• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Improving livestock biosecurity in Victoria
• Having a bushfire plan for your horses is essential
• Victoria’s On-Farm Internet of Things Trial
• Watch the latest Very Fast Break
• Feeding Cool Cows – become a Partner Farm
• Tell us what you think – take our podcast survey
• Tune into the AgVic Talk podcast series
• Primary producers bushfire support programs
• What's on – upcoming webinars

Update: COVIDSafe Summer restrictions

COVIDSafe Summer restrictions came into effect at 11.59 pm on Sunday 6 December 2020 and are now in place across Victoria until at least the end of January 2021. See the Premier’s statement or visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au for more details.

Victorian Border Crossing Permit

A permit system remains in place for anyone wishing to enter Victoria from South Australia. For more information and to apply for a Victorian Border Crossing Permit visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

COVIDSafe Plans are required for all Victorian businesses

It is mandatory for every Victorian business to have a COVIDSafe Plan.

To ensure compliance, random spot checks are underway.

Your COVIDSafe Plan must set out:

• your actions to help prevent the introduction of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace
• the level of face covering or personal protective equipment (PPE) required for your workforce
• how you will prepare for, and respond to, a suspected or confirmed case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace
• this plan must demonstrate how you will meet all the requirements set out by the Victorian Government.

Businesses must review and update their COVIDSafe Plans routinely, especially when restrictions or public health advice changes. Organisations with multiple worksites must complete a COVIDSafe Plan for each worksite.

You can stay up to date with restrictions and public health advice at coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Victoria’s livestock industries will be supported with grants from the Victorian Government to further strengthen the state’s biosecurity and to prevent and manage pests and diseases.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes recently announced 25 projects worth $9.5 million have been successful under the 2020 Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program.

The grants fund projects that provide innovative solutions, use emerging technologies and tackle livestock biosecurity issues, needs or gaps for the industries.

The grants are administered from the four livestock compensation funds – cattle, sheep and goat, swine and honeybee industries.

The grants include funding for the Victorian Farmers Federation to conduct a producer-led biosecurity extension program funded by both the cattle and sheep and goat compensation funds, for the Livestock Saleyards Association of Victoria to complete the ‘Managing Transit Stock in Saleyards’ project and for HiveKeepers to complete the ‘Smart Sentinel Beehives Pilot Program’.

Government projects funded include the continuation of the National Livestock Identification System for both sheep and cattle, Significant Disease Investigation programs, animal disease investigation courses and abattoir-based pig health surveillance and prevention of anthrax.

Other grant recipients include La Trobe University, CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Agrinous, Victorian Apiarists’ Association and the Victorian Recreational Beekeepers Association, all delivering projects to support biosecurity in Victoria.

Changes to legislation last year through the Primary Industries Legislation Amendment Act 2019 has meant that more money is now available for programs administered from 2020.

For more information, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestockbiosecurityfunds.

All farm and household fire planning needs to include your pets and larger animals, to ensure both people and animals are as safe as possible during an emergency.

Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer Lee Manning said having a clear fire plan will help horse owners to establish their priorities and give them time to practice their plan, especially if it includes floating horses to a safer location before high risk days.

“Owners should prepare a ‘safer’ area for horses – this area should be as large as possible with minimum pasture and vegetation length and secure boundary fencing. Ideally include a dam or secure water source not reliant on electric pumps,” Dr Manning said.

“Internal gates can be opened for more space but horses need to be taught they can move through freely so they can escape even when highly stressed.”

“On high fire danger days move horses to your ‘safer’ area and take all gear off them, so they are free to move if you aren’t home during an emergency. Rugs get tangled, halters get hot and burn and fly veils may melt so being naked gives your horse the best chance of survival.”

If you plan to leave early with your horses be aware that they take extra time. Ideally leave in the morning before a fire event is unfolding. Arrange now where you could go to – do not assume the Pony Club or Showgrounds will be open or safe.

“It is not feasible to evacuate horses with little notice, so have contingency plans that all members of the house know and have practiced.”

Horses ‘flight’ instinct will be to run away from the danger of fire, and if cornered their ‘fight’ instinct will have them gallop through flames if necessary.

“Unfortunately, this ‘fight’ instinct will also have them gallop through you if you try to be with them, so please leave them free to run and survive alone.”

After a fire check all horses for burns, smoke inhalation, eye irritation and leg injuries. First aid for equine burns is very similar to people – hose them with clean, cool water for at least ten minutes and call a veterinarian immediately for advice.

Please consult your local CFA for local fire behaviour and weather patterns and develop your household fire plan and trigger points for actioning it with your animals included.

Further information can be found at: Horses and livestock in emergencies and Assessing horses after bushfires.

Do you want to invest in digital technology for your farm?

A trial to test Internet of Things (IoT) technology on sheep, dairy, horticulture and cropping farms is underway in Victoria.

As part of the trial, grants of up to $25,000 are available to help farmers in Wellington Shire invest in IoT technology and get down to the nitty-gritty of works and what doesn’t on their farms.

Network connectivity will also be provided to farmers taking part in the trial.

For more information call Agriculture Victoria Industry Technology Coordinator Andy Clark on 0436 804 656 or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/digitalag

Welcome to The Very Fast Break seasonal climate update video clips. We are partnering with the GRDC to bring you these short summaries.

Click here to watch the lastest video.

Check out our first podcast, My Raingauge is Busted, the history of 'The Break', part of the Ag VicTalk pilot podcast series. Available here.

If you have comments, questions or feedback address them to Dale Grey at the.break@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The Very Fast Break is produced by Agriculture Victoria as a part of the GRDC (Southern Region) Using Seasonal Forecasts Partnership Project.

