Ag Focus 2022

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PUBLICATION

ISSUE 14

2022 BUSTING FODDER MYTHS SOME SURPRISES FROM A DAIRY FODDER TRIAL THE HORTICULTURAL REVOLUTION VEGIES TAKING OFF IN NORTHERN VICTORIA

FLOWERS IN THE DAIRY An alternative crop springs to life at Pyramid Hill

RED SET

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THIS HAY

SEASON

Trent Berryman 0418 632 096 Leo Dullard 0428 886 086 Mick Severin 0438 804 505

ECHUCA 43 Sturt Street • Ph: (03) 5482 1733 www.echucacih.com • Follow us on Facebook

Editor Fiona Lloyd Writers Geoff Adams Photographers Daneka Hill Sub-editor

Page: 14-15 Cover photograph: Adam Caspani with a tray of ornamental kale. The Gladfield farmer started growing cut flowers in 2019 and is now run off his feet meeting the supply demands of Kerang, Cohuna and Echuca florists.

Double sting for beekeepers ������������������������������������������������ 5

experience ������������������������������������������������ 21

Sandy Lloyd Advertising

Rural revolution for a community ������������������������������������������ 16

Preparing for the

Leonie Limosani

Busting fodder myths ���������������������������������������������������������� 14

Advertising support Graphic artists

Picking robots reach the next level ����������������������������������������� 29 Spraying by drone ����������������������������� 30

A A publication publication of of the the McPherson McPherson Media Media Group Group weekly newspaper, Country News, which circulates in 16 newspapers across central and northernnewspaper, Victoria andCountry the southern weekly News,Riverina. which circulates in 16 newspapers across central and northern Victoria and the southern Riverina.

CROPPING numbers ��������������������������������������������������� 37

Cut flowers at Kerang �����������������������22

Editorial: (03) 5820 3229 Advertising: (03) 5831 58202312 3187

GV takes the lead in

Farming by the

INNOVATION Using nature to combat pests ����������������������������������������� 18

Steven Song

greenhouse revolution ������������������� 24

tomato growing ���������������������������������� 28

DAIRY

Simone Dunne

neutral ��������������������������������������������������������33

HORTICULTURE

Ashton Still

Leesa Haeusler

Packaging carbon

Basin challenges in a post-COVID era �������������������������������� 39

Water signs positive for this season ���������������������������������������������� 50

McPherson Media Group

Page: 22 - 23

The carbon neutral

Award for biosecurity program ������������������������������������������������������� 6

Daneka Hill

Cover photograph: The days of ladders, bags and tractors have come to an end at Ardmona’s Plunkett Orchards, with a new machine improving efficiency and safety.

Photo: Megan Fisher

NEWS

LIVESTOCK Premium goats in the Strathbogies ������������������������������������8 Industry benchmarking lifts reputation �������������������������������������� 34

ENVIRONMENT Carbon farming questions ������������������������������������������������� 20

Going French at Kerang �������������������������������������������������������48

The Goulburn Valley continues to live up to its title as the food bowl of the nation. Despite the difficulty sourcing labour in the past few years, our growers have managed to get through these difficult times and produce some of the world’s premium quality fruit to our national and overseas markets.

I continue to advocate on behalf of our irrigators to both the state and federal government to ensure: No further water buybacks The Goulburn Valley has access to high-reliability water, so our irrigators can secure water when they need to in order to produce the best crops.

When the Federal Government wanted to buy back water for the environment the Goulburn Valley was one of the main targets in 2007 and 2008, and this resulted in an exodus of dairy farmers from our district, who no longer held their most valuable asset.

We may face a similar fate as the deadline for the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s water recovery target of 2024 draws closer. We are not on track to meet the water savings outlined in the Plan. When it comes to the audit for this water, we do not want our irrigators to be bought out to face further buybacks to make up for the shortfall.

I have met with the Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville, who understands the situation and will advocate our case to the Federal Government. I have been to Canberra to discuss this with federal MPs and ministers and will continue to call for the prohibition of further buybacks in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District to be enshrined in legislation. I will continue to make sure our precious irrigation district is spared from future water buybacks, so we do not lose more farmers and production from our rich agricultural centre.

Continued use of the socio-economic test Without the removal of buybacks being legislated by the Federal Government, our district will likely receive a knock on our door when 2024 deadline arrives. The GMID Water Leadership group,

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AGFOCUS 2022

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which I co-chair, played an important part in making the Federal Government’s socio-economic test compulsory when it comes to buying back water. This means that while there may be willing sellers in the market, the government needs to take into consideration the overall socio-economic effect on the region.

If such a measure had been in play before the mass buybacks in 2007 and 2008, we may have been able to keep more water in the district and thereby avoiding the $500 million loss to our regional communities.

NEWS Jessica Clarke, of Ironbark Apiaries based at Rushworth. Low yields have forced the fourth-generation beekeepers to travel further during a difficult season.

DOUBLE STING

hurts beekeepers F

ourth-generation beekeepers, Ironbark Apiarists, say twin challenges are making this year’s bee season the most difficult in a decade.

The Rushworth-based family business dates back to the early 1930s, with four generations of the Clarke family working in the industry.

Marketing and sales manager Jessica Clarke said low yielding trees and ‘dumping’ of hives were both contributing to a poor season.

“I’ve been in the family the past 10 years and this would be the worst,” she said.

Jessica said the low yields from trees had forced the family to spread their hives over a greater area.

“We’ve been doing a lot of patchy work. We’re trying to have the bees

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NUTRIENT FORM & FUNCTION

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but they’re actually not yielding the nectar that they usually would,” Jessica said.

“We’re trying to find the tree sources.

They’re just not flowering with the weather so we’ve had to travel about five hours away, which we haven’t had to do for a very long time, but it’s like any season, like any farming.

“We’re very lucky that this is our first season of not much.”

Another problem to hit this year’s bee season has been the growing issue of beekeepers ‘dumping’ hives near other hives.

Jessica said if hives were placed too closely to others the bees can come into conflict.

“There’s a lot of beekeepers coming into the industry, as well as buying bigger quantities,” she said.

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in the Mallee, also trying to source it in Strathbogie, it’s all just so patchy everywhere.

“The trees are producing, but they’re not producing in the large batches that we have been able to get in previous years.”

The Clarkes’ bee season starts at the end of each July, when they take their bees up to the Robinvale area in the north-west of Victoria for the almond pollination.

After about a month the hives are returned to the Goulburn Valley for the canola season and then distributed around local trees or forests near Deniliquin and other towns in NSW. “We’re finding a lot of trees are starting to play out with the weather and the seasons, basically they’re looking like they’re about to flower,

“Then everyone’s dumping on one another as well as it becoming a bit of an issue because the trees can only produce so much.

There are some people in the industry who will put their bees on the other side of the fence and when you have things like that the bees start fighting over who is getting the nectar and so of course they’re not going to produce as much as they actually could.”

Jessica said there was an accepted custom in the industry that rival hives not be placed within five to eight kilometres of another batch.

“Having so many people coming into the industry, they don’t really understand that,” she said.

“It really is a growing problem. We’ve even seen some people who will dump them on the side of the road, which is really bad, and it gives beekeepers a bad name.”

Agriculture Victoria has acknowledged that a combination of an increase in the number of people taking up beekeeping and increasing competition for access to floral resources has contributed to the issue.

It said the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning allocates leased bee sites on Crown land or within national parks, but hives placed on adjoining private may overlap with hives on public land.

It also said that beekeepers sometimes deliver hives to sites unaware that others are within the flight zone of a pre-existing load of beehives.

Ironbark Apiaries’ range of honeys and honeycomb was on display at the Seymour Alternative Farm Expo in April, and Jessica said she was optimistic the business would extend into a fifth generation.

“We’re fourth generation. We date back to the early 1900s. I’ve dated it back to 1933, but we do go back further,” she said.

“One of our daughters, she’s our little honey taster, so if it’s not Evieapproved we don’t sell it. That’s what we like to say.

“She says she wants to be a beekeeper so we’ll see, but there’s no pressure.”

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NEWS

NO FLIES ON

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and has become a model of best practice which is being replicated in other areas.”

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AGFOCUS 2022

Victorian Government, Cobram and District Fruit Growers Association, Fruit Growers Victoria, Summerfruit Australia and Lions International.

o W t o E r E h o K m e s

In Brisbane on June 8, the Goulburn Murray Valley Fruit Fly Area Wide Management Program won the Visy Industry Impact Award for its unique way of battling Queensland fruit fly.

The GMV program was up against 16 other candidates for the award, which was a feature in the Hort Connections National Awards for Excellence.

GMV program coordinator Ross Abberfield said the award recognised how the program achieved success by stepping outside industry norms.

“(The GMV program) has delivered technology and practice that is not in common usage by industry, providing a commercial and competitive advantage,” Ross said.

“The program has achieved a significant contribution to best practice and cost savings through the value chain.”

GMV program governance group chairman Tony Siciliano said the accolade recognised the important work of protecting Australia’s $12 billion horticultural industry from fruit fly.

“If left unchecked the spread of fruit fly can decimate markets, impact our regional economy and lifestyle opportunities,” Tony said.

“The program’s coordinated and highly effective area-wide management approach has resulted in positive outcomes for the region

s

he tireless work of a local Queensland fruit fly management program has been recognised with a national horticulture award. And the winners went all the way to Queensland’s heartland to pick up their gong.

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YOU’VE

goat this

Linda McKenzie with her stud Boer herd.

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oat meat — it’s right up there beside kangaroo, buffalo and camel when it comes to prolific outback animals farmers are begging people to eat.

Down in Mangalore, one farmer is doing her part to boost the goat brand and get it onto Aussie plates.

Linda McKenzie has been raising stud Boer goats since 2014 as Boorandarra Farm.

“We had a neighbour over once and he said the leg of lamb was beautiful.

When you tell them it’s goat they don’t believe you,” Linda said.

