• Dry seasonal conditions
• Free financial counselling available now
• AgVic contacting land owners near Meredith and Terang
• Avian influenza information pop ups
• Applications for the Rural Women’s Network Leadership and Mentoring program closing soon
• Five key tips for silage this season
• Recording: Victoria's spring seasonal outlook
• Connecting Victorian producers to global markets
• Early weaning beef calves – pitfalls and opportunities
• Fox and wild dog bounty
• In case you missed it
• What's on

Agriculture Victoria is continuing to monitor and assess seasonal conditions with a focus on south-west Victoria and is delivering tailored services to support farmers.

The following services are available to support farmers.

Technical support, resources and events

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.

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

Upcoming technical events

For information on upcoming online and in-person technical events to manage dry seasonal conditions, check out the Agriculture Victoria events page.

Farm Household Allowance

Farmers in financial hardship may be eligible for the Commonwealth Government’s Farm Household Allowance (FHA), a fortnightly payment available for up to 4 years in a specific 10-year period.

A rural financial counsellor can help farmers to understand eligibility and apply for the FHA.

Regional Investment Corporation

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.

Click here for more information on dry seasonal conditions support.

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 will be contacting property owners located near the avian influenza affected farms in the Meredith and Terang areas to check in.

Residents in the area may be contacted via phone or text.

We will be asking if you have chickens or other livestock on the property, and about the health of the animals.

Gathering this data helps us to plan our avian influenza response and lift the quarantine measures that are in place as soon as possible.

Be aware of scams. Agriculture Victoria will not ask for financial information or credit card details.

If you have any questions or want to report sick or dead birds, please contact the VicEmergency hotline on 1800 226 226.

For more information visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianflu

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

The team will be at the Golden Plains Farmers Market on Saturday 7 September,  8:30 am – 12:30 pm.

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

All rural and regional based women working across the agriculture supply chain are encouraged to apply for the Rural Women's Network Leadership program.

This program is being delivered by LeadershipVic over two residential retreats and aims to develop and empower women as leaders and change makers in their careers and in their communities.

All study and accommodation costs to participate in the program are covered, with additional capped allowances for childcare and travel provided to those who require this support.

Applications close 2 September 2024.

Click here for more information.

By Michele Jolliffe, Agriculture Victoria

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.

Five key factors for silage this season are:  

1. Only lock up pasture that is surplus to requirements
Making silage can be an expensive exercise, so it only makes sense when pasture growth exceeds animal requirements. In a reasonable year on most farms this generally occurs in early to mid-September. 

2. Use nitrogen (N) to increase dry matter yield but cut pasture within 6 weeks of application
Once cutting is delayed beyond 6 weeks, the quality of the silage declines more rapidly than if no nitrogen is applied. This can result in large quantities of low-quality silage which is unsuitable to feed cows in the early stage of lactation.  By using rates of nitrogen up to 50 kg N/ha when there is sufficient moisture available, responses of 18 kg DM/ha for every kg N applied, 6 weeks after application can be produced.

3. Be prepared to cut pasture when the ryegrass component of the sward is just reaching early ear emergence
Ideally, the plan is to cut pasture when the ryegrass component of the sward is at early ear emergence. Due to the seasonal conditions this year, it is more likely that paddocks may be cut at a range of times. For example, when it is still vegetive or later than early ear emergence.  As a result it will be critical to ensure that the forage hits dry matter targets quickly, so it doesn’t lose quality.

4. Use tedders to increase the drying rate of cut material and so reduce the wilting period
It has been shown that the use of tedders has a beneficial effect on both final silage metabolisable energy and crude protein. The length of the wilting period will be dictated by the type of silage to be made and weather conditions. Given reasonable drying conditions material should be ready for pit silage within 48 hours and for bale silage within 72 hours.

5. Ensile material quickly and seal well
It’s important to ensure that the material being ensiled is tightly packed into either a pit or the bale and that it’s sealed promptly. The ideal dry matter of pasture for pit silage is 30%, any lower and effluent may be a problem and any higher compaction may be difficult. The dry matter percentage of bale silage should be about 45 – 50%.  At this dry matter, a reasonable fermentation should occur, and it reduces the chance of spoilage.

For more information visit the Agriculture Victoria website – www.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 Victorian Government is backing regional farmers and food and beverage businesses to increase their exports and explore new markets by partnering with the Australian Government.

Minister for Economic Growth Tim Pallas recently announced the establishment of trade managers in Barwon South West, Grampians, Loddon Mallee, Hume and Gippsland to turbocharge exports for regional Victorian businesses.

The locally-based trade managers will support new and established food and fibre businesses to enter or expand in priority export markets, while promoting the state’s food and beverage credentials internationally.

