Job title: Project Officer
Reporting to: Executive Manager.
Salary: Hourly rate dependent on skills and experience.
Hours: up to 0.6 FTE
Location: 17 Darlot St Horsham Vic 3400
Purpose of the position
The purpose of this position is be directly responsible for the management and implementation of funded projects.
Key responsibilities & duties
The key responsibilities of the role are to ensure the projects are run in a timely and efficient manner, all outcomes and milestones are achieved on time and in accordance with the project budget, and all reporting requirements are met.

Duties of the role

Manage projects
 Write project applications in line with agency guidelines
 Write project milestones and communication plans
 Write project monitoring and evaluation plans
 Ensure all project milestones are met
 Ensure project is run in accordance with the agreed budget.
 Report to the Exec Manager regarding project finances and time management

Competencies sought

Good organisational skills and attention to detail
Experience with project management and reporting

Implement Projects
 Work with VNTFA Committee Members to implement workshops, focus groups and other elements of the projects
 Ensure project activities are hosted and recorded
 Keep records of all project related activities, events and attendances
 Attend project activities as required.
Event Management Skills
Communication skills

Funding
 Continually source funding to support the VNTFA project base.
Ability to seek funding and communicate with funding bodies
Communications
 Liaise with PR person
 Provide information on project outcomes for advertising
 Provide information to website manager for updates on projects
Good communication skills
Manager_____________________________ Date: Current as at 27/03/2012

Download this Job Description HERE

More than 120 growers attended the Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association Wimmera Crop Walk on 6th July.

Vic No-Till Committee President Evan Lewis said he was pleased with the level of enthusiasm shown by members and others interested in no-till farming.

“We visited four properties around Minyip and Rupanyup during the morning, looking at how the wet summer affected weed growth and then sowing conditions. It was interesting to see how readily and easily people have adapted to no-till systems, even in wet conditions.

“This season has shown how important it is to manage residue, and how critical moisture conservation is when sowing comes around.

“The fact that we had more than 120 people come along just shows the growing recognition of the benefits of no-till farming,” he said.

Rupanyup growers Peter Teesdale and Chris Drum showed the crowd the disc coulters they have attached to the front of their bars this season, to deal with heavy weed growth over the wet summer.

“We had a heap of hogweed in a some paddocks after the January rain. We installed disc coulters at the start of sowing, and they cut right through the weeds. They did not disturb the soil too much, and kept things neat. I would definitely use them again,” Peter said.

“I have been using no-till systems for 4 years now, and saw benefits almost immediately, in particular in soil structure and moisture penetration. While we had a lot of sub-soil moisture this year, we still really benefitted from the retained stubble moisture,” he said.

Chris Drum explained the role of disc coulters on compacted ground, stating
“Some of our paddocks were under water twice during the summer. There was a lot of weed growth, and the ground was really compacted. The disc coulters cut straight through the weeds and the compacted ground.”

The VNTFA will hold a Mallee crop walk on Monday 25th July. More details will be provided in coming weeks.

For more information on the crop walk, or to enquire about membership of Vic No-Till, please contact
Vanessa Grieger on 5382 0422 or visit www.vicnotill.com.au

Media Enquiries: Bronwen Clark, 0422 135 229 or media@vicnotill.com.au

The 9th Annual Conference of the Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association on 29th July in Bendigo is expected to draw capacity crowds with its line-up of international and national speakers.

Association Executive Officer, Vanessa Grieger, said the conference will be officially opened by the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Peter Walsh.

“We are really pleased that Minister Walsh will open the conference for us. We are looking forward to hearing about his role as Minister for Agriculture and Minister for Water, and the Government’s plans for the sector.

“Our international speaker this year is Phil Needham, originally from the UK but now living in the States. He session will be about how to build yields from the seed up. Phil is known as one of the world’s leading experts in no-till farming, so having him speak at our conference is a bit of a coup.

“This year the conference will wrap up with a great after dinner speaker – former Essendon player Terry Daniher. After a day of serious discussion, it will be great for our Members to have a drink over dinner and listen to Terry, who is a very entertaining speaker,” she said.

