• Get your livestock fire plans finalised
• Predicting fertility of dairy cows a game changer
• Applications now open for new drought programs
• The Fast Break
• Harvest weed seed control – does it have a fit in the high rainfall zone?
• Food Innovation Voucher Stream – Round 4 closing 22 December
• Drought and dry seasons support services and information
• Planning support for small-scale pig and poultry producers
• What's on

by Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

Now is the time for all livestock owners to be prepared and have a clear strategy to carry out in the event of a fire emergency on their farm.

A key factor in minimising the threat to livestock during a bush fire or on extreme fire danger days is to identify safer areas on-farm where livestock can be moved to.

The area you choose will depend on the type of livestock and their expected behaviour during a fire. Other aspects to consider include the terrain and accessibility of the area, as well as the likely behaviour of a fire.

Having a livestock fire plan that has been carefully thought through and can be quickly executed will minimise the risk to livestock and people, especially if that plan has been practised prior to an actual fire event.

On days of extreme fire danger, or on the day before, livestock should be moved into lower risk areas on-farm, or to a safer property.

Low risk areas include paddocks with green summer crops or lucerne; bare paddocks with no dry feed; or a ploughed paddock. Low risk areas should not be next to areas of scrub or bushland and should be large enough to allow livestock to move around and away from a fire.

All low risk areas should have sufficient drinking water to enable livestock to remain in the area for extended periods of high fire risk and high temperatures, be protected by firebreaks and be free of leaf, twigs and bark build-up.

Areas where there are dams and swamps are another option to consider. 

Stockyards have been known to successfully hold livestock during a fire if protected by a firebreak. If this is your preferred option, consider using a sprinkler system to minimise heat stress.

Horses should not be locked up in small areas or stables but rather should be moved to an open paddock with minimal vegetation, so they can move freely. Horses are good at moving themselves to safe open areas.

If equipment such as rugs, halters and flyveils remain on horses, the plastic may melt, and metal buckles can burn the animal, so consider using rope halters for easier handling and management.

It’s crucial that gates remain closed that may allow livestock access to public roadways, as any animals will present a hazard to traffic in smoky conditions.

Livestock owners are urged to act early and not get caught trying to move stock as a fire approaches. Listen to weather forecasts and observe your own environment to help you decide when to put your plan into action.

For further assistance on preparing a farm and livestock bushfire plan go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/emergencies or contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186.

Agriculture Victoria research scientist and leader of this DairyBio initiative, Professor Jennie Pryce, said dairy farmers could use this research to optimise their breeding decisions, increasing farm productivity and profitability.

“The expected outcome of this research is a valuable prediction tool for farmers who choose to herd-test in early lactation, before the joining season starts,” she said.

“We are now collaborating with DataGene and the herd test centres, working towards implementing the research and providing the best advice for farmers.”

Agriculture Victoria research scientist Dr Phuong Ho said farmers could optimise breeding decisions using prior knowledge of how likely an individual cow is to become pregnant after insemination.

“Sexed or premium bull semen could be used for cows predicted to have a high likelihood of conception, whereas cows with predicted poor fertility could be mated using semen from beef bulls, multiple doses, or semen from bulls of known high genetic merit for fertility,” Dr Ho said.

“Additionally, farmers might adjust feeding or management strategies to help predicted poor cows improve their physiological condition and probability of conception.”

The model combines information from milk MIR samples, which farmers routinely collect, with information on fertility genomic breeding values, cow genotype, milk yield, age of cow at lactation and days in milk when the sample was taken and at insemination.

The model is currently undergoing extensive validation using data from New South Wales dairy farms before being made available to dairy farmers.

This research is another example of how Agriculture Victoria research scientists are expanding the use of MIR technology to enable farmers to make smarter and more profitable management decisions for their herds.

This research is part of the DairyBio initiative between Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation, in collaboration with DataGene. The paper, Classifying the fertility of dairy cows using milk mid-infrared spectroscopy, is published in the Journal of Dairy Science.

Victorian farmers impacted by drought and dry seasonal conditions are encouraged to apply for two grant programs offering both on-farm assistance and direct financial household relief.

The CWA of Victoria’s Drought Relief Program has been provided a funding boost by the Victorian Government for the provision of household financial relief.

A grant payment of up to $3,000 per individual applicant and/or household is available for farming families, farm workers and contractors that are drought-affected and reliant on farming as their primary source of income.

This program is being funded through the Victorian Government’s Farmers’ Drought Fund – Household Financial Relief program announced on 2 October 2019.

