On Friday 8th May, Hunter Valley Wine Country Landcare hosted their Wine Country – Weed Management for Vineyard Surrounds event, at Hunter Valley Resort/4 Pines. The event boasted seven guest speakers with a wealth of knowledge from varying backgrounds. Attendees walked away with newfound knowledge to assist with the planning and workings on their properties.
Hunter Local Land Services Matt Kennedy addressed the audience on weed prioritisation and General Biosecurity Duty and Obligations, followed by Cessnock City Council’s Biosecurity Management Coordinator Terry Inkson, who delved into local weed identification and their control measures.
Adding a local flavour was Hunter Valley Wine Country Landcare member Liz Riley, whose presentation helped local landowners better understand chemical usage in the context of vineyards: what chemicals are appropriate for viticulture. From the CSIRO, Dr. Ben Gooden explored understanding weed biocontrol, integrated weed management and African boxthorn biocontrol, another relevant topic to the area.
Fritz Heystek from DPIRD threw us in the deep end, discussing learning to identify and control aquatic weeds and discover their biocontrol options, while University of Newcastle Amy Stephens enlightened us on Salvinia in the Hunter: Interactions between Salvinia, biocontrol, and environmental variables.
Upper Hunter Coordinator for Hunter Region Landcare Network Paul Melehan led us on a walk and talk on a local property to discover endemic plant species for your farm to help with regeneration and weed suppression.
The presentations delivered throughout the day were so enjoyable, engaging and helpful, that the key take away message from attendees was one of satisfaction… with a request for longer presentations from speakers in the future! Thank you to all the presenters for contributing to this successful day, and to our attendees, whose unquenchable thirst for knowledge we will endeavour to satiate!
To join Hunter Valley Wine Country Landcare contact lab@brokenwood.com.au
This event was sponsored by Hunter Local Land Services via Hunter Catchment Contributions. This project received funding by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.