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Keep up to date with all the latest restrictions and requirements at coronavirus.vic.gov.au.
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| Rise to your food or fibre challenge |
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Gippsland is one of Australia’s leading food and fibre regions, with the industry worth $7 billion to the Victorian economy.
The 'What’s your food or fibre challenge, Gippsland?' program aims to contribute to the growth, prosperity and sustainability of the region, sparking innovation that not only benefits our communities and businesses, but leads the way for the food and fibre industry nationally and globally.
The program provides resources to support a challenge that a food or fibre producer, distributor, retailer, or supplier to the sector may be facing that will enable solutions or opportunities to grow their business or productivity.
About the program
What’s your food or fibre challenge, Gippsland? is funded by the Gippsland Regional Partnership and developed by Federation University Australia and Food & Fibre Gippsland, with partnership, support and collaboration provided by Regional Development Victoria, Food Agility CRC, Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL), Latrobe Valley Authority, TAFE Gippsland, and Committee for Gippsland.
Entrants are invited to tell us about their challenge and create a compelling pitch to enter the program.
Challenges must be related to one of the following categories or, if listed as ‘Other’, must be accompanied by an explanation:
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New product/service development
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Existing product/service improvement or enhancement
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Talent attraction or cultivation
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Business model, business digitisation improvement
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Market research intelligence/feasibility concept study
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Addressing sustainability/environmental outcomes
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Other.
Up to 10 finalists will be selected and each project will receive comprehensive innovation support and collaboration from experts and leaders in business, science and the food and fibre industry.
By entering the What’s your food or fibre challenge, Gippsland? program, taking on those challenges could lead to greater opportunities, unlock huge potential and even revolutionise local businesses and transform the food and fibre industry globally.
The resulting projects will help businesses overcome their challenge in ways that deliver real value for the individual business and have a positive impact on the industry as a whole.
More Information
Visit our website for application details and more information - www.foodandfibregippsland.com.au/whats-your-challenge
Comprehensive information on how to apply will be provided at the Challenge Bootcamp to be held on 20 April 2021 at the Morwell Innovation Centre.
Entrants are strongly recommended to attend the bootcamp.
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| Are your livestock fit to load? |
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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:
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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
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not strong enough to make the journey
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suffering from severe distress or injury
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in a condition that could cause it increased pain or distress during transport
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blind in both eyes
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in late pregnancy.
If you discover an animal is unfit to load you can either:
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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
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humanely destroy the animal - a knackery service is available in many areas to help with this option
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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.
More information is available on the Agriculture Victoria website or alternatively, refer to the guideline titled “Is the animal fit to load?” produced by Meat & Livestock Australia and available on their webpage .
Remember, the person in charge of the animal is responsible for its welfare. Community values and expectations don’t accept anything less.
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| Hive of activity at Victorian ports to protect our bees |
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Caption – Agriculture Victoria biosecurity officer Nikki Jones
Artificially intelligent beehives are being installed at Victoria’s ports to bolster protection from exotic pests and diseases, in an initiative backed by the Victorian Government.
Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas was at the Port of Melbourne this week to launch new Agriculture Victoria agreements with Bega Cheese and HiveKeepers, 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 the 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. To find out more, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bees
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| Helping pets find a loving home |
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The Victorian Government is ensuring more pets get the loving homes they deserve with a new taskforce dedicated to rehoming animals.
Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas was at Lort Smith Animal Hospital recently to announce the Taskforce on Rehoming Pets, comprising Member for Western Victoria Andy Meddick (Chair), Member for Bendigo West Maree Edwards and Member for Narre Warren South Gary Maas.
The taskforce will provide recommendations to the government on how to improve and better support the rehoming of pets in Victoria, including research animals.
It will recommend regulatory options to improve the welfare and survival rates of dogs and cats that need rehoming, and establish ways to make the movement of animals between shelters, pounds and rescue groups more transparent.
Working with industry and community stakeholders, the taskforce will ensure a range of perspectives are considered and will provide its final report and recommendations to the government by the end of this year.
The taskforce is just one way the government is working to ensure that Victorian pets are well cared for on the journey to their forever homes.
Minister Thomas congratulated the Lort Smith Animal Hospital on being awarded a $50,000 Animal Welfare Fund grant to grow its services.
Lort Smith is one of 15 recipients of funding under the ninth round of the fund, with money to go towards the development of an animal adoption centre in a soon-to-be completed clinic in Campbellfield.
Round nine of the Animal Welfare Fund program supports not-for-profit animal shelters and foster care organisations to rehome animals, as well as community vet clinics to establish or expand their services in areas of need throughout Victoria.
