Millewa farmers get along to a drought drop-in near you

Drought support

Farm plan funding still available in North Central

Get your livestock fire plans finalised

Russian wheat aphid in Australia: building a crop risk profile

The Fast Break

Predicting fertility of dairy cows a game changer

Feeding livestock website

On-Farm Emergency Water rebate scheme

Boost your business: food innovation voucher stream

Water Market Watch app

Young farmer business network

New Hort Innovation podcast episodes out now

Planning support for small-scale pig and poultry producers

What's On

Agriculture Victoria is holding a number of drought drop-ins and discussion groups across the Millewa throughout December. 

Agriculture Victoria Regional Manager Grains Northern, Belinda Pritchard said the sessions will be informal opportunities for farmers to sit down and get advice or receive assistance from the Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) to complete grant applications.

Ms Pritchard said farmers can discuss their feed test results, developing a ration, stock containment areas and available drought support options including the On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant Program. 

This program provides a grant of up to $5000 (GST exclusive) per farm business to assist farmers implement on-farm infrastructure improvements and/or undertake business planning and advice activities.

For more information about assistance available to help Millewa and surrounds farmers manage during drought and dry seasonal conditions call 1800 318 115 or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

Victorian farmers impacted by drought and dry seasonal conditions are encouraged to apply for two grant programs offering both on-farm assistance and direct financial household relief.

The CWA of Victoria’s Drought Relief Program has been provided a funding boost by the Victorian Government for the provision of household financial relief.

A grant payment of up to $3000 per individual applicant and/or household is available for farming families, farm workers and contractors that are drought-affected and reliant on farming as their primary source of income.

This program is being funded through the Victorian Government’s Farmers’ Drought Fund - Household Financial Relief program announced on 2 October 2019.

To access an application form or to find out more go to cwaofvic.org.au or email drought@cwaofvic.org.au

The On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant Program is now available to assist eligible farm businesses to invest in on-farm drought preparedness or to seek business advice with a grant of up to $5000.

To access the On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant farmers should contact Rural Finance direct to discuss their eligibility on 1800 260 425 or go to ruralfinance.com.au.

Both programs target farm businesses and farming families in the Wellington and East Gippsland shires, dryland farming in the Millewa region and irrigation farming in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID). 

For further information on other available support and assistance contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186, visit the website agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or drop into the closest Agriculture Victoria office in your area.

Funding remains available for irrigators across Victoria’s North Central region to develop a new whole farm plan or renew an outdated plan following modernisation across the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District.

The incentive, administered by Agriculture Victoria, can cover up to 85 per cent of the survey and design component of completing a whole farm plan.

Agriculture Victoria North Central Regional Manager Irrigation Matthew Hawken said with unprecedented changes in irrigation technology and delivery systems, the need for a whole farm plan was more relevant than ever before. 

“The whole farm plan picks up on property characteristics such as topography, soil type, irrigation supply, irrigation system and environmental features,” Mr Hawken said.

“Irrigators work with an independent irrigation surveyor and designer to develop a whole farm plan that documents the future development of their properties,” he said.

“Working through several different design options during this planning stage ensures irrigators avoid costly mistakes in the implementation and construction phase.” 

Whole farm plans provide irrigators with the information they need to source independent quotes to ensure they get the best value for money from any on-farm upgrades.

The Whole Farm Plan Incentive program is funded by the Victorian Government and delivered by the North Central CMA and Agriculture Victoria. 

For further information, please contact Kathy Long at Agriculture Victoria Echuca on (03) 5482 0429 or Tim Robinson at Agriculture Victoria Kerang on (03) 54730161.

Dr Jeff Cave
District Veterinary Officer
Agriculture Victoria

Now is the time for all livestock owners to be prepared and have a clear strategy to carry out in the event of a fire emergency on their farm.

A key factor in minimising the threat to livestock during a bush fire or on extreme fire danger days is to identify safer areas on-farm where livestock can be moved to.

The area you choose will depend on the type of livestock and their expected behaviour during a fire.

Other aspects to consider include the terrain and accessibility of the area, as well as the likely behaviour of a fire.

Having a livestock fire plan that has been carefully thought through and can be quickly executed will minimise the risk to livestock and people, especially if that plan has been practised prior to an actual fire event.

On days of extreme fire danger, or on the day before, livestock should be moved into lower risk areas on-farm, or to a safer property.

Low risk areas include paddocks with green summer crops or lucerne; bare paddocks with no dry feed; or a ploughed paddock.

Low risk areas should not be next to areas of scrub or bushland and should be large enough to allow livestock to move around and away from a fire.

