In this edition

Latest news

• Horticultural Netting Program now open
• Rochester/Elmore Farm Business Resilience workshop series

Events, programs and workshops

• Adaptive skills for your farming future: Lake Bolac
• Let's have a yarn: Newry and Orbost
• Flood recovery event: Gannawarra Sporting Club Dinner with Brad McEwan
• NCFH Back on Track community consults: Tallangatta, Newry/Tinamba and Camperdown
• Making sense of carbon emissions for Victorian farmers
• Autumn start-up workshops for dairy farmers: Cohuna, Kyabram, Numurkah and Tallangatta
• HR employer of choice
• Farm Business Resilience workshop series: Rochester/Elmore
• Save the date: upcoming weed information sessions in Campaspe Shire

Resources

• After the Flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience podcast season
• Flood waters and farm water
• New feeding livestock 'how to' videos available
• Farm Fitness Checklist
• Drought Resilience Self-Assessment Tool
• My Climate View

Victorian flood and storm support for farmers

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

Grants of up to $150,000 are available to eligible producers of commercial horticulture crops, excluding wine grapes, to purchase and install new netting over established production areas. The program now includes a self-installation allowance if you wish to self-install netting.

Applications close 8 April 2024.

For more information about the program visit the Horticultural Netting Grants for Victorian Horticulturalists page on our website.

This program is delivered by the Victorian Government on behalf of the Australian Government.

Farmers in the Rochester and Elmore communities have an opportunity to attend a series of free Farm Business Resilience (FBR) workshops starting in early March.

The 4 workshops are designed to help participants better prepare for and manage the impacts of a changing climate and focus on key elements for achieving individual farm business goals.

Expert presenters include Senior Agribusiness Consultant Jane Foster (from ORM Pty Ltd) and Agriculture Victoria Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey.

Previous FBR participants have endorsed the value of the program, for instance: ‘it has shown me that by putting my ideas on paper I can see what my future looks like’ and ‘I feel confident that I can now chip away … and I have a better idea of where to turn should I need additional information or support.’

Full details in the events listings below or register your interest here for the workshops.

Adaptive skills for your farming future: Lake Bolac

Grain and mixed farmers are invited to a short course for your farm business future.

Participants who complete the two-day course and business plans will be eligible for free one-on-one planning review with Kate Burke.

Location: Lake Bolac Football Netball Clubrooms, 137 Frontage Road, Lake Bolac

Date and time: Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 February, 9 am to 3 pm both days

Presenter: Dr Kate Burke

Kate is an independent farm consultant who has a PhD and extensive experience in crop agronomy and dryland agriculture.

Register here

Limited places are available, with preference given to farmers who can attend the full 2-days.

More information: visit the Agriculture Victoria website or email grains@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Let's have a yarn: Newry and Orbost

Join us for a barbecue lunch at this opportunity to have a chat with other farmers in the area or to talk about recovery after the recent floods and storms. 

Network with farmers and industry, plus contacts from the horticulture, beef, dairy and sheep sectors. The day will be attended by agencies servicing the farming industry including representatives from State and local government, water corporations, and industry.

The Newry event is being held in cooperation with the NCFH Back on Track event (details below).

Location, date and time:

• Newry – Thursday 15 February, 11 am to 1 pm: Newry Hall, 139 Main Street, Newry
• Orbost – Friday 23 February, 11 am to 1 pm: Orbost Football Club, Lochiel Street, Orbost.

More information: email Billy Marshall or call 0418 718 727.

Making sense of carbon emissions for Victorian farmers

Victorian farm businesses are getting on with the job of growing more food and fibre, while dealing with changeable seasons and weather patterns. We also know that more attention is being paid to the carbon and emissions performance of our agricultural industries and farms.

In this webinar, Agriculture Victoria's climate team will share some of the carbon and emissions tools and resources they have developed to support the farming communities of Victoria to make sense of carbon and emissions on farm.

Agriculture Victoria presenters:

• Heather Field, Climate Change Service Development Officer
• Graeme Anderson, Climate Specialist
• Alison Kelly, Farm Emissions Specialist

Location: Online via Zoom

Date and time: Tuesday 27 February, 12 pm

Register here

Autumn start-up workshops for dairy farmers: Cohuna, Kyabram, Numurkah and Tallangatta

Join farm consultant Phil Shannon for a dairy autumn start-up workshop in northern Victoria. Workshops will be held at Cohuna, Kyabram, Numurkah and Tallangatta in late February.

Hosted by Agriculture Victoria and Murray Dairy, the workshops will cover the following topics:

• assessing available feed and preparing for autumn sowing
• managing the transition from summer to autumn
• planning what to sow and when.

Location, date and time:

• Cohuna – Wednesday 21 February, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm: Bower Tavern, 59-61 King George St, Cohuna
• Kyabram – Friday 23 February, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm: Kyabram Club 82 Allan St, Kyabram 
• Numurkah – Tuesday 27 February, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm: The Shamrock Hotel 5-13 Melville St, Numurkah
• Tallangatta – Thursday 29 February, 10:30 am to 1:30 pm: Tallangatta Football and Cricket Club Akuna Ave, Tallangatta

Register for a workshop at the links below:

• Cohuna 
• Kyabram
• Numurkah
• Tallangatta.

More information: email Agriculture Recovery Officer, Tanya Dobrijevic  or call on 0429 353 649.

HR employer of choice

Do you want to build a stronger, more productive farm business?

You will leave each workshop with new skills and an action plan to help achieve your business goals. There is also an opportunity to engage in a free one-on-one session with a farm business management consultant. Come along to find out more!

Learn legal and practical management practices when employing workers. Presenter TBC.

