• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Avian influenza - Housing order remains in Restricted Area
• New lentil variety paves the way for higher yielding crops
• Virus detection improves – protecting Victorian borders
• Agribusinesses supported to adapt to pandemic conditions
• A complex disease explained – pestivirus
• Landholders warned to prepare for flash flooding
• Landcare New Zealand serrated tussock bio-control project
• Farmer mental health project
• Tips for making quality hay this season
• Ag Tech Summit
• Apply now! Young Farmers Leadership Program
• Latest AgVic Talk podcast episodes
• RuralSnapShot competition
• Regional Partnerships seeks locals
• What's on

Safely reopening regional Victoria

A roadmap for reopening Victoria has been announced by the Victorian Government.

There are two separate roadmaps in Victoria: one for metropolitan Melbourne and one for regional Victoria regarding how we live and how we work. Each roadmap outlines safe, steady and sustainable steps to COVID Normal.

The Roadmap for reopening: regional Victoria provides steps on easing restrictions, dependent on how many active coronavirus (COVID-19) cases are in the community and public health advice.

From 11.59 pm on 16 September 2020 regional Victoria moved to the Third Step on the roadmap.

Please see below for an overview of this change, or visit Roadmap for reopening: regional Victoria for more details.

From 11.59 pm on 13 September 2020 metropolitan Melbourne moved to the First Step of the roadmap.

COVIDSafe Plan now required for regional Victorian businesses

From 11:59 on 13 September 2020, it is mandatory for every Victorian business to have a COVIDSafe Plan.

To ensure compliance, random spot checks are underway in metropolitan Melbourne and will commence in regional Victoria from 29 September 2020.

Your COVIDSafe Plan must set out:

• Your actions to help prevent the introduction of coronavirus (COVID-19) in your workplace
• The level of face covering 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
• This plan must demonstrate how you will meet all the requirements set out by the Victorian Government. Some higher-risk industries or workplaces have additional requirements of employers and employees.

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.

For more information and for templates and guidance on how to create your COVIDSafe Plan, visit the Business Victoria website.

Bird owners in Golden Plains Shire are being urged to continue practising good biosecurity as housing restrictions put in place on domestic birds begin to ease.

Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Dr Graeme Cooke said the housing order in the Restricted Area of Golden Plains Shire has been extended until 11.59 pm on Monday 19 October.

However, for bird owners outside the Restricted Area, the housing order will end at 11.59 pm on Saturday 26 September.

“The control order prohibiting the movement of poultry, birds, related equipment and products within and out of the Golden Plains Shire without a permit will also continue across the Shire,” Dr Cooke said.

“We are taking an incremental approach to the lifting of restrictions to be confident that the threat of avian influenza has been eliminated.

“During the first step the housing order will still apply to bird owners in the five-kilometre restricted area around the infected properties in the Lethbridge area where the infected properties were detected, but we can lift it in the rest of the Golden Plains Shire.”

Both large and small-scale commercial operators in the Restricted Area of Golden Plains Shire will be required to continue to house their birds until Monday 19 October.

Backyard flock owners in the Restricted Area are also required to continue to take practical measures to reduce contact between wild birds and their domestic poultry if they are unable to house their birds.

Dr Cooke said the lifting of the housing order in the broader area of Golden Plains Shire is one step towards easing the restrictions on domestic birds in Golden Plains Shire.

“Surveillance operations are continuing to monitor the viral load of avian influenza in the area,” he said.

“Spill over events from wild birds can still occur from time to time so we’re urging all bird owners to continue to practise good biosecurity to reduce the risk of their flocks being infected.”

Dr Cooke said all poultry and captive bird owners should continue to follow good biosecurity practices in order to prevent a recurrence of the disease at any time.

These include:

• keep drinking water and feed away from wild birds, pets and vermin
• ensure birds’ feed and water is clean from droppings or animal waste
• keep domestic birds away from potentially contaminated water sources such as streams, dams, ponds
• feed your birds good quality feed from a reputable feed-mill
• regularly clean your chicken coop including feeders, drinkers and equipment
• frequently replace nesting materials.

