farming
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River warning lifted
A health warning applied to the Campaspe River between Kyneton and Lake Eppalock since early June was lifted on Sunday afternoon by the Environment Protection Authority. The warning had been issued after Coliban Water admitted it had been forced to make daily unauthorised releases of water unfit for stock and domestic use to the river…
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Farm zone nod
Farming activities are expected to intensify for a notable Rochford equine property as Macedon Ranges Shire councillors went against the grain to grant a discretionary use permit. Councillors approved a second abode for a 30.43ha property at 556 Boundary Road, which falls within the Farming Zone with strict rules to limit fragmentation of agricultural land.…
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A Victorian first
Up on the hill in Harcourt, local fruit growers Katie Finlay, Sas Allardice and Merv Carr have been busily working to form new venture Carr’s Organic Fruit Tree Nursery. Growing their own rootstocks from seed and cuttings and then later grafting and budding an array of delicious fruit varieties onto them, they are now ready…
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A pressing matter
Barfold Olives and 3000 Acres have teamed up to turn unloved urban olives into oil. The local producer has pressed 2495kg of olives to yield 380 litres of olive oil from a city harvest in a pilot program to reduce waste. Delivering the haul to Barfold last Monday, 3000 Acres’ project manager Claire Hetzel said…
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Contaminated water flows again
Contaminated water is once again flowing down the Campaspe River as Coliban Water admits to another unauthorised release from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant. It is the 11th time since 2007 that undiluted Class B or Class C water has been released from the plant to the river. The water authority last week advised the…
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Broiler farm battle ends
Local residents who led a protracted legal battle against large-scale chicken broiler farms being built at Baringhup are celebrating this week after the long-running saga finally concluded with a VCAT ruling in recent days. The VCAT ruling to cancel remaining permits and applications by the broiler farms’ proponent, Michael Vukadinovic and Pavilion Partners, now spells…
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The right to farm
Macedon Ranges agribusiness operators are fighting against urban expansion and seek to secure the industry as the Victorian Government moves to protect Melbourne’s outer green wedges and peri-urban areas. Strategic agricultural land identified in the Macedon Ranges forms part of the state government initiative, which aims to permanently tighten controls to improve land use and…
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Contaminated water fear for Campaspe River landowners
Landowners along the Campaspe River downstream from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant fear they may have been drawing contaminated water from the river for the past decade. Unusually high stock deaths in recent years and the disappearance of aquatic wildlife have led landowners like Huntly Barton to demand answers from Coliban Water in relation to…
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USA coming up roses
We’re all familiar with the slow-food movement. Well, sustainability, provenance, ethics and the war on waste apply to the cut-flower industry too; just ask husband and wife team Danielle White and Ashley Wren of Crofters Fold Estate; a bee-friendly, artisanal flower farm located in the Macedon Ranges. The couple, whose shared love of gardening and…
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Queen bee takes title
Claire Moore has won the prestigious Victorian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award, with a plan to boost bee population and genetic diversity through artificial insemination. Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes last week announced Ms Moore as the Victorian winner at a ceremony held at the Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. “It was a huge honour and one…
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Market turns 16
Lancefield Farmers Market this Saturday will mark its 16th anniversary. While the Macedon Ranges has a farmers market somewhere on most Saturdays each month, Lancefield is the shire’s longest-running farmers market. This weekend there will be 65 stalls to choose produce from. A list of the current market traders can be found on the market’s…
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Support for micro-abattoir
Woodend farmer Ben Falloon is fast gaining support for an on-farm poultry micro-abattoir model that could revolutionise the way small producers operate. The pastured chicken producer launched a Pozible campaign earlier this month to develop the model and is already more than a third of the way towards his $80,650 target. Mr Falloon said the…