We held our field day on Saturday 14th May 2022. We are working in partnership with Agrifutures -Australia.

•This project is funded through the Agrifutures Australia program.
• We are delivering in partnership with Agrifutures, Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated and our Annan, Endeavour, and Normanby Producer group.
•The project is piloting a new way of delivering innovative technology services to farmers and graziers in the Annan, Endeavour, and Normanby River catchments.
•We have commenced our project, which has comprised of one to one (1:1) producer consultations, facilitated group (peer to peer) learning, and data sharing.
•Agricultural extension and Innovation are about delivering the most up-to-date information and technology to industry. It is about enabling farmers and graziers to meet the challenges to make practice changes that lead to better business and environmental sustainability.
• Focus Farms provide producer groups with the opportunity to trial new innovation and technology before incorporating it into their own farm practice.
•Current producer technology and land management trials are being conducted on the Focus Farm.
•This has involved evaluating low-cost high-impact production machinery, land management, and gully erosion management techniques.
•We have a group of producers working together on common goals and sharing information for both private production and public benefit. Facilitated learning groups provide the most efficient means of coordinating access to specialist skills and Innovative technology providers.
•The facilitator is often a local landholder with good industry knowledge and well connected to the extension network.
•Having been established, this producer group is about to trial new products and technologies (through Focus Farms), meet regularly to share knowledge with one another. Guest speakers and industry specialists have been invited to help solve local level issues and expand our group’s knowledge and skills.
• Group Facilitator Trevor Meldrum (Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated) is facilitating the group.
We have kick-started the project by conducting several meetings with producers being consulted every step of the way.
•Trevor, along with Emma and Ulicia, will help organise group gatherings, source funding for specialist consultations and networked both regionally and cross-regionally to maximise the group’s exposure to current and new technology.
•Steering committee meetings were held at Cooktown and on the Focus Farm with participating peer to peer members, CYWAFAI_INC staff and Agrifutures managers, to schedule projects and develop operational works plans.
•Emma and Ulicia, Agrifutures Australia managers travelled to Cooktown.
•We took them out to our producer’s farm operations to meet with all our people.
•This gave our funders a better understanding, and a firsthand insight into our producers needs and aspirations.
•We have also continued working with the signed-up Landholders and Interested members of the community.
•The signed-up landholders include a mix of graziers and horticulturists, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who have stock as well as crops.
•Being a local Indigenous Not for Profit group, we have helped build up tremendous capacity within our landholders.
•Through the small amount of peer-to-peer work already done, individual graziers and horticulturists have been commenting on how much better prepared they are to be able to communicate and share their knowledge of land management, weeds, and feral animal control etc.
•What they have shared so far has made them more effective already.
•An observation was made by all that this Agrifutures project will be very welcome. All information will be gratefully received.
•At this stage they only have one liaison or extension officer to go for help, and that is Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated’s, Trevor Meldrum.
•We have promoted the project through attending several community events.
* Our most recent promotion was at our Producer field day held on Saturday 14 May 2022.
•The project has been promoted at the recent Cape York Local Marine Advisory Committee meeting.
•Promotion will be done at the various community events held throughout the year.
•We took Emma and Ulicia to our work sites, to show them what we hope to achieve with the project, and how we have progressed.
We have regularly promoted the project on our social media sites
Facebook:- Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Inc
Website: - https://cywafainc.weebly.com/

Twitter: - https://twitter.com/cywafa

•Overall, the completion dates listed in the contract project milestones are underway and planning is on track for successful delivery.
•We conducted the follow up Steering Committee meeting for the field day date proposal on 20/04/2022. This builds upon previous steering committee meetings.
•This is where we collected sign up forms and decided on a date to to hold a field day, on Saturday May 14, 2022, at Rivernook Farm.
• We have a flyer that has been sent out, advertising our Field Day.
•On Innovation presenters have been contracted and they have indicated that they will present all the latest cutting-edge technology in the Agricultural property maintenance fields.
•By working with the land holders, we completed their Property Pest Management Plans.
•We have started to build up the experience and capacity of the Landholders to carry out Weeds ID and Chemical and Non-chemical control methods for the weeds identified as a priority on each of their Pest Management. This includes the Declared Weeds under the Biosecurity Act 2014.
•Major weed species present were Sickle Pod, Lantana, Bauhinia, and Gamba Grass.
•Minor weed species present were Mossman Burr, Chinese Burr, Sensitive Weed, and Singapore Daisy.
•Cape York Weeds and Feral Animals Incorporated are working in conjunction with individual properties as a part of the strategic Peer to Peer Project in the Southeast Cape York Area. This includes all the productive land areas within Laura Valley, Cooktown, Endeavour Valley, Mt Amos, and Rossville.
• The main objective is to strategically improve the productivity of their properties, located in Cape York Peninsula.
• The graziers and horticulturists are to be commended on their efforts and their willingness to help. They were keen to work as a team.

CYWAFA_INC, AGRIFUTURES-AUSTRALIA, and Traditional Owners, are to be commended for their professionalism and willingness to get the job done.