• Dunkeld animal champion wins rural women's award
• Lead poisoning in livestock
• Ten top tips to get the most from early sown wheat
• Suitable season for Barber’s pole worm
• Soil moisture monitoring report
• Artisanal advisory group members sought
• Young farmer business network

Farmers and producers are vital to all Victorian communities and play an important role during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Premier has implemented restrictions or shutdown of non-essential activity aimed at slowing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In addition to this, the Government has advised the community to practice social distancing of 1.5 metres between people.

Farms and agribusinesses are not included in the current bans agreed by the National Cabinet on Tuesday 24 March.

The agricultural supply chain is essential to maintaining the flow of food to our supermarkets and kitchen tables.

The situation continues to rapidly change and we urge you to regularly check the Department of Health and Human Services website for the latest update: coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

The Victorian Chief Veterinary Officer has also developed a factsheet with advice for animal owners during the pandemic.

More information is available on the website at http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/emergencies/coronavirus

A Dunkeld farmer’s passion to boost the resilience of her local community by building connections through animals has seen her take out the 2020 Victorian AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes this week announced Kelly Barnes as the winner of the prestigious award, and Victoria’s candidate for the national title to be awarded in Canberra later in the year.

Ms Barnes will receive a $10,000 Westpac bursary to help her pilot a Working Dog Training School in Dunkeld.

The idea for the Working Dog Training School came from Ms Barnes’ love and respect for her working dogs. She believes working dogs are a great way to bring people together, not only to improve their dog handling skills but also to break down social barriers and aid mental health.

Ms Barnes was one of four finalists for the prestigious award, alongside Kerryn Wildenburg from Kyneton, Jackie Elliott from Byaduk, and Katrina van Eyk from Pyramid Hill.
Each of the 2020 Victorian finalists will join the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award Alumni in recognition of their achievements.

The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award acknowledges the significant role women play in agriculture and rural communities. The award is supported by Agriculture Victoria and is sponsored nationally by AgriFutures and Westpac.

Unfortunately no event to celebrate the finalists’ achievements was possible this year due to the Government’s responsibilities responding to the coronavirus crisis. Each finalist was able to speak with the Minister and there are plans for an event when circumstances permit.

More information about the Rural Women’s Award is available at agriculture.vic.gov.au.

By Dr Rachel Gibney, District Veterinary Officer, Ballarat

Over the past year a significant number of properties in South West Victoria have had cattle die from lead poisoning.

The most common source of lead accessed by cattle comes from old car batteries that have been discarded beside sheds, in farm tips, or that have been burnt in bonfires.

Cattle have also been known to lick old paint that contains lead and consequently be poisoned.

Cattle find lead sweet and palatable, and they will selectively choose to eat it. If they find a lead battery, they often eat lumps of lead which will then sit in their stomach and act as an ongoing source of lead to the animal.

Lead toxicity in cattle is a concern for multiple reasons. Often the first indication that animals may have accessed lead is to find dead livestock. Lead also causes neurological signs such as blindness, depression and circling.

Low level poisoning may lead to gastrointestinal signs such as decreased appetite, colic and constipation, followed by diarrhoea.

It is important that cattle exposed to lead do not reach the human food chain, so restrictions are placed on the sale of such animals. Cattle may show no signs of being poisoned, but have a blood or tissue lead level that is of concern for food safety.

Blood testing can be performed to check if cattle have been exposed to lead.

Livestock other than cattle may also be affected if they ingest lead.

The best approach is to prevent exposure to lead.

Check to ensure that no old batteries are lying around on your property. If you suspect old paint may contain lead, make sure that livestock do not have access to the area.

For further advice contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.

* Suspected lead toxicity in livestock is a notifiable disease. More information is available here.

It’s not too late for grain growers to extract the most from early sown wheat crops in 2020.

To help growers in Victoria, South Australia and southern New South Wales optimise yields and profitability from early sown wheat, the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has published a Ten Tips For Early Sown Wheat guide.

GRDC Manager of Agronomy and Farming Systems – South, Allison Pearson, said sowing early with appropriate cultivars is one management strategy to increase the amount of cropped area that flowers during the optimal period, therefore maximising overall yield.

“While some challenges are associated with sowing wheat early, achieving optimal flowering can make a big difference to yield and profit, at little expense,” Dr Pearson said.

The Ten Tips For Early Sown Wheat guide has been developed out of the GRDC research investment, ‘Development of crop management packages for early sown, slow developing wheats in the southern region’.

It is available for viewing and downloading via the GRDC website at https://grdc.com.au/ten-tips-for-early-sown-wheat.

