• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Appropriate disposal of dead stock
• Pain relief mandatory for mulesing
• Don’t omit ladders when ordering new grain storage infrastructure
• The Very Fast Break
• Soil moisture monitoring update for cropping regions
• Young Farmer Program webinar series
• Fox and wild dog bounty collections for western Victoria
• What's on?

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

Dr Jeff Cave
District Veterinary Officer

Disposal of an animal’s carcass isn’t at the front of anyone’s mind – until it’s needed.

Dead animals can be a risk to biosecurity and be hazardous to the environment, therefore appropriate disposal is essential to ensure a healthy, safe and productive farm. The disposal methods required will depend on the size of the dead animal.

The disposal of a large animal like a horse or cow can be a logistical challenge.

The use of a knackery, rendering plant, or an appropriately licensed landfill may provide an option.

For a knackery to collect livestock they generally insist the animal is a large animal, such as a cow or horse, and is alive or at the very least freshly deceased and if they are cattle, sheep or goats, must have an NLIS ear tag affixed.

Limited numbers of dead stock can be buried on a farm, providing the burial site does not negatively impact the land, surface or ground waters, or create an odour.

To reduce environmental impacts, an on-farm burial site should be on elevated land, in low-permeable soil, well above the water table and well away from water runoff and neighbouring houses.

The carcass should also be sufficiently covered with at least one metre of soil. Personal safety should always be considered when constructing a pit.

If left in paddocks, dead stock can be a potential disease risk and could contaminate land and water.

Agriculture Victoria provides a guide to disposing of dead stock after bushfires.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has the power to penalise or fine a livestock owner or manager, who does not dispose of dead stock properly.

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

It won’t be long until we see lambs bouncing around the paddocks again as autumn lambing time is underway.

Agriculture Victoria is reminding producers and contractors that if they do conduct mulesing on lambs, it is now a requirement to administer a registered pain-relief product.

These provisions came into effect from 1 July 2020, as part of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (POCTA) Regulations 2019.

The requirement to use a registered pain relief product not only ensures better animal welfare outcomes for Victorian sheep, but it also helps to protect the reputation of Victoria’s sheep industry.

Agriculture Victoria Program Manager Livestock Welfare Compliance, Rachael Holmes said only pain relief products that are registered for use on sheep by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) can be used when mulesing.
 
“As with any agricultural or veterinary chemicals used on farm, producers should keep records of the pain-relieving products used.

“Details should include the product trade name, species/location of animals, identification numbers/description, the date the treatment has been applied and the dose rate used.”

Dr Holmes said that there are a number of pain relief products available to producers for not only mulesing but for marking lambs in general.

“Producers need to be aware of advantages and disadvantages of the available pain relief products and the type of pain they are targeting and consider the best fit for their operation to achieve the desired results. Producers are best to discuss this with their Veterinarian.

“The use of pain relief products during the mulesing/marking procedure ensure Victoria’s sheep industry operating best-practice welfare and supports the sustainability of our industry,” Dr Holmes added.”

Victoria’s Code of Accepted Farming Practice for the Welfare of Sheep (Revision Number 2) is also available to provide a technical guide for those using mulesing as part of a flystrike management program.

“If undertaken, mulesing should only be done as part of an integrated approach to flystrike management including crutching and shearing, good worm control, strategic use of chemicals, genetic selection of sheep and paddock grazing management,” she said.

More information is available online.

Grain growers ordering new silos are encouraged to include ladders in their purchases to ensure safe access to storage systems.

Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) grain storage extension specialists said many growers were tempted to save a few dollars by omitting the ladder from the order, but this could impact the functionality of the silo and make maintenance and monitoring more difficult.

GRDC grain storage specialist Ben White said in some instances, manufacturers were encouraging growers not to fit ladders, citing health and safety risk exposure for the grower as well as ease of transport and construction.

“However, ladders are an essential silo feature allowing growers to inspect grain in 'the headspace' (between the top of the grain stack and the roof of the silo) where many grain storage problems are likely to first appear,” Mr White said.

“Insects are most prevalent in the warm grain in the headspace so regular inspection during grain storage is recommended.

“Access to the silo lid and inlet is also essential for maintenance of seals and lid mechanisms. Without a ladder, alternatives include expensive specialist high-level access equipment.”

Mr White said ladders should be constructed to the Australian standard which specifies cage requirements and intermediate platforms.

An alternative used on large flat-bottom silos is a spiral set of stairs, which are also required to have intermediate platforms according to an Australian standard.

Mr White said that as an important feature of any silo, growers were advised to compare the construction quality and design of ladders which could vary between brands.

As a further safety precaution, ladder access should be stowable or locked to prevent unwanted access by children or untrained personnel.

For multiple silos constructed in a straight line, a single ladder with a top platform to provide access along the line of silos may be a feasible and more cost-effective option worth exploring with the silo manufacturer.

