Gippsland Farmer January 2024

Phone: (03) 5135 4444

January, 2024

LLots ots ts iin n com common c ommon

Fish Creek Football-Netball Club representatives shared their premiership success with Collingwood’s Oleg Markov, Mason Cox and Patrick Lipinski during their tour of Gippsland.

STORY - PAGE 38

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Supporting sustainability important because Australian farmers face all sorts of challenges made worse by climate change, including drought and increased natural disasters.

“The declaration aims to maximise the climate and environmental benefits associated with agriculture and food systems.

“And it will deepen ties with valued trading partners across the globe - countries who are increasingly demanding strong sustainability credentials for food and fibre imports.”

The message, spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners at COP28, was: “Agrifood systems solutions are climate solutions and increased collaboration and finance are needed if the world is

to achieve the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“It is imperative to chart pathways to lower the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the world’s livestock systems in the face of a growing global population, and a projected 20 per cent increase in demand for terrestrial animal products by 2050.”

“Pathways towards lower emissions - a global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems,” Beef Central reported.

“Beyond evaluating baseline emissions, this report offers estimations of future emissions under scenarios of increased production and outlines pathways to reduce emissions through the application

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access to finance and services to enable them to implement tailored interventions.

The report, subject to a double-blind peer review process involving world experts, outlines several pathways affecting both the supply and demand sides for livestock sectors, which, if adopted collectively, could address the environmental impacts and promote sustainability.

“While there is no universal solution and more work is needed to understand the barriers to implementing and upscaling these interventions, enhancing productivity and production efficiency across the entire value chain is the most promising way to mitigate and reduce livestock emissions,” the report said.

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of well-established best practices in animal management.

“It clearly demonstrates that ambitious and innovative programmes and wide-ranging interventions have the potential to bend the emissions curve while production grows,” said FAO Deputy Director-General Maria Helena Semedo.

“Solutions such as improving animal health, breeding practices, reducing food loss and waste, and directly targeting GHG emissions have the potential to provide multiple benefits for people and the planet, but they require investments in the sector to narrow efficiency gaps, while meeting an increased global demand for animal protein,” she added, noting that interventions must be site specific, facilitate farmers’

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AUSTRALIA has backed the resolution on sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and climate action passed at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai.

Federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, said the endorsement supported long-standing industry leadership on sustainable agriculture.

“Australian agriculture has a proud track record of sustainable farming, and many farming groups are working towards ambitious emissions targets they’ve set for themselves, finally with a federal government at their side,” he said.

“The Emirates Declaration is a commitment to scale-up adaptation and resilience activities across the agriculture sector, which is

RURAL NEWS

Dairy Australia elects new leaders for 2024 DAIRY Australia members have elected four directors at the 2023 annual meeting.

The board has also reappointed James Mann as chair for a fourth year.

There were four vacancies for the Dairy Australia Board. Two of the four vacant positions were for directors with milk producer skills, one for a director with agribusiness, innovation and adoption skills, and another for a director with dairy supply chain and product promotion skills.

The directors elected at the annual meeting were Paul Bennett (agribusiness, innovation and adoption skills), Paul van Heerwaarden (dairy supply chain and product promotion skills), Kären Moroney

and Paul Roderick (milk producer skills).

Mr Mann addressed the hybrid meeting from Moama, New South Wales and congratulated the new directors on their appointments.

“Congratulations to our new directors Paul Bennett and Kären Moroney and welcome back to Paul Roderick and Paul van Heerwaarden,” he said.

“Also, a sincere thanks to retiring directors Roseanne Healy and Tania Luckin - you both contributed a great deal to the strategic direction of our industry over many years. I’m also very grateful to Tania for her dedication while deputy chair.”

Mr Bennett is from Tasmania and is

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Returning Dairy Australia Chair, James Mann.

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results of the annual meeting and the presentations by the chair and managing director are available on the Dairy Australia website, dairyaustralia.com.au/ agm

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chair of family owned and award winning Ashgrove Cheese. He was previously the chair of DairyTas, is a dairy and beef farmer and is involved in many community and youth organisations.

Mr van Heerwaarden’s family farming background led him to a career path in agribusiness including six years as chief executive of Bega Cheese Ltd. He has served on a number of company and joint venture boards including for several years as a member director of Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd. Ms Moroney is a farmer from Eskdale in north-east Victoria and is a former chair of Murray Dairy. She is also a director of AgBiz Assist, a rural financial counselling service and president of the Mitta Valley Landcare Group.

First appointed to the Dairy Australia Board in November 2020, Mr Roderick has operated his family dairy farm at Harrisville, south-east Queensland for the last 30 years. He was previously chair of Subtropical Dairy and had a role in setting up the Young Dairy Network in Queensland.

This year’s annual meeting was held online and in Moama, New South Wales.

A recording of the event including the

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THE state government is making sure more fishing clubs have the facilities they need to grow their community for generations to come, with new grants backing community-based fishing clubs across Victoria.

Minister for Outdoor Recreation, Steve Dimopoulos announced the first 20 grants awarded to local clubs through the state government’s Stronger Fishing Clubs Grant Program, with the $1.2 million investment funded by the reinvestment of fishing licence fees.

The program will support clubs, with grants of up to $10,000, with the first recipients including Port Albert Fishing Club, Shepparton-based Burnanga Indigenous Fishing Club, Ballarat’s Lakeside Anglers Club, Ocean Grove Angling Club and the 100-year-old Mitcham Angling Club.

One of the state’s newest fishing clubs, the Burnanga Indigenous Fishing Club, will use the grant to purchase IT, software and printing equipment to attract more anglers to the club and produce educational material on protecting and restoring native fish habitats.

The Lakeside Anglers Club will create

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new junior member start-up packs, purchase new uniforms and two laptops, hire equipment for public events and make enhancements to their website, complementing a range of broader changes within the club - boosting membership and promoting their activities to more local recreational fishers.

Celebrating their 100 years since formation, the Mitcham Angling Club will use their $10,000 grant to boost technology upgrades at the club, while Port Albert Fishing Club will rebuild the popular clubroom kitchen.

Ocean Grove Angling Club will purchase new uniforms and promotional material to attract more members across the growing coastal community and buy new cooking equipment for club events.

The program is part of the state government’s $96m investment to improve fishing, boating, piers and aquaculture for communities across the state.

Applications for the second round of grants will be available in 2024 and more applications are currently being considered.

To learn more, visit vfa.vic.gov.au/ strongerfishingclubs

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January, 2024

RURAL NEWS

Calls to protect farmer’s land rights THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is concerned not enough is being done to protect the rights of landholders when it comes to the development and operation of transmission lines across farmland.

VFF President, Emma Germano, said the Essential Service Commission’s (ESC) newly released Land Access Code of Practice fell short of offering farmers the protections they need.

“Whilst the code is a positive step forward, it will not apply to existing transmission lines and we are concerned that it will not apply to new transmission

lines once they have an easement in place,” she said.

“We believe the code should apply to whole of life of transmission assets. This view was supported by other stakeholders including the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.”

“The Victorian government needs to take action to ensure the rights of all landholders are protected moving forward.”

Ms Germano said the VFF had been consulted as part of the ESC’s work to develop the code, making an important

contribution to ensuring the protection of biosecurity.

“The need for biosecurity to be protected has been acknowledged in the code and transmission companies will be required to consult with landholders about farm biosecurity management plans and practices before entering their land,” she said.

“Some transmission companies attempted to water down these biosecurity requirements. We are pleased that the ESC has taken advice from the VFF and Agriculture Victoria.”

Ms Germano said work to create a

stronger framework was underway.

“We need comprehensive rules and guidelines to ensure transmission companies are respecting the rights of farmers, including protecting farm biosecurity,” she said.

“The VFF is undertaking work to design options for a code of practice for transmission development similar to the existing Code of Practice for mineral exploration.

“We are also in discussions with government and industry stakeholders to ensure there is training and accreditation for transmission companies to ensure their representatives follow these rules and respect farmers’ rights.”

Victorian Farmers Federation President and Mirboo Nort rth t resident, Emma Germano.

Photo: Contributed

Investing in sustainable farming practices From Page 1

MINISTER Watt said the COP 28 statement was consistent with the National Statement on Climate Change and Agriculture endorsed by all Australian agriculture ministers in July this year.

“The Albanese government is also investing in new technology and help for farmers to adopt even more sustainable practices, and has recently begun consultation on Australia’s first agriculture and land sector plan for reducing emissions,” he said.

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomed the announcement, saying the declaration stresses the importance of the agriculture sector as a major stakeholder in the debate, and reaffirms farmers being at the core of decisions made that affect them.

“The NFF recognises the fundamental challenge that adaptation and emissions reduction represent to our industry,” said NFF’s president, David Jochinke, who attended COP28 in Dubai.

“It’s critical that climate adaptation

doesn’t compromise our ability to produce food and fibre, or result in reduced productivity, by limiting herd numbers for example.”

The declaration stresses “that any path to fully achieving the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement must include agriculture and food system”.

The NFF maintains that the commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement should continue to recall Article 2, which recognises the importance of “Increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production”.

The declaration pledges to “revisit or orient policies and public support related to agriculture and food systems to promote activities which increase incomes, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and bolster resilience, productivity, livelihoods, nutrition, water efficiency and human, animal and ecosystem health while reducing food

loss and waste, and ecosystem loss and degradation”.

Mr Jochinke said that this was pleasing to read, and reemphasised the NFF’s commitment to addressing climate change.

“The NFF is fully committed to working collaboratively and constructively on this matter with the government, particularly as we consult on upcoming sectoral plans during 2024”.

The declaration also called for parties to “accelerate and scale science and evidencebased innovations – including local and Indigenous knowledge – which increase sustainable productivity and production of agriculture”.

Mr Jochinke noted that a continued focus on science and innovation was critical.

“Farmers are continually seeking improvements and innovation based on risk, science and evidence, and policies that support the innovation and uptake of new technologies that reduce emissions should be encouraged,” Mr Jochinke said.

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RURAL NEWS

All about that Bass in Gippsland Katrina BRANDON

ON National Fish Day last November (November 21), the West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority (CMA) released 10,000 Australian Bass, also known as Gippsland Perch, into Traralgon Creek to help revive the Latrobe River.

The river flows 260 kilometres, goes through the Latrobe Valley and meets Lake Wellington in East Sale. Latrobe River has had many names over the years, including its Gunaikurnai name, Durt’Yowan, nicknamed the Lurking River, due to damage throughout the years.

There are many reasons for the damage, according to Environmental Water Advisory crew member, Robert Caune, and Environmental Officer, Dr Adrian Clements.

These include to carp and industry effects from mining, farming, and community use.

Over the years, according to Dr Clements, there has been a 25 per cent reduction in water due to mining and other industries.

“Carp breed prolifically and strip everything out of the river - all of the food and vegetation. When all of that is gone, it starts regurgitating the mud, looking for bloodworms, undercutting banks, and creating murkiness in the water,” Mr Caune said.

The release is part of a state-wide native fish stocking program that aims to revive Victoria’s rivers. According to West Gippsland CMA’s documentary, released on November 14, more than 400,000 Australian Bass have been released into Gippsland waterways. The state government has invested in this program to improve waterway and catchment health across Victoria, including flagship waterway sites, investing $248 million into the revival.

“Our rivers are in such a bad state. They require a bit of stocking here and there, but it’s not the answer,” Dr Clements said.

“We can’t just go up to a river and stock it

with whatever fish you like and expect them to survive. You need to provide them with the right conditions. You need to care for the vegetation, shelter, and plenty of food.

Bass, in particular, eat a lot and pretty much anything.”

The West Gippsland CMA’s documentary explains the importance of keeping Latrobe River healthy, and its history dating back 200 years of how the river has been affected.

The video also explains that keeping the river healthy gives better produce, more tourism, and better mental health.

Bringing in Australian Bass is one of the many ways CMA can help revive Gippsland waterways. Other ways are fencing up to 20 metres along the river to stop livestock; and taking out willows, replacing them with native species to help stabilise the banks.

Having native plants on the banks will also provide a place for native fish to hide.

According to Dr Clements, Australian Bass also rely on springtime flooding for breeding as floods wash bugs and other foods into the water for the bass to feed off.

The last big breeding event happened after the 2021 floods and was the first major one since 1985.

CMA has been working on getting waterways ready for the re-introduction of Australian Bass for more than 25 years, working on water quality and vegetation management. CMA also runs programs to help landholders know how to protect nearby streams. In the last 25 years, they have also pushed for understanding how to breed Australian Bass so that they could have healthy waterways again.

