Coastal Catchments Focus Farm Initiative | Milestone 4

Identifying erosion areas – Valley View Station.

Final - Report for 02/03/2020 - 01/06/2020

This project is delivered by the Queensland Government, in partnership by Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Inc, Cape York NRM and South Cape York Catchments.

This project will support the Normanby Aboriginal Corporation.

We have established the Coastal Catchment Focus Farm (CCFF) - a Focus Farm initiative at Normanby Station.

 There are three stages to the project:

• Stage 1:  Consult with indigenous beef producers and form a Steering Committee comprising landholders and other key stakeholders that support producer capacity building and can advise on culturally sensitive issues.

• Stage 2: Undertake CCFF erosion control field trials (as per attached guide) and develop specific tools for demonstrating low cost, high impact gully remediation in the Normanby and Endeavour Catchments.

• Stage 3: Established CCFF trial site (including provision of Trial Site Guide/Portfolio) and support SCYC to host the Focus Farm field day at Normanby Station, May 2020.

• The model comprises a Focus Farm initiative, one to one (1:1) producer consultations, facilitated group (peer to peer) learning and data sharing.

• Agricultural extension is about delivering the most up-to-date information and technology to industry. It is about enabling farmers and graziers to meet the challenges to make practice changes that lead to better business and environmental sustainability.

• Focus Farms provide producer groups with the opportunity to trial new innovation and technology before incorporating it into their own farm practice. Current land remediation trials being conducted on the Focus Farm involve evaluating low-cost high-impact gully erosion management techniques.

•  We have completed all stages of the project, despite the COVID-19 lockdown.

The steering committee meeting at Valley View Station.

• Had further steering committee meetings at Normanby and Valley View Station with participating peer to peer members, Landholders, CYWAFA_INC staff and South Cape York Catchments, to schedule projects and deliver the operational works.

• We have also continued working and communicating with the signed-up landholders.

• The signed-up landholders include a mix of graziers and horticulturists who have stock as well.

• As it had started to dry up, we started trying to do erosion control work with the cattle being intensive grazed and managed in these yards.

• Because of intermittent and some substantial rainfall events we had to interrupt and stagger using the cattle in the erosion control site, as it had become very slippery and dangerous for the cattle and humans.

• We waited until the river had come down far enough to be able to get across the Normanby River to the station to be able to start the trials. Better late than never.

• South Cape York Catchments and Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals identified suitable areas and marked out the preferred trial sites again, earlier this year.

•  CYWAFA_INC, along with the Normanby and Valley View Managers constructed the sets of small yards to be used over gully heads. These were situated in more strategically important areas.

• Our group of producers are working together on common goals and sharing information for both private production and public benefit.​

• Having conducted both of the erosion cattle trials, Jess and the team went to Normanby and Valley View Stations a couple of weeks ago to inspect areas and to take videos of the success of the trials.

• It was decided at a joint meeting with all stakeholders that the chosen areas had been surprisingly rehabilitated much better than expected.

• Our mentor Dick Richardson certainly knows what he is doing.

• Trevor, along with Oliver, has helped and will help organise group gatherings, source funding for specialist consultations and networked both regionally and cross-regionally to maximise the group’s exposure to current technology.    

•  An observation was made by all that this Trial Project was very welcome. All learning outcomes and information will hopefully give our producers another tool to be able to manage their land sustainably.

• We will promote the project through attending several community events.

• The project has been promoted at the Queensland Regional Extension Co-ordinators Forum in Brisbane.

• We have also promoted it at every Extension Officers group meeting. These being held in Mareeba and Cooktown in online events recently.

• I also recently provided information on this work at the Queensland Water and Landcarer’s Forum held by every week online.

•  All forum members were extremely interested and positive in what we are trying to achieve.

• The project was promoted at the recent Cape York Local Marine Advisory Committee meeting.

• Promotion will be done at the Cape York NRM Board Meetings and phone hook-ups throughout the year.

• We are hoping to take interested people to our work sites, to show them what we hope to achieve with the project, and how we have progressed.

• The main obstacle for the project is basically the COVID- 19 lockdown.  At the moment access to the property is limited as we can not move through communities and our travel areas are limited.

• This has practical limitations, as the actual field day was cancelled and shifted to an on-line Virtual Field Day instead.

• Promoting the take-up of this option is an on-going challenge, as producers are not real comfortable with all the technology. They are much happier to turn up to a real face to face event rather than sit at a computer for days.

We have regularly promoted the project on our social media sites:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Cape-York-Weeds-and-Feral-AnimalsInc/805555096154233
Website: https://cywafainc.weebly.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cywafa
​

Flooded Normanby River.

•  Overall, the completion dates listed in the contract project milestones were met. We will still require time to get out face to face with the producers to supply the information they need. We can only work with what the authorities allow us to do.

• By working with the landholders, we have completed their Property Pest Management Plans.

• We have started to build up the experience and capacity of the landholders to carry out Erosion Control Trials on both Normanby and Valley View Stations.

•  Our contingency plan that we had in place made sure that the project was extremely successful.

• Cape York NRM are intending to produce a promotional video of our trials and their results. It will highlight whether the trail work was successful or otherwise.

• The main objective is to strategically control erosion using the current Best Management Practice Solutions in Cape York Peninsula.

• The graziers and horticulturists are to be commended on their efforts and their willingness to help. They were keen to work as a team.

CYWAFA_INC, Cape York NRM, Normanby Rangers, Valley View Station and Traditional Owners, are to be commended for their professionalism and willingness to get the job done.