• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Fox and wild dog bounty resumes in regional Victoria
• Primary producer fire recovery support expanded
• Tips for making quality hay this season
• Spring 2020 edition of Sheep Notes out now
• Avian influenza alert
• Featured podcast – spring pasture management of fire affected pastures
• Horticulture sector leadership development courses
• Fantastic new opportunities for young farmers
• National Centre for Farmer Health #SnapshotRuralVIC competition
• Young Farmer Business Network
• Primary producers bushfire support programs
• What's on – upcoming webinars

Safely reopening Victoria

A roadmap for reopening Victoria has been announced by the Victorian Government.

There are two separate roadmaps in Victoria: one for metropolitan Melbourne and one for regional Victoria regarding how we live and how we work. Each roadmap outlines safe, steady and sustainable steps to COVID Normal.

The Roadmap for reopening: regional Victoria provides steps on easing restrictions, dependent on how many active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are in the community and public health advice.

From 11.59 pm on 16 September 2020 regional Victoria moved to the Third Step on the roadmap.

From 11.59 pm on 27 September 2020 metropolitan Melbourne moved to the Second Step on the Roadmap for reopening. This step included some small but significant changes to the planned roadmap based on current case numbers and the latest modelling and projections.

Visit Roadmap for reopening  for more details.

COVIDSafe Plan now required for regional Victorian businesses

From 11:59 on 13 September 2020, it is mandatory for every Victorian business to have a COVIDSafe Plan.

To ensure compliance, random spot checks are underway in metropolitan Melbourne and commenced in regional Victoria from 29 September 2020.

Your COVIDSafe Plan must set out:

• your actions to help prevent the introduction of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace
• the level of face covering or personal protective equipment (PPE) required for your workforce
• how you will prepare for, and respond to, a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace
• this plan must demonstrate how you will meet all the requirements set out by the Victorian Government. Some higher-risk industries or workplaces have additional requirements of employers and employees.

Businesses must review and update their COVIDSafe Plans routinely, especially when restrictions or public health advice changes. Organisations with multiple worksites must complete a COVIDSafe Plan for each worksite.

For more information and for templates and guidance on how to create your COVIDSafe Plan, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Victorian Fox and Wild Dog Bounty collections will resume for regional Victoria from Monday 5 October.

The first collections will be in the Gippsland region at Ellinbank, Bairnsdale, Maffra and Yarram. Woori Yallock remains closed in line with current metropolitan Melbourne restrictions.

Agriculture Victoria has a COVIDSafe Plan in place for each bounty collection centre.

If you are attending a collection centre, you must comply with coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions including physical distancing, good hygiene practices and wearing a face mask (unless you have a lawful reason not to).

Due to the disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), the bounty program has been extended from the end of October 2020 until the end of November 2020. All collection sites will have at least one opening date between now and the end of the season.

Hunters are encouraged to continue to collect fox scalps and wild dog body parts, while following coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions relevant to their area. Pieces can be frozen or air dried and submitted for reward at an alternative collection centre or when the suspended collection centres reopen, in line with bounty terms and conditions.

All hunters are reminded to use common sense when hunting and when it comes to attending bounty collections. Stay safe by following the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions that apply to your area and, if you feel unwell, get tested and stay home.

Reward payments can only be made by Electric Funds Transfer.

Collection schedule for South East Victoria 

ELLINBANK 

Dates: Monday 5 October and Monday 9 November, 2 – 4 pm

Address: Depot, 1301 Hazeldean Rd, Ellinbank

Collection type: Fox and wild dog

BAIRNSDALE

Dates: Tuesday 6 October and Tuesday 10 November, 12 – 2 pm

Address: 35 Bairnsdale – Dargo Road, Bairnsdale

Collection type: Fox and wild dog

MAFFRA

Dates: Wednesday 7 October and Wednesday 11 November, 9 – 11am

Address: Depot, 1 Stratford Road, Maffra

Collection type: Fox and wild dog

YARRAM

Dates: Wednesday 7 October and Wednesday 11 November, 2 – 4 pm

Address: Rodgers Street, Yarram

Collection type: Fox only

Please continue to check the Agriculture Victoria website for the latest information, as the collection schedule is subject to change in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

The Victorian Government is backing grape growers facing ongoing impacts from last summer’s devastating bushfires as part of joint recovery efforts with the Commonwealth Government.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes this week announced new funding through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements to help grape growers in local government areas outside bushfire zones who have nonetheless had their crops affected by smoke taint.