“CMA’s main role is typically in your rural environment, so we get farmers to manage nutrient runoff. The best thing you can do is visit the river more often, to know it, and do all the reading you can,” Dr Clements said.

According to Mr Caune, they use

Robert Caune from the Environmental Water Advisory Group, with West Gippsland Catchment Authority’s Eleisha Keogh, Environmental Officer Dr Adrian Clements and Victorian Fisheries Authority’s Mark Little.

Photos: Katrina Brandon

hydrographs to measure the river’s flow.

“It seems to have a pattern of having multiple little floods in springtime, and that is because of the very vital thing. These Bass need freshwater zooplankton and breed in salt water. So you have a flood coming against the salt wedge, and in this washing machine, hatched eggs are mixing in with these little things called zooplanktons, and at a density where they almost have to open their mouths, and it pops in,” he said.

Now, CMA wants people to get involved in rehabilitating the waterways in Gippsland and report things to authorities, such as local councils, if something isn’t right.

The Latrobe River is on the cusp of a significant change with the planned Latrobe Valley mine rehabilitation. The restoration threatens the water availability to the river, challenging the flow and disturbing the natural habitat. With the lack of floods and more water being used in mine rehabilitation, breeding the Australian Bass is a bit challenging.

“We are stocking the Bass because they need help. The river is missing some key

flows that they need to breed but need a spring flood,” Dr Clements said.

According to Dr Clements, introducing Australian Bass to reduce carp is one of the most viable ways to control the carp population.

He said, “Australian Bass represents one of the most viable ways we can help control carp without using a virus. We get the bonus of returning a native fish, providing the local community with economy and utility. We also get to control the carp, which has ruined the river for many other uses.”

The fish have come from Narooma Aquaculture. Narooma Aquaculture breeds bass, dusky flathead, and estuary perch.

On November 20, the crew drove up to Narooma and picked them up at 5am, journeying back to another waterway.

For more information on CMA, go to wgcma.vic.gov.au/ or youtube.com/ watch?v=2JfhkTI264E for the documentary on the Latrobe River.

For more information on Narooma Aquaculture, go to narooma-aquaculture. com.au/Home.htm

Environmental Officer Dr Adrian Clements feeding the fish into the river.

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January, 2024

RURAL NEWS

Road repairs needed THE Hyland Highway is in need of urgent repair, according to The Nationals Member for Gippsland South and Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Danny O'Brien.

Mr O'Brien is urging the state government to speed up the repair of the collapsed section of the Hyland Hwy near Carrajung.

Mr O'Brien said this failed patch of road, dubbed the "ski jump" by some locals, was first reported in April this year and is continuing to deteriorate.

"The highway is understandably now reduced to one lane of traffic with traffic lights in place," he said.

"Aside from being a headache for regular commuters, it is also very concerning at the real potential for the entire road to begin to slip away."

Mr O'Brien said the fact the road has been patched up repeatedly and never properly fixed is a symptom of the ongoing state government budget cuts that have left VicRoads with limited options for fixing major failures like this.

"I have again written to the Minister for Roads (Melissa Horne) demanding a permanent fix as soon as possible," Mr O'Brien said.

"The Minister must find the resources to ensure this section of road is fixed as efficiently as possible."

Between now and June 2024, crews will deliver projects across some of the region's busiest and most important trade and travel routes, including:  Traralgon-Maffra Road;  Hyland Highway;  Maffra-Rosedale Road;  Seaspray Road;  South Gippsland Highway, and;  Dargo Road.

The state government says it is rebuilding and repairing roads right across Central Gippsland as part of its regional road maintenance blitz, one of which includes Highland Hwy.

Across Victoria, hundreds of thousands of road maintenance projects will be delivered, thousands of potholes will be patched, tens of thousands of kilometres of roadside grass will be mowed and tens of thousands of signs will be replaced.

The blitz will also ensure other parts of the road network are well-maintained, including strengthening bridges, rebuilding culverts and retaining walls and inspecting and maintaining thousands of traffic lights, signs and other structures.

"This is a welcome investment in regional roads which are vitally important to keep our people and the economy moving," Member for Eastern Victoria, Tom McIntosh said.

With warmer weather on the way and conditions more suitable for major roadworks, drivers can expect to see hundreds of workers delivering this important work across the state.

It comes on top of a massive maintenance blitz delivered over the past 12 months, which saw more than 1800 kilometres of the state's roads undergo rebuilding and repair work.

In a first for Victoria, the government says it is delivering $2.8 billion of new investment - a 10-year investment in road maintenance and renewal works, including flood recovery, taking the total spend to at least $6.6 billion over the next decade.

The government says that under this new long-term funding model, more than $770 million will be spent on maintaining the state's road assets over the next 12 months.

Most funding will go towards repairing roads in regional Victoria, where last year's flooding and extreme rainfall have caused incredible levels of damage.

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RURAL NEWS

Potential new ventures for Loy Yang B what the system needs will determine Loy Yang B's future."

Philip HOPKINS

LOY Yang B power station, fresh from the best performance of its 30-year existence, is investigating new ways to decarbonise, including possible conversion to sustainable biomass and using carbon capture and storage (CCS), as part of its aim to remain an integral part of the energy market in the transition towards net zero emissions.

The power station's research and development program to reduce its greenhouse emissions also includes possible hydrogen production to power fuel cell vehicles, according to its Sustainability Report 2022.

This approach would also ensure that the power station's big economic presence in the Latrobe Valley will remain and potentially grow.

Loy Yang B, which has two 570 megawatt units that together can produce 1140MW of electricity - about 20 per cent of Victoria's energy - tends to be the largely forgotten cousin of its big neighbour, the AGL-owned Loy Yang A power station.

However, taken together, the Loy Yang complex can produce about 3400MW, so is effectively the largest power station in Australia and produces up to 60 per cent of Victoria's electricity.

It's no 'clunker' or one of these so-called 'ageing, unreliable Latrobe Valley brown coal power stations' we hear about; its power generation availability factor remained strong at 98.88 per cent in the past financial year, the 2023 Sustainability Report noted. This was down fractionally on the previous year's 99.31 per cent.

This tiny drop was mainly due to a 34.3 per cent rise in market offloading; the electricity was not needed because of the increase in renewables.

"Our plant is better equipped to ramp down when the market is adequately or oversupplied by renewables due to our investment of more than $160 million in the major upgrades to our units in 2019 and 2020," the 2023 Sustainability Report said.

The general manager, Tony Hicks, put the plant's strong performance down to two major factors - the quality of both the power station when it was built in 1993 and 1996, and the workforce.

The former State Electricity Commission built the first two units, but Units 3 and 4 were not needed and did not go ahead.

"The last power station built, it learned the lessons from Loy Yang A and Yallourn power stations. It was built to stay on and be reliable. It was constructed well, commissioned well, designed well," Mr Hicks said in an interview with the Express.

When privatised in 1993, it was bought

by Edison Mission Energy, a subsidiary of Southern California Edison.

"The company was progressive in terms of ownership style. It recruited differently, focussed on behaviours and competence, not just the technical side - so we ended up with quite a robust workforce that was culturally aligned with Edison, at a time

To this end, when the new owners Alinta took over in 2018, they encouraged ways to decarbonise Loy Yang B. "There are lots of projects we are looking at, everything from batteries to fuel conversions are in early feasibility stages," Mr Hicks said.

Mr Hicks said the regional economic benefit of Loy yang B was more than $100 million a year.

"We purchase services and materials locally where possible. With wages, that is a significant contributor to the local economy," he said.

Loy Yang B has a lot of life left in it.

"As a power station, it has a lot more to offer, a workforce that has a lot more to offer, a lot of inhouse capability, engineering maintenance, finance, our own people and culture - autonomy and capability. We are capable of changing and moving into something else," he said.

Loy Yang B says it will operate “until it is not required”.

when the SEC was reducing in size. We ended up with a very good workforce," he said.

"The combination, after 30 years, was our best performance year ever in 2022. The performance continues to improve - that is the result of the workforce, the culture here, the ethic of continuous improvement.

We are always looking for opportunities to do things better, we have never been capital constrained like some business have.

"Loy Yang B continues to be well maintained. Right from day one, there has been a strong preventative maintenance regime, and that approach has continued all the way through."

Loy Yang B is a company within the Alinta Energy group, and has a great deal of autonomy. Alinta is owned by Chow Tai Fook, a private investment holding company of the Cheng Family in Hong Kong. The power station has about a 160 permanent work force and up to 40 contractors on site at any time, but this can become 400-500 contractors during outages.

Mr Hicks is a Latrobe Valley electricity veteran.

Born in Morwell, he went to Morwell Technical School and joined the SEC aged 16. He became an operator and supervisor at Loy Yang B, then production manager at Hazelwood power station in 2007 before becoming general manager at Loy Yang B in 2016 before Hazelwood closed.

"We focus now on reliability. This will become even more critical. When Yallourn closes in 2028, just the Loy Yang complex

will be left in terms of the coal-fired fleet. We will have to make sure reliability is strong to support the renewable transition," he said. With wind and solar energy weatherdependent, "thermal coal plants will need to provide system stability when the wind is not blowing".

"We need lots of storage to replace coal plants before they are shut down," he said.

In 2019/20, Loy Yang B spent about $170 million on upgrading the turbines.

"Both units are brand new turbines. We're in the best position ever in terms of critical spares for all our major components, so if we have a failure, we can minimise the down time as we have the parts ready to install. We're in a really good position from a reliability point of view," he said.

Mr Hicks said there was now more talk about system security and reliability.

"We all accept we have to transition to zero net emissions, but there is more recognition that coal plants have a role to play in supporting the transition, not preventing it; that is certainly our view," he said.

The year 2047 remains Loy Yang B's formal closure date, but the view of Alinta Chief, Jeff Dimery, is that "Loy Yang B will continue to run until it is not required".

"We will not shut down a day before that; 2047 is our end game, but we are not in a position to nominate a year when we are no longer required, nobody is," Mr Hicks said.

"Government has aspirations to have all coal out by 2035, based on renewable energy targets, but we're intending to be more responsive to what the market needs;

"The plant, even though 30 years old, is in excellent condition. As long as you do the maintenance, you can keep running. Loy Yang B has a lot of residual life left in it. It is open to reinvention and is well placed to support the energy transition."

Loy Yang B General Manager, Tony Hicks.

Photos: Nicole Boskma

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January, 2024

RURAL NEWS

McCormack to stay in top seat

MOUNTAIN Cattleman Cass McCormack was re-elected unopposed as president of the Mountain Cattlemen’s Association of Victoria (MCAV).

Ms McCormack, who is now in her second term as president, said it had been a steep, but rewarding, 12 months.

“Like all jobs, it takes a while to find your feet, especially when you consider the knowledge and experience of other MCAV board members,” she said.

“But with 12 months now under my belt I am even more confident that I can lead this great team to effect real change in the way our High Country landscape is managed."

In the last year, Ms McCormack helped the MCAV provide advice to Victoria’s Bushfire Management Strategy, provided a detailed submission on the MCAVs brumby management position, and has

developed and commissioned a resource for VCE students on alternative landscape management practices.

“The reality is we are fighting a battle that just keeps getting larger,” Ms McCormack said.

“The High Country landscape is in far worse condition that it was 20 years ago, and we firmly believe that things will continue to worsen unless something is done.

“I’m not talking about commissioning another study or paying for a desk-bound expert to provide an opinion - I’m talking about getting out there and having a real impact on the dangerous levels of bushfire fuel building up.”

Ms McCormack, in her opening speech as president, said she was tired of hearing warnings about the bushfire threat when no one was interested in mitigating the situation.

“We are talking to people with closed ears, and it is incredibly frustrating,” she said.

“Instead of warning the public about the dangers of a bad bushfire season just around the corner, how about we do something about it!”

Ms McCormack said she was focused on making a positive change both within her organisation and further afield.

“As president, I have a long list of goals I want to achieve, some more likely than others,” she said.

“I intend to continue raising management issues, which includes the strategic use of Alpine grazing, at both a state and federal level on behalf of the MCAV. “I will advocate for a louder voice in the education system at all ages, encouraging the government to put forward alternative methods of land management.”

Other goals for the MCAV in 2024 include:

 Increased advocacy for public land

users;

 Increased support of other alternative

management groups such as the Howitt Society;  Additional documentation of

historical trials and scientific experiments conducted in the High Country, and;  Return of Alpine grazing licenses.

Ms McCormack will again be aided

by Gippsland Mountain Cattlemen, Ben Treasure, who returned to his role as vice president, with Tania Coleman and Cameron Rash taking on the positions of MCAV Treasurer and secretary respectively.

