Western Downs Farmer

DECEMBER 2018 EDITION NO.14

Dry conditions affect yield ® PAGE 3

2 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Welcome

contact us EDITOR Shannon Hardy, 07 4672 5500 Emails editorial@suratbasin.com.au ADVERTISING (CHINCHILLA NEWS) Rachael Green Phone 07 4672 9930 Email rachael.green@chinchillanews.com.au ADVERTISING (DALBY HERALD) Nicole McDougall, Phone 07 4672 5502, Email nicole.mcdougall@dalbyherald.com.au GENERAL MANAGER Erika Brayshaw, Phone 07 4672 9921, Email Erika.brayshaw@apn.com.au All material published in Western Downs Farmer is subject to copyright provisions. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission for the publisher.

DISCLAIMER: The information contained within Western Downs Farmer is given in good faith and obtained from sources believed to be accurate. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. The Chinchilla News or Dalby Herald will not be liable for any opinion or advice contained herein.

INAUGURAL WINNER: Pat Gleeson with his trophy.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

Beef battle hits the spot for steak connoisseurs More than 150 locals and visitors crowned the Darling Downs’ tastiest sirloin steak last night after taking part in a blind taste-testing event featuring six of the region’s top beef producers DELIVERED by Food Leaders Australia, NH Foods Oakey took home the inaugural title after competing against other local brands JBS, Stanbroke, Rangers Valley, Oakey Beef Exports, Mort and Co, and John Dee. Food Leaders Australia general manager Bruce McConnel said the event was the region’s first beef battle and he was proud to see the outstanding level of support it received with a sold-out crowd.

“Congratulations to all our producers for taking part – the world-class beef on display ensured it was a tough decision for our steak-loving audience,” Mr McConnel said.

“However, tonight was really about showcasing what we have here locally, and we were delighted with the robust conversation around the room between beef suppliers and representatives from the food and hospitality industry.

“It marked the first time we were able to get everyone together and we hope it won’t be the last – we will look at planning more initiatives like this in the future to promote our unique

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region’s produce.”

Pat Gleeson from NH Foods Oakey said: “The team from NH Foods Oakey are absolutely stoked with the win. It was a great way to promote products from the Darling Downs. A lot of people are involved with the process, so this success wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

Mr McConnel said he was pleased to have the support of The Star Entertainment Group with Treasury Brisbane’s top chef joining The Spotted Cow’s chefs in the kitchen to ensure a fair contest.

Treasury Brisbane executive chef Steven Jones said he was delighted to have the

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opportunity to work with the Toowoomba chefs and help showcase the region’s strong beef industry.

“I thoroughly enjoyed being part of this initiative – it gave me a fantastic opportunity to learn about each of the local brands first-hand as well as work with a whole different team of talented chefs at The Spotted Cow,” Mr Jones said.

“The networking with all the beef producers in the room was invaluable – being involved in these sorts of initiatives is part of our broader approach to continue engaging with regional Queensland communities and learn about what’s on offer right across the state.”

At the end of the day, we want to create authentic Queensland experiences for locals and visitors to our properties and food will always play a significant role.

— Steven Jones

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THE life of a farmer is not an easy one and recent years have not improved circumstances.

Despite often being at the mercy of the elements, farmers don’t let the world make decisions for them.

Instead, they become innovators.

Some invent new products, such as David Abbott’s Quick Picket, others work together towards new systems like the climate guide.

Whole new businesses are born to help highlight the quality and importance of Australian product like Porter & Wood.

When we caught up with Porter and Wood’s owner, Jason Porter, he spoke to us about the importance of buying Australian materials to support the industry in our own country, which is why his clothing line is made from Australian cotton.

We can trust that this hardy sense of carrying on will keep those in the rural sector moving forward as inclement weather and the closure of agricultural colleges tries to bog people down.

Things will turn around.

Until then, farmers will continue forward and keep innovating.

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 3

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Dry conditions affect yields and increase cattle yardings

Weather conditions across the Darling Downs have improved sorghum prices for 2018 JACINTA CUMMINS DRY and dusty conditions have crippled harvest yields across Victoria and New South Wales, opening the door for those with successful crops to command a better price for their product, but a lack of rain is worrying growers as temperatures soared to the high 30s across the Darling Downs on the second weekend in December.

The hottest temperature recorded for Dalby in November was 38.9 degrees on November 5 while the low was 7.2 degrees on November 24.

Blaxland, east of Dalby, recorded 29mm of rain for November but generally the rain which fell in October and November across the Darling Downs was patchy with growers having to be under the right cloud to get anything while their neighbour often missed out.

Sorghum is shaping up as an attractive prospect with prices of $365 per tonne delivered for March to April, but growers have their fingers crossed for rain to ensure the crop delivers and feedlotters are also hoping rain will translate into price relief.

