March 25, 2020
Living their dream
Young Coromby farmers, from left, Kurtis Schodde, 21, Campbell Spittle, 20, and Bailey Petering, 22, love the diversity of farm work. Story, page 21. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
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Young farmers loving life on the land 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106
Kurtis’s story is a common one among farming families – he grew up itching for weekends and school holidays when he could spend time on the tractor or header, doing crop inspections and enjoying the freedom of the great outdoors. “I couldn’t wait to get out here as a kid,” he said. “I love it here. I did a little bit of work elsewhere, but mostly on the farm. I’ve been on the farm full-time since 2017.” Kurtis, 21, is a grain farmer, growing cereals and legumes with his father, Craig, on the family property north of Murtoa. “I’m the fourth generation at the same farm,” he said. “It’s good being on the family farm because you get to see the improvements you make. “I like seeing how everything changes. Sometimes Dad looks at something I do and questions it, but then he can see that it works.” Kurtis said he enjoyed keeping busy and loved the diversity of farm work. “I like the versatility of the work,” he said.
“There are so many different things you can do – you never get bored. “I always go back and forth as to whether I like seeding or harvest better – I think it’s harvest, because you get to see the result of what you’ve grown all year. “I’m the header driver, so I get to see the end of it. “I also get air-conditioning and food deliveries, so it’s a good place to be.” Kurtis said he was lucky to have grown up in a rural environment and to pursue a lifestyle he was passionate about. “I think we could use a few more young farmers – there’s not enough of us,” he said. Kurtis has several mates in a similar situation, including housemate Bailey Petering. Bailey, 22, worked on a cattle station near the South Australian outback town of Oodnadatta for 12 months before moving home to work on his family’s farm. “I wanted to do something different and it was a completely different type of work,” Bailey said. “It was very interesting to see how they operate up that way. The station was in the middle of the country, at the top of South Australia. The conditions are a lot different up there, it’s a lot hotter and very remote.” The Peterings have a mixed enterprise involving sheep, crops and hay.
nEW 6m
nEW 7r
BY SARAH MATTHEWS
C
oromby farmer Kurtis Schodde believes he was destined for a life on the land, from the moment his parents gave him his first toy tractor in the delivery room.
“Anyone who hasn’t started to get organised for cropping is going to get a bit of a shock, I think.” Kurtis said he and his father had ordered ‘what we think we need’ and were hoping the supply chain did not dry up. “It’s not going to get any better,” he said. “Even if we get the crops in, we might not be able to get the supporting chemicals we need when we need them. “The flow-on effects are going to be huge. “We don’t have any employees, so we haven’t had to worry about having to put anyone off or anything. “We are self-sufficient, but we will just have to wait and see what happens. Hopefully it’s all okay and we don’t have to go seek employment elsewhere – I don’t know what we’d do.” Kurtis turned 21 last week. His birthday party was also a casualty of the coronavirus lockdown measures. “We decided to cancel it because of the crowd size,” he said. “Hopefully I can have a belated celebration at some stage. “Weekends are going to be pretty quiet now – there’s not a lot of places you can go. “I was speaking to a mate the other day and we both like woodcutting, so we might go do that.”
PERFECT JOB: From left, Kurtis Schodde, 21, Campbell Spittle, 20, and Bailey Petering, 22, love life on the land.
Bailey, who works alongside his father, Tim, and uncle, Paul, said he loved the different seasons on the farm. “Each time of year, there is different work to be done,” he said. “Each day is different – I like the variety of work and I like working outside.” Bailey said although farming was a reasonably isolating job, there were plenty of ways to stay socially connected, including sport or catching up with friends. Social connection is a major issue across the country at the moment, with parliamentary leaders and health offi-
cials urging Australians to stay home and ‘socially isolate’ to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Bailey said in many instances it was easy for farmers to follow the directive. “I guess we’re pretty used to it,” he said. “I can go to work and only see two or three people for the whole day. “The coronavirus hasn’t affected me working, but it has the potential to cause a lot of trouble for farmers if we can’t get the supplies we need coming into cropping. “We are already finding it hard to get all the chemical we need.
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report into a floundering Murray Basin Rail Project combined with the global COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Victoria’s peak farmer group leader to stress the importance of transport links.
Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said an Auditor General assessment of the rail project, MBRP, had revealed it was three years behind schedule and had exhausted 87 percent of its allocated $381.5-million without a completion date in sight. He said he was concerned the project had been on hold since mid-2018. “The MBRP is a once-in-a-generation project to create a fit-for-purpose regional rail network in Victoria and the current COVID-19 pandemic has exposed just how vital transport links are to our food supply,” he said. “This is a nation-building project. At a time when our economy is in crisis, it is projects like this that are essential for our future prosperity. “The Victorian Government should be thinking about the projects that it will bring on line to support our economy through bushfires and now COVID-19. “We will come out of Novelcorona and when we do, it’s projects like this that we need to have ready to go.” Mr Jochinke said the Murray Basin Rail Project would reduce transport-logistics costs for industries and
VITAL LINK: A floundering Murray Basin Rail Project combined with the global COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Victoria’s peak farmer group leader to stress the importance of transport links. primary producers and ensure the rail network could meet future freight demands of the state. “The government estimated the MBRP would lift efficiency by 15 percent and allow for an additional 500,000 tonnes of grain to be transported by rail each year,” he said. “Not only does this project have significance for rural communities with an estimated 280 construction jobs, but it is also important for Melburni-
ans who will benefit from fewer trucks on the road, especially to Geelong. “We want it finished. It will get freight off road, reduce road damage and improve road safety as well as getting agricultural exports to port quicker and cheaper. “Melbourne is getting tens-of-billions of dollars in transport infrastructure upgrades. “Regional Victoria just wants its fair share. This project is a no brainer.”
Premier Daniel Andrews made a commitment to the project on Monday August 17, 2015, promising to ‘… fix the missing links in our freight network and connect regional Victoria to the ports of Portland, Geelong and Melbourne’. On February 24 this year at a VFF Grains Conference, members unanimously resolved to demand the government adhere to its commitment to standardise the remaining broad-
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gauge lines and complete the link through Ballarat to Geelong. Victorian Opposition leader Peter Walsh launched a scathing attack on the Labor government’s handling of the project. Mr Walsh said the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, VAGO, finding confirmed the worst for producers and stakeholders in north-west Victoria. “Labor has no plan and no money to get the basin rail project back on track,” he said. Mr Walsh said the report had revealed the project had ‘not met scope, time, cost or quality expectations’. He said it also showed ‘completion of the MBRP is a year overdue, with over twice the original budget now estimated as necessary to complete the project to its original approved scope’. He said VAGO also found delays and coster-runs had worsened due to ‘ineffective contract management, project management and project execution by V-Line’ and responses to Federal Government requests for information from the State Government ‘were not always forthright or timely’. Mr Walsh and Opposition transport infrastructure spokesman David Davis took aim at Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allen, accusing her of attempting in parliament to smear the credibility of the Auditor-General and demanding she take responsibility for the project’s position.
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Farmers asked to speak out V
BY DYLAN DEJONG
ictoria’s peak farming body is reminding the agricultural community to report farm crime to authorities in a bid to reduce incidents across the state.
Off the back of a ‘Locals Get Vocal’ campaign, Victoria Police and Victorian Farmers Federation aim to change the culture of how farmers protect their assets, while also making it easier to report on-farm crime. VFF president and Murra Warra farmer David Jochinke said co-ordinating the campaign with Victoria Police was a crucial step forward in preventing crime. “This is about getting farmers to talk to and co-ordinate with police officers, not only to report and identify, but also solve farm crime,” he said. “We’re trying to encourage people to speak up and get their voice heard. “We’ve got to take that ownership. We have take the approach of not allowing it to happen to begin with. That occurs around our attitudes and how we look at problems and solve them as a group.” Mr Jochinke said it was difficult for authorities to allocate resources to prevent crime if farmers failed to report incidents. He said latest figures showed a misrepresentation of crime in regional localities due to under-reporting.
“We don’t have good enough stats,” he said. “We’re seeing under-reporting of farm crime, which makes it harder for us to ask for additional resources.” Mr Jochinke said he anecdotally heard of incidents occurring across the Wimmera-Mallee. “In our area there’s been a lot more people coming on to farms,” he said. “I hear of people losing sheep in our area, losing equipment from their sheds, chemicals, trailers, even tractors in some cases.” In September last year Victoria Police added a team of 70 Farm Crime Liaison Officers, FLCOs, to a specialised farm crime unit to improve reporting opportunities for famers. Mr Jochinke said VFF hoped additional FCLOs would create a way for farmers to speak out. “Having these dedicated people to contact will hopefully give the farmers the confidence to report crime,” he said. He said reporting was crucial for police to be able to follow up leads. “One of our greatest concerns is, even while someone might report the crime, few follow it up,” he said. “That just boils down to resourcing. The more we report it, the more people get active, the more it’s followed up.” Mr Jochinke said while reporting was important, preventative measures could ensure farmers could protect themselves.
