Rachel developed the concept of the very successful Clean Rivers program in Tasmania.  The intent of Clean Rivers has always been on-ground investment with farmers to make a physical change in the landscape.  

Rachel has now managed delivery of 134 Clean Rivers projects in Tasmania, representing over $3.6 million of on-ground investment for practical change in the landscape.

Clean Rivers projects were the winner of the 2017 Tasmanian Landcare Award for excellence in agricultural sustainability.

Cows out of Creeks is helping beef and dairy farmers in Circular Head to install fencing, water troughs and stock crossings to protect water quality.  Rachel Brown is managing Cows out of Creeks with funding from DairyTas and Cradle Coast NRM.  Greenhams/Cape Grim are assisting as project partners.

Fert$mart is a program developed by Dairy Australia to assist dairy farmers with best practice nutrient management.  Rachel Brown has managed Fert$mart delivery in Tasmania - assisting five Fert$mart advisers to become accredited and undertake over 200 Fert$mart plans.  Nearly half of all Tasmanian dairy farms now have a Fert$mart plan for 4R nutrient management - right product, right rate, right time and right place.

Tasmanian nutrient and effluent management fact sheets developed by the Fert$mart team

Information about the national Fert$mart program

Dairy Cares for the Derwent is a collaborative initiative from local Farmers, Dairy Tasmania, The Derwent Catchment Project, NRM South, Taswater and both State and Federal Governments to ensure environmental sustainability underpins expansion of the southern Tasmanian dairy industry.

There is potential for major growth in the dairy industry as Tasmania has recently expanded its processing capacity. The Derwent Valley is a key area for opportunity given the excellent water rights on some properties adjacent to the Derwent River.

Over the next 5 years the Dairy Cares for the Derwent program aims to engage with all dairy farmers in the Derwent Catchment to plan and implement best management practices that will help protect water quality in the Derwent River.

This will be achieved by implementing property management planning and as the principal tool for engagement. The plans will ensure 100% stock exclusion and good riparian buffers for all dairy farms fronting the Derwent River and all tributaries on dairy farms draining into the Derwent River.

http://www.derwentcatchment.org/programs/farming/dairy-cares-derwent/

Rachel has extensive experience with effluent management on Tasmanian dairy farms.  She knows and understands the diversity of management systems used on Tasmanian farms.  She led the training of Tasmania's accredited effluent system designers and has promoted their services through the dairy industry.  She has developed extension resources around the motto "Ready to Go, Keep it Low".

The Smarter Energy Use in Australian Dairies project in Tasmania was led by Rachel Brown.  This project undertook dairy shed energy audits for 200 Tasmanian dairy farms.  

Click here for Benchmarking of energy use in Tasmanian dairy sheds

Throughout her career Rachel has been involved in communicating complex technical information to a variety of audiences.  As an agricultural researcher, she prepared scientific reports for clients and authored scientific papers.  Rachel has produced over 100 agricultural fact sheets and extension notes.  She is skilled at distilling complex information to short, easy-to-read documents.  Where possible, she seeks to communicate key information in a simple postcard format.  She has worked closely with graphic designers for many years and understands requirements for print and online communication.  While she is extremely capable at producing a range of documents, she believes that on-ground action is the key to real change.

Rachel has also organised and led numerous farmer field days and workshops on a broad range of topics.  Some of these have been among the most well attended in Tasmania.  She has always sought to engage interesting and relevant guest speakers and run events on farms that others are keen to see.

Rachel Brown was successful in seeking funding for King Island dairy farmers to install solar hot water systems.  Rachel led the King Island solar hot water project, working closely with Darren Cooper who managed installations on the Island.  Darren did a fantastic job - installs on dairy sheds are challenging at the best of times, let alone the logistics of getting gear to remote farms on an island in Bass Strait, where the weather can pretty wild.

Click here for New York Times article on our work

Our family has undertaken a personal project to restore the section of Scamander River that runs through the Brown family farm.  This video shows what we've done.