AgLife - March 29, 2023 Edition

WEED-IT INFORMATION & WORKING DEMONSTRATION

THURSDAY MARCH 30TH

Traction Ag are hosting a WEED-IT information afternoon at the Rainbow FNC clubrooms next Thursday the 30th of March. Starting at 3pm, there will be working demonstrations, representatives from Rometron Australia and Agronomists for discussion on-site, followed by a BBQ.

WEED-IT In The Wimmera Features

Rometron Australia was established with a mission of bringing WEED-IT sensors to farmers fitted on the best boom sprays for our unique farming landscapes. Now proudly partnering with Traction Ag bringing retrofit options to Wimmera farmers.

25cm Nozzle Spacing

Tall weeds head to foot coverage

Reduced stubble shading

Twice the detection & twice the savings of 50cm spacing

Automatic Background Calibration & Exceptional Monitoring

Peace of mind operation

User friendly Simple to operate

ISOBUS Compatability

Interface with multiple controllers

Automatic boom section control

Weed mapping capabilties

Prescription / coverage maps upload and application

If you are interested in the WEED-IT working demonstration, use the QR code or email admin@tractionag.com.au to book your attendance. Booking is essential for catering purposes.

SCAN HERE

Traction Ag Horsham

135 Stawell Road HORSHAM

Phone: 03 5381 1385 www.tractionag.com.au

PWM

Constant rate with varying speed Corner compensation

Light Weight

Easyfitout

Less weight on boom 1 sensor per metre

750 g per metre

Smart Power Management

PSU conversion 12v - 48v 4 times less current Lighter wiring

Reduced power loss

Current draw on tractor approx. 2.2 amp/m

Traction Ag Nhill

6 Brougham Street NHILL Phone: 03 5391 1144

Generations awarded for innovation

BY ABBY WALTER Horsham’s Nagorcka

fam-

ily has marked a full-circle achievement this year.

The family took home the 2023 Wimmera Machinery Field Days’ best new machine accolade – 40 years after they first won the award.

Edgar Nagorcka won the best new machine award with his flat 10-bale system bale buncher in 1983.

At the 2023 field days, his son Brian and grandsons Richard and Eddy won the same award with their Bute Disc Chain.

Positivity in the air

Agriculture machinery business leaders are recognising confidence in the industry as farmers approach cropping season and machinery delays shrink.

Business representatives had the opportunity to connect with farmers at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days and discuss sentiment for the upcoming season.

Horsham Hydraulics director Eddy Nagorcka said farmers appeared positive.

“I think everyone is happy with how the past few years have gone and there’s moisture in the ground, so they are pretty excited about the season,” he said.

Emmetts Horsham sales representative James Gardner said the coming months looked promising.

“All farmers seem happy – the past three years have averaged pretty well, so feedback has been good,” he said.

“There’s plenty of moisture around, so it could shape up to be a good year if we get follow-up rain later in the season.”

Mr Gardner said most machinery wait times were between eight to 12 months – a stark contrast with the 12 months to two-year wait in recent years.

“Machinery wait times are slowly getting better and we’re in the process of playing catch-up now,” he said.

“I think in the next 18 months to two years we will be back to where we should be, but that always depends on

The Bute Disc Chain was a collaborative project between Bute Discs and Horsham Hydraulics, where Brian Nagorcka is owner. Richard and Eddy Nagorcka are directors of Horsham Hydraulics.

Brian Nagorcka said the project was three years in the making.

“The team from Bute Discs designed the discs and got them made and we designed the frame for it,” he said.

“The machine cuts the stubble ready for cropping, which means farmers don’t have to burn stubble. It works well.

“It’s been a slow development, but the team at Horsham Hydraulics has worked hard.

“We have a draftsman who had the components cut out and we welded it together in one frame.”

Mr Nagorcka said the team had built the machine to sell and also had another for hire.

“Machinery these days is pretty costly and you have to have a certain amount of work for them to make it worthwhile to buy,” he said.

He said the award marked three generations of the family developing new

machinery. “I have been a farmer for a fair part of my life,” he said.

“Dad developed a 10-bale handling machine, that meant farmers didn’t have to touch hay bales.

