There were 22 attendees at the Inaugural field day in our field day series focussing on Equine Land Management. The Field day was held on April 30th at the beautiful property Quahlee in Serpentine.
Jake Pickersgill from Martins Environmental started off the day with a weeds presentation. Many attendees had brought in weeds from their properties for Jake to ID and focus on. This helped to make the presentation more informative and many property owners could recognize the weeds and realise it was also what they had! All attendees took home their own copy of Southern Weeds and their control, and we have already had feedback on attendees using this booklet on their own properties. Weed control is important at the moment as horse owners look to sow a winter crop into their pasture, Jake was able to outline some control methods for broadleaf weeds before sowing, and go through the services available with Martins Environmental.
The second presenter was Dr David Cook, an entomologist who works with UWA and DAFWA. The presentation looked at stable fly and emerging problem for horse and livestock owners in the Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale. Dr Cook went through; reducing the breeding sites for stable flies in their own back paddocks, especially from fed out hay, silage and other feedstuffs, and old bedding, options to reduce the effect of stable flies on cattle & horses and pets, what to do if you believe your neighbour may be breeding flies ( don’t point fingers), and appropriate actions in reporting stable fly outbreaks to the shire and Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia using the mobile phone App. ‘MyPestGuide Reporter’ by the department.
Both Jake and Dr Cook left information sheets with Landcare SJ if you are interested in any information.
The second Field day in the series looks at soil amending and how soil health can impact on your horse’s health. The field day is also in Serpentine on Friday June the 3rd 9am –2 pm. Attendees will be able to see how a soil test is carries out and will listen to a presentation by Professor Richard Bell, a Professor of Sustainable Land Management at Murdoch University.
This field day series is funded through the State NRM Community Capacity Grants. Landcare SJ would like to thank Linda and Trevor Starcevich, Jake Pickersgall and Dr David Cook for being a part of the series.