For more information on the MCAV or to become a member, head to mcav.com.au

Hazelwood Mine fire: 10 years on A COMMUNITY day is being held in February to commemorate, reflect and celebrate how far the local community has come in the 10 years since the Hazelwood Mine fire.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, February 17, 2024, at the newly-refurbished Kernot Hall, Morwell.

It will see the community come together to reflect on and celebrate the community's progress.

The all-day event will be free, featuring music, kids' activities, a free lunch, and community art including a collaborative

mural, and exhibition run by local artists.

The program will include film screenings, panel discussions with Q&A, as well as local artworks and artefacts.

Panel discussions will cover health and well-being impacts, mine rehabilitation, and how far the community has come since the fire in 2014.

"The community day aims to mix the celebration of wins and the power of community advocacy, while also respecting the enormity of the impact that the fire had on community," event organiser Josie Hess said.

"We are excited to be able to facilitate an event that serves the community, by the community. And we are extremely grateful for all the support we've received in helping to make this event happen," added fellow organiser, Stephanie Sabrinskas.

This event will include a double film premiere of Environment Victoria's short documentary series featuring unheard stories from a diverse range of those in the community, as well as the Victorian premiere of After the Smoke.

After the Smoke tells the story of Wendy Farmer, president of Voices of the Valley,

who recounts how the devastating Hazelwood mine fire led her and many others in the community to find their voice as community advocates.

After the Smoke was supported by ABC, VicScreen and Doc Society.

This event and impact campaign has been supported by the Doc Society's Climate Story Fund.

Free tickets can be booked at lifeaftercoal. com/tickets

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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RURAL NEWS

Pesutto returns home Liam DURKIN

STATE Opposition leader John Pesutto returned to his hometown Traralgon last month, discussing on-the-ground issues with Latrobe Valley constituents.

After attending a timber forum in Heyfield, Mr Pesutto stopped by his old stomping ground.

First up, he and Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron toured the St Vincent De Paul Society's Assistance Centre ahead of Christmas.

An engagement at Traralgon Football-Netball Club followed, discussing facility upgrades with Maroons president Kevin Foley.

Traralgon FNC is still operating out of portable changerooms more than two years after major floods.

While in Traralgon, Mr Pesutto also took the opportunity to catch up with old school mate and Café Evviva owner, Joe Tripodi.

Heading into the shopping centre, the opposition leader then met Traralgon Centre Plaza management.

Mr Cameron had previously set up a petition inside the complex, calling for more police and PSO resources in the Latrobe Valley.

The petition garnered close to 1000 signatures, and was tabled in the last Parliamentary sitting for the year.

"People have spoken, and the prevailing view is that towns across the Valley including Morwell, Moe, Traralgon and Churchill are in desperate need of more police and PSO resources," Mr Cameron said.

"In meeting with Police Minister, Anthony Carbines, I highlighted the fact that the Morwell electorate has the highest crime rate of any municipality outside of Melbourne.

"Every one of Melbourne's 212 train stations has a dedicated PSO presence, yet just four stations in the whole of regional Victoria have a dedicated presence.

"We have a problem with anti-social and criminal behaviour in town centres and it is having a disastrous impact on small business and community safety."

From Traralgon, the convoy headed out to Hazelwood North, where the local fire brigade is campaigning for a new shed to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Speaking to Gippsland Farmer, Mr Pesutto said the memories always came flooding back whenever he visited Traralgon.

"It's great to get back and be with the community I grew up in," he said.

"Traralgon is my hometown, I was born and grew up here, it's always a real delight to come down

to Traralgon, and the Latrobe Valley, Gippsland locally."

A little further down the road, the Liberals will hope to retain their seat in Monash, after long-serving member Russell Broadbent lost in a preselection battle to Mary Aldred last month.

Mr Broadbent is expected to see out his term until the next federal election in 2025.

Despite being generally regarded as a safe Liberal seat, Mr Pesutto said the new candidate wouldn't be taking "anything for granted".

"She'll work hard to get elected. I just know that Mary Aldred is going to be a fantastic candidate, hopefully she'll get elected and serve the people of Monash really well," he said.

"I've known Mary for many years, I know she was a fantastic choice to succeed Russell Broadbent.

"I did work for Russell as an electorate officer back in the mid-90s and he served his community well."

Mr Pesutto recently ticked over 12 months as Liberal leader, and said the party had been kept busy in a year that saw the state government change leaders and cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

State opposition leader, John Pesutto back home in Traralgon.

Photo: Liam Durkin

Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron, has met with the Minister for Police after tabling a petition calling for more police and PSO resources in the Latrobe Valley.

Photo: Contributed

"We've had a solid first year, we've really exposed the failings of the Allan Labor government, whether it's tax, whether it's debt, whether it's cost-of-living people are facing, even just corruption and waste," he said.

"People in Traralgon and surrounding communities know they have to work really hard to earn money and yet they see their state government just wasting it.

"So - for us we'll now start to turn our focus more to some of the general ideas we have for the state's future, and that's what you'll see in 2024 and beyond.

"It's a great honour to lead them (the Liberals).

As a former Traralgon boy I often bump into my teachers, Jan Fitzpatrick who was my Grade 3 teacher, I still feel fearful of my teachers when I come back here.

"I think about all the things that shaped me as a young kid growing up and took me on to where I am now ... I have a lot to be thankful for from Traralgon."

Perhaps fittingly, the last stop during the Gippsland journey was in Morwell, where Mr Pesutto celebrated his heritage at the Italian Australian Club.

St Vincent De Paul Society’s Assistance Centre, Traralgon vice president, Lyn Burns discussing the society’s initiatives over the Christmas period with state opposition leader, John Pesutto and Member for Morwell, Martin Cameron.

Photo: Contributed

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

9

RURAL NEWS

Investing in young farming futures Zaida GLIBANOVIC

HANNAH Campbell recently received the Agriculture Victoria 2023 Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarship.

Ms Campbell’s goal is to start a new business offering top-notch breeding services in the beef sector across Latrobe Valley and East Gippsland.

Using her scholarship, the determined young farmer is taking her first steps towards reaching that goal by undertaking a cattle pregnancy diagnosis reproduction course.

This will equip her with the knowledge she needs to provide exceptional services.

Ms Campbell will also get her hands on a cattle ultrasound machine and other relevant equipment she needs to enable precision and deliver high-quality service.

Finishing her Bachelor of Agriculture at Wagga Wagga’s Charles Stuart University in 2016, agriculture has always been a passion of Ms Campbell’s.

“I grew up on a dairy farm in Deniliquin in the Southern Riverina, I went to our local Finley High School, which had a fantastic agriculture program,” she said.

“I didn’t think I ever wanted to be a dairy farmer, but once I got in the ag program at school, they’ve got stud sheep and stud cattle, and they also enter cattle in the Melbourne Show, and so I guess that really opened my eyes to some of the possibilities in agriculture.

“I went to (University) in Wagga and studied Ag Science, graduated in 2016, and I’ve had various jobs since then, all in ag.”

Ms Campbell has work experience in most industries, including beef, sheep, dairy, grain, viticulture and animal genetics.

The young farmer gained a position as overseer at Glenfalloch Station, Licola, where she spent the next two years before moving to Gippsland.

“I actually didn’t really hear of Gippsland before. I got a job out of uni at Glenfalloch Station in Licola and met my now partner, who is from Traralgon and moved down here. We’ve bought our little block down in Flynn.”

Moving to Victoria’s bread basket in Gippsland, Ms Campbell gained the position of assistant livestock manager for fine wool, fat lamb, and EU Angus cattle operation in Traralgon.

Now, Ms Campbell has been working in

Flynn farmer Hannah Campbell received the Agriculture Victoria 2023 Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarship.

Photo: Contributed

stockfeed sales for nearly two years as a key accounts manager in Gippsland and has moved back into a hands-on farming role in Toongabbie.

Working for the Paulet farming family at Millring Pastoral until she had her first child, Ms Campbell couldn’t stay off the farm for long, still helping out part-time.

Ms Campbell said it was an honour to have been awarded the Agriculture Victoria 2023 Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarship.

“It’s an absolute privilege; there’s been such a high calibre of people coming through and winning the scholarship, so I was very grateful to have been accepted,” she said.

“It’s a lot of money that AG Vic is putting up - very generous, and it’s going to open many doors for so many people.”

Ms Campbell loves to learn and is still looking to undertake a cattle pregnancy diagnosis reproduction course.

“The place where I was going to do (the course) is no longer offering the course.

There’s such a gap in training bodies offering those sorts of courses,” she said.

“They’ve been a bit slow on the uptake, but hopefully, once the demand increases, they’ll be a bit easier to find.

“I’ll have to go up to Queensland to get a properly accredited course under my belt.”

Despite this the young farmer has found

so many opportunities in the agriculture industry.

“I’ve been so lucky, I’ve worked for great bosses, and I was so lucky in my high school program - mentoring and networking was such a big part of it - it was really highlighted when we were taken to shows,” Ms Campbell said.

The young mum has now had to manage time in the paddock with a young child to care for.

“The juggle is real, and that’s been highlighted ever since I had my son. I guess we are sorted and restricted in the fact you’re working for other people. It’s hard to take your children to work,” she said.

“Agriculture is quite an involved job, and your day-to-day job is quite varied, and there is a little amount of risk in some of the jobs we do that are kid friendly.

“It’s been a bit of an eye-opener for me - I basically thought I could pop out babies and continue working like I was but then the reality set in.”

According to research by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, women represent an increasing proportion of the agricultural workforce.

With the nature of the family farm, women make significant yet often unrecognised paid and unpaid contributions to agricultural businesses and communities.

“I think it’s much more accommodating

for women in ag now. We’ve got so many support networks throughout the region and throughout Australia,” Ms Campbell said.

Ms Campbell said the organisation Australian Women in Agriculture are “doing some good things for women in ag”.

Though the young farmer was fortunate to find fulfilling employment, her career hasn’t gone without its challenges.

“I have been turned away from jobs because I was a girl, which was really disappointing,” she said.

“I remember one email I got from a guy in South Australia. I applied for a sheep station job while I was still at uni. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I put the feelers out,” “He said, ‘yep, you’re résumé ticks all the boxes, but we don’t hire females’, so that was really disappointing, especially in this day and age where no one really bats an eye with a woman on a farm.”

For Ms Campbell, women on the farm has always been ingrained in her life, since day one.

“I grew up around people who were really accepting around women in ag, like my mum is a farmer,” she said.

“I’m the outgoing president of the Flynn Farm Discussion group. Growing up in New South Wales, we didn’t have organisations like this.

“Maybe I was too young to be involved in them, but in Gippsland, they are so enthusiastic about learning.”

With a keen aspiration to upskill and continually learn, Ms Campbell said the Gippsland region is the place to be.

“Gippsland has got it going on for learning,” she said.

“The Flynn Farm Discussion was great to be a part of. We met once a month, and I find it super inspiring to learn and see other people learning.”

Ms Campbell encourages young farmers who are driven to improve their skills to apply for the Agriculture Victoria Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarship.

For more information on the Upskill and Invest Young Farmers Scholarships, visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/support-andresources/networks/young-farmers/ young-farmers-scholarships

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

11

RURAL NEWS

Research to improve soil health VICTORIA’S dairy industry is working with the state government to improve soil health through an innovative research program.

The Minister for Agriculture, Ros Spence, and the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Michaela Settle launched the $7 million DairySoil project last year to coincide with World Soil Day celebrations.

The DairySoil project will introduce cutting-edge farming practices to help reduce industry’s use of synthetic fertiliser,

decrease greenhouse gas emissions, and increase productivity and resilience to climate change.

This program will utilise state-of-art sensors to measure, map, retain and recover the moisture and nutrient levels needed to produce reliable and sustainable soil.

In partnership with Dairy Australia and the Gardiner Foundation, DairySoil is spearheading the initiative as part of $42.5 million DairyFeedbase 23-28 program. This

Farmers to give feedback on the RIC

FARMERS and agribusinesses will have the chance to provide feedback on the products and service delivery of the Regional Investment Corporation (RIC) and the effectiveness of concessional loans thanks to an independent statutory review.

The Assistant Secretary, Andrew O’Sullivan, said the review of the Regional Investment Corporation Act 2018 (RIC Act) would be a chance to take stock of how the RIC and government could better serve agribusinesses.

“The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, has appointed Dr Wendy Craik AM to undertake a review of the operation of the RIC Act,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“Dr Craik has experience in undertaking reviews - including complex statutory reviews relating to strategy and governance - and has a wide range of experience across agricultural and financial policy, including recent terms on the Reserve Bank Board and as a member of the Future Drought Fund’s Consultative

Committee.“

The review will enable the federal government to examine the best possible methods for managing the RIC into the future.

project is supporting transformational programs across soils, forages and animal nutrition over the next five years.

