FARMtalk Magazine - May 2021

MAY 2021

Magazine

IN THE

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Rice is life

October Edition: October 1, 2021 November Edition: October 29, 2021

Rice farming is not just a job for the Hardy family of Coleambally, it’s a lifestyle.

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P

erry and Catherine Hardy and their sons Stephen and Thomas — who operate as Hardy Irrigation — have just harvested 140 hectares of the staple, and were among 475 in the Riverina growing a total of 44,000 hectares for the season.

It is considered to be one of the best seasons in at least three years, and the Hardys agree.

Last season they only managed to grow 40 hectares of rice.

Water availability instilled confidence at the start of the growing season last year. And while the climate and a mouse plague created some

challenges, the Hardys said they got a “reasonable” yield.

They have endured the challenges for more than three decades, with 34 consecutive rice crops now under their belt — even through drought and low water availability years.

With water supply issues being alleviated, the farmers were keen to get back to what they know best.

“To be able to order water from the supply system to allow us to grow rice is just exciting,” Perry said.

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SEE PAGE 7 FOR ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL CONTACT DETAILS Information contained in this magazine is presented only after being carefully researched. However, there are differences in state and regional regulations and conditions.

Farmers are asked to check with their own advisors. FARMtalk can assume no responsibility for the contents.

COLEAMBALLY, NSW

MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 3

“That’s what we’re here for; we’re Coleambally, we’re rice farmers, and we love it.”

PERRY HARDY

“That’s what we’re here for; we’re Coleambally, we’re rice farmers, and we love it,” he continued.

“Perry would have to be one of the most creative farmers,” Catherine added.

“He will see a broken-down farm on a map and he will spend weeks and weeks transforming it into a modern, efficient farm. I love working with that energy.”

The Hardys’ confidence in the industry has only been boosted by their sons’ decisions to return to the farm.

“The industry is sustainable, our farming is sustainable, and the boys know that,” Perry said.

“They’re here, they enjoy it, they want it to progress, they want it to succeed, so they can’t think of a better place to be,” he continued.

“The privilege of having our sons come back to work on the farm is not lost on us,” Catherine added.

“Stephen was a builder in Griffith and came back to the farm five years ago,” she continued.

“Thomas was a welder working in engineering in Griffith, and has been back for the past two years.

“We love working together as a family.”

With the rice now harvested, the Hardys look ahead to winter cropping.

In early May they were busy preparing 400 hectares for sowing, with one third to be canola and the rest barley.

And after a reasonable summer season which they say put them on track, they said “things are looking good for the next season”.

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MAY 2021

4 • FARMtalk

In the

grove

James and Jenny Bourke started Perricoota Olives 16 years ago, when they decided to leave behind suburban living in Moama for a more defined tree change.

WOMBOOTA, NSW

MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 5

Jenny and James Bourke in their Womboota olive grove.

M

r Bourke said the 1,600 tree olive grove had only been established two years when they made a permanent move to the property just outside Womboota.

Initially, Mr Bourke shared his time between olive farming and his engineering business. But five years ago the farm became his sole focus.

“We knew nothing of olives except they tasted alright,” he laughed.

May and June are the busiest months on the farm, when harvest is at full steam.

“It keeps you on your toes for about a month of the year,” Mr Bourke said.

The ‘table olives’ are picked earlier in the season, after which they move on to the Kalamatas and other varieties.

The olive business has not been without it’s challenges for the Bourkes. A lack of irrigation water led the Bourkes to pool their resources with seven other growers from their immediate area, to build themselves a private pipeline. Luckily, it’s one of only a few struggles the Bourkes have faced since taking

on the olives. One other was finding ways to make the harvest easier.

“At harvest time we have a family come in to help, and we employ some young backpackers as well,” Mr Bourke said.

COVID-19 related travel restrictions caused some headaches last year. Initially the Bourkes had access to backpackers stuck in Australia unable to return home, but once those restrictions eased and they all moved on or made for home, help was hard to come by.

So the Bourkes are taking a more mechanical approach this time around by hiring a contractor to “shake” the trees, which have now grown tall in their maturity.