More information about maintaining good biosecurity practices is available on the Agriculture Victoria website.

Domestic and wild bird surveillance and testing is ongoing. 

Report sick or dead birds to the all hours Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Image - Dr Arun Shunmugan

Lentil growers will have a new variety option in 2021 with the commercial release of PBA Kelpie XT – Agriculture Victoria’s first large sized herbicide tolerant red lentil variety.

Agriculture Victoria Research Scientist Dr Arun Shunmugam said PBA Kelpie XT was the result of 12 years of research undertaken by Agriculture Victoria’s pulse breeding team at Grains Innovation Park, Horsham. 

“PBA Kelpie XT is a high yielding, large market class red lentil variety, boasting a six to 29 per cent long-term yield advantage over PBA Hurricane XT”.

“It is an early to mid-flowering and maturity variety with provisional, disease ratings of moderately resistant/moderately susceptible to ascochyta and resistant/moderately resistant to BGM” he said. 

Victoria’s lentil industry contributes $120 million to the Victorian economy each year, with 95 per cent of lentils grown in Victorian exported to countries all around the world, including Bangladesh and India. 
 
PBA Kelpie XT will be marketed and managed by Seednet, who will produce the variety in commercial quantities for lentil growers. It is adapted to most lentil growing regions in Australia and its herbicide tolerance will help farmers manage weeds efficiently.   
 
Developed by conventional plant breeding techniques, PBA Kelpie XT is the fifth herbicide tolerant lentil variety bred by Agriculture Victoria scientists. It was developed under the Pulse Breeding Australia (PBA) initiative and the suffix XT (for extra tough) denotes its tolerance to group B herbicides. 
 
Dr Shunmugam said it was bred with selections developed from a cross between PBA Blitz and an experimental line and it features a large grey seed coat with red cotyledon. It will also be suitable for export and domestic markets. 
 
Agriculture Victoria’s lentil breeding program and Southern Pulse Agronomy team are jointly supported by the Victorian Government and the Grains Research and Development Corporation. 
 
For more information about PBA Kelpie XT visit seednet.com.au/product/pba-kelpie-xt. 

Image - Dr Solomon Maina

Agriculture Victoria is in the trial stages of developing an Australian-first method to improve plant virus detection.

At the conclusion of this research project, Horsham’s Grains Innovation Park will be the first facility in Australia to apply high throughput genome sequencing methods for Post Entry Quarantine (PEQ) for grains.

Since 2018, Agriculture Victoria research scientist Solomon Maina has been working towards developing this method to screen grains for exotic viruses that are a threat to Australian biosecurity.

Dr Maina said the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Agriculture Victoria co-invested project aims to apply these new methods in preventing the entry of new pathogens that might cause significant damage and economic losses to the Australian grains industry if they become established, and possibly go undetected using traditional testing.

'The new methods would enable researchers to detect multiple viruses which have high genetic variability genome structures at once, with no prior information of the pathogen,' Dr Maina said.

'In comparison with traditional methods, for example, the current use of antibodies which is limited to antisera availability may not detect viruses with high genome variations. Plus, the researcher would need to initially suspect an infection in order to test for a specific virus in a crop.'

These methods are expected to be adopted at the PEQ facility at Horsham. Such frameworks have already been adopted on different crops in the United States and parts of Europe as part of their genetic certification programs. However, Australia is leading this framework for grains.

Plant viruses and diseases constitute a major cause of agricultural crop losses and can have a substantial economic impact. They can weaken the growth of cultivated crops, cause yield loss, and reduce the quality, marketability and competitiveness of grain products.

In Australia, cereals, oilseeds and pulses are estimated to account for over $13 billion gross value of farm production, with the majority being exported.

