In this edition:

• It’s time for a honey bee check-up
• It's never you, until it is
• Golden opportunities to find a nugget on school holidays
• After the Flood podcast series - episode 6
• AgTech Innovators Season 2 Episode 4
• WeedScan: A new weapon in the war against weeds
• EOI for on-farm demonstration opportunity – now open
• In case you missed it
• What's on

With over 47,900 registered beekeepers who own approximately 855,300 hives, keeping Australia’s honey bee population healthy is no mean feat.

‘Bee Pest Blitz’ is an annual month-long national campaign to increase awareness of the importance of bee biosecurity and encourage beekeepers to inspect their hives for high priority exotic and established pests.

Launched in 2023, the annual campaign calls on all Australian honey bee beekeepers to undertake biosecurity surveillance activities.

'Surveillance is key to the timely detection of new pests and provides the best chance for industries and governments to respond before pests become established and widespread,' said Sarah Hilton, Bee Biosecurity Manager at Plant Health Australia.

Under the Honey Bee Industry Code of Practice beekeepers are required to inspect their hives twice per year, using a method that looks for the presence of arthropod pests, including Varroa spp. (varroa) and Tropilaelaps spp. (tropilaelaps) mites.

By participating in ‘Bee Pest Blitz’ beekeepers will fulfil one of their annual bee biosecurity obligations and requirements.

This time of the year is ideal to conduct hive inspections which are crucial for the early detection of exotic and reporting of high priority established bee pests.

Beekeepers are asked to keep samples of suspected pests and report their findings via the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline 1800 084 881.

Surveillance reporting will be handled at a jurisdictional level and all personal information will be kept confidential.

'Maintaining honey bee health and sustainable bee populations is essential for the future production of Australian honey and supporting those agricultural sectors that depend on honey bee pollination services,' Sarah said.

‘Bee Pest Blitz’ is a Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) funded initiative, led by PHA, and supported by the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council and all state and territory governments.

Visit beepestblitz.com.au for free surveillance resources and video tutorial.

Jack Armstrong - Yalla-Y-Poora sheep and cropping farmer, knows the impact safety incidents can have on not only farmers, but also the local community.

‘A successful day in farming for me is being able to go home after a good day’s hard work knowing I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve and haven’t had any big mistakes.’

‘Fatigue in farming is extremely common. When I’m fatigued, my decision making is impaired, my reaction time – it increases the risk for mistakes to happen so much more,’ Jack said.

Jack’s tips for managing fatigue on the farm:

• try and stick to a routine, such as a certain amount of hectares or hours each day
• take five for a stretch and drink of water
• check-in with others
• don’t rush - take your time to think things through and do the job properly.

The school holidays are a great time to head out to Victoria’s historic regions and experience the excitement of hunting for a gold nugget – and it could result in a valuable discovery.

Warmer than average autumn weather makes it an ideal time to have fun with family and friends in regional Victoria.

As well as being great fun, recreational prospecting can also bring a windfall with the gold price at over $3000 an ounce.

In October last year a nugget weighing 119 grams was found between Inglewood and Wedderburn by 2 prospectors using a metal detector- one of the men was trying his hand for the first time.

Earlier in 2023 a prospector using a metal detector discovered a 4.6kg nugget, valued at around $240,000, in Victoria’s Golden Triangle in the states central west.

A gold nugget worth about $200,000 was also discovered in the same area in 2019.

Prospecting is a way of looking for gold or gems using metal detectors, picks, shovels, sieves and pans.

The use of mechanical equipment or explosives is not permitted, vegetation and Aboriginal objects must not be removed or damaged.

Recreational prospectors need to understand where they can prospect as well as be cognisant of local weather and road conditions.

Recreational fossicking is a regulated activity in Victoria which means you need to possess a miner's right, which for just $27 allows you to keep any gold you find.

There are over 87,000 active miner’s rights in Victoria and the rush to get involved shows no sign of slowing with more than 11,000 purchased in 2023.

