rural SOUTHERN DOWNS AND GRANITE BELT MONTHLY RURAL ROUND-UP OCTOBER 2017
WOMEN CALLED TO STEP UP Wickham Farms manager passionate about women in leadership roles in the ag sector STORY INSIDE, PAGES 8-9
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WE’RE FOR THE COUNTRY WELCOME to the October edition of the Southern Free Times rural magazine, ‘Rural Links’. Rural Links is our monthly, full-gloss publication inserted into the ‘SFT’ around the middle of the month and catering to the needs of our region’s farming sector, as well as being of general interest to the community. The Free Times team - including Natasha Sheahan and Lisa Crouch - has been working hard to bring you the October edition of Rural Links and we thank all of the advertisers who have supported our previous editions and this one for their valued contributions. This month we look forward to the Warwick Rodeo and Campdraft, and we take a look inside Killarney’s Wickham Farms’ packing and processing facility and talk women in agriculture. For Rural Links advertising inquiries please call the Free Times sales team on 4661 9800, and for editorial inquiries - including story tips of a rural nature - drop me a line at Jeremy. Sollars@freetimes.com.au or give me a call on 0427 090 818. Jeremy Sollars, Editor
OLSENS PRODUCT OF THE MONTH FORAGE Sorghum - hybrids that enhance our meat and nourish our milk ... * Lush - Grazing/Hay * BMR Revolution - Grazing/Hay * Nudan - Grazing/Hay/Silage * Boost - Grazing/Plough Down Nuseed acknowledges that what we feed our livestock and how we nurture our land must be clean and green and for the good of all. That’s why we thoroughly test our hybrids in both cutting and grazing trials so that they do what we say - perform! * Sugar Sweet Sudan - Grazing/Hay/Silage Sugar Sweet is fine stemmed and super sweet ensuring a flexible and versatile forage option. Sugar Sweet can be planted early or late in the season for late summer or carry over feed. The high sugar content improves feed quality, increases palatability and results in minimal feed wastage. The sugar content and feed value of Sugar Sweet increases as the plant matures, but it is recommended to initiate first grazing at 1m-1.5m (3-4ft) tall to increase biomass productivity. For maximum regrowth retain at least 15cm of stubble when grazed or cut for silage. When used for a hay crop, Sugar Sweet should be cut well before flowering, but also makes very good silage especially in areas with less favourable crop yields and is suited to both pit silage and bailage. Sugar Sweet has finer stems and higher levels of leaf than other traditional sweet sorghums but still offers equivalent brix levels and forage yields per hectare. Favourable growing conditions will allow for multiple cuts or grazing throughout the season. Cutting late, around 2m-2.5m tall is possible to increase bulk, but this reduces regrowth
potential and feed quality. * Stature BMR - Grazing/Hay/Silage Stature BMR will provide large volumes of high quality feed for the whole summer period, and is ideal for extended grazing and cutting. Stature BMR is suited to all areas and climates subject to reasonable agronomic conditions and practices. It has performed particularly well in southern regions. With good management and sufficient moisture, Stature BMR will provide excellent regrowth and multiple cuttings or grazing’s throughout the season. It is a perfect choice for intensive grazing, quick regrowth, hay, and silage. * BMR Octane - Grazing/Hay/Silage * BMR Rocket - Grazing/Hay/Silage * Sugargraze - Grazing/Hay/Silage * Superdan 2 - Grazing/Hay * Sweet Jumbo LPA - Grazing/Hay/Silage See Olsens in store for more information. Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm; Saturday, 8am to 11.30am. Phone (07) 4661 2455, fax (07) 4661 9455. Call in at 13 Lyons Street, Warwick. Email at olsensproduce@westnet.com.au
KENTS: ‘THE TRAVELLING SADDLERY’ The Kent Saddlery truck shop in the Lawn Hill Region, North Queensland. back east. 2017 was their 27th year of visiting predominantly isolated cattle stations and although loaded to the hilt with products and gear, they were grateful for the relative
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comfort and design of the Kent Saddlery Truck Shop, into its 10th year of the 35,000km trip. Long gone were the days of earlier trips with Landcruiser, trailer and tents and subsequent trucks and gooseneck trailers. They arrived at each pre-organised station, opened the display doors of the truck shop and set up tables of products and suitable station lifestyle items. As usual Kent Saddlery belts, pouches, gear bags and gift items sold well and for many stations using horses for mustering, bridles, halters and reins were equally popular. Interest in Kent Saddles was consistent and proved to be a viable option for station workers looking for a reliable, comfortable stock saddle (see advertisement this edition).