The conference will feature sessions on:
- Controlled traffic farming and residue management
- Lessons for soil health with climate challenges
- Summer crops
- Discs in sand
- Soil plant nutrition and
- Climate cycles, seasonal forecasting indicators and their effects on world wheat production and prices.

The Annual Conference starts at 9.00am on Friday 29th July, at the Quality Resort All Seasons in Bendigo.

Register online at www.vicnotill.com.au. Members will soon receive registration forms. Non-members can register for the conference and will receive discounted membership of the Association.

For more information about the conference, or to enquire about membership of Vic No-Till, please contact
Vanessa Grieger on 5382 0422 or visit www.vicnotill.com.au

Media Enquiries: Bronwen Clark, 0422 135 229 or media@vicnotill.com.au

The Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association will hold its Mallee crop walk on Monday 25th July west of Swan Hill.

Vic No-Till’s executive Officer, Vanessa Grieger, said she expects the Mallee crop walk to generate a lot of discussion.

“Our first Mallee crop walk for this season will cover a number of important issues, such as managing alternate crops like lentils, chickpeas, field peas, lupins and canola. We will discuss summer spraying and its impact on trash flow and look at a range of machinery such as an NDF disc seeder, VRT spreaders and shielded sprayers,” she said.

“We will be focusing on issues resistance management, nutrition, timing and grain storage. It is going to be a really informative day, and if the Wimmera crop walk earlier in July is anything to go by, we are expecting a large crowd.

“The day will start at 9.30am at Ross Watson’s which is 30 km west of Swan Hill on Bulga Road at Bulga. We will provide lunch and should wrap up in Swan Hill by around 4 or 4.30 pm,” she said.

Vic No-Till Mallee Crop Walk
Monday 25th July
Ross Watson’s, Bulga Rd, Bulga (30 km west of Swan Hill)
Start at 9.30am, finishing in Swan Hill 4-4.30pm. Lunch provided.
For more information on the crop walk, including directions, or to enquire about membership of Vic No-Till,
please contact Vanessa Grieger on 5382 0422 or visit www.vicnotill.com.au

Media Enquiries: Bronwen Clark, 0422 135 229 or media@vicnotill.com.au

Almost 130 people attended the 9th Annual Conference of the Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association was on 29th July in Bendigo.

The conference was officially opened the Victorian Minister for Agriculture, Peter Walsh, who praised the Association for attracting younger farmers, noting that unlike many other agricultural organisations, the average age of Vic No-Till Committee members is just 40 years of age.

“It was great to have such positive feedback from Minister Walsh, and acknowledgement that Vic No-Till is a progressive organisation aimed at getting farmers together to learn from and support each other,” said Vic No-Till President Evan Lewis of Werneth.

“Vic No-Till’s objective is to be an organisation of farmers helping farmers. It was great to see so many young farmers at the conference, as well as some of the most experienced no-till famers in the country,” he said.

International keynote speaker, Phil Needham, originally from the UK but now operating out of Kentucky in the United States, spoke of some of the weaknesses he had observed whilst in Australia – poor residue distribution and uneven emergence.

“We are all seeing headers getting wider and wider, but you have to remember that they generally can’t spread the residue that wide, which is problematic for no-till farming, which relies on even and consistent residue distribution,” Mr Needham said.

“My four tips for improved spreading performance are to feed material evenly into the chopper especially out to both ends, set a longer chop length, keep the header full and at maximum capacity and finally, be realistic when choosing the width of your front.

Mr Needham went on to say that international research trials on the depth of seed placement have shown that placing the seed at the same depth uniformly has yield benefits.

“Research shows that placing the seed at 1 inch depth when you have good soil moisture will have highest rates of emergence as well as eventual rates of yield,” he said.

Other conference sessions focused on controlled traffic farming, with speakers outlining its many benefits such as avoiding losing crops which are destroyed by header wheels, avoiding compaction and minimising the risk of getting bogged. Sessions on micronutrients, climate cycles, and summer crops all generated discussion and debate amongst attendees.

