excited to partner with Moorabool and Central Otway Landcare networks to offer this new program specifically designed to support small property owners to make a real difference on their land."
The program would provide tailored courses for bush and lifestyle block owners, as well as small producers.
The 'Small Blocks Big Dreams' program involved a series of workshops, empowering landholders to make informed land management decisions while giving them the skills and knowledge to become mentors for their surrounding community.
The workshops would be delivered in partnership with the local Landcare networks as they provide specialist knowledge for each landholder group.
Landholders would be supported through a series of tailored workshops to learn about new land management skills, such as weed control, soil management, pest control and native flora/fauna management.
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Barongarook Pork, near Colac, has been supported by the CMA and the Central Otway Landcare network to change its landscape and infrastructure while improving environmental management for healthier livestock and better waterway management.
Revegetating areas using indigenous filtering plants, fencing off natural waterways and the installation of solar panels were some of the activities implemented to provide clean water for the pigs and protect neighbouring Boundary Creek from harmful runoff.
Barongarook owners Xavier and Laura Meade recognized that having a healthy property would benefit their land and livestock.
"We had a few land management issues, the creek was eroding away eating into our paddocks, and we had water quality issues with our dam water," Mr Meade said.
"We recognised that we needed to take a whole farm approach to improve things.
"We have reconfigured water management on the property so the water is used more efficiently, and we have revegetated the area around Boundary Creek putting a stop to the erosion problems."
The Meades run 75 Berkshire sows, turning off around 1000 pigs a year for the restaurant trade in Geelong, Melbourne, the Bellarine Peninsula and in Colac.
"We were lucky enough to receive a grant, which allowed us to put in some infrastructure for the pigs themselves, in terms of automatic wallow fillers and upgrading our troughs for better water use," he said.
"We also put a filtration pond in the dam and swale drains, which helped capture the water and minimise the runoff from the farm.
"It can get very wet and obviously you have the pigs running around and doing their thing, we just wanted to make sure we could process the runoff in the most natural way we could."
He said similar principles would be applied at a lease block at Irrewarra, taken up when the business started to grow.
"It's different country but we are keeping in mind the principals of revegtation and rotation of paddocks.
"It's a case of trying to rectify the paddocks that have been let go, by previous owners."
The Small Blocks Big Dreams program involves a series of workshops, empowering landholders to make informed land management decisions while giving them the skills and knowledge to become mentors for their surrounding community.
The workshops will be delivered in partnership with the local Landcare networks as they provide specialist knowledge for each landholder group.
Landholders will be supported through a series of tailored workshops to learn about new land management skills such as weed control, soil management, pest control and native flora/fauna management.
To register your interest to participate visit www.ccma.vic.gov.au.
The Small Blocks Big Dreams project is one of 11 Our Catchments, Our Communities regional on-ground projects, funded by the Victorian government to support catchment stewardship, health, and resilience.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