Despite the price, many

growers are not locking into forward selling contracts just yet as they are waiting on rain to ensure their crops’ success.

The lack of rain and feed across the Western Darling Downs has boosted numbers going through saleyards in Roma and Dalby with Roma selling 30,000 head in November alone.

Portfolio Chair for the Roma Saleyards Councillor Peter Flynn attributed the increase purely to drought conditions.

A dust storm hit Blaxland, east of Dalby, on November 17.

Renitta Flynn lives at Blaxland and said the dust storm started about 3.45pm with a loud roaring sound and vibrated the whole house.

“As it went through, cyclonic

winds followed snapping tree branches as well as loud claps of thunder and lightning that made you jump with only 3mm of rain before it eased off all in a spate of 30

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As it went through, cyclonic winds followed snapping tree branches as well as loud claps of thunder and lightning that made you jump with only 3mm of rain before it eased off all in a spate of 30 minutes.

— Renitta Flynn

minutes,” Renitta said.

Although dust storm warnings were issued for Dalby on November 22 as part of the bigger dust storms that covered large swathes of NSW and Queensland, prompting Queensland Health to issue warnings for asthmatics and people with respiratory failures to stay indoors with windows and doors shut, the dust storm didn’t eventuate to the severity which forecasters had warned about.

Events like this appear to be coming more frequently on the eastern seaboard.

Renitta Flynn snapped this photo of a massive dust storm near Bowenville which was followed by “cyclonic winds, thunder and lightning but not much rain” in November. PHOTO: RENITTA FLYNN

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4 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

New version of the TPP set to deliver the goods for Australian beef and wine

TPP will see some tariffs reduced immediately and others gradually reduced in further months

BENEFIT: Australian beef is set to be one of the big winners from the CPTPP and is looking to capitalise on America’s withdrawal as this could mean a bigger market share into Japan. PHOTO: JACINTA CUMMINS

JACINTA CUMMINS AUSTRALIA ratified the revamped version of the Trans Pacific Partnership on October 31 meaning the deal will come into effect on December 31 with some tariffs reduced immediately and others gradually reduced in further rounds.

Donald Trump walked away from the TPP which he had previously called “an attack on America’s business” and said he was doing a great thing for the American worker by pulling out of the free trade agreement.

This led to a new deal being negotiated between the remaining 11 members: Australia, Japan, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Canada, Mexico and Brunei Darussalam which is known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The Australian Meat Industry Council welcomed the deal’s ratification as an “excellent outcome”.

It said market access was one of the four biggest challenges faced by its members so the tariff

reductions would help address this.

Deloitte reports that beef is Australia’s leading agricultural export to other CPTPP nations, valued at $3.2 billion, averaged over the three years leading to 2016-2017.

Japan is the largest consumer of beef out of the CPTPP countries, taking about $2 billion dollars in beef exports annually.

The CPTPP will see tariffs on Australian beef entering into Japan fall from 29 per cent to 9 per cent in 16 years.

Because America is not part of the CPTPP or any other free trade agreements with Japan it will remain on the highest tariff structure, currently 38.5 per cent, leaving Australian beef producers hopeful that they will expand their markets into Japan at the expense of America.

Beef and Lamb New Zealand said the agreement would save New Zealand’s meat industry $63 million in tariffs into Japan once it was fully implemented.

Australian horticulture is set to win with tariff

reductions into Mexico expected to expand the Australian fruit and vegetables’ market into the country.

The Winemakers’ Federation of Australia said the deal would give Australian wines access into growing markets such as Canada and Mexico.

Chief executive Tony Battaglene was quoted saying “the CPTPP will benefit growers and winemakers”.

“Importantly, this deal gives some significant concessions in growth markets, including Canada

and Mexico, but also over time will also deliver benefits throughout key Asian developing markets,” he said.

Tariffs on wine into Canada will be dropped on December 31 and tariffs on wine entering Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam will be phased out gradually.

China is not a part of the CPTPP but it is Australia’s number one trading partner so Australia will enter into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, another trade deal which is being negotiated with China as a key driver.

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 5

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Jason Porter modelling his shirt from Porter & Wood.

Cap from Porter & Wood range.

Jason Porter from Porter & Wood.

Porter & Wood

Local family’s idea has turned a passion into a business PORTER and Wood started three years ago from Jason Porter’s simple need to furnish his workers quarters and grew into a passion.

“The woodwork side came by accident,” Jason said.

“The house... came with the job, it wasn’t furnished at all, I thought righto, I didn’t have any money either at the time so I thought I’d set out and make it myself.

“I started making a few items and that’s where my passion started, that’s what I love.”

Jason posted some of his creations to Facebook and the orders started rolling in.

After that, he went ahead and started his carpentry apprenticeship but he wanted to find a way to

supplement his income and improve his craft.