From researching soil health and pasture composition changes, to measuring and reducing methane emissions, the DairyFeedbase program will aim to increase the profitability and productivity of dairy farms while minimising their impact on the environment.

The projects will also link to other national research underway and make the most of Victoria’s world-class facilities at Agriculture Victoria’s Ellinbank and Hamilton SmartFarms and the AgriBio Centre for AgriBiosciences in Bundoora.

Ms Spence said healthy soil was crucial to growing the sustainability of Victoria’s $2.5 billion dairy industry.

“This pioneering soil research will boost industry efficiency in improving and maintaining nutritious and healthy soil,” she said.

Ms Settle reiterated these points.

“It’s so important we continue to bring new research to Victorian farmers, helping to improve productivity and the resilience of our thriving agriculture industry,” she said.

Dairy Australia’s managing director, David Nation, said the DairySoil program was the cornerstone investment in soil research for Dairy Australia and the DairyFeed base program.

“It recognises the important role soil health plays in farm profitably and sustainability. The outcome will help farmers get more from their soil,” he said.

“Currently, the Australian government provides up to $4.075 billion in concessional loans to farm and farm-related small businesses through the RIC,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“It’s important that this money is being spent wisely and to improve the longterm strength, resilience and profitability of Australian agribusiness.

“Dr Craik will look at the scope of the RIC’s activities after June 30, 2026, and the appropriate governance arrangements for the RIC after that date.”

For more information, visitagriculture. gov.au/agriculture-land/farmfood-drought/drought/assistance/ ric

Improving Victoria’s soil a program at a time.

Photo: File

12

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

January, 2024

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January, 2024

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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RURAL NEWS

Another year of ‘Cows Create Careers’ THANKS to the Gardiner Foundation, GippsDairy, Murray Dairy and WestVic Dairy, excited students from schools in Gippsland and across Victoria were recognised at three online ‘Cows Create Careers’ presentation days in October and November 2023.

The presentation days celebrated the achievements of students who have completed the innovative Cows Create Careers project, which aims to increase the awareness of dairy industry careers in a very hands-on way - students rear and care for two three-week-old calves at their school.

During 2023, more than 60 Victorian schools were provided with dairy industry curriculum, at no cost.

A local dairy farmer teaches the students how to care for the calves, while an industry advocate visits the students to speak about their career in the dairy industry.

Students are required to form teams to complete assessments based on the dairy industry. Students also learnt about the environment, technology and machinery used on farm. With all Cows Create Careers resources, the program prioritised student learning and aligned with ACARA curriculum.

The fun-filled and high energy online presentation days saw students participate in industry-based games and activities and the project’s winning teams awarded prizes.

John Hutchison, Jaydee Events director, said it was encouraging to see students so passionate to learn, and connect with, Australia’s vibrant dairy industry.

“The presentation days are a great way to recognise and celebrate both the students’ and teachers’ dedication to the Cows Create Careers project,” he said.

“Each year we continue to be inspired by their enthusiasm for the project.

“It’s extremely encouraging to see the

Students across Gippsland took part in Cows Creates Careers last year.

ongoing benefits of the project; not only are the students learning about the diversity of skills required in the industry, but it also directly connects them to their local community.”

Cows Create Careers was established in 2004 with dairy farmers in the Strzelecki Lions Club in Victoria and nine Gippsland schools. It has now grown to 218 schools across Australia with more than 15,000 students completing the project in 2023.

Mr Hutchison said the project’s passionate volunteers are vital to the continued success of the Cows Create Careers project.

“Since its inception, Cows Create Careers has gained support from industry, regional development programs, dairy farmers and

sponsors across Australia,” he said.

“Last year alone over 400 passionate (people) volunteered their time across 23 Australian dairying regions.

“They speak to the students about their experiences in the industry, support student career decision making, and have important links to education and employment sectors.

These are invaluable connections for the students, and a lot of students maintain these links after completing the project.”

During 2023, the project in Victoria is locally funded by the Gardiner Foundation, GippsDairy, Murray Dairy and WestVic Dairy. Their sponsorship reflects their continual dedication to the dairy community.

The project would not be possible without

Photo: File

major supply partner, MaxCare, who supply the milk powder nationally to all Cows Create Careers farmers and schools.

Results: Gippsland Winning Junior School: Boisdale Consolidated School.

Winning Junior Team: ‘Triple Cowards’ - Lachlan Marshall, Sadie Daly and Logan Powell.

Winning Senior School: Korumburra Secondary College.

Winning Senior Team: ‘Barn Yard’ -Tanner Walker and Jordon Foote.

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

15

RURAL NEWS

‘Better prepared’ for bushfire season AUSTRALIA is better prepared for the current disaster season, with the federal government delivering all Commonwealthled recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, according to the Minister for Emergency Management, Murray Watt.

In response to the extreme bushfire season of 2019/20, the Royal Commission, called by the former Coalition government, made 15 recommendations.

Those recommendations have now been completed.

Senator Watt, who is also the Minister for Agriculture, said widespread natural hazards hade continued to affect communities since the 2019/20 Black Summer bushfires, including floods throughout much of last year and now bushfires in the later half of this year.

“The Albanese government is committed to ensuring the nation as a whole is better prepared, and able to respond and withstand future natural hazard events,” Minister Watt said.

“The Royal Commission made it clear that state and territory governments should continue to have primary responsibility and accountability for emergency management within their boundaries, but also directed important action to be taken by the Australian government.

“These recommendations include a range of improvements which deliver better collaboration between governments and agencies, better access to resources and streamlining support. Completing these recommendations puts Australia in a much stronger position for the 2023/24 Higher Risk Weather Season.”

Good progress had also been made on implementing the remaining 65 recommendations, most of which are the responsibility of state and territory governments, either

 Creation of the flagship Disaster

Federal Agricultural Minister, Murray Watt.

Photo: File

independently or in partnership with the federal government, he said.

Key measures that the federal government has implemented in response to the Royal Commission’s recommendations include:  Establishment of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as a single, enduring agency;

Ready Fund (DRF) that provides up to $1 billion over five years, from July 1, 2023, to improve Australia’s disaster resilience and bolster Australia’s ability to reduce disaster risk by investing in important disaster mitigation projects;  Establishment of the Office of Supply Chain Resilience (OSCR) to identify and monitor critical supply chain vulnerabilities that could affect Australia’s national interest;  Establishment of the National Emergency Management Stockpile (NEMS) capability to assist in building greater supply chain resilience and ensuring the supply of essential emergency goods in times of disasters;  Delivery of the National Joint Common Operating Picture (NJCOP) in November 2021, which provides a shared and common understanding both nationally, and across borders during crisis events;  Significant upgrade of the federal government National Situation Room (NSR) to improve national coordination of disaster management;  Establishment of the National Coordination Mechanism (NCM) to support national situational awareness and coordination of effective consequence management of complex crises;  Establishment of the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) on September 1, 2022, to improve fire agencies’ ability to consistently communicate the fire threat across Australia, and provide a national decision-making framework that supports operational planning, response and consistent community messaging;

 Establishment of the National

Emergency Declaration (NED) Act 2020, which provides a legislative framework to enable the GovernorGeneral to declare a national emergency on the Prime Minister’s Advice;  Establishment of the Independent Review into Commonwealth Disaster Funding, including building additional resilience into Commonwealth programs;  Commissioning of the Independent Review of National Natural Disaster Governance Arrangements to better prepare governments for the demands of increasing future natural disasters;  Review of Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, (DRFA) to streamline and build additional resilience into joint Commonwealth-State recovery programs;  Establishment of a not-for-profit and philanthropic roundtable consisting of charities, non-government organisations and volunteer groups with a role in disaster recovery;  Establishment of the Australian Climate Service (ACS) on July 1, 2021 to support better decision-making through improved climate, disaster risk and impact information, services and tools, and;  Development of the Australian Warning System (AWS), to provide nationally consistent warnings for emergencies like bushfire, flood, storm, extreme heat and severe weather.

An interim report on the progress against the Commission’s recommendations, published earlier in the year, is available on the NEMA website at: Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

17

RURAL NEWS

‘After the flood’: a podcast about resilience VICTORIAN farmers have faced many challenges in the past three years, from dry seasons to COVID-19, bushfires to floods and storms.

Spring 2022 featured record rainfall across Victoria, particularly in the state’s north.

Farms were affected by flooding, waterlogging, disease, and disruption to supply chains.

Agriculture Victoria’s new podcast After the flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience explores the recovery required after a natural disaster, the support provided and the resilience of Victorian famers, including

how different industries are rebuilding and recovering.

Victoria’s Rural Assistance Commissioner, Peter Tuohey, said listeners would hear from farmers who had weathered these storms, their recovery, and what they had learned.

“This podcast series shares real stories of farmers recovering from natural disasters.

It’s about learning and moving forward together. The episodes highlight the stages of recovery, through disaster to rebuilding, directly from individuals sharing their journeys,” he said.

In Episode 1, listeners hear from farm business manager Chris Steele as he

reflects on flooding impacts to his emerging irrigated horticulture crops on the Murray River and how a realistic cash-flow budget helped navigate the crisis.

In future episodes, hear from apiarists, grape growers, farmers recovering with assistance from rural financial counsellors, individuals affected by family tragedy and those on the road to recovery in a changing climate.

The series has been produced by Agriculture Victoria in partnership with the National Centre for Farmer Health (NCFH) #BuildingFarmSpirit program.

Agriculture Victoria works with Victorian farmers to prepare for, respond to and

recover from natural disasters that occur.

The NCFH is supporting farmer mental health and wellbeing though a variety of initiatives, with further information on their website.

You can subscribe and listen to ‘After the flood: stories of farmer recovery and resilience’ wherever you get your podcasts:  Subscribe to AgVic Talk on Spotify, and;  Subscribe to Apple Podcasts.

You can find out more and listen to other AgVic Talk episodes at agriculture.vic.gov. au/agvictalk

Australia’s new National Biosecurity Training Hub now open AUSTRALIA’S first one-stop shop for online biosecurity training is now open and available to anyone looking to increase their understanding about biosecurity.

Agriculture Victoria has partnered with Plant Health Australia (PHA), the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, and Animal Health Australia (AHA) to create the National Biosecurity Training Hub. Agriculture Victoria Executive Director, Dr Katherine Clift, said biosecurity and emergency animal disease preparedness was a top priority for Victoria.

“Victoria faces intensifying biosecurity risks - driven by climate change, increasing

trade and travel, and changing land use,” Dr Clift said.

“Small actions can have big impacts on preventing and managing the harms caused by pests and diseases. The things we do, or don’t do, can touch everything we value.”

Dr Clift said biosecurity was a matter for all Victorians, not just people on farms and the training hub is a great way for people to increase their understanding and knowledge.

“We can all help prevent pests from getting into Victoria, contain outbreaks before they get out of hand, and manage established pests and weeds,” she said.

The National Biosecurity Training Hub

(the Hub) offers a central location with a database of online biosecurity training resources to help reduce the duplication of effort and costs associated with developing and delivering biosecurity training.

The Hub unifies and streamlines training to give national visibility of biosecurity-related training across government, industry and community in a single location.

The Hub is a centralised platform that supports biosecurity prevention, preparedness, response and recovery by providing users with access to the latest biosecurityrelated training materials and courses suited to different industries, levels and skill sets.

Designed with learners in mind, the Hub

is easy to navigate with a library of plant, animal and aquatic biosecurity training that is searchable using a topic, keyword, location, preferred method of delivery.

The quality assurance protocols in place ensures each course listed meets the required standard.

The Hub features 64 online training courses with plans for continuous expansion, and can be found at biotraininghub. com.au Organisations with biosecurity training packages interested in contributing to the Hub are encouraged to make email nbth@ phau.com.au

National rabbit disease monitoring continues

Free testing is available for rabbits and hares.

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

THOSE in the community will continue to be able to access free testing services for rabbits and hares, thanks to a federal government-funded national disease monitoring program.

The National Rabbit Disease Monitoring Program is being delivered by CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

Through this program, crucial data on the various rabbit haemorrhagic disease viruses (RHDVs) circulating in Australia will continue to be collected.

Australian Chief Environmental Biosecurity Officer, Dr Bertie Hennecke, said disease testing was another tactic in the battle to control rabbits.

“Rabbits were first introduced to Australia in 1859 for hunting purposes,” Dr Hennecke said.

“Biological control - in this case, use of RHDVs - is one of the most effective ways we have to keep the rabbit population in check.

“Through the disease monitoring program, any member of the public who finds a dead rabbit or hare, whether it’s a feral animal or a pet, can request a sampling kit and then submit the sample for analysis.