Boorandarra Farm primarily sells stud stock between two very different clientele — homesteaders looking for a lawnmower and freezer carcase and humongous outback rangeland goat operations looking for beefy herd sires.

Rangeland is an Australiandeveloped type of Boer goat usually found running feral over marginal, arid land — hence ‘rangeland’.

“To be able to harvest a feral animal and sell them is a really good option (for pastoralists),” Linda said.

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“The goats are mustered out of the bush and put on a feedlot for 30 to 60 days before slaughter. Most of Australia’s goat meat goes overseas.”

Australia is consistently the largest goat exporter in the world, accounting for 36 per cent of global goat meat export in 2019 (97 per cent of that as frozen whole carcase).

The biggest consumer of Australian goat meat is the United States, which imports 60 per cent of Australia’s goat meat — equating to $101.6 million in 2020–21.

The next biggest consumer was South Korea, which only imported $19.7 million of Aussie goats that same year.

The large majority of Australia’s goat meat is feral rangelands, according to the Meat & Livestock Australia.

A 2017 study found 71 per cent of NSW goat meat producers were harvest enterprises, while 29 per cent operated managed or semi-managed enterprises (that is, farms).

When Linda was left with excess males and ageing females on her own farm, she didn’t look to the US, but

A two-day-old kid goes into the grass paddock for the first time.

LIVESTOCK

One of the mixed wether goats which is being finished. On market day, Linda comes in and selects the best 10 from the herd.

instead drafted up a business plan for what became the premium meat brand, Strathbogie Goat.

“I got to the stage where I was getting old ones so I did a bit of market research and worked out what I needed to do to make it viable at a small scale,” she said.

“People said I should sell into Melbourne, but I decided I didn’t want to sell more than two hours from the farm. I’m in Strathbogie for a reason, not Melbourne — I don’t want to be spending time down there.”

Her first and best customer remains the Palling Bros Brewery in Heathcote, which lists goat tacos as one of its most popular menu items.

In addition to local restaurants, Strathbogie Goat can also be bought through the Euroa open food network ‘Strathbogie Local’.

“I also do order-by-demand at a local butcher,” Linda said.

“The goats are processed by Hardwicks in Kyneton.

“I turn up with quiet animals and its only 10 at a time, not a B-double, so it’s easy to get a slot … and the butchering is done by Taurus Fine Meats and Smokehouse in Seymour.”

The demand is high enough that Linda is in the position to buy wethers off other farmers, finishing them on her farm and selling them under the Strathbogie Goat label.

“It helps support them (other meat goat breeders) and gives them somewhere to sell, because if you go to the abattoir they pay the same money for all goats, doesn’t matter if it’s a farm goat or a high quality rangeland,” Linda said.

At any given time Linda can be running 90 to 180 goats across her property, which she describes as “rocky” and full of “remnant vegetation”.

“It’s much more suited to goats here,” she explained.

“They don’t do well on grass alone; they need leaves and twigs. We”ve got a lot of native grassland here that we are regenerating and it’s out main feed over summer.”

In the paddock both the goats and local cockatoos dig for nut grass tubers; in a lowland section kangaroo grass is expanding as the goats eat the leaves and drop the seed pod onto the ground.

“It’s really hard to find an agronomist willing to have a different attitude to pasture management,” Linda said.

“Right now we’ve established clover under the native grasses which puts nitrogen in the soil.

“A good example of thinking differently is a block of pasture the last owners had cleared. It was bare earth and instead of spraying out the normal blend I got the soil pH tested and selected seven different types of native grass that matched the pH. They established and took off.”

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Stud male Boorandarra Panama comes up to the fence with the females.

Before getting into goats Linda and her partner Peter had been running cattle on another property.

“When we bought the farm in 2014 it was already running goats and was set up for them. We thought we’d give it a go otherwise we’d have to fork out for some cattle yards,” Linda said.

“The biggest difference between cattle and goats is the size. Handling is so different.

“I can do everything myself and your not in danger of being crushed against a fence.

“Peter was away on work recently and it was no issue for me to do everything as a one-man team.”

One of the most interesting things to come with the property was a special goat crush that lifts the animals up and gives easy access to the hooves.

“Another difference is that when goats get crook, they give up and die,” Linda added.

With a constant supply of goat meat, Linda has been running some experiments.

“I lot of the Italians and Greeks like them younger and everyone was telling me to produce a 13 kilogram carcase but I didn’t want to do that,” she said.

“I didn’t think there was a difference so we killed a bunch of goats from the ages of eight years right down to six months.

“What we found was that there was no discernible difference after the

two-year mark and it all came down to how the animal was treated.

“There is a trend in the industry now of eating old dairy cow steak because it’s beautiful, and that’s because the cows are treated and fed so well throughout their lives.”

Currently Strathbogie Goat grows their animals out to the size of slaughter-weight lambs since customers are so familiar with lambsized cuts.

Another experiment is the commercial kitchen Linda has set up on the farm in an old Vietnam Warvintage Puckapunyal building.

“The commercial kitchen will be open to the community too. It’s an easy way for locals to start their own food or catering businesses without outlaying a huge cost and for visiting caterers to have a space,” Linda said.

The kitchen will also host small events, including goat cooking classes.

“Like anything, it does cook slightly different,” Linda said.

Goat is a lean meat, meaning it dries out quicker than beef and chicken.

It’s mainly used in stews and soups, making it a perfect choice for slow cooker and pressure cooker meals.

In general goat is sweeter than lamb and has a gamey flavour.

Strathbogie Goat carries recipes for each different cut of meat on its website: strathbogiegoat.com.au

The new commercial kitchen building.

A Feedtech feeding system is used in the fattening paddock. The system is a modified version of the automatic sheep feeder — the modifications are the tall, spiked attachments, which were needed to stop the goats walking on the roof, and tougher brackets in the trough.

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DAIRY

FODDER TRIALS BUST

some myths

Damian Jones from the Irrigated Cropping Council and Murray Dairy’s Natalie Eckert. Murray Dairy has partnered with a range of cropping groups to run the trials.

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n up-close look at how winter crops can be optimised for dairy cow diets has released its preliminary findings.

These findings include: stem diameter not being an indicator of feed quality, high sowing rates in vetch having no impact on yield and quality, and faba beans being a very high quality forage but challenging to ensile or bale due to its high moisture content.

This has all come from the Fodder for the Future project, a $1.6 million research initiative started in 2021 by Murray Dairy.

The project involves six trial sites across the region at Kerang, Mitiamo, Tatura, Dookie, Finley and Rutherglen.

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AGFOCUS 2022

Murray Dairy strategic project manager Amy Fay said the trials were “really exciting” because the northern Victoria region hadn’t seen anything like this before.

“Nothing has specifically looked at fodder growth in our region, this is relevant local research,” she said.

“It’s important to note this has been funded by the Federal Government to help farmers adapt to a post MurrayDarling Basin Plan world.”

Because the six trial sites were so spread out, they received vastly different seasonal conditions.

“One of the really important things we noticed was just how challenging seasonal variability is and how climate change is impacting our ability to manage fodder,” Amy said.

“Our eastern sites versus our western sites experienced different conditions. It shows how farmers have to plan for the whole season and have options up their sleeves.”

A more comprehensive report on trial data is expected to be released by Murray Dairy in the coming weeks.

With one year of trials done, Murray Dairy will repeat the most interesting trials and add new variables as they head into a second year of experimentation.

“People are really interested in what sort of yield and quality is possible in our region,” Amy said.

“They’re also interested in how we put our crop types together, particularly for something as specialised as a rotation for dairy cow fodder.

“The industry is moving away from rye-grass and they want to see what combination is best for soil nutrient management.”

In particular, croppers and dairy farmers are interested to see what legume (for example, vetch or faba beans) works best in a rotation.

“We are working closely with the cropping industry on this … we recognise these farmers (crop growers) are very important to us, because they are growing the fodder we buy,” Amy said.

“Crop farmers are interested in what we’re doing and in particularly they are asking what quality means for a dairy perspective.”

The close working relationship includes having outside groups running the trial sites, as can be seen in the initial breakdown of year one results.

DAIRY

Yielding results The initial breakdown of year one Fodder for the Future project results.

Tatura (Agriculture Victoria)

Wheat tiller density is affected by both sowing rate and nitrogen (N) rate, with N having a greater impact.

There was no effect of stem diameter on quality.

Mitiamo (Birchip Cropping Group) Oaten hay yields were highest for Kingbale, Mulgara, Brusher, Yallara and Wintaroo.

Sowing date had no significant impact on yield or quality between varieties.

There was a yield response to N, but none to phosphorus (P) or potassium (K).

There was no or minimal impact on stem diameter or quality from the application of N, P or K.

Kerang (Irrigated Cropping Council)

An aerial view of the Kerang trial.

Winter trial: Cereal cutting time impacted yield significantly.

No effect of cereal stem diameter on quality.

Faba beans have potential to yield up to 20 tonnes DM/ha of high quality forage, however, there are significant challenges with ensiling/baling due to high moisture and lodging.

Summer trial: Sorghum was generally more water efficient than maize.

Sorghum yielded less than maize.

Grain sorghum still shows potential due to the lower cost of production and ability to produce reasonable quality provided yield targets are met.

Yield and quality across all forages decreased with reduced irrigations (as expected).

Dookie (University of Melbourne) Significant trade-offs between cutting time, yield and quality in cereal crops.

Tiller density is affected by increased sowing rate.

No effect of stem diameter on quality.

Finley (Southern Growers)

Timok had better quality attributes than the woolly vetches.

High sowing rates increased established plant counts but did not have an effect on yield and quality.

An autumn irrigation was associated with better yields in shorter season common vetch cultivars (but no long season woolly pod vetch).

There was a yield increase of two tonnes DM/ha in vetch that was irrigated versus dryland.

Rutherglen (Riverine Plains)

Checking out the Kerang trial.

Vetch persistence and yield was penalised by wet conditions and subsequently outcompeted by the oats.

