• Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
• Avian influenza update – movement controls still in place
• Soils Community of Practice newsletter - out now!
• Workforce support is the cherry on top for farmers
• Have your say on a new animal welfare Act
• Reaching more farmers to help meet seasonal workforce needs
• Transporting livestock in hot weather conditions
• The Fast Break
• Don't let fruit fly ruin your home grown vegies
• Tune into an AgVic Talk podcast
• Animal Welfare Grants still open
• Feeding Cool Cows – become a Partner Farm
• New best practice weed hygiene guide
• Strategic approach recommended if harvest is a wet one
• What's on

Victorian Border Crossing Permit

From 11.59pm on 21 November, permits are required for everyone arriving in Victoria who lives in or has travelled through South Australia.

For more information and to apply for a Victorian Border Crossing Permit, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au

Update: safely reopening Victoria

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

From 11:59pm on 22 November, changes are being made to restrictions across Victoria.

Read the Premier’s statement or visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au for more details.

COVIDSafe Plans are required for all Victorian businesses

It is mandatory for every Victorian business to have a COVIDSafe Plan.

To ensure compliance, random spot checks are underway.

Your COVIDSafe Plan must 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.

In both metropolitan Melbourne and in regional Victoria, your business requires a High Risk COVIDSafe Plan if you are:

• an abattoir or meat processing facility
• a seafood processing facility
• a poultry processing facility.

For more information and for templates and guidance on how to create your COVIDSafe Plan, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

Agriculture Victoria is continuing surveillance in the Golden Plains Shire and across the state to ensure Victoria is free of avian influenza.

Avian influenza, commonly referred to as ‘bird flu’, is a highly contagious viral infection of birds. It was detected in late July and has affected several properties across the state.

Serious forms of the disease can cause severe symptoms and sudden death in domestic poultry (up to 100 per cent of birds).

Mild strains of the disease cause few or no symptoms in poultry and may go undetected in some species of birds, though can result in some deaths.

In the Golden Plains Shire, a Restricted Area and a Control Area remain in place around the infected properties to help control the spread of the disease. 

Permits are required for the movement of poultry, poultry products and vehicles involved in poultry production within, into or out of the Restricted Areas and Control Area.

This includes farm-gate eggs and manure. Please apply online. These movement controls will remain in place until Ag Vic is confident the disease has been eradicated.

All sick or dead birds should be reported to the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888, whether they are pet, farmed or wild.

For more information and maps of the Restricted Area and Control Area, or for permit, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianflu

The 85th edition of the Soils Community of Practice Newsletter is out now.

In this edition Rachel Coombes, Mixed Farming Development Officer at Agriculture Victoria shares information about the revived Mallee Transect Project.

The feature article celebrates the upcoming World Soil Day, followed by a mix of local, national and international news. You can read the newsletter here.

Cherry picking is underway across Victoria on a bumper harvest of more than 4,500 tonnes of cherries thanks to help from the Victorian Government – ensuring kitchen tables will be brimming with the delicious Christmas favourite. 

Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes saw the seasonal workforce in action firsthand recently at one of Victoria’s largest cherry producers Koala Cherries, which supplies 500 tonnes of cherries and employs more than 300 workers during harvest across 10 farms in the Goulburn Valley and the Yarra Valley.

In a year like no other, the horticulture industry is facing a seasonal workforce shortage, but businesses such as Koala Cherries have been able to attract the workforce they need and operate in a COVIDSafe way, thanks to support from the Agriculture Workforce Plan.

Koala Cherries has used a Business Adaptation grant of $300,000 to establish additional staff amenities including handwashing facilities, toilets and lunchrooms to comply with physical distancing requirements in the packhouse and on farms before harvest kicked off.

Further financial assistance through the Agriculture Workforce Plan will subsidise the costs of accommodation, transport, and relocation expenses for as many as 100 new workers.

The company is one of the growing number of businesses that has employed workers through the government’s Working for Victoria platform, which links employers with jobseekers.

Working for Victoria has around 93,000 jobseekers registered and 15,000 who are in regional Victoria.

Farm businesses and labour-hire providers are actively registering employment opportunities on the platform and there are now more than 1,000 agricultural jobs on offer.

