• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Grey nomads answer the harvest call
• Agriculture Victoria fire recovery newsletters
• Setting Victorian agriculture up for growth and change
• Victoria’s On-Farm Internet of Things Trial
• Resilience of food and fibre sector sees record exports
• New community for energy smart farming
• Milking the Weather – summer edition available now
• Agriculture and climate change council appointed
• Take action now to prevent weed spread in Gippsland
• Students' creative approach spreads farm safety message
• Central Victorian sheep farmer on animal cruelty charge
• Head to Help
• 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

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

From midnight 18 December 2020 a permit system will be in place for all NSW residents travelling to Victoria, residents from other states travelling through NSW and Victorians visiting NSW and returning home. Anyone trying to enter Victoria from the Northern Beaches and other NSW exposure sites (red zone) will not be permitted to enter.

The Health advice for NSW travellers arriving in Victoria provides more details.  Stay up to date by visiting coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

From 11.59 pm on Sunday 6 December 2020 travellers from South Australia will no longer be required to carry a permit to enter Victoria.

Find out about the restrictions in place during Victoria’s COVIDSafe Summer.

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 demonstrate:

• your actions to help prevent the introduction of coronavirus (COVID-19) to your workplace
• the level of face mask 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.

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

Retired consultant Cathy Downie has rolled up her sleeves, packed her new campervan and joined the growing band of grey nomads heading south for this year’s Big Victorian Harvest.

After 30 years in an office in Sydney, the 56-year-old recruitment specialist decided to buy a campervan and hit the harvest trail back in March.

As soon as she’s finished picking berries in northern New South Wales, she’ll be making her way south – stopping for Christmas in Wollongong with her family – before making her way across the border.

“I see there’s plenty of work in Victoria and it’s a lot cooler there,” she said.

Cathy is new to harvest work but has been amazed at how easy it is to find and loves the flexibility it offers.

She said it’s ideal for people over 50 who are travelling solo, want to pick up a little bit of extra income, see unique parts of the country and be their own boss.

Along the way she’s discovered hundreds of women over 50 doing the same thing and says the network is incredibly supportive.

She said her earnings are creeping up as she becomes more consistent at the work but doesn’t find it too hard.

“It’s empowering. You can work at your own pace, take a day off when you want.”

Horticulture business across the state regularly employ older people to work on farms during the harvest, in jobs such as sorting, packing and supervising.

Many retirees and grey nomads combine travel with harvest work, taking advantage of the short-term opportunities to supplement their income or savings.

With thousands of harvest jobs available, there’s work suitable for all ages in the Big Victorian Harvest.

The Working for Victoria job-matching platform, which links employers with jobseekers, is supporting employers and farmers find workers for this season’s harvest.

On Working for Victoria there are now more than 1,000 agriculture jobs listed.

The Victorian Government has also established hotlines to support businesses with seasonal workforce needs and provide jobseekers with extra information and support.

• Business Victoria hotline for businesses: 13 22 15
• Jobs Victoria hotline for job seekers: 1300 208 575.

For more information visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bigharvest

The summer edition of the Agriculture Victoria Fire Recovery Newsletters are now available. 

These newsletters are printed and mailed to landholders impacted by fire and are not available online. They contain information on production, land management, animal health and fire recovery support programs. 

If you are interested in receiving the Gippsland newsletter, please contact Keren Walker, Agriculture Recovery Manager for the Gippsland on 0477 706 384 or keren.walker@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

The Victorian Government is backing a bold new strategy for Victorian agriculture – helping the industry to grow in the face of constant change so it remains a cornerstone of the state’s economy and delivers better returns for farmers.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes unveiled the transformational strategy this week, highlighting the Waverly Pastoral Company in Maffra, which has received an Agricultural Energy Investment Plan grant to install solar technology that will reduce energy and water usage at their dairy farm.

Building on initiatives such as this – which put money back into farmers’ pockets and help tackle climate change – the strategy sets out the Victorian Government’s vision and commitments to drive a strong, innovative and sustainable sector over the next 10 years.

The strategy outlines fourteen commitments under five key themes of Recover, Grow, Modernise, Protect and Promote.

These include commitments to strengthen local supply chains and manufacturing jobs, export our world class products to more markets more often, increase access to AgTech and research, position Victoria as a leader in low-emissions agriculture, and make agriculture a career path for more Victorians.

The strategy will support Victorian farmers and producers to gain a competitive edge as the sector evolves over the next decade and beyond. It will also provide certainty and leadership to seize opportunities and take on challenges armed with as much knowledge and experience as possible.

The Government has invested $115 million in the Victorian Budget 2020/21 to develop and deliver the strategy. This includes $30 million to extend the popular Agricultural Energy Investment Plan that supports government partnerships with industry to build a more resilient, energy efficient and internationally competitive agriculture sector, and $50 million to upskill the next generation of farmers.

The strategy’s funding also includes $15 million to access leading AgTech, innovative farming methods and new skills, and $20 million for the Food to Market and Pathways to Export programs, supporting infrastructure and business development projects and dedicated agriculture export resources.