Earlier sown oats significantly increase silage yield compared to the later sown stand.

Cutting time, sowing date and rate have variable and inconsistent effects on quality of oat/vetch mixes.

AGFOCUS 2022

15

INNOVATION

ROBOTS REPLACE ‘tasks not jobs’

“T

he train has left the station.”

That was the message for delegates at the Digital Agrifood Summit discussing robotics and automation in agriculture.

More than 300 people gathered in Wagga Wagga on June 2 and 3 for the summit, a joint initiative between Charles Sturt University, Food Agility Co-operative Research Centre and the AgriPark.

A panel of experts in robotics and artificial intelligence challenged the idea that automation would cost agricultural jobs.

“Robots replace tasks not jobs,” Robotics Australia chair Dr Sue Keay said.

“Automation will mean people can take on value adding opportunities in their businesses and is a necessity in Australia where there is a shortage of labour.”

The panellists agreed that technological innovation could help lead the revitalisation of Australia’s regions, attracting people with the prospect of skilled jobs and a relaxed lifestyle.

Transforming regional communities was a key theme at the summit,

The Digital Agrifood Summitpanel including Skye Glanday (Climate Friendly), Naomi Wilson (AACo), Guy Web (SoilCQuest), Robert de Ligt (Mullion Group) and Dr Madeline Mitchell (Food Agility CRC).

with Bega Cheese chair Barry Irvin saying it was time to move beyond sustainability and towards circularity.

Mr Irvin explained how his company was forging a new approach to production and a new vision for the Bega Valley, based around circular economy principles.

“People often think that a circular economy just means recycling, but it’s so much more than that,” he said.

“It’s about shortening supply chains and using the resources closest to you, then thinking about how you can work with others to minimise waste and ensure that all outputs have potential other uses.

“It makes good sense, particularly in a world where supply chains are disrupted and inefficient.”

Bega Cheese is working with stakeholders across the region to transform practices relating to waste, water, soil, biodiversity, animal welfare, emissions, packaging, logistics and community engagement.

Another big Australian agrifood company to deliver a comprehensive climate strategy is Australian Agricultural Company (AACo), and once again, delivering value back to the community was a priority.

“As we grow and benefit from that growth, we want to ensure that benefit is extended into the communities we operate in,” AACo’s Naomi Wilson said.

Ms Wilson joined panellists discussing the emerging carbon economy. The panel cited the need for cheaper carbon measurement tools, greater education and integration of carbon projects to drive greater farmer participation in carbon markets.

The summit also included live technology demonstrations at the Global Digital Farm, an exhibition featuring 20 agtech companies, research showcases and a gala dinner.

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AGFOCUS 2022

LMCT 11214

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LMCT 10869

VITICULTURE

Y OP

AP - T

D PO

R S, U ER

T MP A CA

S S,

O VAN

T A R

Y CA

A ED

D US

N & O EW

MFN

N GE

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O

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VITICULTURE

Professor in Applied Ecology Geoff Gurr is collaborating on research that is investigating how ecosystem services could benefit grape growers.

C

harles Sturt University is collaborating with industry to research the impact of improving the ecosystems surrounding Australian vineyards, writes Professor in Applied Ecology Geoff Gurr.

There are many benefits that can be provided by ecosystem services, and at Charles Sturt University we are tapping into ways these methods can do the ‘heavy lifting’ for growers, saving them time, money and resources.

Ecosystem services are also known as ‘nature’s contributions to people’ and can be delivered by certain plant species grown in and around vineyards to provide tangible benefits to

the operation of the site.

Our research is aiming to expand the understanding of ecosystem services in the Australian vineyard context by studying groundcover species and vineyard-adjacent vegetation in field and laboratory trials.

The aim is to identify the functional traits of a range of species to develop practical, evidence-based recommendation for Australian vineyard managers to benefit from these ecosystem services.

For example, over the 2021–22 growing season, we conducted experiments to determine whether positioning plant species between and under grapevines, or native trees and shrubs growing nearby vineyards,

would reduce the population of pests by encouraging their predators.

Within the next 18 months, we aim to be able to make evidence-based recommendations to growers on the optimum mix of plant species to manage pests without resorting to chemicals.

Field work is being complemented by laboratory trials that have shown, for example, that the nectar from some gum trees can boost the lifespan and reproduction of beneficial wasps that attack lightbrown apple moth, a key pest of grapes.

The research team will develop a package, including video case studies and cost-benefit ratios, detailing the practicalities of harnessing benefits

from groundcovers and vegetation surrounding vineyards.

Our research will help growers by reducing the need to spray for insect pests, vine diseases and weeds. It can also help reduce frost risk, improve aesthetics, and improve worker safety.

The fact that this project is funded by Wine Australia using grower levy funds is testament to the commitment of the industry to developing innovative cleangreen options and reduce reliance on synthetic inputs.

Already, the project’s results are attracting industry attention; the team will be presenting their latest findings at the Wine Industry Technical Conference in June and the Tasmanian Viticulture Field Day in September 2022.

AGFOCUS 2022

19

ENVIRONMENT

FLICK THE SWITCH ON CARBON C

arbon neutral targets are being set by governments and industries, but where does this leave agricultural producers?

In this article, Meat & Livestock Australia answers some of the questions farmers are raising.

The Australian red meat and livestock industry has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30).

This means in 10 years’ time, Australian beef, lamb and goat production will make no net release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere.

But how can producers make a start on working towards this target in their own businesses?

An important first step for producers is to create a carbon account to determine what their net GHG emissions position is, so they can identify strategies to reduce these emissions and improve carbon storage on-farm.

Meat & Livestock Australia, Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise Food Leaders Australia, and Integrity Ag & Environment Pty Ltd recently ran a carbon accounting

workshop for producers to help them generate a carbon account for their own enterprise.

MLA’s CN30 manager Margaret Jewell and Steve Wiedemann of Integrity Ag & Environment answer three questions producers may have about carbon accounting.

What is carbon accounting?

Carbon accounting is the process producers can use to determine their annual net GHG emissions position.

There are two main elements of a carbon account — annual GHG emissions and carbon stocks on-farm.

Annual GHG emissions come from: Carbon stocks on-farm are carbon that has been removed from the atmosphere and stored in vegetation and soils.

Why is carbon accounting important?

Calculating baseline carbon emissions and stored carbon is an essential first step for producers who are considering opportunities arising from low or zero carbon red meat, such as carbon neutral branded products.

A carbon account can be used in on-farm decision making and sets a benchmark to show progress over time.

Just as financial accounting aids financial decision making and reporting, carbon accounting aids decision making and reporting around how carbon is — or is not — used on-farm.

How can I create a carbon account?

The University of Melbourne has created a free spreadsheet for producers to enter their GHG emissions and calculate the emissions component of their carbon account.

Download the carbon accounting calculator from: greenhouse. unimelb.edu.au/Tools.htm • Carbon dioxide from fossil fuels used for electricity, transport and inputs such as fertiliser and supplementary feed; • Nitrous oxide from fertiliser application and livestock manure; and • Enteric methane produced when ruminants digest food.

Russell Washusen with a stand of flooded gums on his carbon neutral Warrenbayne beef property.

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AGFOCUS 2022

LMCT 11214

ENVIRONMENT

ACCIDENTALLY carbon neutral F

ormer research scientist Russell Washusen jokes that he has become the accidental carbon neutral farmer.

Russell has transformed his Warrenbayne beef property through farm forestry in a 40-year mission.

“You could say we arrived at carbon neutrality quite by accident and it is highly probable that a carbon neutral situation could be achieved far more easily.”

Russell’s original goal was to address the erosion and waterlogging on his farm, and to restore trees to the landscape.

He described the property as “tired” after 100 years of steady sheep and cattle grazing.

Today the farm has about one quarter of its area devoted to trees, but much of the plantings are not like the intensive pine plantations on the nearby Strathbogie hills.

He put his historic research skills to good use on the farm, applying science to tree selection, monitoring market demand for timber and recording the progress he has made.

Margaret Jewell from Meat & Livestock Australia said forestry was one element of the approach to reduce carbon emissions.

“We are also looking at improving carbon storage in soils, reducing emissions from livestock and the use of feed additives and genetics,” Margaret said.

Benalla livestock producer Bill Sykes is on a mission to reduce his carbon outputs, but is also finding some challenges along the way.

“I am striving to achieve carbon neutral because much of the management involved is best practice from a business, animal welfare, environmental and personal satisfaction perspective,” he said.

“And it will become an imperative to maintain market access for our product, just as EU accreditation, whole-of-chain identification and quality assurances — such as chemical usage — are now a normal part of farm business.”

Bill believes the most immediate means of reducing emissions are:

Trees are the key, says Warrenbayne farmer Russell Washusen, who has achieved carbon neutrality on his cattle farm.

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21

NEWS

OLD PADDOCK BLOOMS WITH NEW LIFE

Adam Caspani at work among the flowers.

22

AGFOCUS 2022

T

he florists of Kerang, Echuca and Pyramid Hill have a saying about farmer Adam Caspani.

“They all make a joke that they know when I’ve been because they’ll have lady beetles crawling around the shop,” Adam said.

“We’ve really noticed an increase in lady beetles on the farm, I’m not sure if it’s due to them having a continual supply of plants they can sit on, or a year-round supply of aphids to eat.”

Despite gaining a reputation as the bug man, Adam never set out to be an environmental hero and happily admits to hand-spraying when things get out of control — ants attacking his Billy buttons being one example.

Adam’s journey within the cut-flower industry started quite unwittingly in 2018 when he moved onto a 50-hectare property at Gladfield, outside Kerang, with his wife Penny and two children.

Coming from a sheep and cropping background, Adam started broadacre farming on the property but there wasn’t enough land to keep him busy full-time.

In 2019, Penny began investigating ways to make a scratchy, unirrigated side of their rural block profitable.

“We had two-and-a-half acres (1 ha) of paddock that we couldn’t flood irrigate,” Penny said of the land between their house and the boundary line.