The preliminary results at the Grains Innovation Park have proved promising, revealing simultaneous detection of multiple exotic and endemic viruses of pulses currently available at Horsham PEQ.

Further studies are currently underway to improve and strengthen the methods. For more information on Agriculture Victoria’s research please visit the Our Research page on the Agriculture Victoria website.

More than 100 food businesses, farmers and suppliers across Victoria are keeping workers safe and supply chains going thanks to support from the Victorian Government, helping workplaces adapt to physical distancing and hygiene measures.

Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development Jaclyn Symes today visited Springhill Farm, a second-generation family-owned food manufacturer in Ballarat that makes delicious treats under their own brand and for clients under contract.

Springhill Farm’s grant of $132,000 has seen a new packing room and extra equipment installed to allow greater physical distancing between workers, as well as additional washbasins.

The funding through the Government’s Business Adaptation Grants program will also support the retraining of 30 employees in COVID-safe processes and the use of new equipment.

Another grant recipient, Western Plains Pork is a breeder and supplier of free-range pigs in the Grampians region. Western Plains Pork’s grant of almost $72,000 has gone towards new equipment, including touch-free washbasins, new wash bays to clean operational equipment and an automated industrial cleaning robot.

In Victoria’s east, dairy food manufacturer Village Dairy in Traralgon is receiving $76,000 to semi-automate the business’ cheese packing process to allow for greater physical distancing between employees.

The Business Adaptation Grants have been rolled out across Victoria as part of the Government’s Agriculture Workforce Plan, which is also providing grants for worker induction and re-training, and worker relocation and transport.

The Plan is supporting businesses within key agriculture and food processing industries through job-matching, case management, targeted industry skills development and initiatives to support Victorian producers connect into new markets.

Applications for Business Adaptation Grants have now been extended and are open until the end of 2020, to support Victorian agribusinesses through the summer harvest season.

To find out more or to apply for a grant, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/agworkforceplan.

Dr Jeff Cave
District Veterinary Officer
Agriculture Victoria Wodonga

Pestivirus is widespread in cattle herds worldwide including here in Victoria. The nature of the disease is caused by pestivirus, a complex disease that largely depends on the timing of infection.

When the virus infects cattle for the first time, they may develop fever, depression and diarrhoea. This type of infection is called bovine virus diarrhoea and is usually, but not always, mild. Affected cattle subsequently build up strong immunity against repeat infections.

If a cow is pregnant at the time of infection, the cow herself will be affected as described above. The effect on the unborn calf depends on the stage of infection.

If the cow is infected during the second half of pregnancy the unborn calf will develop a strong immunity and be born normal although birth abnormalities and late abortions are possible and not uncommon.

During the first half of pregnancy an unborn calf's immune system is not developed and it therefore does not recognise the presence of the virus. As a result, the calf will be born a carrier of the virus and will shed large amounts of the virus. These persistently infected (PI) cattle are the main source of virus in an infected herd.

Furthermore, if the calf that was infected during the first half of pregnancy is exposed to a more aggressive strain of the virus after it is born its immune system will not be able to fight the virus leading to a condition known as Mucosal disease. Mucosal disease is a severe and invariably fatal disease. Its clinical signs include diarrhoea, fever, emaciation and lesions on the nose, mouth and feet.

These lesions are an example of an endemic disease commonly found in Australia, which could resemble an exotic disease such as Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Therefore, it is doubly important to seek veterinary advice. There is no treatment available for Mucosal disease.

To best manage the effects of pestivirus, ensure cattle are not exposed to the infection for the first-time during pregnancy. This can be done either by removing the carriers of the infection, vaccinating against pestivirus or by exposing heifers to the infection prior to their first joining.

For further advice please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer, or in NSW your Local Land Services. If you see something unusual contact the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

Farmers are being warned to plan for flash flooding in the coming weeks, with heavy rainfall predicted this spring.

In particular, fire-affected landholders in hilly and mountainous terrain are being encouraged to check catchment areas and to prepare for possible erosion.

