• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Be ready for weeds this autumn
• The Break - seasonal climate update webinars
• Five benefits of using eID
• Soil Moisture Monitoring - pastures
• Farm Safety Creative Competition
• Seasonal workforce welcomes Pacific power to the team
• Sheep Notes - autumn edition
• Select the right varieties when sowing early in the wet
• Biosecurity risks at Victoria’s doorstep
• Recording of Stubble, Straw and Carbon - Panels, pellets and alternative uses
• Fox and wild dog bounty details
• What's on

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

by David Shambrook, Dairy Extension Officer

A coolish summer with few hot days and some rain at times has enabled some pastures to remain green; it has also allowed any weeds that were not controlled last year to continue to grow and multiply.

The types of weeds that you may find in the pasture can be classified in three categories:

• Survivors – these begin to dominate in pasture where soil fertility is low or declining; for example, flatweed (catsear, dandelion), onion grass or bent grass. These can be controlled by improving fertility and grazing pressure.
• Competitors – they often respond to high soil fertility situations; for example, capeweed, erodium, dock, barley grass or thistles. These may be controlled by selective fertilising and intensive grazing at certain times using spray grazing or spray topping techniques.
• Opportunists – these love to colonise bare ground, so maintaining adequate cover with a vigorous perennial pasture will help to control these weeds. Weeds like sorrel, Paterson’s curse and some of the competitor species mentioned above can quickly take over a pasture without grazing some type of control.  Even the type of animal grazing the pasture can lead to more bare ground being made available for these weeds. 

The extent that some of these weeds may be present in the pasture will depend on whether there was any attempt to control them the previous year, if there has been some renovation carried out, or whether weed seeds were introduced in imported hay.

An ideal pasture composition for most livestock producers to aim for is around 20 to 30 per cent legume base with about 70 to 80 per cent desirable grass species. 

This has been found to provide a good balance of protein and energy through most of the year for livestock production to be optimal. 

If you allow weeds to infiltrate your pastures, then this will begin to impact on your pasture productivity and livestock production. 

If weeds are becoming an issue on your farm, then they may cause the following problems to develop:

• livestock poisoning
• presence of plant parts that affect animal health, prevent grazing or reduce the value of animal products (for example, grass seeds that damage the skin or meat)
• lower digestibility of available feed
• occupying space and resources that could otherwise be used to grow more productive and desirable species
• rapid spread into neighbouring areas
• increased costs to control.

In permanent perennial pastures the best way to control weeds is initially through correcting soil fertility, improving grazing management, and possibly slashing and topping at appropriate times.

However, autumn use of herbicides on broadleaf weeds can also be used to control weeds when they have gained a foothold in pasture-bare spots or campsite areas. 

The question is, what level of bare spots warrants monitoring for weeds as the autumn break rains arrive?

If there were more than 10 to 15 bare spots, at 10 cm by 10 cm in size, in a square metre of ryegrass pasture, then oversowing may be required.

If you have around 60 to 100 plants per square metre of pasture, you won't need to oversow. Gaps provide space where weed seeds may be scattered as well as any more desirable pasture species seed.

Soil temperatures above 14°C in the top 10 cm, combined with rain events creates an ideal climate for weed seeds and pasture seeds to germinate, particularly if there are bare spots. 

Weeds like dock, plantain, Paterson’s curse and onion grass which can survive for more than one year will have reproduced as well and continue to be present in the pasture now. 

The question is, how much of the bare spots will be taken up by germinating weed seeds and will some sort of control be required?

Monitoring the bare spots in the pasture for the presence of weed seedlings as autumn progresses will be important in preparing for any possible control actions that may be needed. 

Many weed seeds are large, so are quick to germinate, growing quite vigorously compared with the more desirable species like ryegrass and clover.

This very soon results in the weeds shading out developing ryegrass or clover and competing for water and nutrients.

Make sure you can accurately identify the difference between germinated weed seeds and those of more desirable pasture species like ryegrass and clovers. 

If the ratio of weed seedlings to the more desirable species in the bare spots is high, then spray herbicide control may be the option. 

If the decision to spray with a broadleaf herbicide is made, and clover seedlings are present, then make sure they are at a size (3 to 4 trifoliate leaf stage) to not be severely impacted by spraying. 

Check with your agronomist as to the best herbicide to use in this situation.

Information about registered agriculture chemicals and their permitted use is available from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) database, a federal government database.

You can use this database to find recommended chemicals registered for use, by searching for the weed or pest, and the host plant or animal.

Having chosen a chemical or broadleaf herbicide to control a particular weed or group of weeds, you then need to follow the label instructions on the safe use of this chemical. 

As always, it can be all about timing and using the correct rates to achieve the best result.

If the weeds are killed or are able to be slowed and then grazed-off using a spray-graze method (if that is one of the label recommendations), then the more desirable pasture species should be given more chance to be productive throughout winter and spring. 

