Australian Governement Media Release - 13 July 2009
Farmers, farmer groups and industry bodies will benefit from $26 million funding for 56 Landcare projects across Australia - part of a major investment in land management and sustainable agriculture.
Currently around three-quarters of Australian farmers are involved in or benefit from the shared knowledge of Landcare. The projects funded today will help 30 Landcare groups and 20 other community organisations continue the good work. This investment builds on the $403 million recently announced for environmental and sustainable farming projects as part of Caring for our Country. The Landcare projects will focus on key national targets including:
- Reducing weeds of national significance across more than 400,000 hectares
- Helping 6,000 farmers improve their soil and land management practices
- Improving sustainable farming knowledge among 12,000 landholders
- Reducing threats to 200,000 hectares of native habitat.
Projects in every state have been funded, including $6 million for a Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) project to work with farmer groups on increasing soil cover and reducing erosion over more than two million hectares.
A full listing of funded Landcare projects is available at http://www.nrm.gov.au/