Working hand-in-hand with industry partners and the community will be critical to the successful implementation of this strategy.

To read the strategy and have your say, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/strategy.

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

Victoria’s food and fibre producers have beaten the odds to deliver a record $14.5 billion in exports for 2019-20, despite the challenges thrown at them by drought, bushfires and the global pandemic.

Victoria is Australia’s largest food and fibre exporter, accounting for 28 per cent of total national exports. The recent release of the 2019-20 Victorian Food and Fibre Export Performance Report shows that Victoria is still on-track to reach its target to grow food and fibre exports to $20 billion by 2030.

While China continues to be Victoria’s highest value market for commodities such as horticulture and dairy, South East Asia and North America are becoming increasingly important markets, with exports to South East Asia growing by 8 per cent and North America by 7 per cent. Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are major markets for Victorian dairy, grain and horticulture and will continue to present strong export opportunities.

Since 2015-16, Victoria’s food and fibre sector - which includes dairy, meat, seafood, grain, as well as wool and wine - has increased its exports by a huge $2.4 billion.

Through Global Victoria’s network of 23 international specialised trade offices, the Victorian Government is working hard to ensure more pathways are opened for Victorian producers to do business around the world.

The Government has developed funding packages and programs to support the sector through the challenges of the past year, including the $15.7 million Export Recovery Package that will provide increased assistance for Victorian industry to address logistics, supply chain, and market access issues caused by the pandemic.

Other support for the sector includes a mentoring and business skills scholarship program for young farmers, the $5 million Wine to the World initiative, and the $8 million Growing Food and Fibre Markets program, which focuses on expanding international export opportunities by improving paddock-to-port capabilities.

The Victorian Food and Fibre Export Performance Report can be found online at agriculture.vic.gov.au/exports.

Farmers, tradespeople, service providers and anyone living on the land are invited to get involved in the new Energy Smart Farming Community of Practice.

The Community of Practice provides a great place to find information and chat about energy efficient and renewable energy technologies and practices that improve farm productivity and resilience.

The Community of Practice is a collaborative project between Agriculture Victoria and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries with participation from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Sustainability Victoria and Regional Development Victoria.

Community of Practice Leader, Liz Hamilton, said the new Energy Smart Farming Community brought together farm energy experts including farmers, service providers, advisors, researchers and community advocates to share energy knowledge, research and solutions to help make Australian farming more profitable.

“Energy is crucial for agricultural production with factors such as rising energy costs of gas, diesel and electricity impacting most farmers,” Ms Hamilton said.

“Energy reliability and the financial barriers such as the high up-front cost of investment, concerns about return on investment and uncertainty around appropriate technologies create significant challenges to farmers looking to make the best energy investment decisions.

“Saving energy on farms not only helps farmers to sustain profitable businesses, it can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Community of Practice is designed so that participants can share and build on the existing knowledge, around practical energy and money saving solutions for farmers by providing access to relevant information, resources and people who can help with energy efficiency and renewable technology.

Key features of the Energy Smart Farming Community include peer-reviewed articles on energy saving initiatives and renewables, farmer case studies, online events, as well as the ability to ask energy-related questions of the community.

This initiative is part of the Victorian Government’s Agriculture Energy Investment Plan, which is supporting producers to improve energy usage on-farm.

For more information, visit extensionaus.com.au/energysmartfarming

Milking the Weather provides seasonal and climate risk information for the dairy industry four times a year at the beginning of summer, autumn, winter and spring.

Information includes regional round ups for the previous season seasonal climate outlook summaries, strategies on managing the season ahead and case studies on farmers managing climate risk successfully on their farms.

The summer edition features:

• the Victorian seasonal climate summary for spring 2020 and the summer outlook
• farmer case studies with Kevin Fitzsimmons from Merrigum in the Northern Irrigation Region, Craig Dwyer from Bullaharre in South West Victoria, and Brett Findlay from Towong Upper, near Corryong in North East Victoria
• tips on managing the summer ahead, and
• the latest seasonal soil moisture condition assessment.

Read the summer edition online, download a copy and subscribe to future editions here on the Agriculture Victoria website.

A new ministerial advisory council has been appointed by the Victorian Government to help the Victorian agriculture sector prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes this week met the nine new council members, with a broad cross-section of experience across farm types, regions and climate policy expertise, each with their own unique skills, knowledge and networks.

The Victorian Agriculture and Climate Change Council (VACCC) will provide independent and strategic advice to the Minister about the challenges and opportunities facing the Victorian agriculture sector from an increasingly variable climate.

The VACCC will help government to work with industry to deliver strong, lasting and collaborative action on climate change for agriculture.

CEO of the Rural Bank Alexandra Gartmann will steer the VACCC as Chair. Ms Gartmann is an experienced leader of rural, agriculture and community development focused organisations. She is joined by beef and wool farmer and carbon-neutral farming pioneer Mark Wootton as Deputy Chair.

The VACCC is part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to delivering strong and meaningful action on climate change in the agriculture sector. This includes working with industry to support action that is already being taken to manage climate change risks, build business resilience and improve productivity.