A new program provides up to $10,000 for farmers from outside defined bushfire areas who have suffered a decline in revenue or harvest of 40 per cent or more compared to the previous year because of smoke taint.

Applicants are required to provide a dollar-for-dollar co-contribution and can use the support for business recovery, growth and diversification, and improvements to make the business more resilient to future disasters. The grant is available through Rural Finance and is open until 31 December.

For primary producers operating within areas directly affected by bushfire, the Victorian and Commonwealth governments have also expanded the Emergency Bushfire Response in Primary Industries Grant Program, meaning more primary producers will become eligible for payments of up to $75,000 helping clean-up and recovery.

This grant is for primary producers who usually earn at least 50 per cent of their income from farm production and is now open until the end of the year, giving farmers more time to apply for help in the recovery process. The grant money can be used to cover the cost of clean-up and repairs for buildings, fencing and salvaging damaged crops.

Eligibility changes now allow those farmers whose income from farm production is less than 50 per cent due to drought, or who are still in the early phases of building up their businesses, to apply for the grant. For these farmers, the $100,000 off-farm income threshold has been removed, and off-farm income is no longer taken into consideration.

Farmers have also been given more time to reach the point where at least 50 per cent of their income is generated from on-farm activities in recognition of long lead times required by some sectors to reach full production. This helps farm businesses in the early years of development in industries like forestry, orchards, vineyards and nuts.

The Victorian Government is working with Wine Victoria to encourage locals to buy Victorian wine either direct from the winery or through local businesses to help boost sales and put winemakers back on the path to recovery.

Producers who have inquired or applied in the past but did not meet criteria may now be eligible and are encouraged to contact Rural Finance on 1800 260 425.

David Shambrook, Dairy Extension Officer

Making good quality hay in a year where above average rainfall is predicted for most of Victoria over spring will be a challenge, but if you stick to some key principles it is still feasible.

The quality of hay is directly related to the stage of growth at cutting; the amount of leaf retention; diligent use of the right equipment at the right time; and avoiding bad weather. Cutting as early as possible in the season, weather permitting, will produce highest quality hay. 

It is inevitable that some quality will be lost during the curing and harvesting process. So what can be done about reducing the losses and improving the hay quality?

Once the decision to cut has been made, increasing the rate of drying of the entire crop, particularly the stems, is the key to reducing losses and avoiding the risk of rain damage.

Growing plants contain approximately 75 to 80 per cent water at the time of harvest. When the plant is cut, it continues to respire or breath until water content is reduced to about 40 per cent, i.e. 60 per cent dry matter (DM). Some loss of dry matter and quality has occurred.

Below 40 per cent moisture, the leaves dry at a much faster rate than stems because they are very thin and have a large surface area to mass ratio. However, stem drying occurs slowly due to the cell make up and surface wax layer. By the time the stem reaches appropriate moisture content for baling, the leaves may be too dry and therefore easily shattered.

Wait for any dew to lift before mowing – there could be one to three tonnes of moisture trapped between the plants if mown with dew on them, moisture which must be dried off before the plants start to cure. Mowing in the rain would have a similar effect.

Use a mower-conditioner or conditioner – the most common method of enhancing stem drying is by mechanical conditioning which uses a set of intermeshing, counter-rotating rollers. These are designed to crush, bend or break stems allowing moisture to escape more easily.

Conditioners also reduce leaf shatter during raking and baling, as the leaves tend to dry at around the same rate as stems. Proper roller clearance adjustment is important, especially for roller-type conditioners. Don’t have them set too wide. The roller spacings used for thick stemmed crops are often not adequate for finer stemmed crops.

The flail or tyned-type mower conditioners are more suited to pastures than the roller type. They do a better job of the crimping and abrading. and tend to leave the windrows ‘fluffier’, which is more conducive to quicker drying.

In both cases, leaving the swath boards out as wide as possible, to leave wider windrows will greatly increase the drying rate.