The 10 tips (summarised) are:

1. Consider your location. Optimal flowering periods and the chances of early breaking rains change with location and prevailing climate. It is critical to know when your optimal flowering period is and what sowing dates are required to achieve it with cultivars of different development patterns.
2. Paddock selection. Early sown wheat crops perform best in paddocks with few weeds and low levels of root diseases such as crown rot and take-all. Aim to sow early following break crops or long fallow with low weed or disease burdens.
3. Dry versus early sowing – know the difference. Sowing in early April requires cultivars that develop and flower more slowly to take advantage of early establishment opportunities while still targeting the optimal flowering period. Wheat cultivars that have a cold requirement before they will flower are most suitable for this sowing time.
4. Consider seed bed and stored soil water. Germination and growth of early sown crops is supported by a combination of breaking rain and soil water stored from the previous growing season and the summer or long fallow. On most soil types, at least 15 to 20 millimetres of breaking rain is required for consistent germination of early sown crops, even when there is stored soil water at depth.
5. Don’t sow too early. In general, the yield of winter wheat starts to decline once sowing moves earlier than April 1. Unless grazing is the primary intention, sowing earlier in March is not advised because most crops start using too much water while it is still warm, produce excessive vegetative growth, grow too tall, and come under increasing pressure from viruses and root diseases.
6. Use the right cultivar for the right sowing date. Slow-developing cultivars are required for April sowing so they take advantage of the longer growing season and flower during the optimal period. If fast spring wheats are sown in early April, they will flower before the optimum time, accumulate insufficient biomass and be exposed to excessive risk of frost damage.
7. Use the right winter cultivar for the right environment. Different winter cultivars are needed for specific locations with different optimal flowering periods, because their flowering time cannot be manipulated with sowing date.
8. Protect crops from virus vectors. Early sowing and crop growth in April exposes plants to aphids and mites that may transmit viral diseases. Integrated pest-disease management is often required to prevent yield loss.
9. Graze early sown crops if you want. Early sown winter wheats can provide excellent forage for livestock with a small penalty in final grain yields (approximately 10 per cent on average), provided soil water is available for early growth. The size of the yield penalty also depends on the timing of livestock removal and the amount of residual biomass.
10. Adjust plant density and nitrogen fertiliser. In general, the yields of early sown crops are unaffected by plant population because they spend a long time in the vegetative phase and can compensate for low density with a large number of tillers. Early sown crops can still achieve potential yield from as few as 30 plants/square metre but crops with these low plant densities compete poorly with weeds.

By Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

Barber’s pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) is the most important parasite that needs to be controlled in sheep within summer rainfall areas of Australia.

Therefore, it would not be surprising if we see outbreaks of disease due to Barber’s pole worm with the warm, moist conditions we have recently experienced.

Adult Barber’s pole worms live in the fourth stomach of sheep. The mature female worms are visible to the naked eye.

The gut of the worm is red, as it is full of blood. Wound around the gut is the white ovary, packed with hundreds of eggs. This red and white spiral effect gives the worm its name as it looks like the classic barber’s pole.

The adult female worms are prolific egg producers leading rapidly to a heavy pasture contamination.

During warm, moist conditions these eggs hatch into larvae and are eaten by sheep while grazing.

Given their prolific production, worm populations can build up rapidly.

Like other internal parasites, Barber’s pole worms mainly affect weaners and lactating ewes.

Barber’s pole worms feed by sucking blood leading to anaemia and ‘bottle jaw’, but not necessarily weight loss or diarrhoea.

Just 1000 adult Barber’s pole worms can remove 50 ml of blood from a sheep per day.

Consequently, Barber’s pole worm outbreaks can lead to high mortalities in a short space of time.

Barber’s pole worms can be detected at post-mortem, or in live animals by a faecal egg count.

As with other internal parasites, producers need to be aware that drench resistance to Barber’s pole worm is becoming increasingly common.

For further information please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.

Soil moisture data from across the state has been summarised in the very first cropping report for 2020.

Despite a dry start to the year, the data is showing soil moisture profiles to have generally improved, increasing cropping confidence.

For a closer look at how the rains impacted your place, click on this link.

Producers in Central Highlands with experience in artisanal production are encouraged to apply to join the Project Advisory Group (PAG) guiding a three-year project for the artisanal sector being undertaken by Hepburn Shire Council on behalf of the Central Highlands region.

Members of the PAG will represent diverse range of producers and may include meat production, beverages, fruits and vegetables, preserves, apiary, egg, poultry and other livestock.

Applicants need to have an interest in promoting the sector and overcoming barriers to building artisanal agriculture in the region.

Expressions of Interest close on 27 March 2020.

For more details visit: https://www.hepburn.vic.gov.au/artisan-agriculture-project/

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.

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