AG Focus 2014 by McPherson Media Group

AG2014 A

ISSUE 6

Country News PUBLICATION

FOCUS

A focus on innovation and outlooks in north and central Victoria and the southern Riverina

The side-kicks who lend a hand p32 INSIDE: Boort growers take control p15 Heritage breeds going strong p20 Food processors launch big investments p10

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IN FOCUS Victorian Farmers Federation president – Peter Tuohey

Getting farmers what they want With a state election looming, the big issues for the Victorian Farmers Federation during the next six months will be ensuring the state’s farmers get what they need to remain competitive and world class. We’ve already seen the Victorian Government commit $220 million to standardising the Murray Basin rail project in its budget proposal should it be re-elected. This has been our number one election commitment and will boost our ability to more efficiently get food and fibre to local and export markets. But our biggest concern remains the Port of Melbourne. As the VFF has argued, it’s not like we can easily afford to divert our lamb, wine, dairy and other food exports to Adelaide, Sydney or Brisbane. The reality is the port has a monopoly on the bulk of our container exports. Then there’s the matter of where the revenue from the sale of the lease goes. The reality is the Victorian Government is set to gain about $6 billion from selling the lease on the Port of Melbourne. Labor wants to spend a big chunk of the proceeds getting rid of Melbourne’s 50 worst level crossings. The Coalition wants to put the money into the East-West Link. Neither side of politics has made much mention of how the lease revenue will be spent in regional Victoria. The VFF is demanding most of the funds be spent on building

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the rural infrastructure we need to be global leaders in food production and processing. We’re reminding the Coalition and Labor that the Port of Melbourne was built on the back of rural exports. The state election will be one the big topics at the VFF Conference in June. And it’s important that members show up and have their say. It is the members of the VFF that will guide our lobbying efforts for the next six months in the lead-up to November. The VFF Conference this year will firmly focus on our future. “Trade, investment and opportunities for the future” will be the over-arching theme of the conference. We will ask the questions: who are our future consumers, investors and farmers? How do we as farmers need to change and adapt to meet emerging new markets? And the next generation of farmers and agribusiness professionals will remain a key focus of the VFF. Our Young Agribusiness Professionals team will continue kicking goals — offering new opportunities for young farmers such as the upcoming super trade mission to Asia, the North Australian Pastoral Company scholarship for beef producers and the provision of networking and educational events. Agriculture is our future. Our competitive advantages are in what lies beneath the ground and what grows on it.

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The Country News circulation area

Inglewood

Berrigan Tocumwal

Broadford

Mansfield

CONTENTS

DAIRY

HORTICULTURE

CROPPING

MAN’S BEST FRIEND

SHEEP

LIVESTOCK

WOOL

CIDERS

VITICULTURE

WATER

From page 6

Page 30

Cover photograph: Goorambat farmer Tom Marriott and Kelly.

Editor Geoff Adams Writers Cathy Walker Sophie Bruns Laura Griffin Alexandra Bathman

From page 12

Page 3

Photographers Ray Sizer Julie Mercer Simon Bingham Bianca Mibus Editorial designer Brendan Cain Sub-editors Shepparton News sub-editing department

Page 18

From page 34

Advertising Jamie Gilbert Ashton Still Riverine Herald Advertising support Rhiannon Nicholas Graphic artists Brendan Cain Riverine Herald

A publication of the McPherson Media Group weekly newspaper, Country News, which circulates in 17 newspapers across central and northern Victoria and the southern Riverina. Editorial: (03) 5820 3229. Advertising: (03) 5820 3184.

From page 20

Page 24

From page 41

From page 47

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DAIRY

Milking profits for all they’re worth The Fletcher family parents Bluey and Karen (in red) with son Leigh and Sacha and their two children Jaspar and Oskar are hoping developments they have carried out on the farm over the last 18 months will set them up for a solid future.

eigh Fletcher is hoping to create a more sustainable and profitable dairy farm business after completing a number of large scale developments during the past 18 months, which include a dairy renovation, lasering and modernisation of existing irrigation infrastructure. Leigh returned home to the farm 18 months ago because he was looking for a job that would create a bit more family time and his parents were looking to scale back — it has been a decision that has benefitted everyone. Leigh and his partner Sacha and their two children Jaspar and Oskar have settled well into farm life at Cohuna. “Working with Mum and Dad is interesting and we have had a few disagreements, but we do try to keep things business-like and have regular meetings to keep each other informed. We have

had a couple of major projects on the go and now the majority of them are completed, things should be a bit easier,” Leigh said. Renovating the dairy from a 10 double up to a 19 swing over with ADF, stall gates and cup removers will enable the business to expand herd numbers during the next few years and because the shed has been designed as a one man operation, relief milkers can be used to ease the work load. “I am looking to expand our business because I believe there is some real potential for the industry especially with developments in the Asian market and I am hoping these works we have done will really set us up and support a 300–350 cow herd,” Leigh said. Installing a pipe and riser system to 40 ha will help the farm produce more home grown fodder, which Leigh firmly believes is the key to future

ood reasons to Four good reasons geFour togood ADF reasons to to

sustainability. The opportunity to lease a nearby property and sow an additional 45 ha of lucerne also helps the business with this objective. “We have increased our debt load with the works we have completed so leasing a nearby block enables us to grow more grass without increasing capital costs. I think being as self sufficient as you possibly can helps create a sustainable business into the future,” he said. Leigh has also employed the services of a nutrionist to help with pasture management and animal husbandry while a full-time labor unit is used to help get the physical jobs done. The split calving herd is a mix of Holstein, jersey and cross breeds and numbers are currently sitting at about 240. Leigh is expecting it to take about five years to get the farm to where he wants it to be, but he is confident of the opportunities ahead.

Four good reasons to

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alth and longevity

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g.com or call 1800 233 283 visit ADFmilking.com 4 Saves time and money or call 1800 233 283 healthy profit Healthy cows, healthy profit

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DAIRY

D airy farmers are investing in their future W

hile the 2013–14 milk production season had a somewhat bumbling start due to dry conditions, weather factors have improved significantly during the early months of this year, with plentiful rainfall in south-eastern parts of Australia boosting milk flows. More favourable milk prices this year are also supportive of production and producers’ farm-gate returns. In April, Australian milk production exceeded the level at the same time last year by 5.6 per cent, the largest positive gap for this season so far, which sees season-to-date production deficit narrowing to a whisker away from closing the gap. Global dairy prices have been retreating since February after a record duration of gravity-defying movements, a correction that has been widely anticipated by market participants as Northern Hemisphere supplies react to strong price signals, further aided by favourable weather conditions. We think that this downward trend is likely to persist for a while longer, but demand from buyers who were previously priced out appears to be returning to the market and this will prevent prices from falling too far. Across Victoria and Tasmania dairy farmers are overall still cautious but are moving towards a positive outlook as prices firm and remain sustained, and improved seasonal conditions occur.

We are now seeing capital expenditure and smaller expansions; this is generally around vehicle or machinery upgrades and increases in cow numbers. The dairy companies are all very competitive for milk supply, further driving confidence. At a local level we are seeing sentiment as mirrored in the Dairy Australia Situation and Outlook Report with confidence and optimism very high and greatly increased milk production. Dairy farmers are advising us their profitability has returned to solid levels and they are using this to repay debt and creditors accumulated from previous periods. Many dairy farmers are also now making those long awaited investments on their farms, including machinery and equipment, as well as upgrades to farm infrastructure. There is also mounting evidence that operating dairy farm properties are selling across the Goulburn Valley region which allows both vendors and buyers to achieve their goals. The positive signals from dairy companies are also allowing customers to make investment decisions with confidence although rising input costs are always discussed and are a concern for most farmers. NAB agribusiness is optimistic about the longterm dairy future and encourages all clients to discuss current and future plans with their local NAB agribusiness manager so we can

Don’t cry over spoilt milk!

Dave Davies assist them to put the plan in place so they can achieve their goals for the coming seasons. by Dave Davies Regional Agribusiness Manager Central Vic Agribusiness National Australia Bank

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AGFOCUS 2014

DAIRY

Confidence at highest level in past decade M urray Dairy farmers are more confident about the future of their businesses than at any time in the past 10 years, according to the National Dairy Farmer Survey published by Dairy Australia as part of this year’s Situation and Outlook Update Report. The report also found that the Murray Dairy region provides 25 per cent of the national milk production. Commercial and research analysis manager Norman Repacholi said rises in farm-gate milk prices and improved profitability had doubled positive farmer sentiment to the highest level since 2004, with 83 per cent positive about their business this year compared to 48 per cent last year. “Murray Dairy farmers are reaping the benefits of high international commodity prices brought about by the Asian dairy boom and they are likely more than any other dairy region to be in an expansion phase,” Mr Repacholi said. “The survey shows that 69 per cent of Murray Dairy farmers made a profit in 2012–13 and 87 per cent expect to make a profit this year: 68 per cent of those expect to receive higher profits than their five-year average.”

AGFOCUS 2014

“Murray Dairy farmers are reaping the benefits of high international commodity prices brought about by the Asian dairy boom and they are likely more than any other dairy region to be in an expansion phase.” Norman Repacholi

The survey reveals that 59 per cent of Murray Dairy farmers intend to invest in their business in the coming year and that milk production is anticipated to increase 7.5 per cent. While low farm-gate milk prices are still a concern for Murray Dairy farmers, irrigation,high input costs and the fear of future climatic challenges loom even larger for most of those interviewed. Dairy Australia’s initial forecast for 2014–15 is for national volumes to reach 9.3 to 9.4 billion litres, an increase of around two per cent on the expected 2013–14 season total. The NDFS was released as part of Dairy

Murray Dairy: Key facts Positive about industry future

83%

Made operating profit 2012–13

69%

Anticipating operating profit 2013–14

87%

Made capital investment 2012–13

58%

Planning capital investment 2013–14

59%

Forecast net change in herd 2013–14

+8.2%

Forecast net change in production 2013–14

+7.5%

Milk production 2013–14 (million litres)

2266

Share of national production

25%

Australia’s annual Situation and Outlook report. A total of 1000 farmers were surveyed across Australia in February this year for the annual NDFS. The survey examined farmer attitudes and intentions and interviewed 190 dairy farmers in Murray Dairy.

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INDUSTRY

Business is booming for food processors

Victorian Deputy Premier Peter Ryan told Campbell’s Soup workers the government was delighted to see enterprises flourish and said “people like you make that possible”.