“All they had to do was drive the machine which put the hay in a form of 10 and someone could come along with the front-end loader to load it onto a truck and then take them off the truck to put on a stack.

“We sold quite a few of those, but machines and the industry progresses and now you have big bales that weigh about a tonne or more.”

Mr Nagorcka said to win the same award as his dad was very special.

“There are other good machines that are here, too. To win an award at the field days is no mean feat,” he said. He said after three years it was ‘almost strange’ to return to the field days.

“I have been connected with the field days for 40 years,” he said.

“We started here with the machine Dad built, we had a site here for several years and then have attended since we bought Horsham Hydraulics 28 years ago.”

manufacturers, where parts and machines are coming from and shipping.

“Nearly everything we had on our field days site was sold – we had to use some of the customers’ machines, as well, to show it off.

“It was all new machinery waiting to go out to buyers.

“There are some machines available to buy right now, but it is minimal.”

Agrimac sales manager Justin Beugelaar said he could also see manufacturing catching up to demand for machines.

“The industry is playing catch-up and we are seeing in certain models, where we have been waiting 12 to 18 months, that the wait times are getting shorter,” he said.

“As with everything, there are models that are really sought after, so the lead times are still out to some degree.

“However, we are telling people who are looking at buying – get your

name on what you want quickly and be next in line.”

Mr Beugelaar said after significant rain in spring last year that impacted some farming areas, there was a positive feeling in the air.

“I think it’s going to be a better year,” he said.

“Obviously, we had a successful year last year because of the rain, but we got hay off in the Wimmera and grades weren’t the best we’ve seen in

all areas – but there’s always a market for that.

“I think this year farmers are looking forward to some slightly drier weather, so I do see a lot of machinery being purchased in hay and little tractors.”

FIELD DAYS FUN: Pictured enjoying this year’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days are, above, Carter Allison; left, Corey Trevena and Tyler Moyle; below right, Lincoln and his dad Tom Fax with Ron Schneider; and below left, Pat Barton and Matty Lenssen. Pictures: PAUL CARRACHER

Bet made with confidence

Itravelled to Devenish for a grain grower meeting last week.

Devenish is a small village in northeast Victoria, 50-kilometres east of Shepparton.

Like so many small towns throughout regional Victoria, it is working hard to maintain a sense of community.

It lost its footy and netball club a few years back and the Graincorp silos have closed – but it still has a great pub.

I went there to talk about the High Amylose Wheat, HAW, project we are working on.

Think of it as a ‘wheat with benefits’ – probably the first wheat to have clear health benefits beyond just normal nutrition.

The first commercial production of HAW was in the Wimmera last season, with 11 growers producing 3500 megatonnes.

The first shipment is now on its way to a flour mill in Japan.

A domestic miller has also joined the project and will take 500mt of the

From left field

with David Matthews

2022 crop to begin commercial-scale trials in Australia.

So it is time to expand production and to manage seasonal risk by spreading the geography.

I’m pretty upbeat about prospects for HAW, and not just from the perspective of growing a profitable crop.

With this project, the farmers are working directly with the technology owner and the customer.

We don’t need an elongated supply chain, which often distorts information flow and always disperses value.

If we get the model right, we can repeat this with other new technologies.

So after giving the HAW spiel at Devenish, I was a bit taken aback to hear a crusty cockie grunt and say, ‘heard it all before mate’.

Turns out the crusty cockie was a

bloke named Ged. We both started an ag science degree at La Trobe University many years ago. He lasted one term, I lasted two.

At the time, I claimed to be twice as smart as him.

Ged countered saying he’s clearly the smartest – completed his uni degree in half the time it took me.

Either way, Ged had a point. They have heard it all before.

Farmers have been to many, many meetings where they have been told about the next beaut thing that will be great for their business.

They invest time and money into the product or project only to find in a year or two it hasn’t delivered on the promises made. How is this any different?

Contemplating this reminded me of that favourite line of Rob Hunt, ex managing director of Bendigo Bank and architect of the Community Bank model.

Rob would say a bank’s role is to ‘feed into prosperity, not off it’.

It’s not a bad filter to use when listening to a proposition and when

Bounty back

presenting one. Will this project or product add to the prosperity of the people who ‘buy in’?