Jason and his wife Jessie came up with the name Porter & Wood.

“Right from the start I wanted it to be a logo that people wouldn't mind wearing.”

The merchandise to advertise Jason’s wood work added another layer to the business.

“I had this idea for clothing, for cotton clothing,” Jason said.

“We’re on a cotton farm and I wanted to use Australian cotton.”

Before bringing out the clothing, Jason wanted to link his future merchandise to his wood work so he asked himself how wood

GROWN FROM NECESSITY: Woodwork table by Porter & Wood. could be wearable.

Timber bow-ties were a hit followed by the branded caps.

As each item takes off, the plan for the next can be put into play.

Jason wants to use Porter & Wood to encourage people

to buy local and to buy products made from Australian materials.

“You’re not just wearing a brand.

“Porter & Wood, you’re wearing the story of this region and other farms... you’re flying the flag for them.”

PHOTOS: SHANNON HARDY

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Porter & Wood, you’re wearing the story of this region and other farms... you’re flying the flag for them.

— Jason Porter

6 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Work smarter not harder with the Quick Picket David Abbott’s invention proved its worth at the recent Navigator pitch awards Shannon Hardy WORKING smarter not harder is at the forefront of many minds, especially when it comes to physically demanding jobs.

David Abbott’s Quick Picket makes putting in fencing posts easier.

Having grown up in the Condamine-Meandarra area, Mr Abbott is now self-employed, managing DSA Contracting, a seed grading, mustering and fencing business covering a large customer base around the same district.

The ute-mounted picket driving fencing machine that Mr Abbott calls the Quick Picket was born out of frustration, to make a demanding job easier.

Mr Abbott’s invention won him $10,000 in prize money at the Navigator Awards last month.

That money will now be used to have the design properly drawn up and have two demonstration models built.

While Mr Abbott said the current design is pretty perfect for what it is, he has other designs in mind.

“We could say this is a base model, we’re talking about building a contractors pack and making a few other changes to make a better one.”

The designs are being drawn up and pre-orders for five Quick Pickets means that Mr Abbott will soon be able to start selling more.

Mr Abbott thanked QGC and TSBE for getting the Navigator program going in the Western Downs district.

Contact Mr Abbott at davidsydneyabbott@gmail.com or check out DSA Contracting on Facebook.

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The future of the Western Downs is looking pretty bright with the other contestants that were in (the awards).”

— David Abbott

Navigator Pitch Award winner David Abbott.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 7

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Horse sales buck the trend, with great numbers in dry conditions Australian Stock Horse Sale a success, with 77 per cent of lots cleared Ebony Graveur ONLY expecting a social outing and a bit of fun, one couple went home from the Dalby Australian Stock Horse Sale far from empty handed.

Not only did they leave with a brand new horse in tow, but Coralie Daly and her partner were the proud buyers of a beast called Narrego Miss Spinductor, the horse to go for the highest price, topping the charts in selling for $42,000.

“We went for a social outing, really,” Ms Daly said.

“But you’ve always got to keep an eye open for good horses because they’re not always readily available.”

The couple plans to involve the seven-year-old mare in campdrafting work.

In an event that drew people from all over Australia, crowds made their way to the 44th Annual Dalby Australian Stock Horse Sale in December.

Packing out the showgrounds with caravans, guests enjoyed three days of entertainment in the form of retail and hot food stalls, live music, campdrafting and performances from trick riders.

Australian Stock Horse Society president Jim Ryan said the event turned out well, especially considering current environmental conditions.

“The horses sold very well compared to the

industry and what’s happening at the moment, because it’s so dry,” Mr Ryan said.

“We were really happy with the sale.”

During the course of the weekend, $1.8 million worth of stock horses sold, with 77 per cent of the 256 lots catalogued clearing.

Ray White Dalby principal Roger Lyne said horses sold for an average of $500 less than last year.

“Last year was $10,000 and this year the average was $9600 or thereabouts,” he said.

He said the drought could explain the drop in prices.

“The last thing on people’s minds is buying another horse to feed,” he said.

“Under the circumstances, I think we’ve come out very well.”

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We’re pretty proud of it. It’s the longest-running event Dalby’s ever had.”

— Roger Lyne

Not just a sale of horses, the Stock Horse Sale brought with it campdrafting events with plenty of cash prizes at stake.

WELL ATTENDED: Dalby Stock Horse Sale 2018.

PHOTO: EBONY GRAVEUR

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8 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar, Cotton Growers Association representative Aaron Keily, the LNP’s agriculture spokesman Tony Perrett and Ian Burnett from AgForce at the Emerald Agricultural College.

PHOTO: KRISTEN BOOTH

The last of Queensland’s ag colleges to cease operating in 2019 Andrea Davy QUEENSLAND Agricultural Training Colleges, including flagship operations at Emerald and Longreach, will cease operating at the end of 2019.

