• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Avian influenza
• Primary producer fire recovery support expanded
• Fox and wild dog bounty resumes in regional Victoria
• The latest Fast Break
• National Landcare Program: Smart Farms Small Grants
• Horticulture sector leadership development courses
• Spring 2020 edition of Sheep Notes out now
• Summerfruit talk on stonefruit maturity now available
• Agriculture Victoria has a fantastic new opportunity for young farmers!
• AgVic Talk podcast - latest episodes
• #SnapshotRuralVIC competition
• Young farmer business network
• Calling all young farmers
• What's on?

Safely reopening 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.

From 11.59 pm on 27 September 2020 metropolitan Melbourne moved to the Second Step on the Roadmap for reopening. This step included some small but significant changes to the planned roadmap based on current case numbers and the latest modelling and projections.

Visit Roadmap for reopening for more details.

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 commenced 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 coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Assistance from the public is a vital part of the ongoing response to avian influenza.

Thank you for playing your part and providing surveillance teams and hotline staff essential insights and data about the health of poultry and wild birds across the state.

Wherever you are in Victoria, stay alert and report any sick or dead poultry or wild birds on the 24/7 Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

For the latest information go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianflu.

The Victorian Government is backing grape growers facing ongoing impacts from last summer’s devastating bushfires as part of joint recovery efforts with the Commonwealth Government.

The new funding announced through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements will help grape growers in local government areas outside bushfire zones who have nonetheless had their crops affected by smoke taint.

A new program provides up to $10,000 for farmers from outside defined bushfire areas who have suffered a decline in revenue or harvest of 40 per cent or more compared to the previous year because of smoke taint.

Applicants are required to provide a dollar-for-dollar co-contribution and can use the support for business recovery, growth and diversification, and improvements to make the business more resilient to future disasters. The grant is available through Rural Finance and is open until 31 December.

For primary producers operating within areas directly affected by bushfire, the Victorian and Commonwealth governments have also expanded the Emergency Bushfire Response in Primary Industries Grant Program, meaning more primary producers will become eligible for payments of up to $75,000 helping clean-up and recovery.

This grant is for primary producers who usually earn at least 50 per cent of their income from farm production and is now open until the end of the year, giving farmers more time to apply for help in the recovery process. The grant money can be used to cover the cost of clean-up and repairs for buildings, fencing and salvaging damaged crops.

Eligibility changes now allow those farmers whose income from farm production is less than 50 per cent due to drought, or who are still in the early phases of building up their businesses, to apply for the grant. For these farmers, the $100,000 off-farm income threshold has been removed, and off-farm income is no longer taken into consideration.

Farmers have also been given more time to reach the point where at least 50 per cent of their income is generated from on-farm activities in recognition of long lead times required by some sectors to reach full production. This helps farm businesses in the early years of development in industries like forestry, orchards, vineyards and nuts.

The Victorian Government is working with Wine Victoria to encourage locals to buy Victorian wine either direct from the winery or through local businesses to help boost sales and put winemakers back on the path to recovery.

Producers who have inquired or applied in the past but did not meet criteria may now be eligible and are encouraged to contact Rural Finance on 1800 260 425.

Victorian Fox and Wild Dog Bounty collections will resume for regional Victoria from Monday 5 October.

The first collections will be in the Gippsland region at Ellinbank, Bairnsdale, Maffra and Yarram. Woori Yallock remains closed in line with current metropolitan Melbourne restrictions.

Agriculture Victoria has a COVIDSafe Plan in place for each bounty collection centre.

If you are attending a collection centre, you must comply with coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions including physical distancing, good hygiene practices and wearing a face mask (unless you have a lawful reason not to).

Due to the disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), the bounty program has been extended from the end of October 2020 until the end of November 2020. All collection sites will have at least one opening date between now and the end of the season.

Hunters are encouraged to continue to collect fox scalps and wild dog body parts, while following coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions relevant to their area. Pieces can be frozen or air dried and submitted for reward at an alternative collection centre or when the suspended collection centres reopen, in line with bounty terms and conditions.