All low risk areas should have sufficient drinking water to enable livestock to remain in the area for extended periods of high fire risk and high temperatures, be protected by firebreaks and be free of leaf, twigs and bark build-up.

Areas where there are dams and swamps are another option to consider. 

Stockyards have been known to successfully hold livestock during a fire if protected by a firebreak.

If this is your preferred option, consider using a sprinkler system to minimise heat stress.

Horses should not be locked up in small areas or stables but rather should be moved to an open paddock with minimal vegetation, so they can move freely.

Horses are good at moving themselves to safe open areas.

If equipment such as rugs, halters and flyveils remain on horses, the plastic may melt, and metal buckles can burn the animal, so consider using rope halters for easier handling and management.

It’s crucial that gates remain closed that may allow livestock access to public roadways, as any animals will present a hazard to traffic in smoky conditions.

Livestock owners are urged to act early and not get caught trying to move stock as a fire approaches.

Listen to weather forecasts and observe your own environment to help you decide when to put your plan into action.

For further assistance on preparing a farm and livestock bushfire plan go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/emergencies or contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186.

The more Australian researchers learn about Russian wheat aphid (RWA), the more confident they are that the pest does not pose a major threat to winter cereal crops in this country if growers and advisers understand how to manage it effectively.

Scientists have been studying RWA under southern Australian conditions and within local farming systems since it was first detected in 2016.

Through research investments by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), a biological and ecological profile of the pest is being built to provide Australian grain growers with scientifically robust management tactics for the future.

RWA is now present in many grain cropping areas of South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.

Despite the ongoing dry conditions in northern NSW, surveys as recent as November 2019 have detected RWA as far east as Tamworth.

The aphid has not been detected in Western Australia, the Northern Territory or Queensland.

The GRDC investment, ‘Russian wheat aphid risk assessment and regional thresholds’, was established to investigate regional risk and management options for RWA.

The collaborative investment is being led by the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI), the research division of Primary Industries and Regions SA (PIRSA), in partnership with sustainable agriculture research organisation cesar.

The regional thresholds aspect of this research has involved capture of data from a series of trials across south eastern Australia, which are operated by a number of farming systems groups.

Maarten van Helden, a SARDI entomologist, said the data on infestation levels, symptoms and associated yield will help to determine the regional production risk posed by RWA and the economic thresholds that will guide growers in effective management of RWA, taking into account infestation date, crop type and regional climatic conditions.

YouTube video

Dr van Helden and his SARDI colleague, Thomas Heddle, discuss the research in a new GRDC YouTube video, available at http://bit.ly/2QxUMNN.

“Currently, Australian intervention threshold recommendations are based on overseas research which recommends a spray application when more than 20 per cent of all seedlings are infested up to growth stage 30 and more than 10 per cent of tillers are infested from growth stage 30,” Dr van Helden said.

The Australian trials so far have shown that a considerable amount of RWA population pressure is required before yield loss is incurred.

In one of the untreated trial plots at Loxton in South Australia, almost 30 per cent of tillers were infested with aphids, enabling yield loss data to be recorded.

According to Dr van Helden, the impact of that infestation was surprising: “Despite this heavy aphid attack, the plants were still able to grow and produce normally.

“Overall, yield loss in our trials has not been as high as expected when aphid numbers have largely been above the overseas threshold. It seems that the overseas thresholds are, at this stage, acceptable for affected Australian grain growing regions.

“Plants under drought stress are more vulnerable to aphid infestation and we have recorded yield loss in such situations.

“However, with the results we are getting from these trials, we can now be quite confident in saying that in many situations there is minimal risk of Russian wheat aphid building up to damaging populations under Australian climatic conditions.”

The GRDC investment is also investigating how RWA survives over summer.

This knowledge is considered pivotal in determining the risk of infestation for winter sown cereals and potential damage ahead of each new cropping season, as well as aiding RWA management planning and development of cultural controls.

Podcast

This work is discussed in a GRDC podcast, ‘Just how many Russian wheat aphids is too many’ (http://bit.ly/2TxL2T7), and another GRDC video, ‘RWA green bridge surveillance’ (http://bit.ly/34h9Nb7).

The current research effort builds on previous GRDC investments conducted by SARDI and cesar, which focused on seasonal factors influencing RWA population growth, biotype confirmation, varietal susceptibility, damage and yield loss, and chemical efficacy.

Tips and tactics

Research will culminate with an update of the GRDC RWA Tips & Tactics guide, which can be found at https://grdc.com.au/TT-RWA.

Growers and advisers will also have the opportunity to keep up to date with the research through fact sheets, research updates, newsletters, webinars and trial site visits.

