The Dirt — Tasmanian Farming News May 2025

Welcome to the May 2025 edition of our monthly newsletter, The Dirt. Get the latest Tasmanian farming news from our community and beyond!

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TEAM UPDATE

The shortening days are a reminder that we are well into autumn now, with winter quickly approaching. At home this April, I’ve been enjoying the beautiful sunshine and cool mornings—spending time with the family, harvesting various nightshades, and making space for all my winter seedlings. The change of season has been a great motivator for ticking off some of those odd jobs.

I’m finding these newsletters a nice place to reflect on the month that’s been while sharing some of the exciting things ahead.

April has come and gone much quicker than expected. While we never quite get the opportunity to catch our breath, the first week of April did provide Jen with a brief reprieve after the big push to submit the draft of our Service Kill Review project to government. Although short-lived, it’s always satisfying to get a major piece of work wrapped up. Jen is incredibly appreciative of the extended efforts put in by Dom, myself, and everyone who volunteered their time to review, offer fresh perspectives, and help shape the final product (Kate Plaschke—a big thank you for the late-night reviews!). We’re hoping to release the work to the broader public very soon—don’t worry, you won’t miss it!

Dom’s been busy this month running the Sprout Producer Program, prepping for our second weekend of field days, as well as a remote workshop held mid-month. Participants were introduced to various soil mapping and property planning tools, equipping them with the knowledge and confidence to make the most of their property, soil, and time on the land. They’ll be using these plans and soil maps during the May field days, alongside soil expert Belinda Nielsen from the Dept of NRE.

The rest of April has involved plenty of behind-the-scenes work, pulling together details for the events coming up over the next few months. We’ve been preparing for Agfest, coordinating with Tas Farmers for our upcoming animal welfare workshops, and collaborating with everyone’s favourite Ollie to bring together plans for this year’s Cross Pollinate—rapidly approaching on 22nd June.

I hope you find something of value in the May edition of The Dirt. Thanks for reading my April recap!

Calum Jacobsen
Administration and Communications Officer

IN Our Paddock

CROSS POLLINATE 2025

Farming Through the Seasons: A Year in the Life of Small-Scale Farms

As the big day approaches tickets for this year’s Cross Pollinate are set go live on Friday the 9th of May.

The conference is shaping up to be one exciting, knowledge packed day! We will be featuring 12 different topics throughout the day, each representing a month in the year, you’ll get a hands-on look at how small-scale farmers navigate the changing seasons on their farms as well as insights into juggling other life domains, building community and caring for country. This event will dive deep into the real-world challenges, successes, and lessons of farming month-to-month.

The finer details are almost complete with most of our speakers being locked in for the date. You can expect live talks, recorded conversations, and dynamic panel discussions, speakers will share their expertise on market farming, soil health, livestock care, climate adaptation, and local food production to name a few. Every session will be packed with practical, on-the-ground knowledge for both new and experienced farmers, as well as those passionate about sustainable food systems.

And it’s not just about learning—there will be plenty of time to mingle, connect, and exchange ideas with fellow farmers, industry experts, and local food champions.

Come be part of the conversation – make sure you SAVE THE DATE!