When Coca-Cola Amatil announced it was spending $78 million on its SPC Ardmona Goulburn Valley operations, together with $22 million from the Victorian Government, it made front page news. But there have been other major manufacturing announcements during the past 12 months that have turned around an otherwise gloomy future for manufacturing in rural Australia. In SPC Ardmona’s case, the total combined $100 million package will be invested during a three-year period into efficiency measures and innovation at SPC Ardmona, the last remaining major fruit and vegetable processor in Australia. Other major announcements during the past year include: Campbell’s Soup upgrade secures jobs Campbell’s Soup has invested $5 million in a new plant and infrastructure securing the future of 250 full-time jobs at the Lemnos factory. The investment became possible when the Lemnos management team won the bid over Campbell’s Arnott’s sites internationally for the money after a facility in the United States closed. Victorian Deputy Premier Peter Ryan congratulated the team at the announcement in February and said bank managers were happy. “Everyone here has a mortgage or is paying off a car or school fees,” Mr Ryan said. “News like today’s helps make everyone rest easy.” The Victorian Government contributed $300 000 to support the new investment. Numurkah Oilseeds expansion to begin in June GrainCorp announced its $35 million investment to the oilseed factory in Numurkah as part of its $125 million national plan to improve and expand operations. 10

AGFOCUS 2014

The money will allow the plant to move past first stage canola processing to produce foodgrade products and create nine new jobs. “We are not increasing the volume of product, it’s the fact we are going further down the supply chain and increasing the value added to the product,” GrainCorp Oils general manager Sam Tainsh said. Media relations director Angus Trigg said full works were expected to start about August or September. “At the end of June we will be doing an initial relocation of two 500 m3 tanks to make space for the expanded tank farm,” Mr Trigg said. Kagome partners with local producers Echuca tomato processor Kagome announced its $21 million expansion in January. The expansion will include 20 new jobs, a wastewater treatment plant, a carrot concentrate production line and a new pouch packaging facility. Kagome Australia chief executive John Brady said the investment would create a vertically integrated company, the first affiliate of the Kagome Group worldwide to do so. “We are excited with the prospect of being paddock-to-plate capable. We harvest more than 2500 ha in Victoria and are proud to partner with local tomato growers and landowners,” Mr Brady said. The Victorian Government made a contribution to the development, but would not disclose the amount spent.

Pactum opens new factory The Pactum Dairy Group, a joint venture between milk suppliers company ACM and Freedom Foods, has opened a $45 million factory in Shepparton with the goal of reaching into the Asian consumer market. The UHT processing plant has generated 35 full-time jobs and can process up to 100 million litres of milk annually, with a target production level much higher than that in the future. Murray Goulburn $91 million investment Murray Goulburn announced a $91 million investment in its Cobram factory in May. The upgrade will allow Murray Goulburn to produce consumer ready packaged cheese for the Asian market. Managing director Gary Helou said it was part of the company’s five-year plan to rejuvenate its manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure in the key product areas of nutritional powders, cheese and liquid milk. “Customers and consumers value Australia’s food safety standards, regulations and our natural production environment. They want to buy finished goods from Australia, in addition to bulk commodities,” Mr Helou said. “The products that are driving demand are nutritional milk powders (baby/toddler formula), dairy beverages and consumer cheese.” Among these investments will be a $74 million investment to build a world class cheese cut and wrap facility at Cobram during the next 12 to 18 months.

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CROPPING

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CROPPING >> It works even better when you belong to a development group such as Riverine Plains. Not only do you get to see the results, you get to talk to the ‘neighbour’, find out the drawbacks, learn from others’ mistakes and get in on the ground floor of new technologies and techniques. Riverine Plains chairman John Bruce runs a mixed farm in the Barooga district with a significant cropping program and is a strong believer in the value of farmer-run groups. “You are always trying to improve what you are doing and looking at new trends,” he said. He points to the adoption of new technologies and recent advances that have been taken up by farmers. “Look at the auto steer and GPS devices. I remember when very few people were doing it. Now you’d be hard pressed to find a tractor without it,” he said. The Riverine Plains group employs five people and is running a range of trials and research projects designed to give farmers the edge in production and sustainability. The wind-down of farmer extension services by state governments in NSW and Victoria has added impetus to their role. “We’ve now got the ability to generate useful information and give people the heads-up on what is happening — and the information is independent,” Mr Bruce said. Mr Bruce has been on the Riverine Plains committee for five years (a passionate group, as he describes them) and was deputy chairman last year. Although his new role cuts into his farming time, he enjoys the enthusiasm of like-minded people. A former welder, he came home to the farm that has been in the family for about 40 years, and in 2003 took over its management. The mixed farm produces first-cross lambs and this year’s cropping program will include 800 ha of wheat and 240 ha of canola. The weather has been kind to grain growers in his region. “It’s a cracker of a season. The best I can remember. We’ve already had about 230 to 240 mm of rain for the year. “The five to 10 mm every five to 10 days has been spot-on.” Mr Bruce started sowing on April 5 with an early variety of wheat, and is trialling the use of liquid fertiliser and plans to apply some in the spring.

John Bruce is one of the Riverine Plains farmers hosting a trial plot.

“It’s a cracker of a season. The best I can remember. We’ve already had about 230 to 240 mm of rain for the year. John Bruce

John Bruce was sowing barley on his Barooga farm in May.

Row spacing trial

The trial plot showing grain crops emerging from different spaced rows.

Riverine Plains chairman John Bruce is hosting a trial on row spacing through the Foundation for Arable Research and the Riverine Plains. He is hoping the trial, using thee varieties of wheat and sown on April 15, will provide more information about crop yields using different row spacing. An earlier GRDC-funded project on Water Use Efficiency (WUE) run in the Riverine Plains illustrated there was a consistent yield penalty for wider row spacing with cereal crops. The work illustrated 12–13 per cent reductions in yield when moving from 22.5 cm to 37.5 cm row spacing. The trials program that established yield differences was sown in late May. Farmers remarked that when crops were

sown early in April these reductions in yield were not seen. This project looks to establish whether early sown crops produce these large differences. This trial forms part of the Riverine Plains GRDC-funded project Maintaining Profitable Farming Systems with Retained Stubble in the Riverine Plains Region. “We’re on 10 inch (24 cm), and we were on 12 inch (30 cm) with a previous machine,” Mr Bruce said. “We’ll have discussion groups around our trial sites.” Another trial site, also with wheat, is on Jamie Cummins’ farm at Yarrawonga. The trial plots, using spacings of 22, 30 and 37 cm, are to fit in with the on-farm sowing program and subsequent management, as is the surrounding paddock. AGFOCUS 2014

CROPPING

Stubble: a fiery balancing act While common wisdom says stubble burning on cropping farms went out with black and white TV, there is still a place for the practice.

If burning stubble is going out of fashion, why was the air filled with smoke in so many cropping areas this autumn? Researchers at Charles Sturt University’s Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation in a paper entitled Stubble Retention in Cropping Systems in Southern Australia have found blockages of sowing implements by stubble was the main reason given in southern and central NSW, where stubble loads were high. They found traditional sowing machinery was limited to sowing through 2–3 tonne/ha of cereal stubble. Modification of machinery combined with pre-treatment of stubble (slashing, harrowing) can enable sowing to be conducted through 4–5 tonne/ha stubble. Heavier stubble, typical of the eastern higher rainfall areas of central and southern NSW, would require the purchase of specialist machinery. Widening sowing rows in cereals, which reduces stubble blockage problems, is likely to reduce cereal yield. The Charles Sturt team estimated 20 to 49 per cent of the stubble quantity at harvest is decomposed and lost by the time of sowing

in southern Australia, compared with 57 to 84 per cent in Queensland where higher rainfall in summer would hasten decomposition of stubble. Burning stubble, rather than its retention, reduced the carryover of diseases and pests to subsequent sensitive crops. That said, the temperature in a stubble fire influenced its effectiveness in controlling some plant disease on the stubble. Conservation farming systems with stubble retention relied on herbicide use for weed control and this has led to a problem with herbicide-resistant weeds, particularly annual rye grass, wild oats and wild radish. The integrated management recommended for control of resistant weeds included a reversion to stubble burning and cultivation. There are general community perceptions that the carbon component in stubbles is lost by burning and that the process of burning stubbles — even occasionally —seriously affects the organic carbon levels of the soil. DEPI research has shown about 80 per cent of the carbon in standing stubble will

return to the atmosphere as CO2 in the short to medium term. Losses of carbon as CO2 to the atmosphere through burning are often only slightly greater than through natural decomposition, but they are immediate. More intensive cropping in Victoria has resulted in more dry matter being produced; crop biomass is leaving behind a strong legacy of root material in the soil. It is this unseen carbon in the soil in root material, unaffected by burning, that provides the greatest potential for carbon retention. Up to 30–40 per cent of plant biomass can be located below ground. Actual nutrient losses caused by burning have also been quantified. After harvest, a 3.45 tonne/ha wheat yielding crop left a residue of 5.4 tonne/ha of above-ground dry matter. A cool burning of this stubble yielded 437 kg/ha of ash, the balance being lost as smoke to the atmosphere. The nutrients lost and proportion of straw (in brackets) were nitrogen 16 kg (80 per cent), phosphorous 0.5 kg (40 per cent), potassium 17 kg (60 per cent) and sulphur 1.0 kg (50 per cent).

For all your cropping needs, call Advanced Ag We offer a range of specialised services • Advanced Ag can service all your broadacre crop needs, with access to major suppliers of chemical, fertiliser and seed. • In-field experienced agronomists can monitor crops reporting on Agworld the farm management software built for agriculture. • Recommendations are backed up with prompt on-farm delivery of all products required to grow a profitable crop.

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AGFOCUS 2014

CROPPING

Growers take control of their destiny S torage and handling of grain can be a nightmare for many crop farmers. But four years ago a group of enterprising farmers in the Boort area decided to get together and establish their own facility — the Boort Grain Co-op. The co-op has been in operation for a little more than four years and during that time has handled more than 200 000 tonnes of grain, surpassing the expectations of the members. Boort Grain Co-op chairman Neil Beattie said the co-op had been a real success story for the grower/members. “Local growers were looking for an opportunity to store and take control of their own grain without the restrictions that can be opposed by other establishments,” Mr Beattie said. Essentially members store harvested grain on site and they can choose to sell to whoever they want, whenever they want. Non-members can store grain at the facility, but they are subject to a storage fee. It cost the co-op $800 000 to get off the ground and members had the choice of paying either a $30 000 or $15 000 membership payment. Initially the site was leased, but because the first few years were so successful, the group decided to buy the property outright. “In order to develop the site further, we decided

we had to buy the site outright. It cost us $1.2 million and today with assets we estimate the value to be around $2 million. Last season we were able to pay a dividend to all the shareholders,” Mr Beattie said.