Once harvest is complete, in July, the Bourkes will prune their trees. They will be watered up and monitored in the warmer months, when the cycle begins again.

Perricoota Olives produces table olives and “the very best” for use in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Mr Bourke said his favourite variety is the Corregiolla.

They also farm Frantoio, Manzanillo, Barnea and Kalamata olives. Their olive oil is a premium product which is delivered in the customer’s choice of one, two, and four litre casks.

Mr and Mrs Bourke said their favourite part of the business is being able to meet people from different cultures when they sell at farmers’ markets.

“Because Echuca-Moama is a tourist area, we meet people from all over the world,” Mr Bourke said.

Mr Bourke is in his 60s and said while the rigours of running a farm can be tough, he’s got a few more years in him yet.

“We’ve got a nice home here, and we enjoy it,” he said.

“We knew nothing of olives except they tasted alright.”

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APRIL MAY 2021 2021 •7 FARMtalk FARMtalk • 7

Resistant worms The Wormboss website states that the cost of worms to the sheep and wool industries has increased by an estimated $80 million between 2006 and 2015.

A

large part of this increase is thought to be due to the development of drench resistance in the worm population. So, what can we in the pastoral regions do to slow down the development of drench resistant worms out here?

How worms work: Generally, worms have three different life stages. The adult worms live in the sheep’s gut and lay eggs. These worm eggs are passed out in the sheep’s dung.

They then develop into larvae which live on the pasture, waiting to be ingested by a sheep where they can go on to develop into adults and repeat the cycle over again.

Worms and sheep have co-existed for so long that they each have come to develop certain adaptations. As the sheep becomes older and bigger, they generally develop resistance against worms after exposure. However, this resistance to worms can become suppressed in late pregnancy and during lactation. This means more worms in the ewe leading to more worm larvae on the pasture, and a higher risk of transmission to the young lambs as they start to graze.

resistant to one ingredient may still be killed by one of the other ingredients.

The likelihood of a worm being resistant to multiple drench groups is much lower than to an individual drench alone.

•

Avoid drenching straight onto specifically prepared low worm-risk paddocks. If you have to, treat the sheep with an effective drench from a different group when they leave the low worm-risk paddocks. You could also ensure the paddock is grazed with a different mob of sheep next time which have some worms and were last treated with a different drench then the first mob of sheep. The aim being to ensure that the worm larvae which end up on the pasture aren’t just the ones that are resistant to the drench used on the original mob.

•

When quarantine drenching newly purchased sheep, including rams, use a drench that contains 4 unrelated drench groups, including one of the new drench groups. One to three days after treatment, when the worm eggs present during drenching have passed out, move the new sheep to a paddock that has had home bred sheep on it. This ensures that larvae picked up are representative of the worm population on the property. If possible, avoid grazing the first quarantine area (where the eggs have been deposited) for 3 months in summer or 6 months in winter, to give time for any larvae that did develop to die.

•

Consider grazing management strategies, such as rotational grazing, to reduce worm burdens. The adult worms only live for a couple of months in the sheep, so for worms to persist, new infective larvae need to be ingested. These infective larvae are usually found toward the base of the plant. Rotational grazing helps break the life cycle of the worms and by avoiding overgrazing and consumption of the lower portions of the plants can result in fewer larvae being ingested.

•

Breed well and feed well. Select sheep that show better worm resistance and resilience. When choosing rams, consider those with negative Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBV) for Worm Egg Counts and Dag Score. There are also management programs like Lifetime Ewe that focus on nutrition and ensuring ideal condition scores in late pregnant and lactating ewes, and weaner management programs geared at achieving target minimum weaning weights (40% of adult weight).

How drenches work: Sheep drenches target worms living inside the sheep. Most drenches are short acting so there is no residual effect on new larvae that are ingested from the pasture.

Refugia – what is it? If sheep go back into the same paddock they were in prior to drenching, then the larvae that they are exposed to will essentially be the same population of worms they had prior to drenching. This population of larvae is called refugia as they have not been affected by the drench.

If you move sheep to a new ‘clean’ paddock after drenching, for example a rested crop stubble, the larvae that develop will be most likely be from worms that survived the drench. These larvae are what eventually can go on to create headaches with drench-resistant worm burdens.