David Jochinke “Farmers need to be responsible for their own equipment. No longer can we just expect people will abide by the law. We’ve got to be proactive in how we protect ourselves,” he said. “Things like firearm storage – no longer is a fridge with a padlock acceptable. We want people to be using certified gun cabinets – putting surveillance in where there’s valuable assets such as wool, sheep yards and diesel tanks. “We want people to not leave their vehicles unlocked near roads overnight. “There’s many things we can do. It starts with conversations in the district; if you see a suspicious vehicle in the neighbourhood give your neighbour a call. If you’re going away, help your neighbours help you as well. We’re trying to get vocal.” Mr Jochinke said he wanted farmers
to be confident it was worth reporting a crime. “We’re better working together than trying to be vigilantes,” he said. “We don’t want people to take the law into their own hands. We want people to have faith in a system that works. “To make that system work we need to be a part of it.” Farm Crime co-ordinator, Inspector Karl Curran, said the rising number of incidents had equated to millions of dollars of stolen agricultural resources. “In the past 12 months, livestock worth more than $1.9-million was stolen across Victoria,” he said. “There were 3588 crimes reported in the previous 12 months where tools, equipment, pumps, trailers and fuel were stolen equating to about $1.4million. These crimes are facilitated by an abundance of property, isolation and remoteness.” Mr Curran said rural properties were often targeted by offenders searching for firearms. “There were 134 firearms, as well as ammunition, stolen during burglaries across the state over the past year,” he said. “Most rural property owners use firearms as part of their jobs and offenders are well aware of this. “While most firearms are safely stored, they are often kept on remote properties and the theft is often not discovered for days or even weeks.”
Livestock warning 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106
Agriculture Victoria is advising sheep and cattle producers to keep an eye out for signs of phalaris toxicity, which can lead to illness and sudden death in livestock. With the flush of new growth across the region following rain after a prolonged dry period, there is an increased risk of livestock suffering from phalaris toxicity as a result of consuming young phalaris grass. In its early stages of growth, usually the first six weeks, phalaris grass contains toxic alkaloids, which if grazed, can lead to animals developing phalaris staggers. In contrast, phalaris suddendeath syndrome is caused by high levels of ammonia in the animal’s system. Agriculture Victoria district veterinary officer Rachel Gibney said phalaris staggers could develop between 10 days and four months after grazing pasture and animals could even show signs months after being removed from phalaris. People can gain further advice by contacting veterinarians or Agriculture Victoria veterinary or animal health officers.
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In light of that, this is a ‘virus free’ column. I’ve decided instead to share with you one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences of a very different variety. Last week while I was on holidays, I attended a two-day Western – as in cowboy – horsemanship clinic with American legend Pat Puckett. I was apprehensive because I was the only non-Western rider and very obviously so. No cowboy hat, no cowboy saddle, no cowboy spurs and no cowboy ropes. I’ll admit, sitting on my 16.2-hand warmblood mare among 15-hand quarter horses, I was thinking this was going to be a one-day clinic for me. For half of the first day, my horse and I were totally confused. I reminded myself how there was something to learn from everyone, even if it’s that they’re a fool, so I soldiered on. As the fog lifted, I slowly concluded that I was privileged to be learning from the finest natural horseman I’d ever met. But better yet, a great storyteller. Let me share a few with you. Puckett has been a rancher all his life and has always worked cattle on horseback. He now only has Huntaway working dogs. When he rides into the mountains to muster cows and calves, he first finds a comfortable rock with a fine view, gets off his horse and commands his dog to bark for several minutes, with not a cow in sight. He claims he waits for an hour, enjoying the
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solitude of just horse and dog while the cows seek out their calves in response to the barking. He then commands the dog to start barking again, and slowly the cattle make their way out of the high country. ‘No galloping, no cracking of whips, no mis-mothering, just happy cattle quietly walking home with horse, rider and dog taking up the rear’. Everything Puckett does is done slowly, calmly and with purpose. Even fooling others. He had a nurse as a client who kept insisting he wear gloves when roping cattle. So he wised up the other cowboys to his plan. After roping a calf, he screamed and threw a rubber thumb he kept for such occasions and yelled, ‘Quick tie up the dogs, the calf has pulled off my thumb!’ The nurse raced to the rescue, scooping up the spare appendage. Puckett then held up both hands and everyone laughed. Except the nurse. So, did an eventer-dressage rider learn anything from an old cowboy? Hell, yeah. Puckett chose to ride my horse for several hours and she’s a changed horse for the better. Couldn’t rope a calf off her, but our trust is at a new level. But the most important lesson: to be a good horseman-cattleman, above all you need humility and respect for the animal.
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ederal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has spoken of how Australian primary producers are in a position to stake their claim as providers of the best food in the world.