Jeremy Sollars
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ON the morning of Friday 25 August, Lyle and Helen Kent turned the ‘Kent Saddlery Travelling Truck’ into Tobacco Road, Inglewood, headed homewards for the hills of the Granite Belt and Stanthorpe. ‘The trip’, as everyone at Kent Saddlery knows it, was over for another year. Starting at the end of March they had left their Kent Saddlery retail store and workshop at Applethorpe - it was a familiar route through central Queensland, starting at the first of around 140 cattle stations spread mainly across the top end of Outback Australia. The Queensland Gulf, Northern Territory, West Australia’s Kimberley and Pilbara Regions lay ahead, and far South West Queensland and The Channel Country would be covered on their way
‘CUP’ RIDERS ARE RARING TO GO By Jeremy Sollars IT’S October and the arena sands of the Warwick Showgrounds will echo once again with the thundering hooves of the rides of Australia’s foremost campdrafting competitors, along with the bulls and the broncs. Campdrafting action will kick off on Monday 23 October and all eyes will be on the ‘Melbourne Cup of Campdrafting’ - the Warwick Gold Cup, along with the Canning Downs Campdraft, the Ladies Silver Cup Campdraft, the Champion of Champions and the Stallion Campdraft. The Warwick Gold Cup was last year won by Kyogle rider Lloyd Brown. The finals saw 35 competitors vying for Australia’s most coveted campdrafting prize. This year Killarney’s Haydn Lamb will be the only local supplier of campdraft cattle this year and will likely truck in between 700 and 900 head for this year’s competition. “We’ve spent the last month or so preparing them and getting them ready into mobs,” he told Rural Links.
It's October in Warwick - and that means rodeo. “We’ve been supplying cattle for the Warwick campdraft for a lot of years and in years gone by we’ve donated the fees back to the Show and Rodeo Society - you support local events as best you can. “We had a dry enough winter but the cattle have done pretty well. “With campdrafting cattle you’re looking for them to be in a reasonably good condition and with a decent sort of temperament. “
2017 CAMPDRAFTING EVENTS - MONDAY 23 TO SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER Pryde’s EasiFeed Warwick Gold Cup Campdraft Known by many as the ‘Melbourne Cup’ of campdrafting, the Warwick Gold Cup attracts more riders and offers more prize money than any other campdraft in Australia. It has been for many years regarded as the ‘Australian Championship Campdraft’. $100,000 prizemoney and trophies - winner receives $22,000 prize money plus the Warwick Gold Cup valued at $4760, plus a Tony Gifford Trophy Saddle valued at $7500. Judge: Berry Shann. Black Toyota Canning Downs Campdraft $50,000 prizemoney and trophies - winner receives $6500 prize money plus the Canning Downs Trophy valued at $1500, plus a Bernie Brady Trophy Saddle valued at $7500. Judge - Jock Weston. Vanderfield Hino Ladies Silver Cup Campdraft $15,000 prizemoney and trophies - winner receives $3000 prize money plus the Ladies Silver Cup valued at $1175, plus Australian Stockmans Saddlery Trophy Saddle valued at $4500. Judge - Vicki Hiscock.
Kyogle competitor Lloyd Brown was the 2016 winner of the Warwick Gold Cup, on Mallanganee Sampson.