For more information about the Council and the full list of members, visit the Agriculture Victoria website.

With the weather warming up, weeds are actively growing throughout Gippsland. Control of invasive weeds such as ragwort and blackberry before the plants set seed and spread further is critical.

Leading Biosecurity Officer Alex Pattinson said the time for landholders across West and South Gippsland to carry out weed management and prevent seed set is closing quickly.

“Under the under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994, all land managers have a responsibility to prevent the spread of regionally controlled weeds to ensure they don’t adversely affect agricultural production and the environment,” Ms Pattinson said.

Weed control measures include the application of a registered herbicide, soil cultivation and physical removal. Implementing these control measures now, can minimise seed set and reduce the likelihood of weeds spreading further.

Ms Pattinson said it is imperative that landholders work together to treat their weeds, particularly ragwort, in time to minimise seed set and the risk of spread across adjoining properties. 

“Ragwort is a particular menace and sets hundreds of seeds in each flower head, which can remain viable in the soil for many years. 

“The ragwort seeds are spread by wind, water, animals, farm machinery and agricultural produce such as hay,” Ms Pattinson said.

Ms Pattinson said landholders could obtain relevant technical advice about identifying weeds that are most likely to occur on their property and the most effective measures suitable for controlling them on the Agriculture Victoria website. 

For more information about weeds, visit the Agriculture Victoria website or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

Above: One of the winning entries in the KidSafe Victoria’s Farm Safety Creative Competition

Victorian students have drawn on their creativity to send a clear message about the importance of safety on farms, contributing to a new safety campaign that will be rolled out state-wide.

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes recently visited Holy Trinity Catholic Primary School in Sunbury to announce the winners of KidSafe Victoria’s Farm Safety Creative Competition which include a video made by Holy Trinity’s prep students on how to be safe around farm animals.

The competition called on students to come up with their own farm safety designs based on the theme, Reducing Harm on the Farm. Students from Penshurst Primary School, Tarneit P-9 College, Willaura Primary School and Camelot Rise Primary School also won prizes for their outstanding posters and videos.

KidSafe Victoria will use the winning entries in a social media campaign in 2021 to raise awareness of farm safety among parents and carers.

As part of the Victorian Government’s Smarter Safer Farms initiative, KidSafe Victoria received $97,000 for a three-year program to help change attitudes about safety on farms from a young age and prevent deaths and injuries.

The Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) found that children aged younger than 15 in Victoria’s outer regional areas are four times more likely to die due to injury than children in our major cities.

Data shows that the major causes of hospital presentations and admissions for this age group are associated with transport, such as motorbikes and horses, and falls for the very young.

MUARC recommended addressing this problem through increased education and awareness of known injury hazards such as dams, farm equipment and off-road motorbike use.

An absentee producer agisting sheep in the Bendigo region was convicted of animal cruelty charges in the Bendigo Magistrates Court recently.

The producer pleaded guilty to a total of four charges, two of cruelty and two of aggravated cruelty, and was convicted and placed on an 18-month Community Corrections Order and required to complete 200 hours of community work.

Agriculture Victoria Animal Health and Welfare Compliance Manager Daniel Bode said the farmer failed to comply with notices under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986.

“Throughout the period of offending, the sheep continued to suffer and were not being provided with appropriate food or treatment, leaving our officers no alternative but to euthanise several sheep that were suffering,” Mr Bode said.

Between 3 May and 9 May 2019 authorised Agriculture Victoria officers attended the property and found 72 sheep were not provided with proper and sufficient feed.

Of the 72 sheep, nine had recently deceased, eight were seriously disabled and were euthanised.

As a result of the continuing non-compliance, Agriculture Victoria seized the remainder of the animals.

In handing down the sentence the Magistrate said if not for the plea of guilty, a term of imprisonment would have been imposed.

The Magistrate also commented farmers are the backbone of rural Australia, and the accused was giving farmers a bad name in such a shameful manner. His Honour also referred to the conduct as disgraceful.

Mr Bode said apart from the obvious pain and suffering of the animals, animal welfare breaches can jeopardise Victoria’s reputation on international livestock markets, which can affect all producers.

“This is a reminder to all livestock producers that animal cruelty will not be tolerated by the Victorian Government or the community.”

“Also, those producers who farm as absentee owners are reminded that adequate supervision is a requirement particularly during risk times such as summer to ensure animals have proper and sufficient feed, water and shelter.”

Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint in regard to livestock welfare can contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or aw.complaint@agriculture.vic.gov.au

What is Head to Help?

HeadtoHelp is a free mental health support service that helps Victorians navigate their local mental health system, to find the best help for them.

It's for anyone of any age, including children, young people and older adults, whose mental health is suffering because of COVID-19 and its social, emotional and financial impacts. It's also open to people from our border communities and offers help to anyone experiencing addiction, families and carers, refugees and people of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. It is even available to those who don't qualify for Medicare.

No referral is required, simply HeadtoHelp by calling 1800 595 212 between 8.30 am and 5 pm, Monday to Friday but not on public holidays.

To find out more visit the website, Facebook and Instagram page.

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.

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