All hunters are reminded to use common sense when hunting and when it comes to attending bounty collections. Stay safe by following the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions that apply to your area and, if you feel unwell, get tested and stay home.

Reward payments can only be made by Electric Funds Transfer.

Please continue to check the Agriculture Victoria website for the latest information, as the collection schedule is subject to change in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation: visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bounty

A weak La Niña has just formed, how long it hangs around for remains to be seen, but most models predict at least the next three months or longer. 

La Nina’s influence tends to decrease after November but a late forming one like this could hang around into harvest. Most of the state’s crops and pastures would welcome a good October and the higher rainfall areas would love a wet November.

Check out the weather projections in the latest Fast Break, click here

The Australian Government is inviting applications for projects to deliver services under the National Landcare Program – Smart Farms Small Grants Round 4.

Smart Farms Small Grants is an open, competitive, grant opportunity to support projects to increase farming, forestry and fishing communities’ awareness, knowledge, skills and capacity to adopt best practice sustainable agriculture.

The purpose of Smart Farms Small Grants is to support land manager practice change that will deliver more sustainable, productive and profitable food, fibre and forestry business while protecting Australia’s biodiversity; protecting and improving the condition of natural resources; and assisting Australia meet its international obligations.

More information about 'Round 4' as well as requirements for applicants and grant opportunity documents can be found on the Community Grants Hub.

A pool of scholarships are currently available for women in the horticulture sector to participate in a range of leadership courses.

The scholarship grants are co-funded by Hort Innovation and Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) and cover up to 83 per cent of the program fee.

For women working in the apple or pear sector, a number of fully funded scholarship positions are also available.

The scholarships are applicable for women who are emerging leaders, mid-level managers or those with senior/executive level experience.

The funding is available to those working in both levy and non-levy paying horticultural organisations, including wholesalers, distributors and research and development bodies. Both individuals and groups of employees within the sector are encouraged to apply.

This unique initiative is a collaborative five-year funding partnership between Hort Innovation and WLA, and demonstrates the commitment of both parties in bringing about gender progression and equality within Australia’s horticulture industry. To date, 39 women from the sector have participated.

All of WLA’s courses are part-time and designed for those already employed.

Both fully online and ‘blended’ (partly online, partly face-to-face) delivery models are available.

A payment plan is available for successful course applicants if preferred.

Scholarship Grants and Fees

The grants are allocated with the specific intent of providing powerful and effective development opportunities for women within the horticulture sector.

The funding is available to women working in both levy and non-levy paying organisations. Interest has been strong so prompt registration is advised.

Click here for more information.

Our spring 2020 edition of Sheep Notes online is out now and full of a diverse range of articles to keep you and your flock up to date.

This edition you’ll also notice we have included some guest authors on topics like summer drenching, farmer and animal health.

You can find it on our website and while you’re there – if you haven’t already – make sure you subscribe agriculture.vic.gov.au/support-and-resources/newsletters/sheep-notes-newsletter

For more information contact jane.court@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Agriculture Victoria’s researchers at Agribio are looking at ways to optimise fruit maturity at harvest, using non-destructive technologies, to meet market expectations and to understand how fruit maturity affects storage and its impact on fruit composition and quality.

Research shows that:

• picking fruit too early compromises the fruit quality.
• maturity of the fruit is really important to the outturn.
• fruit produces its own ethylene naturally. If there's no ethylene when the fruit are picked from the tree, they can suffer from cold storage issues and internal injuries (browning, mealiness, dryness, flesh translucency), lack flavour and not ripen properly.
• harvest fruit with ethylene production before they come off the tree, to ensure high quality fruit going into markets.

Talk from Summerfruit Webinar series 2020: Managing fruit quality for export

Christine Frisina, from Agriculture Victoria, presents: Are the fruit on your trees really ready to pick?

Website and webinar recording here.

