• Developing a biosecurity plan for your farm
• Don't feed swill to pigs
• Have you heard the buzz? It’s all about BeeMAX
• Tips for healthy hives
• New round of grants for Victorian agricultural shows
• Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program
• AgVic Talk podcast - We are here to help with Corey Iredale and Viliami Vea
• Report Illegal Spotlighting
• Fox and wild dog bounty collection details
• ICYMI
• What's on?

Richard Smith, Dairy Industry Development Officer

Farm biosecurity planning is not a one-size-fits-all process. Every farm is different with each facing a unique set of challenges and risks and business owners having different levels of tolerance of those risks. 

After conducting a risk assessment and action plan, the next step is to create a farm biosecurity plan. 

A farm biosecurity plan is a practical way of showing how you are preventing the introduction of pests, disease, weeds and contaminants to your property, spreading around your property, or spreading from your property. 

A farm biosecurity plan should:

• define your responsibilities
• outline the disease protocols used on your property
• ensure property information and biosecurity measures are quickly accessible 
• enable you to easily communicate your biosecurity procedures to others.  

To assist you in developing a farm biosecurity plan, several organisations have developed templates, ranging from industry-specific to more general. Whichever template or tool you use, remember to tailor and adapt it to your individual situation and to your specific biosecurity risks. 

Industry peak bodies are often a good resource for accessing biosecurity planning information. The following websites provide biosecurity templates and tools:  

• Agriculture Victoria – agriculture.vic.gov.au/fmd
• Animal Health Australia: Better on-farm biosecurity – animalhealthaustralia.com.au
• Dairy Australia – dairyaustralia.com.au
• Farm Biosecurity action planner – farmbiosecurity.com.au
• MLA Integrity Systems – integritysystems.com.au. 

There are no right or wrong answers when developing a farm biosecurity plan – the only bad biosecurity plan is the one you don’t have. A farm biosecurity plan is a tool to help you identify the risks on your farm and document how you will manage them. 

Information on how to develop a farm biosecurity plan can be found on the Agriculture Victoria website, or phone 136 186. Workshops and webinars on developing a farm biosecurity plan are also currently being delivered. Visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/events for details.

The next article in our ‘biosecurity practices’ series will cover training and updating your farm biosecurity plan. For information on Victoria’s biosecurity please visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity.

Did you know that food waste – swill – containing meat or other animal by-products must not be fed to pigs as it may contain viruses that cause diseases in animals?

Australia is free of foot-and-mouth disease. Feeding pigs waste food containing meat and meat products, irrespective of whether they are locally produced or imported, or imported dairy products puts this at risk.

Banning the feeding of prohibited food waste to pigs provides an important defence against the introduction of FMD or African Swine Fever to Australia.

Learn more about what you can and can't feed to pigs here.

BeeMAX is free, quick, and easy to use – and it’s a simple way of maintaining your record keeping obligations under the Livestock Disease and Control Regulations. 

Whether you’re a backyard beekeeper or keep commercial quantities of hives, the BeeMAX electronic diary is a central place to record all your biosecurity activities and observations including: 

• pest and disease inspections and testing
• swarm collection data
• the movement of bees and equipment
• biosecurity training completed.

Learn more here

Visit BeeMAX 

Keep your bees happy, healthy and productive as the weather warms up - bee aware of the biosecurity basics:

🐝Be aware of biosecurity threats, such as Varroa mite
🐝Practice good hygiene and sanitation
🐝Check your apiary and monitor hives and the health of the honeybee brood frequently
🐝Respect and be aware of laws and regulations established to protect the honeybee industry, Australian agriculture and the local region
🐝Report anything unusual to the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.

For the latest info visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/varroa

For biosecurity basics visit beeaware.org.au/biosecurity/biosecurity-basics/

Applications are now open for the Agricultural and Pastoral Society Grants 2022-23 round to support shows and field days that promote the best of Victoria's agricultural offerings and benefit the state’s regional and rural communities.