Tedding straight after mowing – a technique recommended for silage, tedding (spreading) will also reduce the curing time of hay by about 30 to 40 per cent, if used within a few short hours after mowing. Some farmers use the tedder the day after mowing, but the curing rate would benefit greatly if done soon after mowing.

Some farmers worry about hay bleaching when using these machines, however tedding will allow far more even and quicker drying, so bleaching should be minimal. In any case, bleaching doesn't greatly affect hay quality, but it does reduce the carotene levels. The reduced risk of rain and its effect on reducing quality is reason enough to consider using a tedder, especially where rain is expected.

Raking – raking is used to enhance uniform drying. The most common type of rake rolls and fluffs the windrow, bringing the bottom layer to the top. The rolling action exposes more of the stems while protecting the leafy portion of the plant. Hay should be raked at moisture content above 30 per cent, to minimise leaf shatter. Leaf loss can be further reduced by raking during early morning or late evening after the leaves absorb moisture from the air. As much as 15 per cent dry matter can be lost if legumes such as lucerne are raked at the wrong time, however pasture losses tend to be less.

When to bale – optimum moisture content for baling hay for conserved feed depends on bale size and density. For small rectangular bales, the moisture content should be no higher than 18 per cent. The upper limit for large round bales should be 14 to 16 per cent and large square bales 12 to 14 per cent.

Over 80 per cent of hay fires have been in large square bales which have often been baled at the correct moisture content, but their high density disallows for breathing, hence there is no room for error with these large, very densely packed bales.

For more information go to agriculture.vic.gov.au

The spring 2020 edition of Sheep Notes online is out now and full of a diverse range of articles to keep you and your flock up to date.

In this edition you’ll also notice we have included some guest authors on topics like summer drenching, farmer and animal health.

You can find it on the website and while you’re there – if you haven’t already – make sure you subscribe.

For more information contact jane.court@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Assistance from the public is a vital part of the ongoing response to avian influenza.

Thank you for playing your part and providing surveillance teams and hotline staff essential insights and data about the health of poultry and wild birds across the state.

Wherever you are in Victoria, stay alert and report any sick or dead poultry or wild birds on the 24/7 Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

For the latest information go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianflu

Fiona Baker, extension officer with Agriculture Victoria provides spring management tips for pastures affected by bushfires. Fiona discusses key strategies to assist recovering pastures including assessing pastures, when to think about resowing, fodder conservation, summer fodder cropping, grazing management and the importance of maintaining soil fertility.

More details about the AgVic podcast series is available on the Agriculture Victoria website – subscribe to the series or download the audio or transcripts of each episode.

A pool of scholarships are currently available for women in the horticulture sector to participate in a range of leadership courses.

The scholarship grants are co-funded by Hort Innovation and Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) and cover up to 83 per cent of the program fee.

For women working in the apple or pear sector, a number of fully funded scholarship positions are also available.

The scholarships are applicable for women who are emerging leaders, mid-level managers or those with senior/executive level experience.

The funding is available to those working in both levy and non-levy paying horticultural organisations, including wholesalers, distributors and research and development bodies. Both individuals and groups of employees within the sector are encouraged to apply.

This unique initiative is a collaborative five-year funding partnership between Hort Innovation and WLA, and demonstrates the commitment of both parties in bringing about gender progression and equality within Australia’s horticulture industry. To date, 39 women from the sector have participated.

All of WLA’s courses are part-time and designed for those already employed.

Both fully online and ‘blended’ (partly online, partly face-to-face) delivery models are available.

A payment plan is available for successful course applicants if preferred.

Scholarship grants and fees

The grants are allocated with the specific intent of providing powerful and effective development opportunities for women within the horticulture sector.

The funding is available to women working in both levy and non-levy paying organisations. Interest has been strong so prompt registration is advised.

Click here for more information.

Agriculture Victoria is partnering with Regional Leadership to offer a fully funded place in each of their ten regional leadership programs for 2021.

This is a fantastic opportunity for any young agriculture professionals or farmers looking to get more involved in community leadership.

Information about the opportunities and benefits of the 2021 program including eligibility for region-specific programs is available on the Regional Leadership website.

Applicants are required to be 18 to 40 years of age, residing in regional or rural Victoria, and involved in agriculture or the agriculture supply chain.