With more Victorians hunting for gold, it’s important that prospectors are doing the right thing to protect the environment.

The Earth Resources Regulator’s inspectors frequently check that prospectors are licenced, panning in permitted areas and complying with environmental safeguards.

Fossicking and recreational prospecting is permitted in state forests and in designated areas of some national, state, historic and heritage parks.

Prospectors must also obey all other public land rules, including driving only on public tracks or roads, taking all rubbish home and immediately restoring the area by backfilling any holes and replacing leaf litter.

We have a Guide to Recreational Prospecting in Victoria and a helpful video, both can be accessed by visiting resources.vic.gov.au/fossicking.

Rebuilding and recovering when your livelihood has been washed away overnight is hard.

However, some remarkable people and organisations lending a helping hand make sure you are not alone.

Bianca Jones, a central Victorian farmer, shares her story of repair and the ‘angels’ that helped following the 2022 floods.

One such organisation was the Rural Financial Counselling Service.

Anna McGee, Rural Finance Counsellor, explains how they reached out to farmers not long after the floods peaked.

🎧 🎧 Listen via the AgVic website

Uncover the secret weapon helping AgTech startups achieve success. 
Cal Archibald from Beanstalk collaborates with AgTech startups using a fresh approach – acting as a matchmaker, translator and advisor in the space between AgTech companies and farmers. 

Beanstalk’s goal is to help large agri companies as well as groups of smallholder farmers to understand and access better technology to help them become more profitable and sustainable farmers.

Listen online via the AgVic website

Weeds are one of the biggest threats to Australia’s biodiversity, agriculture and economy, costing us about $5 billion a year in lost productivity, control and environmental damage.

They represent a serious risk to our native flora, fauna and water quality and contribute to bushfire risk with additional fuel loads.

Recent floods across the country have the potential to trigger the next surge of weeds in Australia.

Floods can spread seeds and plant parts to new areas that may have been weed-free.

These conditions can also be favourable for weed germination, growth and reduced competition from other plants and animals.

Major weeds at risk of further spread include Siam weed, miconia (purple plague) and Limnocharis.

But weeds are not invincible.

We have a new weapon in our arsenal to fight them: WeedScan, Australia’s first artificial intelligence weed identification, notification and management app.

WeedScan is a game changer for anyone who cares about our environment and our future.

It’s a free, easy-to-use digital tool that enables users to identify, report and map priority weeds simply by scanning the suspected weed.

This powerful new tool can help us prevent, detect and respond to weed invasions. It can help us protect our precious natural resources and our livelihoods.

Already the app has had over 10,000 downloads since its launch in December 2023 and users have submitted more than 3,000 weed records from around the country.

One of the key features of WeedScan is that it can identify many new and emerging priority weeds - not garden weeds - that may be unknown to most people.

These are the weeds that have the potential to become the next big threat, if left unchecked.

WeedScan can alert users and local authorities of these incursions, allowing them to take swift and effective action.

It can also provide users with links to local weed management information and best practice guidelines.

The app is not a substitute for human expertise, but a complement. It can help users learn more about weeds and their impacts while connecting them with others who share their concerns and goals.

WeedScan is an app built by Australians, for Australians. It is tailored to our unique conditions and challenges. It is an app that can make a difference.

The app is supported by the Centre for Invasive Species Solutions, Australia’s national science agency - CSIRO, the NSW Department of Primary Industries and the South Australian, Queensland and Victorian Governments and was funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

It is the result of years of research and development, involving botanists, agronomists, computer scientists and community groups.

Try the WeedScan app now: it’s available on most smartphones or as a web application at weedscan.org.au.

Is there a technology, innovation or research finding that your producer group is keen to test on-farm?

Agriculture Victoria, in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), is conducting a new producer demonstration program with the opportunity to establish 5 new on-farm demonstration projects.

Agriculture Victoria Project Leader Farming Systems, Bindi Hunter, said the program is inviting expressions of interest from Victorian sheep and beef producer groups to design and conduct their own 3-year project.

