• Avian influenza restrictions eased
• Facing tough conditions? Don’t go through it alone
• Free financial counselling available now
• Avian influenza information pop ups
• Tools available to assess dam water levels
• The Fast Break - out now!
• Cat desexing grants to press paws on unwanted litters
• Recording: Victoria's spring seasonal outlook
• Itching to scratch lice and ringworm in cattle
• Dry seasons webinar recordings available here
• West Wimmera farmer gets $10,000 with conviction for cruelty to livestock
• Fox and wild dog bounty
• In case you missed it
• What's on

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.

From Thursday, 12 September 2024:

• the restricted areas around Meredith and Terang have been removed and replaced with control areas
• the newly designated control areas are the same size as the former restricted areas
• the housing requirement in the newly designated control areas has been lifted, meaning birds no longer need to remain inside enclosures.

Permits for moving birds, poultry products, and equipment are still required for premises within control areas.

Permits are not required for vehicles transporting poultry feed in the control areas as long as they meet biosecurity requirements.

Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer Graeme Cooke emphasised the continued importance of cooperating to manage the outbreak.

‘Our efforts to monitor disease continue, with staff visiting properties and testing birds in the control areas,’ he said.

‘As we continue to carry out ‘proof of freedom’ testing, we’re confident that this testing will not find any positive cases of high pathogenicity avian influenza, proving to the world that our flocks are safe.’

‘The collective actions of impacted property owners have been critical in enabling this easing of restrictions. We thank the poultry industry and property owners for their ongoing support and cooperation during this outbreak.’

Poultry farmers, backyard flock and bird owners are urged to continue to be vigilant and report any cases of unexplained bird deaths to the VicEmergency Hotline on 1800 226 226.

A list of resources and contact details for industry and individual support, including technical, financial and mental health information, support and services, is available in our resource directory.

More information, including movement permits, maps, and compensation details are available online at agriculture.vic.gov.au/avianinfluenza.

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. 

• Sunday 29 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

Agriculture Victoria has a range of online tools available to assist farmers in assessing the volume of water in their dams and how long that water may last.

Agriculture Victoria Land Management Extension Officer Clem Sturmfels said assessing how much water there is in a dam can be difficult due to a dam’s odd shape and formulas used to measure their volume.

‘Farm dams generally hold less water than expected and in a dry year, it’s important farmers have a good understanding of how much water is left in their dams and plan accordingly.

‘The volume of a dam is closely related to its length and width. A stable, well-built dam has gently sloping sides which nearly meet in the middle of the dam’s base.

‘For example, a rectangular dam measuring 33m by 22m has a depth of approximately 3m and volume of approximately 1 million litres or 1 megalitre.

A triangular shaped dam with similar measurements has a volume of approximately half this amount.

‘Evaporation will cause a loss of around 60% of this volume leaving the dam with enough water to carry approximately 200 sheep or 20 cattle for one year.

‘Many dams rely on a regular top-up of water during autumn or spring, however this year has seen dry seasonal conditions, making the chance of a top up less likely due to depleted soil moisture and less runoff,’ Mr Sturmfels said.

Agriculture Victoria has several tools to help farmers calculate dam volumes based on shape, length, width and depth, including the Farm Water Calculator and the Summer Water Calculator.

The Summer Water Calculator also helps to calculate how long the remaining water may last.

The depth of a dam can be measured using a depth sounder or fishing line measuring device.

A ‘how to’ video for making and using the fishing line measuring device can be accessed on the Agriculture Victoria website: Measuring the depth of your dam.

Information on preparing your farm for dry seasonal conditions can be found on the Agriculture Victoria website.

The latest The Fast Break newsletter is now available. 

This newsletter details oceanic and atmospheric climate driver activity over the last month and summarises three-month model predictions for the Pacific and Indian oceans, rainfall and temperature for Victoria.

To subscribe or to view the latest issue click here.

The Victorian Government is supporting vulnerable cat owners and addressing cat over-population by providing grants to local councils to partner with animal rescue shelters to increase cat desexing rates.

Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence recently visited Second Chance Animal Rescue in Craigieburn to announce 14 councils will share in $300,000 to deliver targeted cat desexing programs within their communities.

Hume City Council will receive a $25,000 grant to partner with two vet clinics, including Second Chance Animal Rescue to desex around 80 cats.

This will lead to fewer unwanted litters and reduce the number of cats in animal shelters or requiring euthanasia in the long-term.

The council-run desexing programs will support people who care for semi-owned and unowned cats and help them take full ownership of these cats.

By providing free desexing, microchipping, and in some cases free registration for the first year, these people are encouraged to become registered and committed owners.

The program will also provide free and low-cost desexing services to cats owned by Victorians who may be experiencing financial hardship in the identified target areas.

Cat management is a significant and complex challenge in Victoria with more than 227,000 registered cats and a substantial number of unregistered, unowned, or feral cats in our urban and natural environments.

Although 95% of registered cats are desexed by the age of 2, cats can have multiple litters in this time.

The program specifically targets semi-owned cats and addresses problem cat populations, as well as cats often overlooked by desexing programs.

The government invested $1.3 million from the Victorian Budget 2022/23 for 3 cat management initiatives, the state’s first long-term Cat Management Strategy will be released later in 2024.

For a full list of council grant recipients visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/livestock-and-animals.

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

Dr Jeff Cave, Agriculture Victoria Senior Veterinary Officer

Have you ever wondered why some poor and under-condition young cattle coats look so rough at this time of year?

