• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Contacting us
• Continued support for drought affected farmers
• Regional climate update webinar
• The Occasional Counsellor webinars for service providers
• Arm yourself with the facts this season
• Controlled traffic farming on the right track
• Grazing tactics for autumn management
• Listen and learn: practical pulse growing explained
• Young farmer business network
• PhD research fellowships on offer
• Managing dry conditions
• Dry seasons hotline
• Dry seasons support
• Upcoming webinars

Farmers and producers are vital to all Victorian communities and play an important role during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

We are working closely with industry to ensure that the essential services provided by the agriculture sector continue to operate during the Stage 3 measures which have been implemented to combat the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The situation continues to change rapidly and we urge you to regularly check the Department of Health and Human Services website for the latest update: coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

More information including common questions and answers, advice for animal owners, commuting and accommodating seasonal contract workers during coronavirus and farm business FAQs is available on the Agriculture Victoria website.

We’re continuing to serve the community but you may need to contact us in different ways.

If you can do something online then this is the best way. You can also call us 136 186 for a range of information including how best to contact us.

Agriculture Victoria office receptions across the state are now closed in order to reduce face-to-face contact between staff and members of the community. The decision is in response to the latest advice to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Please consider whether the activity you are contacting us about is necessary at this time. Visit the Department of Health and Humans Services website for the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) advice.

Drought-impacted farmers will now be able to receive expanded grant support from the Victorian Government to ensure they have more access to the technology and expertise they need now and to prepare for future seasons.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes today announced the changes to funding programs to acknowledge the ongoing challenges farmers are facing dealing with drought, bushfires and coronavirus.

The maximum amount available for the On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant Program will increase from $5000 to $10,000.

This means farmers can use up to $5000 for farm business planning activities and $5000 for drought infrastructure investments.

The program now also allows applications for new equipment such as mobile phone booster technologies to improve access to the internet and online drought services, and items such as soil moisture probes.

Farmers in drought-affected areas also impacted by the bushfires will be able to reapply for the grant where their previously funded investment was destroyed or damaged.

The popular Farm Machinery Grant Program has also been extended to allow more farmers in the Millewa region to access these grants of up to $10,000.

Farmers interested in applying are encouraged to contact the Victorian Farmers Federation.

While recent rainfall across much of the state has been a promising sign, many farmers still face a long road to recovery from years of dry conditions.

The expanded funding grants will provide targeted help to where it is most needed.

These grant programs are part of the Victorian Government’s $31 million support package announced in October, providing targeted support for areas hit hardest by dry conditions.

For more information on drought and dry seasonal conditions support and services visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or call 136 186.

Want to know more about the climate drivers for your region, how climate forecasts relate to the weather you see on farm and what the current forecast is for your region?

Agriculture Victoria is running a series of webinars in May where our Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey will take us through:

• The climate drivers which affect your region
• How models have performed for some recent climate events
• The current regional forecast.

If you need help registering or would like more information call Sarah Clack on 0417 316 345 or email sarah.clack@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Goulburn Murray Irrigation District
Tuesday 12 May
12 – 1 pm
Register or join at: https://ecodev.webex.com/ecodev/onstage/g.php?MTID=e1645c142ca175afc0bba4d70ff596992

North East Victoria
Wednesday 13 May
12 – 1 pm
Register or join at: https://ecodev.webex.com/ecodev/onstage/g.php?MTID=e55612f5c64beff757bd62e687c904d46

South West Victoria
Thursday 14 May
12 – 1 pm
Register or join at: https://ecodev.webex.com/ecodev/onstage/g.php?MTID=ec6c5434df66c8d3c7af4823ea620f880

For more information about drought and dry seasonal conditions support call 136 186 or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

Agriculture Victoria is hosting two The Occasional Counsellor ™ webinars run by David Cherry, a clinical and forensic psychologist with 40 years’ experience.

The webinar is for service providers who aren’t employed in a counselling role but are called upon to give others emotional support, for example, those experiencing the impact of prolonged dry seasonal conditions.

The focus of the workshop is on teaching participants strategies for assisting individuals who are sad, upset, bewildered, confused, angry or depressed while clearly remaining in their role.

