In this edition

Latest news

• Protect your paddocks with a Stock Containment Area
• Choosing the best feed this winter
• Avoiding the full force of cold weather on cows
• Take a Wellbeing Break

Events, programs and workshops

• Dry seasons spring webinar series
• Victoria's spring seasonal outlook – upcoming webinar
• Farm business success workshops for Gippsland
• Agriculture Victoria upcoming technical events
• Uncertain times – strategies to prepare for spring

Tools, tips and programs

• Winter webinar series
• Farm Fitness Checklist
• Victorian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub
• My Climate View

Resources for tackling tough times

• Technical information and decision-making support
• Rural Financial Counselling Service
• National Centre for Farmer Health
• Health and personal wellbeing
• Emergency Recovery Victoria
• Farm Business Resilience Program

Farmers in south-west Victoria are encouraged to consider containment feeding to protect pastures and paddocks from soil erosion over the next few months.

Paddocks with depleted pasture cover are susceptible to damage. Those most at-risk are on sloping ground and with a sandy topsoil. Placing animals in a stock containment area (SCA) is the ideal way to protect paddocks in a dry season when ground cover has diminished,

READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL HERE

Find out more about stock containment areas on the Agriculture Victoria website and listen to the webinar on SCA siting and design.

When choosing the best feed to purchase for sheep or cattle, there are a few things to take into account – especially when feeding over winter.

Agriculture Victoria Livestock Industry Development Officer Nick Linden said costing feeds on the basis of energy is still the number one consideration, as energy content of the supplement will determine how much you need.

READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL HERE

Supporting resources available on the Feeding Livestock website include:

• Animal requirements for energy and protein available on the feeding livestock website: for sheep AND for cattle
• Drought Feeding Books (for beef cattle and for sheep).

During cold weather, the energy requirements of a cow can increase by up to 20%, with lighter cows being more affected than those in adequate condition.

The impact of cold weather, particularly when combined with wet and windy conditions and low pasture availability, can severely affect cows that are already low in body condition.

READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL HERE

Supporting resources include:

• Wintering cattle? Tips to keep them warm
• Preventing cold stress in cattle

A series of wellbeing workshops targeting farming communities is being delivered as part of Agriculture Victoria’s Farm Business Resilience program with the aim of supporting social connection and collaboration in farming communities.

The National Farmer Wellbeing Report found that burnout and exhaustion are commonly reported in the farming community, with almost three quarters of farmers experiencing burnout of some kind in the last five years.

The workshops are designed to bring farmers together to provide them with wellbeing tools and information, connect them and share ideas, and identify practical strategies they can immediately implement to positively impact their well-being.

READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL HERE

See below for upcoming workshop details.

Dry seasons spring webinar series

Webinar 1 – Common spring animal health issues

Dr Leah Tyrell is a veterinary consultant with the Mackinnon Project from the University of Melbourne. Leah will present information on common metabolic diseases including causes, prevention and treatment.

• Date and time: Wednesday 7 August, 12:30 to 1:30 pm
• Location: Online via Zoom

Webinar 2 – Victoria's spring seasonal outlook with Dale Grey

• Date and time: Wednesday 14 August, 12:00 pm
• Details below

Webinar 3 – Cash flow and finance management with Paul Blackshaw

• Date and time: Wednesday 21 August, 12:30 pm
• Location: Online via Zoom

Register here for all 3 webinars

Victoria's spring seasonal outlook – upcoming webinar

In this webinar, Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey will discuss the recent seasonal conditions including rainfall, temperature and deep soil moisture levels across the state.

We will also take a look at what the latest global models are forecasting for spring and Malcolm Rowe from RFCS Victoria West will share information on the dry seasons support available to farmers.

Climate Specialist Graeme Anderson and Dale will delve deeper into the current seasonal risks and help bust some common myths around making sense of forecasts.

Date and time: 14 August at 12 pm

Online via Zoom: register your attendance HERE

Use the password: Climate

Farm business success workshops for Gippsland

Farmers in central, south and west Gippsland are invited to attend upcoming Farm Business Success workshops to support their business and action planning to build a stronger business for tomorrow.

The free workshops provide the opportunity to discuss and consider how to manage risks, including production, biosecurity, people or the work environment.

The workshops have been designed in partnership with the ION Group and are relevant for farmers in horticulture (including nursery and garden sectors), meat and wool, and apiary industries across the region.

South Gippsland – Mirboo North Golf Club, Mirboo North

• Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 August (Module 1 to 3), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 September (Module 4 to 6), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Register here for South Gippsland

West Gippsland – Drouin, venue TBC

• Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 September (Module 1 to 3), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Monday 30 September and Tuesday 1 October (Module 4 to 6), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Register here for West Gippsland.

Central Gippsland – Agriculture Victoria Office, Maffra

• Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 September (Module 1 to 3), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Thursday 3 and Friday 4 October (Module 4 to 6), 9 am to 2:30 pm
• Register here for Central Gippsland.

