Projects
PPSA develops and implements projects that align with the cross-commodity issues within its remit.
PPSA is currently running or collaborating on projects in the following areas
Safety
Ag careers and education
Natural Resource Management
Developing primary industries
Safety
Farm Safety For Kids
PPSA is delivering the ‘National Farm Safety Education Fund’ in SA, focusing on farm safety for kids. Guided and supported by PPSA’s membership of Farmsafe Australia, this project is developing sector specific resources to educate kids who live on or visit a farm about safety.
These resources are aimed at reducing the barriers for teachers and parents to deliver farm safety lessons in a fun and interactive way including seven videos. In addition to the videos, this project will deliver workshops, teacher professional development, and on-farm excursions. Importantly, this project aims to deliver key thought-provoking messages from the voice of kids, equipping a new generation of engaged and aware children to understand the inherent risks associated with food and fibre production and the ways in which those risks can be mitigated.
The content of these videos and classroom activities has been developed with guidance from FarmSafe Australia, SafeWork SA and KidSafe SA. The resources provide up-to-date information to support the delivery of curriculum units on farm safety in schools.
The Farm Safety For Kids project is delivered by Food and Fibre Education SA (the education arm of AgCommunicators) and funded by the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry through the National Farm Safety Education Fund: Improving Farm Safety Practices project.
Resources
Click the links below to download Farm Safety For Kids Resources.
Farm Safety Project Fact Sheet
Videos
Hit play below to watch the Farm Safety For Kids Series from start to finish. We recommend viewing the videos in the following order:
- Hierarchy of Control
- Dairy
- Grains
- Livestock
- Horticulture
- Viticulture
- Forestry
Road safety
Primary Producers SA is joining the call for a turn around to South Australia’s horror start to 2023 on the roads, launching its Road Safety Campaign.
The state’s road fatalities are more than double the figure recorded at the same time last year, and about two thirds of those fatalities have happened on country roads.
PPSA Chair Professor Simon Maddocks said any life lost on the roads is too many and PPSA wants to see this year’s worrying trend turned around.
He said, as the peak organisation representing the primary production sector in SA, PPSA is acutely aware of the vital role that safe, efficient and cost-effective transport plays in our state.
Professor Maddocks said feedback coming through from PPSA’s Transport and Supply Chain Committee was that, anecdotally, farmers and transporters are reporting more near misses on the roads, with impatience a major factor in these incidents.
In a bid to curb this worrying trend, PPSA is running a road safety campaign, through radio advertisements, backed up by newspaper messaging.
The PPSA Road Safety campaign is supported by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions.
Heavy vehicle safety
PPSA has collaborated with Grain Producers SA on three different heavy vehicle projects which have been made possible by funding from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, supported by the Federal Government.
The projects are outlined briefly below. For more information, visit the GPSA website.
Chain of Responsibility … Made Easy!
In early 2019, GPSA held interactive, FREE and practical workshops for our members, and PPSA commodity group members, in conjunction with industry experts Natwide Personnel.
These workshops have helped to:
- Educate farmers about what the new chain of responsibility laws mean for farm practices when using heavy vehicles on public roads,
- Ensure compliance for all members of the farming business, and
- Provide attendees with the opportunity to question and seek expert advice on their farm situations.
- Following attendance, farmers received support and advice from Natwide for the following 12 months
Roadworthy Heavy Vehicles … Made Easy!
The Roadworthy Heavy Vehicles … Made Easy! project consists of theory and practical workshops which are designed for members of PPSA who own and operate their own heavy vehicles and help to deliver on our commitment to road safety.
Theory workshops are led by road transport experts who have a comprehensive knowledge of quality management and national heavy vehicle maintenance systems, to provide primary producers with:
- Outline of the NHVR Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual
- Road safety awareness
- Producer compliance and maintenance responsibilities
- Requirements of the regulator
In addition, all theory workshop participants have the opportunity to take part in a practical workshop to receive valuable hints and tips on keeping heavy vehicle’s roadworthy.
