Photo Credit: Lachlan Rockemer Performance Horses and Working Dogs 

2024 is off and running..

Welcome to our first BIEDO Burst for 2024. I am thrilled to share the incredible developments and initiatives that have been taking shape within BIEDO. We have a multitude of projects on the go and each one is designed with the collective goal of fostering growth and prosperity across the Burnett Inland region.

We think 2024 promises to be a landmark period for us, as we continue to expand our horizons and contribute meaningfully to the communities of the Burnett Inland.

I am excited to pull back the curtain and provide you with an insider's look into the various projects that are currently underway:

·         South Burnett Regional Council Investment Prospectus(Project funding from Australian Government’s Black Summer Bushfire Grants Recovery Program)

·         Flavours of the Burnett – Building a Food Destination (Project funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements)

·         Burnett Visionary Women – events in South Burnett, North Burnett and Cherbourg (Project funding from the Queensland Government Justice & Attorney-General Investing in Queensland Women)

·         Building Disaster Resilience and Recovery in the North Burnett Destination (Project funding from the Australian and Queensland Governments through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements)

·         Succession Planning for Farm Business Resilience Workshops (Workshops supported by the Farm Business Resilience Project jointly funded by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government’s Drought Climate Adaption Program)

·         South Burnett Regional Council Primary Producer Workshops (Funding from the joint Commonwealth State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA))

·         Burnett Inland Graziers Collaboration(This project has been funded by the Integrated Engagement and Capacity Building project through the Queensland Government’s Reef Water Quality Program). 

·         AgTech in Action (On behalf of Red Earth Community Foundation, funded through FRRR | Helping Regional Communities Prepare for Drought Initiatives’ Community Impact Program).

·         Accessible Tourism Training Workshops (Project funded by the Queensland Government Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport (Tourism Division) Accessible Tourism Elevate Fund – Access Starter Grants Program).

·         Connectivity Roadshow (Bringing a range of internet providers and telcos into the region to discuss issues and opportunities with communities).

We will update you with more details as the projects start to roll out. Additionally we are working on other projects and applications we are hoping to get off the ground and look forward to sharing some more good news in the future.

The region is looking much greener since the last time we were in your inbox, but there are some producers out there who have missed most of the rain. While some producers in the area have enjoyed an excellent season, the rainfall has come from narrow storms which have resulted in areas missing out. Following on from record low district rainfall there has been insufficient falls to replenish surface water supplies, and in some cases provide enough bulk feed to carry stock through the approaching winter. With reducing day length and much of the grass now going to seed, producers are encouraged to ensure they have adequate growth to maintain ground cover and carry stock through the season.

BIEDO are working hard to grow the region stronger and I am excited about the strength of our partnerships and the dedication of our team.

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to a year filled with growth, collaboration, and positive change.

Stronger together,

Connectivity Roadshows

BIEDO is facilitating a week-long tour in June 2024 to allow Burnett Inland residents across 10 locations the opportunity to discuss their connectivity issues and opportunities directly with the telecommunications providers.  This tour presents a rare opportunity to learn about mobile and nbn network upgrades and tailored solutions to make technology work for you and your business. We’re pleased to be partnering with a range of internet and telco operators to bring the providers into Burnett Inland communities to discuss issues and opportunities. This roadshow is part of BIEDO’s commitment to deliver Connectivity outcomes for the Burnett Inland.  We look forward to seeing our communities take advantage of the ability to ask questions directly to multiple providers while they are in one room. Keep an eye on our socials for information about dates and locations.

Connectivity News

New economic research from Accenture estimates that a faster, higher capacity nbn^® network will improve Australia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by a total of around $400 billion over the eight years from 2023 to 2030. 

For more information please VISIT HERE

Burnett Inland Graziers Collaboration

A small group of five graziers led by Jenny Cross from Bunya Beef Grazing, along with support from Biedo recently applied for and received a grant from the Rural Economic Development section of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. BIEDO are excited to be supporting this project and it fits so well with words we like to use everyday – ‘together, connection, collaboration, ideas, initiative, optimism”. Jenny Cross said, “these words sing a song that many landowners and producers live by.”

The project will support graziers to adopt AgTech designed to collect and use data that will support sustainable Land Management practices, maintain business profitability and minimise loss of soil thus improving the water quality to the Great Barrier Reef. The data and experiences gathered will be shared with farm groups both on farm and in workshops and producer meetings to share skills and knowledge and encourage adoption of Agtech.

Jenny Cross said “There are so many Ag tech platforms in the market place that it was hard to know what to choose.” Her choices were based on three criteria:

What can the tech do for us on farm to:

·         Ability to save the producer time and money.

·         Easy to set up.

·         Enable producers to make more informed decisions.

The project aims to support the Adoption of AGTech for other producers by practical demonstrations and peer learning opportunities. “We want to share the advantages of using technology on farm to support farmer capacity to run their sustainable grazing systems.” said Jenny.

Two technologies were chosen that integrate well with each other, are readily available and give the user a wide variety of data. These are Ceres Ranch Tag and Mapipedia. Both of these technologies provide data that can be used alongside free platforms such as Cibolabs and Long Paddock to give producers decision making tools to support many areas of their businesses including minimising sediment runoff from their paddocks. Jenny said “We want to keep our soil and we don’t want it going out to sea and onto the Great Barrier Reef.’

Planning is under way to distribute tags to participating graziers next month when they will also be introduced to the mapping software.

BIEDO look forward to working in partnership with the Graziers Collaboration and hope to bring you good news about how the project is progressing in future newsletters.

Mary O'Brien - Are You Bogged Mate?

Around 70 people attended a BIEDO/South Burnett Grazing Network dinner on Thursday night at the Inverlaw Hall where the guest speaker was Mary O'Brien from Are You Bogged Mate?

Mary addressed the difficult topic of rural suicide in a way which resonated well with the largely rural audience  and provided some practical take away messages. The night was also attended by a number of councillors and representatives from DAF and Head to Health.

Funding for the event was provided through South Burnett Regional Council under the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA). 

• If you or someone in your network needs a 'Hand Up', there IS support available.

This resource has been specifically written for Burnett Inland communities and includes handy contacts and links about drought assistance, financial and legal aid, health services and family support. Download it here, or make contact with BIEDO by email or phone for more information.

#TeamBIEDO
Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation