BASF Australia was proud to partner with Grant Pontifex to establish a Community Paddock for the Paskeville Progress Association on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.
A 22-hectare barley paddock was generously designated for this initiative. Throughout the 2023 growing season, BASF supplied its range of crop protection products suitable for use on the Community Paddock. Following harvest of the crop, the profits made were donated to the Paskeville Progress Association.
About the Paskeville Progress Association:
The Paskeville Progress Association is a representative group of residents from Paskeville on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. Through community-minded initiatives such as town beautification and events to foster tourism, the association aims to help the local community continue thriving.
Though a small town home to a couple of hundred residents, Paskeville welcomes many more every two years when it hosts the famed Yorke Peninsula Field Days at a site just West of the township. The field days focus on agriculture and the future with extensive displays of the latest agriculture machinery and equipment, technology.
About the paddock:
Sowing date: 1 June 2023
Product applied:
- Systiva® Seed Treatment Fungicide
- Voraxor® Herbicide
- Frequency® Herbicide
- Versys® Insecticide
- Opus® Fungicide
Press Release
BASF’s two new Community Paddocks sprout in Paskeville and Nhill
- BASF’s Community Paddock initiative partners with local growers to generate new agronomic insights and raise funds for local communities
- BASF will supply crop protection products and ongoing support throughout the season, with profits donated back to the local community
Melbourne, Australia – 21 August 2023 – Stemming from last year’s success, the 2023 BASF Community Paddocks initiative has extended to two new locations in Paskeville, South Australia and Nhill, Victoria. Local growers have generously designated paddocks on their land to grow barley, canola and wheat, with BASF providing crop protection products and continuous support throughout the season to drive healthy crops. The profits from the harvest obtained later in the year will be donated to the Nhill District Sporting Club and Paskeville Progress Association.
“We are delighted to extend our Community Paddock project with the partnership of the Nhill and Paskeville community. BASF takes great pride in not only supporting growers, but also giving back to local groups that are the heart and soul of our communities,” said Andrew Gourlay, Head of Broadacre at BASF Australia.
Both sites were sown with barley in May, alongside small amounts of canola and wheat. Now well into the growing cycle, they have been carefully treated with BASF products such as Systiva®, Voraxor®, Frequency®, Opus® and Opera® to ensure an optimal level of weed control, and delivery of high-quality yield.
BASF is working alongside local grower Grant Pontifex to manage the Paskeville paddock. The team regularly visits and offers advice on yielding maximum returns that would better support the Paskeville Progress Association’s work in the community. “It is wonderful to see members of our community join forces and give back in a meaningful way, by sharing knowledge and contributing much needed funds to the Association and to Paskeville itself,” Pontifex said.
To drive further collaboration and understanding, members of the community will be able to visit both sites in the coming weeks, with the Paskeville site being open during the Yorke Peninsula Field Days in September, for agronomists and growers to view.
Throughout the season, BASF will regularly visit both sites to ensure crops are tracking well, and the right products are being used properly. Finding solutions for growers and giving back to the next generation of agri-professionals helps to strengthen local farming communities as they do #TheBiggestJobOnEarth.