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said an independent review had found that “traditional agricultural industry training” has been declining for years and “more flexible” options were needed.

“We have maintained the Emerald and Longreach

colleges with significant funding for years, but they are well past the point where they are sustainable,” Mr Furner said.

“Numbers of students have reached unsustainably low levels across Emerald and Longreach campuses of QATC, leaving only nine students at Longreach and seven students at Emerald to graduate in 2019.”

Mr Furner said the decision to close QATC was not taken lightly, but enrolments had been

consistently falling for years despite significant government support.

In the announcement, Mr Furner said the Queensland Government would be investing $30 million to modernise and reinvigorate vocational training in the state’s central west.

He said that in implementing the Coaldrake Review the Queensland Government will initially invest $7 million to:

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The Coaldrake Review has identified opportunities to grow the vocational education, training and skills sector in central-western Queensland, and help boost economic growth and regional resilience ● Ensure current students can complete their qualification or studies at QATC or through a supported transition to other training providers ● Maximise employment

— Mark Furner

opportunities, in consultation with staff and union representatives, which may include retraining, deployment, or redeployment ● Establish a project management office with

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 9

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Transport is a key part of the farm team

Carting inputs and outputs keep wheels turning

Simon James from Western Downs Transport.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

KEEP ON ROLLING: A Western Downs Transport rig.

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

WESTERN Downs Transport Director Simon James will cart thousands of tonnes of manure from local feedlots this summer for cotton growers using the natural waste as a fertiliser.

Mr James, who runs the Dalby-based haulage business with wife Megan, said while his core business was chain-bed cotton and grain cartage, the manure cartage had become an important part of the transport company’s annual program.

Having been in the transport game for eight years and working on a family cotton and grain farm at Broadwater for the six years before that, Mr James is no stranger to having to adapt.

“When you have a business that is directly connected to agriculture, you learn to ride the waves of good and bad seasons. I don’t think anyone is 100 per

cent comfortable with the uncertainty of it but I’ve learnt to accept it and go with it.”

Determined to shake off the old “stubbies and thongs” image of truck drivers, Mr James says being professional and having good communication is the key.

“We become a valued part of the farmer’s team, rather than an afterthought. We’re regularly talking to the growers to understand what their harvest or picking plan is for that day, week, month, so that we can plan the cartage schedule to suit.

Because I’m an ex-farmer I’m also OK to load myself or move an auger, whatever it takes to get the crop moved quickly and safely.”

This can-do attitude and empathy for clients was part of the reason Western Downs Transport received a Judge’s Encouragement Award at the 2018 Dalby Chamber of Commerce Business

Excellence Awards.

“It was such an honour to have one of our clients nominate us for an award, but to actually get acknowledged by the judges as a business that’s ‘having a go’ was a pretty special moment.”

The recent hot, dry and windy conditions have been throwing some doubt on the coming sorghum and cotton crops, but Mr James said he remained cautiously optimistic about what the new year would hold.

“We’ll be excited if we can get all three of our round and conventional cotton chain-beds rolling this season, but we are always working on plan B if that doesn’t happen.”

But for now, there’s manure to cart.

“It’s a crap job, literally,” Mr James says with a laugh, “but we’re happy to do it.”

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Relying on ❝ the rain

It’s a highly variable climate we work in, and the distribution of that rain can be quite sporadic.

— Wayne Newton

Savvy farmer relies on rainwater to feed crops Dannika Bonser IN 1904, the Dalby town council and its subterranean drilling team were overjoyed when, at 870m, they struck water.

The small Queensland town was looking to establish an artesian bore similar to other nearby centres such as Moree and Mitchell, and what they struck was mineral-rich and a therapeutic 38C. For the next 34 years Dalby was a place where locals and tourists indulged in “taking the waters” – a national health fad in the early 1900s that was thought to be remedy bodily aches and pains. But for Dalby farmer Wayne Newton, “taking the waters” is not about drilling down, but rather intercepting water to fill dams – something that has been in short supply in recent years.

With no access to bore

water or allocations from the Condamine River, he can only use what comes from the sky.

Much needed October rainfall of about 100mm has temporarily quenched the thirsty soils where he farms on the Darling Downs flood plains, 200km north-west of Brisbane. Annual rainfall totals have been well down almost every season since 2013, with 50mm cracks frequently seen in the heavy clay soil. Wayne said although the cracks could be a metre deep and looked severe, they were a normal function of the expansive Vertosol clay soil.

He just needs them to fill with water.

“The beauty of it is when you get heavy rain the cracks literally fill from the bottom,” he said. “The water runs down to the bottom of the cracks and soaks out into the ground in between the cracks – it’s like filling a bottle from the top.” “When the soil gets wet

it swells and the cracks close.