Too small for cropping, too close to the highway for livestock and with no interest in growing vegetables, the couple landed on cut-flowers.

“I got the idea when I came across Floret Flowers online, who are in the United States. These days they supply a lot off-farm, but she started from scratch too,” Penny said.

Soon a poly tunnel was built to start seedlings in, the neglected paddock had 23 beds tilled and a massive undertaking of trial and error began.

The steep learning curve started almost immediately for Adam.

“I found out the poly tunnel wasn’t anywhere near big enough, so I got a bigger one and converted the old dairy bails with grow lights and heating,” he said.

“In our second growing season we increased to 80 beds, in our third it was 110 and next year the plan is for 180 beds, which is a massive amount.”

Flower production stops over winter, breaking the year into ‘seasons’ which last from early spring to mid-autumn.

“It started with cold-calls to cafes and florists,” Adam said.

“The first one to buy from us was Rulcify’s Gifts in Kerang, then we had a number contact us once we got started.

“I was planning to sell in Bendigo this season (2021–22) but the sales picked up and every time I wanted to go,

NEWS

we’d sell more in Kerang and Echuca and not have any stock.

“Now I’m growing trays of ornamental kale and the florists are telling us, ‘whatever you can grow, we’ll buy’.

“It hasn’t been easy, but I don’t mean that in a bad way … each year we trial stuff and either keep it or discard. The next year the stuff that succeeded we double.”

For their 2022–23 season, the Caspanis are going big in early spring.

“The challenge is keeping up and meeting the demand for continual supply,” Adam said.

“We had 19 beds for early spring plantings last season. Next season we’ll have around 55.”

Continual supply is achieved by having multiple beds of the same species at different ages.

“Amaranthus for example, we’ll have an early spring bed up here, then a late spring bed further down, an early summer bed, and the aim is to have a continual supply of amaranthus over the whole outdoor period.”

Most ornamental flowers are grown intensively indoors, creating

year-round supply and protection from frosts.

The Caspanis aren’t considering a giant indoor conversion of their side paddock just yet.

“The biggest reason we don’t do that (construct indoor housing) is because of the expense,” Adam said.

“And there is nothing like the rain — you can irrigate as much as you want, but there is nothing like rain on them.”

With a need to grow flowers which can withstand the elements and local soil, Gladfield Cut Flowers is cultivating its own style — which Adam describes as a “wildflower look”.

One question remains: what is the flower farmer’s favourite flower?

“I would have to say Queen Anne’s lace. It’s got really good flower production and is so tall that I don’t have to bend over to cut the flowers, so it’s easy on the body.”

Alongside supplying stores, the Caspanis also sell bunches direct from their farm in peak season.

The best way to contact Gladfield Cut Flowers is through their Facebook page.

Adam Caspani with a tray of ornamental kale.

Adam says good foliage is one of the hardest things for florists to get — hence his collection of ornamental basils, kales and dramatic leafy plants.

Inside the larger of the poly tunnels. During mid-autumn, Adam is starting his first spring flowers.

A lady beetle (or ladybug) on some ornamental basil.

Adam Caspani and a floral tribute to his hard work.

Grow lights in the old dairy bails make the building into a moth haven. Adam says he’s never noticed any damage to the seedlings caused by the moths, so he leaves them be.

AGFOCUS 2022

23

HORTICULTURE

Student Cougar Scott from Rumbalara works in the greenhouse. Rumbalara has been exploring ways to start its own cut-flower business and market garden.

TRAINING FOR FUTURE FARMING W

hether you call them greenhouses, hothouses or glasshouses, we can all agree that they’re here to stay in modern agriculture.

GOTAFE has been watching the Australian greenhouse industry closely and in February finally opened its own commercial-spec, 400 square metre greenhouse facility to train Certificate III production horticulture students in.

“We’ve been saying it for years, but hydroponics is the future,” horticulture trainer Leigh Taig said.

24

AGFOCUS 2022

“There are lots of greenhouse growers in our region and the one thing they all have in common is they’re expanding.”

Leigh has been following greenhouse hydroponics systems closely since visiting the Netherlands on a fellowship trip 12 years ago.

“The Netherlands has been the driving force behind greenhouses and in particular hydroponics. All the technology we use is basically straight out of the Netherlands,” he said.

The GOTAFE greenhouse has eight systems (five of them hydroponic systems), computer controls, solar and thermal screens and a fogging system which helps to maintain an optimal growing temperature that can be controlled by a smartphone.

“There are two main cohorts who use the greenhouse,” Leigh said.

“One is on-campus students who aren’t in the workplace but are learning about hydroponic greenhouse management with the hope they

can get job-ready by using these commercial systems.

“The other group are those already in the workforce, mostly trainees, who might have the skills but not a full understanding of the technology.”

Leigh said the hydroponics had proved themselves a real asset already.

“We only have students for a relatively short time, but with hydroponics the growth rate is so much faster week-on-week that the students can come in and see their work growing,” he said.

HORTICULTURE FROM FAMINE TO FEAST The story of how the Netherlands came to adopt hydroponics and greenhouse farming is an interesting one.

“During World War II they basically went through a famine and when the Netherlands came out of that the government promised they’d never go through such a thing again and invested millions into domestic agriculture,” Leigh Taig said.

It was during the WWII famine that the starving Dutch people discovered their national flower, the tulip, had an edible bulb.

Being a small, cold, highly populated and low-lying country, providing domestic food security required a massive step forward in agricultural practices.

Today, the Netherlands is the second largest exporter of vegetables in the world and tops the Oxfam Food Index, ranking number one in the world for having the most plentiful, nutritious, healthy and affordable food.

Horticulture students Cougar Scott and Elijah Firebrace with trainer Leigh Taig in the new GOTAFE greenhouse.

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HORTICULTURE

VEGETABLES ARE

growing rapidly N

orthern Victoria has a historical reputation for fruit production, but more hectares are being given over to growing vegetables.

The region now grows more tomatoes than any other area of Victoria, according to the latest figures available to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The region grows more than 84,000 tonnes of apples annually and 72,000 tonnes of pears, some of which are processed at SPC. Meanwhile, in 2019–20, the region grew 136,000 tonnes of tomatoes (both field and hydroponic) out of Victoria’s total of 169,000 tonnes. Gippsland accounted for only 10,000 tonnes.

The Shepparton region had about 1320 hectares planted to tomatoes from about 19 businesses.

The Katunga Fresh business grows truss tomatoes under 21 hectares of glasshouses and is planning to expand with a $10 million project which will include a co-generation power plant.

The business grows about 300 tonnes of hydroponic tomatoes in a week. The company also grows about four hectares of capsicums and four hectares of cherry tomatoes.

Another major producer in the region, Tatura Fresh, has merged with major glasshouse company Flavorite.

The company recently added an extra 12 hectares of glasshouses at the Tatura site.

The merger between the two businesses came about due to their close ties.

Both are Victorian family businesses that went into hydroponics in the 1990s and have worked closely ever since, with the Murphy family selling most of its product to Flavorite.

Meanwhile, a Tallygaroopna business is despatching pallets of basil and lettuce to wholesalers every week.

Aussie Produce Pride grows the produce in a temperature-controlled greenhouse, almost one hectare in size, from seedlings the business has propagated.

The Katunga Fresh glasshouses, which now supply major supermarkets across eastern Australia.

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AGFOCUS 2022

Truss tomatoes attract a premium in supermarkets because of their appearance and taste. Each week hundreds of tonnes of vegetables leave the Goulburn Valley destined for east coast markets.

HORTICULTURE

ORCHARD ROBOT

T

takes its first spin

he newest fruit picking prototype by Ripe Robotics has survived its first field test.

The threat of rain and deep mud had the robot’s minders on edge, but the outing at McNab Orchards in Ardmona was deemed a success.

“This is literally the first time we’ve brought it out and attached all the power to it,” Ripe Robotics co-founder Hunter Jay said.

“We wanted to check that the mechanism we designed was actually capable of picking apples — and we’re picked two apples — so from an engineering viewpoint it is mission accomplished,” Hunter said.

What makes this robot different is its picking method.

Previously Ripe Robotics was trialling a flexible, large pipe which would vacuum fruit off the tree and funnel it down into the machine.

Now, the team has switched to a suction cup that can pick, lift and place the fruit.

Co-founder Leopold Lucas said the switch to a suction cup had completely changed how the fruit is taken off the tree.

“The suction cup makes it more dexterous, it’s smaller and able to go around branches and rotate the fruit,” Leopold said.

“Suction cups are used a lot in warehouse automation so we’re learning from their success.”

Ripe Robotics runs its operations out of a shed on McNab Orchards at Ardmona.

McNab Orchards owner Andrew McNab said fruit picking robots were the future.

“Labour is a problem for us. We’ve been lucky to have Pacific Island workers here over the last few years,” Andrew said.

“The boys (Ripe Robotics) are building something that won’t have a crazy price tag on it. One day we can hopefully have a few of these machines working around the clock.”

McNab Orchards has been gradually changing its growing style to suit automated picking and higher density growth by focusing on single-row, close-planted hedgerows.

The new suction cup arm. On the first field trial the arm proved it was capable of collecting apples in principle.

Petrol generators provide power to the electrical equipment. Ripe Robotics envisions the final product will use rechargeable electric batteries.

The Ripe Robotics team with the new design, earning its first layer of mud after driving itself into the orchard rows.

(From left) Leopold Lucas, Hunter Jay, Michael Woods and Tobin Smit.

AGFOCUS 2022

29

INNOVATION

SEND IN C

raig Oliver started flying drones because of a hill.

the drones

“We’ve got a farm in Yarra Glen and I was sick of dragging a hose up the hill,” Craig said.

“I hated spraying that hill with a passion.”

Having flown radio-controlled aircraft since he was a kid, it wasn’t an intimidating leap for Craig to start looking at commercial drones capable of spraying weeds on the steep slopes of the Yarra Valley.