Champion of Champions $25,000 prizemoney and trophy - winner receives $7300 Prize Money (1st to 6th place receive prize money). Maximum of 100 horses - one horse per rider for open horses only which have won three open campdrafts). Judge - Jock Weston. Frasers Livestock Transport Stallion Campdraft $20,000 prizemoney, trophy and rug - winner receives $5000 prize money plus a Frank Heywood Trophy Saddle valued at $4000. Open to stallions of all breeds. Judge - Jim Daly. Triple Crown of Campdrafting $30,000 Prize Money (maximum) The winner must win all three of the Condamine Bell Open Campdraft, the Chinchilla Grandfather Clock Open Campdraft and the Pryde’s EasiFeed Warwick Gold Cup Campdraft with the same horse and rider combination. The highest aggregate rider of the three finals will be declared the winner of the Triple Crown. And in case you didn’t already know... In a campdrafting competition, a rider on horseback must ‘cut out’ one beast from the mob of cattle in the yard or the ‘camp’ and block and turn the beast at least
two or three times to prove to the judge that they have the beast under control, then take it out of the yard and through a course around pegs involving right and left hand turns in a figure eight, before guiding it through two pegs known as ‘the gate’. The outside course must be completed in less than 40 seconds. Events for juniors must have one beast in the camp or yard at all times. In other events it is recommended there be a minimum of six head of stock in the camp at any time. Up to a total of 100 points are scored by horse and rider - ‘cut out’ is worth a total of 26 points, horse work up to a further 70 points and four points for the course. Most disqualifications - signalled by a crack of the judge’s stockwhip - occur when a competitor loses their beast more than twice on the camp, loses control of the beast in the arena or runs a beast onto the arena fence. A ‘tail turn’ executed by a horse in the opposite direction of the beast’s line of travel also incurs disqualification at any stage of the draft. The sport requires consummate skill and horsemanship, and the skill in selecting a beast from the mob that will run well, but is not too fast for that particular horse. Great prestige is bestowed on the winning horse and rider of the competition.
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RAINS HOLD OFF AS DRY CLINGS ON By Jeremy Sollars OCTOBER already looks reasonably promising for achieving at least long-term average rainfalls across the Southern Downs and Granite Belt but despite the tinges of green we’re still very much in the dry. So much so in fact that the Southern Downs Regional Council is lobbying the Queensland Government to reinstate a drought declaration for the region, after the previous one was lifted back in May, based on a recommendation from the Local Drought Committee. At time of printing of this month’s Rural Links Warwick had officially scored 32.3mm of rain so far in October, with the longterm October Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) average being 69mm. Stanthorpe fared only slightly better, officially recording town rainfall of 33.6mm, against a BoM long-term October average of 68.9mm. Councillors at their September general meeting voted in favour of writing to State Agriculture Minister Bill Byrne “raising concerns about the severe weather situation currently being experienced across the region”. Mr Byrne has since stepped down as Minister due to a severe health condition, and the request for a new drought declaration will now be reviewed by Acting Agriculture Minister and Minister for State Development, Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham.
Michael Fagg of the Rural Financial Counselling Service in Warwick is a useful contact for primary producers who need assistance. A council spokeswoman told Rural Links the oletter to Mr Byrne was sent on Friday 22 September following the council meeting. “Council’s letter pointed out that while council understands that there are rigorous criteria that the Local Drought Committee must follow in arriving at its recommendations, the Southern Downs region, and in particular our primary producers, are struggling with the current situation, following the lifting earlier this year of the ‘drought declaration’ status. “The letter outlined council’s serious concerns given the forecast rainfall for the region together with the serious deficiency in rainfall for the region over the last three month period, as well as below average soil moisture content, as identified by the Bureau
■ Information about how to apply for an IDP declaration is available from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries website at www. daf.qld.gov.au ■ Primary producers requiring advice and assistance are also encouraged to contact Michael Fagg of the Rural Financial Counselling service in Warwick on 0419 732 591. ■ Need someone to talk to? Mental health professionals are available at the beyondblue Support Service via phone 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or via www.beyondblue.org.au/getsupport for online chat (3pm-midnight AEST) or email responses within 24 hours.
of Meteorology. “It requested the reinstatement of the drought declaration status for the Southern Downs region. “The next review by the Local Drought Committee is not scheduled until the end of summer, but council will lobby the Minister to look at the Southern Downs as a special case. “Primary producers who do not fall within an area or shire that is drought declared but who believe they are experiencing drought conditions can apply for an Individually Droughted Property (IDP) declaration through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF). “Council encourages primary producers to take that step if necessary.”
THE INDUSTRY - IN BRIEF WEED CONTROL A Canadian company wants to build the biggest medical cannabis processing plant in the southern hemisphere at Casino, in northern New South Wales. PUF Ventures has announced a strategic partnership with the Richmond Valley Council to construct a 9.3-hectare greenhouse operation. When operating at full scale, it could produce 100,000 kilograms of cannabis a year. PUF’s Australian spokesman Michael Horsfall told media last month that figure could equate to an annual revenue of between
$800 million and $1.1 billion. “We wanted to take sort of a first-move advantage, especially in New South Wales,” he said. “Obviously the Australian climate lends itself to growing, so we thought we’d jump in and be one of the first movers. “So the next step now is to lodge applications with the Office of Drug Control here in Australia. “I can’t make any statement with regards to the amount of time it will take to step through the process, but ... we anticipate that we’ll move through the process hopefully within a six to 12 month timeframe.”
