AgLife – October 31, 2018 edition

October 31, 2018

End of an era Monday will be a bittersweet day for Telangatuk East’s Tom Silcock when he and his family host their final on-property ram sale at The Mountain Dam. The Silcocks have put their successful stud up for sale after pouring their heart and soul into the operation for the past 30 years.

Despite pending ‘retirement’, Mr Silcock promises he’ll ‘never be bored’.

Story, page 23.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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orldwide agricultural demand is helping drive success for Horsham business Smallaire.

The Wimmera Business of the Year and regional air-movement specialist is undergoing a $500,000 expansion, driven strongly by its air-seeder products.

The State Government is providing $100,000 to support the family company’s expansion, prompting a visit from Regional Development and Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford.

Ms Pulford said the government was providing the money through its Regional Jobs Fund to help stimulate growth and create jobs.

Smallaire, which started as a tank-building enterprise at Rainbow, expanded into air-conditioners and now, with a workforce of 19, manufactures air-movement products for a variety of uses.

A shift into air-seeding technology has proved a dynamic move and helped the company establish a world-

wide market. It now exports products to many countries.

One of the byproducts of the expansion will be Smallaire exploiting its strong manufacturing position involving air-seeding products, to supplying fully integrated air-seeding kits.

Ms Pulford said during her Horsham visit that Smallaire was a proud Horsham business and a market leader.

“This half-a-million investment that Smallaire is making is going to mean jobs for eight more people, which is just wonderful for the local community,” she said.

“This is a business that is doing some really exciting things, particularly in terms of reaching into new export markets with a lot of custom-made products. Clearly Smallaire is held in exceptionally high regard by its customers. It’s a wonderful Horsham manufacturing story and one that is growing. It’s really exciting.

“We’re proud to support this innovative business in its plans to increase production capability.”

STATE SUPPORT: From left, Smallaire joint owner and director Lolita Small and managing director Jock Baker with Victorian Agriculture and Regional Development Minister Jaala Pulford at Smallaire’s Horsham factory.

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BY SARAH SCULLY

espite being ‘born and bred’ on a sheep stud at Gringegalgona in western Victoria, a young Tom Silcock never thought he was destined for a life on the land.

Growing up, he planned to be a builder or an architect after discovering a talent for mechanical drawing and general mathematics at school.

“Everyone thought I was going to be a builder or an architect and so did I,” Mr Silcock said.

It was a meeting with a careers advisor in his final year of boarding school that sealed his fate.

“They interviewed me and asked me a lot of questions about what I liked and didn’t like,” Mr Silcock said.

“Eventually they said to me, ‘Have you ever considered farming? Because a lot of the things you love are to be had in farming’.

“So I didn’t do my matriculation, as it was called then. I went home to the farm for a year then went away for a year and went on to ag college.”

Mr Silcock worked at his family’s stud for a while and also enjoyed a stint as a jackaroo.

Eventually he and his wife Alison branched out into their own cozmmercial enterprise.

“We ended up buying rams back home and a few others around and about,” Mr Silcock said.

“We had always had a strong focus on wool quality and micron, which has never waned. So, to get what we wanted, we decided to have a go at breeding our own.”

The Silcocks started The Mountain Dam merino stud at Telangatuk East 30 years ago, with Mr Silcock’s passion for merino genetics driving a strong breeding program with a focus on fine and superfine wool.

“We got to the stage where we were the third-biggest ram seller in Victoria, before we had a big fire 13 years ago,” Mr Silcock said.

“It decimated our flock and it took us about five years to get back to the numbers we previously had.

“Before the fire we were artificially inseminating 3000 to 4000 ewes a year with our top sires, plus we had embryo transplant programs.

“We only have small AI programs

now compared with what we used to do. If I was living on my own and didn’t have family around me I would have been pushing the accelerator button to get back to those bigger AI programs.

“But there are costs associated with it, not just money, but also time and commitment.”

Heart and soul

Mr Silcock, 62, has poured his heart and soul into The Mountain Dam stud.

Spend 30 seconds with him and his passion and commitment to making the stud the best it can be and producing superior rams is evident – even if you can’t quite keep up with the conversation.

“I can get excited by feeling a lambskin,” Mr Silcock said.