As civil aviation laws in Australia started to expand to accommodate for commercial drones, Craig saw a chance to leave the hill climb behind.

He began his service — Drone Spray — 18 months ago.

“I’m mainly spraying blackberries on hills and doing capeweed,” Craig said.

“Come blackberry season, I have two months of work booked.”

Aside from the usual weeds in hard to reach spots, Craig is also seeing his share of creative jobs coming in.

“There was a guy who had 50 acres (20 hectares) of volcanic rocks with serrated tussock among them. The only way they could spray it was on foot with knapsacks.

“It took the drone a day to spray and he said it would’ve taken two workers over a week to do the same job.

“Basically if it’s too rough that you can’t drive it, or too wet to put a tractor on, it’s perfect for a drone.”

Drone Spray runs three different drones, all specialised for certain jobs.

“I’ve got the main spray drone and then I have a Phantom 4 Multispectral drone,” Craig said.

“It does NDVI mapping and allows you to see the health of the crop and where the weeds are.

“It has a six-lens camera and each lens shoots a different colour, then you put that into a computer. It basically works on reflective light.”

The healthier a plant is the more light they reflect, and weeds tend to stand out under the camera.

“Quite often the weeds are the healthiest plants in the paddock,” Craig said.

“The main reason you use multispectral is to tell where the crop is growing healthier.

“There was a place I did recently where there was one crook sprinkler not putting fertiliser on. That showed up to the drone.”

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30

AGFOCUS 2022

Craig Oliver with a DJIT-30 drone. Currently he is using a T-20 drone, but the new model can carry an extra 10 litres of spray.

The third drone is a 2-D and 3-D mapping drone, which can recreate a hillside in three dimensions so the spray drone can fly in the area automatically and not crash itself.

Craig said he’d had a lot of interest since appearing at the Seymour Alternative Farming Expo in April.

“Farmers are switched on, they know what the drones can do and watch YouTube videos about them.

“A lot of people have used

helicopters before but the beauty of the drone is I can get into tighter spots.

“This technology has been around for a while but previous CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) wouldn’t let something over 23 kg up high.”

Craig needs to have the drone equivalent of a truck licence to pilot his machines, but he says it makes sense for safety.

“My brother has ag planes and it’s very similar.”

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LIVESTOCK

BEEF’S CARBON

is down down F

armers in north-east Victoria are supplying a major Australian supermarket’s certified own-brand carbon neutral beef product.

The beef range, launched by Coles and available in its Victorian stores since mid-April, is certified carbon neutral from paddock to shelf to the Federal Government’s Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard.

Coles CEO Steven Cain said the supermarket had worked with beef farmers across Victoria and NSW to help calculate and reduce their emissions.

He said the launch of the range was a great example of Coles working with suppliers to achieve better sustainability outcomes. “(This) is a testament to the hard work of our beef producers and their commitment to sustainable practices, and we’re thrilled that they’re taking this important step with us.”

The packaging for the new beef range is fully recyclable and made from

90 per cent recycled and plant-based sources, an Australian innovation by Coles’ packaging partner Plantic.

Mansfield cattle farmers Mark and Fenella Ritchie have been supplying Coles for 10 years, and are now among the beef producers working with Coles to deliver certified carbon neutral beef.

“We are really pleased to be part of the carbon neutral beef project with Coles,” Mark said.

“We are always looking to produce the finest quality beef with a strong commitment to environmental and animal welfare values that are backed up with an evidence-based approach to our decision making.”

As part of the carbon neutral beef program, the supermarket works with farmers to identify ways to reduce emissions from their operations, such as using renewable energy, changing herd management practices for more efficient reproduction and to maximise

growth, and use of genetic selection to improve herd health.

The supermarket has also been working with research scientist Dr Stephen Wiedemann to study innovative ways tree planting and vegetation can help reduce net carbon emissions on beef farms through carbon sequestration.

Carbon stored in trees is then included in the farm’s ‘carbon account’ and reduces the overall emissions associated with the farm’s production — a process known as carbon ‘insetting,’ in which the process of reducing emissions is carried out at

or directly related to their source.

The supermarket is the first to pilot insetting as part of the Federal Government’s Climate Active program, a partnership between government and Australian businesses to drive voluntary climate action. “ … the information we have gained along the way about how we can reduce carbon emissions on farms through better herd performance and tree planting, will be invaluable to farmers everywhere,” Dr Wiedemann said.

The beef range will carry the Climate Active stamp to help customers identify the certified beef on shelves.

Millie Ritchie, Toby Humphrey and Mark Ritchie at Delatite Station in Mansfield.

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33

LIVESTOCK

Setting a benchmark

SRS Genetics chairman Norm Smith.

I

ndustry benchmarking is enabling sheep bred using Soft Rolling Skin technology to quantify their superior wool traits off the back of Merino sire evaluation trials in four states.

Ten of the 12 studs under the SRS Genetics banner have contributed young sires to Australian Merino Sire Evaluation trials and the Meat & Livestock Australia Resource Flock at sites in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

SRS Genetics chairman Norm Smith said members were keen to carry on the legacy of SRS founder, the late Dr Jim Watts, who had encouraged breeders to benchmark their flock in the industry to generate accuracy and repeatability in breeding values.

“Dr Watts was a big believer in fat and muscle, and the importance of that to the Merino, and was a great advocate of benchmarking SRS sheep so the studs have been encouraged to create those linkages to the rest of the Merino industry,” Norm said.

34

AGFOCUS 2022

“Breeding values are an important tool for Merino breeders and the more accurate and repeatable we can make those, the more value they have to the commercial clients.”

Within the SRS Group, they too are benchmarking with their own sire evaluation program.

Norm said the SRS Genetics Young Sire program involved progeny testing within member flocks, with genetics from three sires used artificially in 2022 across 10 stud flocks.

“The value of the program is improving the accuracy of those rams over a range of environments and creating linkages within flocks, proving to be a valuable tool for stud breeders,” he said.

“All three rams in the 2022 Young Sire Program are also in Merino Sire Evaluation trials around the country, adding another layer of linkages.”

An SRS Genetics panel selects the rams on visual indicators of density and length, along with conformation and breeding values for a range of traits including growth, muscle and fat.

Norm’s Glenwood stud has contributed sires to the Macquarie and MerinoLink Bathurst sire evaluation trials and the MLA Resource flock.

SRS studs are participating in trials hosted by Macquarie Sire Evaluation Association, NSW Department of Primary Industries, MerinoLink, Bathurst Merino Association, Balmoral Breeders, Australian Wool Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia, Stud Merino Breeders Association of WA, Muresk Institute and South Australian Stud Merino Sheepbreeder’s Association.

East Loddon Merinos at Wanganella runs 1000 SRS stud and 9000 commercial ewes averaging 19 micron, with their rams ranking in the top five to 10 per cent for lamb survival and reduced breech wrinkle.

This year, 2020-drop progeny by their ‘industry curve-bender’ sire in the Balmoral Breeders Merino Sire Evaluation Trial ranked the highest for post weaning greasy and clean fleece weight and low body wrinkle, along with above average adult fibre

diameter coefficient of variation and staple length.

The progeny was above average for flock breeding values for yearling weight, and all production indexes.

Co-principal Tom Hooke said the sire, East Loddon 180062’s top ranking for fleece weight quantified the SRS sheep’s ability to cut wool with a high staple length on a plain skin.

“The ram achieved the fleece weight through density and staple length, which has always been the aim of the SRS system, and ranked highly for growth, fat and muscle,” Tom said.

“Based on the yearling data, he is sitting at top five per cent in the reproduction traits.

“This has allowed us to push the carcase and reproduction traits while progressing wool quality and quantity.

“The benchmarking is hugely powerful if we have a product which can stand up in the market, we have to ensure we are in the mix and in front of whole-of-industry.”

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CROPPING

DATA DRIVES business success

Andrew and Sue Russell in their canola crop.

A

ndrew Russell is a partner in a Rutherglen family farming operation driven by data.

This data covers the full gamut of the seed production and farming businesses — weather records, trial results, seed quality specifications, soil information — and are all important to decisions made every day and across seasons.

Andrew said weather data collected on his property was now proving so valuable he expected to install one or two more weather stations on-farm to support predicting and managing climate change variability.

“We have a baseline. Instead of trying to catch rainbows we set rotations and we will modify that if the bureau says there is a higher probability of a dry year, a drought year or a wet year,” he said.

“At the start of 2021 our rotation was fixed. Normally we have 35 per cent of our cropping in canola but we could see canola prices rising; they were predicting a good year so we lifted our canola which has helped our rotations.

“We took that opportunity and it has come to fruition.

“In managing climate variability, one of the very first things you need to be is agile — agile with your

decision making and agile with your operations.

“And that’s where your data comes in. You have the resource. That’s not to say that gut feel doesn’t still play a big role and that’s where the older generations come in.”

Andrew said one important focus was effectively utilising information provided by the data collected.

“You can have too much data and that convolutes things. Collecting the data and using it in a fashion that’s going to mean something is most important.

“I’m very glad we started collecting data early, as far back as 2000. One of the first things we implemented was a computer platform to record yields and inputs.

“We have since tried to be really strong in authenticating the data that we collect.”

Baker Seeds and Lilliput Ag are part of a wider family business operated by Ashley and Pam Fraser, and Andrew and Sue Russell.

Pam and Sue are the daughters of Geoff Baker, who was in partnership with his two brothers in a business established by their father in 1965.

Andrew made his foray into broadacre agriculture when he arrived

at Rutherglen with Sue following the death of her grandfather.

“Sue and I found ourselves in a place we didn’t expect and could see the opportunity so we decided to stay, with some encouragement from her parents.”

Andrew decided he needed to broaden his education. He did a Certificate IV in Agriculture at the local TAFE and then completed an Advanced Diploma in Agriculture and a Diploma in Farm Business Management alongside brother-in-law Ashley.

