• Facing tough conditions? Don’t go through it alone
• Free financial counselling available now
• Avian influenza information pop ups
• BestWool/BestLamb and BetterBeef conference recordings
• Recording: Victoria's spring seasonal outlook
• Dry seasons webinar recordings available here
• Resources regulator digs deep to enforce quarry compliance
• The Very Fast Break
• Fox and wild dog bounty
• In case you missed it
• What's on

Agriculture Victoria is encouraging farmers to take up ongoing support and assistance to help manage current difficult seasonal conditions.

Agriculture Victoria’s Aimee McCutcheon said Agriculture Victoria continues to monitor conditions across the state.

‘We know there’s been below average rainfall across most of Victoria during autumn and winter and that it’s a critical time for cropping, livestock and dairy production.

‘It’s important that farmers know that support is available to them to help make early and informed decisions.

Ms McCutcheon said the Agriculture Victoria website explains what support is available to farmers, including financial support and assistance, mental health and wellbeing support.

‘One example is the Australian Government’s Farm Household Allowance which is a fortnightly payment for eligible farmers.

‘Our website also provides access to other organisations that can help, such as the free services from the Rural Financial Counselling Services and the National Centre for Farmer Health.’

Ms McCutcheon said Agriculture Victoria offers extensive practical information, resources, tools and calculators to help farmers with forward planning, feed budgeting and livestock management.

‘All these free resources are available online 24 hours a day, or you can speak with staff at your local office.’

Visit the Agriculture Victoria website today agriculture.vic.gov.au for more information plus details of events coming up in your region or online.

For information on technical support, contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or email recovery@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The Rural Financial Counselling Service 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.

To find your closest service visit rfcsnetwork.com.au or call 1300 771 741.

Agriculture Victoria continues to reach out to local communities at our pop-up information stalls. 

• Friday 27 September: Colour Terang Festival – 9:30 am – 3 pm
• Saturday 5 October: Golden Plains Farmers’ Market: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
• Saturday 5 October: Terang Local Market: 9 am – 1 pm.

To learn more, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianinfluenza

Sheep and beef farmers! Did you miss the BestWool/BestLamb and BetterBeef conference or feel like revisiting the sessions?

Recorded presentations are now available for viewing on our website.

Watch Cam Nicholson’s talk on ‘The challenge of aligning pasture and animal needs’ HERE.

Cam said, 'It’s a challenge because while we know what the animals need and we can know all the theory about how to grow the best plants and the right way of doing it, there’s numerous times when those two don’t align.'

Watch John Francis’s talk on ‘Growing the farm’ HERE.

John talks about opportunities for growth that exist ‘within the four fences’ of your farm.

Explore more from the 2024 BestWool/BestLamb conference.

Plus-find the 🐄 2024 BetterBeef conference presentations here.

Farmers can access support and assistance today to help manage the current dry seasonal conditions at agriculture.vic.gov.au

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

We looked at what the latest global models are forecasting for spring and shared information on the dry seasons support available to farmers.

Climate Specialist Graeme Anderson, and Dale, took a deeper look into the current seasonal risks and helped bust some common myths around making sense of forecasts.

VIEW THE RECORDING HERE

Duration: 67 minutes (including questions)

Password: Climate

This webinar was originally presented on Wednesday 14 August 2024 at 12 pm.

All climate webinar recordings can be found on our website.

More information

For more information about these webinars, including assistance joining the webinar, email climate.webinars@agriculture.vic.gov.au

The recording of the recent webinar ‘Growing more feed’ with Agriculture Victoria Livestock Extension Officer Fiona Baker - can be found HERE

Additionally, here are some resources that you might find useful:

• Feeding livestock website
• Agriculture Victoria dry season and drought support page 
• Soil Moisture monitoring sites can be found HERE
• Information on navigating farm developments online tool can be found HERE 
• A MLA guide to managing breeding ewes in containment can be found HERE
• Stock containment areas design webinar can be found HERE.

Resources Victoria’s regulator has issued several remedial notices to quarry operators following a targeted blitz across the far west of the state.

Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator has conducted a series of inspections between Port Campbell, Dartmoor and Casterton targeting excavation in unapproved areas and the extracting of more materials than permitted.

Remedial notices were issued to 3 quarries and several others were provided with advice on how to correct minor site issues.

The notices relate to operators removing more raw materials than permitted and digging in areas without permission.

To ensure risks are properly managed, the areas that can be disturbed and any restriction on depth are outlined in a site’s Work Plan or is guided by the Code of Practice for Small Quarries.