Or is it just trying to tap into some of the wealth they have created in their enterprise?

I couldn’t really give Ged a definitive answer as to why this is different.

I could point to the CSIRO origin of the science, the capability of the plant breeding company developing the varieties and the co-operation of Japan’s largest flour mill.

In the end, though, this project will only be successful if consumers want the product.

So in the absence of a guarantee, the only option was to make a bet.

If in two years’ time the HAW project is not continuing to expand, I have to shout the bar in the Devenish pub.

If, however, the project is a success, Ged shouts the bar.

Turns out the other 14 farmers at the meeting are determined to ensure HAW is a success.

Apparently, Ged doesn’t shout often.

Victoria’s fox and wild dog bounty has resumed for 2023 and a new digital system is in place for the application process.

Agriculture Victoria biosecurity officers will operate monthly collection centres across the state from March until October.

Agriculture Victoria biosecurity manager Jason Wishart said participants could submit entire fox scalps for a $10 reward and entire wild dog body parts for a $120 reward at specified collection centres during scheduled collection times.

“I urge participants to refresh their knowledge of the bounty terms and conditions to ensure their bounty submissions are accepted,” he said.

Last year, 82,558 fox scalps and 384 wild dog body parts were collected.

Mr Wishart said Agriculture Victoria introduced a new system last year to streamline the application process, reduce wait times at collection centres and allow participants to keep track of bounty applications.

Registration for the new digital system is available via agriculture.vic. gov.au/bounty

SKILL: Sheep dogs and their handlers had a day out at the 95th annual Moyston Sheep Dog Trials earlier this month. It was a successful meet for Michael Deppeler whose dog Deppeler’s Spot topped the pool in both the open and improver categories; while Somerville Buddy was runner-up in the open section. Clementsville Depp, for Thomas Joyce, took out the novice section. Organisers received more than 35 registrations for the novice section and about 70 registrations for the open and improver categories. Among them was St Arnaud’s David Hines and Blue, pictured above.

Shaun Casey, Sandra Casey, Erin Wallace

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

Recognition of ongoing work

Field

Applied

Research Australia

managing director Nick Poole is the fifth recipient of Birchip Cropping Group’s Harm van Rees award.

Mr Poole received the award in recognition of his expertise and commitment to extending best practice in canopy and fungicide management to farmers across the Wimmera and Mallee.

He received the award at BCG’s trials review day after thinking he was attending the event to deliver a disease management presentation.

Mr Poole said he had always enjoyed working with farming systems groups.

“It’s such a fantastic way to get the message across to a large number of people,” he said.

“BCG is such a welcoming organisation, which I feel proud to have worked with and continue to work with.”

The Harm van Rees Award is awarded to a farmer, researcher, agronomist or industry leader who has made a significant contribution to agriculture in the region.

The recipient must capture and share the qualities of the award’s namesake, Harm van Rees, in that they are committed to supporting farmers with science, delivered in practical messaging.

BCG chief executive Fiona Best said Mr Poole’s stripe rust research and extension work was significant.

“Nick has been working with grow-

ers for the past 20 years, providing research-based strategies across Australia,” she said.

“He has worked with BCG from the beginning, leading fungicide diagnostic schools locally and across borders.

“Nick is a true leader in his field, having developed integrated disease management strategies including variety choice, fungicide timings and awareness around optimum seasonal conditions to ensure growers are well equipped to make informed economic decisions.”

Dr Harm van Rees said BCG existed because of the ‘tremendous support’ of farmers, sponsors, funding agencies, staff and research supporters.

“Nick has been a part of BCG’s journey for a long, long time,” he said.

“He has an intrinsic ability to clearly explain, demonstrate and cajole us to think about how crops grow and what the crop needs to optimise its yield potential.

“Nick is known for his quiet, measured speech, ensuring his audience hangs on every word.

Information hub for meat industry

Meat and Livestock Australia has launched Aussie Meat Trade Hub to improve connection and access to information for red meat growers, importers and exporters.

The hub is a single source of resources and services to assist with buying, selling and marketing Australian beef, sheep meat and goat meat to global markets.

Meat and Livestock Australia, MLA, international markets general manager Andrew Cox said the greatest benefit of the hub was that it brought together a wide variety of great promotional tools into one place.

