In this edition:

• Regional Drought Resilience Plans – have your say
• Keep your hives and bees healthy this summer
• Free financial counselling with RFCS
• Gains for breeding program from US trip
• Pawsitive news for Victoria’s pets
• Helping Victorians choose a pet with confidence
• Protecting Victoria’s abalone from virus outbreaks
• A taste you can trace – episode 7
• Farm fire preparedness tip – emergency access
• Barley loose smut webinar recording now available
• In case you missed it
• What's on

Agriculture Victoria has been working with members of the Ovens Murray, Loddon Campaspe and Mallee communities to prepare a draft Drought Resilience Plan for the region.  

The Drought Resilience Plans propose themes, outcomes, and actions to better prepare the region for future droughts and help them to thrive in challenging times.

We invite all local community members to have their say on the draft plans by visiting EngageVic website before December 10 2023.

We encourage all interested parties to ‘follow’ the Regional Drought Resilience EngageVic page for updates.

The Ovens Murray, Loddon Campaspe and Mallee Drought Resilience Plans are the final 3 plans to be developed across Victoria’s 9 regions as part of the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund in partnership with the Victorian Government. 

Community feedback on the draft Plans for the Ovens Murray, Loddon Campaspe and Mallee regions is currently being sought.

Plans for Great South Coast, Barwon and Central Highlands are currently being finalised following input from community members.

Plans for Gippsland, Goulburn and Wimmera Southern Mallee have been published and are available to view online.

More information on the plans, the Regional Drought Resilience Planning Program and the Future Drought Fund is available on the Agriculture Victoria website. 

For more information on the development of Regional Drought Resilience Plan in the Ovens Murray region contact Rod Hayes.

For the plans in the Loddon Campaspe and Mallee contact Richard Soppe.

Responses close 10 December.

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 information, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/varroa or

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

Have you been impacted by recent floods, fires or dry seasonal conditions?

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.

Caption: (L-R) Dr Abeya Tefera at University of Florida, a lentil plant with applied AI mapping, Genomic Prediction Breeding lecture hall

The pulse breeding program at Agriculture Victoria’s Horsham SmartFarm is reaping the benefits from a researcher’s recent study trip to the United States.

Agriculture Victoria Molecular Plant Breeder, Dr Abeya Tefera, attended a Genomic Prediction Breeding course at the University of Florida with a special focus on applied artificial intelligence (AI) followed by field visits to the University of Minnesota.

The course brought together scientists from the private sector and public organisations who are interested in learning more about different prediction frameworks and how to integrate layers of data for plant and animal breeding.

Dr Tefera enjoyed fostering new ties with international peers for future collaboration and the skills he learnt have already helped inform new AI processes to study crop development and isolate climate resilient lentil and field pea varieties.

‘Our current advanced breeding strategies are already seeing rapid gains in genetic improvement and now with AI, we can incorporate additional data such as climate and crop development processes to selectively breed resilient traits into new varieties,’ said Dr Tefera.

‘Plants from our hi-tech glasshouses are photographed in the Plant Phenomics Victoria facilities at the SmartFarm and then we use Meta AI’s Segment Anything program to map varietal characteristics, such as boron toxicity and disease susceptibility; this can then be applied across thousands of lines within Horsham SmartFarm’s pulse breeding program.

‘Compared to manual methods AI is making this process more accurate and speeds up the delivery of newer and more resistant varieties within our breeding program.

‘Our research is all about accelerating genetic gain to create higher yielding and more resilient varieties and this new application of AI is a true feather in the cap for our breeding program.’

Dr Tefera’s research is a co-investment between the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and Agriculture Victoria.

Further information

• Lentil Breeding program
• Field Pea Breeding program
• Multi-Omic integration for AI  genomic prediction conference 2023
• University of Florida
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Meta AI Segment Anything

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The Victorian Government is improving Victoria’s animal welfare services and providing free or low-cost pet desexing services to pet owners in need.

Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence recently visited Second Chance Animal Rescue in Craigieburn to announce the successful recipients of the third round of the Pet Desexing and Equine Rehabilitation grants.

The overpopulation of dogs and cats poses a significant threat to our environment and also puts pressure on Victoria’s animal shelters – these grants tackle this problem by ensuring all Victorians – no matter their income, can desex their pets. 

The new round of grants includes $500,000 to support councils and not-for-profits to deliver free or low-cost desexing programs for cats and dogs and $330,000 to organisations that rescue, rehabilitate, and rehome horses.

Since 2021, the government has delivered more than $1.5 million in Pet Desexing grants to 32 organisations across the state.

Second Chance Animal Rescue has been awarded $75,000 in the latest round of the Pet Desexing Grants program and aim to host a series of free ‘desexathon’ days – with the goal of desexing 340 cats.

Minister Spence also officially opened applications for Round 11 of the Animal Welfare Fund Grants Program – offering grants of up to $200,000 to support animal shelters, community foster care networks, expand or upgrade their equipment or services – while also helping veterinary clinics provide low-cost services.

Eligible organisations can now apply for funding for projects that benefit companion animals such as rabbits, caged birds and ‘pocket pets’, in addition to cats and dogs.

Since 2014, the Animal Welfare Fund has awarded more than $10 million to not-for-profit animal shelters, foster care organisations and community vet clinics to improve companion animal welfare in Victoria.

The Victorian Budget 2023/24 builds on the government’s strong support for animal welfare and pets - with an additional $20 million to deliver more dog parks, establish a new wildlife hospital and support animal welfare organisations.

Applications for Round 11 of Grants are open until 9 December 2023.

To apply, visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au.

