• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Unlocking opportunities for the almond industry
• Are your livestock fit to load?
• Food to market grant program
• Sheep Notes - autumn edition
• Ask the researcher - Dr Liz Morse-McNabb
• Hive of activity at Victorian ports to protect our bees
• Think Farm Safe, Be Farm Safe
• Fox and wild dog bounty collections
• Animal Welfare Victoria
• In case you missed it
• Weekly Irrigation Requirements
• Climate and ag info webinars
• What's on?

Keep up to date with all the latest restrictions and requirements at coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

The State Government is supporting Victorian farmers to use new technologies to improve productivity while reducing their environmental footprint.

Agriculture Victoria’s Mildura SmartFarm will play a key role in helping Victorian temperate nut producers adapt to climate change and market demands.

The project is backed by government through the $5 million Smarter, Safer Farms Initiative – part of the $115 million Agriculture Strategy.

Scientists at the Mildura SmartFarm are examining how sensors and automated irrigation systems, together with orchard design, could reduce water and fertiliser usage while increasing the intensity and efficiency of production.

The Mildura SmartFarm, which is linked to the Tatura SmartFarm, is on 20 hectares near Irymple. Almonds are the major focus, but hazelnut, walnut, macadamia, pistachio, pecan and chestnut are also grown there.

The SmartFarm is fitted with soil moisture sensors, a targeted irrigation system as well as light sensors.

Drones are also being used by scientists to measure tree growth and the health of tree canopies, while ground-based laser technology is being used to investigate tree architecture.

Data captured by these technologies is helping accelerate research while demonstrating new opportunities for Victoria’s almond industry.

It will identify how producers can make more informed and timely decisions to reduce crop inputs, such as fertiliser and water.

Almonds are Victoria’s largest nut export commodity, with a value of $454 million in 2019/20.

Exports from Victoria represent 60 per cent of total almond exports across the country.

The findings from research and innovation at the SmartFarm will help to deliver opportunities to protect and grow both export and domestic markets.

The government is committed to increasing the adoption of new, effective and fit-for-purpose technologies to grow and protect our agriculture industries as a key commitment of the Agriculture Strategy.

Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

Any person in charge of an animal, which could include producers, farm workers, transporters and livestock agents, must not allow any animal to be loaded onto transport that is not fit for the journey ahead.

Unfortunately, we occasionally see animal welfare issues associated with transporting livestock.

In each case this has been partly due to the owner not having a good understanding of what was fit to load and what was not.

An animal is not fit to load if it is:

• not able to walk normally or bear weight on all its legs - this may be due to a recent or old fracture, an injury, a deformity, or an infection
• not strong enough to make the journey
• suffering from severe distress or injury
• in a condition that could cause it increased pain or distress during transport
• blind in both eyes
• in late pregnancy.

If you discover an animal is unfit to load you can either:

• treat the animal and transport it when it has recovered and is fit to load - naturally this is not an option in cases the animal is not readily treatable
• humanely destroy the animal - a knackery service is available in many areas to help with this option
• consult a veterinarian and only transport under veterinary advice.

If in doubt about an animal’s suitability for transport you should contact your private veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria.

You can read more information online or read the guidelines titled “Is the animal fit to load?” produced by Meat and Livestock Australia.

Remember, the person in charge of the animal is responsible for its welfare.

Community values and expectations don’t accept anything less.

Food to Market is a $15 million commitment under the new strategy for agriculture in Victoria to provide financial support for projects investing in our agri-food supply chain.

Program overview

The Food to Market Program will invest in projects to support jobs, deliver productivity improvements and capitalise on new opportunities across the agri-food supply chain. Projects will help to fast-track economic recovery and deliver more resilient supply chains.

The Food to Market Program will provide funding of $50,000 up to $1 million on a co-contribution basis to businesses for eligible projects that align with the objectives of the program.

Objectives of the program

Key objectives of this program include to:

• increase supply chain efficiency and productivity
• grow existing export markets and access new export markets
• close critical gaps in domestic production and supply chains
• increase value add to Victorian production
• increase collaborative and shared resources along the domestic supply chain.

Projects eligible for funding

A wide range of projects that support the objectives of the program may be considered for funding.