Growers are advised to refer to the grain silo buyers guide produced by the GRDC Stored Grain Extension team: https://storedgrain.com.au/silo-buyers-guide/.

Growers can access expert advice and assistance on best practices when storing grain by calling the GRDC stored grain extension hotline: 1800 WEEVIL (1800 933 845).

Welcome to the Very Fast Break seasonal climate update video clips.

We are partnering with the GRDC to bring you these short summaries for South Australia and Victoria and for the first time this year Southern NSW.

CLICK HERE to watch the short YouTube video for Victoria (4 min 20 sec).

The soil moisture monitoring project, with the use of underground probes, provides real time soil water content data to Victoria’s farmers.

Monitoring sites have been set up in cropping regions throughout the state by Agriculture Victoria.

The sites record soil water content at one source point from 30 centimetres down to one metre as a reference point for a paddock.

You can read the full edition here.

Farm business risks are inevitable, but your ability to deal with them isn’t. In our new ‘Farm Finance – Getting Prepared’ program for young farmers we’ll show you how to analyse a range or risks and develop ways to manage them.

From developing your own risk assessment to using the latest risk management software, you’ll come away from the online ‘Farm business risks’ workshop feeling better prepared. Sign up today.

Victorian fox and wild dog bounty collections resumed on Monday 1 March, 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.

Go online to find out more or call the Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website. Log on to agriculture.vic.gov.au/events to find out what's on.

Friday 30 April, 10 - 11 am

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!

Wednesday 21 April, 1 – 2 pm

Description
Fundamentals of Operations Management - Key Points to Get Right (a Cropping Enterprise Case Study).

GRDC Farm Business Update National Livestreams are topic specific, interactive, interview style discussions that address key farm business management improvements common to grain growing businesses across Australia.

More details coming soon. Registration for the live-stream events is free. The recordings will be uploaded to the GRDC website for people to view at a later date.

Register here.

Navigating climate change projections just got a whole lot easier: A look inside the refreshed Climate Change in Australia website.

Date: Thursday 6 May

Time: 12 - 1 pm

Cost: FREE

Register here.

Originally launched in 2015/16, the Climate Change in Australia website, Australia’s national climate change projections website, has recently been refreshed to improve accessibility and searchability of the climate projections information within the website.

Based on user feedback, the website now has new content, including pages on interpreting the future climate by the level of global warming. It also has a new look, better navigation menus, and an improved search function; making content much easier to find. The refresh aims to ensure the climate change projections information, data and tools are more easily accessible to help decision-makers better understand their current and future climate risks.

In this webinar, presenters John Clarke and Michael Grose from the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub (CSIRO) will walk through the refreshed website, highlighting improvements and new content as well as touching on popular tools and content within the website.

Presenters

John Clarke, Research Team Leader, CSIRO

Michael Grose, Research Scientist, CSIRO

You can join our webinars via your web browser, the WebEx app on your phone, tablet or iPad or by dialling in.

For more information about these webinars, including assistance joining the webinar, email climate.webinars@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Whatever start to the season you have had, this short webinar will discuss some options for improving the quality and quantity of pasture heading into winter.

Thursday 22 April, 8 – 8.30 pm

REGISTER HERE.

If your internet connectivity is poor, you can phone in to the webinar to listen.

We chat to Neil James, Agriculture Victoria, on options for improving the quality and quantity of pastures going into winter. Weed control, including winter cleaning and broadleaf control options - when and why to consider

We finish with a Myth Buster - Gaye Krebs, Associate Professor and lecturer in ruminant nutrition at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, will answer 'is feeding too much protein to livestock wasteful?'

Inquiries: Jane Court 0436 606 742 or jane.court@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Check out the Feeding Livestock website for other livestock nutrition and feed resources.

Monday 19 April, 10 am - 1 pm

Register here

Agriculture Victoria is hosting three The Occasional Counsellor™ webinars run by David Cherry, a clinical and forensic psychologist who has been working for 40 years.

This workshop is for those in the horticulture industry who interact with growers and/or a seasonal workforce, who are not employed in a counselling role but are called upon to give others emotional support.

The focus of the workshop is on teaching participants strategies for assisting individuals who are sad, upset, bewildered, confused, angry or depressed while clearly remaining in their role.

The workshop will cover:

• skills of the helper, including the importance of empathy and when not to empathise
• understanding professional boundaries, including understanding your role and the limits of your role
• the difference between emotional support and counselling
• simple, practical strategies for supporting individuals who may be acutely emotionally distressed, including making appropriate referrals, while keeping yourself safe and remaining in your role
• self-care for the worker.

RSVP essential as places are limited. For help registering, contact Jo Chong Wah 0436 809 878 or email jo.chongwah@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Call 136 186 for assistance managing seasonal workforce issues.

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