Central and East Gippsland Agriculture Recovery Manager Keren Walker said it was important for farmers to be aware of the possibility of increased run-off due to a combination of heavy rainfall, bare ground, water-repellent soils and steep slopes.

“Landholders need to look at catchments above key water supplies and assess whether they may need to put up sediment fencing to protect their dams or waterways from erosion and debris,” Ms Walker said.

Livestock farmers with flood-prone paddocks should ensure they have a plan to keep livestock safe.

Agriculture Victoria District Veterinary Officer Jeff Cave said livestock will naturally keep moving to higher ground if they have clear access and the appropriate gates are open.

“The problems occur when they run out of higher ground and they haven’t got anywhere else to go,” Dr Cave said. “It really takes good planning on behalf of the owner to avoid this problem.”

A flood plan should clearly identify:

• A safe place for livestock, usually the highest areas of the property away from water sources and flood plains
• A source of supplementary food and water in an area least likely to flood
• Identification of multiple evacuation routes from the property.

Farmers should discuss their flood plan with other members of the family, record it, and practice it. Landholders are also being urged to listen to weather warnings and be prepared to implement their flood plans at the appropriate time.

For more information on how to build a sediment fence, click here.

For a guide to preparing an emergency checklist and plan, click here.

Image - Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party

From the Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party

One of the most anticipated serrated tussock research projects has reached its first significant milestone. The research project is an investigation into new and innovative biocontrol agents from Argentina for serrated tussock. The VSTWP has contributed $25,000 towards the research project, which will be conducted in New Zealand over the next few years.

Rae Kwong from Agriculture Victoria has provided an update on the achievements to date and what activities and research will be delivered over the next few years. The VSTWP will be watching for potential advances in biocontrol agents, that may limit or prevent the further spread across Victoria under certain conditions.

Key points

• The key objective of the research component is to survey and identify potential biocontrol agents from Argentina, where previous organisms pathogenic to Nassella tussock have been identified.
• To date, a total of 12 site visits have been conducted at seven site locations.
• To date, 64 fungi have been isolated and DNA extraction is underway to enable isolates of interest to be identified.
• Leaf material was collected from up to 20 individual plants from most of the Victorian sites and stored in silica gel. Samples were sent to colleagues at Landcare Research New Zealand for genetic analysis. Seed has also been collected from various sites and will be stored until needed for pathogen testing.
• The total funding for this research is $1.2 million, made up of contributions from; New Zealand - $1.0 million + Agriculture Victoria - $82,000 and VSTWP - $25,000.
• The research for this 3-year project has been made possible with NZ signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Argentina for the collection of potential biocontrol agents from Argentina.

The VSTWP are very keen to support research into new and innovative control measures, that may limit or prevent the further spread across Victoria under certain conditions. It is expected the VSTWP will be provided with further research findings from Agriculture Victoria over the next few years, and to say we are excited is an understatement!

Are you interested in improving the mental wellbeing of farmers and people in farming communities?

Are you a member of a farming community OR a service provider/stakeholder providing support for farming communities in the Great South Coast region?

Have you experienced depression or psychological/situational distress OR have you cared for or provided support (formal or informal) to someone who has?

The National Centre for Farmer Health are seeking farmers and service providers/stakeholders for a number of exciting new project roles:

• Community Working Group for guidance on project development, participant recruitment and development of new mental wellbeing resources (Expected commitment required: monthly meetings over an eight-month period)
• Co-design participants to help inform the development of a new way of delivering peer-supported mental health support. (Expected commitment: 1–2 online workshops for 2–3 hours, one follow-up online survey for 30 minutes).

Financial reimbursement for your time is available for farmers and self-employed farming community members.

For more information or to express your interest in participating, please contact Alison Kennedy via a.kennedy@deakin.edu.au or phone (03) 5551 8587 or visit the Farmer Health website.