It swells both vertically and horizontally and everything closes up, and that helps then keep the moisture in the ground until the crop uses it, and once the crop uses it the cracks open up again ready to take in the next rain.”

SUMMER LOVING

WAYNE puts in both summer and winter crops but says the most important are the summer rotations of cotton, sorghum, mung beans and maize. Being in a subtropical climate means croppers on the Downs are less reliant on in-season rain, but need to have soil water profiles relatively full before sowing.

The area’s heaviest clay soils store up to 250mm of plant available water, with the lighter ones closer to 200mm.

To shore up water supply for thirsty crops like cotton, the Newtons built two 1000-megalitre turkey-nest

dams in the late 1990s. The compacted clay-wall dams store water that is “harvested” from natural drainage lines running across their property. The water is intercepted as it runs across the flats toward the infrastructure intercepting water this way, under the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

“When it comes to overland flow, because we’re limited to when we have the water, we can do it – it’s not like we’re taking it out of a river – there’s may be only four or five days a year we can pump it,” Wayne said.

In order for the water to run, the cracks in the clay must fill up first. “When things are reasonably dry mostly we don’t see much run-off until we’ve had over 100mm rain,” Condamine river, and pumped into the dams There is now a moratorium he said. “At the 100mm point there’s a bit of

water starting to lie around on the country. Once you get another storm with another 25–40mm that’s when you start to see the water running, and that’s what we’re seeing now.”

PUMP IT UP

ONCE the water is running, the Newtons can pump 200 megalitres of overland floodwater a day, meaning that five days of pumping will fill the dams for the next season.

Of their 630mm average rainfall, well over half comes in summer. “It’s a highly variable climate we work in, and the distribution of that rain can be quite sporadic,” Wayne said. “Certainly, it’s not unusual to go through July to September with very little or no rain. We take rain when we can get it. Building storages for water is just one of our responses to the climate we have up here.” Storm cells in summer were unpredictable

and area-- specific, the multigenerational farmer said.

“There might be a big storm travel through the district, and if you’re right underneath it you get the rain, and if you’re on the edge you smell the rain.

“Over the years I’ve seen seven inches come down in a couple of hours. Well that makes a lot of water.” Despite getting too much rain being a more common problem than the opposite, the past few years have been exceptionally dry. Until mid-October, Dalby has hardly seen enough rain to fill the cracks, let alone the dams. The area recorded 42mm in the normally wet

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 11

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

months of March to May, and 72mm between February and October. But a lot can change in three weeks. The skies opened in early October, dumping 105mm. At the Newtons’ place the clay cracks filled quickly, but only small amount of run-off was captured for storage.

According to Wayne, their two dams are now 15 per cent and 75 per cent full, meaning more summer rain is needed for the summer crops.

CROP TOPS

WATER, weather, prices and a myriad of other factors mean that deciding cropping rotations in the subtropical

climate can go down to the wire.

“We don’t have fixed rotations, we’re very flexible.

What we plant is driven firstly by available moisture, and then what the returns are going to be,” Wayne said.

“Cotton is one of our most profitable crops, but then you’ve got to have a good profile of moisture if you want to grow it on dry land, or irrigation water if you’re going full irrigation.”

Cotton is now making good returns for Australian farmers, and the Newtons are well serviced by three local cotton gins to process their harvest. In a good year

they can produce several thousand bales, with the yield varying from three to eight bales/ha on dryland paddocks and 10-12 bales on irrigated ones.

“Cotton prices are pretty good at the moment – they’re north of $600/bale.

That’s good. We’ve sold cotton for as low as $300/bale before, but anything above $500 is reasonable,” Wayne said.

Having water security for the cotton-growing season is paramount, meaning the storage dam levels at early November are crucial when deciding how much to put in.

Sowing is anywhere between October and December. This year Wayne, who farms with his wife Bev, son Greg and daughter-in-law Lisa, has put in 320ha, with the October rain coming in the nick of time to encourage a larger planting.

In the Darling Downs region cotton isn’t taken off until April-May, but in the interim sorghum and mung beans crops are harvested.

“The beauty of the long growing season means that if it has a tough start, cotton is such a tough plant and it can hang on for rain later in the summer. The subsoil moisture keeps it going and then if you get the rain, you get the yield,” Wayne said.

Underpinning their cropping schedule is sorghum, this year the Newtons aim to put in up to 800ha.

GETTING BY: Dalby grain grower Wayne Newton on his property.

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chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Cattle Producers Australia set to give producers real value for their levies Industry agreement is needed first to ensure proper representation JACINTA CUMMINS AUSTRALIAN cattle producers pay over $60 million in levies every year, but according to Taroom grazier and veterinarian Dr Paul Wright, most of them have little say in how these funds are spent or how industry policy is developed and worse, have grown so disenfranchised with the current state of representation that they simply do not engage anymore.