The workshop will cover:

• skills of the helper, including the importance of empathy and when not to empathise
• understanding professional boundaries, including understanding your role and the limits of your role
• the difference between emotional support and counselling
• simple, practical strategies for supporting individuals who may be acutely emotionally distressed, including making appropriate referrals, while keeping yourself safe and remaining in your role
• self-care for the worker

Date: Tuesday 26 May
Time: 10 am to 1 pm

Date: Thursday 28 May
Time: 10 am to 1 pm

Where: Online using a Webex link that will be provided.

Register online: https://agriculturevictoriaevents.eventbrite.com.au

Or contact Sarah Clack 0417 316 345 or sarah.clack@agriculture.vic.gov.au if you need help registering.

RSVP: essential as places are limited.

For more information about assistance available to help farmers manage during drought conditions call 136 186 or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

This event is delivered by Agriculture Victoria and funded by the Victorian Government’s 2019 - 20 drought support package.

As the 2020 cropping season gets underway, Agriculture Victoria is advising farmers to arm themselves with as much information about their paddocks as they can to increase the chances of a productive and profitable year.

Agriculture Victoria’s Grains Industry Biosecurity Officer Jim Moran said recent rainfall has provided perfect conditions in most cropping districts.  

He said to ensure successful sowing and emergence and to maintain excellent crop growth without pest, disease or weed pressures, grain growers should keenly monitor for, and act on, facts.

“Check what is going on and into paddocks. Collect evidence and act on fact,” he said.

To save time, money and effort, Mr Moran has advised growers to conduct soil or tissue testing before they sow.

“These tests will identify any nutrient deficiencies and will result in grain growers only applying what is needed to produce healthy crops,” Mr Moran said.

He said farmers should be aware of the origin, contents and quality of crop inputs to avoid importing pests, weeds and diseases from another region.

If farmers are backloading fertilisers and chemicals from the ports, it’s important to conduct proper hygiene protocols as per the Grain Trade Australia’s Transport Code of Practice*.

“They should check product labels to confirm the source, quality and the potential presence of other toxic substances or contaminants,” Mr Moran said.

“This will ensure that any soil fertilisers, ameliorants, conditioners, compost or other chemicals are what they say they are.”

Farmers are urged to survey their paddocks regularly.

If they notice anything unusual, they should contact their agronomist and have samples tested by the CROPSAFE laboratory at Agriculture Victoria in Horsham. You can request a sampling kit by emailing crop.safe@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

These tests will not only help to rule out the presence of exotic pests and diseases but will also enable a rapid response to eradicate any incursions.

More information is available on the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881.

Machinery traffic on farms can cause yield-limiting soil compaction across lower rainfall zone cropping regions, a five-year study has found.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) invested project, ‘Application of controlled traffic farming in the low rainfall zone’, concluded that there is evidence farm machinery traffic can, and does, cause yield-limiting soil compaction across the Low Rainfall Zone (LRZ) of south-eastern Australia.

Agriculture Victoria Land Management Development Officer Rebecca Mitchell said this was something all LRZ growers would want to know, particularly if they were thinking about adopting the technique.

“Controlled traffic farming (CTF) confines the wheels and tracks of all cropping equipment to 12-18 per cent of paddock area and leaves the remaining area of the paddock uncompacted and in optimum condition for crop productivity,” Miss Mitchell said.

“CTF is becoming widely adopted in the Australian grains industry, with a national average of around 30 per cent of farms using the system.

“However, the LRZ of south-eastern Australia is a marked exception with a much lower adoption rate of 5 per cent.”

A key output of the CTF LRZ research project was the development of an online publication ‘On the right track: Controlled traffic in the low rainfall zone of south-eastern Australia’ launched in early 2020.

This publication summarises findings and outcomes from the project and is designed to support deliberations about CTF in the LRZ of south-eastern Australia by providing locally developed insights into its impacts and tips on how best to implement it.

As well as general information about CTF in the LRZ that will support decision making, the publication is packed with practical information that will help interested grain growers to adopt the system as smoothly and inexpensively as possible.

The publication includes practical guides to CTF, grower experience case studies, research results and the findings of several other CTF studies which investigated specific questions of interest to growers.