A comprehensive $17 million package is supporting Seasonal Workforce Coordinators across key growing regions to work closely with farm businesses and employers, local industry groups, schools and tertiary institutes, labour-hire agencies and local governments to address seasonal workforce shortages.

To raise even more awareness of these seasonal jobs, the government is launching “The Big Victorian Harvest” campaign to inform local jobseekers about the numerous seasonal work opportunities in agriculture.

It features real workers on farms across the state and highlights the jobs available right now in agriculture, including fruit and vegetable picking and packing, and other roles essential to seasonal harvest.

To find out more on seasonal workforce opportunities go to agriculture.vic.gov.au/bigharvest.

There's still time to help shape a new animal welfare Act for Victoria.

Proposals for a modern new Act to replace the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 have been released in a Directions Paper for public feedback.  

The proposals include ideas and options to better protect animals and enable a more effective response when people do not treat animals as they should. 

Your feedback will inform and influence draft legislation for a new animal welfare Act. 

Read the proposals, complete the survey, or upload a submission at Engage Victoria (engage.vic.gov.au/new-animal-welfare-act-victoria) by Monday 14 December.

Agriculture Victoria is working closely with the state’s horticulture businesses as they address seasonal workforce challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic this harvest.

Agriculture Victoria’s seasonal workforce team has been contacting farmers and businesses to assist them with their seasonal workforce requirements and to ensure they are aware of the support available to them to attract workers and provide suitable accommodation and transport.

In the past three weeks, Agriculture Victoria representatives have phoned almost 400 businesses.

Next week, Agriculture Victoria will expand its harvest jobs support program to include automated phone calls to increase the number of farmers contacted in a short timeframe.

The call service will offer businesses one-on-one assistance with seasonal workforce needs and raise awareness of the importance of COVIDSafe planning.

An Agriculture Victoria team member will contact any business that requests assistance through this service.

Agriculture Victoria’s Director Horticulture Services Dr Sze Flett said the automated phone calls are just one part of a suite of direct support for farmers and businesses being delivered by Agriculture Victoria as part of the Victorian Government’s $17 million Seasonal Workforce Package.

“Seasonal Workforce Coordinators in Victoria’s major horticulture regions are working closely with businesses and industry groups to support seasonal workforce needs for the various sectors including table grapes, vegetables, stone fruit, berries, apples and pears,” Dr Flett said.

“Engagement officers are also working with culturally and linguistically diverse groups, which traditionally form an important part of the seasonal workforce each year, to ensure they have access to tailored supported to find jobs this harvest season.”

Online sessions are being held to provide information for employers on connecting with jobseekers and the additional transport and accommodation support available.

Recent webinars hosted by Agriculture Victoria in partnership with groups including Federation University, the Migrant Information Centre and the Victorian Multicultural Commission have been attended by more than 230 businesses, farmers and jobseekers.

Working for Victoria is proving a successful recruitment tool for many farmers and we encourage all businesses looking for workers to register their workforce needs at jobs.vic.gov.au

Businesses who would like to talk directly to an Agriculture Victoria representative to understand the support services available can call the Business Victoria hotline on 13 22 15.

Livestock transporters are reminded they have a responsibility to minimise the risk of heat stress in livestock being transported this summer, whether it’s an interstate journey or a trip into the local saleyard.

Agriculture Victoria Livestock Welfare Compliance Program Manager Rachael Holmes outlined key factors that transporters should consider when planning a journey.

“When hot weather is predicted, plan ahead to allow for a reduced stocking density, and aim to load and transport livestock in the cooler hours of the day.

"Transporters should consider their journey route, particularly if having to travel though major cities during times of heavy traffic,” Dr Holmes said.

“Any person in charge of an animal during transport, including the consignor, transporter and receiver, must pay particular attention to the time off water to minimise the risk to the welfare of the animals.

“Effective airflow reduces the impact of heat during transport, so transporters should consider the need to stop mid-journey and avoid leaving transport vehicles stationary for extended periods of time.

“If it is necessary to stop, park the vehicle in the shade and at a right angle to the direction of the wind to improve wind flow between animals.”

