A celebration breakfast was held at Garema Hall south of Forbes on Tuesday 5 May to celebrate the issuance of the world’s first Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU’s or soil carbon credits) to the Nicholson family.

The ACCU’s were grown in his soil using a specialised extensively researched fungal inoculum called CarbonBuilder, an Austral­ian technology developed right here in Cen­tral NSW by Loam Bio, cofounded by local agronomist Guy Webb.

Loam Bio to date have raised $155 million to develop the technology for Australian, US and Brazilian growers. Steve Nicholson and his family signed up for the Australian Government soil carbon project in 2024 with the help of Loam Bio through their ‘Second­Crop’ soil carbon program.

This marks one of the largest broadacre cropping projects that has met the strict requirements of Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator, demonstrating that carbon farm­ing has moved from concept to a commer­cial and scalable reality.

“We knew we couldn’t keep farming the same way,” owner Steve Nicholson said. “If we didn’t adapt, the future of the farm wasn’t sustainable.”

“From year one we saw a measurable in­crease in soil carbon. It was a seamless in­tegration and offered something the industry doesn’t often get – a new income stream. In effect we are now growing a second crop from the same paddock,” said Steve.

The Nicholson Carbon Project, part of a 4,000ha grazing and cropping operation, has successfully generated an issuance of 4,867 tradeable ACCU across 881 hec­tares. Becoming the first broadacre crop­ping operation in NSW to successfully

generate Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU) using an innovative carbon-se­questering fungal seed treatment, a break­through that unlocks a game-changing win for farmers to get paid for capturing carbon, while building healthier, more productive soils for their existing cropping operations.

Steve Nicholson and his family have been farming at Garema for 27 years, Steve said that he judged the technology on three simple metrics. “Does it work, is it simple, does it make money? The answer is yes to all three.”

After extensive research they rolled out a suite of farm management changes, includ­ing modified crop rotations across wheat, barley and canola, pasture and pulse ro­tations, reduced tillage, and improved resi­due management. In 2024 the Nicholsons added Loam Bio’s CarbonBuilder™ to their program, a world-first fungal seed treat­ment that integrates into existing farm op­erations to boost productivity.

In Steve’s case, an initial investment of $40,000 for treatment and seed related equipment has seen him turn that into $200,000 worth of ACCU’s.

The fungal based technology also in­creases soil structure allowing greater rain­fall infiltration and storage, and also stores nitrogen in the soil profile more effectively, allowing a grower to improve his soil health whilst literally growing two crops in the one paddock, a grain crop above the ground and a soil carbon crop below the ground.

For information on the projector to explore similar benefits through soil carbon projects, visit www.loambio.com.

Sheep producers across NSW and Victoria facing increasing cli­mate variability will benefit from a new $2 million project deliver­ing demonstration sites, workshops and case studies showcasing climate-smart flock management.

Led by Central West Farming Systems (CWFS), in partnership with Riverine Plains, Holbrook Landcare Network, Monaro Farm­ing Systems, Tablelands Farming Systems, Local Land Services, Birchip Cropping Group, and Agriculture Victoria, the initiative will engage more than 500 producers over the next three years.

The project will trial a range of precision livestock technologies including in-paddock livestock weighing and satellite-based pas­ture monitoring, which can provide producers with real-time in­sights into flock performance and feed availability.

Combined with strategic grazing and nutrition practices, these tools can support informed decisions on stocking rates and feed allocation, helping producers reduce methane emissions, improve soil health and water retention, enhance animal productivity, and build resilience in their businesses.

CWFS Executive Officer Diana Fear said the project is an im­portant opportunity to bring the latest innovations directly to farm­ing communities. “This project will establish demonstration sites across different farming systems, backed by workshops and ex­tension activities that give producers the confidence to trial and adopt climate-smart practices themselves.”

“Ultimately, we hope this project empowers producers to improve productivity and resilience while contributing to a low-emissions fu­ture for the sheep industry.”

The project runs from October 2025 to June 2028 and is funded from the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program under the Natural Heritage Trust.

Servos across rural communities are run­ning out of diesel. Farmers are rationing fuel. Truckies are walking off runs they’ve done for generations. And it’s spreading.

If this keeps going, the harvest stops. The trucks stop. The food chain breaks.

Keep the Sheep is stepping up and launching Fuel the Bush. A new campaign to force the Albanese Government to guar­antee fuel security for rural Australia. Ben Sutherland from Keep the Sheep said “It’s all connected. The same bureaucrats in Canberra who shut down live exports are the same ones leaving rural communities to run dry. The same people who don’t understand farming don’t understand why diesel matters.”

Keep the Sheep are calling on the Prime Minister to: Prioritise fuel supply for agricul­ture as a critical industry, Guarantee fuel deliveries to rural communities, Fast-track Australian refining so we’re not at the mer­cy of broken supply chains and Ensure fer­tiliser is sourced from additional avenues so Australian farmers can grow the food we need.

