More accurate real-time weather information will soon be available to people in Victoria’s north west with the construction of a new weather radar in the Wimmera now underway.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes was in Rainbow today to celebrate the construction of the new radar with a ceremonial ‘turning the sod’ at the radar site near Rainbow.

The new Doppler radar will provide the region with real-time access to critical information about approaching weather.

Its construction at Rainbow will address a gap in the radar network and particularly benefit farmers in the Wimmera Southern Mallee who will be able to make better, more time-critical farming decisions.

Other benefits of the radar include enhanced short-term rainfall forecasts and the provision of additional information to Bureau of Meteorology experts during severe weather events.

The $9.3 million Rainbow Radar project is being supported by the Victorian Government and the Federal Government through the Bureau of Meteorology.

State and Federal government representatives are working in partnership with the Wimmera Development Association and other key community partners to deliver the project.

The state-of-the-art radar, which was built by a specialist team in Germany, has been delivered and will be installed later this year.

Victorian-based Premier Building and Construction has been contracted to complete the construction at the Rainbow site.

The Rainbow Radar is scheduled to be operational by April 2020.

For more information about the Rainbow Radar visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/rainbowradar.

Adequate follow up rains occurred across most of the state in June with parts of the Wimmera and South West being wettest.

To find out where the rain fell and if there is more on the way, download the latest edition of The Fast Break newsletter - an update on seasonal climate drivers and outlooks.

Download at: agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/weather-and-climate/newsletters

The Victorian Government’s Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarships are now open to young farmers looking to access study and training, and then invest on-farm or in further professional development.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes opened the 2019 program during a visit to former scholarship recipient Kate Kirk’s Bass Coast Dairy Farm in Loch and encouraged young famers to apply.

A passionate advocate of animal welfare, Ms Kirk used her scholarship to do an advanced hoof care course and shared her learnings with her employees and other farmers.

She used the financial support to purchase a cattle crush, providing a safe environment to practice hoof husbandry.

Up to $10,000 is available per scholarship – with each recipient eligible for up to $5,000 to support their training and study in areas such as business and risk management, genetics and pasture management development.

Once recipients complete their studies, they will receive further support of up to $5,000 to put their new skills into practice through professional development, business planning or to invest on-farm in equipment.

The Young Farmers Scholarship program has successfully supported 50 young farmers to develop their skills across a range of agriculture sectors since 2015.

The Government works to support Victoria’s next generation of food and fibre leaders through a range of programs including the Young Farmer Business Bootcamps, Young Farmers Business Network and the Young Farmers Advisory Council.

Applications for this year’s round of scholarships are open to farmers aged 35 or under who have been working in farm businesses at least three days a week for the past three months, with at least two years total experience on-farm.

To find out more about the program and to apply for a scholarship, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au.

The Victorian Government’s sheep and beef drought feeding books have gone virtual, alongside a range of online management tools to help farmers respond to drought and dry seasonal conditions.

Available through the Agriculture Victoria website, the books have been a feature of the government’s meat and wool services since the 1980s, and the digital update allows quick access to practical tools for farmers as well as recommended resources to use in conjunction with the information, like EverGraze, Grazfeed and useful spreadsheets.

The website provides image libraries of pasture and grazing crops to help farmers estimate the value of what stock are eating, as well as supplement and ration choice information, hay bale weights and the energy and protein requirements of various cattle and sheep classes.

Climate information, water management and information about unusual feeds are also available, so farmers can calculate dam storage capacity and stock water requirements, as well as learning about the key climate factors that influence Victoria’s seasons.

While the information has been available in the past, the new digital update puts all these resources in one place, able to be updated as weather conditions change, and farming research and technology evolves.

Farmers can access the new Feeding Livestock information at feedinglivestock.vic.gov.au.

As we move into winter we may begin to see cases of pregnancy toxaemia (‘twin lamb disease’) in ewes.

Twin lamb disease occurs because of inadequate energy intake during the last four to six weeks of pregnancy. During this time a ewe’s energy needs increase substantially, as she must provide energy for both herself and her rapidly growing lamb.

Ewes that are carrying twins and triplets are particularly susceptible, hence the name ‘twin lamb disease’.