It could be due to lice or ringworm, which both thrive under similar circumstances.

Both lice and ringworm are typically a greater problem in young cattle, typically in either poor nutrition or those with a compromised immune system.

Neither are a significant problem to cattle in good health.

Lice are small sucking or biting insects found most commonly around the head, neck and shoulder area, and along the back to the tail.

The irritation they cause lead to a rough scruffy appearance, and areas of skin rubbed raw particularly around the neck and shoulders.

The main effect of lice is skin damage as well as reduced ability or focus to graze.

Cattle are infested through animal-to-animal contact with other cattle from which the population of lice can build up rapidly.

Cattle lice do not infest other animals.

The cattle’s denser winter coat along with cooler weather favours the lice’s survival.

Without treatment the problem will remain until spring, when increasing temperatures and day lengths along with improved nutrition naturally reduce lice numbers.

Ringworm is a transmissible infectious skin disease caused by a spore forming fungi.

It too is spread by direct contact and can spread rapidly through a group of cattle, particularly in poorly growing young animals with underlying poor health or nutrition.

It causes grey-white areas of slightly raised skin with an ash like surface.

It can become widespread being seen predominantly around the eyes, ears and back of calves, and the chest and legs of adult cattle.

It causes little permanent damage or economic loss, however, can be transmitted to humans.

Ringworm usually clears up within 1 to 2 months without any treatment particularly when conditions improve.

For further information please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officer.

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.

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

In July 2022, in response to a complaint Agriculture Victoria officers visited a property at Patyah, near Edenhope in the Wimmera, and were faced with over 100 deceased sheep which had died within the last 1-2 weeks.

The farmer, Norbert Wende, was the owner and manager of 440 sheep which were split into 2 mobs on a property in Patyah. 

The pasture was short and there was no supplementary feed. The sheep were in an emaciated condition, suffering from parasitic burdens and bottle jaw.

The Magistrate considered the plea of guilty, the absence of a criminal history, and Mr Wende’s co-operation with Agriculture Victoria officers, plus the taking of remedial action and there having been no further offending since 2022. 

The Magistrate also commented this was a serious case of neglect for which a conviction was warranted. 

Agriculture Victoria Acting Compliance Manager Penny Lucas said the weight of the fine with conviction sends a very clear message to livestock producers that animal cruelty will not be tolerated by the Victorian Government or our community.

‘Apart from the obvious pain and suffering of the animals, animal welfare breaches can jeopardise Victoria’s reputation as a humane and responsible producer of food, which can, in turn, affect all producers. 

Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint regarding livestock welfare can contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or aw.complaint@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.

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:

• Thursday 19 September, 11 am to 2 pm - Business success
• 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.

In a time when mental health challenges in the farming community are high, the Wellbeing team at Rural Financial Counselling Service (RFCS) Victoria West have developed Talk the Talk, a workshop specifically designed for rural suppliers and service providers to make it easier to talk to farmers about their mental health. 

The full program is designed by accredited mental health practitioners who have been working face to face with farmers in the south-west region.

Talk the Talk teaches participants about mental health observation skills and strategies, while providing easy to use communication techniques.

The sessions are practical and allow participants to know how to help the person in front of them experiencing a mental health challenge and how to take next steps for more support.

Talk the Talk Camperdown

DATE: Friday 13 September
WHERE: Camperdown, Killara Centre
TIME: 9 am - 12 pm

REGISTER HERE

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.

DATE: September 18

TIME: 12 – 1 pm

FREE WEBINAR - REGISTER HERE

Come along to a free RIC webinar to learn more about how RIC’s low-cost Farm Investment Loan can help support farm businesses to rebuild and recover after external shocks that cause severe business disruption.

Did you know that the Australian Government has concessional loans for eligible farmers going through challenging times?

RIC (Regional Investment Corporation) is the Australian Government’s specialist farm business lender providing low-cost loans to farmer businesses in financial need to assist them to recover, rebuild and prepare for the future.

One of RIC’s loans, the Farm Investment Loan, provides up to $2 million over a 10-year term with the first five years interest only, then principal and interest for the next five years. The current variable interest rate is 5.18 per cent and there are no fees to apply, make extra repayments, or for early loan repayments.

To be eligible, farm businesses must show that their underlying business is solid, but that they need help to recover following an unforeseen event that has financially impacted their business, like drought or other natural disasters, disease outbreaks, or pest and weed incursions.

With increasingly dry conditions in parts of Victoria and various other weather and biosecurity events, impacting the State in recent times, a RIC loan could be an option to provide much needed financial relief to help farmers get back on their feet.

For more on the Farm Investment Loan visit www.ric.gov.au/farm-investment

DATE: Wednesday 18 September 
TIME: 10 am – 12 pm
WHERE: The Colac Central Hotel, 10 Murray Street, Colac.

REGISTER ONLINE HERE

Join BetterBeef Project Leader Darren Hickey from Agriculture Victoria for an information session about starting a local BetterBeef group.

The BetterBeef Network has been established for Victorian beef producers.

The statewide network provides opportunities for beef producers to access the latest beef research messages and participate in courses that increase skills and knowledge.

The focus of the network is on increasing the profitability and sustainability of beef enterprises.

For more information contact Hannah Manning, Livestock Industry Development Officer on 0400 532 595 or email.

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.

Please note this is an outdoor event so suitable clothing is required.

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

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