• Foot-and-mouth information
• Developing a biosecurity plan for your farm
• Don't feed swill to pigs
• BeeMAX the easy way to meet record-keeping obligations
• Keeping your hives healthy
• Producers implementing collaborative predator management to lift lamb survival
• Aquariums selling State prohibited water weeds online
• New round of grants for Victorian agricultural shows
• Report illegal spotlighting
• AgVic Talk – crucial seasonal workers
• 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 call136 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 (FMD). 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.

Have you heard the buzz? It’s all about BeeMAX.

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
• movement of bees and equipment
• biosecurity training completed.

Learn more here.

Visit BeeMAX here.

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

Caption: From left Dr Matt Mahoney, Agridome Consulting, and Goughs Bay landholder Paul Diamond

Mansfield's Less Predators More Lambs Group presented their findings of the first year of the project at a field day at Mansfield to members of the Goulburn Murray Best Wool/Best Lamb Group.

The Mansfield group takes in eight winter and spring lambing Merino and first-cross enterprises in the Mansfield, Goughs Bay, Merrijig, Barwite, Bonnie Doon and Merton areas.

Funded by Meat and Livestock Australia, the producer demonstration site is supported in partnership with Greg Mifsud, National Wild Dog Management Coordinator, and Lucy-Anne Cobby, Australian Wool Innovation Community Wild Dog Control Coordinator.

Project coordinator Dr Matthew Mahoney, Agridome Consultancy, said the area included areas of high wild dog activity.

He said the aim of the project was to improve lamb survival within participating flocks and demonstrate best practice in sheep management practices and predator control.

“We wanted to tick all the boxes for other reasons we would be losing lambs, including blood testing flocks to determine if campylobacter (an infectious disease) was a problem, uniform management using Lifetime Ewe Management principles and implementing a sound baiting program,” Dr Mahoney said.

“Producers began baiting six weeks prior to their lambing dates to create a predator free buffer zone around the lambing paddocks. This was required because the eight properties weren’t neighbouring one another, therefore reinfestation of predators from non-participating properties had to be addressed.

“Each property has a predator management program to record the number of baits and tools used, of which an integral part was use of the FeralScan app which GPS mapped the bait sites and logged sightings and control measures for our private group.”

In the first year, 6110 ewes and 9484 foetuses were monitored under the project.

Dr Anna Manning, Delatite Veterinarian, carried out 44 lamb post-mortems with the dead lambs randomly collected during monitoring rounds by the producers.

Of these 18 per cent were found to have been killed by primary predation with a 50 per cent split between single and twin born lambs – although a small subset, it appeared there was no differentiation by predators on birth rank.

A total of 43 per cent of lamb post-mortems were found to have died of from starvation or mismothering with 74 per cent of those from twin lambing ewes.

Fourteen per cent were found to have died from an undiagnosed infection, goitre or intestinal torsion while 25 per cent were found to have died from dystocia.

Dr Matt Mahoney said lamb survival had increased on all properties using predator management programs compared to the previous year from two per cent up to five per cent.

“This equated to potentially an extra $42,000 income (280 lambs at $150/head) over the participating farms,” he said.

“We found if single lambs are going to be lost, it is more likely to be from a predator than other causes while multiples were at the main risk of mismothering leading to exposure/starvation.”

For more information on a working plan to manage wild dogs click here.

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.

Agriculture Victoria Incursion Controller Victoria Byrne said reports of salvinia for sale at aquarium shops and via online platforms such as Gumtree and Facebook marketplace have increased in recent months.

“Aquarium retailers could face serious legal consequences, such as large fines, if they are found to be selling State prohibited weeds.

“Salvinia and water hyacinth are both floating aquatic plants that can quickly form dense mats and completely cover the water surface.

“They can block waterways, impede irrigation, and prevent recreational activities and impact water quality, resulting in the loss of native flora and fauna.”

“It’s very important an effective eradication program be implemented as soon as an infestation is discovered to prevent linked open water systems from becoming infested,” she said.

Ms Byrne said people are often unaware of the serious problem posed by these weeds.

“It’s an offence under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 to buy, grow, sell, propagate or give away State prohibited weeds, such as salvinia and water hyacinth.”

