Best practice means constant environment improvement

摘要

What is 'it' that is causing so many landholders in south-west Victoria to sit up and take stock? 'It' is a farm-based program bearing the cumbersome handle of 'Environmental Best Management Practice (EBMP) on Farms' program. It is designed to help improve management of agricultural environments. It gives individual farmers the tools to assess their own performance across a range of management issues and helps them identify priorities for improving management practice. Geoff McFarlane, EBMP projectleader for the Victorian Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DNRE), Geelong, Victoria, describes it as 'a process of continuous improvement whereby farmers can see where they are now, decide on a goal for the future, plan their progress towards that goal, achieve that goal and then decide on new goals'. This step-by-step improvement process is what 'best practice' is all about.