Examples of projects that may be considered for funding include to:

• address a supply chain issue that presents barriers to domestic processing capability
• take up new technology and innovation
• grow export markets including access to new markets for existing or new products
• improve supply chain productivity and cost competitiveness
• improve data collection and analysis for improved decision making along supply chains
• provide import replacement or re-onshore supply chains
• design and implement new systems that improve supply-chain networks and partnerships

To be eligible for funding applicants must demonstrate that:

• projects align with program objectives
• benefits to be delivered by the project will extend to other agri-food participants along the supply chain, or to the agri-food sector or supply-chain more broadly.

You can begin an Expression of Interest grant application online.

Sheep Notes informs sheep producers about general sheep health and welfare, production, market protection and biosecurity issues.

It also provides details about specific department and industry programs to guide improvement in the productivity, profitability and sustainability of sheep enterprises.

Subscribe to the Sheep Notes newsletter on the Agriculture Victoria website.

In this issue:

• Staggers
• LiveFeed - seasonal webinar
• Underperforming animals in a paddock full of feed
• Assess feed and animal requirements
• Online learning - stock containment; irrigation, soil
• Digital Tips
• Resistance to insecticides in blowflies
• Farmer tips on autumn saving
• High performance maidens, grazing weeds
• Livestock Farm Monitor Project results
• Free benchmarking and profit assessment
• NEXUS
• Did you know?
• Do you mules your lambs?

Dairy farmers know that pasture is an excellent source of high quality, low-cost feed.

How the available pasture is used can make a big difference to the bottom line.

Agriculture Victoria’s Senior research scientist Dr Liz Morse-McNabb has been leading the Pasture Smarts program in partnership with Dairy Australia.

Tune in to Dairy Australia’s Ask the Researcher virtual forum on 21 April to hear Dr Morse-McNabb and GippsDairy research extension officer Donna Gibson share the key findings from their research including the PastureSmarts app which has been developed to help farmers track and measure their pasture utilisation.

You can also read about the PastureSmarts project in the latest edition the Dairy Innovation News.

Artificially intelligent beehives are being installed at Victoria’s ports to bolster protection from exotic pests and diseases, in an initiative backed by the State Government. 

The new Agriculture Victoria agreements with Bega Cheese and HiveKeepers was launched this week, which will trial technology for rapid detection of pests at Victoria’s ports. 

Bega Cheese’s Purple Hive project is being installed alongside sentinel hives managed and monitored by Agriculture Victoria.

Purple Hive is a solar-powered device that detects bee pest Varroa destructor, providing alerts in real-time using artificial intelligence and 360-degree camera technology. Purple Hive has been tested in New Zealand where the mite is established, to prepare for installation at the Port of Melbourne. 

HiveKeepers will install a smart hive at the Port of Hastings, which operates by identifying pests and recognising diseases through bee health and behaviour, and sending alerts to a remote computer or mobile device.

The National Bee Pest Surveillance Program has hives located at the ports of Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings and Portland that are monitored for exotic pests and diseases like Varroa mite every six weeks.

These ports are identified as a high-risk pathway for bee pests to enter Victoria, with bees from Varroa-infested countries hitchhiking on ships that enter Victoria, which could threaten the state’s honey bee population.

In 2018, Varroa destructor was detected on a ship that had entered the Port of Melbourne.

The government worked with industry and community to act swiftly to ensure the detected Varroa destructor didn’t spread through Victoria’s bee population and become an outbreak.

If Varroa mite was to become established in Australia, an estimated 20,000 cropping and horticulture industry businesses would be affected, as well as home gardeners and the wider community.

There are more than 12,800 beekeepers with almost 135,000 registered hives in Australia, which contribute to the state’s $17.5 million apiary industry.

These new partnerships align with Victoria’s agriculture strategy to protect our bee population by ensuring we are well placed to respond to new pests, and modernising Victorian agriculture through new technology.

Think Farm Safe, Be Farm Safe. 

Support the primary schoolers in your life to create something amazing for the KidSafe Victoria creative competition. 

The competition is part of Agriculture Victoria’s Smarter, Safer Farms commitment to improve safety and skills outcomes for Victorian farmers and their families.