When a site is developed beyond what is permitted, there may be additional risks to the environment, infrastructure, community and cultural heritage that have not been assessed by the regulator.

Resources Victoria’s Earth Resources Regulator will reinspect each site over the next 6 months to ensure all issues identified are corrected.

The Very Fast Break is delivered as short YouTube videos summarising oceanic and atmospheric climate drivers and the summarised model predictions for rainfall and temperature for Victoria.

View the latest HERE

If you have comments, questions or feedback, please contact Dale Grey at break@agriculture.vic.gov.au

Victoria’s bounty collections continue.

Please continue to check our website for the latest information, collection centres and dates. CLICK HERE

For any assistance, please speak to our bounty collection staff on collection days or call our Customer Service Centre on 136 186.

Avian influenza restrictions eased

Further changes have been made to control orders surrounding avian influenza cases in Victoria, given that no new cases have been detected since 24 June 2024.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

West Wimmera farmer pleads guilty

A West Wimmera farmer recently pleaded guilty in the Horsham Magistrates Court and was fined $10,000 with conviction.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

GRDC welcomes SA grower as Board Chair

In what will be a new leadership era for GRDC, South Australian grain grower Sharon Starick has been announced as the new Board Chair.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

Barwon farmer fined $10,000 with conviction for animal cruelty

A Barwon farmer recently pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court and was fined $10,000 with conviction. A disqualification order to own or person in charge of livestock was also imposed for 7 years.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

Five key tips for silage this season

Capitalising on any spring surplus will be critical on farms this year. While some things are out of our control, focusing on these key factors will help ensure that you get the best possible return.

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.

The Farm Business Program is supporting farmers to develop the knowledge and skills they need to improve their farm business and be better equipped to manage the impacts of drought and a changing climate.

Course details:

• Monday 30 September, 11 am to 2 pm - People success 
• Monday 14 October, 12 to 2 pm - Plan review. 

Location:  Register online today.

Visit the Agriculture Victoria website  for all the program details.

Join Agriculture Victoria Land Management Officer Clem Sturmfels for breakfast and a discussion about managing farm dams in a difficult season.

DATES:

• Tuesday 8 October – Nangeela
• Wednesday 9 October – Nareen
• Thursday 10 October - Karabeal.

TIME: 8 – 10 am

TOPICS:    

• rainfall and runoff update
• dam volume calculations
• how long will my water last?
• management strategies.

COST: Free

REGISTRATION ONLINE HERE. Please register to assist with catering and note this is an outdoor event so suitable clothing is required.

For more information contact Hannah Manning on 0400 532 595 or email.

DATE: Wednesday 9 October
TIME: 9.30 am – 12 pm
WHERE: Graham Faggs – 189 Grahams Road, Mt Mercer.

To register contact Neil James on email or 0417 353 929.

Beef and sheep producers are invited to join Agriculture Victoria and Precision Agriculture at a field day on precision soil mapping and variable rate fertiliser use in the livestock industry.

This producer demonstration site (PDS) was established in 2021, with funding from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

The 4 demonstration sites are on properties owned by members of the Smeaton and Pyrenees BestWool/BestLamb groups.

Results and insights from the 3-year demonstration will be presented.

Workshop topics

• visit one of the project demonstration sites and discuss in field variability of soils and some of the drivers of that variability
• soil variation at the paddock scale
• variable rate spreading
• soil testing and fertility
• economics of precision soil testing and variable rate spreading.

For information about upcoming workshops, dry seasonal conditions or further assistance go to: www.agriculture.vic.gov.au/dryseasons

You’re invited to attend FAR Australia’s Crop Technology Centre annual field day located in Gnarwarre where you will have the opportunity to view a range of innovate grains research trials, reinforcing the adage that ‘seeing is believing’.

DATE: Thursday 10 October

TIME:10 am - 4 pm

WHERE: Gnarwarre - TBC site.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

Applications are open until 31 December 2024

For the first time, this prestigious $30K national award is now accepting nominations from groups and organisations, in addition to individuals.

Do you know an individual, group, or organisation that is a sustainable farm practice innovator, demonstrated leadership in Landcare and inspired others to take land conservation practices in their community?

Now is their chance to be recognised!

This award honours the significant role of former Prime Minister, the Hon. Bob Hawke AC, in transforming Landcare from a grassroots community initiative into a national movement with enduring bipartisan government support.

It celebrates exceptional dedication to sustainable land management and efforts to share valuable knowledge with others.

To find out more or to nominate a Landcare legend click here.

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