‘The demonstrations are conducted on group members’ farms (preferably 3 sites per project per year) and involve participation by members in group activities, including skill development, site monitoring and discussion of results.

‘Projects must be focused on increasing adoption of key management practices or commercially available technologies that improve business profitability, farm productivity and sustainability,’ Ms Hunter said.

Selected projects will focus on demonstrating systems or technologies in one of 4 priority areas:

• Manage and adapt to a changing climate or specific regional conditions (e.g. addressing feed gaps, grazing system, enterprise mix)
• Reduce emissions or emissions intensity, (e.g. reproductive efficiencies, feed types and quality, soil fertility management)
• Manage animal health and welfare risks resulting from increasing/ emerging biosecurity threats in a changing climate
• Implement on-farm innovations that improve production and management efficiencies (e.g. recent research findings, genetics, ag tech).

Expressions of interest close on Monday 13 May 2024.

For more information and to receive an expression of interest form, go to https://go.vic.gov.au/3fTKvdU

Or contact Bindi Hunter, Project Leader Farming Systems on 0428 589 016 or at bindi.hunter@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Handle with care: bobby calf transport requirements

Agriculture Victoria is keen to remind producers of their responsibilities when transporting bobby calves.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

Resources at the ready for Mallee farms to improve soil

Mallee farmers are encouraged to take advantage of Agriculture Victoria’s new online resources and upcoming paddock walks to learn how to reduce erosion and make their soil more productive.

View the 'Building drought resilience' explainer video here and see what's on for paddock walk details.

Manage green bridge to reduce virus/aphid risk in canola

Grain growers are urged to eliminate green bridge growth (volunteer crop or weed growth) now to mitigate the threat of aphid-borne viruses such as turnip yellows virus (TuYV) in the coming growing season.

Read the article in full on the GRDC website here.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

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

Visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/events to find out what's on.

DATE: Thursday 11 April

TIME: 1 - 2 pm

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

Presenters

Brett Asphar

• Strategies for air cart setup and the fundamentals of seeder bar function
• Give your crop the best chance for success this season by optimising your seeder setup. Brett provides insights into key strategies for air cart setup and the fundamentals of seeder bar function.

Ash Wallace – Agriculture Victoria

• Impact of stubble loads on canola establishment
• Ash will share some early results from NGN inspired trial work to understand interactions between stubble loads, seeding systems and canola establishment.

Join our webinar to hear from experts Dale Grey and Dale Boyd on Victoria’s seasonal climate outlook and soil moisture update for autumn.

Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey will provide an update on Victoria’s climate outlook for autumn and soil moisture expert Dale Boyd will provide key highlights from monitoring sites from around the state.

When: Wednesday 17 April – 12 pm.

Register here.

Click here for more information and to stay up to date with our upcoming climate webinars.

Understanding finance can be overwhelming and this workshop will help farm businesses have a better understanding of their financial position.

The workshop will support farmers to build skills, knowledge, and confidence to manage their farm business finances.

The workshop will be co-delivered by Pinion Advisory’s Clinton Emslie and Esmée de Looff who have significant agricultural and agri-finance experience.

ARARAT

WHEN: Tuesday 30 April
TIME: 9:30 am - 3 pm
WHERE: Ararat, Agriculture Victoria Office, 233-239 Barkly Street.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

The 2024 Landcare forum will be held from Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 May in Bendigo. 

Find out more at www.landcarevictoria.org.au/2024forum

The Southern Australia Livestock Research Council (SALRC) is excited to announce their third biennial Livestock Conference with the overarching theme of Environmental challenges and opportunities for Australian livestock industries.

Sessions will include keynote speakers and group workshop activities and cover the following:

• improving land, air and water
• solutions for human capacity
• economic considerations and market impacts.

Click here for more information about the upcoming conference.
If you would like to register for conference updates you can join the mailing list here

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