Andrew said surrounding themselves with skilled and knowledgeable staff, as well as taking on board information from the researchers at the local Rutherglen Research Station and local field days, helped fine-tune his own skills in financial and farm management.

“I was working with Baker Seeds half the time and on the farm half the time.

“I fairly quickly took a financial management role on the farm and looked after the production for the cleaning plant for the seed business.

“I liaised with the growers and a lot of seed people, seed agronomists.

It was a good learning opportunity, particularly with some of those

production managers from the leading seed companies.

“There were a lot of assessments out in the paddocks, which gave us the opportunity to look at the variables in what we do and there are heaps.”

Putting in demonstration trials for the seed business offered the opportunity to understand the research challenges.

They bought an old plot seeder, employed a former trial manager from the research station and began undertaking the trials themselves.

“I was immersed in what he could teach me about running a trial site and having it statistically strong so we could get good information,” Andrew said.

“We just thought we would put plots in the ground. What we found after the first couple of years is that people really wanted that information so the pressure was on us to make it statistically robust.

“We were able to take more observations — quite accurate information — including flowering times and growth stages.

“We gained support from the seed networks because they were interested and began co-investing with us.

AGFOCUS 2022

37

CROPPING “It went very quickly from a backyard job to understanding research characteristics; being able to replicate reality, take data from trials and have it linked to broadacre.”

When the Russells and Frasers joined the Baker business, Andrew said his father-in-law Geoff and Geoff’s brother Ken had a lot of historical production data “in their heads” and in about 1000 notebooks held in a file drawer.

“That information was reasonably hard to extract. I felt a need to formalise it and they were keen,” Andrew said.

Now the business collects data including full quality specifications for seed, which is sampled and re-tested if it is has been in storage for a period of time and potentially compromised by weather.

They were also early adopters of sowing and yield data on-farm to manage variability across their paddocks.

Andrew said significant financial investment had been made over 25 years, taking the farming guidance operation from sub-metre accuracy to 20 mm accuracy.

The next step will be 3D technology that will provide even greater topographical accuracy.

“We have had the capacity to vary our sowing rate for a long time but we haven’t done so yet because we have fairly small paddocks compared with other areas,” Andrew said.

“We are getting to a point where we will implement that. Our thought process has been to lift our fertility, whether it is lime, gypsum, P or N — lift the whole paddock to a high level and maintain it and start vari-rating then.”

In the past six years, Andrew said the business had collected regional weather information at a macro-level; supplementing data collected by the Bureau of Meteorology with weather station collection points at Rutherglen Research Station, and two others on-farm including one supported by Riverine Plains.

“We do use a lot of historical data and data given to us,” he said.

“We put in two additional stations because what we knew is that we are spread out and the weather events have now become more isolated and more intense.

“What we see on one part of the farm we often don’t see on another part.

“The biggest driver for the stations has been our spraying so we could have accurate spraying records and we could see what was happening before travelling 20 or 30 km out to go spraying. If the wind is stronger out there for example, then today’s not the day to spray.”

Andrew said learning from other farmers — through forums such as Riverine Plains, Ag EDGE and even social media — had proven one of the most valuable resources.

38

AGFOCUS 2022

“In the decision making process, one of the strongest things we have to maintain and bolster is the ability to consult with our peers.

“In coming together you may instantly have 500 years of experience. People have seen different things based upon where they are and the crops they grew.

“The best part of the Ag EDGE farm business network has been being accountable to others related to your business acumen.

“But the soft side or personal focus has been a massive support for partners and other family members who might not be part of the farming business.

“Their level of understanding improves and it often takes away a lot of the anxiety about issues such as debt.

“There is a huge amount of trust shared between the farming families involved in these networks.”

Andrew and Sue have begun the conversations around succession planning for the next generation — their son and daughter, both at university and both with an ongoing interest in the family business, that includes their aunt and uncle and their children.

“We need to talk to them now and have them as part of the decision making,” Andrew said.

“We need to get the succession right and the business structure right because we are in a partnership — that will provide the next generation with the ability to work together or work apart.

“In my mind, in order to stay resilient, profitable and sustainable, we need to embrace change. We need to farm sustainably.

“We need to do what we can practically to reduce emissions, be part of the solution and not the problem.

“We have changed our business model and incorporated more livestock. We are focused on soil health so we can potentially mitigate pests and nurture beneficial insects instead of spraying for everything.

“We want to hand over our land in better condition than when we got it and also hand over a business that is not set to fail.

“We want to give our kids something they can run with and I hope they can.

“It’s taken three generations before us to get to this place. It would be good to see the fourth come through and then the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth.”

This case study is part of the Embedding Climate Adaptation in Agriculture project that is working with the region’s farmers to determine how the use of climate projections supports their farm management. This project is supported by North East Catchment Management Authority, through funding from the Federal Government’s National Landcare Program.

Andrew and son James, who is completing agriculture studies at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.

Andrew Russell says they have benefited from surrounding themselves with skilled and knowledgeable staff, taking on board information from the researchers at the local Rutherglen Research Station and attending local field days.

NEWS

REAPING POST-

COVID rewards R

egional communities and food producers within the Murray-Darling Basin could reap significant rewards in the post-COVID world, a leading demographer told the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s River Reflections conference in Mildura on June 1.

The Demographics Group co-founder and director Simon Kuestenmacher was the keynote speaker at the conference.

He said regional towns close to capital cities were seeing strong population growth that could position them well as future economic powerhouses.

“An uptick in migration will help the city centres of regional hubs, with millennial families the biggest growth segment,” Mr Kuestenmacher said.

“The general trend in the basin is for more rural and remote populations to decline while some of the bigger regional centres will continue to attract more people who are relocating both from big cities and smaller towns.”

Mr Kuestenmacher pointed to the stressors that basin communities shared which could act as barriers to the potential growth.

Across the basin, house prices rose sharply by between 10 and 30 per cent in many centres.

Mr Kuestenmacher said high house prices made the skills shortage even more difficult to tackle.

“How can basin businesses looking to fill low-income jobs attract workers when there is no affordable housing available?”

He cautioned that the skills shortage and housing shortage went handin-hand and could hinder economic expansion.

“There are some challenges on how you can attract the right workers to your region.

“Housing affordability will need to be tackled on the supply side of things.

“It’s crucial that local governments make enough land available for future housing developments. This needs to happen in a fast and un-bureaucratic manner.

“State governments need to put sufficient funds aside for regional

infrastructure upgrades.

“Private sector property developers are tasked with adding housing stock fast and at scale in regional growth hubs. This is of course difficult to achieve with the current skill shortage.

“Our workforce is transforming, with more highly paid knowledge workers and more low-paid workers, there are fewer middle-class and middle-income workers.”

In good news for the agricultural sector, Mr Kuestenmacher said he expected global food prices would continue to increase.

“Good money can be made here for farmers and food producers, however the cost of imports is steeply increasing.

“As the cost of doing business is only going up, businesses shouldn’t just try to tighten the belt and hope for costs to go down.

“The goal is to invest in quality assets and materials which will allow businesses to lengthen the replacement and renovation cycles.”

Mr Kuestenmacher said another interesting demographic trend was that many regional centres were missing young people in their 20s and 30s.

“Young people leave regional towns to get educated in the big cities of Australia and only return to their hometowns when they have schoolaged children and want to replicate their own childhood for their kids,” he said.

“The pandemic and the option for many workers to work remotely allows young families to act like retirees in the housing market.

“What I mean by this is that they can choose their place of residence based on lifestyle factors rather than vicinity to the inner-city employment hubs.

“Basin communities want to actively woo millennial families. Be loud and proud about your region, explain to potential new residents what life will look like.

“Work together as a whole community to ensure new housing supply comes online. Speak as one voice to state government to attract infrastructure spending into your region.”

Demographer Simon Kuestenmacher.

LIVE LOCAL, LIST LOCAL, LOVE LOCAL. F.P Nevins was established in 1923 and has been a family owned and operated business. With two office locations at Inglewood and Rochester and local agents with a wealth of knowledge. Why not get in contact with us whether it be for residential or rural enquiries, clearing sales or our livestock markets at Bendigo, Echuca, Auctionsplus or private sales.

Inglewood

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Inglewood (03) 5438 3041 AGFOCUS 2022

39

ELDERS DENILIQUIN

Date:

24/05/2022

Client:

ELDERS

Job:

MAY415-9A

Operator:

LEONIE

Colour:

FC

Size:

173X258MM (1/2 PAGE)

Fonts:

META

Paper/Insertions:

WT – 1/6, 8/6 & 22/6

REAL ESTATE PROOF SHEET

03 9682 2399 • re@ultramedia.net.au www.ultramedia.net.au

PLEASE CHECK YOUR PROOF CAREFULLY.