Find safety support for your farm – worksafe.vic.gov.au/agriculture

For general advice relating to farm safety, please contact WorkSafe Victoria phone: 1800 136 089.

WorkSafe can offer Farm Safety Checklists or free confidential safety audits and advice via its programs.

Victorian fox and wild dog bounty collections resumed on Monday 1 March 2021, in line with current COVIDSafe requirements.

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

If you are attending a collection centre, you must comply with COVIDSafe requirements including physical distancing, good hygiene practices and wearing a face mask indoors and where you can’t distance outdoors.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the preferred method of payment so please bring your EFT details to the collection centre.

Stay safe by following the COVIDSafe requirements and, if you feel unwell, get tested and stay home.

Acceptable entire fox scalps and entire wild dog body parts will be collected from eligible members of the public at specific dates and times, and from sites scheduled as collection centres.

Please note that no entire-fox scalps or entire wild dog body parts will be accepted at any public counter or state government office.

Collections will only be accepted at the designated times and will run until the end of October.

You can view the Collection schedule for North West Victoria or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

CLOSES SOON – APPLY NOW!

Round one of the Pet Desexing and Equine Rehabilitation grant funding is open for online applications. 

The grants offer financial support to organisations that:

• provide free or low-cost de-sexing programs for cats and dogs owned by vulnerable and/or disadvantaged Victorians; or
• rescue, rehabilitate and rehome horses, ponies or other eligible equine species. 

Applications close at 11:59pm on 11 April 2021.

New worker accommodation taking shape in Mallee

Workers in the Mallee region will have access to more accommodation options, thanks to support from the State Government.

Works at the Swan Hill Worker Housing project, part of a $3.4 million investment to attract more workers to the region, began this week.

Adding value to Victorian food and fibre

The State Government is working to bolster the state’s agri-food supply chains to create new job opportunities in food manufacturing, grow exports and build the resilience of the sector.

Helping pets find a loving home

The State Government is ensuring more pets get the loving homes they deserve with a new taskforce dedicated to rehoming animals.

Autumn pest animal baiting program

Having an autumn baiting program is generally part of a well-planned pest animal management program for many producers and land managers.

Authorised officers trained to protect agriculture

Agriculture Victoria continues to improve its capability to respond to biosecurity and animal welfare threats, with 22 new Authorised Officers and Inspectors trained.

Export lift for Victorian summer fruit growers

Victoria’s lucrative summer fruit exports to China and Malaysia have been given a significant boost, thanks to a funding initiative from the State Government.

Mallee

This update provides ‘reference evapotranspiration’ (ETo) data to assist with improved irrigation scheduling for top growth rates and yields for the Mallee region.

Northern Victoria

This update provides ‘reference evapotranspiration’ (ETo) information to assist with improved irrigation scheduling for top yields and high-water productivity.

The interactive irrigation scheduling tool helps you determine the most productive timing for the next surface irrigation for your unique circumstances.  It uses the same ETo information in the tables below.

Presented by: Graeme Anderson, Agriculture Victoria, Steve Layfield, Ortech Industries and Ray Davies, Central Highlands Straw Alliance

Stubble management can be a complex issue for farmers.

Stubble retention has well-documented benefits, including nutrient recycling, reduced erosion, improved rainfall infiltration and reduced moisture evaporation.

Retaining stubbles also improves soil health and biology. For seasons with large stubble loads there is room to put some of it into other productive uses.

In this webinar recording Graeme Anderson explains the basic carbon cycle and the benefits of putting stubbles into building products to capture carbon for the long term.

Steve Layfield from Ortech Industries  shares how they are contributing to positive carbon farming by using straw stubbles in building products which would otherwise be burnt after harvest contributing to carbon emissions.

Ray Davies from the Pyrenees Shire Council discusses how local farmers are converting stubble straw to energy as one means of alleviating the need to burn stubbles in autumn.

Ray shares a pilot project at the Skipton Hospital where straw pellets will be used as a replacement for LPG to meet the thermal demand for hydronic heating and hot water.

Other investigations include opportunities for combined heat and power in manufacturing and potential for a biogas plant.

Have you been itching to share your thoughts on wind erosion?

We would like to hear from you!

