Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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

• Suitable season for Barber's pole worm
• Lead poisoning in livestock
• MLA's Back to Business Program
• Tractor operators - fire affected farmers need you
• Wine Grape Testing Rebate Program

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.

Dr Rachel Gibney                                                                                                                              District Veterinary Officer

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

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

This MLA funded program allows producers in fire-affected regions to access up to three free one-on-one-sessions with a local farm business consultant to help put their business back on track.

MLA Managing Director Jason Strong said during the sessions, producers will be given tailored support to assess their current situation, work through the key issues and opportunities and prioritise what actions to take.

“We understand that each situation is likely to be very different and so the program that has been developed has flexibility to meet the needs of individuals,” he said.

A series of webinars have been scheduled for livestock producers - offering practical tips to help rebuild on the back of the recent bushfires, for more information about the webinars go to MLA website here.

The Back to Business program in Victoria is coordinated by Agriculture Victoria.

For more information email the MLA at backtobusiness@mla.com.au or visit https://bit.ly/33bAI8a or contact Lyndon Kubeil from Agriculture Victoria on 0418 532 085 or lyndon.kubeil@agriculture.vic.gov.au or contact Jo Cameron from Agriculture Victoria on 0419 832 704 or jo.cameron@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

With the fire threat eased in the Upper Murray fire-affected dairy farmers are turning their attention to the dual tasks of repairing the damage and keeping the business running.

When asked what would really make a difference in the recovery, we keep hearing that just having somebody with experience to sit on a tractor would be really welcome.

If you have the skills and time, contact Lachlan Barnes at Murray Dairy 0438 092 352 or lachlanb@murraydairy.com.au

The Victorian Government has opened the Wine Grape Testing Rebate Program to assist Victorian wine grape growers impacted by the 2019-20 bushfires. 

The program will assess wine grapes grown during the 2019-20 growing season and offer a rebate on the costs of laboratory analysis of wine grape, grape juice and wine samples.

The program offers a rebate of up to $1,200 to Victorian wine grape growers on samples submitted for smoke testing between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2020. It is open to all Victorian wine grape growers including wineries that grow their own grapes.

Regional Wine Associations and wineries may also apply where they have a pre-existing agreement with growers to test grapes.

The program has two objectives:

• support Victorian wine grape growers with access to information about the impacts of possible smoke exposure on grapes grown in the 2019-20 growing season
• support grape growers to make sound, evidence-based decisions about the harvesting and handling of grapes that have been potentially exposed to bushfire smoke.

Eligible activities

The only activity eligible for this program is the testing of samples of whole wine grapes, fresh grape juice or fermented grape juice for the effects of smoke exposure. Only samples of grapes or juice from grapes grown by the applicant are eligible. Applicants who both grow their own grapes and buy in grapes may claim a rebate only for testing of their own grapes.

Samples may be submitted to either of the commercial analytical laboratories in Australia offering analysis of smoke-related compounds in grapes and wine – the Australian Wine Research Institute (South Australia) and/or Vintessential Laboratories (Victoria). Samples submitted for analysis between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2020 are eligible for the rebate.

Some regional wine associations and larger wineries or companies may have paid for testing of samples from multiple growers. Regional wine associations and companies in this position should include a statutory declaration with their applications.

Ineligible activities

Wineries may not apply for the rebate for testing of grapes that have been purchased from another grower unless there is a prior agreement between the grower and the winery that such grapes will be tested by the winery. In that case, the winery, not the grower, will be eligible for the rebate.

Samples submitted for testing before 1 January 2020 and after 30 April 2020 are ineligible for the rebate.  Samples from grapes grown outside Victoria are not eligible.

There are also eligibility criteria that applicants must meet.
For more information and to apply contact Rural Finance on 1800 260 425 or visit ruralfinance.com.au
 
Agriculture Victoria currently provides a shuttle service to enable the movement of wine grape samples from phylloxera management zones to designated laboratories for smoke taint testing.

Frozen diagnostic samples will be picked up at regional collection points.

North East collection points

• Rutherglen: Agriculture Victoria Rutherglen, 124 Chiltern Valley Road.
• King Valley: Brown Brothers, 239 Milawa-Bobinawarrah Rd, Milawa.

For more information, contact Agriculture Victoria smoke.taint@agriculture.vic.gov.au or
North East Victoria – Andy Clark on 0436 804 656.

The On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate Scheme is now available for the purchase and installation of emergency water infrastructure for livestock.

The scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in a number of local government areas, including: Campaspe, Gannawarra, Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, Loddon, Strathbogie, Swan Hill, Mildura and Buloke.

Farm businesses outside of the above local government areas can make an application if they can demonstrate a critical water need for livestock resulting from current seasonal conditions.

These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The scheme is available for water infrastructure purchased since 1 July 2018 – guidelines and application details can be obtained from Rural Finance, call 1800 260 425 or visit ruralfinance.com.au

Farmers in the GMID are reminded that the $5000 On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant can be used to purchase seed and fertiliser to restore dry pastures.

With recent rainfall in the region, now is a good time to invest in on-farm infrastructure that will improve drought preparedness and better position your farm business into the future.

The infrastructure component of this grant must have been purchased or undertaken on or after 2 October 2019.

For more information and to access the grant call Rural Finance on 1800 260 425 or visit ruralfinance.com.au

For more information about other drought and dry seasonal conditions support from Agriculture Victoria go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or call 136 186.

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