Victoria is the nation’s premier state for food and fibre, with exports increasing 7% in value in 2022-23 and reaching a record $19.6 billion – bringing the state close to achieving the government’s target of $20 billion by 2030.

Partnering with Austrade to deliver TradeStart in Victoria will provide further support for Victorian businesses in addition to the 23 Victorian Government Trade and Investment offices. TradeStart advisors provide business advice, build export capability and provide connections to international markets.

The government has provided $10 million to assist food and fibre businesses reach global markets as part of a record $45 billion investment over the past decade in projects and programs that support regional and rural Victoria.

The Victorian Government Trade and Investment international network is the largest and most effective international network of any Australian state or territory, with every dollar invested in the network returning $40 to the Victorian economy.

Nick Linden, Agriculture Victoria Livestock Development Officer

Driven by low feed availability, producers with autumn calving cows may be considering weaning calves earlier than normal.

Early weaning is an immediate way to reduce feed requirements on farm. By separating the cow and calf there is a potential reduction in daily feed intake of up to 24 %.

As an example, a 6 month pregnant cow with a 250kg calf at foot will consume in the order of 15kg of feed per day (150 MJ of energy) – if we split the cow and calf into two individual units, the dry cow could maintain herself on about 6 kg DM per day (64 MJ of energy), and the calf would be gaining 0.5kg per day consuming 5 kg DM (50 MJ of energy) per day.

The exact amount of feed required/saved will depend on the quality of the feed on offer – but the principle remains the same.

As soon as the calf is removed from the cow, she will partition energy back to her own requirements, enabling the higher quality feed to be prioritised to the calf.

Weaned calves can then become the priority mob for feeding. If you have a limited supply of high-quality feed, it doesn’t have to be processed through the cow into milk for the calf to perform.

It may be more efficient to offer it directly to the calves, without having to maintain the mature cow.

Poorer quality pasture can then be offered to the dry cows – which can result in significant savings.

While cow condition is often a key determinant of whether to early wean, calf condition is also important to consider - calves with dry, coarse coats are most likely not receiving enough milk from their mothers and may be better off having direct access to higher quality feed.

In most situations when early weaning you would aim to have calves at least 12 weeks of age or around 100kg live weight. 

However, if cow condition and survival is a significant risk, calves can be weaned as light as 80kg.  If needing to wean calves at these lighter weights, it is recommended that you seek specific advice from your veterinarian. 

If you will be supplementing calves after weaning, it’s good practice to expose the calves to the supplement prior to weaning, while still on their mums. 

This not only helps educate the weaners to what they will be eating, but also gives the rumen bacteria time to adjust to a change in diet.

It's worth remembering that weaners have specific requirements. The younger or lighter they are, the greater their protein requirement will be – as an indication, weaners are likely to need feed that is 16% crude protein.

Depending on the size of the weaners, the physical capacity of the rumen may also be an issue – so all feed needs to have a high concentration of energy.  Feed for weaners will need to be at least 11 megajoules of energy per kg DM.

If you don’t know how much protein or energy is in your feed – doing a feed test is the best way to be sure your animals are getting fed the nutrition that they need.

Aim for a calf growth rate of at least 0.6kg/day until they are heavier than 250kg. This will ensure that later growth rates are not compromised.

Weaners are highly susceptible to internal parasites. This, combined with the increased risks of parasites when cattle have been grazing short pastures – makes this year a potentially risky one for parasites.

While cattle growth rates give a good indication, a worm egg count taken 14 days after drenching is a useful way to assess the effectiveness of your drenching program.

Vaccination for clostridial diseases is also important for your weaners.

While early weaning is an option to reduce overall feed requirements and look after cow condition, it’s not for everyone. It does require more intensive management and works best for producers that have a shorter more condensed calving period.

If considering weaning calves earlier than normal, it’s well worth doing a feed budget /plan to ensure there are adequate feed and resources on hand.

If you haven’t early weaned before, consider doing it with one mob initially. Cow mobs under the most pressure may include the first calf heifers or the oldest cows – so either of these groups could be suitable candidates.

Whether early weaning or weaning at the usual time, there are lots of things to consider. What are the feed and animal health requirements? How will I wean - cold turkey separation at either ends of the farm, in the yards or along a fence line?

Whatever way you do it, it’s an important part of an animal's life and is reminiscent of the old football adage – while you don’t often win a premiership in the first quarter, you can lose one.

Weaning is a critical point to get right and set your animals up for future productivity.

Click here for more information

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.

Varroa mite detected in Victoria

Agriculture Victoria has confirmed varroa mite has been detected for the first time in Victoria at a property in Nangiloc near Mildura.