If you would like more information on identifying any problem weeds or advice on which herbicide maybe most effective you should work with your agronomist or local chemical reseller or ring Agriculture Victoria on 136 186.

These webinars with seasonal risk agronomist Dale Grey, will focus on the current seasonal climate outlook.

The outlook will be based on model projections for rainfall utilising current oceanic, atmospheric and soil moisture conditions.

These webinars are simply online presentations which allows you to ask questions.

They will be recorded, so if you miss the live presentation you can watch it later at a time that suits you.

Register here for the Victorian outlook

Date: Thursday 15 April

Time: 12 pm

Event number: 165 289 9402

Event password: Vicoutlook

The value eID can bring to individual sheep businesses varies, but broadly includes these five benefits:

1. Measure the response to management

eID makes it possible to make a change and measure the difference – such as matching condition score at joining to pregnancy scanning result.

2. Manage individuals while also managing the mob

Use eID to monitor individual animals while running them in large mobs.

The technology allows mobs of sheep to be boxed together for periods of time before drafting them back into their relevant classes, reducing labour requirements and streamlining grazing efficiency while retaining the ability to monitor individual animals.

3. Increase labour flexibility

Reliably condition scoring individual animals requires training – if key staff members are busy or leave, it’s not always possible to have a trained individual to complete these assessments.

However, when eID equipment is set up, relatively untrained staff can collect weights – information which can be used to assess an animal’s status.

4. Select animals to retain

Use eID to collect data on individual animals to aid decisions such as which sheep to retain in the flock based on their performance.

To do this effectively the data collection process must start as early as possible, from lamb marking.

5. Enhance traceability

The ability to track animals as they move through the value chain is an important feature of eID, but it’s not only useful for industry to prepare for biosecurity breaches.

Consumers increasingly expect to be able to trace their food and fibre to its source and are willing to pay more for products they trust.

Article from MLA Friday Feedback newsletter.

Issue 6 – March 2021

For much of the pasture growing areas of the state it was an extraordinary spring and summer, in an extraordinary year.  For some sites, the challenge has been to use the bank of dry grass grown in spring before the 'true' autumn break.

Recent rain has topped up many soil profiles indicating a good autumn break.

In this newsletter we look at how and where the soil profiles have filled and how quickly they depleted if the break was early. Does this help in considering the autumn break or new sowing?

In this Issue:

•  A cooler wetter summer
• Autumn break?
• Central (Baynton)
• North East (Greta)
• Gippsland (Bairnsdale)
• West Gippsland (Giffard West)
• South West (Dartmoor)
• West Wimmera (Lawloit)
• South West (Pigeon Ponds/Harrow)
• Feature: Sowing new pasture?
   

To learn more SUBCRIBE HERE to our newsletter.

Compiled by Agriculture Victoria seasonal risk agronomist Dale Boyd , knowledge broker (sheep) Jane Court and livestock extension officer Raquel Waller.

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.

Victorian farmers have received a welcome boost to their seasonal workforce with more than 200 Pacific workers starting on farms, thanks to a landmark agreement with the Tasmanian and Victorian Governments.

Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas met with the workers recently as they started their first day on the job, picking and packing apples in the Yarra Valley.

The workers were among the first Pacific Islanders to fly in last month and undertake 14 days quarantine in Tasmania before arriving in Victoria over the weekend.

They have joined the workforce at Vernview Orchards at Launching Place - an apple orchard run by third and sixth-generation farmers Sue and David Finger.

Pacific workers have been part of the team at Vernview Orchards for more than eight years in a program that benefits both Victoria’s $15.9 billion agriculture industry and the economies of our Pacific Island neighbours.

Farmers and agriculture businesses have welcomed the restart of the Seasonal Worker Program and Pacific Labour Scheme.

The reintroduction of these programs is just one part of the government’s comprehensive $76 million package to support the industry to find the workers it needs this season.

The government has co-contributed $7.8 million to quarantine costs for Pacific Island workers, with industry contributing $2,000 per worker.

Minister Thomas also announced a $150,000 grant to the Approved Employers of Australia (AEA), which connects permitted employers to the Pacific Mobility Schemes, supporting businesses to access these workers.

The grant is part of the government’s $1 million Seasonal Workforce Industry Support Program, which gives organisations dedicated resources to support local worker recruitment and retention in priority harvest regions.

Additional workers will join the agriculture workforce over the coming weeks as part of a planned, rolling flight schedule that will provide up to 1,500 workers.

They will bolster the seasonal workforce across the state, from the Yarra Valley and Gippsland right across to Sunraysia.

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?

Image - supplied by GRDC

Growers in the high-rainfall zone (HRZ) of south-eastern Australia planning to sow into a full moisture profile are reminded to match their varieties’ sowing date to the optimal flowering period in order to mitigate frost risk later in the season.