David Shambrook
Dairy Extension Officer

Making good quality hay in a year where above average rainfall is predicted for most of Victoria over spring will be a challenge, but if you stick to some key principles it is still feasible.

The quality of hay is directly related to the stage of growth at cutting; the amount of leaf retention; diligent use of the right equipment at the right time; and avoiding bad weather. Cutting as early as possible in the season, weather permitting, will produce highest quality hay. 

It is inevitable that some quality will be lost during the curing and harvesting process. So what can be done about reducing the losses and improving the hay quality?

Once the decision to cut has been made, increasing the rate of drying of the entire crop, particularly the stems, is the key to reducing losses and avoiding the risk of rain damage.

Growing plants contain approximately 75 to 80 per cent water at the time of harvest. When the plant is cut, it continues to respire or breath until water content is reduced to about 40 per cent, or 60 per cent dry matter (DM). Some loss of dry matter and quality has occurred. Below 40 per cent moisture, the leaves dry at a much faster rate than stems because they are very thin and have a large surface area to mass ratio. However, stem drying occurs slowly due to the cell make up and surface wax layer. By the time the stem reaches appropriate moisture content for baling, the leaves may be too dry and therefore easily shattered.

Wait for any dew to lift before mowing – there could be one to three tonnes of moisture trapped between the plants if mown with dew on them, moisture which must be dried off before the plants start to cure. Mowing in the rain would have a similar effect.

Use a mower-conditioner or conditioner – the most common method of enhancing stem drying is by mechanical conditioning which uses a set of intermeshing, counter-rotating rollers. These are designed to crush, bend or break stems allowing moisture to escape more easily. Conditioners also reduce leaf shatter during raking and baling, as the leaves tend to dry at around the same rate as stems. Proper roller clearance adjustment is important, especially for roller-type conditioners. Don’t have them set too wide. The roller spacings used for thick stemmed crops are often not adequate for finer stemmed crops.

The flail or tyned-type mower conditioners are more suited to pastures than the roller type. They do a better job of the crimping and abrading. and tend to leave the windrows ‘fluffier’, which is more conducive to quicker drying.

In both cases, leaving the swath boards out as wide as possible, to leave wider windrows will greatly increase the drying rate.

Tedding straight after mowing –a technique recommended for silage, tedding (spreading) will also reduce the curing time of hay by about 30 to 40 per cent, if used within a few short hours after mowing. Some farmers use the tedder the day after mowing, but the curing rate would benefit greatly if done soon after mowing.

Some farmers worry about hay bleaching when using these machines, however tedding will allow far more even and quicker drying, so bleaching should be minimal. In any case, bleaching does not greatly affect hay quality, but it does reduce the carotene levels. The reduced risk of rain and its effect on reducing quality is reason enough to consider using a tedder, especially where rain is expected.

Raking – raking is used to enhance uniform drying. The most common type of rake rolls and fluffs the windrow, bringing the bottom layer to the top. The rolling action exposes more of the stems while protecting the leafy portion of the plant. Hay should be raked at moisture content above 30 per cent, to minimise leaf shatter. Leaf loss can be further reduced by raking during early morning or late evening after the leaves absorb moisture from the air. As much as 15 per cent dry matter can be lost if legumes such as lucerne are raked at the wrong time, however pasture losses tend to be less.

When to bale – optimum moisture content for baling hay for conserved feed depends on bale size and density. For small rectangular bales, the moisture content should be no higher than 18 per cent. The upper limit for large round bales should be 14 to 16 per cent and large square bales 12 to 14 per cent.

More than 80 per cent of hay fires have been in large square bales which have often been baled at the correct moisture content, but their high density disallows for breathing, hence there is no room for error with these large, very densely packed bales.

For more information go to agriculture.vic.gov.au

30 November - 1 December 

The AgTech Summit will return for its third instalment. This event is fully virtual, delivered via a live stream and interactive meeting rooms.