📍 Moonah Arts Centre
📅 June 22 2025
🎟 Ticket release – 9th May 2025

SPP Field Days 2025

Our producers in the Huon Valley were on show this month! Our weekend started in Mountain River with a welcome and morning tea held at Dom’s (Our Producer Liaison Officer) farm, before a short walk and jump over her back fence landed us at Appinoka Farm for a diverse enterprise tour.
As an SPP alumni, Thomas from Appinoka generously shared with the cohort his wisdom on lean philosophy and the engineering insights that he brings to land management and enterprise operations. We touched on keyline design and water catchments, as well as pasture rehabilitation techniques using multi-species rotational grazing systems. We got a quick tour of the egg packing shed, a talk on animal feed solutions, and a refreshing taster of their new Rooibos iced tea they’ve recently launched—absolutely delish! We could have spent another few hours picking at Thomas’s insights, but the clock was ticking, so back over the fence we went!
After a short drive down to Glaziers Bay, we pulled up the hill to Dimity’s property where she runs Tiny Farm Tas. This was the first cohort farm for the weekend. The vistas from her house were jaw-dropping, with beautifully terraced, abundant gardens sprawling down the hill towards the bay. It was clear when we arrived that Dimity has a touch for landscape restoration, design and plant propagation. Dimity shared with us the beauty and challenges of running a small-scale seedling business. She shared her experiences with rapid business growth, wholesaling, running a 120-person seedling CSA, and the complications of sourcing ethical, sustainable, and clean inputs—from potting mix to biodegradable, pulp-based plant pots. Following a walk through her gardens, we had a quick stop to see her pigs in action, turning ground and contributing to her system’s productivity by providing her family with nourishing clean meat.
After getting a good sunning on Dimity’s deck over lunch, we packed up and headed for the hills of Cradoc for a cool burn workshop with Jason Andrew Smith. Jason welcomed us onto his land with open arms and an open heart. He connected us to Country, the Mother, and taught us to let fire back into the land. As landholders, we were familiar with the concept of cool burning, but lighting fires in the bush is not something that most of us were comfortable with—especially givenmany of us have experienced the devastation wildfires cause to our communities. But with some guidance and education, Jason broke down those barriers, showing us hands-on how to read Country and apply fire respectfully and responsibly, taking into consideration the environment, seasons, and what Country needs. After a few burns, we connected around the campfire, sharing gifts from our homes and stories with Jason. As the sun fell, we all parted ways for a night of reflection, connection, and rest.

With a full day on Saturday, we had a reduced load on Sunday. We spent the day at our second cohort farm—Lightwood Larder in Glen Huon. Austen and Ash welcomed us to their property, where they’ve been laying the groundwork for their life on the land. Austen and Ash are early in their journey, having started work on the land in December, but you wouldn’t think it with the amount of work completed thus far. We toured their speccy new shed, setup to house offices, wash and pack stations, various pieces of tools and machinery, as well as their music and yoga studios. With their fences up and preliminary nursery tunnel erected, they are working towards pumping out the produce from their 1/2-acre garden this spring. After the walk and talk, we split into our community project groups for a bit of connection and planning. The afternoon was packed with soil as we were joined by the wonderful Belinda Nielsen, Tasmania’s Regional Soils Coordinator for Australia’s National Soil Strategy. We continued our previous month’s LISTmap application and dominant soil order learnings and made great use of Austen’s superb excavator skills to explore soil horizon, texture and classification through a soil pit analysis. We all went our separate ways on Sunday afternoon full of new ideas, inspiration, and direction.

—

Calum Jacobsen

Animal Welfare Workshops – A Collaboration with Tas Farmers

We are very pleased to be collaborating with Tas Farmers to present a series of workshops covering Animal Welfare later in the year. The workshops are structured with two back to back days on farm followed by an online session the following week. Expect to learn about:

Low-stress Stock Handling (Nic Kentish from LSS)
In-depth Animal Nutrition
Comprehensive Race Design
How to Conduct Fit to Load Assessments

Stay across our socials for ticketing details and Southern date announcements.

JUNE – Riverside Workshop – Tickets Available NOW! June 11th, 12th and 19th.

OCTOBER – Derwent Valley workshop (Date TBC)

$165.00 per person (this is heavily subsidised by the Tasmanian State Government Grant, as usually the two days of LSS would be $880 per person)

Spots are limited, so please jump online and grab your spot.

Agfest Wrap

2025 saw us attend our 2nd Agfest event, again in collaboration with others working in the broader local food scene.

Eat Well Tasmania, Loaves & Fishes and School Food Matters joined Sprout in the tent, and the conversations that flowed from having organisations representing the farmers, the distributors and food processors, educators and the food relief providers were amazing!

There were kids thinking about food they enjoy and how they can cook dishes at home; educators discussing how grateful they are for the provision of food for the families that can’t otherwise find equitable access to fresh produce; farmers chatting about their plans to start selling their produce like pork boxes or vegetables and seedlings.

Connecting with other stakeholders at the event is a key part of Agfest for us. It is always so beneficial to explore new ideas, meet people face to face that we otherwise chat with online, and flesh out potential projects we can work on:

Chatting to ActiveVista about how we can work together to make more education available to producers that is scale appropriate, through an RTO so that supplements like the Farm Household Allowance can be used to contribute to this access.
Discussing our Livestock service kill processing project with the Tas Farm Innovation Hub, specifically what further work could be done to look at aiding farmers to diversify their channels to market, to access service kills and enable them to sell direct to consumers as a way of preparing and mitigating against the risks of a changing climate.
Talking to Biosecurity Tasmania staff about animal welfare workshops and how we can work together to ensure these are a great success.
Chatting to Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture team about how we can connect the dots between farmers who want to be involved in small-scale farming sector research and TIA research students.
Meeting the Executive Officer of Farm Safe Australia and building strong relationships and their Tasmanian networks.