A RWA resource portal (including a regularly updated aphid distribution map, updates on current research efforts and the latest RWA management advice) hosted by cesar is available at http://bit.ly/2Px67tu.

A cesar-produced Pest Bites video on identification of RWA can be viewed via http://bit.ly/2N7uwIG.

Welcome to the "Fast Break" climate e-newsletter where you can read the latest soil moisture, climate driver summary and climate predictions from November run models.

Agriculture Victoria partners with the GRDC to bring you monthly climate model outlooks for a number of states, including Victoria.

As usual, if you have comments, questions or feedback address them to Dale Grey at the.break@agriculture.vic.gov.au

A detailed update on seasonal climate drivers and outlooks is available here.

Agriculture Victoria research scientists have developed a model that can predict how likely a dairy cow is to conceive to first insemination with up to 77 per cent accuracy.

The world-first research combines mid-infrared spectroscopy (MIR) – which shines an infrared light through cows’ milk – with other on-farm data for 3000 dairy cows from 19 herds across Australia.

Cow fertility is a key driver of profitability for Australia’s dairy industry but until now there has been little research towards enabling farmers to predict the outcome of insemination.

Agriculture Victoria research scientist and leader of this DairyBio initiative, Professor Jennie Pryce, said dairy farmers could use this research to optimise their breeding decisions, increasing farm productivity and profitability.

“The expected outcome of this research is a valuable prediction tool for farmers who choose to herd-test in early lactation, before the joining season starts,” she said.

“We are now collaborating with DataGene and the herd test centres, working towards implementing the research and providing the best advice for farmers.”

Agriculture Victoria research scientist Dr Phuong Ho said farmers could optimise breeding decisions using prior knowledge of how likely an individual cow is to become pregnant after insemination.

“Sexed or premium bull semen could be used for cows predicted to have a high likelihood of conception, whereas cows with predicted poor fertility could be mated using semen from beef bulls, multiple doses, or semen from bulls of known high genetic merit for fertility,” Dr Ho said.

“Additionally, farmers might adjust feeding or management strategies to help predicted poor cows improve their physiological condition and probability of conception.”

The model combines information from milk MIR samples, which farmers routinely collect, with information on fertility genomic breeding values, cow genotype, milk yield, age of cow at lactation and days in milk when the sample was taken and at insemination.

The model is currently undergoing extensive validation using data from New South Wales dairy farms before being made available to dairy farmers.

This research is another example of how Agriculture Victoria research scientists are expanding the use of MIR technology to enable farmers to make smarter and more profitable management decisions for their herds.

This research is part of the DairyBio initiative between Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation, in collaboration with DataGene.

The paper, Classifying the fertility of dairy cows using milk mid-infrared spectroscopy, is published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Did you know that the Agriculture Victoria’s Beef and Sheep Drought Feeding and Management online books have a new home?

They are housed and updated on the FeedLivestock website and can be downloaded or viewed in whole or as individual chapters on any device.

Other key features of the website, include;

- tools and calculators
- sheep resources
- beef resources
- climate information
- unusual feeds
- stock water information

The On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate Scheme is now available for the purchase and installation of emergency water infrastructure for livestock.

The scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in a number of local government areas, including: Campaspe, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, Loddon, Strathbogie, Swan Hill, Mildura and Buloke.

Farm businesses outside of the above local government areas can make an application if they can demonstrate a critical water need for livestock resulting from current seasonal conditions.

These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The scheme is available for water infrastructure purchased since 1 July 2018 – guidelines and application details can be obtained from Rural Finance, call 1800 260 425 or visit ruralfinance.com.au

The vouchers and associated Food Innovation Network will deliver on the Victorian Food and Fibre Sector strategy.

Round 4 of Boost Your Business closes Sunday 22 December 2019.

**APPLY NOW**

At a glance

• Potential assistance
• Up to $10,000 for early stage feasibility and testing
• Up to $50,000 for process innovation, product development and research and development

Eligibility

Applicant businesses must be a small to medium enterprise with an operating presence in Victoria and be registered as members of the Food Innovation Network.

Stay up-to-date with the Victorian water market with the water market watch app.

This app shows authoritative Victorian government water market data and will send you notifications directly from the Victorian Water Register.

The app lets you select data you’re interested in to set up a notification sent to your mobile phone or device.

WHAT DATA DOES THE APP SHOW?

The water market watch app shows current Victorian Water Register data about:

• Seasonal determinations – all systems with water shares
• Trade limits – all systems with water shares
• Spill determinations – Goulburn, Campaspe and Murray
• Allocation market price – weekly median price for the Goulburn and Murray systems

You can set up multiple notifications about these data topics.