So how do we balance the sheep, the worms and the drenches?

•

Avoid drenching if you don’t have to - this is especially important in dry or drought conditions. A WormTest can be used to help decide whether or not drenching is warranted and should be done a few weeks out from when you anticipate drenching may be needed ie. pre-lambing, at weaning, or when scouring is noticed.

•

If drenching is necessary - use a drench that is effective. Ideally the drench should kill as close to 100% of the worms as possible. A drench resistance trial or a Drench Check can help you establish which drenches are most effective on your farm. This involves a WormTest before drenching and another 10-14 days after drenching to check that the number of worm eggs has significantly reduced.

•

Follow drench label directions. Always drench to the heaviest sheep in the mob and make sure your drench gun is properly calibrated. We want to avoid underdosing.

•

Use a combination drench. Using drenches with two or more active ingredients reduces the risk of drench-resistance developing. Worms that are

Drenches are a valuable tool for maintaining an acceptable balance between sheep and worms.

New drench types don’t come along very often so we need to preserve our existing effective drenches for as long as possible. This helps us have healthier and more productive sheep, and a happier bottom line.

Linda Searle (pictured) is a district veterinarian with Murray Local Land Services.

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This means less water will flow down the Darling River and more water will be taken from Murray farmers to meet South Australian targets.

Despite a year of rain and record floods, the Menindee Lakes are only half full. If we get another drought, we’ll be in big trouble.

In Parliament in May, I’ll be fighting to overturn the NSW Government’s sneaky law change and ensure all floodplain harvesting is licenced, restricted and sustainable. Follow the Helen Dalton MP Facebook Page for updates.

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MAY MAY 2021 2021 • 9• 9 FARMtalk FARMtalk

Regional hubs to drive drought resilience From left: Fiona Hart from Riverine Plains; Professor Richard Speed, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Global and Regional), La Trobe University; Professor John Fazakerley, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, the University of Melbourne; The Hon. Damian Drum, Federal Member for Nicholls; Professor Tim Reeves, Enterprise Professor In Sustainable Agriculture, the University of Melbourne; Scott Chirnside, Southern Farming Systems; Associate Professor David Ulgade, Enterprise Fellow (Land and Environment), the University of Melbourne; Angela Avery, Agriculture Victoria.

Farmers in the region understand all too well how difficult it is to manage and then recover from drought, but an establishment of new hubs in the region will drive innovative on-farm R&D technologies and practices for drought resilience.

M

ulwala-based farming systems group, Riverine Plains, will play an important role in two of the Federal Government’s Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs being established in North East Victoria and Southern NSW. The hubs are being established through the Australian Government’s $5 billion Future Drought Fund and will focus on addressing drought resilience research and innovation priorities.

Riverine Plains chair and Howlong farmer, Ian Trevethan, explained that Riverine Plains will lead the North East node of the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, to be established by the University of Melbourne at Dookie, and will also partner in the southern NSW Hub being established at Wagga Wagga by Charles Sturt University.

“The hubs will work by connecting farmers, industry and researchers, with the resulting collaborations helping to drive development of innovative on-farm R&D technologies and practices that can improve future drought resilience, as well as their on-farm adoption,” Mr Trevethan said.

Each hub will receive $8 million over four years, with the hubs anticipated to be up and running by the end of April, 2021.

The Victorian Hub will be led by the University of Melbourne Dookie campus, in partnership with Deakin University, Federation University, La Trobe University, Agriculture Victoria, Riverine Plains, Birchip Cropping Group, Southern Farming Systems, Food and Fibre Gippsland and Mallee Regional Innovation Centre. Hub nodes will be established in Mulwala, Mildura, Birchip, Inverleigh and Warragul.

Victorian Hub co-director Professor Tim Reeves from the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, said the Dookie hub will focus on delivering improved drought resilience and greater adaptation to a changing climate for farmers, agricultural businesses and communities in the region.

“This is a unique state-wide partnership which also involves an unprecedented level of co-operation between the partners to co-design and govern the project, with these connections increasing the project’s potential to make a real difference to our regional industries and communities,” he said.