It is important that transporters familiarise themselves with the signs of heat stress in all species they are transporting and pay particular attention to their behaviour in hot weather.

Dr Holmes said behavioural signs of heat stress in livestock can include increased respiration rate, panting and salivation as well as listlessness and lethargy.

Transporters should have contingency plans in place to deal with any heat stressed animals.

Producers and transporters should refer to the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines - Land Transport of Livestock, to ensure they understand their obligations when presenting livestock for transport or transporting animals.

All people involved in the supply chain have an obligation to ensure livestock in their care are free from pain, suffering or distress.

For further information on heat stress contact your local Animal Health staff at Agriculture Victoria or contact the Customer Call Centre on 136 186.

You can visit our website www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/transporting-livestock or the MLA fit to load guide at www.mla.com.au/fittoload

Apart from good harvesting and hay making weather, are you keen to keep up with current weather happenings and forecasts?

Most models still predict likely wetter conditions for Dec-Feb and the La Nina will last at least until February.

For the latest Fast Break click here. 

Nothing is more disappointing for a keen home gardener than cutting open your proudly homegrown fruits or vegetables and finding fruit fly maggots – and they can certainly put people off eating it.

Agriculture Victoria Statewide Fruit Fly Coordinator Cathy Mansfield reminded gardeners, landholders and those with a few trees or a veggie patch all to look out for and manage Queensland fruit fly.

"Fruit flies are usually most active September to May. As the weather heats up, now is a good time to look in your garden or property to see if they are present," Ms Mansfield said.

"This year, more people have been paying attention to their garden or ramping up their gardening, and they may not be aware that we have Queensland fruit fly in Victoria."

Fruit flies attack a wide range of fruit and vegetables including tomatoes, stone fruit, citrus, cherries, berries and grapes.

"Fruit fly maggots are often found in the centre of the fruit. The maggots are 5 to 10 mm long and creamy-white in colour," she said.

"Infested fruit must be disposed of properly, such as putting them in the sun for at least seven days in a sealed plastic bag to destroy eggs and maggots – do not put them in compost."

With a wet and warm spring, the conditions have been favourable for fruit flies to breed, making treatment crucial this season.

"Protecting your garden is essential not just for your own produce, but also to limit fruit fly population growth and potential spread from your property to your neighbours', nearby orchards or farms."

For the greatest chance of successful control, speak to your neighbours for a consistent approach and use the following techniques in your garden:

• follow good garden hygiene such as picking fruit and vegetables as they ripen
• dispose of unwanted fruit and scraps carefully
• regularly monitor for fruit fly presence in your garden
• protect trees, plants and produce through netting, gazebos and bags
• use bait, traps and insecticide control.

"It’s a great strategy to net trees and vegetables to protect your garden crops and monitor specific Queensland fruit fly traps.

"If you have fruit trees in your garden but don't manage them, it's best to remove them so they don't become a haven for fruit fly and grow a population in your area."

For more information including lists of common fruit, how to control fruit fly in your garden and tips for netting trees, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/qff

Have you listened to the new AgVic Talk podcast series yet?

Episodes now available include:

• Turn a dream into reality with Sarah McLean
• Spring pasture management of fire affected pastures with Fiona Baker
• Getting a foot in the door using drones on-farm with Clay-Gowers
• Balancing wet winters and dairy farming with Craig Dwyer
• Managing a dairy farm in a variable climate with Kevin Fitzsimons
• Using soil moisture monitoring to help manage seasonal risk with Dale Boyd
• Managing through dry seasons is all about preparation with Peter Young
• Maintaining ground cover to secure sandy topsoil with Ron Hards.
• Dealing with stress during difficult times with David Cherry.
• The history of season climate and climate driver information with The Break team.

Listen here

The Victorian Government is offering $750,000 in grant funding to not-for-profit and community organisations who rehome pets or provide low-cost veterinary services.

Animal shelters, foster carers, not-for-profit and community vet clinics are encouraged to apply for funding.