So, as always, thanks should go to Rural Youth and the massive effort they put in to host this event.

See you again in 2026!

Join Our Board – Help shape the future of small-scale farming!

Are you passionate about supporting small-scale farmers? We are looking for dedicated individuals to join our volunteer board and help drive real change in the Tasmanian agricultural sector.

Be a part of our team, and help:

🌱 Make an Impact – Help farmers thrive and contribute to a more resilient food system.
🌱 Strengthen Communities – Support local growers and increase access to fresh, healthy food.
🌱 Expand Your Expertise – Gain hands-on experience in non-profit governance and leadership.

⏳ Commitment: ~10 hours per month, including online board meetings, annual AGM and planning sessions and adhoc project work.

📩 Interested? Let’s chat! Email info@sprout.org.au, or send your CV & cover letter—we’d LOVE to hear from you!

Join Our Board – Help shape the future of small-scale farming!

Are you passionate about supporting small-scale farmers? We are looking for two dedicated individuals to join our volunteer board and help drive real change in the Tasmanian agricultural sector.

We would love to connect with people who have experience in the following areas:

Fundraising & Development – experience in fundraising, philanthropy, or partnerships.
Policy & Legislation – experience in policy development, legislative frameworks, or advocacy

Be a part of our team, and help:

⏳ Commitment: ~10 hours per month, including online board meetings, annual AGM and planning sessions and adhoc project work.

📩 Interested? Let’s chat! Email info@sprout.org.au, or send your CV & cover letter—we’d LOVE to hear from you!

WELCOMING THE SPROUT PRODUCERS OF 2025

Over the next few additions of The Dirt we will be introducing the producers undertaking the 2025 Sprout Producers Program. Read their brief or click through to read their full bio on our website.

Lightwood Larder

On 30 acres of Melukerdee Country, Lightwood Larder is a budding half-acre market garden growing seasonal, chemical-free veggies using no-till practices. Farmers Austen and Ash—an ex-archaeologist and a carpenter—are new to farming but passionate about food sovereignty, land care, and helping locals eat healthy, local food while building meaningful connections across the Huon Valley and beyond.

Nurture and Nourish

Nestled in Branxholm’s lush hills, Nurture and Nourish is a four-acre farm growing diverse produce using regenerative practices. Farmers Lisa and Luke bring rich experience in health, permaculture, and international agricultural development. With deep roots in food and sustainability, they’re now growing nourishment for their local community—right beside the trails and forests they love to explore.

Sounds Rivulet Farm

On the scenic Tasman Peninsula, Sounds Rivulet Farm is a small-scale mushroom farm transforming local waste into nutrient-rich produce.

With a low-waste, low-energy ethos, farmer David grows organic oyster mushrooms while restoring the land.

After 30 years in building design, he’s now focused on soil health, community nourishment, and sharing sustainable practices through agritourism and education.

Small Producer Survey 2025

We are gearing up for the next Small Producer Survey to be run later this year. Our Small Producer Survey aims to grab a broad snapshot of our sector to better inform our work and the areas of support need from the broader industry. It helps us map trends and identify new opportunities within our sector.

We are currenlty in the preliminary stages of drafting the survey and would love any input from our community and industry partners. Have you got something you would love some data on? Maybe a great survey questions or area of interest you think should be looked into more closely. This is the time to share your ideas so that we can include them in our plans!

Please head to the link below and leave as much or as little information as needed! If you’re interested in seeing our previous surveys go HERE

Your Community

2025 Waste NoT Awards

The 2025 Waste NoT Awards are now open, celebrating the innovative individuals, schools, businesses, and community groups across northern Tasmania who are leading the way in waste reduction and circular economy practices. Hosted by NRM North through their Circular North initiative, the awards aim to highlight and reward those taking meaningful action to reduce waste, reuse materials, and inspire others to do the same.