The southern NSW hub will be led by Charles Sturt University (CSU) at Wagga Wagga and will support farmers and communities from Broken Hill to Cobar, the Macquarie catchment to the Hawkesbury and to the Victorian and South Australian state borders.

Partners in the southern NSW hub are Australian National University, Farming Systems Groups Alliance, First Nations Governance Circle, Local Land Services, NSW Department of Primary Industries, Rural Aid, University of Canberra and University of Wollongong.

The Farming Systems Group Alliance includes Riverine Plains, FarmLink Research, Central West Farming Systems, Holbrook Landcare Network, Irrigated Cropping Council, Irrigation Research and Extension Committee and Southern Growers.

It is planned that the hubs will offer resources, including staff and programs across areas such as water management, food security, farming systems, agribusiness, community support, regional development and environment.

Find out more by visiting www.agriculture.gov. au/ag-farm-food/drought/future-drought-fund/ research-adoption-program.

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MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 11

Surprising results In 2020, the Finley Discussion Groups started benchmarking and assessing the water use efficiency of crop rotations.

Predictions of lower rainfall and warmer conditions indicate that practices to maintain or improve rotations and WUE (water use efficiency) are very important for the viability of our farm systems.

The project is collaborative with Charles Sturt University.

They have suggested that the group results back to the 2013 season be evaluated to determine rotation and WUE trends.

This article discusses the results from the 2020 dryland wheat rotations.

Farmer records provided the rotations from 2017 to 2019.

The results table shows the most common rotation in 2020 was wheatcanola-wheat.

It’s a surprise that wheat in 2020 followed wheat in 2019.

The average rotation yield was very good at 5t/ha, and the WUE met the wheat target of 20kg/mm.

It’s probable that the canola break in 2018 carried over to 2021.

The other factor is that drought affected, low yielding 2019 and 2018 winter crops had minimal impact on soil fertility and soils had a good chance to aerate.

The second most common wheat-wheat-canola rotation resulted in three wheat crops in a row yielded lower at 3.8t/ha, but the WUE was close to the target.

The two canola break crop rotations of canola-barley-wheat yielded 4.6t/ha and obtained the WUE target with 21kg/mm.

The remaining individual canola crop rotations had the highest yields - 5.4t/ha to 5.8t/ha, and high WUE. The two rotations with lupins had a positive yield response and good WUE. Other individual rotations including fallow, old pasture and field peas resulted in lower yields and good WUE. John Lacy (pictured) is an independent agricultural consultant, based in Finley.

2019

2018

2017

No. crops with rotation

Average yield t/ha

Average WUE kg/mm

wheat

canola

wheat

6

5

20.6

wheat

wheat

canola

3

3.8

19.4

canola

barley

wheat

2

4.6

21.0

canola

wheat

fallow

1

5.8

21.8

canola

wheat

wheat

1

5.7

24.9

canola

fabas

wheat

1

5.5

24.6

canola

wheat

canola

1

5.5

24.5

wheat

wheat

lupins

1

5.4

22.8

lupins

wheat

canola

1

5.7

21

fallow

pasture

pasture

1

5

23

wheat fail

old pasture old pasture 1

3.7

22.6

wheat

F.peas

wheat

1

3.4

18.9

barley

oats

pasture

1

2.6

14.4

wheat

wheat

fallow

1

2

8.8

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MAY 2021

12 • FARMtalk

There’s nothing like a glass of fresh, cold orange juice for breakfast, and orchardists Phil Williamson and Emma Salter could not agree more.

A tasty

squeeze

T

“Drinking orange juice with meals boosts the absorption of important minerals like iron.”

EMMA SALTER

he father and daughter team are the faces behind The Great Australian Squeeze, and their orange juices are enjoyed across the country.

Their citrus farm is a family run business located in Barham on the Murray River.

The area is well known for its citrus because it provides the perfect growing conditions for the fruit.

The hot dry summers and the coldest of winters promotes sweet tasting Navel and Valencia oranges, as well as delicious grapefruit.

It is what makes their farm fresh orange and grapefruit juices so delicious.