Media Enquiries: Bronwen Clark, 0422 135 229 or bron@bcpr.com.au

The critical importance of the work of the Victorian No-Till Farmers‟ Association (VNTFA) has again been recognised with a funding boost of almost $100,000 for its „Farmers helping Farmers‟ mentoring program from the Caring for Country fund.

“No-Till Farming systems are increasingly being looked upon as the future for agriculture in Australia. The „Farmers helping Farmers‟ mentoring program run by Vic No-Till is a sure-fire way to increase the uptake of no-till systems across the state,” said Evan Lewis, President of the VNTFA.

“Vic No-Till exists to support all farmers who are using, or considering using, No-Till systems. The „Farmers helping Farmers‟ program will build on our existing network of farmer groups across the state, and will create new groups to assist farmers who are new to No-Till systems. These groups – and the knowledge, expertise and information that are shared through them – are at the heart of the program,” Mr Lewis said.

“„Farmers helping Farmers‟ will see small local groups of farmers getting together on a regular basis to discuss issues relating to No-Till that are particular to their area. Experienced No-Till farmers will be able to assist other farmers wanting to understand more about the No-Till system and implement it on their own farm,” he said.

In addition to the establishment of new farmer groups across Victoria, the „Farmers helping Farmers‟ project will also see the creation of a central hub of detailed information relating to the No-Till Farming System. The VNTFA will produce fact sheets, video footage and podcasts to assist both members and non-members to access up-to-date, detailed information on No-Till systems.

The No-Till Farming System minimises soil disturbance by sowing with one pass only, which results in less than 20% total soil disturbance. The system also maintains crop residues thereby retaining moisture levels. By limiting soil disturbance by foregoing repetitive ploughing, no-till farmers use significantly less fuel in machinery, which has cost and environmental benefits.

No-Till systems are geared towards sustainability and long-term improvement of soil health. A number of innovative farm practices such as inter-row sowing, controlled traffic and precision agriculture are tools commonly used by experienced no-till farmers.

Some of the many benefits of No-Till include:
* increased soil health
* increased water use efficiency
* increased nutrient efficiency and the ability to create a natural nutrient cycle by fully utilising the nutrients available in crop residues
* increased water infiltration
* increased flexibility and the ability to respond to climate change impacts
* increased productivity and efficiency of production
* increased profitability which flows through to community benefits, and
* increased environmental stewardship.

The VNTFA has been in operation since 2003 and has been instrumental in the adoption of No-Till across Victoria.

Media enquiries: Bronwen Clark, 0422 135 229

Members of the Victorian No-Till Farmers Association will gather in Hopetoun for a spring workshop on Wednesday, October 12th at 1.00 pm.

“At this time of year, Vic No-Till members are busy preparing for harvest, which is looking like it will be a good one. The Spring workshop is a great opportunity to do some additional planning before the hard work begins. The workshop will focus heavily on harvest logistics, but will also cover residue management and rotation,” said Vic No-Till Committee member and workshop co-facilitator Tim Pilkington.

The workshop will commence with a session on monitoring and planning this season’s harvest, which will feature expert advice from Danny Conlan, an agricultural consultant from Dodgshun Medlin in Swan Hill. Workshop sponsor Viterra will also provide information on pulse marketing.

Workshop co-facilitator Nick Martin said that main focus of the workshop will be on logistics.

“We will be talking about the importance of getting logistics right, and also having a look at what we have learnt from our actions. We will also talk about grain bags at harvest, co-operative grain structures and we will compare the benefits of direct heading versus windrowing,” he said.

The workshop will wrap up with an inspection of crops on surrounding properties.

The Victorian No-Till Farmers Association is a farmer-driven organization whose goal is to bring farmers together to share their knowledge and experience of no-till farming systems.

Vic No-Till Spring Workshop Wednesday,

Diary Alert Wimmera Residue Management Demo Day Thursday 3rd November Details to follow.

Media enquiries to Bronwen Clark: 0422 135 229 or email: media@vicnotill.com.au

More than 30 members of the Victorian No-Till Farmers Association gathered at Hopetoun for a spring workshop on Wednesday, October 12th.
The workshop saw lengthy discussion on harvest logistics, and saw several members call for greater cooperation from grain processors.