“It costs huge money to set grain storage infrastructure up on farm and the co-op model provides a real alternative for growers.” Neil Beattie The co-op plans to establish a boxing facility that will allow grain to be trucked directly from Boort in shipping containers for export, saving growers around $28/tonne in costs. They are also working on improving storage to include bean and corn storage. “It costs huge money to set grain storage infrastructure up on farm and the co-op model provides a real alternative for growers,” Mr Beattie said. “This is a great facility and it is proving to be a real asset to the community. During the peak harvest we employ around 25 local people and we always buy and support our local businesses where we can.”

Boort Grain Co-op chairman Neil Beattie was instrumental in getting the facility up and running.

More than 200000 tonnes of growerowned grain have been stored at the facility since it opened in 2011.

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CROPPING

Crop diversity equals farm security I t has been a busy 10 years for Ash Marshall since he returned home to the family farm at Normanville. The young farmer with a passion for agriculture and cropping has been busy expanding the family operation — which he runs with his fiancée Bec Hope and his semi-retired parents Alan and Jill — to include 2500 ha of mixed cropping, on dry and irrigated land. “I have always wanted to be involved in broadscale cropping. I enjoy growing crops and being involved in the industry; everyone has a passion and I guess this is mine,” Mr Marshall said. He said he didn’t do anything different to many other croppers — he has just focused on reducing risk and creating diversity in his business. As part of the risk strategy he grows seven different crops including faba beans, lentils, field peas, vetch, canola wheat and barley, all with no-till principles. “We live in a fairly reliable rainfall area and we have consistent soil types of Mallee loam throughout our properties which retain moisture well and are suited for dryland cropping,” he said. “We aim for around 1.2 tonnes of legume to the acre and 2.5 tonne of cereal, while anything we grow on irrigated land, we expect a yield well above that.” Mr Marshall follows a cropping rotation on the dry land — a legume crop such as vetch, peas or lentils is usually followed by a cereal crop. “This allows us to build up a nitrogen base in the paddock which helps us limit our synthetic fertiliser use. We are always focusing on limiting our input costs and soil health is very important to us; without good soil we have nothing,” he said. 16

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Specific crop planting can also be used as management tool for weed control and to help with soil moisture levels. For example, a paddock of vetch harvested for hay in early October will then go through a mini fallow period before the next crop goes in. This helps to retain soil moisture levels for the next crop.

“We aim for around 1.2 tonnes of legume to the acre and 2.5 tonne of cereal, while anything we grow on irrigated land, we expect a yield well above that.” Ash Marshall While Mr Marshall agreed no two seasons were ever the same, he was mindful of making the most of seasonal opportunities when they arose. This season, with 195 mm of rain since March 4, he was pretty keen to make the most of the dream start. “We have sown a few extra paddocks of canola. I never grow anything based on commodity prices. I always grow what is suited to our farm and our management systems. We try to have around 50 per cent non-cereal (mix of legume and canola) on the farm with the balance being cereal crops, he said. “Diversity in our business gives us security and looking forward I feel fairly confident in the direction we are heading.”

Ash Marshall has spent the past 10 years investing in land to grow his mixed cropping business at Normanville, between Kerang and Boort.

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SHEEP Graham and Polly Sudholz are making composite sheep work for them at Kotupna.

Story: Cathy Walker, Pictures: Simon Bingham

Science and technology prove worth the investment

clear strategy and investment in efficient infrastructure is paying dividends for composite sheep breeders Graham and Polly Sudholz at Kotupna. Their decision to go into composites a few years ago didn’t include plans to produce a “super-sized” lamb. But that’s what happened in April when one fetched $234.26 over the hooks at Cobram, weighing in at a massive 44 kg dressed. “We now sell most of our lambs direct to JBS at Cobram,” Mr Sudholz said. “That consignment averaged 28.6 kg dressed and made $171, which compares well to market prices and doesn’t involve an agent.” If anyone thought Mr Sudholz was a bit of a mad scientist experimenting with different cross-breeds, no-one

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is laughing at his high-achieving 2400-strong flock now. Mrs Sudholz, who really is a scientist, works off-farm part-time, but has done the hard yards working sheep. Look at the nuts and bolts of their composites operation and there is a definite science at play, with some rigid parameters that are adhered to when it comes to culling and retaining ewes as well as joining, weaning and condition scoring. The Sudholzes farm 450 ha plus 150 ha of lease country on loamy to clay soil. There is 100 ha of irrigation country with water pumped from Wakiti Creek in a private system that first pumps from Broken Creek. Irrigation is used for summer pasture, sub, phalaris and fescue as well as

SHEEP

An automated sheep handler installed a few years ago makes light work of back-breaking jobs such as crutching or, in this case, weighing sheep. The tag reader is above the sheep’s head and sends information back to the computer. annuals and is used in the months after lambing. want to keep twin ewe lambs,” Mr Sudholz said. Mr Sudholz had been trading lambs and had “This year we scanned 157 per cent in lamb. a small breeding flock of cross-bred ewes and The White Suffolk — Merinos drop it back a little first discovered composites when he went for a bit. But the goal is to scan in lamb at 200 per drive with an agent looking on behalf of another cent in five years.” client. “I bought a mob of East Friesian-Texel“We’re part of a Lifetime Ewe group Corriedale cross. They were big-framed, plain and regularly condition score our sheep with bare points. “They were the traits that I was looking for, as sheep and feed accordingly.” well as high fertility and milking ability. Graham Sudholz “Those ewes were joined to a Poll Dorset sire and from a mob of more than 200 lambs, one won the Royal Melbourne Show carcase Recently 2.8 per cent of the ewes scanned competition with a dressed weight of 27 kg and dry and went to market, as will the ewes that meat yield of 57 per cent.” produce singles. Now the composites ewes Mr Sudholz “If you don’t produce around here, you’ll be produces are by Texel x East Friesian rams over culled.” White Suffolk x Merino ewes with Poll Dorsets Other criteria that is strictly adhered to is used as terminal sires. joining ewe lambs at eight months, a six-week “We are gradually building to a stage we only joining period and supplementary feeding

(if needed) to make sure ewes are at Condition Score 3 and above at critical times such as joining and lactating. “We’re part of a Lifetime Ewe group and regularly condition score our sheep and feed accordingly,” said Mr Sudholz, who is also part of the Sentinel Flock project. When their business was in its infancy, the couple also had three daughters at home to help with some of the leg-work. But electronic tagging and an automated sheep handler under covered sheep yards now makes record-keeping efficient and jobs such as pregnancy testing, weaning and drafting less arduous in all weather. “It certainly makes it much more pleasant,” said Mr Sudholz, who crutched all his own sheep this year and admitted that without the sheep handler, after handling sheep that weighed up to 100 kg it was difficult to get out of bed.

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AGFOCUS 2014

WOOL

Story: Cathy Walker, Pictures: Julie Mercer

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hey say Australia grew rich on the sheep’s back. Now, some of the breeds that did the heavy lifting back in the 1800s risk being consigned to the history books — but not if a small but determined group of breeders get their way. Heritage Sheep Australia, formed in 2001, represents the preservation of the unique qualities of the old breeds that played an important role in the foundation of the sheep and wool industry. English Leicester and Lincoln are the two long wool breeds. The others are Cheviot, Southdown, Shropshire, Dorset Horn, Ryeland, Hampshire Down, Dorset Down and, most recently added to the roster, Romney. The English Leicester can be traced to 1826 in Australia. Breeder Ethel Stephenson said one of her fellow breeders had recently judged sheep in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. “He says ours are true to type — we are doing very well,” said Mrs Stephenson, who runs Ostlers Hill at Broken Creek, near Benalla. While in full wool the sheep have the appearance of a mop to the uninitiated, Mrs

A step back in time: English Leicester ewes at Ostlers Hill, Broken Creek. The Heritage breed is prized by spinners and weavers for its lustrous wool.

Stephenson said the long, glossy fleece was soft handling and a favourite of craft artists. “The smell is divine,” Mrs Stephenson said. “The fleece is 30 microns and above, but the micron number is affected by the climate the wool is produced in.” Breeders of some of the heritage breeds join with other breeds in their involvement in the Strong Wool Breeders Association Inc, whose annual Sheep and Wool Fair at Benalla this year attracted strong entries. Border Leicesters are by far the best known of the strong wool breeds, along with Drysdale, Tukidale, Elliotdale, Carpetmaster, Lincoln, English Leicester, Romney, Cheviot and Perendale. The Interbreed ‘Hall of Fame’ for a breeders’ group of three sheep under one year of age went to Geoff Sutton’s Wattle Farm Border Leicesters at Temora. Champion fleece was won by Maureen Nissen’s Pergunyah Perendale Stud at Pires, near Mansfield. Event secretary John Beattie, who also is SWBA president, said the show attracted 90 sheep and 50 fleeces and the knitting and

woolcraft competitions were also well supported. “We were very pleased, it is going from strength to strength,” said Mr Beattie, who with his wife Alice conducts Esdale Lincoln Stud at Yarrawonga South. He said about 500 Lincoln ewes in 12 flocks remained of the breed that came to Australia in the 1850s. “They were the true first cross, before Border Leicesters were crossed with Merinos,” Mr Beattie said. “They didn’t acclimatise as well as the Border Leicesters but there is Lincoln in all the Australian breeds. “They were used over Merinos to get the size: apparently all the big Merino studs had a Lincoln paddock (in the early days). Some (Merino breeders) will admit it and some won’t.” Mr Beattie said the 45-micron Lincoln wool was mainly used by spinners now, and, in a nod to the past, for making barristers’ or judges’ wigs. “It is also used for roller lapping. It’s wrapped around the rollers when fine wool is scoured.” he said

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WOOL

Rise in wool prices is predicted S

ome pundits believe the falling dollar, growing Chinese wealth and the shrinking of the national sheep flock offer woolgrowers the prospect of better returns during the next two years. At its Outlook conference in Canberra, ABARES predicted a five per cent rise in wool prices in 2014–15, taking the standard wool indicator to $11.60 paid for each kilogram of clean wool. The average price lifted six percentage points to $11.10 in 2013–14. Shorn wool production is tipped to fall by four per cent in 2013–14 to 345 000 tonnes greasy and a further three per cent in 2014–15 to 335 000 tonnes. But Australian Wool Innovation chairman Wally Merriman has suggested a scheme to regulate the supply of wool into auction markets may be needed to stop what he described as “wild fluctuations” in prices. Mr Merriman said he had publicly raised the proposal to generate debate within the industry, but confirmed AWI was not planning to introduce a reserve price scheme to

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AGFOCUS 2014

the wool market. He said there was widespread frustration with sharp fluctuations in wool auction values that extended to exporters. “A system to manage the amount of wool flowing onto the market may be one way of stabilising prices,” Mr Merriman said. Mr Merriman’s intention to generate debate worked. One producer in response to the suggestion wrote online: “Why does the industry ask for a consistent pricing model when history has shown that playing with a free trade market will only end in tears? “Remember what the floor price did to the industry in the ‘90s. “Futures markets will not work either, as growers’ and buyers’ expectations of value will always be apart.” WoolProducers Australia chairman Geoff Fisken said with some producers continuing to stockpile superfine (below 19.5 micron) wool, when the market rebounded the oversupply in that category would mean it would take longer to adjust.

