Victorian No-Till Farmers Conference 2018

Tickets

$330   Members
$660   Non-Members
Extra tickets for family members or staff of your farming business are $165
More details call Penny on 0402 216 267   Email:  accounts@vicnotill.com.au

Vic No-Till conference program

Thursday, July 12

8.00 – 8.20am
Registrations & Seating

8.30– 8.35am
Welcome – Grant Sims, VNTFA President

8.45 – 9.45am
JAY FUHRER
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Connecting cropping and grazing systems for better soil health

Growing up on a small grain and livestock farm, Jay’s interests have always centred on agriculture. Jay emphasises soil health as a foundation for cropping systems, grazing systems, cover crops, soil biology, pollinators, insects, wildlife and quality of life. In addition, Jay uses cover crops and livestock integration to connect cropping and grazing systems, raising the soil bar even higher.

9.45 – 10.30am
BEN BECK
Wagga Wagga, NSW

Strip n Disc takes cropping system to next level

Zero-till farmer Ben Beck, who farms with wife Luisa, sticks by a few strong, simple philosophies to drive his farming system forward. Get the timing right, build up the soil biology, learn as much as you can from others and keep looking beyond your current system. Ben went to a no-till system in 2004 then in 2009 moved to zero-till and controlled traffic. Through careful rotations and since introducing a stripper front in 2014, Ben has seen their cropping system go to the next level in terms of resilience, soil structure and available moisture.

10.30 – 11.00am
Morning Tea

11.10 – 12.10pm
JILL BRIGGS
Rutherglen, VIC

Why no-till? Why hang in there? Why not?

Change leadership professional Jill Briggs, a graduate of the Advanced Women in Leadership Program, is married to Colin and mother to passionate young regenerative farmer Tom. For the past 15 years Jill has travelled across Australia to deliver leadership and personal capacity programs to people in primary industry, the corporate sector and regional industries. Deciding to make change is the easy step but after that it can become challenging, particularly when you are going against ‘the norm.’ Jill gives people the courage to continue what they’re doing, even when things become challenging.

12.20 – 1.15pm
Lunch

1.15– 2.15pm
DI HAGGERTY
Wyalkatchem, WA

Natural intelligence farming, sheep and cropping

Ian and Di Haggerty started farming in the Central WA Wheatbelt in 1994. They started biological farming in the late 1990s and have evolved this system by taking away all the reliance on chemicals for fertility in their sheep and soils, and allowing the natural systems to use their own intelligence to optimise functions. They farm and lease land across 13,000 hectares and have stripped their biological system back to allow nature to truly be the driver of the system as best as possible in degraded ecosystems. This has taken results to a level they never dreamt possible.

2.15 – 3.15pm
PETER NORWOOD
Gippsland VIC

Full Circle Nutrition, linking soils, plants, animals and humans

Peter grew up in Central NSW on a mixed farming enterprise and pursued a passion for agronomy and animal nutrition after finishing an applied science agricultural degree. After completing the Kinsey program which focuses on managing soil fertility, productivity on his clients’ farms began to lift and their animal health issues eased. With wife Emma, he formed a hair mineral analysis and farm consulting business Full Circle Nutrition. They work in Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Holland, Germany the US and Canada while running a small farm with their four young children.

3.25– 4.00pm
Afternoon Tea

4.10– 5.10pm
More from Jay Fuhrer

Wrap Up & Close
Major General The Hon. Michael Jeffrey

Attendees are welcome to join us for drinks & nibbles after the conference.

After a big day of education and lots of conversation, we are pleased to offer conference goers the opportunity to ask questions of our Board and Speakers the following morning.

Friday, July 13

9am-Noon
Panel Discussion Q & A featuring: Jay Fuhrer, Ben Beck, Peter Norwood, Di Haggerty plus Vic No-Till board members
Conference closes with light lunch