‘RHYOLA’ & ‘INVERNESS’ Deniliquin, NSW | 9,921 HA* / 24,516 AC*

‘A Renowned Southern Riverina Pastoral Holding’ • A significant breeding and fattening aggregation boasting extensive building and working improvements • 20 km* frontage to the Billabong Creek, dual frontage to the Forest Creek • 2 main residences and 3 staff cottages • 4 stand shearing shed with adjoining yards, 2 sets of steel cattle yards • Multiple sheds including a near new 30x18m* high clearance machinery/ hay shed • Well fenced into 17 main paddocks in addition to smaller holding paddocks • Excellent stock water via a piped S & D system, 2 solar bores, well maintained dams • Water access from the Billabong Creek with 160 ha* laser levelled irrigation with recycle system

Date:

01/06/2022

Job:

JUN516-2 RHYOLA & INVERNESS

Operator:

SANAM

Size:

139 X 129MM (T32)

Fonts:

META

Client:

ELDER

Colour:

FC

Paper/ COUNTRY NEWS Insertions: 7/6, 14/6, 21/6 & 28/6 BM - 11/6, 18/6 & 25/6

• Highly productive mix of soil profiles including sandy loam rises and silty creek JUNE516-5 soils, 100 ha* recently established Lucerne 139 X 129MM (T32) Operator: Size: LEONIE • Ideally located 65 km* NW Deniliquin, Fonts: Paper/ NEWS META 60 COUNTRY km* E Moulamein, 03 9682 2399 • re@ultramedia.net.au Insertions: – 14/6, 21/6 & 28/6 360 km* N Melbourne Client:www.ultramedia.net.au ELDER BORDER MAIL – 18/6 & 25/6 *Denotes ApproximatelyREAL Colour: FC Date:

08/06/2022

Job:

REAL ESTATE – PROOF SHEET

Auction Date Thursday 14th July, 11.00am Venue Coach House Hotel Deniliquin Matt Horne 0409 355 733 Nick Myer 0427 610 278 Elders Deniliquin 03 5890 5100 eldersrealestate.com.au/16090693

eldersrealestate.com.au

eldersrealestate.com.au

‘CLEVELAND’ Finley, NSW | 216.6 HA / 535.2 AC

44 Telephone Road, Deniliquin, NSW | 80.53 HA / 199 AC

A Highly Versatile Logie Brae District Holding

• Fully refurbished 50 square* brick homestead featuring 3/4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, ducted reverse cycle air conditioning, 2x slow combustion heaters, kitchen with butler’s pantry, substantial entertainment room with large heated swimming pool, 3 bay garage, 13Kw solar system, expansive lawns and gardens with inground watering system • As new guest/stable hand accommodation comprising of a 3-bedroom home with built-in robes, kitchen with walk-in pantry, ducted reverse cycle air conditioning, slow combustion heating.

• Extensive equine facilities including a formed all-weather trotting track, day stables, undercover plumbed wash bay • Substantial shedding consisting of a near new 51mx25mx7.5m hay shed, large workshop and machinery shed

Exceptional Lifestyle Property with Established Equine Facilities

• Quality red loam soils suitable for Lucerne, pasture and fodder production, summer and winter cropping • An excellent first farm, add on or Agri investment opportunity with inspections recommended *Denotes Approximately

Auction

Date Wednesday 20th July, 11.00am Venue via AuctionsPlus online platform Matt Horne 0409 355 733 Elders Deniliquin 03 5890 5100 eldersrealestate.com.au/16182054

EST

PLE

PLEASE CHECK YOUR PROOF CAREFULLY.

• Productive irrigation holding situated 35 kms from Finley and Jerilderie, 58 kms north east of Deniliquin • Spacious 4 bedroom home with outdoor entertainment area, double carport and 3 bay shed • Machinery/hay shed, high clearance utility shed with 2 stand board, catching pens and adjoining steel yards • Good working improvements including a workshop, steel cattle yards with loading facilities, 3x 40t* silos • Divided into 10 main paddocks with pressurised stock troughs, good fencing and internal roadways • 400 ac* laser levelled irrigation development, equipped recycle system, access to district drainage • Secure water supply via MIL, 1x Large irrigation outlet, 5 MIL Water and 601 MIL Delivery Entitlements

03

• Working improvements include steel cattle yards, stock water system, rainwater tanks, S & D bore, on-farm gravel pit • 80.53 ha or 199 ac fenced into 3x paddocks with productive red loam soils and established native shade trees, automatic security front gate and established orchard *Denotes Approximately

For Sale

For further details or to arrange a property inspection, please contact Matt Horne 0409 355 733 Elders Deniliquin 03 5890 5100 eldersrealestate.com.au/16204541

THINKING OF SELLING? Now is the time to talk with us about your appraisal We’re a family-owned and operated company and we pride ourselves on our trustworthy approach to all property transactions.

We have a strong team of highly experienced real estate professionals, committed to customer service and achieving great results.

That’s why I’m proud to say, we’re the team to trust.

SHEPPARTON 03 5821 8388 • NUMURKAH 03 5862 2611

Please give us a call for a confidential chat and free appraisal. www.kevinhicksrealestate.com.au

Kevin Hicks

SHEPPARTON - 226 WYNDHAM STREET - 5821 8388 NUMURKAH - 1-3 MELVILLE STREET - 5862 2611 KevinHicksRealEstate.com.au

@kevinhicksrealestate

“THE TEAM TO TRUST”

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KevinHicksRealEstate.com.au

AUCTION

Highly Renowned Horticulture Operation

Friday, July 29th at 11:00am at the Parklake Hotel, Shepparton.

Executive Family home – Coolroom - Packing shed - Office complex.

Large scale horticultural property to be offered as a whole firstly – then offered in 3 separate lots.

135.84 HA – 4 titles – 336 acres, MURCHISON NORTH

• Large family home – 4-bedroom brick veneer, 3 living areas, modern

kitchen and indoor pool room, beautiful English gardens, and surrounds Packing shed with extensive concrete loading bay 6 cool rooms & packing plant (2 lines) with bin tipper (stone fruit/citrus) Office complex, double storey board room, kitchen, toilets Professional plantings of established stone fruit and citrus

• • • • Lot 1/ 50 Hammond Road ‘Lanza’ • 24.2 HA – 60 acres • Home – cool room – packing shed – office • Plantings include Colorado and Rival apricots, K37 flat peaches, Satin flat peaches, Elegant Lady peaches and Teagan Blue plums

CONTACT: • Kevin Hicks .....................0428 271 270 • Paul Durden ................... 0409 563 671

•

predominantly plums, peaches, apricots, nectarines, lemons & limes.

Exceptional soil type with approx. 37 HA of greenfield areas to further develop or utilize grazing/vegetables etc.

Farming plant, equipment available at market value Delivery shares – excellent irrigation pumps/equipment No water shares included

• • • Lot 2/ 80 Hammond Road ‘Watkins’ • 58.2 HA – 144 acres • Exceptional soil type and topography include Prime Time, Amber Jewel, Black • Plantings Splendour, Suplum 41, 42 and Black Kat plums, Rival and Vracott apricots, Lily White peaches

balance of land approximately 33 HA is • The unplanted land and ideal for grazing and/or intensive irrigation development

Lot 3/ 238 Hammond Road ‘Tripoli’

• 53.44 HA - 132 acres • Quality soils and location • Electric motor/pump irrigation outlet • 2 frost fans include Eureka lemons (13 HA), Tahitian • Plantings Limes and approximately 21.3 HA of plums including Black Splendour, Prime Time, October Sun, and Generic plum varieties

white and Satin Flat peaches (4HA), • Sensational Arctic Snow nectarines (1.5HA), Rival and Vracott apricots (2HA)

“THE TEAM TO TRUST”

LATEST UPDATES:

KevinHicksRealEstate.com.au

SHEPPARTON • 226 WYNDHAM ST NUMURKAH • 1–3 MELVILLE ST

@kevinhicksrealestate

PH: 03 5821 8388 PH: 03 5862 2611

Now is the time to talk with us about your appraisal We can help you determine what your property is worth using market analytics and local knowledge.

Our team will show you how we go about selling real estate. If you choose to engage us, you will enjoy a transparent and professional process, underpinned by extensive experience and proven results.

Using virtual tours to sell and promote your property or investment.

Virtual tours enable your property to be viewed on our website anytime, a simple and hassle-free process from start to finish.

We will present your property in an exciting and effective way to showcase it to potential purchasers.

To view all listing presentations and see how we best showcase your investment visit www.kevinhicksrealestate.com.au

@kevinhicksrealestate

• RESIDENTIAL • RURAL • COMMERCIAL • LAND SALES •

OUR RESIDENTIAL SPECIALISTS: Kelvin Maude, Chris Drum, Kevin Hicks & Jason Hicks.

Paul Durden, Nicola Bolton, Julie Ryan & Terry Shiels.

OUR RURAL SPECIALISTS: • Paul Durden 0409 563 671 • Kevin Hicks 0428 271 270 • Chris Drum 0400 213 223 • Jason Hicks 0437 622 612

“THE TEAM TO TRUST”

RURAL SALES

AGRICULTURE FORGES AHEAD When it comes to rural property in the Goulburn and Murray Valleys, the team at Gagliardi Scott Real Estate has the local knowledge and decades of experience in selling land, and with improved seasonal conditions and the COVID-19 effect, it’s time for the area to shine.

COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the need to underpin the nation’s food security and local rural real estate experts Gagliardi Scott believe northern Victoria has a crucial role to play.

Director Darren Scott said tens of millions of dollars’ worth of agricultural land had changed hands in the area since the beginning of 2020, and a couple of outstanding autumn breaks are only adding to the positive outlook.

“People are finally starting to look at how important this area is for food production,” Mr Scott said.

“The rain has been a great start; it really changes people’s mindsets. When farmers make money, we all make money because they’re the ones that go into town and spend.”

Mr Scott said he, and his team, had always been positive about the future of agriculture in the area, which has been proven with high land prices, and now it was time to demonstrate to the rest of the country what the land can produce.

www.gagliardiscott.com.au

“This land can grow huge amounts of dry matter per megalitre of water, and that translates into amazing amounts of food.”

Recent sales have been to a 50/50 mix of corporate entities and traditional family farmers, with cropping land, horticulture properties and dairy farms changing hands.

Cropping land continues to be sought after, in particular tightly held dry land farms, which don’t have the burden of water entitlement delivery share, and at the opposite end of the spectrum farms with the security of groundwater are always of interest.

In good news for the local dairy industry Mr Scott said he has sold five dairy farms in the last few months, which will continue to operate producing the quality milk that the region is renowned for. With Milk, Grain, Beef, Lamb and Vegetables, prices are all soaring – it’s as positive as we have ever seen it.