“Prior to the hub’s launch, users might have needed to log in multiple times across multiple websites to complete different tasks,” he said.

“Now, users can access the five functional areas – exporters database, brand and licensing, assets library, global insights and trade shows – in one place via a single sign-on using their existing myMLA account.”

Agricultural burn permits

Country Fire Authority officials have moved to ease concerns of a fire emergency, as permitted burn-offs begin on rural properties across the region.

District 17 commander Lindsay Barry said people might begin to see smoke as the authority starts to issue ‘schedule-13’ permits to people working in the agriculture industry for the burning of fine fuel including grass, stubble and weeds.

A ‘schedule-13’ permit may be issued to an individual, only where there is an essential need to burn during a fire danger period, for example farming purposes.

“I have cherished my time working with him and I am pleased to see his hard work recognised with this award.”

The Harm van Rees award was first awarded in 2007 to no-till farming pioneer Allen Postlethwaite.

Subsequent recipients have been oilseed expert Steve Marcroft, Mallee agronomist Rob Sonogan and the late Tony Rathjen, who was responsible for creating the popular wheat varieties Frame and Yitpi.

Mr Barry said the authority would work with an area’s ‘group officer’ to determine requirements of a permit – including the size of the burn-off and fire breaks, the number of people required to attend and monitor a burn-off and the volume of water required on-hand. Wind speed, temperature and time of day are also considered.

Conditions of a permit can change from year to year.

Mr Barry said people could expect a response to a permit application within days.

The fire danger period remains in place until early May.

The hub is open to all MLA partners, including exporters, importers, retailers, butchers and chefs from across the world.

There is also relevant and profile-tailored content for Australian red meat producers and MLA’s industry partners, and importers can connect directly with potential exporters to inquire about Australian red meat.

Mr Cox said the ultimate role of the hub was for the world to have a single, streamlined site to access suppliers of Australian red meat.

“Australia’s reputation for producing trusted high-quality red meat products is shown by Australia exporting to more than 100 countries around the world,” he said.

“The Aussie Meat Trade Hub simply makes buying and selling the world’s best red meat easier.

“We’re very excited to showcase our product to more of the globe through this hub.”

HONOUR: From left, Birchip Cropping Group chair John Ferrier, Dr Harm van Rees, Nick Poole and BCG chief executive Fiona Best at a trials review day where Mr Poole received a coveted Harm van Rees award.

Third instalment a ‘brilliant’ result

BY ABBY WALTER

Horsham Agricultural Society

hosted its biggest Wimmera Merino Sheep Show on Sunday, with 160 sheep exhibited at the event’s third instalment.

The show, at Horsham’s Maydale Reserve, included the Wimmera Fleece Show and Wimmera Yard Dog Trial.

The society’s executive officer Andrea Cross said to have 160 sheep exhibited was a ‘brilliant’ result.

“We had more than 200 people attend, which is good numbers for a show of a specific breed,” she said.

Wurrook Fine and Superfine Merino

Wools won grand champion ewe and Terrick West Poll Merinos won grand champion ram.

The most successful exhibitor was Orie Cowie, a merino and poll merino stud based at Warooka, South Australia.

Belbourie Merino and Poll Merino

Stud principal Paul Hendy judged the strong and medium classes and Ben Hartwich, of Mt Challicum Merino Stud, judged the fine and superfine classes.

Mrs Cross said it was good to see more women involved in studs exhibiting at the show.

“The number of women representing studs and coming through their family businesses is really good,” she said.

“Claire McGauchie represented Terrick West Poll Merinos, who won champion ram, and Ava Harris, of Koole Vale Merino and Poll Merino Stud, won the junior judging.

“We’re seeing a shift in the industry and there’s a great future in agriculture for everyone.”

The yard dog trials were run under

the Victorian Yard Dog Utility Farm Dog Association by local delegates. Volunteers ran the Wimmera Fleece Show and used the showcase as an opportunity to fundraise for Wimmera Legacy.

Craig Eagle, of Glenera North Merinos, won grand champion fleece of the show.

WINNER: Craig Eagle and Loreta Batalla with Craig’s champion fleece at the Wimmera Merino Sheep Show. Pictures: PAUL CARRACHER

ON SHOW: Longerenong College students Patria Lees and Ruby Smith.