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VITICULTURE

Story: Laura Griffin, Pictures: Ray Sizer

Hand-crafted wines for niche market Jenny Houghton values quality over quantity.

wenty years ago, Jenny Houghton bought a 9 ha property on Maygars Hill at Longwood East. Three years later, she started hand planting cabernet sauvignon and shiraz vines and named the winemaking operation as the hill had been named — after Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Cecil Maygar, a local farmer who was awarded a Victoria Cross during the Boer War. Ms Houghton said naming the winery after “such an incredible hero” helped to revive the history for many people who did not know about it. Lt Col Maygar also served with distinction in World War I, including at Gallipoli, and Ms Houghton said the outstanding 2014 cabernet sauvignon vintage was pressed to become

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berries of intense colour and flavour. The vines are drip irrigated a small amount in January and February. “We strive to produce the best fruit the vines can produce; 95 per cent of making a really good wine is (done) in the vineyard,” she said. The wines are hand crafted and monitored closely while they ferment and aged in oak barrels selected to suit the fruit each year. After 12 months, they are sampled regularly. Ms Houghton describes the resulting wine as full bodied with lots of complex flavours that stay with you for a long time. “They match really well to a range of food including lamb roast or a pot of stew enjoyed in front of an open fire,” she said.

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AGFOCUS 2014

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The vineyard’s yield depends on rainfall, but about 900 cases of wine are produced a year. A lot of the wine is sold through cellar door and wine clubs. A bed and breakfast cottage and public events and functions at the winery also contribute to the number of visitors to the cellar door. Some Maygars Hill Winery wines sales are made through Goulburn Valley restaurants and cafes and at a small number of cafes and outlets in Melbourne. As president of Strathbogie Ranges Wine Region, Ms Houghton also does much to promote the wineproducing region. She has considered expanding, but would prefer to get every vine producing exactly as she would like it and continue catering to a niche, premium market.

“We strive to produce the best fruit the vines can produce; 95 per cent of making a really good wine is (done) in the vineyard.” Jenny Houghton

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& QA N

orthern Victoria accounts for a third of the business that Murray Goulburn co-operative does in Australia, as managing director Gary Helou pointed out when he visited Cobram to discuss the investment of about $90 million in the plant. Australia’s biggest dairy co-operative was born in northern Victoria and the company has its sights on capturing growing markets in Asia, and becoming, as Gary Helou calls it, “the Fonterra of Australia”. The company is also embarking on a restructure designed to generate more capital to expand and possibly take over smaller dairy industry players.

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“We see no reason why we can’t be as big as Fonterra is in New Zealand.”

Murray Goulburn co-operative managing director Gary Helou Country News editor Geoff Adams caught up with managing director Gary Helou at Cobram to ask him eight questions:

Under the proposed structure suppliers will continue to hold shares in the co-op and capital will be raised by the issue of units in a unit trust, which will be listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The unit holders in the trust will not have voting rights on MG’s operations, and only active suppliers will hold voting shares in MG. The company has recently completed two rounds of supplier consultation meetings. Under the proposals the company will cancel and buy 14.5 million of ‘dry’ shares which have been dispersed for decades, and which pay a guaranteed return of eight per cent.

Q: What is the restructure all about? It’s about funding our strategy and the best way to fund it is a combination of debt and external equity. We think that will give our balance sheet the strength and flexibility to invest in the new manufacturing footprint we are building, but also to give us the capacity to take part in, potentially, the industry consolidation that has to happen. There are too many players in Australia. When that happens we want to be in a ‘ready to go’ position to do that. So really it is about strengthening the balance sheet of the company and importantly strengthening the balance sheet of the farmer. Q: Consolidation, is that the opportunity to buy other dairy companies? I think there are too many players in Australia. Most of them are domestically focused. It’s a mature market dominated by a few strong retailers. So it’s not going to be a great wealth generator. I think the nine or so players today will reduce by about half in three years’ time. We

The Cobram factory is getting a $90 million injection of funds that will enable the company to make consumer-ready products and move away from the bulk commodities.

Murray Goulburn chairman Phil Tracey

are not actively pursuing these things but when those opportunities arise we would like to be at the table — and this proposed capital restructure will give us the strength and flexibility to partake.

Consumer markets in Asia want to be associated with businesses which have connections from the farm to the market. We see it as a point of strength.

Q: Why at this time in Murray Goulburn’s history? It’s the right time. Asia is growing fast. Big global competitors are taking positions. The time is absolutely right.

Q: Is the recent investment in Cobram connected with the restructure? No. It’s an investment we had to make. We can fund it from our existing balance sheet.

Q: Is farmer control going to continue? This review is built around the central premise of 100 per cent farmer control before and after. That’s an area we are not going (to change); 100 per cent farmer control of the co-operative is sacrosanct to this review. Q: Is this model going to be effective in the future? Farmer control in a co-operative structure is essential. It’s actually a source of strategic strength.

up and look at their shareholder register. This particular class has been there for many years. Some date back to the 1920s. We don’t know where 20 per cent of them are. It’s a unique and extraordinary eight per cent minimum right which no-one else has. We have an independent expert’s advice on the proposal and it’s now up to the A-class and ordinary shareholders to vote.

Q: What is the feedback from suppliers? This is our second round of consultation and we’ve had fantastic feedback. They are exploratory in nature. We are telling them about the potential options ahead of us. What do they see as important? What are their views? We are taking that in as we crystallise the ultimate proposal.

Q: How will the new season’s milk price look? This year has been a good one and it’s about time our farmers received the benefit of good business and good markets. Markets did come off though recently by about 20 per cent. As we speak MG is doing its budget. We have strong plans to deliver the maximum possible price. I can’t divulge the numbers as that will be decided by the board in the next few weeks.

The removal of the A-class non-voting shares is the guaranteed payment of eight per cent. It’s housekeeping. Companies that have been around for a long time sometimes need to clean

Commodity prices are levelling off. The dollar is resiliently high, but you do things internally to counteract those, and investments like we are making today (at Cobram) will help.

AGFOCUS 2014

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ojects for the 21st Century

HORTICULTURE

David Morey from fruit export consultants, Morefresh with Toh Guek Hong from Benelux Flowers and Food in Singapore at GV Independent Packers at Shepparton.

Quality the key to Asian markets S outh-east Asia is home to more than 600 million people. By December next year the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) that comprises 10 countries will become a single economic market with reduced tariffs providing opportunities for Australian fresh produce suppliers. According to a new report from Nielsen, the Asia-wide middle class is on track to comprise 52 per cent of the region’s population by 2020, with the fastest emerging middle classes coming from Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. From an estimated US$5.3 trillion in new household consumption by 2020, Indonesia is driving Asia’s middle-class boom. In a report titled “The Archipelago Economy: Unleashing Indonesia’s Potential”, the global consulting firm McKinsey Global Institute stated that Indonesia’s economy was projected to exceed Germany and the United Kingdom in 2030 as the world’s seventh largest economy. There are about 74 million ‘middle-class and affluent consumers’ in Indonesia, and this number will double by 2020. As a result, companies that wish to keep reaching the same proportion of the middle class and affluent population will need to double their presence in Indonesia. This type of consumer is moving beyond basic necessities and is brand loyal and quality conscious. This provides an opportunity for Australian fresh produce suppliers to develop their brands through targeted sales promotions offering consistent quality and value to customers. The modern retail market is expanding throughout south-east Asia and these retailers

AGFOCUS 2014

are looking for suppliers of high quality fruits and new varieties such as Pink Lady apples and ‘sweet and crunchy’ pear varieties. Indonesia, with a population of about 240 million consumers growing at 1.03 per cent per year, increasing urbanisation and a rapidly expanding middle class of consumers, continues to be a large market for imported fruits. Singaporean consumers are strong brand followers and food critics. They will buy at premium prices where brands are known for providing consistent quality in both looks and flavor. Nutrition and health attributes are important for consumers in choosing their fresh produce. This demand for high quality food has seen CPI increases for fruits by 4.2 per cent, vegetables and vegetable products by 3.2 per cent, seafood by 2.4 per cent and dairy products by 3.8 per cent for the 2012–13 June to July financial year. Prepacking is becoming a bigger part of importers’ business as they take control and protect their reputation and brand. According to some of the key fruit importers in south-east Asia, Australian pears are known for their premium quality and taste. This provided an opportunity for Apple and Pear Australia (APAL) to support a promotion of Australian pears (from the Goulburn Valley including varieties of Packham’s Triumph, Beurre Bosc, Corella and Joesphine) throughout major supermarkets in Indonesia during April and May this year. The promotion was managed by Morefresh Asia Pacific and a similar pear promotion is planned for Singapore in the second half of this year. During the past few years, APAL has been promoting Pink Lady apples in upmarket

supermarkets in Thailand and Malaysia resulting in increased Australian apple exports to these countries in ASEAN. Australia food quality is recognised as the benchmark for its safety and clean green image in comparison to our Southern Hemisphere competitors South Africa and Argentina. As the middle class population doubles in ASEAN so will the demand for high quality nutritious produce. However, it is a competitive marketplace and Australia needs to continue to undertake targeted in-store promotions if it wants to grow its market for apples and pears in south-east Asia. Morefresh Asia Pacific (MAP) provides market representative services to help Australian companies and organisations in doing business and trade throughout South-East Asia. It specialises in looking after the individual needs of clients who wish to expand into exporting their fresh agrifood produce. With offices in Indonesia and Singapore, MAP can assist to reduce the cost, time and risk in developing and doing business in South-East Asia. As the middle class doubles in south-east Asia, consumers will have more opportunities to purchase a greater range of high value quality fresh produce. With so many options, educating the consumer and connecting them to Australian brands through promotions and marketing activities will be paramount if Australia is to take advantage of the opportunities of a growing middle class in ASEAN.

David Morey, Morefresh, Singapore morefresh@morelink.com.sg Phillip Morey, Morefresh, Indonesia

HORTICULTURE

Owen Carter with the Goulburn Valley’s number one apple: the Pink Lady.