182 High St, Shepparton | 0358 31 1800

SOLD

AVALON PARK YALCA $14,000,000 - $16,000,000

1100 + Acers 2 homes - 50 Stand Rotary dairy Currently milking 650 cows Centre Pivot – Lateral Pivot Outstanding soil types HR Water – 410 Megs LR Water – 273 megs Katunga Deep Lead – 894 megs Ground water license = 1296 megs Available WIWO all plant machinery and stock

Darren Scott – 0419 001 708

www.gagliardiscott.com.au

70 Melville St, Numurkah | 0358 31 1800

YOUR LOCAL AGENTS

Jayden Ferrari: 0400 295 867 (Livestock) | John Moyle: 0428 588 335 (Real Estate) Craig Cox: 0400 106 949 (Livestock) | Neil Maddison: 0427 505 053 (Livestock & Real Estate) Morgan Spencer: 0427 503 756 (Livestock) |Travis Thompson: 0427 990 779 (Livestock) Damien Kennedy: 0427 735 400 (Livestock) | Kat McLeod: 0418 758 905 (Livestock) Andrew Colvin: 0428 824 679 (Livestock) | Mick Kay: 0407 688 186 (Livestock) Will Lockhart: 0458 037 787 (Livestock) | Phil Serra: 0400 572 901 (Livestock)

LIVESTOCK AUCTIONS SHEPPARTON PRIME SALE (TUESDAY, WEEKLY)

ECHUCA STORE SALE

(FIRST MONDAY, MONTHLY)

ECHUCA PRIME SALE

(WEDNESDAY, FORTNIGHTLY)

DAIRY SALES, BULL & HEIFER SALES (AS ADVERTISED)

LIVESTOCK

Darren Gurnett and son Harrison among the stud herd. “They aren’t halter trained or anything, they’ve just got the nicest personalties.” He says the quiet temperament is one aspect he is looking to preserve.

AUSSIE BEEF WITH A FRENCH ACCENT Horns might fly under the radar thanks to widespread dehorning practices on calves, but farmers are increasingly opting for polled cattle so they can skip the messy step.

Thanks to the industrydefining McDonald’s Black Angus burger ad campaign, the beef industry pays more for solid black cattle.

M While lean meat has its place, the Australian meat industry is currently all about fat ‘flavour’.

ake them polled, turn them black and add a little fat.

This is the challenge Kerang farmer Darren Gurnett has given himself after seeing the massive potential in the French Bazadais (pronounced Baz-aday) cattle breed.

“Black cattle always sell for more,” Darren said.

“The true driver of the agricultural industry is market demand. If you look at any saleyard right now anything black is making extra dollars.”

Creating a polled Bazadais was about making life easier for farmers.

“Everyone wants polled, no-one wants horned. It’s the way the industry is going and soon you won’t be able to dehorn without needing a large amount of medical equipment,” Darren said.

And adding a little fat is for the butchers.

“I was talking to a butcher at the Seymour [Alternative Farming] Expo recently and he said Bazadais was one of his favourite meats to work with. It’s an incredibly lean, high quality meat,” Darren said.

“He said the only thing which held it back was the fact the fat was so thin that the carcases got freezer burn in the cold stores.”

Darren said these days consumers were looking for a fattier product, compared to the old days where lean meat was the ‘in thing’.

Darren and his partner Michelle Sutcliff run the Bazadais stud, Gunyado, where they’ve already introduced some pure-blood polled genetics.

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LIVESTOCK

Darren Gurnett with his stud Bazadais cows. One of the cows, Sienna, has birthed and raised twins twice.

“The EMD (eye muscle depth) on these guys is already huge,” Michelle said of the Bazadais.

“They have a doubled muscle look but they are really only highly muscled, which means they don’t have the problems that come with double muscling.”

Now the plan is to use 20 Angus stud cows to produce a line of fattier, totally polled, black Bazadais.

Using the Black Angus The Angus stud cows will introduce a

solid black colour, good fat coverage and strong polled genetics.

“The aim is to produce something true to type, black and polled,” Darren said of the experiment.

“That might take more than four years because it’s about breeding the right article four times, not just four straight generations.”

When asked if he was nervous about the time he’d have to invest, the beef and sheep farmer brushed it off.

“I’ve bred poultry all my life. I get more satisfaction out of breeding a

Bazadais cattle start out red before bursting into a silver and darkening into their adult grey.

good animal than winning at shows.”

Darren said his Nutrien Ag agent was convinced they’d have no trouble selling the first-cross black bulls as herd bulls.

Bazadais often shows up in the Australia beef industry as first-crosses, often mixed with Brahman to produce an excellent carcase for farmers in drier climates.

Preserving the pure stuff Michelle said the pure-blood Bazadais genetics would always be preserved.

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“We don’t know in the future if that full-blood stuff will be needed to pivot in another way,” she said.

“Fifty years ago in Australia they would’ve said every sheep in Australia should be a Merino.

“If other places hadn’t preserved their breeds we wouldn’t have the ability to diversify like we (the sheep industry) have done.”

The Kerang farmers, who also keep stud Tamworth pigs, have seen this loss of traditional genetics first-hand in the pig industry.

LIVESTOCK “The normal PIC (Pig Improvement Company) pig can’t go out under the sun because they get sunburnt now and they can’t handle the heat or cold,” Darren said.

“Compare that to an old-style Tamworth, which is a long-haired animal built for free-ranging.

“We’ve probably got two-thirds of the Tamworth pig genetics in Australia here on the farm. There aren’t many left because you can’t import pigs like other animals.”

The Bazadais point of difference

The Kerang couple has been involved with Bazadais for six years.

Darren said after getting some Bazadais in the paddock he was impressed by their performance.

“They’ve got the highest bone to muscle ratio of beef breeds and that’s where they run rings around the competition.

“There might be other breeds with more mass, but the money is in the muscle, not the bone.”

Michelle said the Bazadais had stood out after they came across the breed on Facebook.

“When we first saw them we did some research and really like their point of difference. They’re good mums, easy calving and fast growth,” she said.

“When I was researching the Bordeaux region they come from in France the climate sounded similar to us. They have a dry period and get a frost with not much rain.”

The couple’s original plan was to use Bazadais semen across their commercial cows, but with two of the last Bazadais stud herd owners in Victoria scaling down their involvement the Kerang farmers found themselves inheriting about 20 pure Bazadais cows.

“Faye (Tuchtan) was getting out of it and she said I could come and have my pick,” Darren said.

“And Ros (Denney) was switching to Bazadais and Waygu crosses for her paddock-to-plate business.”

The pair also acknowledged the role Queensland breeder Kahn Vietheer of Primeiro Bazadais has played in creating a polled Bazadais product.

Kahn’s Primeiro Bazadais stud is focused on creating homozygous polled pure Bazadais cattle.

Darren said after countless hours of phone calls, video calls and swapping genetics it was strange to think he and Kahn have never met in person.

One of the Bazadais cows with her calf on the Kerang property. Darren Gurnett has the cows on a sacrifice paddock he’ll crop later. “I’ve never seen cattle put on weight and grow as quick as these guys. They take off on grass”

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WATER

POSITIVE FORECAST N

orthern Victorian irrigators are facing a season of full entitlements and low allocation prices, according to water experts presenting at a VFF seminar.

With close to full water storages and the promise of average or above average rainfall in the short term, prices are likely to stay low for temporary water, the farmers heard.

Aither director Chris Olszak told the meeting that entitlement prices were at an all-time high but allocation prices had collapsed due to the wet conditions.

He believes this season will be a good one for allocation prices — and there was likely to be at least two good years ahead.

In terms of carryover strategy for the coming season, Chris suggested that in the Victorian Murray system, high-reliability water would be too risky — while in the Victorian Goulburn system, it would be a reasonable gamble at very low allocation prices.

Acting northern Victorian resource manager Andrew Shields pointed out that all northern Victorian irrigation systems had 100 per cent opening allocations for high-reliability water.

The Hume and Dartmouth storages were more than 90 per cent full, and Eildon on the Goulburn River was holding 77 per cent of capacity, which was 20 per cent more than for the same time last year.

Storage inflows for the major storages were well above the average for July to April.

Bureau of Meteorology data shows rainfall between July last year and April this year was close to average, while the chance of rain exceeding the average in the coming months was good.

For the first time ever, Murray system irrigators were entitled to 100 per cent low-reliability water shares in the latest seasonal determination.

Low-reliability allocations for the Goulburn system were possible this coming year.

Chris Olszak points out the relative health of water storages this season.

Source: Northern Victorian resource manager.

Source: Northern Victorian resource manager.

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AREA WIDE MANAGEMENT ESSENTIAL TO FRUIT FLY CONTROL The Goulburn Murray Valley Fruit Fly Area Wide Management Program has been successful in curbing Queensland fruit fly numbers across the region through area wide management.

Area wide management brings together community, industry and government to apply control and education measures across the whole region. Fruit fly control needs to be carried out by the whole community to be effective and relies on the program’s capacity to increase community awareness, education and engagement about fruit fly management.

Key area wide management strategies and project highlights include: • Removal of over 105,000 unwanted and unmanaged fruit trees in the Goulburn Murray Valley that would otherwise be a breeding ground for fruit fly.

• An army of project volunteers donating their time and energy to protect home gardens and commercial crops from fruit fly. Their goal is to protect our lifestyle, jobs and our regional economy.

• Establishment of urban/peri-urban/rural and sterile fruit fly release monitoring and trapping grids to identify fruit fly ‘hot spots.’

• Deployment of Field Officers to target ‘hot spot’ areas and build relationships with landholders to assist, advise and support them to manage and reduce fruit fly populations in high pressure areas.

• Assisting the Macquarie University Fruit Fly Research Team by underpinning the aerial release of sterile fruit fly in Cobram over a four year period with area wide management strategies and a sterile release trapping grid.

• Spreading the ‘No Flies On Us! Its Community Effort’ message and building community education and awareness about fruit fly control.

The program has a strong and well established track record in its ability to make a difference to fruit fly control and horticultural outputs, winning the Victorian Agriculture Innovation Award, Victorian Achievers Award and Australian Biosecurity Award in recent years. The program recently featured at the Hort Connections National Awards for Excellence 2022 in Brisbane and received the Visy Industry Impact Award from a field of 16 outstanding industry candidates from across Australia.

Credit Dannika Bonser Photo credit

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