Click here to learn more about the virtual event platform, Brella.

Gathering the industries key stakeholders, the summit will draw on the key issues facing the sector and the growing demand for technological advancement in agriculture.

Drawing on case studies of agtech innovation and examples of successful global initiatives, the summit will once again provide the platform for engaging discussion and networking which is not to be missed.

Find out more here.

Agriculture Victoria has a fantastic new opportunity for young farmers!

We are partnering with Regional Leadership to offer a fully funded place in each of their ten regional leadership programs for 2021.

Are you keen to:

• Connect with other people within your community who are interested in improving their leadership skills?
• Deepen your understanding of where your agriculture business sits within your region?
• Identify and develop your leadership style and identify your strengths?
• Gain support in improving your management and resilience skills?
• Participate in study tours in multiple different businesses across the region?

This is a fantastic opportunity for any young agriculture professionals or farmers looking to get more involved in community leadership.

Read further about the opportunities and benefits of the 2021 program and find out which region-specific program you are eligible for on the Regional Leadership website.

Applications for the Alpine Valleys Community Leadership program and the Great South Coast Leadership program are now open.

All other programs will open soon so keep an eye out on the Young Business Network Facebook group or on the Regional Leadership website.

Applicants are required to be 18 to 40 years of age, residing in regional or rural Victoria, and involved in agriculture or the agriculture supply chain.

You may be eligible to claim some out of pocket expenses, so please contact your program for more information.

For more information please contact Sarah Wallis, Young Farmer Project Coordinator at sarah.wallis@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Have you listened to the new AgVic Talk podcast yet?

We have several episodes out now, including:

• 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

Listen here.

The National Centre for Farmer Health is turning to social media to connect farmers, creators, thinkers and makers from all over the state.  While we might be distanced socially, they want to repair these connections using the universal platform of social media.

From photos to memes, Tik Tok’s and haiku’s, they want you to embrace your creativity and in the hopes of making another person laugh, cry or cringe in solidarity. Your imagination will be rewarded with a weekly prize, with the winner chosen by your peers.

The campaign runs from August to October, with submissions being featured daily on their Instagram and Facebook, as well as in the National Centre for Farmer Health eNews and website. 

Click here to find out more.

Community leaders from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to help shape the future of their community, with positions across the Victorian Government’s nine Regional Partnerships now open.

One of the social outcomes of the partnerships includes the Wimmera Southern Mallee’s BY FIVE initiative. BY FIVE aims to improve health and education outcomes for children by the time they reach the age of five. In 2019, the initiative won a Victorian Early Years Award for Continuity of Early Learning.

The government is encouraging experienced and emerging leaders of all ages and backgrounds to apply, including Aboriginal Victorians, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with a disability and LGBTIQ community members.

The term of appointment for new members will run until 31 December 2024.

Applications close Thursday, 1 October. For more information on each Regional Partnership and to apply for a position, visit www.rdv.vic.gov.au/regional-partnerships

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website. 

Abbey’s Run Equestrian are pleased to bring you this webinar on Thursday 8 October from 7 – 9 pm.  The aim of this webinar is to help you get organised and plan for any fire or emergency event that may impact you, your property and horses.

Our presenters include Dr Lee Manning (Agriculture Victoria Veterinary Officer), April Padbury (CFA) and Moyna Smeaton who will share her personal story of living through the 19/20 fires with her horses.

Topics covered in the presentation include:

• Fire behaviour (hills, wind changes etc.)
• Warnings and information
• Preparing your property
• Why have an emergency plan?
• Equine behaviour in fires
• Preparing your horses to stay
• Leaving early with horses
• After the fire and basic first aid.

There will be time for Q&A’s at the end of the presentations.
This ticketed event will be held on Zoom.

Abbey’s Run Equestrian will contact all ticketholders via email in the 24 hours prior to the event with the web link and access code for the presentation.

While we welcome attendees from anywhere, this webinar is relative to a south-eastern Australian context.