The app shows current data about the Victorian water market. For more detailed data and historical trends, please visit www.waterregister.vic.gov.au

Young Farmers of Victoria - this is your network to talk about farm business management with other like-minded young farmers through social media, articles, online and face to face forums.

Click here to join and learn more about the Young Farmer Business Network Facebook group.

Created just for horticulture growers, the second series of the Growing Matters podcast is here.

The four-part series explores hot topics such as using data and analytics to maximise profits, accessing information and support on trade, all things pollination, and how to talk to consumers about healthy fats.

Search and listen to Growing Matters on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Stitcher.

Series one and two are also available on the Hort Innovation website.

Provides Victorian small-scale pig and poultry producers with funding of up to $3,000 to help them with the costs related to obtaining a land use planning permit.

Who can apply:

At a minimum, you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be seeking a land use planning permit for an existing or proposed small-scale pig or poultry farm located in Victoria
• complete a small-scale pig and poultry planning workshop prior to applying for the grant program

Other eligibility requirements may apply.

Deadline to apply: Applications close: 31 May 2020

Applications will remain open until 31 May 2020, or when the funding allocation is expended, whichever occurs first.

Contact information: 13 61 86 or psai@ecodev.vic.gov.au

APPLY HERE: Planning Support Program for Small-Scale Pig and Poultry Producers VIC

Agriculture Victoria will cancel workshops on Code Red fire danger days

A series of free grain storage webinars delivered by Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) will provide growers with convenient, timely and relevant information and advice about all aspects of storing grain on-farm.

One webinar will be held every month for the remainder of 2019 – each being 30 minutes and focused on different topics.

The next webinar scheduled is:

• 10 December – aeration cooling

Click here for more information and to register or contact Amy Harwood via amy.harwood@bcg.org.au or 0456 979 561.

Learn more about managing Sunglo at Dried Fruits Australia's last field day of 2019.

On Wednesday 11 December, we will visit five dried grape properties around Sunraysia to look at successful Sunglo patches.

We'll also hear from pest and disease guru Peter Magarey, who will give an overview of his disease prediction model that will soon be released to industry.

Program

• 1 pm: Discussion in Sunglo patch – Malcolm and Stephen Bennett's (212 Calder Highway, Merbein)
• 2.15 pm: Discussion in Sunglo patch, talk pest and disease issues with Peter Magarey and learn about new disease prediction modelling – Tony Martin's (215 Main Avenue, Merbein)
• 3.45 pm: Discussion in Sunglo patch – Mike Maynard's (Wells Drive, Merbein)
• 4.45 pm: Discussion in Sunglo patch – John Hunt's (Corner Stewart and Wolfe Roads, Red Cliffs)
• 5.30 pm: Discussion in Sunglo patch and a BBQ to finish – Gordon Gardner's (239 Irymple Avenue, Nichols Point)

To register, contact us on (03) 5023 5174 or at projects@driedfruitsaustralia.org.au.

Agriculture Victoria is running a Young Farmer Business Bootcamp in Kerang.

The two day bootcamp is suited to those who are young or new to managing a farm business and wanting to forge a long and successful career in beef, sheep and mixed farming enterprises by developing the skills required to respond to risks, such as dry seasonal conditions.

The bootcamp is delivered over two days - Wednesday 12 and Wednesday 19 February 2020.

Participants can expect to improve their understanding of profit and loss and cash flow budgeting, balance sheets and gross margins, planning for and managing risks and financial planning and analysis.

The bootcamps will be delivered by Tristan Wardley, Farm Business Economist, Agriculture Victoria.

FAQs

Do I need to attend both days?

Yes, this is a two day program.

What can I bring into the event?

Course materials are provided.

Date and time: Wednesday 12 February, 2020, 9 am to 4 pm

Location: Agriculture Victoria's Kerang office, 26 Wellington Street, Kerang.

**REGISTER HERE**

If you are unable to register using eventbrite or would like further information, please contact Sarah Wallis on (03) 5761 1573.

GRDC Grains Research Update (Bendigo)

The GRDC Grains Research Update Events are for agronomists, consultants, researchers and growers to see and discuss the latest in research and to network with their peers about how to apply new and relevant information to the latest farming systems.

Tuesday 25 and Wednesday 26 February, 2020

Ulumbarra Theatre
10 Gaol Road, Bendigo

The GRDC Farm Business Update events drive innovation and adoption of improved farm business management practices across the grains industry.

Wednesday 11 March, 2020

Town Hall Performing Arts Centre

57 McCallum Street, Swan Hill

9.30 am to 3.15 pm (Doors Open At 9 am)

Speakers and Topics coming soon

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