Fruit growers fight for export share G oulburn Valley growers are making a concerted effort to win back overseas apple and pear markets which have been lost to the industry during the past 20 years. Packer Chris Georgopoulos can recall when 13 containers a week were leaving for export. Orchard marketing manager Owen Carter described the 1980s as the “heydays” for exporters. However, other Southern Hemisphere fruit growers (including South Africa) with cheaper growing costs took larger market shares and the appreciating Australian dollar out-priced fruit exports. Australian apple growers produce almost $500 million of apples annually, with most supplying the domestic market. Victoria is the largest apple producing state in Australia and a significant amount of these apples come from the Goulburn Valley. In fact, Victoria grows three times as many apples as ‘the apple isle’ Tasmania. Goulburn Valley growers are fighting back with an emphasis on quality. Plunketts Orchards at Ardmona is already an experienced exporter and is one of those making a concerted effort to find its way through a tangle of import protocols which are unique to every Asian country in order to capture new markets for pears and Pink Lady apples. Plunketts Orchards marketing manager Owen Carter said they were seeking advice from the Federal Agriculture Department on how to meet those varying protocols. He said Pink Lady apples were the number

one planted apple in the Goulburn Valley and they seemed to be ideally suited to our climate. “It also seems to store the best in the region.’’ However the variety is not well known in Asia and he acknowledged it was going to take some marketing.

“I think if we don’t establish new markets we will end up with an oversupply.” Owen Carter To this end Plunketts has been working with Apple and Pear Australia and DEPI to host visiting trade delegations which promote the blushed apple. “I think if we don’t establish new markets we will end up with an oversupply,” Mr Carter said. “It’s the number-one-selling apple in Australian supermarket shelves. It out-sells Granny Smiths by 2:1.” Mr Carter sees the Pink Lady as being able to establish a premium niche in the quality market. “If you’ve got a huge market like the Asian countries and you are focusing on the just the top five per cent, that’s still a lot of fruit.’’ Plunketts networks with other exporters like Chris Georgopoulos who also believes there is merit in chasing the high end of the market with his best fruit. Singapore-based trade consultant David Morey said Australian pears were seen in Asia as clean and green with a ‘crunch’ factor.

Goulburn Valley fruit destined for overseas markets.

However in recent years Australia has been up against cheaper imports from other countries such as South Africa and Argentina. ‘‘So we are looking at areas we can differentiate ourselves,’’ Mr Morey said during a visit to exporters Chris Georgopoulos and Andrew Plunkett. AGFOCUS 2014

MAN’S BEST FRIEND

Crazy mad for you The standout feature of Country News’ popular Man’s Best Friend column is the doggy devotion that owners of working and pet dogs receive from their fourlegged friends.

Chloe

gie Lockie & Reg

Kelly

Goorambat farmer Tom Marriott and Kelly. A well bred kelpie who was trained by Tom and is great for casting. She’s prized for her ability to go around a mob and get sheep back out of the wrong lane.

AGFOCUS 2014

Graham Sudholz from Kotupna owns kelpie Chloe, and she owns him. “If I went to Melbourne, she’d follow me.”

Greg Chandler from Barmah East with Gemma, Lockie and Reggie. “I train them, they go out with me all the time. They don’t learn anything chained up.”

Brodie

Barooga’s Jeff Socha and border collie Brodie. “Brodie lives for (the sport of) Canine Disc; he’s a little bit of a showman.”

Kellie & Rusty Kialla’s Bree Kerr with Kellie and Rusty. “My daughter Tayla dresses Rusty up in fairy costumes; I have to remind her he’s not a toy.”

David and Christine Poort from Katunga with German shepherd Nikita and collie Cracker. “I’m a proud mother,” Christine says.

racke Nikita and C

Rusty and D

odge

Emily Brown and Stephen Fisicaro from Strathmerton have Rusty (left) and Dodge, who have been play-fighting since they first met. “They are larrikins,” Emily says.

Abby

Nathalia’s Nick James with kelpie Abby. “She’s very loyal and smart.”

Mack

Deniliquin’s Brian Harrington and Mack. “He’s a very reliable dog, such a versatile dog.”

Whizz

Jack O’Farrell from Miepoll with Whizz. “He has a pretty big holiday period (after shearing) when he’s not that busy.”

AGFOCUS 2014

LIVESTOCK

Banking on bulls’ “teenage exuberance”

Prime Angus cattle graze in a sheltered high rainfall valley at Warrenbayne.

elling Angus bulls as 12- to 13-monthold yearlings has worked well for Warrenbayne’s Annick and Peter Butterfield and their customers. At their eighth annual yearling bull sale in February, Prime Juggernaut J15 (AI) sold to a syndicate for $41 000 — thought to be an Australian record price for a yearling bull. The stars of breeding values, phenotype and market interest aligned for Juggernaut J15, the couple said. He is a Tuwharetoa Regent D145 (AI) (ET) BNAD145 son out of Prime Lowan F20 (AI) CXBF20. His Breedplan figures include a longfed index of 178, which made him the highestranked bull to be offered at this year’s stud bull sales. Lots of people inspected Juggernaut J15 during Beef Week in January and in the weeks leading up to the sale, and the Butterfields said much of the interest was due to his ease of calving that helped to address a weakness in his sire. The syndicate is collecting semen from Juggernaut J15 and the Butterfields also used some in their artificial insemination program in May. The Butterfields established the Prime Angus stud at Warrenbayne in 2000, where they had been dairying. They first bought females from the Merric Rivers (Hunter Valley) dispersal, Green Valley (near Mansfield) and Blackmore (Wangaratta) studs and then bought about 40 heifer calves from Te Mania (at Connewarre in Victoria’s Western District) in 2003. High growth rates coupled with calving ease are top priorities for the couple. This year, their

AGFOCUS 2014

12-month-old bulls’ average sale day weight was 600 kg, and Mr Butterfield said it was vital to present them well grown because if they looked like calves, people would doubt their capability. Because many clients target the long-fed market, intramuscular fat and other carcase traits are high on the breeding goals. Because the Angus gene pool — especially at the top end of the long-fed index — is becoming quite narrow, the couple has also made a concerted effort to select some outcross genetics in the artificial insemination program. They also understand clients need flexibility in uncertain times, so they look for positive rib and rump fat indexes in artificial insemination sires and the replacement heifers, which mean steers can be finished well on short-fed domestic programs.

“As teenagers, which these bulls are at 15 months, they have energy to burn and don’t wear out. They have youth and agility on their side,” Annick Butterfield.

They trialled fattening steers to 12 to 14 months this year, and were pleased with their performance at the Wodonga Prime Cattle Sale in April, at which the animals weighed an average of 531 kg and sold for 215c/ kg. They have also sold excess heifers to China and hope the export market will continue to grow. The couple said the biggest barrier in their yearling bull operation was some farmers considered working age bulls to be two-yearolds, and thought younger “teenage” bulls would not perform as well. But Mrs Butterfield said their teenage exuberance helped them. “As teenagers, which these bulls are at 15 months, they have energy to burn and don’t wear out. They have youth and agility on their side,” she said. The Butterfields suggest having the yearling bulls serve a smaller group of females to avoid overworking in their first year, which can result in them not reaching their full growth potential. They described buying a yearling bull a longerterm investment because, if used sparingly at first, they could be used for more seasons. Buyers can get further value for money with access to animals with Estimated Breeding Values at the top end of the breed for a fraction of the cost of purchasing a comparable twoyear-old bull. The Butterfields said if they wanted to sell older bulls, they would have had to get someone else to grow them out or buy or lease more land than their 172 ha. The property is in a high-rainfall area and has a long growing season, which allows the Butterfields to keep the calves on their mothers for longer, resulting in heavier weaning weights and sale-ready 12-month-old bulls.

LIVESTOCK

Story and pictures by Laura Griffin

Prime Juggernaut J15 (AI) sold for $41 000 — thought to be an Australian record price for a yearling bull.

Picture by Ben Simpson

This two-year-old first calver was one of more than 150 animals artificially inseminated in May (the day before the picture was taken).

This calf at Prime Angus stud in Warrenbayne is between two and three months old.

AGFOCUS 2014

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LIVESTOCK

Story: Laura Griffin, Pictures: Bianca Mibus

Maisie, 8, loves animals including this cow Kyla; her brother Ted, 9, is more interested in the money they can make.

Brett Davidson and daughter Maisie, 8, on with their Mount Major Murray Greys.

Mount Major Murray Greys calve easily and achieve high growth rates.

Murray Greys grow S

ince establishing Mount Major Murray Greys stud in 2006, Brett Davidson and Sarah Chaplin are already hitting breeding goals of low birth weight calves and high growth figures. The herd has the highest Estimated Breeding Values for Intramuscular Fat and Eye Muscle Area in the breed, while managing to maintain low birth weights of 38 kg for bulls and 36 kg for heifers while improving growth rates and carcase traits. “We have been very selective and lucky enough to find the right bulls,” Mr Davidson, who is also a beef and dairy consultant, said. “We are thrilled with our latest herd EBVs.” The stud at Yabba North, with views of Mount Major, is founded on bloodlines from Dajory, Lindsay, Willalooka, Mount View, The Glen and Monterey. Through the use of these elite genetics, the family aims to provide high indexing animals with low birth weights. They want to provide quiet, well-handled bulls that will produce soft, well muscled, thick, meaty calves for their clients, who include beef breeders as well as dairy

farmers wanting low birth weights calves. They also breed for type as well as performance, with indexes in the top one per cent for profitability. They use artificial insemination selectively to complement the breeding program, and have been recording with Breedplan since starting the stud and all their cattle are independently scanned for carcass traits and assessed for structure, which has enabled increased scrutiny on animals retained and sold for breeding and will increase the value and productivity of their animals for their clients. Mount Major has 40 females this year. Of the 14 bull calves dropped this year, 10 are in the top 100 for the breed. They are gradually building up the herd on the 81 ha property. “Until this year, we sold nearly all the bulls we produced and we are still growing to meet demand, but quality is more important than numbers,” Mr Davidson said. Dr Chaplin, who is a development specialist animal performance with the DEPI, added the animals were genetic packages that could produce calves that “jump out of the ground”.

The couple work on and off the farm to promote the Murray Grey breed, for example helping to establish North East Victorian Breed Promotion Group a few years ago and taking part in the Beef Week and the RASV Heifer Challenge.