MINISTER RESIGNS Former Palaszczuk government Minister for Agriculture Bill Byrne tendered his resignation as a minister and State MP for Rockhampton late last month citing a life-threatening medical condition. State Development, Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham is serving as Acting Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Economic Development. Mr Byrne visited Warwick back in June when he toured the John Dee export beef abattoir and the company’s Yarranbrook feedlot at Inglewood.
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POWER DOWN Queensland farmers are seeing their on-farm electricity use and energy bills reduced as a result of the Queensland Government funded Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and Ergon Energy, Energy Savers Program. Over 60 per cent of the 130 farms participating in the QFF Energy Savers program have or plan to implement part of the $3 million of annual energy cost savings identified in the energy efficiency audits across different industries. This includes 50 farms implementing efficiency projects and another 32 with plans.
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Lamb Hook Competition chief steward Glen Whitton, right, and agent David Friend with entries at the Warwick Saleyards after weighing.
CONTENDERS FROM FAR AND WIDE By Jeremy Sollars THE 2017 Warwick Show and Rodeo Lamb Hook Competition fielded a good range of entries from around the region, including Millmerran and northern New South Wales. Despite a dry winter chief steward Glen Whitton described the 56 entries received as “outstanding”. “We had entries from all over - Swan Creek, Clifton, Millmerranm, The Summit, Glengallan, Killarney and more,” Glen told Rural Links. “We decided to just have hook classes this year so there was no doubling up of hoof and hook. “There was also a new prize this year for
the best yielding lamb.” The lambs were yarded and weighed at the Warwick Saleyards on Wednesday 4 October and were processed at Carey Brothers abattoir at Yangan. Lamb Hook Competition results Class 1 - Prime Single Lamb 42-46KG 1st, 2nd and 3rd - Bellevue Grazing Co, Millmerran Riverina Stockfeeds Single Champion Lamb Class 2 - Prime Single Lamb 46-51KG 1st - Stuart Free, Clifton 2nd - Mitchell and Cody Muller, Killarney 3rd - Malcolm and Pam Turner, Wheatvale
Stewart Free also won Reserve Champion - Single Lamb Mitchell and Cody Muller also won Freestone Valley Dorpers Highest-Yielding Lamb of Show - 56.5 per cent yield Class 3 - Pen of Three Lambs (Light Class) 1st - Warren and Wendy Schelbach, Sandy Creek (also Champion Pen of Three) 2nd - Bellevue Grazing Co, Millmerran 3rd - Tony Willett, Willowvale Class 4 - Pen of Three Lambs (Heavy Class) 1st - ‘Greenup’ Maryland (also Reserve Champion Pen of Three) 2nd - CC and AM Muir, Millmerran 3rd - Colin Imhoff, Clifton
FARM SECURITY IS NO ACCIDENT By Jeremy Sollars LOCAL police have renewed calls for the region’s primary producers to be security conscious at all times and to be alert to the ever-present risk of farm theft. Following a recent spate of opportunistic thefts of vehicles and property in Warwick’s urban area, the Warwick Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) is reminding our farmers such thefts are by no means confined to town. Detective Sergeant Darren Tamblyn told Rural Links this month farm theft is preventable but constant vigilance is required. “In town we’re finding a lot of people are still leaving vehicles unlocked at their residence - sometimes with the keys still in the ignition,” he said. “There’s a really opportunistic element around and people are just making it far too easy for them - most cars these days can be locked at the click of a button, it’s not difficult. 6 RURAL LINKS Thursday, 19 October, 2017
“It’s the same on farms - don’t make it easy for these people, they will grab anything that isn’t nailed down. “Whether it be fuel, GPS units in tractors, machinery in general, even things like boats and motors on properties are all attractive to thieves.” Farm theft prevention tips Lock the gates - studies show 92 per cent of farm gates are unlocked, unlockable or located in a remote area on rural properties making it almost impossible to detect theft. In some cases victims can’t even advise the time a crime is likely to have taken place. Mind your machine - remove equipment keys and keep an up-to-date register of serial numbers, makes and models so it is easier to track down machines should they go missing. Move your equipment not commonly used to a central, well-lit and secure location. Talk to your neighbours - if you have any travel plans that might see you being absent
Security cameras are now a fact of life on farms. from your property for some time, advise neighbours and local police so they can keep an eye out for you. It can be useful to gather a group of landholders who all do their bit in keeping the community safe - such as the use of security cameras. Get tech-savvy - if you haven’t already got security cameras, get some. For a small price and small amount of effort you can have a record of the comings and goings on your property - install them on key vehicle access points, blended in with surroundings, and on sheds and fuel storages.
