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Wool growers’ kind donations
Dung beetle workshops staged across the region
TWO dung beetle workshops to be held next week will provide free knowledge and free dung beetles for locals around Wairewa and Bairnsdale. The Wairewa event starts at 10am at the hall on Wednesday, June 29, where participants will learn how to live capture dung beetles, identify them and also relocate them to another farm. On hand will be dung beetle expert, Dr Russ Barrow, from Charles Sturt University (CSU). The following day, June 30, at the Gippsland Research Farm on Bengworden Road, participants will learn about dung beetles with Dr Barrow and the impact of worms on the soil with Rick Blackshaw from 10am to 1pm. The day also includes lunch. TopSoils’ Nat Jenkins said trap kits would be available for participants to take home, as well as some winter beetles and a freshly released identification guide specific to East Gippsland species. “We’ve worked on a two-year research project with Southern Farming Systems and CSU and we’ve identified a large area of East Gippsland that does not have winter active dung beetles,” Ms Jenkins said. “Dung beetles are such fantastic little critters, it’s very exciting that we can bring Dr Barrow to teach people how to trap and relocate them.” People also have the opportunity to see the impacts of burying compost and manure on worm populations at the Gippsland Research Farm.
Gippsland Agricultural Group’s Rick Blackshaw will show participants the worm populations in the paddock where the soil amelioration trial is taking place. Mr Blackshaw said he had been amazed at the worm populations in the heavier application sections. The trial paddock is divided into four plots, consisting of a control area, a five-tonne/ha chicken litter application, a 10t/ha chicken litter application and a 10t/ha compost application. “I did a worm count recently and in the control area there were two or three worms, in the 5t/ha there were five to seven worms and in the 10t/ha plots there were 17 to 19 worms,” Mr Blackshaw said. “I would have expected a large difference in the results in say one to two years’ time but it’s really only been a matter of months. “Worms help with the soil’s biology, they also aerate and open it up, which increases water absorption and retention.” He said a nice young crop of barley was growing across the paddock and he was looking forward to what the worms may mean for yield potential above the ground. “The barley should have some really good comparisons,” he said. Interested participants should contact Natalie Jenkins through Southern Farming Systems or Landcare’s TopSoils project.
Gippsland wool growers have again shown their generosity and care for the community by donating 340kg of some of the country’s finest wool. Photo: Contributed
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the helicopters have reported to me that they have just had the blood transport bags in the choppers updated to a higher level and a data system to monitor the blood installed due to our previous donation which will greatly assist with patient care. These are the type of things that our donations go towards.”
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GIPPSLAND wool growers have again shown both their generosity and their care for community by donating a total of 340kg of the country’s finest wool. The donations were made to support Air Ambulance Victoria, who do such a great job of saving lives in the far-flung parts of Victoria, especially East Gippsland. This initiative which started eight years ago, has been part of the wool display at the Omeo Show, but in this time of COVID there was no show last year to facilitate the collection of the wool. That turned out to be no impediment, as the show committee led by Belinda Smith and supported by local wool growers, still managed to collect and package the wool and get it to sale. That sale, which was held earlier this month, turned out to be a record with a total of $16,056 being achieved at the sale held by Elders. The sale was again well supported by the wool buyers in the auction room who again demonstrated their care for community by bidding well in excess of the true value of the wool. This has taken the total donated over seven years to $86,500. Modiano Australia, with Lou Morsch buying, bid a whopping 6000 cents per kg for the first bale. Modiano has supported this auction every year, an effort the sale organisers said they appreciated very much. Endeavour Wool’s Mark Fayle bid 3600 cents per kg for the second bale and this support was very much appreciated. Strong bidding from Brendan Millar of Tech Wool who was the underbidder also assisted in making this auction as successful as it was. “We at Elders very much appreciate the opportunity to assist in making this happen,” Elders district wool manager Mal Nicholls said. “The paramedics who do such a great job from
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Times-Spectator, Tuesday, 21 June, 2022 – Page 21