“Rabbits are one of Australian agriculture’s

Photo: File

most costly vertebrate pests, estimated to cost over $197 million in control costs and agricultural losses every year, and are a significant threat to our biodiversity.

“The more data we have, the better we’re able to control this pest.”

CSIRO Senior Principal Research Scientist, Dr Tanja Strive, said the data allowed for better understanding of how RHDVs were evolving over time.

“We need to know the distribution, diversity and seasonal activity of the various rabbit viruses that are circulating in Australia,” Dr Strive said.

“This long-term community sampling of the rabbit population has been a critical source of data on RHDVs - where they’re spreading, whether they’re mutating and changing, and how much they’re interacting.

“We know these diseases can combine and change and having the data that shows how these viruses are moving in the wild means we can look at improving biocontrol tools.”

To request a sample kit, visit Rabbit calicivirus testing - Rabbit caliciviruses (csiro.au)

January, 2024

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

19

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

January, 2024

BEEF iWEEK ew Prev

Saturday 27 January - Saturday 3 February 2024

Lot 17 Bowman Nashville S118 sold to a top price of $22,000, to Princess Royal Station.

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Stud Principal Glenn Bowman presenting Jack Rowe (Princess Royal Station) with a gift for the top priced bull.

By Cattlemen, for Cattlemen

XCITING opportunities await beef producers at this year s Bowman Performance Genetics Bull Sale, at Neerim South, on Thursday 14th March, 2024.

By Cattlemen, for Cattlemen , captures the true purpose of Bowman Performance Genetics seedstock production.

Stud Principal and 7th generation farmer, Glenn Bowman, has been breeding bulls for thirty years, complementing his family s commercial operation at The Ridge , Rosedale.

He believes in sourcing and developing highly profitable genetics, to produce a market-focused product.

The balanced approach adopted by Mr.

Bowman incorporating the science, whilst producing fit, sound bulls - is resonating within the market.

Interest continues to grow with major players and industry leaders from large commercial operations, within excess of 120 bulls sold annually.

Last year s top-priced bull, along with several from the draft, were sold to South Australian operation, Princess Royal Station, run by the Rowe family.

Situated North of Burra on the vast open plains, the 28,000-hectare business was looking to source bulls with significant breed-plan performance data, whilst not being over-prepared.

2024 s sale draft will raise the bar to an even higher level, said Mr. Bowman.

Gippsland s largest sire line-up achieves an increasing Angus Breeding Dollar Index Value, whilst adding thickness and carcass content.

The first sons of Millah Murrah Nectar N334, Sitz Intuition (USA), Banquet Quarter Pounder Q252 and Landfall Blackstone Q1171 will be offered here in Gippsland.

Added to this powerful mix will be sons of Murdeduke Quarterback Q011, Millah Murrah Paratrooper P15, Baldridge 38 Special (USA) and Musgrave 316 Exclusive (USA).

Generations of cattlemanship are backed by the latest science, incorporating genomic profiles on the entire female herd.

Professional breeders require current and accurate breeding information to drive business performance, and they are reassured animals are parent verified.

If you re buying a bull without genomic testing, how do you know what you re buying?, Mr. Bowman asks.

It s a significant investment, but genomic testing can highlight every aspect of that bull s breeding - from calving traits, to growth and lucrative carcass qualities.

80 plus bulls will be available for inspection on-property at Crystal Brook , Neerim South, during Beef Week, 2024.

For more information, visit www. bowmangenetics.com

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January, 2024

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

21

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

s l a c o l e h t t r o Supp this Beef Week DAY 1 - SUNDAY 28 JANUARY

• Bowman Performance Genetics • Doben Park Shorthorns • Fernleigh Angus • Moorunga Angus • Raedene Red Angus • Tarwin Poll Herefords • Wattlewood Angus

DAY 2 - MONDAY 29 JANUARY • Newcomen Herefords • Nunniong Hereford Stud • Pinora Angus

DAY 3 - TUESDAY 30 JANUARY • Brewer Beef

DAY 4 - WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY • Glenellerslie

DAY 6 - FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY

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• Banquet Angus

Annual Bull Sale On-Property - Opposite Ensay Saleyards Wednesday 13 March 2024 - 1.30pm

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Open Beef Week Day 3 on Monday the 29th of January 2024 40 HEREFORD & POLL HEREFORD BULLS FOR SALE

Nunniong Hereford Stud Phillip (Bluey) Commins Commins. Ensay - Victoria - 3895 Ph: (03) 5157 3331 Mob: 0427 573 331 22

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

January, 2024

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

OORUNGA Angus Stud is based near Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula.

John and Sue Matthies established the Angus Stud after purchasing the property in 2013.

Moorunga is a highly productive property that runs the Angus Stud, fat lambs for personal use and sells excess produce from their orchard at a local retailer.

They are currently breeding around 150 stud calves a year and hold an onproperty bull sale in August each year.

This will be Moorunga s debut in the Beef Week Open Days and they are proud to offer a group of working age bulls on the day.

The stud herd has been created with purchases from the Anvil, Ireland and Stoney Point Angus Stud dispersals combined with judicious purchases of females from Texas, Little Meadows, Fox River, Banquet and most recently, KO Angus Stud.

Moorunga uses artificial insemination and embryo transfer programs to maximise the top donor cows as well as using some of the best Angus sires available.

This is a combination of Australian, New Zealand and USA genetics to produce moderate, easy doing, and functional cattle.

Several of these top end females will be on display on the day, as well as a line of commercial Angus heifers that will be coming up for sale.

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Moorunga had its first showing at Melbourne Royal in 2023 and came home with the coveted Grand Champion Angus Bull ribbon and went on to win the Junior Champion Interbreed Bull trophy.

Raindance is a good representative of the type of bull that we re aiming to breed said stud principal, John Matthies.

He s moderate and soft with plenty of carcase, sound as a bell and has a great nature.

We d like to welcome everyone to come and have a look at our program, have a chat and enjoy our hospitality.

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Selling S elling 5 50 0 B Bulls ulls 20 MONTHS OLD FEATURING SONS OF:

Milwillah Fevola M16 Alpine Investment P46 Millah Murrah Quixote Q96 DSK Man Made M12 John Sunderman 0427 482 607 email: pinora@wideband.net.au 453 Dawson Road, Heyf yfield f January, 2024

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

23

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Glenellerslie Hereford Stud

Top seller Lot 29 Glenellerslie Valentine 2 (S). Very fitting that Valentine 2 should make top money at 30th sale on Valentine’s Day.

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EST. 1974

31st Annual Sale 46 Hereford & P Poll Hereford Bulls

TUESDAY

FEBRUARY 13 F Open for Inspection Beef Week Wednesday 31 January 2024

Ross & Mandy Smith 1064 Yaven Creek Road, Adelong NSW 2729 glenellerslieherefords.com rosssmith@activ8.net.au Ross Smith 02 6946 4233 0436 291 945 Blake Smith 02 6946 4239 0488 501 329

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24

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

SW Hereford stud, Glenellerslie have an outstanding line up for their 31st Sale at their property, 908 - 1064 Yaven Creek Road, Adelong, NSW. Celebrating 50 years since Gordon Smith purchased cows from South Bukalong Hereford Stud at Bombala they have gone from strength to strength on the back of Gordon talking the Garnocks into selling him Ardno Dynamic s son South Bukalong Guardsman.

They had intended to use him themselves.

Guardsman was still siring calves at 15 years of age, it didn t matter who you joined him to, you got a good calf.

You could pick out which ones were his in the neighbour s cattle, (he wasn t a rogue but it was hard to keep the creek baulks up in the days of no electric fences).

Glenellerslie made their first foray to Wodonga Show and Sale in 1979 taking Eagle and Elton, realising 3rd and 4th ribbons and $1750 and $1250, creditable results for first timers.

Those two bulls were taught to lead the Saturday before the sale, usually teaching took place much earlier than that!

Success at Wodonga culminated in in 1993 when Glenellerslie Richie AI by Widgiewa Britisher BE7 gained a first ribbon and sold to South Boorook for $21,000.

It was even more fantastic when you consider that they had joined him to quite a few cows as a yearling, which would have held him back.

Glenellerslie was part of Ellerslie Estate, taken up as a soldier settler block by Gordon and June in 1948.

The neighbouring property, Spyglass was purchased in 1977 and part of Back Lester was purchased in 1993 to bring the total to 793 hectares.

Besides these purchases, Gordon also had purchased 1500 acres of Billapalap in 1965 with Stewart, who went out on his own in 1977.

You might say that Gordon was a doer, not afraid to have a go at anything

whereas June was a pessimist, telling them before every Wodonga Sale, I don t know why you are going, you won t do any good.

25 Hereford and 21 Poll Hereford bulls will be offered on Tuesday 13th February from 1pm by Helmsman Auction.

Once again, the sale will be interfaced with AuctionsPlus so the bulls can be inspected on Day 5 of the Stock and Land Beef Week Field Day on Wednesday 31st January.

This year s excellent draft includes bulls sired by WRL Makka (H), Amos Vale Galloway P011 (H), Kymarney Blackhawk POO4 (H), Glenellerslie Tywin (H), Glenwarrah Men at Work (H), Yarram Unique F181 (H), Kaludah Storm Boy (H), Ennerdale Accomplice (PP), Monymusk Gallant (IMP NZ) (P), Kaludah Cooper Q272 (S) and Karoonda Wager Q795 (PP).

These are the last sons of Accomplice to be offered, he has done an outstanding job.

Last year Glenellerslie Vitality (H) made top money of $12,500 in the Herefords selling to Gordon Moon, Wulgulmerang and Glenellerslie Valentine (S) topping the sale making $13,000 purchased by Ian Shaw from Galong, NSW. Glenellerslie bulls are famous for their docility and doing ability.

All the bulls carry the Glenellerslie guarantee, they are semen tested, inoculated with Vibriovax, Multimin and 7 in 1.

The stud is now run by Ross and Mandy Smith, son Blake and new wife Carly, with further help from daughters Alicia and Rebecca.

They operate a Certified Grass Fed, EU accredited fattening enterprise alongside their stud operation.

For catalogues phone Ross and Mandy on 02 6946 4233, Blake and Carly on 02 6946 4239 or head to www.herefordsaustralia.com.au or www.glenellerslieherefords.com to view the online catalogue.

January, 2024

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Wattlewood Angus

Wattle True Blue T7

Wattle Tenacious T12

W

attlewood Angus again invite you to join them for the 2024 Beef Week Open day on Sunday 28th January at Wattlewood to view their 30+ sale bulls, and the females behind their impressive sale bull line up.

The sire verified bulls at Wattlewood have come from foundation stock that go back to some of the best cow families in the Angus breed including Barunah, Acacia, Ella, and Esther.

These females have come together with the industry s leading sires in Texas Iceman, Chiltern Park Moe, Sydgen Enhance and Sitz Stellar.

The animals are in their best health to achieve the best reproductive performance and longevity.

The thirty bulls that will be included in their on-farm sale that is interfaced with AuctionsPlus have all been vaccinated

with 7in1, Pestigard, Rhinogard and Vibrovax as well as being semen tested.

Wattlewood s breeding philosophy is to have structurally correct, quiet animals that perform in a package that buyers want to and enjoy owning.

Wattlewood has potential stud and herd sires available that are among the best in the breed for birth weight, growth, structure, and carcass EBV s.

When various traits are calculated, there are bulls in the 2024 sale that are top performers in every index the Angus breed has.

Also on display will be some special heifers that have been used to help young kids learn about cattle and animal husbandry.

The 8 to 10-year-old children have worked with these heifers to prepare them for the autumn shows, gaining confidence by leading, washing, and

grooming them while ultimately enjoying been involved with cattle.

Fiona is a big believer of getting the youth involved as she says, they are the future of the beef cattle societies and the beef industry .

Sale catalogues for the March 14th bull sale will be available on the day or

alternatively, contact Fiona on 0416 216 951 to have one mailed out.

While the Glover s encourage you to come along to the Beef Week Open Day on the 28th of January, if you can t make it, please get in touch with Fiona to arrange a time to visit this exceptional herd.

21ST ANNUAL ON PROPERTY SALE

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E: newcomen@skymesh.com.au THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

25

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Banquet Angus

Tarwin Poll Herefords

Banquet Top Deck T020 Sired by Banquet Nuttella N462. Sold for $42,000 to David Young, Londavra Angus, Tas.

Any producer searching for these sustainability traits would be wise to inspect sons of Nuttella N462.

A sire Banquet has used with great success to drive increased growth rates and butt shape is Trio Qantas Q78.

Banquet have retained one of his early sons and used semen from two others.

