Ararat Farmplan21 course
Agricultural leaders are encouraging landholders to attend an Ararat Farmplan21 course starting next month.
People attending the course will be the first to receive a new mapping application designed specifically for the farming community.
Agriculture Victoria senior soil conservation officer Clem Sturmfels said the mapping application allowed farmers to create a plan from scratch or update an existing whole-farm plan.
“A whole-farm plan is a detailed map of a property showing features such as soil types, land classes, water supply, fencing and laneways,” he said.
“It can also be used to store basic information such as stocking rates, fertiliser history and land use.
“A whole-farm plan is usually accompanied by written documents covering topics such as farm vision and goals, water budgeting, biosecurity, drought and fire.
“The aim is to make farms more productive, efficient and sustainable while at the same time protecting natural assets such as soil, water and the natural environment.”
The new application is based on QGIS, a computer program used for mapping and information storage.
Mr Sturmfels said the program was free of charge, easy to use and would run on most computers.
He said it could import data from other systems and did not require access to the internet.
Mr Sturmfels said participants would also have access to aerial photography and other layers including roads, towns, waterways, property boundaries and contours.
“Computer-based mapping programs have significant benefits over the more traditional paper-based approach,” he said.
“Landholders can access updated aerial photography and topographic data, change the scale and view of their map, control what information is displayed and store a large amount of mapping and farm management information.”
The Ararat Farmplan21 course will run every Wednesday from February 13 to March 20.
People keen to register can call Mr Sturmfels on 5355 0535 or 0429 018 879, or email clem.sturmfels@ecodev.vic. gov.au.