• MLA’s Back to Business Program
• Lead poisoning in livestock
• Suitable season for Barber’s pole worm
• Dunkeld animal champion wins rural women's award
• Young farmer business network
• Primary producers bushfire support
• Drought and dry seasons support services and information

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

The Premier has implemented restrictions or shutdown of non-essential activity aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In addition to this, the Government has advised the community to practice social distancing of 1.5 metres between people.

Farms and agribusinesses are not included in the current bans agreed by the National Cabinet on Tuesday 24 March.

The agricultural supply chain is essential to maintaining the flow of food to our supermarkets and kitchen tables.

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

The Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer has also developed a factsheet with advice for animal owners during the pandemic.

More information is available on the website at http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/emergencies/coronavirus

This MLA funded program allows producers in fire-affected regions to access up to three free one-on-one-sessions with a local farm business consultant to help put their business back on track.

MLA Managing Director Jason Strong said during the sessions, producers will be given tailored support to assess their current situation, work through the key issues and opportunities and prioritise what actions to take.

“We understand that each situation is likely to be very different and so the program that has been developed has flexibility to meet the needs of individuals,” he said.

A series of webinars have also been scheduled for livestock producers offering practical tips to help rebuild on the back of the recent bushfires. For more information about the webinars go to the MLA website here.

The Back to Business program in Victoria is coordinated by Agriculture Victoria.

For more information about the Back to Business Program email the MLA at backtobusiness@mla.com.au or visit https://bit.ly/33bAI8a or alternatively, contact Agriculture Victoria: Lyndon Kubeil on 0418 532 085 or at lyndon.kubeil@agriculture.vic.gov.au OR Jo Cameron on 0419 832 704 or at jo.cameron@agriculture,vic.gov.au.

By Dr Rachel Gibney, District Veterinary Officer, Ballarat

Over the past year a significant number of properties in south west Victoria, as well as properties in Gippsland, have had cattle die from lead poisoning.

The most common source of lead accessed by cattle comes from old car batteries that have been discarded beside sheds, in farm tips, or that have been burnt in bonfires.

Cattle have also been known to lick old paint that contains lead and consequently be poisoned.

Cattle find lead sweet and palatable, and they will selectively choose to eat it. If they find a lead battery, they often eat lumps of lead which will then sit in their stomach and act as an ongoing source of lead to the animal.

Lead toxicity in cattle is a concern for multiple reasons. Often the first indication that animals may have accessed lead is to find dead livestock. Lead also causes neurological signs such as blindness, depression and circling.

Low level poisoning may lead to gastrointestinal signs such as decreased appetite, colic and constipation, followed by diarrhoea.

It is important that cattle exposed to lead do not reach the human food chain, so restrictions are placed on the sale of such animals. Cattle may show no signs of being poisoned, but have a blood or tissue lead level that is of concern for food safety.

Blood testing can be performed to check if cattle have been exposed to lead.

Livestock other than cattle may also be affected if they ingest lead.

The best approach is to prevent exposure to lead.

Check to ensure that no old batteries are lying around on your property. If you suspect old paint may contain lead, make sure that livestock do not have access to the area.

For further advice contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.

* Suspected lead toxicity in livestock is a notifiable disease. More information is available here

By Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

Barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) is the most important parasite that needs to be controlled in sheep within summer rainfall areas of Australia.

Therefore, it would not be surprising if we see outbreaks of disease due to Barber’s Pole worm with the warm, moist conditions we have recently experienced.

Adult Barber’s pole worms live in the fourth stomach of sheep. The mature female worms are visible to the naked eye.

The gut of the worm is red, as it is full of blood. Wound around the gut is the white ovary, packed with hundreds of eggs. This red and white spiral effect gives the worm its name as it looks like the classic barber’s pole.

The adult female worms are prolific egg producers leading rapidly to a heavy pasture contamination.

During warm, moist conditions these eggs hatch into larvae and are eaten by sheep while grazing.

Given their prolific production, worm populations can build up rapidly.

Like other internal parasites, Barber’s pole worms mainly affect weaners and lactating ewes.

Barber’s pole worms feed by sucking blood leading to anaemia and ‘bottle jaw’, but not necessarily weight loss or diarrhoea.

Just 1000 adult Barber’s pole worms can remove 50ml of blood from a sheep per day.

Consequently, Barber’s pole worm outbreaks can lead to high mortalities in a short space of time.

Barber’s pole worms can be detected at post-mortem, or in live animals by a faecal egg count.

As with other internal parasites, producers need to be aware that drench resistance to Barber’s pole worm is becoming increasingly common.

For further information please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.

A Dunkeld farmer’s passion to boost the resilience of her local community by building connections through animals has seen her take out the 2020 Victorian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes this week announced Kelly Barnes as the winner of the prestigious award, and Victoria’s candidate for the national title to be awarded in Canberra later in the year.

Ms Barnes will receive a $10,000 Westpac bursary to help her pilot a Working Dog Training School in Dunkeld.

