2015-04-28 VFF welcome farmer health funding – Victorian Farmers Federation

VICTORIA’S peak farming body has today welcomed the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to save the National Centre for Farmer Health.

“The announcement today follows through with Labor’s election commitment to fund $4 million over four years. I congratulate Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford and Minister for Health Jill Hennessy in delivering on these,” Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said.

“This was one of our election demands and something the VFF campaigned tirelessly on last year. I commend the Labor government on ensuring the health and wellbeing of Victoria’s farmers is invested in”.

“We need to invest more than ever in the health and wellbeing of our farmers and regional communities, so this is great step in the right direction,” Mr Tuohey said.

The full article is no longer available. 

2015-04-16 Half of Australia’s farm workers exposed to dangerous noise levels – National Rural Health Alliance

A study reported in the April 2015 issue of the Australian Journal of Rural Health (AJRH) has found that 51 per cent of the nation’s farm workers are regularly exposed to daily noise levels above the Australian Exposure Standard. Using data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it is estimated that around 163,000 Australian agricultural workers are affected.

Hearing loss affects approximately one in six people and with an ageing population this is projected to increase to one in four by 2050. Australian farmers are particularly at risk because of their long-term exposure to harmful noise levels from tractors, workshop tools, heavy machinery and firearms. A previous study found that, on average, the hearing-age profile for farmers was 10-15 years worse when compared with the general Australian population.

Read the full article:

2015-04-16 Half of Australia’s farm workers exposed to dangerous noise levels – National Rural Health Alliance

2015-04-18: ‘Protecting yourself on-farm’ – Stock & Land

Protecting yourself on-farm

A SERIES of safety workshops will show farmers how to protect the most important asset on-farm – themselves.

The National Centre for Farmer Health has teamed up with Primary Producers SA, DairySA, Yorke Peninsula Alkaline Soils Group and Partners in Grain to hold the program in June.

AgriSafe clinician Tam Phillips said the workshops hoped to create long-term healthy habits and emphasise the importance of follow-up action.

“The emphasis is that the most important part of a healthy Australian farm is a healthy farming family,” she said.

“The health of the farmer is just as important as the health of the herd.”

Ms Phillips said the laborious routines in rural areas often pushed matters of health to the background.

“Farmers can have limited access to health services, especially in remote and rural communities,” she said.

“There are also time constraints – people not making the time to access services and not making it a top priority.”

The program incorporates three workshops through four days.

The first two-day workshop has a comprehensive health check that will look at glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and conduct eye checks, body mass measurements and respiratory tests.

To read the full article: 2015-04-18: ‘Protecting yourself on-farm’ – Stock & Land

2015-04-15 Improving farmer health and wellbeing – On The Land (The Standard)

The vision at National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) is to “make a difference to farmers’ lives”.

A key service in achieving this vision is through the delivery of health assessments and education programs.

Read the full article:

2015-04-15 Improving farmer health and wellbeing – On The Land (The Standard)

HMF702 scholarships 2015

SCHOLARSHIPS OPEN CLOSE MAY 8TH, 2015

HMF702 Healthy and Sustainable Agricultural Communities

13th July 2015 – 2nd October 2015

Scholarship Applications close May 22^nd, 2015

PLEASE NOTE SCHOLARSHIPS ARE CLOSED

The National Centre for Farmer Health provides a limited number of scholarships to financially assist students to undertake further study in Agricultural Health and Medicine. If you work (or have aspirations to work) in agriculture, public health, health promotion, social work, policy, nursing and/or medicine in rural and remote areas then this unit will appeal to you.

Healthy and Sustainable Agricultural Communities (HMF702) is a postgraduate-level unit offered through Deakin University School of Medicine and is a core unit of the Graduate Certificate of Agricultural Health and Medicine (H522).  Running from 13th July – 2nd October 2015, HMF702 can also be undertaken as a single professional development unit as, or an elective in a number of postgraduate courses. HMF702 is completed entirely online.

