• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Beef and sheep seasonal webinar series
• Calling on Victorian rural women to lead the way
• South-west farmplan21 course coming up
• Fox and wild dog bounty collections suspended at two locations
• Improving digital literacy and connectivity on-farm
• Making farms safer
• Gardiner Foundation Nuffield Scholarships
• Young farmer business network
• What's on

Face covering mandatory for Melbourne and Mitchell Shire

People living in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire are now required to wear a face mask when leaving home for one of the four permitted reasons: shopping for food and supplies, medical care and caregiving – including to be tested for coronavirus (COVID-19), exercise, and study or work if unable to work or study from home.

Victorians outside metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire are being asked to use common sense when it comes to visiting friends and family, especially those who are more vulnerable.

That means seeing only those you need to – if you need to.

Stay safe by washing your hands regularly, keeping your distance from others and staying home if you feel unwell.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) you should get tested and stay home.

For more information, please visit the Department of Health and Human Services website

Border travel restrictions

Restrictions on the movement of Victorians across our borders with South Australia (SA) and New South Wales (NSW) are now in place.

The Victorian Premier, the Prime Minister and the Premier of NSW agreed to close the border between Victoria and NSW from 8 July 2020.

From midnight Wednesday 22 July, a border zone, defined along the Murray River, has been established.

Entry to NSW from Victoria will be restricted, and exemptions for NSW residents travelling from the Victorian side of the border zone will be limited.

Permits issued up until the commencement of the border zone expired at midnight 21 July. Individuals eligible under the new rules will need to apply for a new permit. This closure is being enforced by NSW Police.

There are also restrictions in place for Victorians travelling into South Australia . People from Victoria may not enter South Australia unless they are an Essential Traveller.

For more information about the NSW border restrictions and cross border management in that state, including entry permits, visit Service NSW website, or call their dedicated coronavirus (COVID-19) information line on 13 77 88. No permit is required to enter Victoria from NSW.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries provides a coronavirus (COVID-19) concierge service to support primary producers to navigate the current restrictions.

This concierge service can be contacted directly at covidinfo@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

For more information about the South Australian border restrictions, visit the South Australian Government COVID-19 website, or call their dedicated coronavirus (COVID-19) information line on 1800 253 787.

No permit or approval is required to enter Victoria from another state – however you will need to adhere to the restrictions and directions that are in place to slow the spread of coronavirus in Victoria.

For the most up to date information about coronavirus (COVID-19) and current restrictions in Victoria, visit the Department of Health and Human Services website.

People in Victoria can also call the coronavirus (COVID-19) hotline on 1800 675 398.

Agriculture Victoria’s beef and sheep networks’ winter/spring webinar series is on again with expert presenters helping farmers answer all the challenging questions to get them through the next few months.

Agriculture Victoria Livestock Industry Development Officer Tess McDougall said this series is aimed at decision-making with a focus on managing pastures, conserving fodder and livestock health and nutrition.

“Producers can join the afternoon sessions via their phone and/or computer, tablet or smartphone.

“They are easy to join and provide an opportunity for participants to ask questions and discuss issues with our presenters,” she said.

“Each webinar will be recorded if you can’t attend, so please register to receive a copy of the recording via email.”

Webinar 1: Animal health and nutrition (13 August, 12.30 - 1.30pm)

Learn more about animal nutrition, trace mineral deficiencies, winter/early spring feed budgeting and livestock health issues to watch out for. Presented by Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer and Nick Linden, Sheep Industry Development Officer.

Register at - www.eventbrite.com.au/e/113841172010

Webinar 2: Fodder conservation (3 September, 12.30 - 1.30pm)

This webinar will explore questions such as how much is conserving fodder really costing me? How much of my farm should I cut and how can I produce high quality hay and silage this spring? Presented by Michele Jolliffe, Dairy Extension Officer and Claire Waterman Farm Business Economist.

Register at - www.eventbrite.com.au/e/113841535096

Webinar 3: Spring pasture (17 September 12.30 - 1.30pm)

Discussion will focus on what nutrients need to be replaced after fodder conservation, the importance of tillering and key grazing management practices for a successful spring. Presented by Fiona Baker, Beef Extension Officer.