Many high weight gaining and muscular sons will feature in Banquet s February Sale. Banquet will have a selection of 120 PTIC Banquet blood commercial heifers on display. These will be offered as part of the Banquet Autumn Sale on February 29th.

The heifers were purchased from long term Banquet clients at last year s weaner sales. They have been joined to Banquet sires selected for their calving ease.

The elite offering is a great opportunity to fast track the improvement of your commercial herd.

They will also showcase what you can produce with generations of Banquet genetics.

Tarwin Terence T046

T

arwin Poll Herefords have been based at the Meeniyan property for over 70 years, taking its name from the Tarwin River that fronts the property.

Commenced in 1950, at the request of local agents for sons of Studlea Playmate, purchased at the 1950 Melbourne Royal Show, the stud has maintained its objective of producing sound commercial cattle for Gippsland producers ever since.

Current owner David Meikle comments In those early days a lot of emphasis was placed on pedigrees and showing.

Now we have tools such as performance recording and DNA testing to predict how our animals should perform.

This is a performance recorded herd with the calves being regularly weighed up to 600 days and the weights submitted to the Breedplan program.

Sale bulls are scanned for eye muscle area and fat cover.

These results will be available on the Beef Week open day.

Replacement heifers and sale bulls are DNA tested to confirm parentage and polledness.

2023 was also Tarwin s third effort at online selling, with 5 young bulls offered on Auctions Plus as members of the Gippsland Performance Herefords group in September.

Tarwin Terence T046 a Wirruna Nolan son made second top price in this sale at $8,500, with Tarwin achieving a 100 percent clearance.

Stud manager David Meikle commented for this year I m very happy to get a full clearance.

The stud s objective is to produce attractive, sound, commercial poll Hereford cattle, able to perform off grass.

Tarwin

To achieve this they use a mix of AI breeding and a judicious selection of sires for natural mating.

Sires chosen will generally have a modest birth weight coupled with above average growth weights and carcass traits, traits such as eye pigmentation and hooding are also considered in their sire selection.

To further test the performance of their genetics, the Meikles regularly compete in the Lardner Park Grass Finished Steer trials.

In 2023 they had two teams entered, with both teams averaging growth rates of 1.29 kg/day and 1.36 kg/day.

Beating the overall trial average of 1.24 kg/day.

The previous year Tarwin came 2nd overall in this competition, with a team that achieved 1.5 kg/day At this year s Beef Week open day, Tarwin Poll Herefords will have on display their sale bulls sired, predominately sired

by Wirruna Nolan, Tarcombe Homeland and AI sire Mawarra Terminator.

Next year s crop of bull calves will also be on display with their mothers, these will include the first calves from Hunter Lakes Regal and AI bred sons from Kanimbla Power Quest, Yavenvale Quantitative, Ravensdale Spark M037 and Injemira Fortune P239.

Stud sire, Hunters Lakes Regal R017 will be on display along with home bred sire, Tarwin Regal R014 (son of Wirruna Nolan.).

It is planned to also have unjoined weaned sale heifers on display as well.

Visitors are welcome to enjoy the hospitality of a cup tea and a light lunch as well as to discuss the studs breeding program with the Meikle family.

ESTABLISHED 1950

POLL HEREFORDS

The Meikle Family extend a warm invitation to visitors to inspect their Tarw rwin w Poll Hereford Stud.

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veryone is welcome to the Banquet Angus Field Day at Mortlake on Friday 2nd February.

This is a great opportunity to meet the Branson Family and causally inspect the 100 bulls catalogued for their Autumn Bull Sale, on Thursday 29th February.

The first sons of Ben Nevis Rambo R230 will feature in Banquet s Autumn Bull Sale.

Rambo was purchased in partnership for $70,000 at just 12 months of age.

His sons display exceptional thickness and muscularity, a powerful sires outlook and fine soft hair.

Many of his sons will be suitable for joining heifers.

The progeny of super star sire, Banquet Nuttella N462 will again feature.

Progeny of Nuttella excel for temperament, structure, fertility, doability, survivability and real performance in the paddock.

His sons have met with strong buying support and progeny reports are excellent.

Beef Week Day 2, Sunday 28 January 2024 Bulls available for sale on the day Location: Parrys Road, 3km from Meeniyan on Meeniyan-Dumbalk Road (Signs will be posted) ENQUIRIES:

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

David Meikle 5664 7556 Mob: 0429 800 756 Email: meikledd@dcsi.net.au January, 2024

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Alpine Angus

T

he 2024 Alpine Angus Autumn Bull Sale is to be held at the Alpine Sales Complex at Rosewhite on Wednesday 13 March at 1 pm.

A Sale Preview will be held at the Sales Complex on Sunday 3 March between 11 am and 3 pm.

Alpine Principal Jim Delany Over the last few years, the Beef Industry enjoyed record market conditions with strong prices for cattle across the board, bulls included.

We are grateful to have shared our client s success with Alpine records being broken in successive sales.

Our thanks to our clients for their great support.

In recent times market conditions cooled a lot more than expected, and a lot more quickly.

Just as we share the good times with our clients, we also share the more trying ones.

Our job is to make sure that whatever the market is doing, our bulls will position our clients at the top of that market with their progeny and promote structural integrity in their herds.

Alpine source sires from both the USA and Australia from leading cow families, with pedigrees containing sound, proven genetics to compliment the Alpine herd and add performance and carcase merit while maintaining and/or improving basic traits that are a necessity for producing efficient working Angus bulls sound feet, tight sheathes, good testicles, docility and all black hides.

Alpine Manager Chris Oswin Our aim of our breeding program is to maintain a highly maternal and functional herd of Angus cows.

We seek long fronted, feminine, sound, easy calving cows with good udder quality that are true to type and have a great temperament and structural integrity.

The March 2024 sale will include lines of calving ease bulls by homebred sires Alpine Main Event and Alpine Pablos Pulse.

Both are proven consistent producers of high quality bulls with Main Event siring the 2021 top priced Spring Bull, Alpine Rip Wheeler R144 whose semen is marketed by Genetics Australia alongside another Main Event son in Alpine Main Event Q192.

There is also a run of higher IMF carcase bulls, with depth and constitution including sons of Murdeduke Quarterback and Alpine Junior M205.

Chris Oswin Quarterback sons have sold well across the country and were well appreciated at our last autumn sale with a long bodied son topping it.

Alpine Angus will also be offering a set of stout, thick bodied sons of USA Sires Sitz Stellar, Heiken Broadview and Baldridge SR Goalkeeper combining moderate birth with explosive growth.

These three American sires were targeted for their ability to transmit easy calving, big growth rates and dense, deep bodied progeny.

A bigger framed run of Banquet Quarter Pounder, Alpine Knockout Q211 and Alpine Ricochet R005 sons, with plenty of length and ideal weaner producers will round out the sale offering.

Chris Oswin Quarter Pounder topped Banquets sale a couple of years ago where he impressed with his overall body mass and type.

These are our first calves by him.

Raedene Red Angus

A

nnette, Noel and Georgia are excited to have on display the yearling embryo heifers and bulls

by Red U2 Reckoning 149A x GK Red Platinum Ruba P26, OLC Chateau x Trevone Park Little Princess B181, BST Tullatoola Vera x New Direction offering new bloodlines.

There are some exciting AI calves on the ground by Tronar Kemble, Raedean Limited Edition and Raedean Statement.

You will also be able to view the new females purchased from W.A from the renowned Bandeeka stud.

Noel said, We have just finished flushing our award winning cow both in the show ring and on farm challenge.

Hillandale Red Jude J18 has been one of our top females constantly producing

top performing young stock, and we have put some of her embryos in as well.

We welcome you to inspect our Red Angus herd and select your new sire from our high performing functional female herd.

Our focus is on economic traits and we cull heavily for undesirable traits to keep improving our herd.

A docile temperament is extremely important to us.

You will be able to walk through all the cattle on display and Georgia will be excited to introduce you to her stud cattle.

Raedene hope you can put Raedean and Georgia s Reds on your list of studs to visit.

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

27

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Fernleigh Angus

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n Sunday January 28th, Fernleigh Angus will open its doors as part of their annual involvement in Beef Week.

The day offers an opportunity to inspect the line-up of over 40 yearling bulls, available for sale by private treaty in 2024, in a low pressure and obligation free environment.

Key sire lines on display include Ben Nevis Metamorphic M51, Banquet Nutella N462, Ben Nevis Rambo R230, alongside home-grown sires Fernleigh Patrobus P131 and Fernleigh Qashqai Q067.

Fernleigh Stud Manager James Blyth said that these sires have been selected with an emphasis on strong early growth, quiet disposition, and structural integrity.

We aim to breed cattle which excel on the fundamentals, and will stand the test of time.

That means breeding bulls which are highly fertile, durable, and suited to the conditions here in Gippsland .

I think the bulls on offer represent real value, which is critical at a time like this, when the cattle market is coming off a low point.

We want our clients to be in a position to succeed, and to do that we need to offer a product which ticks all the boxes .

Also on display during the open day will be a significant selection of the Fernleigh female herd.

Mr Blyth commented that the importance of the females in our program cannot be understated.

Quite often the bulls are the focus of the attention, so we really relish the

These sires have been selected with an emphasis on strong early growth, quiet disposition, and structural integrity.

JAMES BLYTH

opportunity to open up our herd and highlight the maternal quality from which our bulls have been bred .

For Fernleigh, since its inception in 1991, there has always been an importance on bringing in genetics which are tailored to the herd.

We look to bring in sires from complimentary herds around Australia, which we believe can really perform in Gippsland.

I would invite anyone who is interested to come and see the bulls and the wider herd, because I think the cattle really do speak for themselves .

For further information on the Beef Week open day or the Fernleigh Angus program, contact James Blyth on 0400 447 443, or follow Fernleigh Angus on Facebook and Instagram.

GIPPSLAND VETERINARY HOSPITAL BEEF CATTLE SERVICES Gippsland Veterinary Hospital s experienced team of cattle vets provide ambulatory emergency care 24 hours a day for beef cattle farmers across Gippsland. We pride ourselves on our preventative medicine focus. Our vets are encouraged to develop an indepth understanding of our clients farming operations so that they become an integral part of the farm s management team.

BULL TESTING

BIOSECURITY

Comprehensive assessments for bulls to ensure they are in optimum condition for service.

Guidance and assistance with implementing sound biosecurity measures to protect beef farms from the spread of disease and pests.

HERD HEALTH Extensive range of herd health services with a focus on welfare, preventative health and productivity.

WEANING Advice on methods of weaning, feed options and the best time to wean beef calves to bring cows back in condition and maximise conception rates.

24 hour emergency service every day of the year!

GIPPSLAND VETERINARY HOSPITAL Maffra Veterinary Centre 5147 1177 Sale Veterinary Centre 5169 7222

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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January, 2024

BEEF WEEK PREVIEW

Birchwood Limousins

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ndrew and Jenny of Birchwood Limousins pride themselves on breeding highly docile Limousin cattle.

With their extensive AI program, bulls are selected from Australia and overseas to meet their breeding objectives.

Birchwood focus on high meat yield, easy calving, good early growth rates, early maturing, structurally sound cattle, with high docility a must.

Andrew and Jenny handle all the bulls from birth, through weaning to maturity, which makes them so easy to manage.

The bulls on offer are sired by a bull who is in the top 1 per cent in Australia for docility, and it shows in his progeny.

Birchwood attended Farm World last year and took two working age bulls

straight from the paddock to the event.

We were so proud of how chilled our bulls were with all the balloons, flags and even the children patting them.

It is a testament to the nature of these bulls, says Jenny.

The bulls on offer range from streamlined, easy calving heifer bulls to high producing meat machines.

All bulls are registered and have EBV profiles.

Birchwood Limousins are excited to be holding their first open weekend on the 27th and 28th of January to coincide with Beef Week and showcase their cattle.

Located in Yinnar South, only 5 minutes from the Churchill town centre, they invite you to come down, say hi and check it out.

ANGUS STUD BREEDING DOCILE, QUALITY PERFORMANCE CATTLE, FOR 35 YEARS

Three Oaks Angus Stud

I

n response to requests for black coated cattle Trevor and Lyn Hatch from Athlone in West Gippsland established Three Oaks Angus Stud in 2002.

Earlier visits to Innesdale convinced us that they had the type of maternal genetics we required. said Trevor.

We selected five cows from the Innesdale herd followed by two cows from the Green Valley dispersal.

These founding females have been used to build our Angus cow herd and provide Angus bulls for clients.