This growing disconnect

between producers and the bodies meant to represent them has led to two Senate Inquiries and an ACCC Cattle and Beef Market Study to investigate issues surrounding structures,

❝

systems, competition and transparency.

All three investigations found that significant reform is necessary to ensure producers are fairly represented and their levies

Representation will be more democratic because the levy payers will directly elect their regional representative.

the

FARMER

wants a LIFE

— Dr Wright

well spent to their advantage.

As a result of the first Senate Inquiry, an Implementation Committee was established by then Federal Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce to develop a new democratic model to replace the Cattle Council Australia (CCA) as the producers' peak representative body as part of the reform process for the industry.

Dr Wright was one of the members of this committee.

Cattle Producers Australia

was established by the Implementation Committee and was promised $500,000 in federal funding, but this funding has been withheld due to the Cattle Council Australia walking away from the reform process at the start of 2018.

Dr Wright believes it is imperative for the industry to reach agreement so that Cattle Producers Australia can advocate for producers sooner rather than later.

He said representation will be more democratic because

the levy payers will directly elect their regional representative.

“This is in contrast to the current Cattle Council Australia structure.

“The CCA submission to the 2014 Senate Inquiry attached a 2012 report from Innovact Consulting commissioned by Cattle Council Australia, which found that as a consequence of falling State Farming Organisations (SFO) membership and the convoluted SFO structure,

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Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

MAIN IMAGE: Cattle Producers Australia Chairman Dr Paul Wright. RIGHT: Cattle. really have an input into policy making and preparation,” he said.

“There will be one representative from each of the 15 ABARES areas across Australia voted onto Cattle Producers Australia who will have the ability to make policy and if necessary, engage people with the appropriate expertise to help with this process.

“So you know who you’re voting for is going to get that input and you will know that you will have a representative

from your area on the executive.”

Peter Griffiths of “Stuart Downs”, Cockatoo has come on board as a Cattle Producers Australia member because he wants to see producers have a say in where and how their levies are spent to achieve better outcomes for the whole industry.

“CPA is trying to get people involved in the industry, get them interested and get them to have some idea in who is spending their money and on

what,” he said.

“We need to know that the money we pay is being used in the best way and helping shape our industry.”

Cattle Producers Australia is looking for more producers to sign up for a free membership in the hopes that if they have 5,000 or even 10,000 members that they will be able to lobby the government to ensure that they are installed as the peak industry body.

For more information go to www.cattleproducers.com.au

❝

There will be one representative from each of the 15 ABARES areas across Australia voted onto Cattle Producers Australia who will have the ability to make policy and if necessary, engage people with the appropriate expertise to help with this process.

— Dr Wright

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Cattle Council of Australia no longer truly or appropriately represented Australia’s grass fed cattle producers.

“The Cattle Producers Australia model addresses these shortcomings.”

Dr Wright believes the current problem with larger industry bodies is that the people who are voted in do not actually come up with the policy themselves; this is done by committees and then presented to the executive.

“So currently the person you’re voting for doesn’t

PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED/VANESSA JARRET/JACINTA CUMMINS

14 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Midwives on Hand My Midwives, based in Toowoomba, is working to change the situation for women in the Darling Downs and beyond.

WOMEN in rural and regional areas often feel their maternity care options are limited by distance.

Managing director Liz Wilkes believes that wherever women are, it is a priority they have access to a known care provider.

“It is important that women have a trusted care provider wherever they live,” Liz said. “For most women that care provider can be a known midwife who can provide care from early in pregnancy through until baby is six weeks old. Research tells us that this is the model that is best practice where the midwife works alongside GPs, obstetricians and other health professionals.”

Recent focus on closures in rural areas of Queensland

has increased anxiety across the region.

“My midwives take our role very seriously,” Liz said.

“We seek to make sure women are confident in pregnancy and well prepared for birth and mothering.

Having a known midwife to speak to really increases the feeling of certainty and safety.”

After-birth consultations can also occur, including about various technologies, to support women with all elements.

“We know that women often feel like breastfeeding will be easy and when it isn’t, they panic. The internet has increased our options, even for women in very remote areas, and this can be a supplement to face-to-face consultations.”

IN GOOD HANDS: My Midwives offers pre- and post-birth care.

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WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 15

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

ADRA is helping to get farmers back on their feet The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is looking to help farmers in the Maranoa and Western Downs regions.

ADRA is the humanitarian arm of the Seventh Day Adventist Church that looks at helping people both nationally and internationally.

Funds raised from a country-wide offering and a Chinchilla based op-shop have been slated for drought relief and other assistance in rural communities.

Pastor David Kelsey said they had noticed that farmers were embarrassed to ask for help.