“It’s exceptionally challenging to make significant genetic change in your own flock, or clients’ flocks or stud flocks but I get a real buzz out of it – I really enjoy the sense of achievement.”

It is easy to see why Monday’s The Mountain Dam on-property sale will be a bittersweet one for the Silcocks, as they mark the end of an era.

The Silcocks have decided this year’s ram sale will be their last, offering the stud for sale by negotiation.

Mr Silcock said although his passion for merino breeding had not waned, the sale would be the final step in a succession program as he and his wife handed over the enterprise to son John and daughter-in-law Merty.

“We’ve been challenged operating the stud for a couple of years now, because John and Merty have not wanted to be part of running a stud,” he said.

“I think it’s fair to say that Alison has started to begrudge all the book-keeping and records – there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes, because of the way we operate the stud. We do a lot of recording and a lot of data management.

“I haven’t lost any of my enthusiasm at all, but the support base around me has become less and less enthusiastic.

“I’m a great believer that people should be working in a job they enjoy.

And if you’re not doing something you enjoy then you end up begrudging your work.”

Mr Silcock said although John

FARMERS:

MAKING PLANS: Tom and Alison Silcock take time to pause at their picturesque property at Telangatuk East ahead of a busy week preparing for their final ram sale. The Silcocks have put their successful The Mountain Dam stud on the market.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER lacked his passion for the stud, he loved commercial farming.

“The reality is we need to let him do what he wants to do,” he said.

“John loves his farming and there are a lot of reasons why the stud side of things does complicate the commercial side of it. So selling the stud is the final plank in full succession and hopefully the commercial enterprise will keep going as strong as ever.”

Mr Silcock said his family would try to sell the stud as a going concern.

Otherwise, they have committed to selling off parcels by auction in December.

“One way or another, that means we’ve committed to drawing a line in the sand,” he said.

“To me, great succession means you’re there to mentor and give advice.

“You see so many farming enterprises where the reins aren’t handed over, so succession happens with death – that means there isn’t anyone to answer questions and support them.

“I reckon about 30 to 35 years of age, most people probably peak within their physical capability and enthusiasm and drive. So at that age, you

need to make room or they probably won’t reach their potential.”

Loyal clients

Mr Silcock said he expected the final on-property sale to be well attended, with the stud benefiting from a strong client base.

“Our clients have been exceptionally loyal and strong,” he said.

“We originally started with a client base out the back of doing exceptionally well with wether trials, which I was involved in running for years at Balmoral.

“We had a reputation for being a top performer in the trials and won flock of the year in 1989.”

Mr Silcock said a computer program designed by his late sister, Marion Gibbons, was among the keys to The Mountain Dam’s success.

“We obviously visually select the animals initially and that’s backed with raw data and figures, followed by breeding values,” he said.

“But the real driver of our selection and our stud decision-making is performance recording, which analyses the animal every year for what it’s done versus what it should have done.

It’s been fascinating.” The Mountain Dam’s performance recording spreadsheets comprise more than 200 columns for a single ram, containing data such as fleece weight, wool quality and weaning and yearly body weights.

“If you don’t have any figures and you look at the animal the decision is quite simple,” Mr Silcock said.

“But as soon as I start telling you what its fat and muscle scores are and what its worm resistance is and whether it’s had a lamb or whether it’s a twin or a single… your decision-making gets a bit murky.

“We have the full extreme. We have some clients, as my parents did before us, who are happy just to ride the coat tails of our stud success. They’re clients because of what we do and the way we do stuff.

“We’ve got others who Alison sends all the spreadsheets to and they do the full analysis. Some of them are into pushing the dual-purpose and fertility buttons and are doing quite well by doing that.

“It’s a pretty exciting time to be in breeding. Wool prices are good.”

Mr Silcock said although he would miss running the stud, he still planned to ‘keep his finger in a few pies’.

“I’m still doing a fair bit of sheep classing and I enjoy doing that,” he said.

“I’ve been doing a bit of classing for Lynley Anderson in Western Australia. She is one of the leading sources of genetics for studs in Australia, so it’s exciting to be on that journey with her.

“I’ve also started writing a book, although Alison has threatened to divorce me if I try to finish it. I’d love to write a book about farming in Australia, but in a really intriguing fictional way, with all the dramas and excitement that drive farming that a lot of people don’t understand.