“Until this year, we sold nearly all the bulls we produced and we are still growing to meet demand, but quality is more important than numbers.” Brett Davidson Mr Davidson said Murray Greys’ quiet temperaments were “well and above any other breed” and they had excellent meat quality. He said because heat stress started at 25°C and there is plenty of data that showed light coated animals, such as Murray Grey, outperformed dark coated animals for growth rates in Australia. “And they can finish off grass, while some breeds are losing that ability,” he said. AGFOCUS 2014

LIVESTOCK

Positive outlook Rabobank predicts strong global demand for Aussie beef

here is some good cause for optimism for Australia’s cattle producers, with market fundamentals remaining positive for the global beef industry, according to Rabobank’s most recent Beef Quarterly report. After global beef prices picked up during the first few months of this year — driven by firm demand and a further tightening of world supply — prospects for the global beef industry remain positive heading into mid-2014, the report says. There is a further possible upside for prices, according to Rabobank, with a continuing global shortage of beef supply compounded by scarcity in competing proteins. “This will support high prices and limit

consumers’ ability to trade down to cheaper proteins,” Rabobank’s Australian animal proteins analyst Lloyd Setter said. In addition, Mr Setter says an ongoing shortage of cattle supply in the United States — due to drought-induced herd retention — will continue to see lower exports of US cattle in global markets. “This is likely to provide opportunities for Australia and Brazil, with both countries well positioned to win export share,” he said. “That said, Brazil will likely be best placed to gain the most additional export share as Australian supply still faces drought-induced pressures.” The report says poor climatic conditions, which had impacted a number of key beef-producing

areas, predominantly in northern Australia, has seen slaughter levels at historic highs. Total domestic cattle slaughter during the first quarter of 2014 increased 16 per cent year-on-year to 2.3 million head. “This was a significant increase, given how large slaughter levels were at the start of 2013,” Mr Setter said. Australian exports will continue to be strong through the first half of the year however they will likely tighten significantly in the second half of this year. “Competition for Australian beef will be fierce as supply tightens, not only in the second half of 2014, but also in the following years,” the Rabobank report says.

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AGFOCUS 2014

Story: Alexandra Bathman, Pictures: Ray Sizer

SOLAR

Tatura dairy farmer Phil Lang switched to solar energy in his rotary dairy after a GV Community Energy and Tatura Milk Industries solar energy seminar.

Going solar saves costs in the dairy R

ising electricity costs and lower solar system prices have seen dairy farmers show more interest in renewable energy solutions in the past 12 months. According to DEPI, shed electricity costs jumped 22 per cent while solar installation prices had dropped significantly by 80 per cent — both in the past five years. GV Community Energy chief executive Geoff Lodge said price reduction was due to the improvements in technology and supply in demand. “Five years ago, unless you were getting a $8000 rebate you just wouldn’t do it. Today the cost per kW is so low and you don’t need a rebate,” he said. Mr Lodge said load shifting methods allowed dairy farmers to use the energy produced by solar panels and limit money spent on electricity from the grid. “For a dairy farm, very little energy is being used in the middle of the day — but solar power generates in the middle of the day,” he said. “For the best return you want to consume what the system produces.” Farmers could shift typical dairy night operations such as water heating to the solar system’s peak energy production times during the day. Mr Lodge said the value of electricity used would average out as morning and night milkings consumed energy during off-peak times. The price of a solar PV system varies and reflects on the size of a dairy, but Mr Lodge said a 30 kW system would cost an average of $30 000. The system would have an average of 20 per cent return on investment or a five-year payback period. Mr Lodge said now was the best time for dairy farmers to consider solar energy in light of the possible cuts to or abolition of the government’s renewable energy target (RET).

GV Community Energy chief executive Geoff Lodge, Nathan Rawlings from Hume Electrical and farm owner Phil Lang. The RET gave Australian businesses a target to produce at least 20 per cent of all electricity from renewable sources by 2020. “If the government dismantles the RET, the cost of solar systems would see a 20 to 30 per cent increase in 12 to 18 months,” Mr Lodge said.

“Five years ago, unless you were getting a $8000 rebate you just wouldn’t do it. Today the cost per kW is so low and you don’t need a rebate.” Geoff Lodge Mr Lodge said it was important for farmers who chose solar power to apply through their energy distributor (Powercor or SP AusNet) to ensure their property’s transformer was capable of a proposed solar PV system. Although a topic of debate within the industry,

electricity companies had a set limit to a transformer’s solar energy capacity to 30 per cent. “What we have found is some farmers will be capped. They might apply for a 20 or 30 kW system and be approved for only a 15[kW],” Mr Lodge said. More than one million Australian households have rooftop solar PV systems installed and the Clean Energy Council found the residential sector generated more than 90 per cent of the nation’s solar energy. It found that while the growth of large commercial PV systems had been limited, renewable energy in the small to medium commercial sector was continuing to develop. Mr Lodge said it was good business and a social responsibility to make the switch to renewable energy. “This is a cost-effective carbon reduction solution,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.” AGFOCUS 2014

CIDERS

Story: Laura Griffin, Pictures: Bianca Mibus

To keep the cider’s 5.5 per cent alcohol within the narrow margin of error, especially when using tanks of different volumes, requires careful calculations for Sally Plunkett.

Wine expertise helps make cider A

rdmona fruit wine and cider maker Sally Plunkett agrees the more options Goulburn Valley orchardists can generate for their fruit, the better, as they can add value and spread risk. She said years ago, a large percentage of the Plunkett Orchards crop went to processing, but not anymore. She said SPC Ardmona’s decision last year to cut fruit supplies emphasised the need to diversify, but was not the original driver of her beverage making ventures. The “beautiful” fruit wines discovered while backpacking in Europe planted the seed in Mrs Plunkett’s mind, and for eight years she has been making the niche product using the apples, pears and stone fruit grown in her husband’s family’s orchard. Three years ago, she started making trial batches of cider and made her first commercial batch of the crushed apple cider at end of last year. Adding cider to the range of fruit wines and liqueurs was a natural progression for Mrs Plunkett, who said she was able to transfer many of the techniques perfected in making apple wine to making the complete still cider. She said such wine-making techniques gave the cider more structure and balance. The cider was then sent off for carbonation and bottling. She has continued the local history theme of the product names and labels. “I wanted to continue the history theme that started with Thieves and Duffers fruit wines,” she said. “I was trawling through local history books

and I found another interesting story about the Australian Women’s Land Army, who were sent out to farms across Australia to do harvesting when men were fighting during World War II. “The women struggled with the old, heavy ladders used to pick fruit and because many of them were from cities, they were scared by the snakes they encountered in the orchards. “So they were talking about snakes and ladders and I thought it would make a good name.” Mrs Plunkett describes Snakes and Ladders cider, which is made of Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples grown at Plunkett Orchards — of which husband Andrew Plunkett is managing director — as balancing tartness and sweetness and having a lovely floral character. She said because people were more familiar with cider, which seemed to be enjoying a swell of popularity at bars, beer gardens and barbecues, than fruit wines, the way she marketed the new product would be different. “Fruit wines are unusual, so farmers’ markets give people an opportunity to try the product, whereas I am selling cider direct to independent retailers including restaurants and cafes, but keeping it a boutique brand,” she said. The first commercial run of 500 litres used about eight tonnes of apples. “In the Goulburn Valley, we should be able to make the best apple cider in Australia because we’ve got such a fantastic supply of apples,” she said. Mrs Plunkett was also part of a delegation of Victorian producers sponsored by the Victorian Government to attend Food and Hotel Asia — the largest international food tradeshow

in Asia — which was in Singapore in April. “It was a fantastic opportunity to meet buyers, distributors, importers, restaurant and cafe owners, from Asia and across the world and let them taste the cider,” she said. “The export cider market is competitive, but with a premium brand it might be possible to get some traction.” Mrs Plunkett will stick with the way she made the first commercial run.

Ardmona fruit wine and cider maker Sally Plunkett with her cider launched this year. AGFOCUS 2014

CIDERS

Story: Laura Griffin, Picture: Bianca Mibus

Kyabram orchardist Dario Pulsoni is looking forward to seeing Goulburn Valley Food Co-operative’s pear cider launched in Kyabram next week.

Diversification good for business O

rchardists are making products including cider in a bid to diversify their operation, creating another income stream and end point for their fruit. Along with tonnes of Goulburn Valley apples and pears, hard work, determination and passion for local produce have been key ingredients bringing at least three boutique cider brands to the market in the past year. A group of friends from Shepparton were drinking imported cider one night when they realised they were consuming something they could create from their own orchards. Months of hard work and heated discussions and a passion for local produce drove them to make Too Many Chiefs cider — named for the fiery friendships that created it. The cider is made from 100 per cent Goulburn Valley fruit juice, and Safet and Fellenze Kutrolli, Brian and Lilli Ahmet and Carl and Dianne Trigila bottled their first batch of apple and pear cider in December and added a drier apple cider to the range this year — making a first batch of 20 000 litres of each. 42

AGFOCUS 2014

The cider has become a glimmer of hope after SPC Ardmona cut fruit supply contracts in the Goulburn Valley “At the time, I felt a bit let down from a personal point of view when SPC cancelled our contracts . . . but you come to understand where they’re coming from,” third generation orchardist Mr Kutrolli, who pulled out about 8 ha of fruit trees last year said. “Making cider was something I thought about for a while, looking at how to use something that’s basically a waste product.” The group spent thousands of hours of researching and refining and bought new equipment (although their commercial run was out-sourced), as well as working fulltime jobs and raising families. Too Many Chiefs cider is available in bars, restaurants, cafes and produce stores throughout the Goulburn Valley and beyond, including in Melbourne, and Mr Trigila said talks with potential stockists continued.

Picture by Neil Saunders

CIDERS

Story: Laura Griffin, Pictures: Bianca Mibus

Tickled pink that pears not wasted I

n October, GV Food Co-operative launched a distinctive pink pear cider, made from 10 tonnes of pears from Kyabram orchardist Dario Pulsoni, that otherwise would have gone to waste. “I was determined not to pull out trees that my father planted, but it was starting to look like my pears would have been fed to cows,” Mr Pulsoni said. The co-operative set up the company Faire Ferments to produce the cider, the second pressing of which scaled up to 20 tonnes of Packham pears from two other Kyabram orchardists. Co-director Sam Pendergast said doubling the production was encouraging, as was having this flagship pear cider in a good

number of stores and selling well. He said the cider had a balanced flavour that showcased the pear and was not too sweet. “We are doing experiments with other fruit and will maintain our allegiance to Goulburn Valley orchardists,” Mr Pendergast said. “Producing cider as an example of value adding is hugely important to the region. By taking opportunities and being creative, we can diversify the way fruit is used.” He said it could also save growers from being reliant on one or two big buyers, and help them insure against those businesses’ fluctuations. Mr Pendergast credits Mr Pulsoni’s quick thinking, ingenuity and willingness to experiment for driving the product and injecting excitement into the industry.

Three local couples are joining forces to made apple and pear cider. Carl Trigila, Dianne Trigila, Fellenze Kutrolli, Brian Ahmet, Lilli Ahmet and Safet Kutrolli.