The Victorian Government is helping Victorians find a puppy from a reputable breeder, ensuring the highest animal welfare standards for their new best friend.

Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence recently launched the new Commercial Dog Breeder logo which will be displayed by approved commercial dog breeding businesses in Victoria.

Potential dog owners looking to buy from a commercial dog breeder in Victoria should look for the new logo, which signifies the business is compliant with standard of care requirements – giving Victorians certainty that they are dealing with a legitimate commercial dog breeder.

The logo is a key element of the government’s reforms on dog breeding and pet shop industries to better regulate the sale of dogs and cats. 

Victorian dog breeders with more than 10 fertile female dogs are required to apply for commercial dog breeder approval and the new logo will help to give customers renewed confidence that their puppies are ethically sourced.

The welfare of our animals and wildlife remains a priority for the Victorian Government, receiving $18.5 million in the Victorian Budget 2023/24.

This includes $7 million towards the Animal Welfare Fund grants program, recognising the role companion animals play in the lives of Victorians.

For more information on the new Commercial Dog Breeders logo visit animalwelfare.vic.gov.au.

A significant leap forward has been taken that will help keep Victoria’s abalone, a marine snail, safe and healthy.

A comprehensive new Code of Practice, that has been developed in close consultation with industry stakeholders, is a milestone initiative poised to ensure the safety and sustainability of Victoria’s abalone populations.

'This Code of Practice, a collaborative effort with key industry players who catch, process and grow abalone, represents a significant enhancement of biosecurity measures in place for Victoria’s abalone industry,' Agriculture Victoria Principal Veterinary Officer, Aquatic Animal Health Dr Tracey Bradley said.

'This important initiative represents a crucial step toward securing the wellbeing and future of our abalone population.'

The primary goal of the Code is to minimise the risk of outbreaks and the spread of abalone viral ganglioneuritis (AVG), a viral disease that affects the nervous system and can lead to weakness and death of abalone.

This objective will be achieved through the adoption of standardised operating procedures across the industry.

AVG presents a significant threat to both wild and farmed abalone populations, underscoring the urgency of effective control measures.

The virus first made its appearance in southern Victoria in late 2005, without previously being recorded in Australia. During that time, it was declared a notifiable disease under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994.

'It’s imperative that we do everything possible to protect our abalone from this disease,' Dr Bradley said.

'Given the recent incidents of AVG affecting abalone in the Portland area, it’s more important than ever to prioritise collaboration across the industry.

'The Code of Practice provides clear guidelines and procedures to prevent the devastating impact of AVG.

The virus can spread through water but is fragile and doesn’t last long outside of a host.

It is essential for everyone involved in catching, growing, or processing abalones to adhere to the Code of Practice.

For more information, visit: Abalone Disease

Traceability can help reduce food waste along the supply chain, ensuring fresh produce arrives at the end of its journey in top condition.  

In this episode, Luke Wood from Escavox discusses the tech used to follow food around the globe and how traceability can transform export businesses.

🎧🎧 Listen online via the AgVic website: agriculture.vic.gov.au/AgVicTalk

Will emergency services know where to come in the event of a fire?

As part of your fire season planning, make sure roadside numbers are visible, vegetation around gates, culverts and bridges has been cleared, and gates are wide enough and easy to open.

Check out the tips on developing your farm map in our Fire Preparedness Toolkit.

Find and use our Farm Fire Preparedness Toolkit here.

If you missed the Barley loose smut seasonal update for Vic and WA last month, you can watch the webinar at your leisure here.

Hear cereal grain pathologists Hari Dadu and Andrea Hill present on key topics including:
➡️ why has 2023 has had higher levels of loose smut compared to other years?
➡️ what is the carryover risk?
➡️ what is the best management strategy?

Victoria’s top MSA producers announced

Some of Victoria’s tastiest beef has been recognised in the 2023 Meat Standards Australia (MSA) Excellence in Eating Quality Awards, by Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA).

Read the media release in full here.

Biosecurity matters for contractors

As the winter crop ripens rapidly in the southern state’s grain belt, thoughts of managing the harvest are front of mind for grain growers.

Read the media release in full here.

Prevent parasite impacts on your pig herd health

Agriculture Victoria has found roundworm (Ascaris suum) in one-third of pig herds tested as part of a free new animal health program.

Click here for more information.

Farm biosecurity simplified with new animations

Victorian livestock owners can brush up on their farm biosecurity knowledge using a series of easy-to-follow animations.

The 5 animations can be viewed on the Agriculture Victoria YouTube channel, the Agriculture Victoria website, social media feeds and online training resources and webinars.

New resources for grain farmers as dry finish looms

Victorian grain growers have a suite of new resources to help them prepare for, and deal with the effects of late frosts and a potential dry finish to the growing season.

Read the media release in full here.

Nominations for the 2023/2024 State and Territory Landcare Awards

Now in its 32nd year, the State and Territory Landcare Awards stand as a prestigious biennial national Landcare Awards program.

Find out more from the Landcare Australia website.

Nominations close Friday 1 March 2024.

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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.

REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THIS YEAR’S MLA UPDATES ON NOV 23 IN BENDIGO

The MLA Updates are coming to Victoria and will be on in Bendigo on November 23.

The MLA Updates is working around an umbrella theme of Sustainability from Paddock to Plate.

The day-long event will showcase solutions and technologies which embrace sustainability and help set Australia’s red meat and livestock industries up for success.

To register please click on this link.

This year’s venue is the Fosterville Gold Exhibition Centre at the Bendigo Showgrounds.

MLA’s AGM will also be held from 3:30pm onsite at the showgrounds.

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