“Our members are looking forward to a good harvest this year, and are keen to avoid the long delays they experienced in 2010-11 when delivering grain to processors and storage,” said Vic No-Till President Evan Lewis.

“We hope that the grain companies will work with us this year and perhaps extend their opening hours or look at other ways to helps farmers during the harvest. It is in everyone’s interest for the grain companies to try to meet the demand from growers, and this message was delivered very clearly by Vic No-Till members,” he said.

The group heard from Nandaly Co-op director Jacko Kiley, about the success of the co-op structure for storing grain. Nandaly Co-op, which is set up under the same structure as the grower co-ops in Moulamein and Berriwillock, was established to meet the needs of growers who faced long turnaround times and delays in transporting grain.

“There was such strong interest in the co-op structure that we raised the funds required for set-up pretty quickly,” said Mr Kiley.

“We now have 80,000 tonne capacity, which we feel we will be close to filling this year, based on the fact that we stored 63,000 tonne of grain last season, in only our second year of operation.”
Vic No-Till Committee Member, Alistair Murdoch of Swan Hill, led a discussion on the use of silo bags as another way to minimize time wastage while transporting grain during harvest. Members agreed that the bags had low pest infestation rates and survived well in a range of climatic conditions.

“They have proven to be a good short term storage solution that has enabled us to keep harvesting while conditions are ideal, rather than be delayed while waiting for on farm storage to be cleared,” said Alistair.

“We probably stored up to 70% of our grain in silo bags, and we haven’t had any weevil infestation. Using the bags saved a lot of time during harvest, and so far everything has come out of the bag in as good a quality as when it went in,” he said.

The group then inspected a lentil and canola crop in the district, with Mick Hastings discussing the pros and cons of direct heading versus windrowing canola.

Media enquiries to Bronwen Clark: 0422 135 229 or email: media@vicnotill.com.au

Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association (VNTFA) members discussed the ongoing benefits of good residue management during harvest at the group’s Residue Management Day on 3rd November.

Residue management, or managing the stubble left after harvest, ensures minimal disturbance of the soil at sowing and ensures higher sub-soil moisture retention rates. Residue management is the foundation for no-till farming.

Around 40 members attended the day at Kevin and Wayne Adler’s property in Coromby. Several members also had their machinery on display, so that the pros and cons of different residue management methods could be demonstrated.

“So much of your success at sowing will depend on what you do now during harvest,” said VNTFA Committee Member and agronomist Andrew Newall.

“The importance of an even distribution of finely chopped chaff cannot be understated. Uneven spread and long residue can tie-up summer weed chemicals, prevent accurate seed placement and reduce emergence rates,” he said

Wayne Adler spoke of his experience with the Redekop chopper, which he fitted to his Case 2388 Header before last season.

“With last year’s rain during harvest, just about all our cereals fell over, so we fed them all through the chopper. By the time cropping came around, the chaff was already breaking down. We kept a close eye on the residue, adjusting the vanes to make sure we had an even spread, and we avoided working into the wind.

This is the second year that Vic No-Till members have met to discuss machinery and the process of residue management. Vic No-Till member Craig Schodde of Coromby said that it was great to hear of people’s experiences a couple of years after fitting choppers.

“I fitted a Redekop chopper in 2009 and the difference it made was immediate. I had been using controlled traffic methods for eight years, and the residue management was the last part of the no-till system I was missing,” he said.

“I have found that the residue spread will be affected by wind strength and direction, as well as the load going through the chopper. Different varieties of crops need different conditions, depending on straw length and so on.

“We are all learning, and days like this, where we all get together, are a great way of learning from other people’s experiences. Vic No-Till is all about farmers sharing their knowledge – helping each other out. We all believe that our greatest asset is our soil, and the changes that we are making give back bigger rewards each year,” he said.

Membership of the Victorian No-Till Farmers’ Association is $165 per year. More information can be obtained from Vanessa Grieger on 5382 0422 or you can join on the Vic No-Till website – www.vicnotill.com.au.

Media enquiries to Bronwen Clark: 0422 135 229.