For more information, visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au.
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| Farm safety creative competition for kids |
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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.
Enter on the KidSafe Victoria website.
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| It's never you until it is – farm safety campaign |
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More people die on farms than in other workplaces – let’s change that.
As a farmer, you might think you’re bulletproof and an accident won’t happen to you. You know your land like the back of your hand.
You know your tools, your machinery, your vehicles. But accidents can happen to anyone.
Every death and injury on any farm is preventable.
Find safety support for your farm here.
You can prevent accidents. You can prevent deaths.
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| Sheep Notes – autumn edition |
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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:
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Staggers
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LiveFeed - seasonal webinar
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Underperforming animals in a paddock full of feed
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Assess feed and animal requirements
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Online learning - stock containment; irrigation, soil
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Digital tips
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Resistance to insecticides in blowflies
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Farmer tips on autumn saving
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High performance maidens, grazing weeds
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Livestock Farm Monitor Project results
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Free benchmarking and profit assessment
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NEXUS
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Did you know?
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Do you mules your lambs?
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| Fox and wild bounty – next scheduled collections for South East Victoria |
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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.
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.
More information on the fox and wild dog bounty here or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.
South East Victoria collections were conducted in the week begining 22 March.
More South East Victoria fox and wild dog bounty collections are scheduled for May, July, September and October.
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New worker accommodation taking shape In Mallee
Workers in the Mallee region will have access to more accommodation options, thanks to support from the Victorian Government.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Top tips for feedpads and calving pads
Feedpads are used in dairying as an important management system to aid supplementary feeding by reducing waste.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Unlocking opportunities for the almond industry
The Victorian Government is supporting Victorian farmers to use new technologies to improve productivity while reducing their environmental footprint.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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| What's on – webinars, workshops and farm walks |
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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.
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| East Gippsland farm walks and TopSoils sessions |
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TopSoils Paddock Walk – Butchers Ridge
Paddock walk to discuss results of recent soil testing under the TopSoils program.
DATE: Wednesday 14 April
TIME: 10 am to 12 pm
CONTACT: Janice Dowe on 0437 282 315
TopSoils Native Pastures Demonstration Site – Paddock Walk – Ensay South
Paddock walk to discuss demonstration site results.
DATE: Thursday 15 April
TIME: 11 am to 1.30 pm
CONTACT: Janice Dowe on 0437 282 315
TopSoils Demonstration Site – Paddock Walk – Swan Reach
Paddock walk to discuss demonstration site results into improving pasture quality.
DATE: Wednesday 28 April
TIME: 9.30 to 11.30 am
CONTACT: Janice Dowe on 0437 282 315
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| Ask the researcher – Pasture Smarts – Growing profit through pasture |
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The ‘Ask the Researcher’ forums are an interactive monthly event where farmers and service providers come together with the scientists that are leading the transformational research at DairyBio and DairyFeedbase to ask questions and hear about on-farm applications and the future direction of the programs
Join GippsDairy REO Donna Gibson and Agriculture Victoria senior research scientist Dr Liz Morse-McNabb to hear more and ask questions about the future of pasture utilisation ‘PastureSmarts’.
DATE: Monday 21 April
TIME: 12.30 pm
REGISTER HERE
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| Online learning helps with on-farm decision making |
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Three online courses are providing Victorian farmers with key information to help them better prepare and respond when dry seasonal conditions and other emergencies occur.
The web-based courses take approximately 30 minutes to complete and have been developed to assist farm business to prepare for key challenges they may face during difficult times.
The courses cover three focus areas – Stock containment areas (SCAs), irrigation management and soils and groundcover – which will be relevant to the grains, animal and irrigation industries across the state.
Each course includes interactive activities, links to key information and practical examples to help farmers learn.
The new online learning modules complement existing information about managing resources in drought and bushfire recovery on the Agriculture Victoria website, including the recently updated ‘Recovery After Fire – practical steps for farmers’ booklet.
Access the Learning Management System online or the individual courses at:
For more information about dry seasonal conditions support or bushfire recovery call 136 186 or visit the Agriculture Victoria website at agriculture.vic.gov.au
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Enjoying the Gippsland Ag News? Then why not forward to a friend or subscribe yourself.
It's easy – simply click this link.
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Contacting Agriculture Victoria
Call 136 186 from anywhere in Australia for the cost of a local call (except for mobiles and public telephones).
If you are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment contact the National Relay Service on 133 677 or www.relayservice.gov.au.
All contact points can be found at: agriculture.vic.gov.au/about/contact-us
Don't forget to check out Agriculture Victoria's social media sites for up-to-date information and news.
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