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), through Mallee Sustainable Farming (MSF), are looking to farmers for their knowledge and experience with wind erosion, to help best understand, prevent, manage, and rehabilitate its impact within our current farming systems.

Please take a couple minutes to complete our farmer friendly questionnaire.

Most are multiple choice and strictly no long-winded answers required.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) is proposing changes to operating rules and trade rules to ensure that water traded from the Goulburn to the Murray can be delivered without unacceptable impacts on the environment or the reliability of other entitlements.

Delivering water from the Goulburn inter-valley trade account during summer and autumn to support water requirements of the Murray system caused significant environmental damage to the lower Goulburn River over the two irrigation seasons of 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Public consultation on the Regulatory Impact Statement is now underway

DELWP has prepared a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) that assesses refined trade rule options based on what community consultation last year and identifies new operating rules for lower, more variable flows based on advice from an independent scientific panel.

The RIS also includes long-term options for restricting tagged water use to continue the interim restrictions in place since 2019 that means tagged water cannot be used when trade is closed.

As part of the Goulburn to Murray Trade Review, proposed long-term changes for managing trade between the Goulburn system and the Lower Broken Creek have also been identified in the RIS, building on what we heard through consultation last year.

A separate consultation paper has been prepared to explore in more detail the unique circumstances of this trading zone and how the zone could be treated under the proposed changes to the Goulburn to Murray inter-valley trade rules.

DELWP is now seeking community feedback on the preferred option and related implementation plan identified in the RIS.

Online and face-to-face consultation is running for six weeks with submissions closing 30 April.

DELWP will take on board feedback from the community in making a final decision prior to 1 July 2021 on any changes to operating rules, trade rules and tagging arrangements.

Further information is available on the Engage Victoria website and the Water Register website.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website. Log on to agriculture.vic.gov.au/events to find out what's on.

How’s your farm cashflow budget looking?

Are you accounting for everything coming in and going out?

Is it helping you understand your potential sales income and to plan ahead with your spending?

If you think you could be getting more from your cashflow budgeting, then why not sign up to our next ‘Farm Finance – Getting Prepared’ workshop ‘Creating the Cashflow Budget’ today

The ‘Farm Finance – Getting Prepared’ webinar series breaks down every aspect of farm finance and runs from 7 - 8.30 pm on the following dates:

• Creating the cashflow budget – 8 April
• Farm business risks – 29 April
• Business risks impact on cashflow – 13 May
• Putting the plan into actions – 27 May.

The sessions will be delivered by ORM Agribusiness Consultant Jane Foster, supported by Ms Wallis and participants will have opportunities to ask questions.

Participants can register via ZOOM:

• Creating the cashflow budget
• Farm business risks
• Business risks impact on cashflow
• Putting the plan into actions

The Farm Finance – Getting Prepared series is supported by Agriculture Victoria’s Smarter, Safer Farms program.

Find out more from sarah.wallis@agriculture.vic.gov.au

GRDC Farm Business Update – Online

21 April, 1 – 2 pm

Fundamentals of Operations Management - Key Points to Get Right (a Cropping Enterprise Case Study)

GRDC Farm Business Update National Livestreams are topic specific, interactive, interview style discussions that address key farm business management improvements common to grain growing businesses across Australia.

More details coming soon. Registration for the live-stream events is free. The recordings will be uploaded to the GRDC website for people to view at a later date.

Register online.

GRDC Grains Research Update - Woomelang

13 July, 9 am - 1 pm

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

Speakers and Topics coming soon

You can register online.

Genetic selection can play a powerful role within the sheep industry but how can it work best for you?

Dr Mark Ferguson. who is the Chief Executive Officer of NextGen Agri in New Zealand, will present about the power of genes and how producers can capitalise on incorporating genetic selection in their enterprise.

When: Thursday, 15 April
Where: Online webinar
Time: 1 pm

Go online for more information or to register for the event.

The Mildura Field Days will celebrate its 70th anniversary in 2021.

The 2021 event will be held on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 May at the Mildura Racing Club, 53 Racecourse Road, just off Cowra Ave Mildura.

More information is available by contacting Mildura Field Days on 0487 021 122, visit the website or email jo@mildurafielddays.com.au

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