Local Land Services deliver a range of services to customers to help grow, protect and connect rural and regional NSW.
In the Western region, covering close to 40 per cent of NSW, my team delivers a co-ordinated wild dog baiting program each autumn and spring. With 15 Landcare and pest animal control groups, 161,000 baits were issued across the region with 317 properties involved in ground baiting and 110 properties involved in aerial baiting in April and May. This is vital to the pastoral industry, where predation from wild dogs has a significant economic and social impact.
What sets your organisation apart from others?
LLS offers a one-stop shop for farmers across NSW to access a range of services.
We are flexible and can provide advice to landholders depending on seasonal needs and to meet the challenges of the region. Recently more than 100 people attended one of four “livestock nutrition in dry times” workshops co-ordinated by Western LLS with support from Sheep Connect NSW. They were held in Mossgiel, Anabranch, Tilpa and Packsaddle, with Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions presenting.
We also offer important natural resource management services such as our Rangeland Rehabilitation service, which gives landholders advice and on-ground erosion control services to address landscape scale issues.
What have been the game changers in agriculture?
In Western NSW the growth of the rangeland goat industry has been a huge game changer, providing an important addition to the viability of pastoral enterprises. Through improved use of fencing, herd management and other technology, the industry has matured significantly. There are some key enterprises that have used rangeland goats to run a profitable enterprise, and contribute to positive landscape management through careful grazing techniques.
Do you have initiatives around Cobar?
The Cobar area is well supported by our staff who deliver the full range of biosecurity, animal health, agricultural advice and natural resource management services. All of these help protect industries to support the region to grow and prosper.