THE WA Livestock Research Council (WALRC) is partnering with Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) to stage its next Livestock Matters forum with a road-trip featuring three farms in the Binnu and Northampton regions on Thursday, June 17.
In the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Seroja, the focus of the tour will be to examine the effects of the cyclone and explore simple systems for livestock management.
The tour will commence at Don Nairn's property at East Binnu, looking at his confinement feeding system and extracting the 'parting words of wisdom' from this highly respected farmer who is putting in his last crop this year following the sale of the property.
From Nairns, the tour carries on to Chilimony Farms on the West Binnu sandplains to have a look at the 600 hectares of perennials now in their third year and enabling the introduction of cattle to what has most recently been a cropping operation.
According to farms superviser Andrew Clarke, there was a lot still to learn from the introduction of perennials on this property and he will happily turn to the WALRC expert commentary team to explore the options of 'where next' with this fodder trial.
The third and final stop of the day is the Hasleby family's Mulga Springs property at Northampton, where there will be three separate discussion sites, ranging from electronic ID systems, growing vetches and the Chapman Catchment Regeneration Project.
The day will be spearheaded by WALRC chairman Tim Watts who will lead the discussion format and draw on the expertise of a range of consultants, MLA technical experts and research scientists.
"Apart from a really interesting day out, the other thing we can promise participants is no PowerPoints and not much sitting down other than the travel between sites," Mr Watts said.
"The other thing we must ask patrons is to respect we are visiting farms that have had cyclone damage and additional care and respect needs to be afforded."
Delegates are asked to meet at Don Nairn's farm at 1973 East Binnu Road at 9.30am and come prepared to travel between farm sites.
Car pooling is recommended where feasible to do so.
The day will finish with fellowship at the Northampton Community Centre from 4.45pm.
RSVP is essential for COVID-19 protocols and catering requirements so please email admin@walrc.com.au or text WALRC executive officer Esther Jones on 0418 931 938 with names and email addresses of all intending participants.