To access an application form or to find out more go to cwaofvic.org.au or email drought@cwaofvic.org.au

The On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant Program is now available to assist eligible farm businesses to invest in on-farm drought preparedness or to seek business advice with a grant of up to $5000.

To access the On-Farm Drought Resilience Grant farmers should contact Rural Finance direct to discuss their eligibility on 1800 260 425 or go to ruralfinance.com.au.

Both programs target farm businesses and farming families in the Wellington and East Gippsland shires, dryland farming in the Millewa region and irrigation farming in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID). 

For further information on other available support and assistance contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186, visit the website agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or drop into the closest Agriculture Victoria office in your area.

Welcome to the "Fast Break" climate e-newsletter where you can read the latest soil moisture, climate driver summary and climate predictions from November run models.

Agriculture Victoria partners with the GRDC to bring you monthly climate model outlooks for a number of states, including Victoria.

As usual, if you have comments, questions or feedback address them to Dale Grey at the.break@agriculture.vic.gov.au
A detailed update on seasonal climate drivers and outlooks is available here.

The analysis was conducted by Southern Farming Systems (SFS) research and extension officer, James Manson, who concluded that HWSC is likely to capture only 30 per cent of problematic annual ryegrass (ARG) seeds in the southern HRZ – compared with 70 per cent in other regions of Australia.

“But this 30 per cent is valuable to farm businesses because of the high productivity of the region,” Mr Manson says.

“Therefore, HWSC has a fit in the southern HRZ farming systems, but it fits differently. It is not the ‘holy grail’, but it can play a supporting role for integrated weed management strategies.”

The GRDC has just released a publication of the findings from the study, ‘Harvest Weed Seed Control for the Southern High Rainfall Zone’, which can be found on the GRDC website’s harvest resource hub at https://grdc.com.au/harvest-weed-seed-control-for-the-southern-high-rainfall-zone/.

HWSC is an umbrella term that refers to a range of technologies and practices that captures weed seeds at harvest for subsequent management through a range of approaches. These include chaff carts, narrow windrow burning, chaff lining, chaff tramlining (chaff decks) and weed seed impact mills. However, the first critical step of HWSC involves capturing weed seeds and getting them into the harvester. This is largely governed by the physiology of the weed species.

While research has previously established that HWSC offers significant agronomic and economic benefits in low and medium rainfall zones, the effectiveness of HWSC in the HRZ had until recently not been fully quantified.

Mr Manson says the HRZ is different to other rainfall zones in many respects: “The southern HRZ is a unique agroecological region in Australia. Not only does it have a high yield potential, it is also cool with a longer growing season, and both characteristics may affect the role that HWSC should have in this region’s farming systems.

“It has been recommended that harvesters cut at 15 centimetres above ground height when using HWSC to maximise the amount of weed seeds captured, however, high-yielding environments produce heavy stubble loads that hinder harvest operations.

“These environments also produce crops with large biomass that cause ARG plants to grow taller and develop seed heads higher above the soil surface. This raises a question about the practicality of using HWSC in the HRZ and whether it is necessary to cut as low as 15cm.”

Mr Manson says the southern HRZ’s cool climate extends the growing season and, as a result, cereals are harvested through December and January (much later than in other parts of Australia).

“This may provide ARG with enough time to shed seeds before harvest. This is a critical question in understanding the efficacy of HWSC.”

Annual rye grass seed heads in a mature wheat crop Photo: Paul Breust

To test the previously held assumption that HWSC has a similar fit in integrated weed management packages in the HRZ as it does elsewhere, a GRDC investment led by SFS in collaboration with Riverine Plains Inc, MacKillop Farm Management Group and FarmLink was implemented from 2015 to 2018.

The research addressed three key questions:

• Is HWSC effective? Small-plot experiments were conducted in Victoria (Lake Bolac, Rutherglen, Yarrawonga), South Australia (Conmurra) and Tasmania (Cressy). All trials except for Rutherglen were for two to three consecutive years on the same plots. Sowing date, crop cultivar choice and harvest cut height were hypothesised to assess the efficacy of HWSC.
• Is HWSC practical? On-farm trials were conducted in Victoria, South Australia and southern New South Wales to test the practicality of using HWSC technologies, ground-truth their efficacy and measure operating costs.
• Is HWSC profitable? The data from these trials was pooled to re-calibrate a farm systems model which was used to explore the long-term economic impact of adding HWSC to a wheat-barley-canola rotation.

