Background

Fifteen pilot projects are being funded by the Natural Heritage Trust under the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry (DAFF) EMS National Pilot Program. The program is a partnership between the apple and pear, cherry and wine industries. PIRSA is providing financial and logistic support to the project.

Objectives

• This three-year project will test the usefulness of environmental management systems (EMS) in the participating horticulture enterprises throughout the Mount Lofty Ranges Watershed, to deliver natural resource management outcomes.
• It will provide an integrated approach to streamlining farm management, improving productivity, enhancing business and environmental sustainability and identify environmental risks and management strategies.
• Horticultural businesses will better understand their environmental priorities to meet community and market requirements.
• Partnerships will be established to deliver environmental outcomes at the whole catchment level.

Key Achievements

• 32 apple, pear, cherry and wine grape businesses are participating in the pilot program.
• The project officers undertook training in EMS (Woollongbar, NSW) and Internal Auditing (Adelaide) and further project planning was done through a consultancy undertaken with Dr Lyndal Hugo, Agricultural Environmental Management Systems, Queensland.
• Three participant workshops have been completed and two seminars held with businesses actively using EMS.  These were with Pacific Coast Eco Bananas of Queensland and Parawa Farms, SA.
• Participants were provided with a range of tools and techniques to assist in their environmental management.
• VERA (Viticultural Environmental Risk Assessment) tool was provided by the CRC Viticulture and was successfully trialled with both fruit and wine grape producers.
• Property assessments and a range of resource maps and aerial photos have been established to assist producers in effective management planning.
• A communication program has been initiated.  Three newsletters have been distributed to over 650 people.  A joint forum was held with Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges Pilot project to let key stakeholders, participants and heads of government departments know about the project, its objectives and where government departments/policy could be of assistance to the uptake of EMS.
• The project is being observed by other horticultural industries for potential rollout in other states/areas/industries.
• The next major activity will be conducting a series of workshops on how to efficiently manage and use irrigation water resources. These workshops will be FarmBis funded.

Project Leader:  Paul James