HMF702 looks closely at how living in a rural and remote community impacts on the determinants of health. The curriculum has been specifically developed to be relevant to health, policy, social work, medicine, veterinary and agricultural professionals working with or in rural or remote communities.

The scholarships are valued at $800. 

Selection criteria
Preference will be given to applicants who are enrolled in the Graduate Certificate of Agricultural Health and Medicine (H522) for 2015 and/or 2015/16, do not have access to financial support from either their workplace or other funding agencies and are living or working in rural and remote areas, and those who work and live on farms.

How to apply

Scholarships open April 20, 2015. Fill in the form below ↓

Further information

For more information on this unit, the topics covered or on the application process, please contact the Course Chair

Clinical Associate Professor Susan Brumby
Course Chair
Email : susan.brumby@deakin.edu.au
Phone (03) 5551 8533
PO Box 283
Hamilton, Victoria, 3300

Or
Dr Vanessa Vaughan
Lecturer
Email: v.vaughan@deakin.edu.au
Phone (03) 5551 8585

Application form

Please note scholarships have now closed.

Our big thanks to Western District Ball Committee Anna Brown and Steph Lamont

WDHS CEO Rohan Fitzgerald,  NCFH Director Susan Brumby and Western District Ball Committee members Anna Brown and Steph Lamont handing over fundraising cheque

AgriSafe Clinician Tam Phillips shows Anna Brown and Steph Lamont of the Western District Ball committee her work

Soup with leek & parsnips

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 large leek – sliced
3 parsnips – diced
1 large carrot – diced
2 zucchinis – diced
1 tbsp marjoram (chopped) *
1 bay leaf
3 cups salt reduced vegetable stock
420g can four bean mix
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (to sprinkle on top)
2 tbsp olive oil
400g can of tomatoes**

Method:

1. Saute all vegetables in a frypan (except the parsley) for 5 minutes
2. Add the stock
3. Add the undrained can of beans
4. Cover and simmer for 20 mins
5. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with crusty bread

Photo by THOR. Images used in the Recipe files are for illustration purposes only.

Applecake – Paul’s ‘Gran’s’ recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 – 20 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 100g Olive oil margarine
• 1/2 cup to 3/4 a cup of sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of self raising flour
• Packet of preservative free sundried dried apples or apricots

Method:

1. Cream olive oil margarine and sugar
2. Add egg
3. Then flour
4. Add a little bit of vanilla essence (or cinnamon)
5. Mix till quite crumbly
6. Pat three quarters of the mixture into pan
7. Add preservative free or sundried dried apples or apricots
8. Add the last third (or quarter) of the mixture over the top roughly – doesn’t need to seal
9. Spread raw sugar over the top to add some crunch and cook at 180 degree C

Recipe contributed by:
Gran

Photo by Quasipodo Images used in the Recipe files are for illustration purposes only.

Casserole with beef and vegetables

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 2 hours
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 500g steak (chuck, rump or casserole)

• 2 potatoes

• 1 large carrot or 2 small carrots

• 1 swede

• 2 turnips

• 1 large parsnip or two small parsnips

• 1 sliced onion

• 1/2 stick of celery

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 tablespoons plain flour

• 1.5 – 2 litres of water (cold not boiling)

• 1 stock cube – beef flavour

Method

1. Wash and peel the vegetables

2. Cut all the vegetables except the onion into cubes (1 cm x 1 cm for faster cooking) and place in a bowl

3. Trim all the excess fat off of the steak and cut into cubes

4. Heat the stockpot on a medium heat

5. Once hot, place olive oil in the stockpot then add the steak

6. Lightly brown the steak, stirring occasionally

7. Crumble a stock cube into the stockpot with the steak and stir

8. Add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time to the stockpot and stir until all the flour is used

9. Cook for 1 minute and keep stirring so that the mixture does not catch

10. Slowly add the cold water while continually stirring the mixture

11. Add the prepared vegetables and allow to simmer on a low heat for 2 hours, checking occasionally to check fluid levels and to stir the stew.