“There’s some pretty rugged stuff that happens out there with death and disasters, bushfires and so on, and in my life time I’ve experienced a fair whack of that.

“I also have some design-work dreams – there are a few more inventions I’d like to see come to fruition.

“I’ll never be bored.”

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Taking climate ownership Country Today with Libby Price

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ou don’t have to believe in climate change, just in making more money.

That’s the conclusion I drew from attending a 2018 Managing Climate Risk in Agriculture conference last week in Beechworth.

It struck me, at least anecdotally, that many more farmers no longer question the science. In fact, the general hubbub around the room when one brave farmer accused the Federal Government of a lack of climate-change policy was that most were in furious agreement with him.

So, is the sky falling with many of our government ministers in Canberra being climate-change deniers?

Don’t panic. They’ll change. At least that’s according to lawyer and conference keynote speaker, Sarah Barker who is a Special Counsel, Climate Change Risk with international law firm Minter Ellison.

“I’m a raving capitalist and at the end of the day the market has the final word on everything,” she said.

“You can make as many ideological

noises as you wish on either side of the fence, but at the end of the day if the market has determined that something is a financial risk, if the market has determined that it is cheaper and easier to be sourcing power from solar, wind and batteries, than it is for coal-fired power, that’s the end of the debate.”

And she claimed all levels of government were exposed. When Mother Nature turned nasty and people lost their homes, their livelihood, their luxuries, they wanted someone to blame and to pay. Ms Barker said it was only a matter of time before governments were sued.

“We’re seeing across the world, a significant increase in climate litigation driven by people starting to see financial losses associated with climate change,” she said.

“Couple that gap between private-property damage and what insurance will cover, people are out of pocket. So, they look to state and local government in terms of, what information were you giving us? What programs were you putting in place to protect our property?

“They – governments – are exposing themselves to a much higher future liability by having failed to perform their own obligations in a manner that isn’t negligent.”

It’s already happening to large corporations. Last week a claim was made

DRY: Farmers are increasingly worried about the effects of climate change. against oil giant Exxon Mobil in the United States for security fraud alleging misleading disclosure in its annual report – very similar to claims that have been made in Australia.

“A claim was filed against the Commonwealth Bank last year in relation to misleading disclosure of climate risk in its 2016 annual report,” Ms Barker said.

“That was withdrawn after a number of weeks. But we’ve now also seen a subsequent case against one of Australia’s large superannuation funds on similar grounds.

“It involved a beneficiary who was

seeking information from the fund about how it factors climate risk into analysis of how his and everyone’s money should be invested.

“He couldn’t get that information from the fund and has now expanded the claim to allege the trustee had itself failed to exercise due care and diligence in integrating climate risk into its investment process.”

It has also been revealed the number-one concern in our corporate boardrooms is climate change. While governments procrastinate, the rest of Australia, including our farmers, are dealing with the problem.

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Australian farmers will soon have the quality of their produce clearly on display around the world as part of a National Traceability Project.

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said the project, which is underway, would enhance trust in Australian-grown products and give Australian farmers a competitive market edge.

Mr Littleproud said under the scheme authorities would be able to ‘more easily’ trace where a biosecurity or food-safety problem began, which would mean an isolated incident would not impact a whole industry.

“It will let producers fully support claims, such as ‘organic’ and ‘environmentally friendly’,” he said.

“This improvement will build greater trust in Australian food and strengthen ‘brand Australia’.”

Consultations will soon be underway to develop a national traceability policy framework and action plan within the next six months.

“Improving our traceability systems will help us strengthen our reputation for delivering high-quality, clean, green and safe food,” Mr Littleproud said.

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INSIGHT: Farmers and industry experts soak up information at a Southern Pulse Agronomy Wimmera Field Day at Vectis west of Horsham. The field day showcased new pulse varieties from Pulse Breeding Australia.

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Farmers welcome skills training

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$20-million State Government commitment to skills and safety in the Victorian agricultural industry has won plaudits from the state’s farming peak body.

Victorian Farmers Federation welcomed the government’s Victorian Agriculture Skills Statement: Smarter, Safer Farms.