For more information please contact Sarah Wallis, Young Farmer Project Coordinator at sarah.wallis@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The National Centre for Farmer Health is turning to social media to connect farmers, creators, thinkers and makers from all over the state.

While we might be distanced socially, they want to repair these connections using the universal platform of social media.

From photos to memes, Tik Tok’s and haiku’s, they want you to embrace your creativity in the hope of making another person laugh, cry or cringe in solidarity.

Your imagination will be rewarded with a weekly prize, with the winner chosen by your peers.

The campaign runs from August to October, with submissions being featured daily on their Instagram and Facebook, as well as in the National Centre for Farmer Health eNews and website.

To find out more go to https://www.farmerhealth.org.au/snapshotruralvic

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.

Producers in fire-affected regions can access up to three free one-on-one Back to Business sessions with a local farm management consultant to help put their business back on track.

All red-meat producers, including sheep, cattle and goat, who have been affected by the recent bushfires are eligible to apply.

The Back to Business program in Victoria is being coordinated by Agriculture Victoria. For more information or to register, contact:

• Lyndon Kubeil on 0418 532 085 or at lyndon.kubeil@agriculture.vic.gov.au
• Jo Cameron on 0419 832 704 or at jo.cameron@agriculture.vic.gov.au
• MLA at backtobusiness@mla.com.au

Online registration is also available here.

For more info visit mla.com.au/bushfire-recovery.

The new $10,000 Small Business Bushfire Support Grants are open.

• it's easy to apply
• you aren't required to upload any financial documents if you don't have them right now
• you can apply if your business was indirectly affected by the bushfires.

The grant is available for small businesses and primary producers in East Gippsland, Towong, Alpine, Indigo, Wangaratta, Mansfield and Wellington shires who have experienced significant income loss as a result of this season’s bushfires.

Find out more at www.vic.gov.au/bushfire-recovery-victoria

Concessional loans of up to $500,000 are available to support small business, primary producers and non-profit organisations impacted by the Victorian bushfires that began on 21 November 2019.

The loans are for restoring and/or replacing damaged assets and/or to meet working capital expenses.

They are available for eligible wine grape growers in Ararat, Alpine, Ballarat, East Gippsland, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo, Indigo, Mansfield, Moyne, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, Wellington and Wodonga.

For further information contact Rural Finance 1800 260 425 or www.ruralfinance.com.au.

Grants of up to $75,000 to assist primary producers directly affected by the 2019–2020 bushfire with recovery costs. Eligible activities include rebuilding or replacing damaged or destroyed on-farm infrastructure, including fencing and trellises.

Wine grape growers who are located in eligible fire affected local government areas and have had crops affected by smoke taint may be able to claim for costs associated with the salvage, harvest and disposal of the smoke taint affected crops. Where no fire has occurred on the property, evidence of smoke impact, such as smoke taint testing results are required.

Available in eligible fire affected local government areas across Victoria. In the areas of Ararat, Alpine, Ballarat, East Gippsland, Glenelg, Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo, Indigo, Mansfield, Moyne, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, Southern Grampians, Strathbogie, Towong, Wangaratta, Wellington and Wodonga, and the alpine areas of Falls Creek, Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Mount Stirling.

For further information contact Rural Finance 1800 260 425 or www.ruralfinance.com.au.

The Victorian Government is helping regional Victorians who lost critical household water infrastructure in the 2019-20 bushfires with up to $20,000 available to replace rainwater and septic tanks.

Rebates, of up to $15,000 for septic tanks and $3,000 for household rainwater tanks, are available to cover up to half of the costs of the purchase and installation of new primary use tank systems to residents rebuilding homes.

To assist with the installation process, up to $1,500 funding is available for any combination of assessments required to get council approval to install or alter a septic system including condition reports undertaken by a qualified plumber and Land Capability Assessments.

Further funding of up to $500 is available to cover the initial refill of a rainwater tank installed as part of the program.

Rebates of up to $2,500 are also available for minor repairs or reconnections required for undamaged tank systems that comply with current standards.

The program is available to households in Alpine, Towong and East Gippsland shires, not connected to reticulated urban water systems, for the replacement, minor repairs or reconnection of primary use rainwater and septic tanks at their primary place of residence.