As with previous years, eligible applicants can apply for up to $10,000 for infrastructure development and business activities to celebrate Victoria’s agricultural communities, practices, industry and produce.

Grants may be used to upgrade or build new facilities including judging areas, staging or display areas, or for public amenities for multi-purpose community use.

The money may also be used for business activities that assist in the planning of events.

Agriculture Victoria Executive Director, Agriculture Policy and Programs, Sarah-Jane McCormack, said the new round of funding ensures that agricultural shows across the state can continue to deliver exciting events for local communities.

“The Victorian Government continues to support Agricultural and Pastoral Societies to get back up and running this year.”

“In addition to the one-off support for free entry of children at shows, these grants are also available to make sure that showgrounds, facilities and events are in top shape making events enjoyable and safe for communities,” Ms McCormack said.

The projects will help the societies deliver exciting events that build confidence in the agriculture sector and support regional economies and jobs.

The grants are open to all eligible Victorian Agricultural and Pastoral Societies including the Royal Geelong Show, Whittlesea Show, Mildura Show and many more.

Regional and rural shows are a fixture of Victorian society, building community spirit by celebrating agriculture in a fun, entertaining, educational and inclusive environment.

Applications are now open and close at midnight on 21 October 2022.

For more information on the program and to apply, visit the  Agriculture Victoria website.

Each year Gardiner Dairy Foundation supports two places in the Loddon Murray Community Leadership Program (LMCLP) for regionally based people working on Victorian dairy farms, in dairy processing or as service providers.

LEAD Loddon Murray provides communities with the confidence and knowledge to be clear about what they want to achieve, to find strength within the community and to lead themselves. We understand the tremendous work that community leaders do to build vibrant and sustainable regional communities.

For more information CLICK HERE

Expressions of interest for this program can now be submitted by filling out THIS FORM.

Crucial to the success of the Sunraysia food bowl are the estimated 15,000 seasonal workers who pick crops and maintain orchards.  

In this episode of AgVic Talk, we talk with Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council (SMECC) Pastoral Care Program coordinator Corey Iredale and pastoral care worker Viliami Vea.

Viliami began as a seasonal worker at 21 and now generously gives back to his community as a SMECC pastoral care worker.  

Corey and Viliami talk about keeping seasonal workers healthy and happy and supporting them to stay in the region.  

Listen online via the AgVic website 🎧 

Illegal spotlighting may be happening in your area, putting your community, property, livestock and native wildlife at risk. 

Illegal spotlighting is when people illegally use a spotlight or thermal imaging device on public land to shoot deer or other game animals at night. 

If you see or hear of illegal spotlighting in your area, please report it to the Game Management Authority. 

Visit gma.vic.gov.au or call 136 186, or you can contact your local police. 

Keep our community safe and help put a stop to illegal spotlighting in your area. 

There are some forms of legal spotlighting, including when landowners or their agents need to control pest animals or problem deer on private property. 

For more information about spotlighting laws, CLICK HERE

All reports of alleged illegal spotlighting are assessed and responded to accordingly.

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.

The bounty will run until the end of October 2022, consistent with previous years.

Visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/bounty to find out more.

Collections will only be accepted at the designated times.

The collection schedule for North West Victoria, includes:

Aquariums selling State prohibited water weeds online

Agriculture Victoria is concerned about an increase in the sale of State prohibited water weeds such as salvinia (Salvinia molesta) and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) through the aquarium industry trade in Victoria.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

Surveillance of animal disease in Victoria

Victoria’s livestock industries are fortunate to be free of most of the serious diseases that affect animals in other parts of the world.

Despite this fact, on-going surveillance for new or exotic disease is important to protect our livestock, to reassure our trading partners of Victoria’s favourable disease status, and to ensure the early detection of diseases that might impact on trade, public health, and farm or regional productivity.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

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.