PROUD: Warren Russell, of Melrose stud, with his champion fine wool merino at the Wimmera show.

Grain market fluctuating

BY ABBY WALTER

National grain market prices are slowly dropping, and quite different to the state of play in March 2022, while Wimmera prices have fluctuated compared with February.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reported Australian export prices, as of March 22, were noticeably down on the same time last year.

Grain prices have dropped between 10 and 20 percent compared with the same time last year.

Milling wheat exported at $477 a tonne, feed wheat sold for $452 a tonne and feed barley exported at $409 a tonne. Canola has dropped below $1000 and was exported at $946 a tonne.

Wheat and barley prices have dropped marginally compared with February, while canola has seen a more considerable decrease.

In the Wimmera, AWB recorded bid prices for APW1 wheat last week were about $350; barley at $280; and canola at about $590 a tonne.

GrainCorp recorded bid prices from $335 to $34 for APW1 wheat, about $320 for barley and about $600 a tonne for canola yesterday, compared with

more than $700 at the end of last month.

In the livestock industry, lamb numbers at Horsham Regional Livestock Exchange are increasing lifting ahead of April.

On March 15, 4950 lambs and 1700 sheep were penned, while 7750 lambs and 2000 sheep were yarded on March 22.

Graham Pymer’s market report on Wednesday last week showed some ‘excellent’ runs of trade weight and heavy lambs yarded

The extra heavy-weight lambs and short skin trade weights sold a few dollars more on the previous week.

Medium and heavy-trade-weight lambs sold from $153 to $187 with heavy-weight lambs selling from $215 to $248 a head.

Lightweight lambs sold from $60 to $114 a head and light-trade-weight lambs sold from $112 to $151 a head.

Light sheep sold from $34 to $70 a head and medium-weight sheep sold from $63 to $106 a head.

Heavy merino ewes sold from $84 to $115 a head, crossbred sheep sold from $84 to $125 a head and merino wethers sold from $105 to $151 a head.

Rams sold for up to $39 a head.

CLICK GO THE SHEARS:

Above, Amy Kilpatrick gathers the wool as Sarah Lloyd shears a sheep, and left, Hamish Pearse in action at the Natimuk Show on Saturday. The show’s new raised shearing board had its first run at the weekend, enhancing occupational health and safety measures for people and competitions into the future. Johno Lovel built the board and Travis Maybery and project officer Michael Sudholz, the chief shearing steward, transported it to Natimuk showground last month.

Pictures: PAUL CARRACHER

Therole of real-time data in timely on-farm decisions was a key theme at Tatyoon and Willaura digital farm tech field days.

Ararat Rural City Council hosted the field days to promote opportunities available within the Ararat Digital Twin Spotlight Project.

The project involves working with the region’s farmers and planners to solve agricultural industry and planning challenges using a range of innovative sensor technologies and leveraging the powerful data visualisation and sharing capabilities of the Digital Twin Victoria platform.

The field days enabled the region’s agricultural community to connect and hear first-hand how locally-generated, real-time sensor data could assist on-farm efficiencies and boost productivity.

The council’s chief executive Dr Tim Harrison said the project would unlock exciting local value for the Ararat region.

“Agriculture and agribusiness are strong drivers of our local economy and building digital capacity to provide smart farming technology opportunities, including weather and soil condition monitoring capability, is an area we believe where the Ararat Digital Twin Spotlight project can deliver,” he said.

Growers and advisers in attendance heard from leading sensor technology providers Attentis Australia, FarmBot and Smart Paddock. They also watched presentations from proj-

ect partners Federation University and Telstra, which discussed the Narrowband network and its role in connecting real-time data with easyto-use product apps and interfaces.

The establishment of a local on-farm weather monitoring network, with a target to connect several local, strategically-placed weather stations, is one of the council’s core objectives.

The network is intended to support live data feeds, at the discretion of data owners, into the Ararat Rural Information Network – enabling residents to connect with the environment in real time.

Dr Harrison said he was pleased with grower interest in establishing the on-farm weather monitoring network, and in accessing available council grants.

“We look forward to collaboratively implementing the on-farm network in the coming months,” he said.