Practical guides: Provide general information about certain aspects of CTF. This section is designed to highlight benefits and possible constraints of CTF and suggest solutions to these constraints in the LRZ.

Case studies: Showcase growers who have grappled with the adoption of CTF. These growers hope their experience will help others achieve a smooth transition into CTF.

Research: The publication includes research findings from sites around the LRZ representing the four main soil types. This research has shown that many soil types in the LRZ are susceptible to compaction as a result of machinery trafficking.

Studies: The project has also demonstrated other benefits from the adoption of CTF.  These benefits include some energy and fuel savings, protection of investment in soil amelioration (e.g. ripping on deep sands) and reduced loss of available nitrogen from nitrous oxide greenhouse gas emissions. 

It was also shown that machinery trafficking can have a negative effect on soil microbiology and nutrient availability on Mallee sands.

The publication can be found on the Australian Controlled Traffic Farming Association website https://www.actfa.net/ and the GRDC website at https://grdc.com.au/CTF-in-LRZ.

Many pastures have suffered over the past few years with drought and dry seasonal conditions. With recent early rain across much of the state this could be a good year to nurse them back to higher levels of productivity.

Information and practical tips on autumn pasture recovery will be delivered by Agriculture Victoria pasture specialist Fiona Baker during a webinar / phone seminar being held next month.

“Our pastures are an investment, and in many cases are ‘recoverable’, despite many years of moisture stress and/or fire damage in some areas,” Ms Baker said.

With 21 years’ experience delivering in the areas of nutrient management, grazing systems, cattle nutrition and feed budgeting, as well as running a South Gippsland dairy farm with her husband, Ms Baker will share her insights into how producers can get their pastures to thrive.

During this event Ms Baker will cover a range of topics including:

• How to determine if pastures are ready for grazing;
• How long to leave stock in the paddock;
• The type of grazing strategy producers should be aiming for; and
• How much rest to give a pasture after grazing.

The specific signs producers should be looking for to determine if their pasture is recoverable will also be discussed.

Ms Baker said understanding these signs has the potential to achieve significant cost savings for producers, as full pasture renovation may not be required.

”In situations where the pastures are failing to meet the requirements for recovery, there are effective short term options to improve pasture productivity without extensive outlays, such as over-sowing with an annual species," she said.

“There are a number of management options farmers can also adopt to develop new grazing rotations, using existing infrastructure.”

Ms Baker said best practice grazing management is fundamental to the success of livestock enterprises, allowing for good pasture use and cost reduction, while maintaining optimum profitability.

“Effective grazing is also a vital tool in pasture recovery, allowing manipulation of pasture composition for more desired species,” she said.

This event is being delivered by Agriculture Victoria with funding from the Victorian Government’s 2019-20 drought support package.

The ‘Grazing tactics for autumn management’ webinar / phone seminar will be held at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 13 May.

Register online at https://login.redbackconferencing.com.au/landers/page/b3b3f2.

For enquiries contact Tess McDougall on tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492.

A new podcast series and workshop webinar recording are providing practical insights into boosting nitrogen fixation in pulses for growers and advisers.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Boosting On-Farm Nitrogen Fixation in Pulses podcasts and webinar cover some of the essential information to consider when inoculating pulses with rhizobia.

The podcasts are split into four informative instalments covering pre-sowing inoculation of pulses, in-season nodulation assessment, the impact of acid soils on nodulation and tips for best practice dry sowing when inoculating.

Meanwhile, the recording from an online pulse workshop held recently to replace the previously planned workshop series across South Australia and Victoria, provides a more detailed guided talk on best practice pulse growing.

Researchers Liz Farquharson and Ross Ballard from Primary Industries and Regions South Australia’s research division, the SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI), highlight the nitrogen fixation benefits from growing pulses, and discuss tactics that can help growers optimise the nodulation of pulse crops.

Mr Ballard said the podcast series and webinar complement existing GRDC inoculation resources and guides the listener through key factors that can affect the success of the process.

“Inoculation and pre-sowing preparation can set you up to fix a lot of nitrogen in a good season if you make the right decisions,” he said.

