eNews - December 2008

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Quote of the month:

"A three-year-old gave this reaction to her Christmas dinner: "I don't like the turkey, but I like the bread he ate."
-- Author Unknown

Just before Christmas, there was an honest politician, a kind lawyer and Santa Claus travelling in a lift of a very posh hotel. Just before the doors opened they all noticed a $5 note lying on the floor. Which one picked it up??

...Santa of course, the other two don't exist!

 
Newsletter Content

• Weather Watch - December 08
• Supply Chain Management
• Animal Welfare
• Action Research Manual to be Launched

National Coordinator Update

By David Heinjus

Welcome to the third edition of the Bestprac E-newsletter.

The National Bestprac Forum "Responding to Challenges...Innovative Options for the Future" was conducted on November 12 and 13 in Broken Hill. The Forum was a great success; we had about 80 people attend. The forum provided an ideal opportunity for pastoralists to hear first hand about management issues like mulesing, climate change and the impact of the global credit crisis on pastoral wool businesses. Specialist presenters were also supported by producers sharing their stories about how they have responded to the challenge through innovation. Stories from the forum will flow over the next few editions of the Bestprac E-news.

The VERY BIG news from the last edition is the approval by the "Caring for our Country Program" to fund a project that will specifically look at the identification and documentation of pastoral sheep on-property innovations. This basically means we have some resources available for Bestprac member activities. Specifically, this project aims to identify and document practical sheep industry on-property innovations that have improved natural resource management and/or production outcomes and that can be easily adopted by other arid zone rangeland pastoralists. This may also involve looking at other industries to seek innovations that may make a positive difference to your business.

The Bestprac Project Advisory Panel (PAP) is meeting on December 22 to discuss the roll out of this project. One of the initiatives being developed by the Bestprac PAP includes the running of Bestprac innovation "Road Trips". These road trips will be open to both existing Bestprac groups and individual members.
We will let you know more about this in the next edition. This will enable us to sign-off on contracts and define the delivery strategy with the PAP. In the mean time, I encourage you to think about how you might get the best value from a "road trip" and who you might like to visit.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Carlyn Mellors or myself at Rural Directions Pty Ltd on 08 8842 1103. Alternatively, please also contact the Chairperson of the Bestprac Project Advisory Panel, Stuart Mitchell on 07 4625 6198 or email smitchell@bigpond.com.

I hope you enjoy this edition of the Bestprac E-Newsletter. Have a safe and merry Christmas