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Suburb: Warwick Qld 4370 Address: 282 Wood Street Price: AUCTION 21/10/17 ON SITE 12 NOON Agent: Tiffany Cruice 0447 301 913 Inspect/Open: SATURDAYS 11:30 – 12:30PM Land: 3055m2
•OnlyafewblocksfromtheCBD •Lotsofpotential/character •4bedrooms,threewithbuiltins •Ensuiteandwalkinrobeoffthe mainbedroom •Separateloungeroomlowstothe diningroom •Thiswrapsaroundtothekitchen •Livingareaopenstothebackdeck •Internallaundry •Spacioussleep-out
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visit the property @ www.sdrealty.com.au
visit the property @ www.sdrealty.com.au
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Suburb: Warwick Qld 4370 Address: 190 Grafton St Price: AUCTION 21/10/17 ON SITE 10 AM Agent: Tiffany Cruice 0447 301 913 Inspect/Open: SATURDAYS 10 – 11AM
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$1,075,000
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Agent
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•Well-presented9.2acrelifestyleproperty 4 2 4 intheSwanfelsValley.Openplankitchen Suburb: diningandloungeareawithviewsfrom Swanfels Qld 4371 everywindowoverthepropertytothe mountains.Modernmainbathroomplusa Address: spaciousensuiteinthemainbedroom. 1029 Top Swanfels Rd 4Bedroomsallwithstorageplusanofice/ Agent: study.Comfortablehomeyearround Mark Mauch withceilingsfans,splitsystemaircon, 0419 519 979 pluswoodheater.Northfacingverandah overlookingpropertyandSwanfelscreek. Inspect: Currentlyrunasahorseproperty,outside By appointment infrastructureincludes; •4xboxstablecomplexwithraisedtimber Price: loortackroomandskillionforhaystorage. $470,000 Steelpanelroundyard.Centrallaneway leadingoffstablestoserviceuptosixdaypaddocks.6baymachineryshed, 4caraccommodationplusworkshopwith1endhighclearanceforcaravan/ horseloat.Excellentboreequippedwithelectricsubmersiblepumpingto headertankthenfeedingbacktotroughsandgardentricklesystem
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THE PICK OF THE
BY JEREMY SOLLARS ADVANCING women in the agricultural sector is a subject close to Kerri Lamb’s heart. The manager of Wickham Farms’ processing and packaging operation at Killarney, east of Warwick, Kerri believes women in farming often don’t get the recognition they deserve - and one of her major goals is to turn that on its head. Wickham Farms - a fourth-generation family business - is one of Killarney’s key employers with a workforce of 35, comprising roughly half-and-half permanent and casual staff. They’re a ‘full supply chain’ business, growing, harvesting, processing and packing a range of ‘hard veg’ products - potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and onions - for the Queensland market. As Kerri says, the company “grows in Queensland, for Queensland”. While blokes occupy some of the key management roles at Wickham Farms, female employees are giving them a good run for
Federal Government’s $4.97m boost to beef up Southern Downs
• Boxthorn mulching on site • Lantana moved to burn site
WORKING IN THIS AREA NOW!
YOUR FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MARANOA
www.davidlittleproud.com.au 8 RURAL LINKS Thursday, 19 October, 2017
their money - along with Kerri herself, two of the processing and packaging facility supervisors are women, and two are leading hands. “We don’t have any female tractor operators yet, but that could change,” Kerri told Rural Links. “I guess you could say my vision or my goal is to promote women in agriculture. “I’m involved in a number of industry initiatives to promote women into leadership roles. “It’s something I feel really strongly about, including within familyoperated businesses - I believe there are a lot of women in this industry who don’t see themselves being put into a leadership role. “And a lot of them don’t get true recognition for what they contribute to agricultural businesses - the hard work, the decisionmaking, the thinking on your feet. “Women have so much they can bring to the industry as a whole.”