“However, there are some key considerations around inoculation, including dry sowing and acid soils, that we’re able to explain and expand on in these podcasts.

“In-season nodulation assessment is also important to understand if inoculation was successful and we talk the listener through how and when to make a nodulation assessment.”

The podcasts can be listened to via the following links:

• Introduction and pre-sowing inoculation: https://soundcloud.com/grdc/introduction-and-pre-sowing-innoculation
• Dry sowing: https://soundcloud.com/grdc/dry-sowing
• Acid soils: https://soundcloud.com/grdc/acid-soils
• In-season assessment: https://soundcloud.com/grdc/in-season-assessment

To watch the webinar recording, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CulLFB1hfPQ.

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.

In partnership with the University of Melbourne, Agriculture Victoria is offering 32 PhD research fellowships in the grains, dairy and horticulture industries.

The fellowships will be based across Victoria at the department’s world-renowned research centres. Successful candidates will be rewarded with a $33,000 per annum scholarship, access to state-of-the-art facilities and opportunities for professional development and overseas travel.

To find out more visit the Agriculture Victoria website.

Millewa and Carwarp district farmers can contact Agriculture Victoria on 1800 318 115 for dry seasonal conditions information and advice.

You may have questions about:

• feed budgeting
• stock containment areas
• feed testing
• livestock requirements
• biosecurity
• soil management

Our staff can also discuss other available support including grants.

Drought and dry seasons affected farmers in the Millewa-Carwarp region, the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) and East and Central Gippsland are encouraged to sign-up for a free program to build their farm business skills.

Meridian Agriculture Farm Business Consultant Paul Blackshaw said a deep understanding of your farm business is important, especially when recovering from significant impacts, such as drought.

“This free program will commence with a two-hour webinar which will focus on the basics of farm business management and simple ways of identifying the current farm business position (analysis of recent financial performance, balance sheet and cash flow).

“We will also look at a SWOT analysis, the importance of evidence-based decision making, developing a fair and realistic cash flow budget, including relevant scenarios and strategic, tactical and operational planning.”

Mr Blackshaw said farmers who take part in the initial webinar will also be offered the opportunity to participate in individual remotely delivered sessions.

“During these one-on-one (remotely delivered) sessions we will explore basic historic and current financial performance of the farm business with the participant, as well as discussing their current strategic, tactical and operational plan, and assisting  them to develop a cash flow budget for their business or review a current cash flow budget.”

Mr Blackshaw said there is no cost to participate in the program, but registrations are required. Ideally farmers will participate in the webinar focused in their region, however this isn’t essential.

Millewa-Carwarp region (North-West Victoria)

• Webinar 1: Tuesday 12 May, 2 to 4 pm
• Webinar 2: Wednesday 13 May, 7 to 9 pm

Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID)

• Webinar 1: Monday 18 May, 2 to 4 pm
• Webinar 2: Tuesday 19 May, 7 to 9 pm

For more information and to register, please contact Yendon at Meridian Agriculture on (03) 5341 6100 or email: info@meridian-ag.com.au or Paul Blackshaw on 0427 546 643 or email: pblackshaw@meridian-ag.com.au

For more information about drought and dry seasonal conditions support and advice go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

This event is delivered by Agriculture Victoria and funded by the Victorian Government 2019-20 drought support package.

Agriculture Victoria remains available to assist Victorian farmers. We want to reassure farmers, particularly those impacted by bushfires and drought, that we will continue to provide support services to you and your farming business. However, the way we are doing this during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has changed.

What are we doing differently?

We are moving from our usual face-to-face client contact to other alternatives. This means we might call you on the phone, send you information via post or email, invite you to a video or teleconference, or even a webinar.

Our technical support remains available to help landholders affected by fires and drought in East and Central Gippsland, North East, Millewa and the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. 

Farmers can call us to access information tailored specifically to their needs on a range of topics including:

• feed planning and pasture recovery
• supplying feed and water to livestock
• land and farm water management
• general technical information
• other assistance available and grants programs.