There are nine award categories, including schools, not-for-profits, local government, businesses, and individuals—so whether you’re running a composting program, repurposing materials, designing out waste, or educating your community, there’s a category for you. Each category winner will receive $500 in prize money, a trophy made from recycled materials, and media coverage to help share their story. One overall winner will also receive an additional $500 prize.

Applications are free and open to anyone operating within northern Tasmania. Submissions close at 5 pm on Friday, 16 May 2025.

This is a great opportunity to shine a light on the inspiring sustainability work happening in our region. If you or someone you know is making a difference through waste reduction or circular innovation, we encourage you to apply.

Lifetime Ewe Management Course

Tas Women in Ag are seeking expressions of interest for the RIST Lifetime Ewe Management Course. The course is delivered in small groups around the state and focuses on:

Condition Scoring
Preparing ewes for joining
Managing single and twin bearing ewes at different stages of reproductive cycles
Assessing pasture and calculate supplemental feeding rates
Setting up lambing paddocks
Weaning strategies for success
Setting targets for condition score, conception, lamb survival, mortality rates, growth rates and feed on offer.

Over 5000 producer have completed this nationally offered course. On averaage producers are able to increase stocking rates by 9.3%, marking and weaning rates increase by 7% and mortality rates reduced by 25%

If you’re interested in finding out more about joining a course near you please reach out to Deb via chair@taswomeninag.org.au

Job Opportunity: Senior Role at Seven Springs Farm, Lorinna (Full-Time)

Seven Springs Farm Tasmania is hiring for a senior position on their off-grid, regenerative family farm in Lorinna, nestled just outside the Cradle Mountain–Lake St Clair World Heritage area. This full-time role is perfect for someone passionate about land, food, and farming—ready to take on leadership in growing, harvesting, and packing organic produce for markets and restaurants. The role offers variety, responsibility, and room for growth across tasks like nursery management, soil-building, cover cropping, and agroforestry.

This is more than just a job—it’s a chance to live and work in a vibrant off-grid community, grow nutrient-dense food, learn new skills, and contribute to a resilient local food system. Accommodation is provided on the farm, and there’s potential to explore a longer-term collaboration or partnership.

📩 Interested? Reach out to Wouter Sels and start the conversation:
Job Ad
Seven Springs Farm

The Stanley & Tarkine Forage Festival

The Stanley & Tarkine Forage Festival returns from 15–18 May 2025, celebrating Tasmania’s northwest with a weekend of food, culture, and community. Centred in the picturesque town of Stanley, the festival features the Stanley Street Feast, transforming Church Street into a lively outdoor dining space with local food vendors and live music.

The Taste the Region Dinner at Highfield House offers a multi-course meal curated by Smithton’s own Josh “Pezza” Perry, showcasing the area’s finest produce. Attendees can also engage in “Meet the Producers” events, providing intimate experiences with local farmers and artisans.

Additional highlights include the “Scrounging Along the Way” installation by Bert Spinks and the Sunday Harvest Market. With its blend of culinary delights and cultural experiences, the festival offers a unique opportunity to explore the rich offerings of Tasmania’s northwest.

Campbell Town Show

The 2025 Campbell Town Show, celebrating its 187th year, will be held on May 30–31 at the Campbell Town Showgrounds. As Tasmania’s only dedicated sheep show and the longest-running show in the British Commonwealth, it offers a rich blend of tradition and entertainment.

Highlights include commercial sheep competitions, junior judging, shearing exhibitions, and sheep dog trials. Equestrian events, wood chopping, and crowd favourites like the dog high jump and sausage dog race add to the excitement. Families can enjoy the AWI Fashion Parade, pet parade, kids’ entertainment, and sideshow alley.

NATIVE BEES AND OTHER BENEFICIAL INSECTS – FAMILY FRIENDLY EVENT

Join NRM South for a family-friendly event celebrating native bees and beneficial insects! Led by entomologists Dr. Shasta Henry and Dr. Yolanda Hanusch, the session offers engaging activities for all ages.Participants can build their own native bee hotel and learn about European honeybee keeping from the Junior Beekeepers Association. While the event is tailored for children and their guardians, everyone is welcome to attend.

Saturday, 17 May 2025
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Kickstart Community Centre,
12 St Johns Ave, New Town, TAS.

That’s it for our Tasmanian Farming News this month. As ever, do get in touch if you have any questions or issues. We’re always here to help.

Thanks as always,

The Sprout Team.