“We have a policy that if they’re in need, then we give it,” Mr Kelsey said.

“There’s no criteria, no needs test or anything like that, and they don’t have to be farmers.

“It could be people whose

❝

The past month we’ve been going out, interviewing some of the farmers, finding out how’ve they’ve been going.”

Yvonne Anderson & Maree Chaippalone at ADRA Chinchilla need is related to drought in other ways like shopkeepers and workers on the farms and in shops as well.

“Just the fact that we could go out and talk to them, we’ve been able to give them

a monetary donation there and then on the spot, then we follow up and find out if they’re going OK and we can support that with more funds.”

Mr Kelsey said ADRA also

provided help in other ways such as food hampers and clothing from the op-shop.

“Anything we can do in the short term to get them back on their feet,” he said.

“We help with bills and that

PHOTO: BROOKE DUNCAN sort of thing, the same as a lot of the other charities, but we don’t want to make our donation a needs test.

“We want them to come and feel comfortable talking to us so we can help them.”

For more information or to get assistance, contact ADDRA through their website or contact the ADRA op-shop in Chinchilla on 4604 6784 and speak to the manager, Dom Chiappalone.

16 WESTERN DOWNS FARMER

chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

Pauline Hanson has vowed to do whatever she can to help drought-stricken farmers, even if it means using her electorate allowance, following a trip to Roma in November. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

Hanson prepared to use electorate allowance to help farmers Senator Pauline Hanson’s video offering drought assistance has captured attention Jacinta Cummins FOLLOWING an emotional video in which she offered assistance to drought-stricken farmers, Senator Pauline Hanson says she is prepared to use her electorate allowance to help them.

“If I do happen to use my electorate allowance to help one of them, I will do it and the people will support me for giving it to people who really need it,” Senator Hanson said.

“If a couple of hundred dollars means a farmer can fuel his truck to get his cattle to market instead of shooting them, then I’ll do it.”

Senator Hanson spent two days in the Roma region in early November and said people kept asking her where the drought relief money was.

“They said ‘We know the money’s there, but it’s not

❝

“It’s not about the money for me, it’s about helping people who aren’t getting the help they need.

getting through to the people who need it’,” she said.

“I heard about a 13-year-old boy killing himself when his parents told him they couldn’t afford to buy him a pair of boots and another of a young fellow who was told his cattle weren’t in good enough condition to truck so he unloaded them, shot them and then shot himself.

“Some of the people in western Queensland have been in drought for years, but they aren’t getting help from the government.

“They are telling me that they don’t have the time or the ability to fill out the forms.

“They cannot access the funds if they aren’t up to date on their taxation, so they are

stuck in a catch 22.

“It is absolutely disgusting, this money belongs to the Australian taxpayer and they want it to help those who most need it.

“These people (farmers) are forced to fill out these forms at a time of distress when they are on their knees at the same time as we are giving money to corrupt nations such as Papua New Guinea.

“We don’t make countries like Indonesia fill out forms, we just give money to them when they need it.

“It doesn’t gel with me and it doesn’t gel with the Australian people.”

Senator Hanson said her staff were available to help

farmers complete forms and other paperwork and to help connect them with any other support services in their area.

She said 20 people had approached her office for help since her video was uploaded to social media.

“I’ve helped people personally with thousands of dollars, the cost of a pair of boots is not going to break me,” she said.

“It goes beyond money, it’s about doing something for people and I have the resources to be able to do that.

“That’s my job.”

Senator Hanson said while drought relief was necessary, it wasn’t a long-term solution.

“It comes back to water.

“If we were to put in the infrastructure to deal with water, we could drought-proof Queensland.

“Droughts are caused because we haven’t got the infrastructure to capture the water and get it to where it needs to go.”

Senator Hanson wants the government to build the Bradfield Scheme, an irrigation system designed

by Queensland-born civil engineer Dr John Bradfield.

It would capture water which currently flows into the ocean from the Tully, Herbert and Burdekin rivers and divert it across the Great Dividing Range into the Flinders River and then the Thomson River.

It would eventually fill Lake Eyre.

The scheme was dumped in 1947 due to doubts about water flow figures and

topography, but former Premier Peter Beattie proposed a smaller version of it and Bob Katter is also a proponent.

Senator Hanson believes the Bradfield Scheme could benefit nearly all of Australia.

“Droughts are all about water,’’ she said.

“Water belongs to everyone in this nation, it shouldn’t be privatised and we should build schemes to stop the water flowing back into the ocean.

“The trouble is that we don’t have long-term vision from our politicians.

“We need people in politics who want to look ahead and actually do something now to prevent droughts like this from happening again.”

WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 17

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Better weather information, better agricultural results Reliable climate information can help farmers to better understand climate conditions

ACCESS to climate and weather information is about to get easier for Australian farmers thanks to a joint project between the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO. Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud said the new weather and climate guides would give valuable information to all 56 Natural Resource Management regions.