“The council’s involvement within the Ararat Digital Twin Spotlight demonstrates our commitment to becoming Australia’s rural innovation capital, leading the way with collaborative partnerships with Federation University Australia to drive advanced research and development in local agriculture and bioenergy.”

The Ararat Digital Twin Spotlight Project is a collaborative partnership with the Digital Twin Victoria program and Federation University Australia.

Report reflects shift in certainty

Victorian farmer confidence is decreasing after harvest delays caused by excessive rain at the end of last year, easing commodity prices and increasing interest rates.

The latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey found farmer sentiment across Victoria dropped compared with the previous quarter.

Nine percent of Victorian farmers expect business conditions to improve in the coming 12 months, down by three percent from the previous quarter, while about 39 percent anticipate conditions to worsen. Fifty-one percent expect conditions to stay the same.

The main driver for those farmers expecting the agricultural economy to worsen is falling commodity prices, with 69 percent citing this, up from 17 percent who listed it as a factor in the previous quarter.

Rabobank southern Victoria and Tasmania regional manager Deborah Maskell-Davies said concerns about falling commodity prices should be tempered with the reality they were coming off record high levels.

“Most agricultural commodity prices have already – or are predicted to – come off the highs of the past few years,” she said.

“However, although cattle prices have backed off a significant peak, milk prices remain strong, and the

quality of broadacre crops was better than many anticipated.

“The situation reflects the settling of factors, which influence agricultural economics in Victoria, so we’re seeing a return to ‘normal’ conditions after a few boom years.

“Many producers have come to terms with this over the past quarter, so it is no surprise this is the main reason farmers anticipate some decline in the agricultural economy.”

Other factors contributing to the drop in Victorian farmer confidence were concerns about drought, rising interest rates and the challenge of

accessing labour. Ms Maskell-Davies said the emergence of drought concern was interesting after significant rain in 2022.

“This potentially reflects some uncertainty, which is normal at this time of year for grain growers in particular, as they look towards the coming autumn break and the unknown of how it will impact this year’s growing season,” she said.

“Forecasts of a drier year ahead could also be weighing on some farmers’ minds.”

The survey found farmers were relieved by easing input costs, with

38 percent of Victorian farmers now citing input costs as a factor in worsening economic conditions.

“This takes some pressure off the inputs’ side of the ledger, with urea prices, in particular, coming off the highs we saw last year,” Ms Maskell-Davies said.

“However, many grain growers may have purchased essential inputs at a high point last year, which has compounded the impact to cashflow and margins from the drop in commodity prices.”

The grains industry had the greatest drop in those expecting the agricul-

tural economy to improve, to only 12 percent compared with 21 percent last quarter.

Ms Maskell-Davies said the latest results reflected the mixed bag of seasonal conditions and harvest yields served up across the states.

“A common theme with grain growers is their frustration due to a long, drawn-out harvest,” she said.

“Many growers would have still been finalising harvest and had plenty of grain on-farm when the previous survey was conducted, while at the same time, they were looking ahead to what the next season could hold in terms of the autumn break for seeding.”

Sheep production was the only sector in Victoria where more producers expect the agricultural economy to improve, creeping up from three percent last quarter to five percent.

Ms Maskell-Davies said many factors were playing into a mixed-bag sentiment.

“Although confidence was up in the sheep sector, many producers are also managing poor growth rates in lambs following the late, wet spring, which meant lambs were either sold later than usual or redirected into the stores market rather than being finished onfarm,” she said.

“Both these factors have impacted cashflow and confidence going into a new season of unknowns.”

ADDRESS: Dennis Vosnesenski presents at the Rabobank stand at the Wimmera Machinery Field Days.

varieous parts, boom transmission final drives

Gleaner N6, all parts new overhauled Alison engine, front.

Case 1640 Header, all parts including front.

AGCO 9250, flex front, most parts.

Manitou MLT745, 2015 model, booms, transmission, drives, various parts.

MF2190, Baler parts, complete pick up (suit 2170), various parts.

JD7810 Tractor, various parts.

JD7930 Tractor, various parts.

MF7475, DynaVT Vario transmission, most parts.

JD 8960 4WD.

Rogator