BOXTHORN PULLING TREE PEAR MULCHING LANTANA PULLING
I’m proud of this government’s $4.97 million investment in Southern Downs jobs through John Dee’s regional cold storage project. WHAT THIS INVESTMENT MEANS: • Protects 630 existing jobs. • 143 new direct jobs at Warwick’s processing plant. • 218 new jobs within the beef supply chain and during construction.
DAVID LITTLEPROUD
Hand-grading of potato portions.
MP
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SMART MONEY Wickham Farms will use a $205,619 State Government grant to install a new automated potato processing line at its Killarney facility. State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham announced the grant in early October, saying implementing “the latest automated manufacturing and enterprise management technology will allow Wickham Farms to increase its production efficiencies and improve business performance”. “It will also help to secure the jobs of their 35 Killarney operational staff and expanding their skills into the future,” Dr Lynham said. The new technology uses advanced optics to automatically grade potatoes as they’re processed, rather than the current method of hand-grading. The funding will also enable Wickham Farms to utilise new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that will improve productivity, increase efficiencies, decrease costs and streamline processes, which enables faster compilation of quotes for specific product orders.
“TODAY PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR GREATER VARIETY AND FOR CONVENIENCE…” Wickham Farms’ product lines include whole brushed potatoes, but their primary lines are ‘fresh cut’ value-added hard vegetable products - peeled, quartered, sliced and diced, including the potato skins you’ve probably enjoyed during a visit to Sizzler. They supply Coles supermarkets across Queensland, along with restaurant and fast food chains, pubs and clubs, catering companies, nursing homes and boarding schools - along with the likes of ‘Lite n’ Easy’. Locally they’re looking forward to supplying the new Coles in Warwick’s Rose City Shoppingworld and they supply to popular eating places like the Warwick RSL and others, and Warwick Hospital. Like so many other food producers, Wickham Farms has had to adapt to the changing attitudes towards food on the part of consumers. Chief among these changing trends over the last decade or so has been the advent of TV reality cooking shows, the increasing demand for convenience foods and cooking-at-home ingredients, and greater interest among urban consumers about the origins of food and methods of production. “Thirty years ago a potato was a potato,” Kerri said. “Today people are looking for greater variety and for convenience - so we see our future direction and growth being very much in that value-added, pre-packed market. “Pre-prepared and delivered meals didn’t really exist 10 years ago - and there was a time people went to the supermarket once a week or once a fortnight, now they go once a day. “The quick-service and fast food market is also one of the key drivers for us. “People cooking at home also want to explore different ingredients. “At the end of the day we’re driven by customer demand.”
Kerri Lamb with processing and packaging supervisors Donna Barnett, left, and Michelle Price.
Peeled and cut pumpkins ready for packing.
Potato skins are hand-cut before packaging.
ABOUT WICKHAM FARMS ■
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As well as Killarney, the company also has operations at Gatton, Bundaberg and the Atherton Tablelands - their production operations across Queensland allow them to harvest year-round. Sebago is their primary potato variety but they also grow Kipflers and other yellow-fleshed varieties such as Marilyn. Right now they are preparing their Warwick region farm soils for planting with winter now well and truly over - a potato crop takes about three months to mature and harvesting starts in February.
Thursday, 19 October, 2017 RURAL LINKS 9
NO DEADLINE FOR SALEYARDS TENDER By Jeremy Sollars THE Southern Downs Regional Council says it cannot provide a timeframe for assessment of a tender for the leasing out of the Warwick Saleyards to a private operator. As reported in the Free Times late last month the leasing out of the saleyards moved a step closer after the September meeting of the Southern Downs Regional Council. Councillors voted to move to a “refined tender process” after calling for expressions of interest (EOIs) for leasing out of the saleyards. A council statement issued on Friday 22 September referred to a “preferred respondent” from the EOI process who had been chosen to move to the next stage and submit a formal tender to the council. The statement did not name the interested party. The Free Times subsequently asked the council if it could provide details of how long the formal tendering process was likely to take and when a final decision on leasing out of the saleyards was expected to be made. A council spokeswoman said the “process between the preferred responder and council is ongoing, and therefore no specific timeframe can be given”. “A formal tender document will be required
The Warwick Saleyards. to be submitted,” the spokeswoman said. The move to the next stage of the process followed a meeting of the council’s Saleyards Advisory Committee on Thursday 7 September, the minutes of which were adopted by councillors in a confidential session of September’s council meeting. Mayor Tracy Dobie has continued to reiterate that the saleyards “are not for sale”, but many producers and livestock industry operators believe leasing the saleyards to a private operator represents an equal level of control of the facility by outside interests. Cr Dobie has also stated that the council can choose not to award a lease and continue to directly operate the saleyards. She said in September that while the council had run the saleyards effectively to this point, “professional experienced management is necessary to ensure best practice”.