AGFOCUS 2014

Story: Laura Griffin, Picture: Simon Bingham

HORTICULTURE ALTERNATIVES

Sweet reward for nashi winemaker

Bearii orchardist Veronika Bucsanyi.

eronika Bucsanyi started growing nashi fruit at Bearii in 1987 and about seven years ago she started making beverages because she wanted people to taste and enjoy the round fruit’s flavour year-round. She sells the unique product range of Australian-made nashi still and sparkling juices and nashi still and sparkling wines at farmers’ markets, and some local produce stores also stock them. The sparkling nashi wine was awarded a silver medal and won Best Sparkling Wine and Best Pome Fruit Wine at this year’s Australian Fruit Wine Show, in February. Ms Bucsanyi said the accolades assured her that she and her team were doing the right thing. “Every bottle is a reflection of the time spent capturing the exciting array of flavours and fragrances of fresh nashi fruit,” Ms Bucsanyi said. “(The brand) Nashi strives to create a wellbalanced, subtly sweet, crisp wine.”

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AGFOCUS 2014

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WINES

Story: Laura Griffin, Pictures: Ray Sizer

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ost of the red wines and some of the whites available at Longwood’s White Hart Hotel are from the Goulburn Valley and surrounding regions. Stuart Holmes said in the 2½ years he had run the about 150-year-old pub, a lot of people who travelled through or holidayed in the area had a meal at the pub and asked for a local wine, and he was more than pleased provide the high quality drops. Nearby wineries also recommend the White Hart Hotel to visitors. The pub also hosts a wine night once or twice a year, during which a local winemaker speaks about their wine and it is served with a four-course meal put together by head chef, Mr Holmes’ nephew Damien Holmes. Damien was a chef in a Geelong hotel before joining his

uncle’s venture and enjoys getting to make a more gourmet menu for wine nights. Mr Holmes, a former plumber, said a lot of the regulars continued to drink beer, but a full bodied red could be just the tipple to enjoy in front of the historic pub’s open fires.

Stocking a range of local wines is mutually beneficial for the White Hart Hotel and the local winemakers.

Publican Stuart Holmes works to promote local wines.

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WATER

Story: Laura Griffin

Soil moisture at root of productivity S oil moisture probes being used as part of a trial across Victoria have been giving farmers the ability to “see” what’s happening under their crops and make betterinformed decisions. The project Risk Management Through Soil Moisture Monitoring has been running at nine sites for the past three years and Dale Boyd, an agronomist with the Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) who is co-ordinating the work, said the results were promising. “The project has demonstrated the capability of current technology to remotely monitor and communicate real-time soil moisture data,” Mr Boyd said. “Crop potential and cropping inputs are increasingly being subject to greater instability and uncertainty due to seasonal variability and we have been investigating whether capacitance probes would assist making informed pre- and in-crop decisions.” Mr Boyd presented an overview of the project the Soil Change Matters International Workshop in Bendigo recently. He said there were limited examples of the use of soil moisture probes in a dry-land cropping systems in Victoria, but increasing interest in the farming sector from service providers and farmer groups. “Growers’ current cropping systems may not be maximising water use efficiency if they are using subjective assessments,” Mr Boyd said. “The practice of using moisture probes has had some small adoption in the dry-land cropping areas, but the industry is still working through the best way to utilise this technology. “Minimum standards also need to be established so that that equipment and service are able to provide the best opportunity for the investor to maximise the return from technology.” The project involves moisture sensors and telemetry devices that use the mobile network, sending data to be securely stored on a server that is accessed with the internet. Probes

are located at nine sites at Werrimull, Speed, Normanville, Brim, Hamilton, Lake Bolac, Raywood, Youanmite and Sale. Farmer focus groups that have connections to the local sites have assisted in the validation of examining deep soil moisture and determining usefulness, usability and availability. Members of the study groups have been educated in interpretation of data and during the project have received regular email updates explaining recent soil water changes. When competency of data interpretation is deemed satisfactory, login details are supplied that allow access to live data. Mr Boyd said soil moisture levels were being estimated or measured by more than 90 per cent of the study group using a number of generally subjective methods, including estimations from recent rainfall events, crop condition and drive-by observations. “Some were using self-calibrated tools such as push probes and soil sampling and determining the wetness of soil,” he said. “The general feeling was that estimations could be improved on current methods and enough cases existed where they had got it wrong to explore alternatives.” Mr Boyd said agronomists generally had a greater interest in soil moisture monitoring technology when advising on critical business decisions. He said benefits were identified with timeefficient monitoring and the ability to compare previous years’ data. “There was a very small percentage of farmers who were using volumetric sampling, where millimetres of water could be calculated, with some farmers taking these measurements and entering them into a modelling program,” he said. Being a statewide project across many rainfall districts and soil types, Mr Boyd said there were differences identified with use of probes by the groups of farmers. For example, in low rainfall areas, using

soil moisture probes may aid the crop choice decision, being guided by pre-sowing plant available water and also the time of sowing where good soil moisture reserves give confidence to sow by the calendar. In higher rainfall zones with reliable winter rainfall, farmers will follow rotations as guided by Best Management Practices and not by soil moisture reserves, but knowing that soil moisture levels will allow strategic inputs through the growing season to target potential yields. Access to this data enabled project participants to observe real time deep soil moisture (30–100 cm) at one representative point on a district farm with a common soil type. It also allowed them to observe crop upper and lower limits under different soil types and crop types using the absolute soil moisture content plotted on the Intelligraph software. Over the three seasons of monitoring the project has built up knowledge of estimated crop upper and lower limits under different soil and crop types. The seasons so far have been quite remarkable with at least one wet summer (some sites with two and/or floods). The majority of spring seasons at the sites have been low rainfall (decile 2–4), which has resulted in a huge depletion in soil moisture through late August to October. “The value of sub-soil moisture has been clearly evident and participants have been amazed at the ability of crops to use moisture from 60 cm and beyond and how quickly a large biomass crop will use moisture,” Mr Boyd said. “It is hoped that continued access to this information will assist informed input decisions, minimising input in low decile years with a low soil moisture base and maximise yield potential in more favourable conditions based on soil moisture and positive seasonal forecasts. “The challenge to the grains sector is to increase productivity.” AGFOCUS 2014

WATER Fraser Pogue said water efficiency rates had lifted on corn production with the switch to pivot and sub-surface irrigation.

Irrigation upgrade saves water and labour Water and labour efficiency are the aims of Fraser Pogue’s entire irrigation system. It’s why the Ardmona farmer changed from a traditional flood irrigation system to centre pivots and sub-surface drip systems and it’s why he was keen to have his delivery upgraded through Goulburn-Murray Water’s Connections project. The Pogue family runs 440 ha of fully irrigated land at Ardmona, growing corn in the summer and wheat, barley, canola and faba beans in the winter. Three centre pivots irrigate about 150 ha, a further 120 ha is sub-surface drip irrigation and the remaining is flood irrigated. “For our farm, it’s all about water efficiency and labour efficiency,” Mr Pogue said. “With these more efficient irrigation methods, we can grow more summer crops. “This summer, the pivots and SDI grew approximately 2.4 tonne of corn per megalitre, whereas the flood was only about 1.6 tonne/Ml. 48

AGFOCUS 2014

“The labour efficiencies with the new systems mean that we can now pretty much irrigate our entire farm through summer, which would have been almost impossible with our old flood system.” The Pogues’ upgraded irrigation system was commissioned about 14 months ago. Two wheels were replaced with two automated meters and 1.5 km of spur channel and 800 m of on-farm channel were replaced with pipe. “We’ve seen increased flow rates with one gate going from about 7Ml/day to 10Ml/day and the other from about 10Ml/day to 20Ml/day,” Mr Pogue said. “We’ve also seen labour savings — with the spur channels it was a lot of work managing them, I certainly don’t have to put on my gumboots that often anymore. “We used to have to put an order in, manually open and close gates and run through about 800m of the neighbour’s property, now it’s all automated we just put in an order and it manages itself. “It’s certainly made life so much easier.” Goulburn-Murray Water’s Connections project is connecting landowners to the backbone. The water corporation is investing more than $2 billion from the state and federal governments

to improve the delivery of water to irrigation businesses across the Goulburn-Murray irrigation district. G-MW managing director Gavin Hanlon said a key benefit to the project was water savings.

“The labour efficiencies with the new systems mean that we can now pretty much irrigate our entire farm through summer, which would have been almost impossible with our old flood system.” Fraser Pogue “G-MW’s water savings are independently audited each year with the results submitted to both the state and federal governments via the Department of Environment and Primary Industries,” he said. When the Connections project is complete in 2018, it expects to operate about 3500 km of channels supplying water to about 12 000 irrigation outlets. For more information go to www. gmwconnectionsproject.com.au

The recycle dam on the Ardmona property.

The corn summer crops have benefited from more efficient irrigation.

AGFOCUS 2014

WATER

Connections are continuing with winter works By G-MW managing director Gavin Hanlon

oulburn-Murray Water’s (G-MW) Connections team is working through the busiest few months of the year in the lead up to June 30. That’s the date when the team will report to its state and federal funders on its progress in delivering one of the nation’s largest water savings projects — a $2 billion investment to improve water delivery across the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District. With all elements of the project designed to move water more efficiently — ultimately saving water for environmental purposes — the team is on track to deliver 191 Gl of water savings for 2013–14. In May this year, G-MW’s team had already delivered 98 per cent of the 2013–14 water savings target and expended some $997 million on the Connections project to date. It’s important to note much of the on-ground

work in achieving this target will occur in the next two months as G-MW delivers a $14 million winter works package; 13 km of channel works will be completed across the region and 88 new meters will be installed. During this period I’d like to remind locals this means there will be more traffic on local roads as contractors travel to and from work sites. I urge anyone travelling in the region to be aware of the traffic, and most importantly to drive safely. Not only are the winter works a major contributor to the generation of water savings, they also provide the basis for the significant enhancement in the services we provide to our customers. Recently it’s been nice to hear about farming operations that are seeing the benefits from the Connections project. Its aim is to improve irrigation services and

resize our existing network to support the many and varied irrigation properties across the region. So, reading stories like that of Boort farmer Scott Anderson shows the project is achieving its aim. Since being connected Scott has started growing summer corn. It’s a high yielding crop that has a strong financial benefit. Fellow Boort farmer Shane Verley is also seeing the benefits of Connections. He’s doubled the amount of irrigated land on his property and he’s irrigating it in half the time. For farmers like Ardmona’s Fraser Pogue — who features in today’s Ag Focus — the Connections Project means labour savings and most importantly water savings. Fraser’s entire operation is set up to use water as efficiently as possible and the Connections project allows this to happen.