Farmers affected by drought and bushfire

For support in bushfire affected areas contact our Agriculture

Recovery Managers:

• Gippsland – Keren Walker on (03) 5159 5118
• North East – Kylie Macreadie on 0428 975 728

For support in drought affected areas contact our Dry Seasonal Conditions Coordinators:

• Millewa – Sue McConnell on 0418 572 087
• Northern – Mick Bretherton on 0428 346 209
• East and Central Gippsland – Nick Dudley on 0428 562 139.

Or email us at Drought.Support@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Farmers can also continue to call our Customer Service Centre on 136 186 and access the website anytime at – agriculture.vic.gov.au

There are many other agencies providing assistance too – this includes the Rural Financial Counselling Service:

• in Gippsland call 1300 834 775
• in the North East call 1300 834 775.

Rural Finance is administering many grants programs for drought and bushfire impacted farmers. Give them a call on 1800 260 425 or access online anytime at ruralfinance.com.au   

Dairy support

The Dedicated Dairy Support Program is available to dairy farmers in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District who are considering structural or significant changes to their business.

Decisions could include leaving the industry, scaling back (or up), family succession or transitions to other enterprises.

For more information go to agbizassist.org.au, call 1300 834 775 or email dairysupport@agbizassist.org.au.

Bushfire Recovery Victoria is also a great service to connect you with recovery services and information from the whole of the Victorian Government. Call them on 1800 560 760 or visit at www.vic.gov.au/bushfire-recovery-victoria

Farmers in the Millewa and GMID are reminded that the $5000 On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant can be used to purchase seed and fertiliser to restore dry pastures.

With recent rainfall in the region, now is a good time to invest in on-farm infrastructure that will improve drought preparedness and better position your farm business into the future.

The infrastructure component of this grant must have been purchased or undertaken on or after 2 October 2019.

For more information and to access the grant call Rural Finance on 1800 260 425 or visit ruralfinance.com.au

For more information about other drought and dry seasonal conditions support from Agriculture Victoria go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or call 136 186.

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.

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

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.

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 Feeding Livestock 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 next offering in our lunchtime climate webinar series will focus on farm weather stations and what they can do.

At 12 pm on Thursday, 7 May, Agbyte Ag Technologist Leighton Wilksch will walk attendees through farm weather stations with examples of how they are being used to provide value for farmers.

In this webinar, Mr Wilksch will cover:
• how to collect and interpret weather data
• how to monitor fire danger, what to consider with soil probes
• measuring and managing inversions.

Based on Yorke Peninsula, Mr Wilksch provides weather, soil moisture and crop monitoring hardware and solutions (backed up with agronomic service) across South Australia and Victoria.  He has over 20 years’ experience in the dryland broadacre market, being a research agronomist for Landmark before starting his business Agbyte in 2009.  Agbyte provides innovative solutions for decision-making based around weather that enable users to intuitively decipher data to assist them with farm management.

This webinar will be held on Thursday, 7 May at 12 pm.

To join, log on at: https://ecodev.webex.com/ecodev/onstage/g.php?MTID=e904344e5f6efe9b390b54ad471f5bca2

Recordings of other recent climate webinars are now available.

Visit our climate webinar page on the Agriculture Victoria website for more information.

Want to know more about the climate drivers for your region, how climate forecasts relate to the weather you see on farm and what the current forecast is for your region?

Agriculture Victoria Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey will take us through:

• The climate drivers which affect your region
• How models have performed for some recent climate events
• The current regional forecast

Dale has been working in seasonal climate risk for over 14 years. Over this time he has built a national profile for expertise in explaining climate drivers and climatic model predictions, including rainfall and temperature, for the agriculture sector.

If you need help registering or would like more information please contact Sarah Clack, Agriculture Victoria, telephone: 0417 316 345; or email: sarah.clack@agriculture.vic.gov.au

For more information about drought and dry seasonal conditions support call 136 186 or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons

Goulburn Murray Irrigation District
Tuesday 12 May
12.00pm – 1.00pm
Register or join at: https://ecodev.webex.com/ecodev/onstage/g.php?MTID=e1645c142ca175afc0bba4d70ff596992

Join us for in interactive webinar on incorporating early pasture into your feed budgets.