Agriculture Victoria South West District Veterinarian Dr Elle Moyle said scanning pregnant ewes for multiple lambs (twins/triplets) and prioritising their nutrition is the place to start.

Maintaining and increasing the ewe’s energy intake through pasture prioritisation or supplementary feeding during the last eight weeks of pregnancy can prevent twin lamb disease.

“An outbreak of twin lamb disease is often triggered by stress and conditions that cause a low intake of food such as severe weather conditions, yarding or holding off feed," Dr Moyle said.

“Affected ewes usually appear dopey, blind and unresponsive." 

Dr Moyle said the condition may progress over several days.

“The presence of affected ewes is an indicator of the health and nutrition of the whole flock. A number of other ewes may also be affected and become further cases of twin lamb disease,” she said.

Other conditions which may lead to the disease include:

• ewes that have a previous history of pregnancy toxaemia
• extensive grazing situations, where the last third of pregnancy coincides with a late break in the season, followed by cold weather leading to little pasture growth
• stress, due to climatic conditions, handling, being mustered, or management procedures
• heavy worm infestation.

Affected ewes can occasionally be successfully treated by an energy-rich drench such as glycerine, provided that the drench is given during the early stages of the disease.

“More importantly, good quality supplementary feeding should be given to those ewes most at risk,” Dr Moyle said.

For further advice please contact your veterinarian or local Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer by calling the Agriculture Victoria customer service centre on 136 186.

Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

In any season, it is sensible to try and anticipate animal health problems that may occur.

At this time of year, grass tetany has the potential to be a significant problem in cattle in this part of Australia.

Since cattle with grass tetany often die suddenly, the first sign of grass tetany on your property may be a deceased cow. 

To establish the likelihood of grass tetany occurring on your property, it is worth considering some of the risk factors involved, which can include:

• grazing on immature, rapidly growing, grass dominant pastures;
• soils high in potassium, or with the heavy use of nitrogen or potash fertilisers;
• older, fatter cows soon after calving are most likely to be affected;
• low blood magnesium levels in cows; and
• cool and cloudy weather.

After considering the risk factors it is worth planning how you can prevent, and if necessary treat, an outbreak of grass tetany on your property.

Grass tetany occurs when blood magnesium levels are low. Hence the condition’s other name – hypomagnesaemia. Cattles’ bodies are unable to store magnesium.

To prevent grass tetany, magnesium supplementation needs to be given daily to cattle at greatest risk during periods of greatest risk.

Have you considered how you could supplement your herd?

Whether it is by giving Causmag treated hay, mineral licks, magnesium capsules, or by some other means?

When cattle are affected clinically with grass tetany they display initial excitement, bellowing, muscle spasms, tetany and finally convulsions before dying.

Since grass tetany leads to the rapid death of cattle, the treatment of clinical cases is an emergency and veterinary assistance should be sought immediately. A veterinarian will give a calcium and magnesium solution intravenously.

If a veterinarian is not available, the calcium and magnesium solution should at least be given under the skin.

Clinical cases of grass tetany and cattle lost to the condition are best prevented with some forward planning.

For further advice, please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer or Animal Health Officer.

What are the challenges for agriculture in the next 50 years and how can young farmers manage them?

To find out join the ‘Talking Farming – Crucial Conversations’ event at Nhill on Thursday 11 July.

This event is free for anyone involved in working in or on the family farming business and wants to tackle the ‘courageous conversations’ in operational, farm business, family and community life. 

The keynote presentation from renowned succession planning expert Judy Wilkinson will help farmers foster effective communication for good business decisions and even better relationships.

The event will be based on the stories and experiences of Wimmera and Mallee farming families.

This will include panel discussions with farmers’ partners, farmers in representative roles, farmers who had to take the farm reins at a young age, plus a ‘you can’t ask that’ session where we ask some tough and amusing questions for an enlightening ‘warts and all’ look at relationships on farm.

Think Agri’s Kate Burke will facilitate this day time event and is looking forward to the interactive discussion to encourage open discussion about this crucial, but challenging, aspect of running a farm.