The package includes plans for the establishment of a Farm Safety Council in partnership with the federation and other groups The council would oversee implementation of $10-million in safe farm-

Wednesday, October 31, 2018

ing projects, as well as $10-million to establish Farm Skills Victoria, with a focus on skills development and uptake in the sector.

VFF president David Jochinke of Murra Warra said farm safety and skills development had been identified as key area of need in the VFF’s election campaign.

“The announcement of the $10-million Farm Safety Council and associated package to be implemented in partnership with the VFF is in line with one of VFF’s key election asks – which is to address the need for industry and farmer-led cultural and behavioural

change when it comes to farm safety,” he said.

“The fact that more than half of workplace deaths in Victoria occurred on farms last year, and that agriculture has one of the worst health and safety records of all industries, means significant investment in farmer-led initiatives that promote this cultural change is needed.

“Accidents, injury and deaths on farm are not acceptable. For too long the Victorian agriculture sector has put this in the too-hard basket – shying away from having the tough conversations.

“A strong safety culture requires be-

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havioural and cultural change. In seeking to address these issues, the VFF has emphasised the need for on-farm health and safety initiatives that are farmer-led to ensure adoption, acceptance, relevance and buy-in from farmers across the state.

“We welcome the opportunity to drive change via the safety council.”

Mr Jochinke said the federation also welcomed the government commitment to establish Farm Skills Victoria to focus on skills development and uptake in the sector, as well as $2.5-million in funding for AgTech innovation developments at Longerenong College.

Grains Research and Development Corporation has provided another five farm business fact sheets to help growers with on-farm decision-making.

The fact sheets focus on topics of structuring business for generational transfer; applying corporate principles and processes to the family farm; capital-gains tax implications on the sale or transfer of farmland; transferring farmland into a self-managed superannuation fund; and investing in a sprayer.

GRDC extension and communication senior manager Luke Gaynor said the fact sheets were designed to provide information about important aspects of farm enterprises.

“The GRDC has long recognised that grower profitability is intrinsically linked to decisions made in the farm office and around the family kitchen table, in addition to those in the paddock,” he said.

“This is why the GRDC invests in research, development and extension that supports growers in all profit-influencing facets of their farming endeavours.”

The five new fact sheets can be found at online at bit.ly/2E4ZgXL.

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ictoria’s peak farming group is urging extreme caution and vigilance be applied to imported grain coming into Australia.

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allow grain into Australia from countries known to have a biosecurity risk not present here.

“A biosecurity incursion could cause immeasurable damage to Australia’s multi-billion-dollar agriculture industry. It is crucial that we protect the long-term viability of Australian grain and hay producers.”

Mr Johns said the grains group also wanted assurances from Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud that the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources would strictly enforce protocols around the importation of grain.

“Grain trans-shipped from other Australian states, such as Western Australia, is also subject to biosecurity requirements and given the volume of grain that has moved from WA into eastern states, this process is clearly working,” he said.

“The drought also highlights the issue of grain supply in Australia, which reporting on stock levels would go a long way to addressing.”

Victorian Farmers Federation Grains Group wants guarantees that border authorities and ‘anybody considering importing grain’ maintain biosecurity integrity.

With expectations Victorian grain levels will be down significantly this harvest, group president Ross Johns said it was critical the industry avoided being at risk by a rush for overseas imports.

“While the VFF is not opposed to grain imports, imported fodder and grain can pose a significant biosecurity risk to both grain and livestock industries,” he said.

“The VFF is urging extreme caution in relation to imported grain and is steadfastly opposed to any changes to biosecurity or import protocols which would diminish current requirements.

“In particular, we must not

National sheep data available to producers Sheep producers can now see a broader picture of the health of their flock using carcass data from processing plants across the country.

National Sheep Health Monitoring Project, NSHMP, is collecting data for the project managed by Animal Health Australia, AHA, with support from Sheep Producers Australia and WoolProducers Australia.

NSHMP has been working in abattoirs nationwide for more than a decade, gath-

ering data on a range of diseases and other conditions which impact producers’ profits.

AHA senior biosecurity manager Rob Barwell said the NSHMP checked carcasses and offal for 19 different conditions which hurt producers’ bottom line, but which were often invisible on-farm.

During the 2017-18 financial year NSHMP inspected 28,666 lines in 12 abattoirs, totaling more than 6.7-million sheep.