Presented by Dr Catherine Bunter, Agriculture Victoria District Veterinary Officer, Ararat.

Topics covered:

• The value of feed on hand in paddocks
• Animal requirements
• Step by step approach to feed budgeting
• Other nutritional considerations.

For enquiries contact Tess McDougall via email at tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492.

The autumn feed budgeting webinar / phone seminar, will be held at 7.30 pm on 6 May. 

Register online at https://login.redbackconferencing.com.au/landers/page/428b66

For enquiries contact Tess McDougall on tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492.

The Victorian Government in partnership with Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is delivering ONLINE workshops in regional Victoria to provide small businesses with practical actions and tips on how to make the most of the digital economy and reduce cybersecurity risks.

By registering for these FREE ONLINE workshops, small businesses will develop digital skills across a range of areas.

The following topics will be covered:

• developing an online presence,
• understanding and using digital tools and
• managing your cybersecurity and safety plan

The workshop will assist small business in developing a fit-for purpose online presence and identifying online goals.

It will give practical advice on how businesses can operate in a digital economy, understand and use the digital tools and services that are available.

Guidance will be provided on how to manage cybersecurity and safety to help small businesses invest time in developing a practical cybersecurity plan.

Workshops taking place in the Loddon Mallee region include;

• Kyabram – 6 May
• Maryborough – 6 May
• Swan Hill – 26 May.

For more information and a complete listing of events in all regions use the below link: www.business.vic.gov.au/digitalroadshow

Five free 45-minute webinars on resilience thinking will be held during May and June 2020 for interested community members. In these turbulent times, resilience has become one of the most important capacities to build in communities, businesses, individuals and ecosystems alike.

• Tuesday, 5 May. 10 - 10.45 am - Introduction - what is resilience and why does it matter
• Tuesday 12 May 10 - 10.45 am - Social-ecological systems' - people and place
• Tuesday 19 May - 10 - 10.45 am - How social-ecological systems change
• Tuesday 26 May - 10 - 10.45 am - Resilience and planning for regional-scale change

Register now. Places are limited. To register for one of the webinars please visit www.gbcma.vic.gov.au

For further details or queries contact Ashley Rogers at
ashleyr@gbcma.vic.gov.au or 0488 196 216.

The webinars are free thanks to funding from the Victorian Government’s Our Catchments, Our Communities Program and the Goulburn Broken CMA.

Drought and dry seasons affected farmers in the Millewa-Carwarp region, Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) and East and Central Gippsland are encouraged to sign-up for a free program to build their farm business skills.

• Millewa-Carwarp region (North-West) - Webinar 1 - Tuesday 12 May - 2 to 4 pm
• Millewa-Carwarp region (North-West) - Webinar 2 - Wednesday 13 May - 7 to 9 pm
• Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) - Webinar 1 - Monday 18 May - 2 to 4 pm
• Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID) - Webinar 2 - Tuesday 19 May - 7 to 9 pm

For more information and to register, please contact Yendon at Meridian Agriculture on (03) 5341 6100 or email: info@meridian-ag.com.au or Paul Blackshaw on 0427 546 643 or email: pblackshaw@meridian-ag.com.au

For more information about drought and dry seasonal conditions support and advice go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

This event is delivered by Agriculture Victoria and funded by the Victorian Government 2019-20 drought support package.

Join us for in interactive webinar on autumn grazing management.
Presented by Fiona Baker, Agriculture Victoria Beef Extension Officer, Ellinbank.

Topics covered:

• How do I determine if my pastures are ready for grazing?
• How much rest should pastures be given?
• What’s the best grazing strategy to aim for?
• How long can I leave stock in the paddock for?

Date: Wednesday 13 May

Time: 7.30 to 8.30 pm

Register online here

For enquiries contact Tess McDougall via email at tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492.

Join us for in interactive webinar on autumn grazing management.
Presented by Clem Sturmfels, Agriculture Victoria Land Management Extension officer, Ararat.

Topics covered:

• Planning for the future
• Stock water requirements
• Climate impacts
• Basic design

Date: Wednesday 20 May

Time: 7.30 to 8.30 pm

Register online here

For enquiries contact Tess McDougall via email at tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au or 0409 841 492.

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