Register at - www.eventbrite.com.au/e/113841709618

For further information or if you have trouble registering contact Tess McDougall 0409 841 492 or tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The Victorian Government is inviting women from country Victoria to build their leadership skills, with the 2021 Victorian Rural Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Program now open.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes is encouraging rural Victorian women involved in agriculture or the agricultural supply chain to apply for this year’s intake, with 14 funded places on established leadership courses starting later this year and early in 2021.

The government has provided $500,000 funding to the Victorian Rural Women’s Network to support the program, which has so far provided 24 rural women with professional leadership training.

The Leadership Program partners with four established leadership training providers delivering highly regarded programs suitable for emerging and experienced leaders.

Applications are now open for funded places on the 2020 Women’s Leadership Program as well as for the 2021 intake of The Observership Program and Williamson Leadership Program.

Participants in the Leadership Program build expertise in areas such as how to effectively build teams, financial and business management, governance and networking. The Observership Program offers the opportunity for emerging leaders to gain first-hand board experience by sitting as an ‘observer’ on a not-for-profit board.

The Victorian Rural Women’s Network was re-established in July 2017 with a $1.7 million commitment over four years from the Victorian Government.

The Leadership Program, alongside other initiatives including AgriFutures™ Rural Women’s Award and the Invisible Farmer Project, is part of the Victorian Government’s ongoing support for rural and regional women.

For more information and to apply for a funded place on a leadership program, see the Victorian Rural Women’s Network website at extensionaus.com.au/VRWNetwork.

Do you want to make your farm more resilient, sustainable and productive? Have you developed risk management strategies for the next fire, flood or drought? Do you want to pass your land to future generations in a better condition than when you started farming?

Agriculture Victoria Land Management Officer Clem Sturmfels said if you answered yes to any of these questions then you should sign up for this online whole farm plan course coming up in August and September.

“The primary aim of whole farm planning is the protection and best practice management of critical farm assets; your soil, water and vegetation - which underpins farm productivity.

“If you are keen to improve your farm design and layout, enhance areas of native vegetation, improve habitat for birds and insects and improve the quality of your soil and water and can you commit a few weeks this spring to make your farm a more attractive place to live, work and raise your family – this is the course for you.”

Agriculture Victoria is specifically offering an online course to farmers in south-west Victoria this spring.

Preference will be given to famers in the Casterton and Coleraine districts, but other farmers are encouraged to express their interest. Numbers will be capped at 15 to ensure an interactive program. 

The course will run on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for six weeks and participants will need good internet service and basic computer skills.

It will be run by Agriculture Victoria staff with support from the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority through funding from the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

For more information or to register your interest please contact Tess McDougall, 0409 841 492, tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

The Victorian Fox and Wild Dog Bounty collections have been suspended at Woori Yallock and Broadford to limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

These collection centres will be closed until 11.59pm Wednesday 19 August 2020 in line with the current Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions for those areas.

All other collection centres remain open at the scheduled times.

Due to this, the bounty program will be extended from the end of October 2020 until the end of November 2020, to allow for additional collections across all centres.

Agriculture Victoria intends to reopen Broadford on Thursday 20 August 2020 and Woori Yallock on Thursday 10 September 2020, subject to the advice of the Chief Health Officer in relation to Victoria’s coronavirus (COVID-19) restriction levels.

Hunters are still encouraged to continue to collect fox scalps and wild dog body parts, while following coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions relevant to their area.

These pieces can be frozen or air dried and submitted for reward at an alternative collection centre or when the suspended collection centres reopen, in line with bounty terms and conditions.

All participants are reminded that they must comply with coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions when attending collections centres.

All hunters are reminded to use common sense when hunting and when it comes to attending bounty collections.

Stay safe by abiding by coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions that apply to your area, stay local, practise good hygiene, keep your distance from others and, if you feel unwell, get tested and stay home.

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

Want to know more about improving your digital literacy and connectivity? Need confidence to access technology to improve your on-farm decision making?