‘Talking Farming – Crucial Conversations’ is on from 9 am to 3.30 pm at the Nhill Football Clubrooms, 9 Davis Ave, Nhill.

Register online https://www.eventbrite.com/e/talking-farming-crucial-conversations-we-dont-have-often-enough-tickets-64149551034 or for more information contact Amy Harwood at Birchip Cropping Group on 03 5492 2787 or email amy.harwood@bcg.org.au.

This event is delivered by the Birchip Cropping Group, supported by Agriculture Victoria and the Farming and Community Group Drought Funding Program. The event is also supported by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, ADM and the Nhill Young Farmers.

Grain growers are being asked whether they have noticed a chemical control failure or suspect insecticide resistance in redlegged earth mite (RLEM).

If they have, research organisation cesar is again making available to growers and advisers a screening service to test for insecticide resistance in RLEM.

This no-cost screening service is made possible through a Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment being led by the University of Melbourne, in collaboration with cesar, the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and CSIRO.

Dr Paul Umina of cesar said a major concern facing the Australian grains industry is the reliance on three registered chemical classes to control this insect pest – neonicotinoids as a seed dressing, and synthetic pyrethroids (SPs) and organophosphates (OPs) as foliar insecticides.

“Insecticide resistance in RLEM to both SPs and OPs has been confirmed in multiple populations from South Australia,” Dr Umina said.

“Resistance had previously only been detected in Western Australian populations.”

RLEM populations from South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales are being screened by cesar.

The research group is interested in hearing from growers or advisers who have had noted recent or past failures in paddocks that are continually needing to control RLEM with pesticides.

Dr Umina said RLEM populations from paddocks which are frequently impacted by the mites, and often require spraying, are ideal candidates for resistance testing.

“Although insecticide options are limited, it is still crucial to minimise chemical use and rotate chemical groups to curb the spread of insecticide resistance,” he said.

“The screening service will not only help detect any resistance before it becomes widespread but will also assist in identifying the best control options for growers.”

A kit can be provided containing the necessary equipment to send mites in if required.

Growers and advisers are encouraged to make use of this service, and also refer to the recently updated RLEM Resistance Management Strategy to help avoid control failures.

The RLEM Resistance Management Strategy can be found on the GRDC website at http://bit.ly/2uAgLYC, as well as the IPM Guidelines for Grains website at http://bit.ly/2Jz4Uim.

An updated guide to help producers, agents, buyers and transporters decide if an animal is fit to be loaded for transport by road or rail has been released by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

The 2019 edition of the national guide, Is the animal fit to load?, includes new content to ensure best practice animal welfare when preparing, loading and delivering cattle, sheep and goats.

MLA General Manager – Producer Consultation and Adoption, Michael Crowley, said with the industry continuing to deal with ongoing dry conditions across many livestock production regions, the release of the revised guide was timely.

“The Australian red meat industry is absolutely committed to animal welfare practices and ensuring livestock are cared for,” Mr Crowley said.

“The guide has been developed to help livestock operators meet the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for the Land Transport of Livestock, and decide whether an animal is fit to be loaded for transport and for the entire journey by road or rail, to any destination within Australia.

“It contains new information about loading densities for livestock, managing effluent, and the chain of responsibility for all involved.

“The roles and responsibilities of consignors and transporters are clearly defined in the guide, along with checklists to help assess whether an animal is fit to load.

“Knowing who the ‘person in charge’ of animals is at different stages of the journey and the scope of those responsibilities is important for many reasons.

“If the ‘person in charge’ prepares to transport or transports an animal that is unfit, that person commits an act of cruelty upon that animal and may be liable to prosecution under state or territory legislation. As such, it is also unacceptable for any party to coerce or intimidate the ‘person in charge’ into loading an animal that is not fit for the journey.”

The new guide has been endorsed by all red meat peak industry councils, Animal Health Australia, Dairy Australia, and other peak industry bodies throughout the value chain. This includes the Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association, the Australian Livestock & Property Agents Association, and the Australian Livestock Markets’ Association.

To download the guide or to order a hard copy, visit the MLA website: www.mla.com.au/isitfittoload.