Key findings contained in Mr Manson’s report include:

• A realistic target for ARG seed capture in cereals in the southern HRZ is 30 per cent; HWSC is a useful tool that can help control, but not drastically reduce ARG numbers;
• It is difficult to increase the efficacy of HWSC in the southern HRZ through agronomic means. A harvest cut height of 15cm was no more effective than 30cm. Changing the crop cultivar and time of sowing did not manipulate ARG phenology and/or the harvest date enough to prevent high ARG seed shedding;
• Estimate the extra costs associated with HWSC before investing. Consider nutrient removal, extra fuel usage, extra wear-and-tear costs and depreciation. Any decrease in harvest speed caused by a HWSC technology should be carefully estimated.

In conclusion, Mr Manson says HWSC could make a valuable contribution to weed control in the southern HRZ by decelerating the population growth of ARG, but growers should not expect it to reduce a weed burden quickly.

“HWSC must be combined with consistently effective herbicides and other weed management options to reduce weed numbers, and even then, the reduction in ARG seedbanks will be small and slow.”

More information on HWSC can be found on the GRDC Harvest Resources hub at https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/harvest-resources or via the GRDC-supported WeedSmart initiative at https://weedsmart.org.au/.

The Food Innovation Voucher Stream is a new initiative of the Victorian Government that helps companies access the know-how needed to innovate, diversify, improve productivity and take new and innovative products to market.

Applications for Round 4 of Boost Your Business close on Sunday 22 December.

Potential assistance available includes:

• Up to $10,000 for early stage feasibility and testing
• Up to $50,000 for process innovation, product development and research and development.

Eligibility

Applicant businesses must be a small to medium enterprise with an operating presence in Victoria and be registered as members of the Food Innovation Network.

More information on how to apply is available here.

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.

This program is now open to assist eligible farm businesses to invest in on-farm drought preparedness and to seek business advice.

A grant of up to $5,000 (GST exclusive) per farm business is available to assist eligible farm businesses to implement on-farm infrastructure improvements and or undertake business planning and advice activities.

The Scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in the local government shires of Wellington and East Gippsland.

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

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

Drought employment program

The East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority received further funding for the Drought Employment Program in the recent drought funding announcement by the Victorian Government.

The program has been providing temporary employment for people across the East Gippsland and Wellington shires impacted by the drought. Details about the next round and other drought and dry seasonal conditions support will be available soon at agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons.

Have you dropped into our offices at Bairnsdale, Maffra or Swifts Creek lately?

Did you know you can make an appointment to talk to a staff member about a pasture recovery grant, drought assistance and technical workshops in the region?

You can also make a time to have a one-on-one consultation.

You will find us at:

• 574 Main Street, Bairnsdale (same place as the DELWP office)
• 1 Stratford Road, Maffra
• 13 McMillan Avenue, Swifts Creek (same place as the DELWP office)

As always you can also get more information, tools and advice online at agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons or call us on 136 186.

Producers are encouraged to access the On-Farm Emergency Water Infrastructure Rebate Scheme for the purchase and installation of emergency water infrastructure for livestock.

In Gippsland, the scheme is available to eligible farm businesses in the Wellington and East Gippsland shires.

Farm businesses NOT in these local government areas can make an application if they can demonstrate a critical water need for livestock resulting from current seasonal conditions.
These applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

The scheme is available for water infrastructure purchased since 1 July 2018. Guidelines and application details can be obtained from Rural Finance.

Did you know that the Agriculture Victoria’s Beef and Sheep Drought Feeding and Management online books have a new home?

They are housed and updated on the FeedLivestock website and can be downloaded or viewed in whole or as individual chapters on any device.

Other key features of the website, include:

• tools and calculators
• sheep resources
• beef resources
• climate information
• unusual feeds
• stock water information.

Provides Victorian small-scale pig and poultry producers with funding of up to $3,000 to help them with the costs related to obtaining a land use planning permit.

Who can apply

At a minimum, you must:

• have an Australian Business Number (ABN)
• be seeking a land use planning permit for an existing or proposed small-scale pig or poultry farm located in Victoria
• complete a small-scale pig and poultry planning workshop prior to applying for the grant program.
• Other eligibility requirements may apply.

Deadline to apply: Applications close: 31 May 2020

Applications will remain open until 31 May 2020, or when the funding allocation is expended, whichever occurs first.

Contact information: 13 61 86 or psai@ecodev.vic.gov.au

APPLY HERE: Planning Support Program for Small-Scale Pig and Poultry Producers VIC

Agriculture Victoria will cancel workshops on Code Red fire danger days

For more information about the event and to register please contact:

• Del Delpitiya, Agriculture Victoria Ellinbank on (03) 56242206 or at del.delpitiya@agriculture.vic.gov.au
• Maria Rose, Agriculture Victoria Maffra on (03) 51470843 or at maria.rose@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Click here