CONNECTIVITY WEBINARS

Join extensionAUS and Agriculture Victoria for a series of webinars which will provide a unique opportunity for you to address on-farm connectivity issues and help you to understand available digital technology – how to measure it and how to make it work as best as possible for you and your business.

WEBINAR DATES AND TIMES

Webinar 2 – Getting the most out of video meeting software

Tuesday 28 July
1.30 – 2.30 pm

Register or join at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86270444624

Webinar 3 – Internet of Things (IoT)

Tuesday 4 August
1.30 – 2.30 pm

Register or join at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89327853496

Webinar 4 – Online networking to better communicate on-farm and service farm businesses

Tuesday 11 August
1.30 – 2.30 pm

Register or join at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84433966881

Contact: If you need help registering please contact Gavin Beever, Cumbre Consultants on 0438 234 886 or gavin@cumbre.com.au

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AUDIT

An opportunity exists to participate in an on-farm digital technology audit conducted by phone by Agriculture Victoria, to understand the technology you already have available on-farm and how you can improve its efficiency.

Participants will be asked to identify what type of internet connectivity they have, where they have access to WiFi and how they use technology on their farm.

Participants will have time to prepare for the audit and will receive a property map and report of results.

REGISTRATION

To register for the audit please book a time at https://bit.ly/2VbBXBK

Contact: If you need help registering or would like more information please contact Andy Clark,

Agriculture Victoria, on 0436 804 656 or andy.clark@agriculture.vic.gov.au

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

Preference will be given to participants from Central and East Gippsland, the GMID and the Millewa region of North-West Victoria.

Two new educational programs supported by the Victorian Government will be rolled out for rural and regional school students to start changing attitudes towards safety on farms from an early age.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes this week announced the programs at the beginning of National Farm Safety Week to reinforce the Victorian Government’s commitment towards reducing deaths and injuries on farms.

Kidsafe Victoria will receive a $97,000 grant to support their work preventing unintentional death and injury of children by delivering a farm safety campaign and creative competition in primary schools over three years.

The National Centre for Farmer Health will receive a $108,500 grant to deliver twenty ‘Gear up for Agriculture Health and Safety’ workshops to Victorian secondary school students who have an interest in agriculture.

Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) found that children aged younger than 15 in Victoria’s outer regional areas are four times more likely to die due to injury than children in our major cities.

MUARC recommended addressing this problem through increased education and awareness of known injury hazards such as dams, farm equipment and off-road motorbike use.

Drowning is the leading cause of death of children on farms – providing a fenced play area away from water hazards such as dams is one example recommendation of what can be done to help make farms safer for children.

Teaching children about farms as workplaces as well as homes is a vital part of changing attitudes, with information showing children influence the decisions their parents make, in turn improving farm safety for the whole family.

These grants are part of the Victorian Government’s $20 million Victoria’s Smarter, Safer Farms program which is addressing skills and safety issues in the agriculture sector.

To find out more about the educational programs visit the Agriculture Victoria website.

Applications are now open for the Nuffield Farming Scholarship for a Victorian dairy farmer.

The scholarship, sponsored by the Gardiner Dairy Foundation and Nuffield Australia, provides a chance for the successful applicant to travel and investigate their field of interest. It is open to applicants between the age of 28–45 years.

Further details on the program is available at on the Gardiner Foundation website. Applications close on 11 September.

Information on the full 2021 Nuffield Scholarship Program is available at https://www.nuffield.com.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.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website.

Farmers and dairy communities

Learn how three farmers are bridging the rural-urban divide and building community on social media, plus practical tips and advice for getting the most out of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

Featuring:

• Adam Jenkins – farmer and rural advocate
• Dianne Bowles – dairy farmer and co-founder of the Show some #dairylove Facebook group
• Peter Vallance – Mallee cattle and cropping farmer with an international following on TikTok.

