Rural
31 July, 2023
Roll up, roll up: Buloke farmers throw down the welcome mat
If all the cereals, oilseeds, pulses, hay and silage produced in Buloke Shire in an average year were poured into the MCG, Australia's biggest sport stadium would overflow. That's just one of the astonishing facts visitors are set to learn when...
If all the cereals, oilseeds, pulses, hay and silage produced in Buloke Shire in an average year were poured into the MCG, Australia's biggest sport stadium would overflow.
That's just one of the astonishing facts visitors are set to learn when Buloke farmers open their gates to the public this spring.
Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) is putting the finishing touches to its Buloke Farm Tours in readiness for giving non-farmers an up-close-and-personal introduction to Mallee agriculture.
BCG project lead Louisa Ferrier said the tours, supported by funding from Buloke Shire Council and the Victorian Department of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions through the Business Tourism Innovation Grant program, would be open to everyone.
“The tours are a new initiative to showcase the produce, passion and dedication of farming communities in Buloke Shire,” Ms Ferrier said.
“They're for anyone keen to step through the farm gate, sit down with a Mallee farmer and learn more about what it takes to produce food and fibre.
“They'll put consumers in direct contact with farmers in the region who not only produce large volumes of grain to feed the world but also manage intensive livestock industries and are at the forefront of driving innovative grassroots research and extension.”
Ms Ferrier said the Covid-19 pandemic and the rising cost of living had indirectly benefited western Victoria.
“These factors have deterred Australians from travelling overseas,” she said.
“The result has been a tourism boom in regions such as the Mallee and Wimmera, where an entirely new audience including grey nomads, young metro-based adults and young active families is looking to explore rural Victoria on the Silo Art Trail in search of an authentic country experience.”
Believed to be first of their kind in the region, the tours will kick off on August 23 and continue until the end of October, coinciding with the growth period for many crops.
Ms Ferrier said they would support local business “while offering a unique opportunity for participants to obtain a real sense of Buloke farming, the region's communities and the meticulous care with which Mallee food is produced”.
Participating Mallee farmers will provide an overview cropping and livestock systems; crop end-uses; operational scale; environmental, financial and human sustainability; machinery and technology; grain storage systems; and cost of production.
“Our farmer hosts are also heavily involved in community activities and groups and are committed to sustainable land management practices,” Ms Ferrier said.
“They have overseen farm management transition so that some of their children and grandchildren are now living and working on their farms.”
Ms Ferrier said it was expected that fostering a grassroots understanding of farming through the tours would provide a cohesive link to other initiatives in the region such as the Silo Art Trail.
Each three-hour tour will take participants to a farming property to meet a Mallee farmer and see local farming systems in action.
Participants will receive a calendar of operations summarising typical activities conducted on farm throughout the year.
The tour will conclude with a paddock-to-plate lunch in which locally produced products will be served in a range of dishes developed by renowned Mallee restaurateur and BCG board member Stefano de Pieri.
During general conversation BCG tour guides will share their local knowledge of other points of interest in Buloke Shire.
BCG ran a small-scale pilot version of the tours earlier this year.