Location: Murrayville Recreation Reserve Community Complex, Recreation Road, Murrayville

Date and time: Thursday 28 February, 9 am to 3pm

Register here

Farm Business Resilience workshop series: Rochester/Elmore

Do you want to build a stronger, more productive farm business?

Agriculture Victoria has a free workshop series to help you build more resilience in your farm business. You will leave each face-to-face workshop with new skills and an action plan to achieve your business goals.

If you attend 3 or more workshops you will secure a one-on-one business planning session with Senior Agribusiness Consultant Jane Foster at the end of the workshop series.

Location: Pine Grove Fire Station, 2691 Whinfield Road, Lockington 

Series details:

Workshop 1: Planning for success – Friday 8 March, 9:30 am to 12 pm

Join Senior Agribusiness Consultant, Jane Foster, ORM Pty Ltd, for a workshop on identifying and managing risks, strategic planning and setting business goals.

Workshop 2: Business success – Thursday 14 March, 9 am to 12:30 pm

Join Farm Business Economist, Sam Henty, for a workshop on financial management, budgeting and profitable decision making.

Workshop 3: People success – Thursday 21 March, 9 am to 12:30 pm

Dairy Biosecurity and Business Resilience Officer, Helen Chenoweth, will deliver a workshop on managing people on farm, succession planning and farm safety.

Workshop 4: Climate risk and Natural Resource Management – Tuesday 26 March, 9 am to 12:30 pm

Seasonal Risk Agronomist, Dale Grey and Land Management Extension Officer Martin Hamilton, will deliver a workshop on understanding and identifying climate risk and natural resource management on farm.

Register here for the workshops. 

More information: email Elizabeth Alsop or call 0457 838 537.

Save the date: upcoming weed information sessions in Campaspe Shire

Agriculture Victoria in collaboration with Campaspe Shire Council are organising a series of weed information sessions for farmers.

Proposed locations and dates are:

• Gunbower – Tuesday 5 March
• Toolleen – Thursday 7 March
• Tongala – Tuesday 19 March*
• Rushworth – Friday 21 March*.

Full details will be available on the Agriculture Victoria events page when confirmed.

*Please check the website for confirmed dates.

More information: email Agriculture Recovery Officer, Elizabeth Alsop or call 0457 838 537.

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After the Flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience podcast season

Agriculture Victoria’s new podcast season ‘After the flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience’ explores the recovery required after a natural disaster, the support provided and the resilience of Victorian famers, including how different industries are recovering.

The first four episodes are available on the Agriculture Victoria website:

• Episode 1: From crisis to cash flow with Chris Steele
• Episode 2: Farming through the floods with Murray van der Drift
• Episode 3: Hives in harm's way – navigating future weather events with Natalie Doran-Browne
• Episode 4: On the right track to recovery with Simone Murdoch and Darryl Pearl.

The season has been produced by Agriculture Victoria in partnership with the National Centre for Farmer Health #BuildingFarmSpirit program.

Flood waters and farm water

Floodwaters have the potential to impact farm water supplies.

Farm dams and channels can become contaminated after floods, with potential for water quality issues to develop over time.

Learn more about how to manage contaminated farm water supplies here.

Blue green algae – recognise the signs

Recent flooding combined with warmer weather has increased the risk of blue-green algal blooms in farm dams.

Recognise the signs – blooms typically appear as surface scum that looks like a suspension of green paint, often with an earthy smell.

If a suspicious bloom is noticed, stock should be removed as quickly as possible, and a safe alternative water supply provided. Blue-green algae can cause poisoning in livestock.

Learn more about blue-green algae here.

New feeding livestock 'how to' videos available

A series of short ‘How to’ videos that work through key considerations for feeding livestock are now available on the Feeding Livestock website.

The calculations are ‘back of the envelope’, easy to follow and can be readily adapted to a range of feeding scenarios for cattle or sheep.

In the 4 videos, Livestock Industry Development Officer Nick Linden demonstrates how to calculate ‘what to feed’, ‘costing out your feeds’, ‘how much to feed’, and ‘estimating animal performance’.

• ‘What to feed’ looks at the key considerations in choosing supplements for stock by calculating their requirements and the energy density of feed against its cost.
• ‘Costing out your feed’ shows you how to make sure what you’re feeding to your animals is the most cost-effective option.
• ‘How much to feed’ looks at getting the balance right in developing a feed budget by avoiding the pitfalls of too much or too little feed.
• ‘Estimating animal performance’ covers the calculations to use in determining what level of performance you can expect from your cattle in comparing a couple of different feed stuffs.

The videos have been produced as part of Agriculture Victoria’s 2022–23 Flood and Storm Recovery Project.

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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A range of support measures are available for flood and storm-affected farmers. Information about these measures can be found at agriculture.vic.gov.au/floods. For any urgent animal welfare needs, please contact 136 186.

Agriculture Victoria is working with Victorian farmers and industry to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters (including floods and storms) through delivery of technical information and decision-making support services to help farm business recovery including: 

• Grazing, cropping and pasture management
• Irrigation and horticulture system rehabilitation 
• Soil erosion management  
• Land management 
• Animal health and nutrition  
• Farm mapping and planning  
• Water quality
• Weed management.

Farmers are encouraged to contact the Agriculture Recovery team on Phone: 0427 694 185 or Email recovery@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Recovery support is available for people affected by the 2023-24 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.

Have you been impacted by recent floods, fires 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.

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.

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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.

More information about the Farm Business Resilience Program is available at agriculture.vic.gov.au/FBRP or the Our Farm, Our Plan web page for information about the dairy program.

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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