Details

Date: Thursday 6 August

Where - ZOOM

Time: 7.30 – 8.30 pm

Cost - FREE

Register at - https://www.dairyaustralia.com.au/events-calendar/event?sfid=7016F000002XgaiQAC

The Rural Press Club of Victoria has launched its 2020 Rural and Regional Journalism and Photography Awards, with increased prize money to recognise the best work across the state.

This year has been challenging for regional journalists and photographers, with many publications reducing or stopping coverage.

To reflect the challenges this year has brought, RPCV award category winners will receive $500 and a trophy, while winners of the overall awards including Journalist of the Year, Photographer of the Year and Young Journalist of the Year will each receive $1,000 and a trophy.

The awards are open to all journalists, photographers and media outlets in Victoria and Tasmania. Journalists and photographers can enter the awards until 31 July.

To enter the awards, you need to be a member of the Rural Press Club of Victoria. You can sign up for membership and enter the awards on the club’s new website ruralpressclubvictoria.com.au/

Young farmers can learn the ins and outs of managing money, debt and talking to banks at the Farm Finance – Getting Prepared online workshop on Friday, 24 July.

The 90-minute online workshop will help young farmers understand the finance options available to achieve their goals.

Host Jane Foster is a Senior Consultant specialising in agribusiness at ORM and brings a wealth of experience in farm debt management and financial data analysis.

The online workshop is free to attend on Friday 24 July at 12.30pm, and the session will be recorded and made available for those who register.

Registrations (via Zoom) can be made here:
zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0of-ytqjotGtbyo1ynhItVJXApFjOkJM3i

For more information and to register, contact Sarah Wallis on 0419 571 208.

Agriculture Victoria and the Glenelg Hopkins CMA invite you to participate in an online whole farm planning course to be run between August and September this year.

Please note first preference will be given to farmers from the Casterton and Coleraine districts of south-west Victoria.

DATES: To be confirmed

DAY: Tuesday and Thursday for six weeks

TIME: 8.30 – 10.30 am

VENUE: Online via Zoom

CONTACT: Tess McDougall on 0409 841 492 or  tess.mcdougall@agriculture.vic.gov.au

RSVP:  By email with contact details before Monday 3 August

COST:  The course is fully sponsored by the Glenelg Hopkins CMA.

Winners of the 2020 Great South West Dairy Awards will be announced over three online presentations commencing 19 August.

The short engaging sessions will be available to view on the WestVic Dairy Facebook page.

Simone Renyard, Chair of WestVIc Dairy explains, “We were only two weeks away from holding our Awards Gala evening when we had to postpone due to COVID-19.

At a recent Board meeting it was decided that moving the Awards online was the appropriate and timely thing to do.

“We have enjoyed great support from our sponsors and the finalists through this time of uncertainty and we are committed to hosting a great event that really recognises the achievements of those at the forefront of our industry.

"We believe that presenting the Awards in this way will enable many more people to get involved and to see the great work people do, day in day out, to provide the country with fantastic dairy products,” Mrs Renyard said.

The first winners will be revealed at 7:30 pm on Wednesday 19 August, with subsequent announcements made at the same time on following Wednesdays, 26 August and 2 September.

WestVic Dairy’s Project Officer, Liza Fahey, has been organising the changed format.

“On the Monday and Tuesday evenings prior to each presentation we will be highlighting the achievements of each finalist in that week’s categories.

"Prior to the restrictions, we went out on-farm and recorded interviews with the finalists.

"The videos look great and really showcase the high calibre of finalists, each category is very competitive.

“If you don’t already follow WestVic Dairy on Facebook, we encourage you to do so.

"All of the presentations - finalist videos and winner announcements - will go for about 15 minutes each night and will start at 7.30 pm, so hopefully people will be in from work and be able to sit down for a little while to enjoy the event,” Mrs Fahey said.

The Grassland Society of Southern Australia is running its 61st Annual Conference - Growing with grasslands. 

DATE: 22 July - 19 August 

TIME: 7.30 - 9.30 pm AEST

We invite you to join us for the 61st Annual Conference - and our first ever virtual conference! It will take place online via Zoom from 7.30- 9.30pm AEST every Wednesday evening for five weeks.

Find out more at www.grasslands.org.au

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