Healthy Landscapes regenerative agriculture program

The Healthy Landscapes program includes cost-free individual workshops and low-cost short courses, and aims to help land managers improve their land, soil, water and livestock. The program provides:

• Individual, free, on-farm advice
• Webinars, workshops and field days
• Holistic Grazing Management short course
• Farmer discussion groups

The program aims to help you identify and implement practical land management practices to:

• Improve your grazing Improve productivity
• Improve soil health
• Improve biodiversity
• Improve waterway health

All land managers in Mount Alexander Shire, Macedon Ranges Shire, Hepburn Shire and the City of Greater Bendigo are eligible to participate in Healthy Landscapes.

If you are interested in free individual workshops and events, see Upcoming Events below.

If you have an interest in free on-farm advice, enrolling in the Holistic Grazing Management Course or would like to be added to our eNewsletter, please complete our Expression of Interest form.

Priority for individual, free, on-farm advice will be given to properties over two hectares in area. Individual advice is practical and matched to any experience level and grazing livestock including, but not limited to, cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and alpacas.

For more information, call Jason McAinch, the Healthy Landscapes Lead and Private Land Conservation Officer, Macedon Ranges Shire Council, on 0455 210 436 or email jmcainch@mrsc.vic.gov.au.

Free events for 2025 to be announced shortly.

Equine Land Management Grazing course

The course has been designed to assist horse owners who manager their land to improve their skills and knowledge about grazing horses, resulting in an increase in soil health and perennial pasture species, including native species while maintaining the health of their horses.

It is structured for small landholders (2-20Ha) with grazing horses and designed to use the resources and time you have available to improve your property. Land managers in the City of Greater Bendigo, Hepburn Shire, Mount Alexander Shire or Macedon Ranges Shire are eligible to attend. The course is presented by Jason McAinch, Council's Private Land Conservation Officer with a local horse owner and will incorporate three sessions:

• Day 1:  7 February 2025 - a four-hour face-to-face theory learning session
• Day 2:  21 February 2025 - a two-hour practical on-property and two-hour theory session
• Day 3:  14 March 2025 - a two-hour practical on-property and two-hour theory session

On completion of the course, an optional one-hour, one-on-one practical property visit to your property will be available.

Cost: $75 per property. Note: "One ticket" will cover two people from the same property.

Register here

The Holistic Grazing Management short course has been designed to assist landholders in the Macedon Ranges Shire, Hepburn Shire, Mount Alexander Shire and the City of Greater Bendigo to improve their skills and knowledge about grazing livestock.

The next course dates will be announced in mid 2025, for delivery over six months during 2025 and 2026. 

The course costs $150 per property.

Download the course outline and timetable for the 2024/2025 course - APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED (DOCX, 423KB)

To find out more, call Jason McAinch, Private Land Conservation Officer (Macedon Ranges Shire Council) by calling 0455 210 436 or emailing jmcainch@mrsc.vic.gov.au.

The following recordings pre-date the involvement of Mount Alexander Shire in the Healthy Landscapes program. While they don’t contain content produced with our shire, the information will still be useful for land managers within Mount Alexander Shire.

Integrated Weed Management

This webinar looks at how you can get to know your weeds and increase your understanding of a range of control techniques and strategic practices. Learn that the target of any weed management is about using the suitable control at the correct time with the appropriate follow up limiting spread and importantly limiting re-infestation.

https://youtu.be/5EvMEyoEM88

Grass and Pasture ID webinar

In this webinar, environmental scientist Dr Graeme Lorimer shows how to identify, understand and manage wild (non-planted) grasses. This webinar is being held in partnership with Port Phillip & Westernport CMA with the support of the Victorian Government.

https://youtu.be/aUeMSEJCGCQ

Transition from spring to summer feeding

Brian Wehlburg, from Holistic Management International and The Savory Institute, talks about how to transition from spring to summer feeding. Be inspired by Brian’s passion for environmental improvement and grazing management.

https://youtu.be/WZWuH0tngyg

Compost research and Natural Capital Accounting in agriculture

Hear from La Trobe University's Dr. Jim Radford on some local research and trials with compost used in an agricultural setting.