For more information, contact Horticulture Program Coordinator, Scott Botten on 0499 413 423 or email Scott Botten

The workshops are delivered by Agriculture Victoria through Farm Business Resilience Program with joint funding from the Australian Government's Future Drought Fund and the Victorian Government's Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

Agriculture Victoria upcoming events

For full details on the following events, click on the links below:

Growing more feed this spring

• Colac, 7 August

Looking for a wellbeing break?

• Dimboola, 7 August
• Bruthen, 9 August
• Maffra, 27 August
• Casterton, 29 August
• Mortlake, 30 August
• Kyabram, 5 September
• Wonthaggi, 3 September

In good times and in bad: adaptive skills for your farming future

• Goroke, 20 August
• Joel Joel, 27 August
• Skipton, 17 September.

Visit the Agriculture Victoria events page for updates on future in-person and online technical events and webinars.

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If you missed the webinars on how to prepare for the drier and cooler months, recordings of the first 2 webinars are now available.

Listen now or at your convenience:

• The importance of nutrition with Dr Jillian Kelly
• Early weaning of lambs with Dr Steve Cotton
• Land management, sacrifice paddocks and stock containment areas with Clem Sturmfels

Check out these resources:

• Soil moisture monitoring sites
• Online planning tool for navigating farm developments
• MLA guide to managing breeding ewes in containment

For more information, email Livestock Industry Development Officer Dr Hannah Manning or call 0400 532 595.

Farm Fitness Checklist

The Farm Fitness Checklist helps farmers assess where their business is at currently, and to identify areas and opportunities to strengthen their farm business.

It covers subjects including people management, skills and training, business planning and financial performance, emergency management, infrastructure, water supply, natural resource management, risk management, succession planning, off-farm activities and more.

Download the Farm Fitness Checklist from the Agriculture Victoria website.

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Agriculture Victoria is working with Victorian farmers to deliver technical information and decision-making support to plan ahead and make informed decisions for managing dry seasonal conditions.

Topics include:

• drought planning
• assessing pasture resources
• measuring feed on offer
• stock containment areas
• tools for making rations.

Farmers are encouraged to contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or email recovery@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

For more information on dry seasonal conditions support visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons

Have you been impacted by natural disasters or dry seasonal conditions?

The Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) provides a free and confidential financial counselling service to eligible farmers and small related enterprises who are experiencing, or at risk of, financial hardship.

They can help you to access available support, analyse your business situation, negotiate with lenders and develop strategies to improve your financial position.

Find your closest service here or call 1300 771 741.

Farmers in financial hardship may be eligible for the Commonwealth Government’s Farm Household Allowance (FHA), a fortnightly payment available for up to four years in a specific 10-year period.  A rural financial counsellor can help farmers to understand eligibility and apply for the FHA.

Farmers may be able to access low-interest loans through the Commonwealth Government’s Regional Investment Corporation (RIC).  A RIC loan is a partnership between the farm business, a commercial lender and the Regional Investment Corporation. Available loans include the Farm Investment Loan and the Drought Loan.

More information about low-interest RIC loans, the application process, eligibility, and terms and conditions are available from the Regional Investment Corporation by calling 1800 875 675, emailing info@ric.gov.au or visiting their website.

The National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) is committed to supporting primary producers whose properties, livestock or crops were damaged or lost in the floods and storms. There are a number of resources available on the NCFH website to support farmer health, wellbeing and safety.

Managing stress on the farm

Click to read or download this Managing Stress on the Farm book from the National Centre for Farmer Health website. You can also request free hard copies from the website.

It is normal to have strong reactions following a distressing or frightening event and people can experience a range of physical, mental, emotional and behavioural reactions.

There are a number of support services available (listed below) to assist you and your family recover from the strong emotional or physical reactions you may be experiencing.

Are you concerned about your own mental health? Reach out to Lifeline for a safe place to talk on 13 11 14.

Other available support includes:

• Your doctor or local community health centre
• A counsellor or psychologist
• Parentline 13 22 89
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800
• Nurse-On-Call 1300 60 60 24 – for expert health information and advice (24 hours, 7 days)
• Australian Psychological Society Referral Service 1800 333 497.

Recovery support is available for people affected by the:

• February 2024 Victorian storms
• February 2024 Western Victorian bushfires
• December 2023 to January 2024 Victorian storms and floods.

To find out more, contact the Emergency Recovery Hotline on 1800 560 760 from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday or visit the Emergency Recovery Victoria website.

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The Farm Business Resilience (FBR) Program is supporting farmers to develop knowledge and skills to improve their farm business and manage the impacts of a changing climate.

The program supports farmers to improve skills and management practices around 4 key areas:

• Business planning and risk management
• Farm finances and profitable decision making
• Managing people on farm, farm safety and wellbeing
• Climate adaptation and natural resource management including soil, water, crops and pastures.

The FBR Program has supported farmers in developing 665 farm business plans and engaged 1966 farmers in intensive training activities.

More information about the FBR program is available at agriculture.vic.gov.au/FBRP .

Information about upcoming FBR events is regularly posted on the Agriculture Victoria website.

The Farm Business Resilience Program is jointly funded through the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Victorian Government’s Future Agriculture Skills Capacity Fund.

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