Do your cows eat less in hot weather? Do hot weather events affect your milk production? Do you want to understand how to reduce the negative effects of hot weather?  If your answer is ‘yes’, then it’s not too late to become a Partner Farm in the Feeding Cool Cows project.

Feeding Cool Cows – a DairyFeedbase project – is working to provide strategies to help dairy farmers reduce the negative impacts of hot weather on milk production and farm profit.

The changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the Australian dairy industry and the goal of the Feeding Cool Cows program is to support dairy farms to become more resilient and ensure summer feeding strategies are cost-effective. The project aims to understand how the severity of hot weather affects milk responses to different feed components, and how cow genetics interact with nutrition – using information from farms located all over Australia.

To find out more about Feeding Cool Cows and becoming a Partner Farm go to dairyfeedbase.com.au/2020/10/29/fccpartnerfarms/

Applications for the summer program are closing soon. If you’re interested in joining Feeding Cool Cows for this summer or in 2021, contact Josie Garner at josie.garner@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Feeding Cool Cows is a DairyFeedbase project supported by Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation.

Here at Agriculture Victoria we are interested in getting feedback about your interests and preferences to help us improve our podcasts.

While we know they are a great medium, we are interested in how you listen to them and what you like about them. This will help us improve our approach in the future.

We are seeking your thoughts with this short survey.

It won’t take any longer than five minutes and will help us in creating new podcasts.

Complete the survey here: https://bit.ly/39hlrrO

Have you listened to the new AgVic Talk podcast series yet?

Episodes now available include:

• Turn a dream into reality with Sarah McLean
• Spring pasture management of fire affected pastures with Fiona Baker
• Getting a foot in the door using drones on-farm with Clay-Gowers
• Balancing wet winters and dairy farming with Craig Dwyer
• Managing a dairy farm in a variable climate with Kevin Fitzsimons
• Using soil moisture monitoring to help manage seasonal risk with Dale Boyd
• Managing through dry seasons is all about preparation with Peter Young
• Maintaining ground cover to secure sandy topsoil with Ron Hards.
• Dealing with stress during difficult times with David Cherry.
• The history of season climate and climate driver information with The Break team.

Listen here

Free, confidential wellbeing and mental health support is now available to business owners, their employees and family members as part of the Wellbeing and Mental Health Support program.

The Partners in Wellbeing hotline provides one-to-one support to improve wellbeing, as well as free access to business advisers and financial counsellors.

Call 1300 375 330 from 9 am to 10 pm weekdays.

The Victorian and Commonwealth Governments are continuing to support the agriculture business recovery from the 2019–20 bushfires, with additional support for both inside and outside the fire-affected areas.

The Smoke Taint Grant provides up to $10,000 for business recovery and growth, improvements to make the business more resilient to future disasters, and marketing activities.

It is available to farmers outside the local government areas that are currently eligible for the Emergency Bushfire Response in Primary Industries Grant and the Small Business Bushfire Support Grant.

For details of the grant and a list of the eligible local government areas, visit ruralfinance.com.au

The new $10,000 Small Business Bushfire Support Grants are open.

• it's easy to apply
• you aren't required to upload any financial documents if you don't have them right now
• you can apply if your business was indirectly affected by the bushfires.

The grant is available for small businesses and primary producers in East Gippsland, Towong, Alpine, Indigo, Wangaratta, Mansfield and Wellington shires who have experienced significant income loss as a result of this season’s bushfires.

Find out more at www.vic.gov.au/bushfire-recovery-victoria

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 began on 21 November 2019.

The loans are for restoring and/or replacing damaged assets and/or to meet working capital expenses.

They are available for 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 helping regional Victorians who lost critical household water infrastructure in the 2019-20 bushfires with up to $20,000 available to replace rainwater and septic tanks.

Rebates, of up to $15,000 for septic tanks and $3,000 for household rainwater tanks, are available to cover up to half of the costs of the purchase and installation of new primary use tank systems to residents rebuilding homes.

To assist with the installation process, up to $1,500 funding is available for any combination of assessments required to get council approval to install or alter a septic system including condition reports undertaken by a qualified plumber and Land Capability Assessments.

Further funding of up to $500 is available to cover the initial refill of a rainwater tank installed as part of the program.

Rebates of up to $2,500 are also available for minor repairs or reconnections required for undamaged tank systems that comply with current standards.

The program is available to households in Alpine, Towong and East Gippsland shires, not connected to reticulated urban water systems, for the replacement, minor repairs or reconnection of primary use rainwater and septic tanks at their primary place of residence.

Rebates are available for works completed since 21 November 2019 and until 31 May 2023.

To apply for the rebates contact your local Bushfire Recovery Victoria hub or visit melbournewater.com.au/RaSTRprogram.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can be found in one spot on our website. Log on to the Events page to keep in touch with upcoming events.

Friday 11 December, 11 am –12 pm.

Register here.

This interactive session will be presented by Stephanie Schmidt, a Clinical Psychologist and farmer in the eastern agricultural area of South Australia.

Stephanie lives with her husband and three young sons on their sheep and cropping farm at Worlds End.

During this session, participants will learn a simple strategy to flexibly adapt and respond to challenging situations, while also considering what is most important to them.

Participants will learn tools to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings in a different and more helpful way.

This session will give you time out to settle 2020 and provide clarity moving into 2021.

This planning session will be followed with an online review session on 12 February 2021 at 12 pm.

After bushfire, ecosystems are at their most vulnerable to weed invasion.

Help to support indigenous flora and fauna by managing weeds in bushfire affected areas.

The final webinar in this free series focuses on weed identification and recording after fire.

Catch it next week on Wednesday 16 December from 1030 am to 12.15 pm.

Register online and learn how you can help indigenous species through weed management. https://tinyurl.com/WeedsAfterFire.

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