“Competitive pricing remains a priority for council, as competitors to both the north and south of Warwick are undertaking major upgrades to their facilities, including a $14 million facility upgrade at Casino,” she said. “Council also believes the saleyards have a unique opportunity to demonstrate the high quality of local produce on display, supporting the agricultural sector, which is the biggest contributor to the local economy. “Over the next few months the preferred respondent in the Expressions of Interest process will be requested to respond to issues raised by the council and the Saleyards Advisory Committee. “At the end of the tender process, council can choose to issue the tender, or cease the process. “It is important that the Warwick Saleyards function effectively, remain competitive and continue to prosper.”
BARN RAISING BRINGS THEM BACK By Mavis Stower
A scaled-down replica of a tobacco barn was officially opened at the Inglewood and District Historical Society’s Australian Tobacco Museum in September. It is hailed as a significant addition to the Tobacco Museum and Heritage Centre. The barn was constructed for the Society by a local builder under a grant from the Goondiwindi Regional Council which was made possible through a tourism grant from the Murray Darling Basin Authority. The builder had had no previous experience constructing tobacco barns but under the guidance of Rick McDougall, a society member and a past tobacco grower,
The 'Tobacco Barn' is a symbol of the Inglewood region's heritage. plus frequent visits to old barns on Rick’s property, he was able to bring the project to a successful conclusion. The tobacco barn will complement the
authentic ‘Tobacco Share Grower’s Cottage’ which has been in place in the grounds of the museum for a number of years. Many former residents, including members of the Italian community who were part of the tobacco growing boom period in the Inglewood, Yelarbon and Texas areas until the 1960s made a weekend of it by coming to Inglewood on Saturday 9 September to attend the town’s third food and music festival ‘Grooving in the Grove’ at ‘Nunyara’ east of Inglewood. An unofficial reunion dinner was held on the Saturday night for friends to catch up and share memories of their tobacco growing days followed the next day with the official opening of the Tobacco Barn.
PLANNING DECISIONS OFF TO COURT By Jeremy Sollars
THE Southern Downs Regional Council is facing two legal battles over planning decisions relating to farming industries. At their August meeting councillors refused an application by Allora’s Layton and Sharalyn Free to develop a feedlot on Warfields Road, on the basis its impacts would be incompatible with the surrounding area. At the same meeting councillors voted in favour of a free range poultry farm on Jack Smith Gully Road at Freestone, applied for by Mark and Rebecca Kinsella, despite a raft of objections from surrounding property owners. Both decisions are now the subject of court appeals against the council’s decisions, with Layton and Sharalyn Free appealing against the council’s refusal of their proposed feedlot, and neighbours of the Kinsella’s at 10 RURAL LINKS Thursday, 19 October, 2017
Freestone Matt and Belinda Walker appealing the approval of the poultry farm. Co-incidentally, both appeals were lodged with the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland on Wednesday 20 September, and both are represented by Brisbane legal firm QuDA. Layton and Sharalyn Free have declined to comment on their appeal. The Walkers of Freestone have previously told the Free Times their objections - shared by many of their neighbours who also formally objected to the Kinsella poultry farm and who have spoken to the Free Times - include concerns about the impact of noise, odour and dust from up to 3000 laying hens approved for the Kinsella property. Mark and Rebecca Kinsella told the Free Times earlier this month they would fight any appeal from their neighbours “all the way”.
The council normally seeks to resolve planning appeals through out-of-court, to avoid a full-blown hearing in the Planning and Environment Court of Queensland, but as both of these matters are in the early stages of the court process a timeframe for mediation has not yet been set and could take up to 12 months or more.
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