Eligible organisations wishing to invest in infrastructure, programs and activities that align with the below areas and demonstrate a benefit to companion animal welfare in Victoria will be considered for funding:

• Improvement in the rates of reuniting companion animals to their owners and re-homing of companion animals
• Services, systems or equipment which improve the efficiency and effectiveness of foster care, Community Foster Care Networks, or community and not-for-profit veterinary clinics
• Upgrade or extension of current shelter, foster care or low-cost veterinary clinic facilities to improve the welfare of companion animals
• Establishment of new, low-cost veterinary clinics in areas of need in Victoria
• Education programs on responsible ownership of animals, including consideration of ethics, sentience and duty of care.

Only one grant application will be permitted per organisation.

Applicants are encouraged to read the round 9 Program Guidelines prior to commencing an application.

Online applications for Round 9 grant funding are now open and close Saturday 12 December 2020 at midnight.

Apply here.

For more information about the program contact pet.welfare@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Do your cows eat less in hot weather? Do hot weather events affect your milk production?

Do you want to understand how to reduce the negative effects of hot weather? 

If your answer is ‘yes’, then it’s not too late to become a Partner Farm in the Feeding Cool Cows Project.

Feeding Cool Cows – a DairyFeedbase project – is working to provide strategies to help dairy farmers reduce the negative impacts of hot weather on milk production and farm profit.

The changing climate is one of the biggest challenges for the Australian dairy industry and the goal of the Feeding Cool Cows Program is to support dairy farms to become more resilient and ensure summer feeding strategies are cost-effective.

The project aims to understand how the severity of hot weather affects milk responses to different feed components, and how cow genetics interact with nutrition – using information from farms located all over Australia.

To find out more about Feeding Cool Cows and becoming a Partner Farm go to dairyfeedbase.com.au/2020/10/29/fccpartnerfarms

Applications for the summer program are closing soon.

If you’re interested in joining Feeding Cool Cows for this summer or in 2021, contact Josie Garner at josie.garner@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Feeding Cool Cows is a DairyFeedbase project supported by Agriculture Victoria, Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation.

The Victorian Serrated Tussock Working Party (VSTWP) recently completed an industry first, best practice weed hygiene guide, aimed at preventing the spread of serrated tussock and other weeds due to land management practices such as slashing, movement of vehicles and machinery.

The best practice guide was developed through collaboration with stakeholders, including a survey of relevant stakeholders and land managers to understand the complex networks involved in weed management.

The survey established three-quarters of respondents employed contractors to work on their land, with a range of formal and informal weed hygiene control mechanisms in place.

However, only a few admitted to auditing their contractors annually or more often, with many reporting they have never conducted an audit.

The aim of this guide is to improve the operations of staff and contractors, providing appropriate oversight and strategies to prevent the spread of weeds.

The guide is a vital link in managing serrated tussock across Victoria.

The guide acknowledges that land managers spend millions of dollars each year controlling serrated tussock and other weed species in Victoria.

Of all the management activities for serrated tussock and other high threat weeds, reducing spread is the cheapest and most effective method of control.

VSTWP Chairperson Lance Jennison said this guide is split into easy-to-use sections that provide practical guidance on identifying and controlling serrated tussock, weed hygiene practices in the field, along with contract management and oversight.

'The best practice guide will prove invaluable for landowners, land managers, contractors and large-scale projects, with plenty of strategies to minimise the spread of serrated tussock,' Mr Jennison said.

Serrated tussock is a hardy and aggressive grassy weed which is found throughout temperate regions of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.

Serrated tussock has a devastating impact on the biodiversity of native grasslands and can drastically reduce the carrying capacity of farmland.

Seed can be easily spread through civil construction works, land management activities, and via livestock and wildlife.

Hard copies of the guide are also available on request by contacting the VSTWP at www.serratedtussock.com

Growers experiencing or expecting a wet harvest are encouraged to adapt their program to harvest next season’s seed requirements and the most profitable crops as a priority.

The likelihood of a wetter than normal harvest was recently confirmed with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting a La Nina weather event.

Wet conditions prior to or during harvest can cause seed to discolour or germinate, reducing starch and protein and downgrading grain to feed grades.

It can also affect the vigour of germination for grain kept for next season, potentially hampering future crops.

Strategic harvesting of paddocks, or areas of paddocks, with well-draining soil types while waiting for paddocks to dry out or grain moisture levels to decrease is one suggested way growers can ensure quality is retained in harvested grain.