“We want to work with people, both householders and aquarium retailers to ensure State prohibited weeds such as water hyacinth and salvinia don’t establish in Victoria,” Ms Byrne said.

If you spot salvinia or water hyacinth, please email photographs and details of the plant to: weed.spotters@agriculture.vic.gov.au and an officer will contact you to offer assistance.

For more information on State prohibited weeds visit our State prohibited weeds in Victoria page

Victorians now have the opportunity to shape the future of biosecurity as the Victorian Government works to safeguard the agriculture sector.

The government has released a discussion paper setting out key topics to guide reforms to Victoria's biosecurity legislation.

Public feedback on Victoria’s current biosecurity system is vital to ensure it remains effective, including the legislation that underpins it.

Strong and modern biosecurity laws will ensure Victoria maintains its reputation as a producer and exporter of safe and high-quality produce.

Legislative reform also provides an opportunity to develop laws that address risks, and support new ways for government, industry and the community to work together.

Combining the laws relating to animals, plants and pests currently provided across multiple pieces of legislation into a single Biosecurity Act will help make everyone’s responsibilities clear.

There is also opportunity to consider how biosecurity legislation can emphasise that biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility, and to recognise Traditional Owner rights and knowledge systems in Caring for Country.

This is the first time Victorians have had the opportunity to have their say on combining the biosecurity laws.

Feedback received will help the government understand the priorities of the public and guide the development of new policies.

The reform delivers on the government’s ambitious 10-year agriculture strategy, ensuring the sector is well-placed to guard against future risk.

Community members can complete a survey or make a submission by midnight, Sunday 9 October via engage.vic.gov.au.

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 (GMA).

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, visit https://bit.ly/3Onj2gr 

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

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

In this episode of AgVic Talk, we speak 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 🎧 

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.

Caring for and protecting Victoria’s animals

The Victorian Government is supporting Victorian pet rescue groups so more dogs and cats find their forever home.

Minister for Agriculture Gayle Tierney has announced Round 2 of the Individual Pet Rehoming Grants with $1.25 million in funding available to pet rescue organisations that provide vital rehoming services.

Eligible organisations may apply to be reimbursed for $500 per dog and $200 per cat for some rehoming costs including desexing, microchipping, vaccinations, the purchase of crates, bedding and leads, and training or rehabilitation.

READ THE FULL MEDIA RELEASE HERE.

Be alert for elevated disease risk coming into spring

Farmers are being encouraged to look out for signs of disease in field crops coming into spring and take action to minimise the impacts on their crops.

Agriculture Victoria Senior Cereal Pathologist, Dr Mark McLean said diseases in cereal and pulse crops in Victoria were observed earlier than usual this season due to the wet conditions.

“We’ve so far had reports of powdery mildew and stripe rust in wheat, Ascochyta blight in lentils and bean, and Botrytis grey mould/chocolate spot in bean, lentil and vetch.

“Given the wet conditions, and the outlook for a wetter than average couple of months ahead, growers and advisers are encouraged to inspect and monitor crops closely for diseases. Proactive disease management with fungicide is warranted under these conditions to avoid crop losses.”

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.

Exporting your premium #agrifood and #beverage products can lead to increased sales revenue and profits, lower risk and encourage innovation. But how do you know when the timing is right? How long does it take to get a product into a new market?

Register now for the upcoming Agri-food Export Essentials four-part webinar series and build your export confidence: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/export/pathways-to-export/events

Sessions will cover:

• International Business Planning and Market Entry Essentials
• Export Marketing, Freight and Logistics
• Export Documentation, Procedures and Payment
• Export Risk and Available Assistance.

Dates:

• 2 – 3.30 pm, Wednesday 28 September
• 2 – 3.30 pm, Wednesday 12 October
• 2 – 3.30 pm, Wednesday 26 October
• 2 – 3.30 pm, Wednesday 9 November.

After a two-year hiatus, Elmore Field Days 2022 is fast approaching.

Agriculture Victoria staff from various work areas, including animal health and farm management, will be at site 349 from 4 – 6 October, so come say hi!

For more information, visit the Elmore Field Days website
Dates: 4 – 6 October
Location: 48 Rosaia Road, Elmore

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