“The bureau has a wealth of information farmers need and this will put it in their hands,” Mr Littleproud said.

Reliable climate information can help farmers to better understand temperature and rainfall ranges, frost risk, the onset and length of wet seasons,

water storage levels and the likelihood and severity of drought, cold spans and natural disasters.

All of that can be used by farmers to better manage risks and make the best decisions for their produce.

Condamine farmers had the chance last month to tell the bureau what information is most valuable for them and how to best deliver it “This will mean farmers won’t have to rely on guesswork to make decisions that affect their livelihoods,” Mr Littleproud said.

“This is particularly important during a drought like the one we’re currently going through.

“The bureau will start off trialling the service online

and taking feedback from farmers to make sure it hits the mark.

“The service is expected to be up and running early next year.

“These guides are part of the government’s ongoing and long-term drought response.

“Our drought support covers a range of areas, including immediate financial assistance and building resilience and preparedness in rural and regional communities.”

For more information about the climate guides, email agriculture@bom.gov.au

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Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Borlaug 100 delivers results from Condamine to Goondiwindi to Dysart “We are doing this because we love it” JACINTA CUMMINS WHEAT varieties in Australia have traditionally been selected for a very narrow milling criteria.

Rebel Seeds founders Andrew Butler from Condamine, Stephen Gibson from Dulacca, Derryck Mickelborough from Dalby and Damien Scanlan from Goondiwindi met on a Grains Research Foundation Study Tour to America in 2015 and asked the question why material wasn’t available that was more regionally adapted and customer specific.

They were inspired to import and release a new variety of wheat called Borlaug 100 which has broad adaptability, drought tolerance, and a robust disease package.

The growers formed Rebel Seeds which will commercially release the wheat in 2019.

To make Borlaug 100 highly accessible, Rebel Seeds has opened the seed up to farmer-to-farmer seed sales from the outset.

That way the farmers can set their own price.

“Our primary goal was to get a variety which could perform for the farmers and we could put milling characteristics as a secondary criteria for selection whereby having a product more suitable for the feed industry,” Andrew said.

“At an initial meeting, we decided we wanted to get a better product for the farmer and to look from a different perspective from other current commercial breeders.”

The group travelled to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (known by its Spanish acronym CIMMYT for Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo) in Mexico where they chose multiple lines of approximately 100 seeds of different wheat varieties to bring back to Australia where they were put through extensive trials and selected to move forward with.

The variety had been named Borlaug 100 by CIMMYT in honour of the centenary of the birth of prominent CIMMYT wheat breeder Norman Borlaug and Rebel Seeds retained this name.

This year the group sold 101 tonnes out of 106 tonnes of the available seed to 16 growers from the NSW/Queensland border up to Dysart.

Altogether the growers harvested about 2300 hectares of the wheat.

“Growers were reporting good results in a very tough season due to a lack of rain and a lack of subsoil moisture,” Andrew said.

“I haven’t caught up with everyone but so far the dryland yields ranged from anywhere to 1.5 tonnes to 3.5 tonnes per hectare so we were very impressed with that.

SEED OF GREAT IDEA: Rebel Seeds director Andrew Butler in Chris Cook and family’s first crop of Borlaug 100 wheat. The 80-hectare crop was planted at Condamine on June 8 at a depth of 18 centimetres on 50cm spacings.

PHOTOS: LIZ WELLS

“It also performed well under irrigation.

“All of the feedback has been positive, most of them have kept the seed to sell or grow again next year and in just about every case, where this variety was put next to another one in the same situation, it did as well, if not better than the other one.”

Rebel Seeds is also looking at releasing a chickpea variety a few years down the track, and also has other wheat varieties in the pipeline but Andrew said the group would take its time to get it right.

❝

We started this as four farmers who have plenty of other things to do, we are doing this because we love it, and if we make some money out of it then that’s a bonus.

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chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

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Australian Stock Horse Sale draws a crowd NOT just a sale of horses, the Australian Stock Horse Sale is also a great weekend of socialising and campdrafting.

Josh Hurley, riding Kirkby Stud Regal, won first place in the $30,000 open, taking home an impressive $10,000 in prize money.

The five and under future champions campdraft was won by Luke Collman, who took home a tidy $2200. Craig Davidson won the title in the six and over aged champion category and scored himself $3800.

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PHOTOS: EBONY GRAVEUR

Thursday, December 20, 2018 dalbyherald.com.au

Action pictures from Campdrafting event at the Dalby Australian Stock Horse Sale 2018.

WESTERN DOWNS FARMER 21

PHOTOS: EBONY GRAVEUR

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chinchillanews.com.au Thursday, December 20, 2018

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