It could also require growers to target small areas of each crop type to harvest the seed required for next season before continuing their usual program.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) Retaining Seed Fact Sheet (www.grdc.com.au/GRDC-FS-RetainingSeed) advises ongoing monitoring of stored grain, particularly if it is subjected to adverse weather conditions at harvest.

Maintaining low temperatures, humidity and grain moisture content is critical as weather damaged seed deteriorates faster than sound seed in storage.

HRZ Ag Consulting adviser Chris Bluett said the scenario that could bring grain quality down would involve prolonged wet periods which did not allow crops to dry out.

He said prioritising harvesting of crops from a quality and pricing perspective to protect profits and next year’s seed was a safe option.

“If harvest ends up wet, the most important thing is to get the grain off as any delays can cost growers quality and money.”

Mr Bluett said controlled traffic farming allowed growers to potentially harvest again sooner, once grain moisture levels allow, as they have compacted tracks to drive on.

“Getting machinery bogged in waterlogged soils can cost you time and make a mess of your paddock,” said Mr Bluett, who is also vice chairman of the Australian Controlled Traffic Farming Association (ACTFA).

GRDC Southern Region Panel member and agricultural cropping consultant, Jon Midwood, recommends growers have weather-damaged grain tested for viability before sowing next season, to confirm accurate sowing rates of partially germinated seed and detect seed-borne diseases.

“Seed testing is a very small cost in the scheme of things and can offset future losses as a result of not sowing seed at the optimum density,” he said.

Mr Midwood said visual assessment of discolouration was not a reliable indicator of grain quality issues.

“Falling numbers often occurs without visual indication and is a sign that the germination process has started in grain,” he said.

“If growers have any concerns about the grain, or grain has been sent to a receival site and there were issues with falling numbers, then the writing is on the wall that germination has started.”

More information about the implications of a wet harvest can be found in a GRDC Paddock Practices at https://bit.ly/2JvKwo0.

Helpful tips for maintaining seed quality are also available on the GRDC Stored Grain Information Hub.  

Date: Wednesday 9 December

Time: 12pm AEST

Duration: 1 hour

Cost: FREE

REGISTER : HERE 

Presented by Acacia Pepler, Bureau of Meteorology with panelists Dale Grey and Lyndon Kubeil, from Agriculture Victoria.

Many different weather systems can cause rainfall in Victoria, but most of our rainfall can be traced back to either a thunderstorm, a low pressure system, or a cold front.

Days when these different systems interact are particularly important for days with heavy rainfall.

This webinar will highlight how the importance of different weather systems varies between different parts of Victoria, and what changes in lows and fronts in recent decades can tell us about rainfall declines during the cool half of the year.

Lyndon and Dale will share what these changes mean on farm and how farmers are adapting their farming systems.

Acacia Pepler is a climate scientist in the Climate Research group of the Bureau of Meteorology, where she researches Australian climate variability and change, with a focus on climate extremes.

Acacia received her PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2017, where she studied East Coast Lows, severe low pressure systems that can cause very heavy rain on the east coast of Australia.

Are you busy making hay, started harvest or taking advantage of extra daylight in the evenings but would like to learn more about livestock traceability and how to use the NLIS database?

Agriculture Victoria is delivering interactive online training sessions for livestock producers using the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database. 

There are two events for you to choose from in November and December.

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

TOPICS

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

REGISTRATION

Book your free tickets online at:
agriculturevictoriaevents.eventbrite.com then select the ‘NLIS Database Webinar’ event of your choice.

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

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

OTHER INFORMATION

Participants will be 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.

Beat the heat in December

Part 1:  Monday 7 December
8:00 am – 9:30 am

Part 2:  Wednesday 9 December
8:00 am – 9:30 am.

After bushfire, our ecosystems are at their most vulnerable to weed invasion.
Help to support indigenous flora and fauna by managing weeds in bushfire affected areas.

This webinar series focuses on sharing practical knowledge so everyone can contribute to bushfire recovery.

Free, each Wednesday 10.30am to 12.15pm, 25 November to 16 December 2020.

Register here for the online webinars and learn how you can help indigenous species through weed management.

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