Jim is involved in a project that is measuring a range of different aspects of environmental performance. These include ecosystem integrity, soil condition, greenhouse gas balance, resource use efficiency and biodiversity impact.

The Natural Capital Accounting framework is being co-designed with farmers to ensure the accounts are understandable, trusted and provide useful information for farmers and their customers. By demonstrating the value of natural capital for profitable farming, the aim is to elucidate and promote farming practices that have positive outcomes for the natural resource base that underpins agriculture. This could lead to the possibility that farmers could capitalise on their sustainable practices.

https://youtu.be/XD7sfnwsLQg

Central Victorian Climate Today, Tomorrow and the Future

This event was delivered in partnership with the Healthy Landscapes program and the Bureau of Meteorology.

Felicity Gamble, Senior Climatologist, Extended and Long-range Forecasts, from the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), presents forecasts for the upcoming three months and for the future (~2035) for central Victoria. Felicity also shared some useful tools and materials developed by the BoM and Agriculture Victoria.

https://youtu.be/0CiK2n773XM

Free webinars with local farmers

These webinars, held in 2021, feature local farmers talking about their experience of regenerative agriculture. Webinar recordings are available on the links below.

Darren Cater, a beef cow and calf farmer at Monegeetta. Watch the recording.

https://youtu.be/9GYi3Ul0Bmk

Paul Righetti, a Yandoit farmer who farms sheep, cattle and pasture raised hens. Watch the recording.

https://youtu.be/21RMEqfSngQ

Aaron Demeo, farmer in Raywood with merino and white Suffolk sheep, crops, and contract rears dairy heifers. Watch the recording.

https://youtu.be/dvmpLOVht60

Understanding your farm soil webinar series

This webinar series covers soil biology testing, soil carbon and organic matter. There are five videos in the playlist below. Click on the playlist drop-down arrow that says 1/5, to select the video you would like to watch.

Video 1: Soil testing - Understanding your farm soil

Video 2: Soil carbon with Dr Fiona Robertson

Video 3: Soil carbon

Video 4: Organic matter - Part 1

Video 5: Organic matter - Part 2

https://youtu.be/RVKT8NsiYTk?list=PLDL0DuUuk5RjB5iNOqcbpUSnts_GvHXe9

Managing pastures in a changing climate

World-renowned farmer Colin Seis shares how to establish and maintain flourishing pastures while improving soil health in an ever-changing climate.

Part 1: https://youtu.be/tx2SOdKTNhk

Part 2: https://youtu.be/GoEjPJ9MV38

Ecological burns – the benefits

Ecological planned burning is a land management tool applied to promote positive benefits for a local environment.

Benefits include stimulating dormant seed banks in the soil profile, reducing the vigour of, or eliminating, weeds, nutrient cycling and the removal of biomass ... all of which promote biodiversity and ecosystem health.

https://youtu.be/Thcnr2FjSl4

Regenerative grazing aims to increase perennial pasture species, including native grasses, while also increasing species diversity. Through high intensity grazing regimes followed by long rest periods, the approach increases the organic matter in soils and facilitates all-year-round ground cover, protecting soils from sunlight and erosion.

This approach increases soil health and improves water retention and drainage. Livestock benefit from a consistent and complete diet which results in improved health and productivity.

Biodiversity refers to the diversity of life forms on a property, a locality and your region. This includes the micro-organisms found in soils and water, fungi, plants, insects, birds and all other animals that live on land, in rivers and in wetlands. These life forms interact between themselves and with the non-living parts of the environment to form ecosystems.

Healthy ecosystems benefit farms through maintaining soil and water quality, providing shelter and a balanced diet for livestock while assisting with reducing pests and diseases. In turn, on-farm biodiversity has the potential to connect positively with the ecosystems of neighbouring properties and surrounding bushland.

The Caring For Country Sustainable Land Management Guide is aimed at landholders who want to better manage their land. It includes an introduction to our indigenous heritage, the value of biodiversity and the importance of being a good neighbour.

The guide offers practical information including links to organisations and agencies that can help landholders to build their knowledge of sustainable farming practices. With more information at hand, landowners can make better decisions to ensure their land is economically and environmentally sustainable.