NSW Farmers Association Yass Branch Chair Carolina Merriman.
After an ordinary start to the year, with drought and bushfires, it was fantastic to see a good autumn break and good prices for our livestock being achieved at our local Yass saleyards.
NSW Farmers Association Yass Branch has been extremely active in communicating with its members and giving them a voice in relation to issues affecting their farm businesses. The Branch is a very community orientated branch, welcoming everyone with an interest in primary production and land management, so that we can continue advocating and achieving positive outcomes for our regional community.
The Yass Branch continues to work hard. We currently have representatives on the new Weeds Focus Group of Yass Valley Council, to assist in guiding their community engagement on weeds, and providing advice on targeting weeds for both Council and landholders to take action on controlling.
We continue to engage with farming technology activities such as drone courses, and we will be running at least one more course in the region in the coming months.
Despite COVID-19, NSW Farmers have been continuing the business of representation, with very successful uptake in the use of technology to organise meetings online. Many members have joined these meetings that have not previously attended meetings in person, enjoying the ability to stay in the comfort of their own homes!
The current by-election is providing an opportunity to think about the priorities for farmers in our area and we really encourage members to have their say on what they would like to see candidates work to improve in the future, if elected. A webinar with be held with candidates at 6:30 pm on June 23; all are welcome.
We’d like to hear your thoughts on whether COVID-19 has had any impact on your farming business, and compounded issues that were already challenging us such as the drought.
NSW Farmers is only as strong as its membership, and it is extremely important to note the more voices we have the more we can achieve throughout our community. The Yass Branch is looking to have even more future community events when further restrictions lift, so please let us know what you would want to see happen in your community.
For further information on the activities of the Branch, or about the Association in general, contact Yass Branch Chair Carolina Merriman on 0423 481 597, or Regional Services Manager Catriona McAuliffe on 0488 100 005.