Strict selection criteria of only using sires with volume and good muscling led to bulls such as Pinebank 41/97, Waimata Lad E230, and AA Old Post Bandolier, Net Worth, Hoff Limited Edition, Innesdale Galaxy G71, Musgrave

Stunner 316 and Spickler Chisum 255.

The capacity and thickness of these bulls has worked well with those original cows and their daughters.

We have since made carefully considered purchases at the Anvil and Stony Point dispersals.

Well known families such as Dream, Lowan, Everlda Entense, Eisa Erica, Copper and Wilpena were part of our purchases, explained Trevor.

We now have 20 different herd-book registered cow families encompassing a range of genetics displaying the allimportant type we require.

Our emphasis on thickness, cold tolerance and feed efficiency has resulted in Angus cattle that can grow and finish on grass, a vital economic trait.

Visitors always welcome.

The Wright Family extend a warm invitation to visit us at any time 1492 Sale-Toongabbie Road Winnindoo 3858 Sharyn 0413 663 004 Colin 0417 574 573

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

January, 2024

A D V E R T I S I N G

F E A T U R E

Aussie Pumps Puts Farmers First

By Davy Schrijvers

and featuring a 4,000 psi pump and slow-speed gearbox drive, is the professional’s choice.

(Victorian Product Manager, Aussie Pumps).

For jobs that require a long reach, Aussie has stainless steel hose reels, with up to 30m of high pressure hose that fits neatly onto the purpose designed Scud frames on these blasters.

AS a Victorian Area Manager for Australian Pump Industries (Aussie Pumps), I know the backbone of Australia’s economy is agriculture.

Last year, agricultural productivity reached a staggering $90 billion, and with proper investment in water resources, it could double!

They are easy to fit and offer huge OH & S advantages.

The Power of Steam

Here at Aussie Pumps, we understand the potential of Australian farming.

AUSSIE steam cleaners offer several advantages over cold water pressure cleaners.

That’s why our team is constantly innovating and developing faster, more effective, cost-efficient pumps that outperform cheap imports and even some traditional brands.

Better Products for Aussie Farmers OUR philosophy is simple: provide more value to the consumer at fair prices.

We offer a wide range of self-priming pumps, from 1” to 6”, perfect for various on-farm applications.

Farmers love self-priming pumps because of their convenience, especially when drafting water from dams, creeks, rivers, or wells.

Getting Designs Right AUSSIE Pumps prioritises quality, using more material to offer superior products at competitive prices.

A prime example is our QP self-priming centrifugal pump range, powered by Honda petrol or Yanmar diesel engines.

They clean faster, use less chemicals, are more hygienic, and surfaces dry instantly.

PK Equipment in Sale offer Aussie’s range of professional cold water blasters and can assist with service to keep your machine in top condition.

pumps are available with long range fuel tanks for convenience.

The 16-litre fuel tank enables the pump to continuously move large volumes of water for up to 4½ hours, translating to a staggering 783,000 litres per fuel tank cycle.

Installing large pumps means a bigger initial investment, but down the track, the faster transfer times save fuel and larger diameter hose cuts friction loss, delivering more performance and improved efficiency.

This range includes pumps up to 6” with flows of up to 2,900 lpm!

Managing Contaminated Wastewater

The flagship is the Aussie Fire Chief, considered the world’s best lightweight portable fire pump.

THE Aussie range of trash pumps were originally developed for construction sites, mines and quarries.

Packed with more features and material than any other pump its size, it boasts a 25 per cent performance advantage, bigger impellers, and the ability to self-prime from 7.6 m.

Capable of handling large volumes of flow, the pumps are advanced in their efficiency, easy to maintain, simple to use and extremely effective.

Additionally, it comes with a five-year warranty, steel skids with anti-vibration mounts, and a competitive price tag.

Need to transfer water quickly?

AUSSIE’S got the 3”, 4”, and 6” pumps designed for efficient water transfer.

Our 6” QP602 Honda petrol transfer

They are perfect for floods, wastewater and livestock effluent!

The pumps range from 2” portable Honda powered models, often used by plumbers and construction companies, culminating in big 6” series that can handle up to 6,000 litres per minute.

Aussie QP Trash Pump range feature open impellers that can pass solids in suspension.

A front mounted clean-out port enables any choke in the pump to be cleared without the need to disconnect pipework.

Brownwigg stock the Aussie Fire Chief because it’s a multipurpose pump that all farmers need.

The team at Farm Depot in Warragul are also long time Aussie Gold Distributors.

They focus on not just fire pumps but the Aussie range of Smart Pumps that handle ag chemicals like fertilisers and weedkillers.

Pressure Cleaning Power WE’RE pleased to work with PK Equipment with our range of professional pressure cleaners.

Partners Peter Padula and Peter Phelps are experts in the benefits of the Aussie range of commercial cold water pressure cleaners.

Our compact AB30, the “Pocket Rocket,” is a popular choice of farms, both in Australia and internationally.

These 3,000 psi cleaners with topquality Italian pumps and Honda engines feature ergonomic stainless steel frames.

The ‘Scud’ design gives our machines a huge advantage in terms of manoeuvrability and stability.

The Scud range extends beyond the AB30, with the AB40-GT offering 4,000 psi of cleaning power and a sleek, sculpted stainless steel frame.

For heavy-duty applications, the Scud 400, powered by a 13hp Honda engine

We offer a range of steam cleaners designed specifically for Australian conditions.

The Aussie Admiral MK111, with its 20 litres per minute capacity and 3,000 psi output, is ideal for continuous steam cleaning tasks.

It can produce 135°C steam, tackling even the toughest cleaning jobs and sterilising surfaces.

The Aussie Sizzler Hot Wash, a 240-volt dairy special, produces 1,800 psi at 80°C. This reliable, stainless steel machine with a heavy-duty pump and slow-speed motor is a favourite among dairy farmers for its effectiveness and affordability.

Extended Warranties for Peace of Mind OUR design team constantly seeks inspiration and direction from the market.

We are passionate about understanding applications and learning from the people who use our products.

This understanding allows us to develop reliable machines that can withstand even the most demanding agricultural environments.

That’s why we offer extended warranties on our products.

For more information, visit your nearest Aussie Pump authorised distributor or our website at aussiepumps.com.au.

Together, let’s keep Aussie farming strong.

When floods threatened Horsham a few years back, Millers Contracting, a leading earthmoving contractor, moved swiftly to put a 6” Aussie trash pump into operation.

It diverted water to a bypass channel saving the town from flooding.

Dealer Support Essential THE strength of Aussie Pumps in Gippsland is in the quality of the distribution outlets.

Aussie’s big 4” transfer pump Drought Buster moves water efficiently. Here in production with Kubota engines in our tanker special configuration.

January, 2024

One example is Brownwigg.

They have branches in Sale, Bairnsdale, Yarram, Stratford, Maffra, Traralgon, Warragul, Officer and Meeniyan.

Brownwigg stock a range of Aussie QP pumps including little 1” utility pumps, fire and transfer pumps, all with 5 year warranty.

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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January, 2024

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

33

RURAL NEWS

Important energy education program Stefan BRADLEY

WITH Gippsland becoming a key region for upcoming renewable projects, including offshore wind, it’s important to foresee what issues may arise from bringing workers into the area without sufficient housing.

Are modular homes the answer?

A group of 24 high school students across four schools in Latrobe City and Baw Baw Shire took part in a mentoring program that aims to teach young people how to solve these complicated real-life dilemmas.

Trafalgar High School students Alicia, Abby, Edith and Victoria recently graduated from the program, and their focus was how to address potential housing

shortages during construction of renewable energy projects in Gippsland.

Flotation Energy, developer of the Seadragon project, took part in the mentoring project with the New Energy Technology (NET) Program, delivered by the Baw Baw Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN).

Erin Lord, the stakeholder engagement lead for the Seadragon Offshore Wind project, joined the program as a mentor in March 2023 and worked directly with the four Trafalgar High School students as they tackled head on the issue of housing for renewable energy construction workers.

Mentors would sit with the students during classroom-style

Trafalgar High School students Alicia, Abby, Edith and Victoria at their graduation from the NET program on November 13.

Photo: Contributed

learning, but with industry present to explain how it could apply to a real-life workplace.

“We talked about why I use time management … or how I’ve proved a concept could work so that they could do classroomstyle learning,” Ms Lord said.

“And also having industry sitting there explaining how that applies in a real life workplace.”

With this new workforce coming in, the students, as well as the renewable energy companies setting up in Gippsland, will need to figure out how to bring workers and their families in without reducing housing opportunities from others in these towns, and without causing rents to go up.

One way the students believe they could do it differently is with modular housing.

“The project and the project problem they decided they wanted to solve … was the housing crisis for the construction workforce,” Ms Lord said.

“So let’s say we ended up with Barry Beach being a construction port, how would we house 500 or 1000 workers going out onto the vessel every day or every week?

“We went off to Cape Patterson, and we did a tour of the passive solar design housing down there.”

The students decided to build a model of modularised housing that allows more rooms or features to be added according to the construction workers housing needs. They also want the modules to be able to be transportable so that they can be used at the

The Seadragon project will be located within a portion of the area marked out on this map. Seadragon said it will be 20-40 kms offshore, with 100-150 wind turbines proposed.

Image: Seadragon

next project site or repurposed for social housing.

The group also had a focus on creating community spaces within the development for wellbeing and cohesion such as community gardens, barbecue areas and playgrounds.

In the end, the students created the model of the home, which was 3D printed, and they also produced a video that explained to the community why this was important.

On November 13, Alicia, Abby, Edith and Victoria graduated from the NET program, and there were presentations of the innovative

designs developed in the program for real-world application.

The NET program provides an opportunity for students to work with and be mentored by professionals in the renewable energy space to design, research and develop an innovation with a real-world application.

This program, which ran last year from March to November, met in person with the Trafalgar students over nine days, was designed to focus on these emerging jobs of the future, enabling young people from Years 9 and 10 to learn more about energy and technologies.

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

January, 2024

January, 2024

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

35

GIPPSLAND SPORT

State-to-state for a good cause Zaida GLIBANOVIC

POUNDING the pavement in the name of friendship.

One foot in front of the other for 17 days straight is how Rosedale’s Brock Williams completed his near 1000-kilometre journey to raise money for a cause close to his heart.

“As hard as it was it was an experience of a lifetime,” Williams said upon crossing the finish line.

When Williams first heard of Kilmany lad Xavier Mill’s’ osteosarcoma cancer diagnosis, he knew he had to help out in any way he could.

So, Williams ran from Adelaide to Rosedale to raise money for a charity that assists young cancer patients and their families.

The Sony Foundation’s You Can Stay program provides regional youth cancer patients aged 15 to 25 who must travel to city hospitals for life-saving treatment a place to stay at no cost.

The program offered Xavier and the Mills family with essential assistance throughout his treatment at Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

Running an average of 60km over 17 days, Williams was greeted with congratulatory words and tearful embraces as he arrived at the

Brock Williams was all smiles as he completed the last few steps of his near 1000-kilometre charity run from Adelaide.

Rosedale Hotel last Sunday (December 17).

Speaking to Gippsland Farmer about his emotions at the finish line, Williams said it was a surreal experience.

“Thinking about it now - it doesn’t feel real … after being alone in the rural parts of South Australia for however long, you didn’t see anything that you know and seeing all these places you start to recognise,” he said.

“It was the best feeling of my life.”

‘Brock’s Border Run’ has since raised around $40,000 with help from the Rosedale Hotel.

The funding Williams raised will go on to provide 210 overnight stays for young children receiving cancer treatment to stay with their family.

“Half a year of accommodation for sick children … it’s pretty amazing,” he said.

Hundreds of people came to the local pub to show their support for Williams and his cause.

“Having everyone out there clapping me on and everything, it was pretty cool,” he said.

Xavier and his family we’re extremely grateful for Williams’ courageous fundraising effort.

“A lot of my friends and family were tearing up at the end - (with a) few people I have never seen cry before - I wish I could relive those 20 minutes at the initial ending,” he said.

“It sounds cliché, but seriously it was a team effort,” he added.

“Without (my support team) I wouldn’t have been able to do It … I’m lucky to have had all them in my corner.”

‘Brock’s Border Run’ was an incredibly challenging journey yet, Williams said his body held up better than expected.

“It’s honestly pretty good - I thought it would’ve been worse,” he said.

“Some days it felt like you were running like knives were getting stabbed into the bottom of your feet.

“Last week, I was pretty damaged, but it’s a lot better this week.”

Experiencing some rough days on the road, Williams worked hard to get through them after suffering from Iliotibial band syndrome - a painful injury in the knee.

“It was pretty hard - you can’t really ignore the pain when you’re getting reminded of it with every single step, but you just had to try,” he said.

Brock Williams embraces his mother after the run.