Rebates are available for works completed since 21 November 2019 and until 31 May 2023.

To apply for the rebates contact your local Bushfire Recovery Victoria hub or visit melbournewater.com.au/RaSTRprogram.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website. Log on to the Events page to find out what's on.

The final in Agriculture Victoria's Gippsland Spring Ag Chat webinar series will focus on soil management in Central and East Gippsland.

There will be time for questions and discussion during the session.

If you would like to submit any questions or photos for discussion prior to the event please contact Caroline Love at caroline.love@agriculture.vic.gov.au or on 0427 515 668.

Are you buying and selling rams this season? Do you know the NLIS requirements for sheep sold at public and online auctions?

Do you know if preferential feeding of ewes delivers reproductive and economic benefits for your business? Have you considered calculating the Standard Reference Weight (SRW) of your ewes? Is there benefit to being able to record individual performance of ewes?

Please register here https://bit.ly/3kkyDOV

For more information, or if you need assistance registering or joining the webinar please contact the event organiser Kirstie Anderson 0437 990 967 or at kirstie.anderson@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Agriculture Victoria is delivering a webinar for livestock producers with a focus on interpreting soil tests.

The relationship between climate and agriculture is complex with the degree of dependency being variable across different landscapes and management practices.

In this webinar, Dr Craig Beverly will summarise the source of available climate data (including historical, seasonal projections and future climate scenarios) and share examples of how to use these data sets to support insights for future agricultural production.

EVENT DETAILS
8 October, 12 – 1 pm

ABOUT THE PRESENTER
Dr Craig Beverly is a Senior Research Scientist with Agriculture Victoria and has 20 years experience in the formulation, development and application of numerical models to simulate natural resource systems.

In his current role, Craig is developing a range of biophysical models to support economic and policy analysis of landscape systems including an integrated biophysical catchment model capable of assessing the impacts of land management on surface hydrology, groundwater, nutrient dynamics, sediment transport and vegetation dynamics under current and future climates.

Register here.

Agriculture Victoria will host a number of climate and agriculture science talks in its latest lunchtime webinar series.

Having proved popular the first time around, the lunchtime webinars are designed for busy people chasing fast facts about climate and agriculture research.

Participants will hear from a broad range of expert speakers from Agriculture Victoria, North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), University of Tasmania and other agencies.

Scheduled to speak this series, are:

• Agriculture Victoria, Senior Research Scientist Dr Craig Beverly: over two webinars Dr Beverly will talk about using climate data in agriculture and how this data was applied in the Mallee
• Dr Rebecca Harris from University of Tasmania: will share Australia’s Wine Future: A Wine Climate Atlas which shows how wine-region climates have changed, with more to come
• Agriculture Victoria, Climate Specialist, Graeme Anderson: will talk about using seasonal forecasts and share new tools developed with a GRDC project for south eastern Australia.

Land managers, service providers, researchers and educators are encouraged to subscribe to our climate updates and newsletters.

Any queries can be directed to Climate Development Officer Heather Field at heather.field@agriculture.vic.gov.au

For more information and to subscribe to stay up to date with these upcoming climate webinars visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/climate

Abbey’s Run Equestrian are pleased to bring you this webinar on Thursday 8 October from 7 – 9 pm. 

The aim of this webinar is to help you get organised and plan for any fire or emergency event that may impact you, your property and horses.

The presenters include Dr Lee Manning (Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer), April Padbury (CFA) and Moyna Smeaton who will share her personal story of living through the 19/20 fires with her horses.

Topics covered in the presentation include:

• Fire behaviour (hills, wind changes etc.)
• Warnings and information
• Preparing your property
• Why have an emergency plan?
• Equine behaviour in fires
• Preparing your horses to stay
• Leaving early with horses
• After the fire and basic first aid.

There will be time for Q&A’s at the end of the presentations.

This ticketed event will be held on Zoom. Abbey’s Run Equestrian will contact all ticketholders via email in the 24 hours prior to the event with the web link and access code for the presentation.

While we welcome attendees from anywhere, this webinar is relative to a south-eastern Australian context.

Attendees must be over 18 years old or have parental supervision while watching.

For more information on the event and presenters, or to register go to https://bit.ly/32Y2xm2

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