“That’s roughly one in every five sheep

processed in Australia for that period, which is a huge achievement for the project,” Dr Barwell said.

“This means more producers than ever can access their sheep health data and begin identifying and managing conditions in their flock that hit them in the hip pocket.”

More information about the NSHMP is available online at www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/nshmp/.

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Edith

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Shelters/Misc 40 x 40 Container Shelter, white portable container shelter .....................................$4,500 40 x 40 Container Shelter, white portable container shelter .....................................$4,500 80 x 40 Storage shelter, white portable self standing shelter 80ft x 40ft x20ft high .. $5,500

Located at Lot 1 Palm Avenue, off Dooen Road, HORSHAM

KYM GROSSER Page

Boom Propelled Sprayers Case 4420, 2009 Case 4420 36M self propelled sprayer. Comes with Aims Command, auto height control , Trimble/Case Auto steer. Approx 2700 hrs good condition. ........ $275,000 Gold Acres 3018, 2012 Gold Acres Special exolution 18m trailing Boom Spray with 3000 litre tank. Hydraulic drive & elec over hydraulic boom lift control............................$25,000 Gold Acres 6536, 2012 Gold acres Prairie Evolution 36 M boom, with hyd. drive....$82,500

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PRICES INC. GST

Macdon D60, 2011 Macdon D65/5152 40ft Draper front ............................................$66,000 Macdon D60, Macdon D60 windrower frontm 30ft.....................................................$44,000 45ft Mid west Front, 2009 45ft Midwest Draper front ...............................................$66,000 40ft Mid west front, Midwest 40’ draper front with JD adapter ...............................$44,000 Tillage Air Seeders JD 1835 Seeder bar, John Deere 50ft bar on 10” spacings & press wheels, little use..................................................................................................................................$60,000 Trailers Tandem Trailer, Jims Mowing tandem trailer .............................................................$2,200 Tri Axle Tipper A trailer, Aluminium Tri Axle tipper A trailer ...................................$42,000 Spreaders Amazone Spreader, 2014 36M 3 tonne 3PL spreader, variable rate with load cells................................................................................................................................$28,400

John Deere S680, 2012 model, 1650 rotor hours with 40ft Macdon D60 front.

With full service, harvest ready.

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Hay Equipment Krone 320 Disc mower, 3 point linkage rotary mower ...............................................$6,600 New Holland 1010 3 x3 Baler, Approx 49,000 bales ................................................$11,000 Howard Slasher, 3PL, 6ft butterfly finishing slasher. Ideal for hobby farmer............$1,100 Tractors MF5435, Massey Ferguson 80Hp tractor with cab, a/c & approx 8500 hrs................$22,000 ATVs JD Gator, ATV petrol 825cc fuel injected tipper tray. New reco engine.....................$11,000 Header Fronts Case Canola Pick up front, 12ft 2015 Case Canola Pick up front .............................$13,200 New Holland 43’ front, Honey Bee 43ft 94C draper front, with third deck windrow option, and U 2 reel....................................................................................................................$53,900 Macdon 40 FD75, Macdon FD 75 flex draper Case adapter........................................$77,900

John Deere S690 class 9 header. 40ft Draper front, approx. 2200 rotor hrs, excellent condition, will be service to make harvest ready. Fronts available.

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2010 Case 9120 class 9 header with approx. 3058 rotor hours. Comes with auto steer, straw chopper, AFX rotor. Serviced, harvest ready with 40ft 2011 2153 front.

2009 Massey Ferguson 9895 class 8 header. Comes with straw chopper, spinners, free to air auto steer, with approx. 1500 rotor hours and 45ft Midwest front.

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New Holland CR970 class 7 header with 42ft Honey Bee front.

$245,000 inc. GST Case 9120

$275,000 inc. GST 2012 JD S690

Pryors Rd

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$122,000 inc. GST New Holland CR 970

36m boom, 6000-litre tank with Aims Command, auto steer, approx.

2700hrs.

$155,000 inc. GST MF9895 Header

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2015 John Deere 946 12ft flail mower conditioner.

$275,000 inc. GST Case 2009 4420 self-propelled boom spray

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$22,000 inc. GST JD946 Moco

Wednesday, October 31, 2018