Commercial cattle and sheep producers now have new tools to help them start using breeding values in their bull and ram buying decisions, following the launch of new genetics resources by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

This includes a new genetics hub – genetics.mla.com.au – which provides a one-stop-shop of tools and resources, aimed at demystifying genetics and breeding values.

MLA General Manager – Producer Consultation and Adoption, Michael Crowley, said the hub is part of a broader approach being taken by MLA over coming months to inform producers about the role of genetics in achieving business productivity targets.

“A suite of articles, producer case studies, advertisements and videos have been developed and will be showcased in MLA’s Feedback magazine, Friday Feedback e-newsletter, social media channels and in rural media,” Mr Crowley said.

The resources will be accompanied with the tagline: ‘Accelerate your productivity with genetics: Better breeding values. Better progeny. Better performance.’ 

The hub itself is designed for tropical and temperate cattle producers and Merino and prime lamb producers, who either under-utilise or haven’t adopted breeding values, but are open to learning about them in order to understand the role genetics can play in improving their business performance.

On the hub, producers have access to:

• ‘Pick the performer’ ads demonstrating the value of investing in quality breeding values
• Videos of commercial producers demonstrating how breeding values have helped increase profit in their herds and flocks
• How-to animated tutorials outlining the basics of breeding values, setting a breeding objective and picking a high-performing sire.

Mr Crowley said the hub provides a clear, jargon-free look at how better breeding values can help producers boost productivity and profitability.

“There’s a clear link between genetics and the commercial profitability of the Australian livestock industry,” Mr Crowley said.

“While it’s not a ‘silver bullet’, genetic improvement is among the tools available to commercial producers to help address the key drivers of industry profit including improved market compliance and eating quality, and improved fertility and livestock productivity.”

Despite the link between genetic gain and profit, the uptake of the use of breeding values by commercial livestock producers is low in some sectors.

“Key reasons for this include the lack of ‘proof of profit’ and the genetics language and resources being too complex to understand,” Mr Crowley said.

“MLA has established the new genetics hub and other resources to help producers overcome these barriers and either get started with using breeding values or use them more effectively.”

The hub and broader communications seek to contribute to the National Livestock Genetic Consortium’s goal of doubling the rate of genetic gain in the commercial livestock value chain by 2022.

The on-farm energy grants are available to eligible farmers until March 2020 or until available funding is exhausted (whichever comes first).

Apply early so you don’t miss out.

Grants will be provided on a ‘dollar-for-dollar’ cash co-contribution basis, and recipients are required to contribute at least 50 per cent of the total cash costs of the project.

Grants are available to eligible farm businesses for projects that achieve energy efficiency or provide the business with energy productivity improvements to support longer-term sustainability.

You will need an on-farm energy assessment, or an equivalent certified on-farm energy assessment conducted in the past two years, to access one of the grants under the Agriculture Investment Energy Plan (AEIP).

Apply for an on-farm energy assessment or an on-farm energy grant online at agriculture.vic.gov.au/agenergy.

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

The scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in the following local government areas: Benalla; Campaspe; East Gippsland; Gannawarra; Greater Bendigo; Greater Shepparton; Loddon; Moira; Strathbogie; Swan Hill; Wellington; Northern Grampians; Mildura; Wodonga; Alpine; Hindmarsh; Yarriambiack; Towong; Buloke; Horsham; and Indigo.

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 at: ruralfinance.com.au

Farmers and communities facing drought and dry conditions across Central and East Gippsland and Northern and North West Victoria should apply now for funding under the Look Over the Farm Gate Program.

Community groups across the impacted areas have already received grants of $1,500 to run events that address mental health and wellbeing.

Look Over the Farm Gate events are an opportunity for farmers to take a break from the farm, reconnect with their community, access professional support and participate in mental health training.

You know what your community needs, so we encourage community groups to think creatively about what single event or series of events would be most effective.

It could be anything from a barbeque and comedy night, regular fitness meet-ups in the park, or a family movie night.

Look Over the Farm Gate is a mental health and wellbeing initiative funded by the Victorian Government and managed by the Victorian Farmers Federation in partnership with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Country Women’s Association, Country Fire Authority, and National Centre for Farmer Health.

