Hot tips on burn-offs at FarmX

Farmers took the opportunity to get expert advice on fire prevention at the inaugural FarmX agriculture expo held at Woolmers Estate, Longford yesterday.

Specialised fire fighting vehicles parked at the front of the venue sparked conversations inside with the Red Hot Tips program team about the upcoming spring burning-off seasons and strategies to ensure nothing gets out of hand.

Program co-ordinator Sam Tacey said that the day was spent answering questions, distributing helpful documents, looking at mapping on laptops and organising one-on-one and group education sessions with landowners.

“Our aim was to help farmers utilise the free Red Hot Tips program to help them safely plan when they can burn off stubble, conduct fire prevention burns and burn piles if they’ve recently cleared land, or cleaned up after private forestry operations in a mixed farming environment,” Mr Tacey said.

“We are here to give practical advice on fire management planning, to discuss fuel reduction options and connect farmers with their local fire brigades as well as assist with fire permit applications and give guidance on ecological considerations.”

Mr Tacey and southern facilitator Frank Bishop and north-north west facilitator Andrew Crowden have 450,000ha of property registered by 330 landowners on the program and a wealth of advice from careers in bushfire suppression and management that they were happy to pass on yesterday.

“We can cut through what is relevant and what’s not for individual property owners - we want to make things easier for farmers, not harder, and sometimes we determine that burning off is not the right tool with better results achieved through mulching or discing.

“Farmers are generally time poor, there’s always something on the go and we can do the planning that makes any burning as timely as possible to fit in with other jobs and crop rotations.

“Our biggest message was to take five seconds to register a burn, even when it’s not compulsory, so that the fire service doesn’t end up at non-events.

Mr Tacey said that the window to safely burn off is short and more extreme weather conditions and a lack of water in dams makes it crucial to have a burn plan.

“That’s what we can help with, starting with a site visit and tips for getting ready for summer with tracks and trails tidied up, the harrows run around the edge of paddocks of stubble and water sources identified.”

The Red Hot Tips program is in its fourth year and available for properties of 50ha and above.

More information is available at https://sfmc.tas.gov.au/red-hot-tips/