Primary producers who attend the workshops will receive training and knowledge which will be essential in helping them to develop a tailored approach to heavy vehicle maintenance, inspections and compliance on vehicles involved in their farm businesses.
Moving Ag Machinery … Made Easy!
The Moving Ag Machinery … Made Easy! project is gathering feedback from across the commodity spectrum to help inform improvements, training and resources aimed at primary producers who access the NHVR Portal for permits.
A steering committee chaired by strategy and marketing specialist Michael Neale is overseeing the project, with members including:
- John Gilbert, NHVR
- Brad Perry, GPSA
- Caroline Rhodes, Primary Producers SA
- Dion Woolford, grain and livestock producer
- Robert Brokenshire, Livestock SA
- Anthony Pfitzner, grain and livestock producer
- Adrian Flowers, SA Forest Products Association
- Lindsay Crouch, Pringles Crouch
- Tim Glover, Ramsey Bros
- Tom Hage, Hage Tractors & Implements
- Sami Gilligan, Wine Grape Council of SA
- Toni Clarke, Local Government Association
- Jarrod Beilby, Regional Development Australia
This project will be seeking to understand what issues producers have in understanding the National Class 1 Agricultural Vehicle and Combination Mass and Dimension Exemption Notice 2020 (No.1) and, if their machinery falls outside of the notice, educate them on accessing the relevant permit through the NHVR Portal. It will also be an important feedback mechanism for all levels of government to understand the issues facing those moving agricultural vehicles and combinations to meet statutory requirements.
GPSA will conduct surveys and focus groups to gain a broader understanding of the issues facing producers, with producers from across all commodity sectors strongly encouraged to participate.
This information will be captured in an action plan that will inform workshops, training and educational resources for primary producers.
Ag careers and education
PPSA is proud to coordinate Educating Kids About Agriculture, a primary schools education program which provides teachers and students with hands-on, on-farm or in-school experiences which explore livestock, cropping, horticulture, viticulture and sustainable water management.
There are three education hubs in SA which are delivering a range of activities, and after a successful pilot phase we are now inviting primary schools to participate and utilise the resources. These Hubs cover much of SA, plus they offer complimentary education activities to suit different year levels and curriculum areas.
The project has been delivered in SA through Primary Producers SA, with support from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment through funding from the Australian Government’s Educating Kids About Agriculture initiative. Program delivery partners are AU2100, Food and Fibre Education SA and George the Farmer.
View the flyer below to register your school’s interest for 2022. All programs are free of charge and include curriculum linked activities to engage your students in the science of agriculture and food production.
The E.W. Stevens Trust Fund was established at the request of the late Mr Earnest William Stevens in his Will on 21 January 1988.
The trust was established to provide funds for two main purposes:
- Provision of scholarships to assist students residing in rural or remote areas who are in difficult financial circumstances to undertake study at secondary or tertiary institutions.
- Provision of financial assistance to farmers and/or graziers who have suffered hardship due to natural disaster.
The initial trustee of the fund was the person holding office of the Chief Executive of the United Farmers & Stockowners of SA Inc, who then amalgamated to form the South Australian Famers Federation Inc. The Federation changed to Primary Producer’s SA (PPSA) in 2013, who now act as the fund trustees. The PPSA Council has established a Board of Trustees who are responsible for:
- Annual application process
- Setting the eligibility and selection criteria
- Value of annual distributions
- Investment of trust funds; and
- Annual reporting and statutory compliance
Visit the scholarships page for more information or contact:
Alyssa Stockwell
Executive Officer
AgCAREERSTART is a 10-12 month gap-year program designed to kick-start your career in farming.
If you’re under 25 and at the start of your career, it’s a great way to learn new skills, apply your knowledge, and build your confidence.
