BIGG’s 4th annual conference, Thriving into the Future was held at the Nuriootpa Sports & Function Centre on Thursday 21 March 2019.
Producers shared their experiences and strategies for coping with tough times, demonstrating a positive attitude and readiness to make necessary changes in their businesses.
“Despite the tough times, there is a lot of optimism” said one participant in their conference evaluation.
The conference focussed on strategies producers can adopt to help their enterprises thrive.
APAL Managing Director Ryan Walker discussed how producers can save fertiliser costs by using site specific soil sampling, while Barossa Veterinary Service’s Catherine Harper suggested cost saving options such as pregnancy testing reduce feed for dry animals and faecal egg counts to reduce drenching costs.
Farmer Johns’ Anthony Ellis explained factors to make the most of the season, and Rural Directions’ Simon Vogt demonstrated the difference in strategies that the most profitable businesses adopt.
Presentation slides are available for download below.
- Ryan Walker – Soil testing
- Craig John – NDVI & Variable Rate Fertiliser in Pastures
- Anthony Ellis – Thriving in the 2019 season
- Brett Nietschke – BIGG in brief
- Catherine Harper – Managing sheep in time of drought
- Simon Vogt – The integration of cereals and livestock in southern Australia
- Mark Nacey – Ahrens Capability
- Adrian Hoffmann
Major sponsors of the conference were the South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board and the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Programme and the NRM Levies.