The infested hive was identified during Agriculture Victoria’s surveillance activities which are carried out each year during almond pollination.

READ THE MEDIA RELEASE IN FULL HERE

New study to benchmark crop residue emissions

A new $8 million national study is set to quantify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from crop residues, to help the Australian grains industry accurately report its carbon (C) footprint, with potential benefits for future market access and price.

READ THE ARTICLE IN FULL HERE

Avian influenza movement restrictions eased

A poultry housing requirement that has been in effect to control the spread of high pathogenicity avian influenza near Terang and Meredith was lifted for some birds from Thursday 15 August 2024.

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.

DATE: Saturday 24 August

TIME: 10 am - 3 pm

WHERE: Mount Wallace Public Hall, Mt Wallace Public Hall Reserve, 16 Mount Wallace Hall Road, Mount Wallace.

Join us at our upcoming Best Practice Serrated Tussock Seminar on August 24 at the Mt Wallace Hall to learn more about this invasive weed and how to manage it effectively.

This is a great opportunity to gain expert insights and practical knowledge to protect your land from serrated tussock. Don't miss out!

REGISTER HERE

Looking after your well-being and connecting with others is important in challenging times.

This fun, practical Take a Well-Being Break workshop brings farmers/farming families/couples in your community together to provide well-being tools and information, connect and share ideas, and to identify practical strategies you can immediately implement to positively impact your well-being.

Give yourself the time and space to bring some calm to the chaos and focus on YOU!

Cost is $20 per farmer/farming couple/farming family.

This is an alcohol free event.

DATE: Friday 30  August

TIME: 9 am - 1 pm

WHERE: Soldiers Memorial Hall, 26 Shaw Street, Mortlake.

REGISTER HERE

Agriculture Victoria is partnering with Integrity Systems Company to host a webinar for Victorian livestock producers covering Livestock Production Assurance, NLIS and sheep and goat eID later this month.

The webinar, which will be held on Tuesday 27 August, will bring producers up to speed on the latest developments in key ISC programs, with all registrants to receive the webinar recording and information pack.

Producers will hear an update on LPA and watch a live demonstration on how to complete a property to property transfer on the NLIS. 

The webinar is ideal for anyone handling livestock, including farm owners, managers, overseers, hobby farmers, small farmers, farm hands and agricultural teachers. 

Register here for the webinar.

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.

Agriculture Victoria, in partnership with Cumbre Consultants, is inviting you to join other farmers in a free online short course with specialists on the following topics:

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

Course details:

• Wednesday 28 August, 11 am to 2 pm
• Monday 2 September, 11 am to 2 pm
• Friday 6 September, 11 am to 2 pm
• Monday 9 September, 11 am to 2 pm
• Monday 30 September, 12 to 2 pm.

Location:  Register online today.

Visit the Agriculture Victoria website  for all the program details.

The BCG Main Field Day is on Wednesday 11 September.

Agriculture Victoria's Audrey Delahunty will be presenting.

The event offers growers and advisors the latest in local agronomic research including disease management, new varieties, new herbicide technology, nutrition and farming systems.

Entry is free for BCG members.

Register and find out more from the BCG website.

DATE: Tuesday 17 September

TIME: 9:30 am registration and morning tea 10 am  - 3 pm

WHERE: Mortlake Soldiers Memorial Hall, Shaw Street, Mortlake.
 

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

RSVP by Thursday 12 September.

Western Victorian Angus Region and Agriculture Victoria invite you to a free farm business succession planning workshop with Dr Mike Stephens agricultural consultant and Director of Meridian and James Castley Principal at Sinclair Wilson.

You will leave the workshop with new skills and strategies to achieve a successful succession plan.

Reminder - if you attend the workshop, you are eligible for free a one-on-one chat with a farm business consultant.  If you have any questions email Kate McCue or call on 0407 099 793

DATE: 17 and 18 September

TIME: 8:30 am - 3 pm

LOCATION: Skipton Golf and Bowls Club, 26 Rokewood–Skipton Road, Skipton.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

PRESENTER: Dr Kate Burke

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

Kate will share an evidence-based approach to elevate your farming skills in the face of various seasonal conditions and other situations that affect farm performance.

Topics include:

• key profit drivers and high-level benchmarks
• income vs cost of production and impact of rotation
• calculating basic financial benchmarks
• understanding your personal appetite for risk
• understanding your production potential to assess variation in profit
• managing climate variability and farm financial performance
• scenario planning for the 2024 and 2025 seasons and beyond.

This event is free.

Participants who complete the 2-day course and business plans will be eligible for a free, 45–90 minute one-on-one planning review with Kate Burke.

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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