Attendees must be over 18 years old or have parental supervision while watching.

For more information on the event and presenters, or to register, click here.

30 Sep - 8 Oct 

Are you buying and selling rams this season? Do you know the NLIS requirements for sheep sold at public and online auctions?

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

Topics include:

• Overview of the Victorian traceability system
• Setting up, navigating and using the NLIS database
• Completing Property to Property (P2P) transfers on the NLIS database.

You can register for the day session or for the two evening sessions.  Participants registering for the evening sessions must register for both parts 1 and 2.

Details

NLIS database training webinar day session:

30 September, 10:30 am — 2 pm
Register with eventbrite

NLIS database training webinar — evening session (part 1):

6 October, 8 — 9 pm
NLIS database training webinar — evening session (part 2:

8 October, 8 — 9 pm
For both events, register with eventbrite.

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

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

Participants are required to set up their NLIS account prior to attending the webinar, further information on how to do this and how to join the webinar will be provided at registration.​

Click here for more information.

Do you know if preferential feeding of ewes delivers reproductive and economic benefits for your business?

Have you considered calculating the Standard Reference Weight (SRW) of your ewes?

Is there benefit to being able to record individual performance of ewes?

Agriculture Victoria is partnering with the Mackinnon Project and Sheep Data Management to discuss the benefits and opportunities of monitoring your ewes body condition score and weight. We will explore how you can use the data to make management decisions such as preferential feeding and classing. You will hear from the researchers and consultants plus the livestock managers of the host farms. 

Date: Wednesday 7 October, 1 pm - 2 pm

Please register here.

For more information, or if you need assistance registering or joining the webinar please contact the event organiser Kirstie Anderson on 0437 990 967 or Kirstie.anderson@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Guest presenters

Bea Kirk - Mackinnon Project will provide an overview of the “Using EID to aid monitoring of ewes in western Victoria” Producer Demonstration Site funded by Meat and Livestock Australia. The managers of the three host sites will also share insights on the data collection systems they use, what worked, what didn’t, and what their future plans may be after the trial. 

Elise Bowen – Sheep Data Management will demonstrate the calculation and use of SRW for ewes of different shapes, sizes, ages and genotypes. She will be joined by Andrew Hunter, owner/manager of “Hills Park” Yerong Creek to discuss why he was first interested in SRWs, how he and Elise have approached its assessment and what they have learnt over a number of years collecting data, performing calculations and making decisions. 

A recording of the event will be available to all registered attendees.

When: Tuesday 6 October 10 am – 12 pm

Want to know more about biological control and get a hands on, positive community perspective, then this is the workshop for you!

Join the 'Biological control, a powerful weed management tool explained' to learn how biological control provide a reliable, cost effective and well researched method of managing some of Victoria's most environmentally destructive weeds.

Dr Raelene Kwong and Greg Lefoe, senior research scientists from Agriculture Victoria’s research division will explain the ins and outs of what is involved with biocontrol and how you can be involved in your patch.

Another special guest, Lee Mead, President of the Tarrangower Cactus Control Group will provide an exciting community case study of the use of biological control on Wheel cactus (Opuntia robusta) in north central Victoria.

The Department, Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), Natural Environment Programs team is proud to host the Loddon Mallee event for the Connecting Communities series.

This event is proudly supported by DELWP’s statewide Weeds at the Early Stage of Invasion (WESI) project, Connecting Country and the Weeds Society of Victoria

An optional addition to this event is at 11.30 am, where you are welcome to join in the Weed Society of Victoria’s Annual General Meeting.

Register for this event here.

The 23rd Wimmera Biodiversity Seminar (WBS) has started! Registrations are open for the online events this spring.

The 2020 theme is 'From little things...' and has a great range of local and non-local presenters speaking about the little things that make up biodiversity and environmental ecosystems such as fungi, orchids, insects and our little people making big differences.

Check out the event details on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

Click here to register. 

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