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Automated irrigation solutions ‘Bringing Water... To Life’ Portable Automation Archards Irrigation have a range of portable and fixed automation solutions for the flood Irrigation market. The portable units have the ability to be transferred from one location to another across the farm to control a range of flood irrigation bays and supply channels. Archards Irrigation have three types of units in the ontime range in the following configurations: Timer Based Our timer-based system consists of portable stainless-steel constructed frame and controls that are based on a start time and irrigation duration. The duration of the watering cycle can be manually changed at any time. The timer-based system is an entry level unit which suits most flood irrigation needs. Remote Radio The remote radio-base system incorporates a base-station radio and software which is connected to the portable units by a meshed radio network. Irrigation schedules are set via the software and any amendments are also made by the software program. Pump control can also be incorporated as a part of the software package. Cloud Based Cloud-based technology allows remote programming of the irrigation schedule from any web-ready device. The platform allows the operator to schedule, control and monitor our units and pumps from a smart phone or tablet device. Both the radio- and cloud-based units have a standalone solar charging system installed and are fully portable. These units can be adapted to many styles of Irrigation outlets.

At Archards, we know just how vital it is to retain and utilise water efficiently. The team at Archards work with water infrastructure operators and on-farm irrigators to deliver the latest in efficient irrigation technology. Specialising in • Farm Irrigation (surface / flood, centre pivots and spray) • Stock and domestic • Turn key design and installation • Full range of irrigation outlets (tried and tested for 25 years) • Specialising in rice doors and outlets

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WATER

Story and photo: Cathy Walker

Infrastructure the priority in new water strategy

he Federal Government provoked mixed reactions from lobby groups when it announced in June it would cut its buyback of water from 1500 Ml to 1300 Ml, but still implement the Murray-Darling Basin Plan ‘‘on time and in full’’, prioritising infrastructure investments in a new Water Recovery Strategy. Releasing the strategy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Environment Minister Simon Birmingham said: “Over the next four years, we will prioritise water recovery through infrastructure investment over buybacks, with over $2.3 billion forecast to be spent on rural water use and infrastructure projects.’’ Under the strategy, water buybacks will progress at ‘‘a significantly slower pace’’ and the focus of the relatively small amount of water purchasing will be on high priority, strategically important purchases. The Australian Conservation Foundation reacted angrily to the reduction in environmental

Upgrading of irrigation infrastructure is the cornerstone of the Federal Government’s 2014 Water Recovery Strategy.

water buybacks and spokesman Jonathan La Nauze said it would put more pressure on farmers. ‘‘Every time they reduce the amount of water they will buy it means even more has to be squeezed out of efficiency gains,’’ Mr La Nauze said. ‘‘Every farmer knows eventually that stream runs dry. ‘‘The Abbott Government says it's committed to the basin plan but announcements like this do make you wonder how solid that commitment really is.’’ National Irrigators Council chief executive Tom Chesson said the idea that buybacks were cheaper than investment in water savings infrastructure was ‘‘rubbish’’. ‘‘Investing in water infrastructure is not only ensuring that you can grow more food with less water, it is also probably the only climate change or global’-warming infrastructure project that the

Survey Design Irrigation

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AGFOCUS 2014

country's actually embarked on,’’ he said. ‘‘If we are going to have more extreme weather events, more droughts and more floods, we need better water infrastructure.’’ On April 1, Senator Birmingham announced the six recipients of the latest round of the major Commonwealth infrastructure project. The project managers and the amounts awarded (GST exclusive) in round four of the OnFarm Irrigation Efficiency Program grants are: • Australian Processing Tomato Research Council — $11 544 080. • Irrigation Efficiency Partners Pty Ltd — $42 406 620. • Murray Irrigation Ltd — $29 183 697. • Ricegrowers' Association of Australia Inc (Murray Consortium) — $280 800. • South Australian Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board — $41 955 767. • Waterfind Pty Ltd — $32 629 036.

Connections Project

The Connections Project is a “once-in-a-lifetime’’ opportunity to modernise, upgrade and improve the efficiency of the irrigation network in Northern Victoria. Delivery is more efficient, more consistent and available at larger flow rates – all of which supports some of Australia’s most innovative farmers to leverage smarter on-farm irrigation systems and technology. New Connections Project Landowner Website

http://www.gmwconnectionsproject.com.au

For instant information on the biggest irrigation renewal project ever undertaken, follow us on Twitter

@GMWaterNews Connecting our family “Since connecting to the backbone, George and Sophia Wells’ new Connections pipeline has improved their water efficiency while allowing them to spend more time together as a family. “It used to take me 14 days to irrigate 270 acres, now I can do it in 6 days. And I get to go to Little Athletics with the girls every weekend now” George & Sofia Wells, Strathmerton

Connecting our business The Connections Project replaced Shane and Jacqui Verley’s irrigation system of traditional water wheels with one outlet. “We can water more country and we do it a lot quicker... 40 acres of Lucerne in one day” Shane & Jacqui Verley, Boort

EQUINE

Story: Cathy Walker, Pictures: Simon Bingham

Six of Rick Talbot’s eight horses in action at this year’s Moora Working Draught Horse Muster.

Passion for an older style of horsepower R

ick Talbot didn’t ignite his interest in working draught horses until he turned 40, but the interest quickly became a passion. Twenty-five years later, the Kotupna-based Hereford producer and his wife Daphne have possibly the only remaining team of eight Clydesdales that are driven together, or to use the proper term, “in hand”. While Mrs Talbot enjoys showing some of their Clydesdales, Mr Talbot inclines toward their practical uses, but laments that “all the old blokes have fallen by the wayside” and generations of inherited skills using horses in agriculture could be lost. At the Moora Working Draught Horse Muster near Rushworth at Easter, Mr Talbot drove six of the team working a scarifier and was delighted with the interest from the public: some nostalgic, others interested to look through a window to the past. He was just one of more than 30 exhibitors who gave their time and expertise to demonstrate how early Australia farmed, travelled and built things using heavy haulage with real horse power. “The event has grown every year; we’ve been amazed with the response,” he said. Variously his own gentle giants pull a scarifier, an eight-ton wheat wagon, a big set of harrows and a plough. To camp out, Mr Talbot just hitches a couple of the team to his gypsy wagon that has all the mod-cons of the modern caravan. While his team of horses are all registered Clydesdales and are uniformly bay coloured with white socks, look a little closer and you can discern that at 16.2 hands Toby is the “pony” of the set-up while 2½-year-old gangly Doc is more than 18 hands, and growing. At 16 years of age, Macca is the senior member. “Toby was a ‘spare’ because he’s so much smaller and I was selling him, but one of the other horses died and he got reinstated. Then I decided to sell him again and another horse died — I’m not game to sell him anymore,” Mr Talbot joked. He said to bring on a young horse such as Doc, who was recently broken in by harness expert

AGFOCUS 2014

Bernie Rice at Katamatite, they were absorbed into the group in the paddock and in the tie-up stalls. By the time they were hitched to a vehicle or implement they “get on”. The “lead” horses in a team of six or eight abreast are on the outside and are the two that Mr Talbot steers with the reins; the less experienced pick up the system in the middle.

“As kids he (grandfather Cecil Male) had a couple of old horses left and we’d beg him to put the old mare, Roma, in the cart.” Rick Talbot Mr Talbot demonstrated how to harness a horse, first attaching the collar around his neck then placing the metal hames on top, followed by the back-strap and chains. It’s a process anyone with long arms or balancing on a bucket could learn — how to handle the horse or team once it’s all put together is more problematic. “My grandfather Cecil Male was a contractor with the State Rivers and used a team of horses to dig in the pipes around Pakenham,” Mr Talbot said. “As kids he had a couple of old horses left and we’d beg him to put the old mare, Roma, in the cart.” Mr Talbot was a drag racer in his younger days, but once he bought a property with some land he decided to get his own Clydesdales, and he was hooked. He said in a recent chat with another heavy horse fan they worked out his investment in his hobby would be $250 000 — “a very, very low estimation” — for the value of all the vehicles, equipment and, of course, horses. Not that he begrudges it. “When you’re used to spending money on cars these weren’t the end of all ends,” Mr Talbot said. “It’s a passion. Young people haven’t got the passion, they’d rather get on a motorbike.”

Working Clydesdales as they were used before tractors came along is a pleasure, and a passion, for Kotupna’s Rick Talbot.

Rick Talbot demonstrates how to put the collar on one of his gentle giants. He worries skills such as harnessing and working the horses is being lost.

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YYoouurr tteeaammfoforr N Noorrtthheerrnn VViiccttoorriiaa MILDURA MILDURA Back row from left: Tim McCurdy (Member for Murray Valley), Paul Weller (Member for Rodney), Sykes (Member for Benalla) Back row from left: PeterBill Crisp (Member for Mildura), Paul Weller (Member for

Back row from left: Peter Crisp (Member for Mildura), Paul Weller (Member for

Front row from Walsh (Member (Member Shepparton), Damian DrumValley), (Member for Northern Victoria) Peter Crisp -left:03 5021 2828 Peter Crisp -Peter 03 5021 2828for Swan Hill), Jeanette PowellRodney), TimforMcCurdy (Member for Murray Bill Sykes (Member for Benalla), Rodney), Tim McCurdy (Member for Murray Valley), Bill Sykes (Member for Benalla), Damian DrumDrum (Member for Northern Victoria) Damian (Member for Northern Victoria) FrontFront row row fromfrom left: left: PeterPeter WalshWalsh (Member for Swan Hill), Hill), Jeanette Powell (Member (Member for Swan Jeanette Powell (Member for Shepparton) for Shepparton)

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Together we are delivering on multiple projects throughout our electorates, resulting in positive outcomes for our communities.

We are part of the Victorian Coalition Government that is building a better and stronger regional Victoria. The 2014–15 State Budget provides an additional $1.2 billion for new infrastructure projects in regional and rural Victoria, supporting additional jobs growth. The Victorian Coalition Government will also reduce the Fire Services Property Levy rates in 2014–15 for all property owners, reducing the rates on households, businesses and farmers right across Victoria. The 2014–15 State Budget also increases funding to our fire services, providing $29 million for 78 new vehicles for Country Fire Authority brigades across the State. The agricultural industry is critical to regional Victoria, and the Coalition government’s $35 million Food and Agriculture into Asia project will support emerging export opportunities created by the increasing demand from the growing consumer class in Asia.

Authorised byPowell, Jeanette Powell,St,5 Shepparton Vaughan St, VIC 3630 Authorised by Jeanette 5 Vaughan VICShepparton 3630 Authorised by Jeanette Powell, 5 Vaughan St, Shepparton VIC 3630