With another wet summer forecast – are there opportunities to sow something that provides quality feed for growing lambs over summer?

Guest speakers Rebecca Stutz, CSIRO and Dr Ralph Behrendt, Agriculture Victoria will discuss a range of summer forage options with results on animal performance.

We follow with some experiences from farmers on their experience in establishing and utilising summer forage crops.

We will end the night with our Myth Buster. Climate specialist Dale Grey will answer the myth busting question ‘does a La Nina mean summer rain in Victoria?'

Date: Tuesday 27 September

Time: 7 – 7.45 pm

TO REGISTER CLICK HERE

For more information please contact Jane Court (Agriculture Victoria).
Ph: 0436 606 742
Email: jane.court@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Join presenter, farmer and consultant Denise McLellan to kickstart your work health and safety journey.

From this workshop you will learn how to prioritise safety actions and practical ways to improve work health and safety to make your business more resilient.

Date: Thursday 6 October 

Time: 2.30 - 6pm 

Location: Berriwillock Community Centre
73 Taverner Street, Berriwillock.

Afternoon tea provided.

To register CLICK HERE

For more information please contact Jemma Pearl (Agriculture Victoria)
Ph: 0436 922 017
Email: jemma.pearl@agriculture.vic.gov.au

WHEN: Friday 16 September, 10 am to 3 pm

WHERE: DELWP office, Cnr Midland Hwy and Taylor St, Epsom

REGISTER HERE

Agriculture Victoria is delivering free workshops for livestock producers to understand the disease, pest and plant biosecurity risks in their area, the impact they may have on their business and develop an on-farm biosecurity plan.

Topics

• Why biosecurity is important* Programs and systems that support the livestock industry
• Disease, pest and plant biosecurity risks in your area
• How to use a matrix to rank the likelihood and impact of risks on your business
• Setting up a biosecurity kit and facilities on-farm
• Create your on-farm biosecurity plan and put it into action.

Light refreshments provided.

Numbers are limited to allow for an interactive session.

When you register you will be asked to provide your Property Identification Code (PIC).

If this workshop is booked out, please still register and you will be added to a wait-list. You will then be contacted if a spot becomes available or if another workshop is advertised in future in your area.

More information

For more information about this event contact Morgan Cassell by email on morgan.cassell@agriculture.vic.gov.au or phone 0427 681 714.

This project received funding from the Cattle Compensation Fund / Sheep and Goat Compensation Fund as part of the 2021 Livestock Biosecurity Funds Grant Program, which exists to provide grants to bolster the state's biosecurity and assist in preventing and managing pests and diseases.

Attend a free masterclass to help grain growers and advisers tap into the higher grain production potential of sandy soils. Constrained by their limited capacity to hold moisture and nutrients, many sandy soils in the state's low- and medium-rainfall zones produce less than half of their yield potential.

With new knowledge generated from a consortium of researchers, growers can access new tools, techniques and know-how to get more out of their sandy soils through six half-day masterclasses.

During the masterclasses participants will:

• Identify soil constraints in a soil pit with a soil specialist
• Inspect ripping and other responses in the paddock with agronomists
• Discuss machinery selection and set up with engineering experts
• Explore decision support tools
• Review how soil amelioration might impact farm profit and risk.

When: Friday 16 September

Time: 9 am – 1.30 pm

Register by contacting Tanja Morgan on 0429 395 918 or at tanja.morgan@msfp.org.au

Come along to the Irrigated Cropping Council's Research Field Day and gain valuable information on the latest irrigated variety and agronomic research in the region.

Crops in focus include canola, wheat, barley, faba beans, chick peas, clovers and peas.

When: Friday 16 September, 10 am – 3.30 pm.

Where: Kerang-Koondrook Road, Kerang.

Register by contacting Mel Mann on 0447 803 305 or at mel.mann@irrigatedcroppingcouncil.com.au.

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