Best mate Jonty McGuiness ensured Brock stayed hydrated post-run.

“I’d pick out something in the distance; sometimes it would be a speed sign - sometimes it would be a tree, and I just had to run to that.”

Williams said the trick to accomplishing a run of this magnitude was to take it step by step.

“I tried not to think too much about how far I was from home,” he said.

“It might’ve been the first day I got back into Victoria, but it was still 700km from where I had to be, so I was thinking, ‘don’t think about the end. Try to get through the day. Get this 5k done, 10k, 20k, get to the end, rest up and then do your recovery.”

While the nearly 1000km run was a test of Williams’ physical capability, it was also a mental battle.

“Don’t get me wrong, physically it was challenging, but mentally, that was probably the hardest part of it,” he said.

“I tried to come back to what I could control, and that was my effort in putting one foot in front of the other and not getting too far ahead of myself.”

Williams’ training for the run might surprise some, as the young man only ran 100km per week in preparation.

“I did a few weeks at 100km plus - for the average-Joe that’s alright but for someone that’s preparing to run 400km a week for two-and-a-half weeks, someone might look at it and think that’s not enough.”

Having prepared himself with strength training and sought medical advice, Williams was assured his body could withstand the journey.

Despite the fact Williams suffered through injuries, excoriating pain, exhaustion, headwinds, downpours and inclines, he never gave up - with a clear goal to help Xavier and others like him.

“There was never a point where I necessarily doubted myself that I couldn’t get it done - the plan from the start was to finish December 17th,” he said.

Now, following through with some gentle movement, hitting the gym and swimming, Williams said he won’t be running for a little while.

Brock Williams received a standing ovation as he ran into Rosedale.

Photos: Zaida Glibanovic

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THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

37

GIPPSLAND SPORT

Trafalgar locals Harvey and Darcy were happy to snag a picture with Tom Mitchell, Reef McInnes, Edward Allan, Charlie Dean, Harvey Harrison and Finlay Macrae.

Brayden Maynard and Lachie Schultz loved the camera.

Photos: Zaida Glibanovic (unless otherwise specified)

Collingwood visits Morwell Zaida GLIBANOVIC

MORWELL Recreation Reserve was hit

by Magpie Mania last month, as the Collingwood Football Club started their four-day community camp in the Latrobe Valley.

Christmas came early for local young fans as they received coaching from the 2023 premiership team last on Sunday, December 17.

People came from far and wide to get a glimpse of the players.

At the super clinic, Nick Daicos gave away his pinpoint accuracy secrets to local AusKickers.

One young fan was in awe in an exchange with 2018 Brownlow Medallist, Tom Mitchell.

Brownlow Medallist Tom Mitchell taught the budding young athletes his smooth handball skills, while the kids must have felt like they were looking up at the Eureka Tower when standing alongside Mason Cox. Prior to the coaching clinic, the Collingwood team met a special fan.

Thanks to Baptcare, 96-year-old super fan Jack Darling, from Morwell, who recently inked a premiership tattoo on his shoulder, received a warm welcome in the Gippsland Power rooms.

Interviewed by the Magpies media team, Darling was in his element, holding the premiership cup and cracking jokes with the Daicos brothers.

“I’ve barracked for the Magpies since I was 10-years-old,” he told them.

He went on to say that at the start of this year, he said he would get a tattoo if the team won that previously elusive 16th premiership.

Josh Daicos told Darling that he “loved it” (the tattoo) and that perhaps he “will get one matching”.

A recent draftee to the club and Gippsland Power product Tew Jiath returned to his hometown with newfound fame, as children were eager to snag his signature and a picture or two.

Following the super clinic, the general public had the opportunity to get their Collingwood merchandise signed.

Eager fans organised themselves in a single file line taking up most of the Morwell oval.

Clutched in the hands of Pies fans were all sorts of items, from premiership posters to the shirts, people were keen to keep a little bit of AFL history.

A ‘Collingwood’ and ‘Go Pies’ chant could be be heard - with many fans still living off that premiership high.

It’s not every day you get to meet your heroes, but for many in Morwell, many locals got to do just that.

Latrobe City Deputy Mayor, Cr Tracie Lund, alongside Cr Kellie O’Callaghan welcomed the Collingwood Football Club to Latrobe City.

“These community camps go beyond celebrating sports; they’re a chance for our community to come together while showcasing accessible pathways in sport and encouraging active participation,” a council spokesperson said.

“Latrobe City Council’s partnership with Collingwood and the Victorian state government, through the $85 million Latrobe Valley Sports and Community Initiative, cements Latrobe City’s status as a regional sporting hub of national significance.

“We’re grateful for the collaborative efforts that make events like this possible, providing our community with invaluable opportunities.”

The Magpies also visited local schools from Traralgon to Drouin to Fish Creek, with an evening coach training session for local coaches on the same day.

The Magpies also held and open training session at Ronald Reserve, Morwell.

Bunyip’s Leigh Muir and his seven-year-old son Ollie had a blast.

Issac Quaynor and Billy Frampton present 96-year-old Morwell resident Jack Darling with the premiership cup.

Photo: Contributed

New silverware presented Following her father’s footsteps Tom HAYES

Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League President, Gary Matthews and vice president Jenni Blackshaw presented Fish Creek Football-Netball Club co-presidents Ray Stefani and Nick Shaw with replacement premiership trophies from the 2023 season. The Kangaroos lost most of their memorabilia in a recent fire to the clubrooms.

Photo: Contributed

FISH Creek Football-Netball Club now has a couple of new premiership cups, replacing those lost in a recent fire that left their clubrooms in ruins.

The Kangaroos were presented replacement cups to acknowledge their 2023 Mid Gippsland Football-Netball League senior football and 17 & Under premierships that were won last September.

Presentations were made at the MGFNL

38

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

annual meeting on Sunday, December 10. Accepting the trophies were Fish Creek co-presidents Ray Stefani and Nick Shaw.

Morwell business Valley Trophies generously donated the premiership cup trophies.

“Thank you so much Mid Gippsland Football, Mid Gippsland Netball and Valley Trophies, we are so grateful,” the Kangaroos posted.

MORWELL football export Casey Sherriff has found a new home during the AFLW Trade Period, landing at Hawthorn.

The versatile utility previously played at Melbourne, winning a premiership in Season 7.

Sherriff joined Hawthorn in a trade with the Demons which saw the Hawks send Picks 5 and 26 to the Demons in exchange for Pick 16, Sherriff and fellow Dee, Eliza West.

Sherriff played 48 games for the Demons after being picked up as a replacement player for Daisy Pearce, who needed to step away from the game due to pregnancy.

She became an integral part of the Demons outfit, playing in two Grand Finals.

Fittingly, the Morwell product has strong links to the Hawks, barracking for the club growing up.

Casey is following in her father, Brett Sherriff’s footsteps, after he was also drafted to Hawthorn in the 1988 preseason draft.

After finishing 15th in 2022, then 14th in 2023 - the Hawks have only won six games in their AFLW history, which is hoped to be improved in 2024.

IN other trade news, we have gone from no Duursma’s on a Victorian team’s list to having three in the space of two months.

Foster’s Yasmin Duursma was recently traded to Carlton, in a deal that saw the Blues give up Pick 21, receiving Duursma and pick 25.

Duursma played 11 games for the Power

Morwell’s Casey Sherriff will don the brown and gold of Hawthorn in 2024.

Photo: Contributed

over two years, and now joins her brothers Xavier (Essendon) and Will (North Melbourne) in Victoria - hopefully making the lives of the Duursma clan a little easier.

January, 2024

GIPPSLAND SPORT

Station One wins the 2023 Traralgon Cup.

Photos: Liam Durkin

Alana Kelly returns to the mounting yard after riding Station One to victory in the Traralgon Cup.

Fortune favours One at Tgon Cup Liam DURKIN

Traralgon Cup winning trainer Liam Howley is presented the trophy by Latrobe Valley Racing Club Chairperson Frank Bezzina.

NAMING a racehorse with the word ‘one’ in it became quite fitting at this year’s Traralgon Cup. That its full name was Station One only completed a double, possibly triple, entendre.

Station One ran express only, and won (one) this year’s Bet 365 Traralgon Cup. The gates of Latrobe Valley Racing Club may well have been a train station, as the five-year-old gelding jumped from the start and lead virtually the entire 1900 metre distance.

Only once was Station One overtaken, which came when Samedi snuck in with just over 400 metres to go.

The fellow five-year-old gelding couldn’t maintain its speed though, and Station One kicked strongly in the last 50 metres to leave the field in its dust.

Station One got home by just under two lengths from last year’s Traralgon Cup winner Starspangled Baby, trained in Sale by Andrew Perdon.

For its worth, Starspangled Baby has performed admirably on the Gippsland Cup circuit this year, running fourth in the Sale Cup last October.

Traralgon Cup Day 2023 however belonged to the Liam Howley stable at Mount Macedon, as well as jockey Alana Kelly.

Howley heaped praise on Kelly, who in turn publicly praised the Latrobe Valley Racing Club track when presented her winning trophy.

The winning trainer described the performance as a “super ride” by Kelly, and revealed it was rather fortuitous to have her in the saddle.

“She’s got a real good feel on those sort of stayers, thankfully the meeting got pushed back a week because she (Alana) was unavailable last week,” Howley said.

In terms of the race itself, Howley said Station One ran to its strengths.

“He’s always got really good natural gate speed,” he said.

“She (Kelly) gave him a little squeeze at the start, he found the rail and then from our

point of view it was a watch-and-see from there. He’s got a big tank on him, when she asked him at the half-mile he really quickened into it nicely and thankfully came off the bend nicely and put them away.”

Despite entering with $5.50 odds, Howley said the stable had reason to be optimistic.

“We were confident, he’s had a really good prep, and he’s just got a huge capacity,” he said.

“We’ve changed his program a little bit this time around, kept him nice and fresh, made full use of our facilities at home, just been able to balance his workload ... he came here in really good order.”

From here, Howley said he may look to run Station One in a benchmark 78 at Mooney Valley before Christmas, but would “let the dust settle” first.

The Traralgon Cup win maintained good recent form for Station One, who won over a similar distance at Dunkeld last month, and came third in the Kyneton Cup on November 8.

Golfers at Pro-Am takes on thunderstuck results Tom HAYES

THE weather turned it on for this year’s Traralgon Pro-Am, as hundreds of golfers took to the Traralgon Golf Club last month.

Poor weather threatened throughout the week, delaying the Junior Pro-Am that ran on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 13 due to thunderstorms, yet it was sunshine for the majority of the twoday competition, running from December 14 to 15.

The Junior Pro-Am was scheduled for nine holes each, but the youngsters could only fit in three before they were told to gather in the clubhouse.

A putting competition was held instead, with the pros putting with their opposite hand.

The following day, the pro-am was

Queensland’s Gavin Fairfax (right), pictured with Latrobe City Chief Executive, Steve Piasente took out the Traralgon Pro-Am after triumph in the playoff hole. Photo: Contributed

January, 2024

underway, and after a full day’s play, Queensland’s Gavin Fairfax held a twostroke lead at six-under 66.

Two-time Traralgon Pro-Am winner and reigning champ, Matt Millar was three strokes behind at three-under 69.

The 11-year pro, Fairfax found things tricky on the second day of competition, finding it difficult to back up his six-under 66 from the previous day, opening the door for fellow competitors to slide into contention.

On day two, he shot a one-under 71, bringing fellow Queenslander Will Bruyeres into the fray.

Bruyeres shot a three-under 69 on the opening day of play, before posting a fourunder 68 on day two, to tie with Fairfax - forcing a playoff.

Bruyeres fell to as much as five strokes behind after the opening hole on day two, after a double bogey on the first hole, but astonishingly stormed up the leaderboard with six birdies after the hiccup.

Both Fairfax and Bruyeres shot to either side of the fairway on the playoff hole, Fairfax going left and Bruyeres going right into the trees.

“I was just hoping that my ball was going to be okay,” Fairfax said on his playoff tee shot.

With both in a sticky situation, it was Fairfax that made the most amends, hitting onto the green before two-putting for the win.

“Had a fair run at the first putt and left and little bit too much meat on it coming back but managed to make the one coming back to seal it up,” Fairfax said.

Amateur from the Metropolitan Golf Club, Jesse Trembath, went above and beyond, sitting at two under par after the first day, shooting one-over on the second day to take out the Pro-Am Classic with a score of 143.

Competitors were hopeful but rain disrupted the Traralgon Junior Pro-Am. Photo: Tom Hayes

Queensland’s Gavin Fairfax sinks his putt on the 18th hole. Photo: Tom Hayes

THE GIPPSLAND FARMER

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