Early sowing is a tactic used when a moist seedbed exists before the traditional sowing time around Anzac Day in April or early May.

According to the GRDC’s Ten Tips for Early Sown Wheat, the crops best suited to this approach are feed grains and dual-purpose crops such as winter wheat, and winter canola.

Winter wheats have a strong vernalisation requirement (cool temperatures between -1 to 16°C for a total of four to eight weeks) for the plant to progress from vegetative growth to reproductive growth stages. In contrast, the development of other wheat cultivars used in Australia is largely determined by thermal time (temperature).

Strategic paddock selection is also encouraged when sowing early to ensure weeds are well controlled as weeds, pests and diseases can easily thrive in these conditions.

Read more about selecting the right varieties when sowing early in the wet.

Recent detections of African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease virus fragments in pork products seized at the border highlights the real and continuous threat of exotic diseases and pests to Victoria.

Foot-and-mouth disease is Australia’s biggest agricultural biosecurity threat, affecting all clovenhoofed animals. African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease of pigs which can lead to mortality rates of up to 100 per cent in affected herds.

Neither disease affects humans, but an outbreak could have serious economic and animal health impacts, including the loss of important export markets.

No outbreaks of African swine fever have ever been recorded in Australia, and foot-and-mouth disease hasn’t been detected in Australia since the 1800s. Agriculture Victoria is working closely with industry to prepare for these threats. 

The Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment led two collection periods over busy periods between Christmas and Chinese New Year from International mail centres at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Over the periods, some pork samples tested positive for fragments of African swine fever or foot-and-mouth disease virus. This builds on similar test results released in 2019.

Acting Chief Veterinary Officer for Victoria Dr Sally Salmon said the recent detections by the Commonwealth highlighted how easily diseases and pests could enter Australia and urged all Victorians to be aware of biosecurity risks.

“Whether it’s in someone’s luggage or in the mail, bringing in food, especially meat products, can also bring in diseases like African swine fever or even foot-and-mouth disease, which could devastate Australia’s agricultural industries and the broader economy for many years,” Dr Salmon said.

“It’s not enough to rely on quarantine inspections to stop potential pests and disease threats at our borders. When buying food and other goods online, always consider where they are coming from and whether they will meet biosecurity requirements before ordering them.”

“Biosecurity is everyone’s role and requires responsible actions by everyone. We all need to help protect our agriculture, our economy and our unique natural environment.”

Dr Salmon said the detection was also a timely reminder to all pig owners not to feed waste foods (swill) to pigs.

“Swill feeding or feeding ‘people food’ to pigs is prohibited in Australia. It is illegal to feed food waste containing meat, meat products and any food that was served on the same plate or that has come into contact with meat, as well as imported dairy products, to pigs,” she said. 

“Swill feeding is prohibited in Australia because of its potential to introduce serious animal diseases like African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease. These recent findings clearly emphasise why that prohibition is so necessary”

For more information about emergency animal diseases, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au

Listen to the recording of Stubble, Straw and Carbon - Panels, pellets and alternative uses.

Presented by:

• Graeme Anderson, Agriculture Victoria
• Steve Layfield, Ortech Industries
• 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.

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.

The 2021 bounty collections will run until the end of October.

Find the South West collection schedule details.

Visit www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/bounty to find out more or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

Seasonal workers in the Sunraysia and the Goulburn Valley will have access to better accommodation and transport options, thanks to two new grants.

Recently the Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas announced the latest recipients of the Seasonal Workforce Accommodation Program - Swan Hill Rural City Council and Fruit Growers Victoria.

Swan Hill Rural City Council will use the $500,000 grant to reform illegal and inappropriate accommodation, and facilitate the development of new COVIDSafe accommodation.

Fruit Growers Victoria’s $365,000 grant will coordinate pastoral care, accommodation and transport support for up to 1,000 seasonal workers in the Goulburn Valley.

The $6 million Seasonal Workforce Accommodation Program is part of the Victorian Government’s $76 million program to support industry and farm employers as they adapt to meet the challenges bought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

The grants are helping regional organisations and communities deliver COVIDSafe accommodation, transport and support services for seasonal horticultural workers, which in turn helps employers attract and retain workers.

For more information about seasonal workforce support for jobseekers and employers, including financial incentives and assistance finding a harvest job or workers, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bigharvest

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

Agriculture Victoria is delivering interactive online training sessions for livestock producers using the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database. There are four events for you to choose from, between March and June.

Participants will learn about the Victorian traceability system, tour the NLIS database features and how to complete a Property to Property (P2P) transfer.

For more information, or if you have trouble registering online, please call (03) 5761 1647.

Numbers are limited to allow for an interactive session, so be quick to secure a spot!

WHEN: 30 April

TIME:10-11 am

REGISTER HERE

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