PPSA is proud to deliver the AgCAREERSTART program in South Australian on behalf of the NFF
As a participant you will:
- Get matched with a host-farmer based on your skills and interests
- Work and earn for 10-12 months
- Receive training, mentoring and support to complete a VET course
- Enjoy access to industry events and a network of industry members and peers”
Find out more Home – AgCAREERSTART
Natural Resource Management
NRM Liaison
PPSA has a vital role in supporting the land and soils, water resources and natural environments that underpin farmers’ livelihoods and lifestyles.
PPSA supports the sustainable management of those natural resources through its advocacy for investments in State and Federal Government programs, and legislation and regulations aimed at promoting productivity and profitability alongside environmental management.
PPSA is partnering with the Department of Environment and Water (DEW) and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) to enable industry to be active participants in shaping the natural resources management (NRM) agenda, now in the context of the Landscapes SA Act 2019.
Through the partnership with DEW, PPSA assists with the implementation of the productivity aspects of the Landscape Act and contributes to a number of state and national policies and programs. PPSA is funded to continue to employ a part-time Liaison Officer, and to contribute to state-wide initiatives of mutual interest to PPSA and DEW. The Agreement sets out to:
- Improve relationships between the primary production sector, DEW and Landscape Boards
- Provide for ongoing input into key areas of DEW business to ensure that boards support the management of water, pests and soil, and
- Engage in relation to the Landscape South Australia Act (2019), particularly for developing a State Landscape Strategy.
Key areas of focus include: management of land and water resources, wildlife management (including overabundant native species), nature conservation, fire management, native vegetation management, liaison with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Management of Crown lands.
PPSA also has a partnership with PIRSA to support for those areas of importance to the primary production sector.
PPSA has an established NRM Committee to further the interests and policy perspectives of producers and the commodity groups which represent them.
Developing primary industries
In 2021, the South Australian Government granted $1 million over two years to assist Primary Producers SA (PPSA) in developing primary industries in South Australia. One of the expectations was that the funding would support PPSA to represent key policy needs of primary industries to State Government, particularly through input into legislative reform.
In advising on primary industries development activities, PPSA develops and implements cross-commodity policies and projects that promote the social, economic, and environmental sustainability of the South Australian primary production sector. Our commodity group membership extends to the grain, livestock, dairy, forestry, horticulture and winegrape industries.
As shown in this report, PPSA has proven to be an efficient and effective conduit to the primary production sector by coordinating cross-industry engagement, while becoming a trusted adviser to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development and the Chief Executive of the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA).
- PPSA has demonstrated its capacity to respond and adapt to the government priorities of the day, including but not limited to, preparedness for Exotic Animal Disease incursions, the development of the Premier’s Green Economy strategy, developing an industry-wide approach to mitigating spray-drift, and co-sponsoring the 2023 Primary Industries Forum organised by PIRSA.
- PPSA has demonstrated the value of ongoing coordination of industry engagement to the effective workings of government. Through improved professionalism and capacity, PPSA has assumed co-leadership of the formal PPSA-PIRSA Strategic Meetings held on a quarterly basis, in addition to establishing formal quarterly meetings with the Minister. These forums are critical to maintaining two-way dialogue and offer direct engagement between industry and government.
Government funding has enabled PPSA to transform its business to a professional and well-resourced representative body for the state’s primary producers, who are responsible for generating $17.3 billion in primary industries and agribusiness economic activity.
Significant time and resources have been directed to documenting PPSA’s policy research and promoting the work program undertaken as part of this Grant. This has included launching a new website as an information portal for the project outcomes and resources. PPSA has also established a regular media presence and sponsored many industry events through speaking opportunities to promote South Australian agriculture to the broader community.
PPSA is proud to champion the significant contribution our sector makes across the broad portfolio of government policies and programs in our role as a peak industry body. By providing a strong, united voice, we can help ensure our sector continues to thrive.
Address
Ground Floor, 62 The Parade, Norwood SA
PO Box 259, Kent Town DC, SA 5071