“We need to show Canberra that rural Australia is watching, and that we’ve got the numbers to back it up,” said Ben. Sign the petition at www.fuelthebush.com.au

Jack Whitty and Lockie Miller are both rep­resenting KMWL in the 2026 NSW Young Auctioneers Competition State & National Finals, taking place today, Thursday 2 April at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Nominations for competitors are open to all young aspiring auctioneers (25 years of age or under) employed full time by an Australian Livestock & Property Agents As­sociation (ALPA) member in the agency in­dustry. The NSW Selection School is con­ducted by ALPA every December to decide on the 10 NSW State Finalists to compete at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Jack Whitty and Lockie Miller each work as livestock agents for KMWL and both were chosen as 2026 finalists. Jack Whitty works in the Grenfell and Gooloogong area and Lockie Miller works in the Parkes area.

Jack’s dad Luke was a former winner of the competition and Jack said, “Win­ning would obviously be great, but the real value is in the experience. You’re refining your skills, receiving feedback, and learn­ing from some of the best in the business.”

“I’ve competed within the top 10 twice before, so I’ve got a feel for the pace—but every year is different. The biggest benefit is the exposure and the experience. You’re networking with industry experts and gain­ing some extremely beneficial contacts for marketing livestock on a weekly basis.”

Lockie was selected to represent Kevin Miller Whitty Lennon and Co. in last year’s prestigious 2025 ALPA NSW Young Auc­tioneer Competition.

Lockie started out doing work experience alongside his grandfather, Kevin Miller at KMWL when he was just 15, and started working fulltime at the age of 17.

Lockie said “I’ve been in the industry for five years now fulltime. My favorite part of the job is interacting with clients and doing auctioneering in the sale yards.”

You can catch all of the action on the livestream at www.theland.com.au.

Forty-eight years ago, Barry Cunnington, left his family farm near West Wyalong and ended up in ministry in Qld which estab­lished the Promise Faith Centre Churches International.

This month he returns to the Central West to establish the headquarters of this ministry at the former Vision Ministries, Mamre Farm, Alectown, now owned by Engedi Ministries Inc.

“I was born and raised in the Central West, between West Wyalong and Con­dobolin, and was the only son of a Method­ist farming family,” Barry said.

“My peers and my parents recognised early that I had a call of God on my life to be a missionary, planting churches and having orphanages and widows’ homes.”

Barry said, “In 2025, I began to explore the relocating of the ministry headquarters to the former location of Vision Ministries at Mamre Farm in Alectown, now owned by Engedi Ministries Inc. The result? As of February 2026, Engedi has leased their property and facilities to us, the Promise Faith Centre Churches International.”

Thus begins Bishop Barry’s new chapter of ministry outworking in various activities, including regional and international Gospel crusades, Daisy a Day ministry (restoring the lives of wandering believers, both men and women, husbands and wives), reviv­al, healing and prayer meetings, ministry training and beginning this October Long Weekend, an annual camp meeting mobi­lising Aussies for Christ.

Promise Faith Centre Churches Inter­national will have their official launch this Saturday, 14 March, starting at 12pm. All are welcome to attend this free event and lunch will be provided. For information or to RSVP, please contact Bishop Barry Cun­nington on 0412 511 115 or Leah Knowling on 0407 025 910.

Fed up farmers and families facing poor regional, rural and remote mobile services are being encouraged to keep complaining.

The latest report from the Telecommu­nications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) re­vealed an increase in complaints in NSW, with almost a quarter coming from regional areas.

Sarah Thompson from the NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee said the stats re­flected what farmers were saying.

“A lot of people are fairly fed up with com­plaining about this long-running issue, and it’s clear enough isn’t being done to fix the problem,” Mrs Thompson said.

“We’re encouraging people who aren’t satisfied with their service or the resolu­tions from their providers to go to the TIO to try and get a better outcome and make sure the issues are reported on.”

Small businesses complaints about inter­net services increased 16.1 per cent to 483 complaints, with increases noted for slow data speed, up 17.6 per cent to 234 com­plaints, and no phone or internet service, up 17 per cent to 476 complaints.

“We need to keep being the proverbial squeaky wheel and keep complaining, but do it in a way that matters, and that’s to the TIO.”

Farmers spraying weeds this summer are reminded of the golden rules to prevent drift and avoid damage to neighbouring properties.

NSW Farmers’ Agricultural Science Committee Chair Justin Everitt said taking several key precautions remained essential when planning to spray.

“We’ve always got to monitor weather conditions closely when we’re spraying, and while we’re all on a time crunch, it’s important to stop spraying as soon as conditions change and are no longer suitable for spraying.

“Spraying as close to the target as possible and ensuring you’re using the appropriate spray nozzle also helps enormously in pre­venting spray drift.

“It never hurts as well to consult your agronomist on your spray mix and its impact, so you have all the information you need to spray safely this summer.”

Off-target spray drift can occur when agricultural chemicals or vapour become airborne and drift outside the intended area when sprayed. This can happen if chemicals are applied at the wrong time of day, or during the wrong weather conditions.

“We’ve seen significant damage to crops in the past as a result of off-target spray drift, so it’s critical we keep prevention top of mind this season,” Mr Everitt said.

“Our neighbours will thank us for it, and wouldn’t it be brilliant if 2026 was a stellar production year for us all.”