12. Once the vegetables have softened and the stew has thickened, serve with crusty bread.

Notes:

You can use your favourite vegetables instead.
If you use a slow cooker or pressure cooker follow the cooking instructions that came with the utensil.
Cutting the vegetables into smaller pieces helps the stew to cook faster, similarly having thicker vegetable pieces will alter the cooking time.
If your portion of vegetables is reduced you may need to reduced the amount of cold water.
On the other hand, if you have more vegetables you need to make sure that there is enough water to cover them.
You can use packets of stock to replace some of the water and the stock cube as they are also lower in salt.

Recipe contributed by:
Diane

Photo by Asnow89.. Images used in the Recipe files are for illustration purposes only.

Pie – filo spinach and ricotta

Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: I hour

Ingredients

1 kilo ricotta cheese (strain off fluid)
1½ packets frozen spinach (rinsed and squeezed to remove moisture)
2 rashes of lean bacon – chopped
1 large brown onion – chopped
¼ cup pinenuts
¼ yellow capsicum – chopped
6 mushrooms – chopped
1 clove of garlic – chopped finely
3 eggs – beaten
½ block of ‘Danish fetta cheese’ (soft cheese) chopped
¼ cup of Greek low fat fetta – chopped
1 handful of low fat tasty cheese – grated
1 handful of parmesan – grated
Canola cooking spray

Method:

1. Line a pie dish with filo and spray with canola cooking spray. Use about 6 sheets to line base.
2. In a frypan cook bacon, onion, garlic, pinenuts, capsicum & mushrooms for five minutes
3. Mix together with ricotta and spinach
4. Add eggs, Danish feta, Greek feta, tasty cheese and parmesan
5. Mix all together
6. Put into lined pie dish
7. Lightly scrunch a sheet of filo and place on top of pie, repeat until top is covered. Takes about 6 sheets. Spray with oil.
8. Bake at 180 C for one hour or until browned
Serve piping hot or at room temperature.

Notes:
Recommended by the Lalbert Sustainable Farm Families Program February 2009
Recipe contributed by:
Kathie Alexander, Lalbert

Photo by Tanya Bakogiannis. Images used in the Recipe files are for illustration purposes only.

Pickled onions – Granny B’s recipe

Prep time: 1/2 hour
Cook time: 14 hours
Serves: Mixed

Ingredients:

1/2 cup iodized salt
2.25 litres water
1.5 kilograms pickling onions
4 tablespoons brown sugar
4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon mixed peppercorns (yummy pink and green)
1/2 teaspoon whole allspice
6 bay leaves crushed
10 whole cloves
2 small deseeded chillies (add extra for spicy pickled onions)

Method:

In a mixing bowl dissolve 1/4 cup of sea salt in 1.15litres of water.
Add onions and submerge for 8 – 12 hours.
Drain and peel the onions and return to the bowl – make new brine with salt and water.
In a saucepan bring vinegar and water to boil.
Cool, drain and rinse onions twice.
Mix all picking spices together and 1/2 fill preserving jars with onions.
Divide 1/2 the spices on top of the onions.
Fill jars to top with remaining onions and place remaining spices on top.
Fill each jar of onions with the cooled, sweetened vinegar, ensuring that onions are completely covered.
Cover the jar with a cap.
Refrigerate jars for 1 month prior to eating.

Recipe contributed by:
Georgie

Hommus dip

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: nil
Serves: many

Ingredients:

1 large can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed with water.
2-3 cloves garlic
squeeze of lemon juice
olive oil approx 50ml (can vary the amount to taste)
options: small pinch of paprika or chilli powder, tablespoon of tahini

Method:

After rinsing canned chickpeas, put all ingredients in the blender. Puree till smooth.
Serve with Pita bread, as a dip, goes well with raw vegetables.