He said through adversity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia might also emerge as a world leader in supplying critical produce in difficult circumstances. Mr Littleproud said government and industry leaders were working quickly to find ways of continuing supply into key markets – ‘to be able to provide secure food supply of the best food in the world to other nations. We produce enough food for 75 million. We oversupply, we’re only a nation of 25 million’. “So here’s an opportunity, out of all this disaster, for Australian primary producers to actually stake their claim on the world stage of being able to provide the best produce in the world – but also – to be able to do it in tough times,” he said. “So, we’re working through that as quickly as we can to make sure we can also maintain our international markets and expand them where the opportunities arise.” Mr Littleproud was responding to questions by radio station 5AA’s Leon Brymer, who also asked about domes-
tic supply chains and getting produce from warehouses and onto shelves in shops. “Well, it’s just plain stupidity what is happening out there in supermarkets,” Mr Littleproud said. “There are old ladies getting pushed over to get the last piece of meat, or the next toilet roll; it’s absolute stupidity. “The reality is there is no strain about us being able to supply supermarkets and the Australian people with groceries. “The only strain that is coming is from the stupidity of a few that are bulk buying – and meaning that we are now having to change local laws to allow trucks to be able to get in to these supermarkets at all hours of the day, taking away curfews, where they were quietly doing it in hours that weren’t impinging on our ability to sleep at night and do the right thing. “We are now having to change local laws to be able to get trucks in to stop this stupidity. “Australians can do this by themselves, calmly get on with it – like Australian farmers are. “Australian producers are just calmly going about their business, producing the best food and fibre in the world and we are looking at this in making sure that we secure Australia’s security, food security. But also an
opportunity to grow our sector further, globally. “We are well positioned, not only as a sector, but as a nation because of the work that our men and women do on those paddocks out there, producing the best food and fibre in the world.” Mr Littleproud also responded to questions about fuel supply and prices. “Our fuel supplies are better than what they have been because there’s an abundance,” he said. “Obviously, there’s less use of it at the moment, we are obviously monitoring it, but this is one of the things in contingency planning. “Government, state and federal level, are working together to make sure all levels of continuity for our economy and for our nation continues. “Our society continues on, we’ve looked at all the essentials, whether they be groceries, whether they be fuel, all the way through electricity, water, making sure the essentials of life are there and we are best placed than any other nation in the world and we should be damn proud of that rather than allowing panic and social media overtake common sense. “That’s all we’re asking the Australian people now, is to show some common sense.”
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PRECAUTIONS: Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange manager Paul Christopher. Attendance at weekly sales has been limited.
Exchange access changes Access to Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange’s weekly sales is limited to buyers and stock agents as measures are taken to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Horsham Rural City Council infrastructure director John Martin said to ensure sales could continue, the council needed to limit attendance by non-essential people at the site. “Council sees the Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange as a critical service to continue during the COVID-19 emergency, to help ensure food security,” he said. “Access during the sale will be
restricted to agents, buyers, transport operators and council staff. “The general public will not be able to attend, even if they are sellers at the sale. “We are conscious that many regular attendees are in an age bracket that is potentially more vulnerable to the virus, and are taking this measure as a means of ensuring continuity of the sales.” Horsham Rural City Council is preparing for future changes to the pandemic and will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as changes occur.
With free on farm delivery within 300km’s of Horsham, be sure to get along, say hello and discover the strength, value and versatility of Titan.
Titan TL30 Wheel Loader
Titan TL20 Wheel Loader
Features:
Features:
9 Rated 3000kg operating 9 125Hp Turbo Diesel
9 Rated 2000kg operating 9 105Hp Turbo Diesel
9 4400mm lift height 9 4 Speed Powershift
9 4000mm lift height 9 4 Speed Powershift
9 36km/h Road Speed
9 36km/h Road Speed
Motor
Motor
Transmission
2019 Henty ys Field Da Machinery
MACHINE R OF THEYEA Nominee
Priced at $41,900 including GST
Titan TL30 Standard Inclusions: 9 Passive Boom Suspension 9 Electronic Float Function 9 Hydraulic Quick Hitch 9 4 in 1 Bucket 9 Pallet forks 9 Spare Wheel 9 Reverse Camera 9 Air Conditioned / Heated ROPS Cabin
Transmission
All Titan Wheel Loaders come as standard with Heavy Duty 4 in 1 buckets, pallet forks and spare wheels
Priced at $29,900 including GST
Titan TL20 Standard Inclusions: 9 Passive Boom Suspension 9 Electronic Float Function 9 Hydraulic Quick Hitch 9 4 in 1 Bucket 9 Pallet forks 9 Spare Wheel 9 Reverse Camera 9 Air Conditioned / Heated ROPS Cabin
The Titan product range is supported by the Titan Tough, 2 Year / 2400 factory warranty.
Discover the strength of Titan today at www.titanloaders.com.au or call 03 9786 6363. “Don’t get caught paying more for less” Wednesday, March 25, 2020
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