Applications are still being accepted for events and are assessed on a first in best dressed basis.

For more information about eligibility and how to apply, visit the Look over the Farmgate website or contact the Coordinator at Lookoverthefarmgate@vff.org.au

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Victorian Landcare Awards, which recognise and celebrate the achievement of volunteers making significant contributions to protect, conserve and restore our environment.

There are nine National Landcare Award categories and six Victorian Award categories.

Nominations are encouraged from anyone involved in protecting and improving the environment and natural resource management, they include individuals, groups and organisations, including:

• Landcare individuals, groups and networks
• Sustainable farmers and professional farming systems groups
• Indigenous Landcare groups and individuals
• Urban Landcare groups including ‘Friends of’ and bushcare groups
• Coastcare, Rivercare, Dunecare groups and individuals
• Environmental groups
• Natural resource management agencies
• Local government
• Research agencies
• Agricultural co-operatives, industry associations, suppliers or individual primary producers
• Junior Landcare (including day care centres, primary and secondary schools)
• Youth groups including Scouts and Girls Guides

If you’re aware of an individual, group or network that deserves to be recognised, you can find more information, including criteria and how to nominate on the Landcare Awards website. 

The potential of augmented and virtual reality to transform agricultural supply chains will be explored at a new event hosted by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) in collaboration with other Australian Rural Research and Development Corporations (RDCs).

The inaugural Australian Ag Immersive Technology Conference 2019 will be held at the Melbourne Exhibition and Conference Centre from 10–11 July 2019.

The two-day conference, trade show and think tank, is designed to investigate augmented and virtual reality, known as mixed reality, for all agriculture sectors and along the entire length of each supply chain.

The conference will include more than 40 presentations demonstrating end‐use applications of various mixed reality deployments from both agriculture and non‐agriculture sectors under the following six theme streams:

Theme 1 – Marketing and Consumer messaging
Theme 2 – Engaging with consumers at retail
Theme 3 – Education and Training
Theme 4 – Manufacturing Operations (and auditing)
Theme 5 – Engineering, Maintenance and Safety
Theme 6 – On‐farm (operations)

End users, hardware providers, developers and integrators, and universities and students are encouraged to attend the conference, trade show and think tank.

The conference is being presented by MLA, with support from AgriFutures Australia, Australian Eggs, Australian Pork, Australian Wool Innovation, Dairy Australia, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Forest and Wood Products Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation, Hort Innovation, Sugar Research Australia and Wine Australia.

Tickets to the conference are $100 and registration is essential. For more information and to register, use this link.

At the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

1. Understand the performance of the top 20 per cent of growers in your region
2. Build your knowledge around the profit drivers that really make a difference in a grain business
3. Identify the management traits of a top 20 per cent grower
4. Have access to diagnostic tools and processes to easily assess your own business performance

For more information and to register call 08 8841 4500, email admin@ruraldirections.com or visit www.ruraldirections.com/events.

Registration is open, and the program is now available for the GSSA 60th Annual Conference. Book your place today!

More information is available here.

The Rural Press Club of Victoria 2019 Rural and Regional Journalism and Photography Awards showcase and recognise the best journalism and photography across the State, and highlight media outlets that have inspired change in their communities.

Journalists and photographers enter their best work and also compete for the prestigious Journalist and Photographer of the Year titles.

Each newspaper, radio station and TV station also compete for the Media Outlet of the Year award, which is hotly contested.

This year’s gala awards night will be held on Friday, 23 August to recognise the best work published from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.

The awards are open to all journalists, photographers and media outlets in Victoria and Tasmania.

Journalists and photographers can enter the awards from June 24 - July 19.

To enter the awards, you need to be a member of the Rural Press Club of Victoria.

Visit the Rural Press Club of Victoria website for more details.

Sheep producers are being urged to submit worm samples for an Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) research trial to validate a more sensitive worm test.

They are asked to collect dung samples from a mob of wormy sheep on the day of drenching, then again 14 days after the drench.

Producers who submit worm samples will receive the results from the traditional faecal egg count (FEC) test for free, saving them hundreds of dollars.

For more information contact admin@dawbuts.com or call (02) 4655 6464.