The idea for the Working Dog Training School came from Ms Barnes’ love and respect for her working dogs. She believes working dogs are a great way to bring people together, not only to improve their dog handling skills but also to break down social barriers and aid mental health.

Ms Barnes was one of four finalists for the prestigious award, alongside Kerryn Wildenburg from Kyneton, Jackie Elliott from Byaduk, and Katrina van Eyk from Pyramid Hill.
Each of the 2020 Victorian finalists will join the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Alumni in recognition of their achievements.

The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award acknowledges the significant role women play in agriculture and rural communities. The award is supported by Agriculture Victoria and is sponsored nationally by AgriFutures and Westpac.

Unfortunately no event to celebrate the finalists’ achievements was possible this year due to the Government’s responsibilities responding to the coronavirus crisis. Each finalist was able to speak with the Minister and there are plans for an event when circumstances permit.

More information about the Rural Women’s Award is available at agriculture.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.

Grants of up to $10,000 to support small businesses (including primary producers) significantly affected by the 2019–20 bushfires to recover and rebuild resilient businesses.

Eligible activities include meeting standard business costs, seeking financial advice, adjusting the business to be viable in the changed local context following bushfire and improvements to make the business more resilient to future disasters.

Available to eligible small businesses in the local government areas of East Gippsland, Towong and Alpine who have suffered a decline in revenue of 40 per cent or more in a relevant three-month period.

Businesses can apply for this grant in addition to other bushfire grants. For more information contact Rural Finance 1800 260 425 or www.ruralfinance.com.au.

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 commenced 21 November 2019.

The loans are intended to be used for the purposes of restoring and/or replacing damaged assets and/or to meet working capital expenses.

Available to 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 providing a range of measures to support the wine industry following recent bushfires. Find out more at agriculture.vic.gov.au or call 136 186.

Wine Grape Testing Rebate

The Victorian Government is providing a rebate to assist Victorian wine grape growers assess the impact of smoke exposure from the 2019–20 bushfires on wine grapes grown during the 2019–20 growing season.

The program offers a rebate of up to $1,200 to Victorian wine grape growers on wine grape, grape juice and wine samples submitted for laboratory analysis between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2020. For further information contact Rural Finance on 1800 260 425, www.ruralfinance.com.au or governmentservices@ruralfinance.com.au

Technical advice and support

A technical support package will be delivered to ensure that growers, wine makers and regional associations are supported to understand and respond to the impacts of smoke exposure on wine made in the current vintage.

For more information, contact Agriculture Victoria: smoke.taint@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Shuttle service to laboratories

Agriculture Victoria currently provides a shuttle service to enable the movement of wine grape samples from phylloxera management zones to designated laboratories for smoke taint testing.

Frozen diagnostic samples will be picked up at regional collection points.

North East Victoria collection points

• Rutherglen: Agriculture Victoria Rutherglen, 124 Chiltern Valley Road, Rutherglen.
• King Valley: Brown Brothers, 239 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Rd, Milawa.

Southern Victoria collection points

• Yarra Valley: Domaine Chandon, 727 Maroondah Hwy, Coldstream (access via Loading Dock).
• Mornington Peninsula: Moorooduc Estate, 501 Derril Rd, Moorooduc.

Gippsland collection point

• Traralgon Vineyard, Burnets Rd, Traralgon East.

For more information, contact Agriculture Victoria: smoke.taint@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The Victorian Government is waiving the $235 application fee for new domestic and stock bore construction licences (BCL) for landholders in eligible areas of Victoria.

This initiative will help landholders secure their domestic and stock water supply needs in areas experiencing drought and dry conditions.

Apply online at the Victorian Water Register waterregister.vic.gov.au/water-trading/my-water#Online_BCLs

The Household Financial Relief program is being delivered by The Country Women's Association of Victoria Inc. – CWA through its CWA Drought Relief Program.

The program can provide up to $3000 to eligible farming families, farm workers and farm dependent contractors to reimburse them for household expenses like school costs, utilities, food and medical bills.

For more information and to apply contact the CWA online at cwaofvic.org.au or email them at drought@cwaofvic.org.au.

For more about the program and other available drought support visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or call 136 186.

Farmers in Wellington and East Gippsland shires are reminded that the $5000 On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant can be used to purchase seed and fertiliser to restore drought affected 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.

To access the guidelines and eligibility criteria, contact 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.

Drought employment program

The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority received funding for the Drought Employment Program from the Victorian Government last October.

The program provides off-farm employment training for farmers, farm workers and individuals affected by drought and dry seasonal conditions to expand or obtain transferable employment skills.

For further information:

Phone East Gippsland CMA on (03) 5152 0600 

Email egcma@egcma.com.au

Visit Workways.com.au: Gippsland drought employment 

Producers are encouraged to access the On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate Scheme for the purchase and installation of emergency water infrastructure for livestock.

In Gippsland, the scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in the Wellington and East Gippsland shires.

Farm businesses NOT in these 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.

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