For more information contact: christine.Frisina@agriculture.vic.gov.au

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:

• Now is the time to assess your pastures if you were affected by fire last season.  In this episode of ‘AgVic Talk’, our Extension Officer Fiona Baker talks about the key things to look for, consider this spring on fire affected pastures.
• Merrigum dairy farmer Kevin Fitzsimmons says since the millennium drought, running profitably has never been more difficult. In one of our first episodes of ‘AgVic Talk’, Kevin discusses how he manages climate variability on his farm.
• Sarah McLean tells us how the Upskill and Invest Young Farmer Scholarship helped her turn her dream to farm a reality.

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 in the hope 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.

To find out more go to https://www.farmerhealth.org.au/snapshotruralvic

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.

There is still time to participate in Agriculture Victoria's short online survey.  Can you help us?

www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZQ78FCB

Thank you to everyone that has already participated in the survey, we really value your input.

Agriculture Victoria is surveying young farmers to ask how, when and why you engage online. Do you use online tools to connect with other farmers, with industry groups, to source information or to learn?

We are interested in your responses no matter how much or how little you engage online, whether you are young in age or young in career. Responses are anonymous.

Thank you to everyone who has already participated. Your responses will help us to design and deliver online content best suited to your needs. We want to ensure we provide you with the best methods and opportunities to connect with other young farmers and industry networks.

For more information on our young farmer programs and opportunities visit vic.gov.au/youngfarmers.

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.

6 – 8 October

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 two evening sessions.  Participants must register for both parts 1 and 2.

Details

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.

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.

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.

Wednesday, 7 October from 1 – 2 pm
Register and watch with Zoom®

Please register here https://bit.ly/3kkyDOV

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

Guest presenters include:

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.

Please note a recording of the event will be available to all registered attendees.

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 go to Eventbrite.

Recording of Embedding Climate Adaptation into Agriculture (North East Victoria)

Presented by Lachlan Campbell, North East CMA

In this webinar recording, Lachlan shares how the Embedding Climate Adaptation into Agriculture project has used climate change projections and applied these to assess potential impacts on agriculture production in North East Victoria. 

Lachlan also shares the spatial tools and engagement approach that have been developed which help guide discussions about climate adaptation pathways.

View the Recording (Duration: 61 minutes, including questions)

This webinar was originally presented on Tuesday 15 September 2020 at 12pm AEST.

The relationship between climate and agriculture is complex with the degree of dependency being variable across different landscapes and management practices.

In this webinar, Dr Craig Beverly will summarise the source of available climate data (including historical, seasonal projections and future climate scenarios) and share examples of how to use these data sets to support insights for future agricultural production.

EVENT DETAILS

8 October, 12 - 1 pm

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Dr Craig Beverly is a Senior Research Scientist with Agriculture Victoria and has 20 years experience in the formulation, development and application of numerical models to simulate natural resource systems.

In his current role, Craig is developing a range of biophysical models to support economic and policy analysis of landscape systems including an integrated biophysical catchment model capable of assessing the impacts of land management on surface hydrology, groundwater, nutrient dynamics, sediment transport and vegetation dynamics under current and future climates.

Register here.

Agriculture Victoria will host a number of climate and agriculture science talks in its latest lunchtime webinar series.

Having proved popular the first time around, the lunchtime webinars are designed for busy people chasing fast facts about climate and agriculture research.

Participants will hear from a broad range of expert speakers from Agriculture Victoria, North East Catchment Management Authority (NECMA), University of Tasmania and other agencies.

Scheduled to speak this series, are:

• Agriculture Victoria, Senior Research Scientist Dr Craig Beverly: over two webinars Dr Beverly will talk about using climate data in agriculture and how this data was applied in the Mallee
• Dr Rebecca Harris from University of Tasmania: will share Australia’s Wine Future: A Wine Climate Atlas which shows how wine-region climates have changed, with more to come
• Agriculture Victoria, Climate Specialist, Graeme Anderson: will talk about using seasonal forecasts and share new tools developed with a GRDC project for south eastern Australia.

Land managers, service providers, researchers and educators are encouraged to subscribe to our climate updates and newsletters.

Any queries can be directed to Climate Development Officer Heather Field at heather.field@agriculture.vic.gov.au

For more information and to subscribe to stay up to date with these upcoming climate webinars visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/climate

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