The family business was formed 70 years ago, in the 1950s, by Phil’s father Jack.

Phil and his wife Sandra took over from there, and now their daughter Emma is actively involved in the business too.

And the third generation citrus farmer says her children — Amy and Ty — are likely to become fourth generation owners of the business.

“I moved back here when I was 21 and have been here ever since. I like the lifestyle, having your own business, seeing your produce grow,” Emma said.

“I have really enjoyed bringing up the kids here and continuing with the family business.

“Of course, they are grown up a bit now but they still love the OJ.” Phil said his love of the family business also started when he was young.

“To grow the fruit, pack it, and then see someone buy and eat it is a great feeling,” he said.

“It’s also rewarding knowing I could continue my dad’s business.”

Originally, the family farm would only harvest and sell on their oranges.

The move to juicing came in about 2011, when the price of oranges fell below the cost of growing, picking and delivering them to retailers.

Phil decided that juicing and selling could result in more profit, and so they invested in a juicing facility.

Not only were they to make a return on their fruit, but were able to do the same for other growers in the region.

“The idea was to survive initially,” Phil said.

“The citrus industry was in diabolical trouble at the time.

“Farmers were pulling out their trees so we had to think of something.

“So we went to juice.”

And as they say, the rest is history.

The Great Australian Squeeze is considered one of Australia’s favourite and best tasting juices.

BARHAM, NSW

MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 13

Emma Salter and her children Amy and Ty, and her parents Phil and Sandra Williamson.

The juicing facility processes at least 2000 tonnes of oranges each year, and 3000 tonnes of grapefruit.

They are squeezed and bottled in the on-farm processing facility.

All the fruit used in the juices are either grown on their property, or sourced from other farms in the same growing region.

“Our fruit is on the tree one day, hand picked, squeezed and bottled for transport the next,” Emma said.

“There’s no months spent in cold storage, no sitting around for weeks in warehouses.

“We pride ourselves on our customers not having to read the fine print. There are no added artificial colours or flavours, no added sugar, no imported fruit, no concentrate and no added water.

“It is just 99.97 pr cent fresh Australian orange and grapefruit juice, that is flash pasteurised — the most effective method to hold the maximum nutritional value.

The other 0.03 per cent is preservative Potassium Sorbate — a salt-based preservative that is also vegan friendly — to make sure the goodness and quality are locked in for the shelf life of 30 or more days.”

And locally owned supermarkets have supported the local farm by stocking their products since the beginning.

“It is so important for us to support locally grown produce, and local food,” Emma said.

“For years Australian orchardists have fought a losing battle against cheap imported oranges and orange juice concentrate from both North and South America.

“Small quantities of orange juice concentrate are produced in Australia but in the vast majority of cases, if you are buying orange juice made from concentrate, you are buying imported juice.”

The family farm has a few permanent employees, and bring in contract pickers as required.

Different varieties are picked at different times of the year which keeps them busy year-round.

Emma said the taste is not the only good thing about The Great Australian Squeeze juices.

“Fresh orange juice is a powerhouse of antioxidants, essential minerals, vitamins, and nutrients that can provide long-term benefits for your health,” she said.

“It is a naturally good source of potassium, essential for the functioning of our nerves and helping reduce the risk of high blood pressure.

“Drinking orange juice with meals boosts the absorption of important minerals like iron.

“Simply having a glass with your breakfast cereal will boost the amount of iron your body absorbs during that meal.

“Drinking at least two glasses of orange juice per day increases the vitamin C concentration within the body by 40 to 60 percent.

“Vitamin C has many benefits for your body; it improves the health of skin, joints and the

entire cardiovascular system. It is also a powerful antioxidant and stimulates your immune system.”

As well as stocking supermarkets and hospitality businesses across much of Australia, The Great Australian Squeeze juices can be delivered to customers in Melbourne and Geelong.

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MAY 2021 MAY 2021 • 15 FARMtalk • 15 FARMtalk

A cultural connection Rene Woods grew up on the Murrumbidgee River in Hay, where he first learned the value of healthy waterways. Many years later, the Nari Nari man became the first Indigenous person to the appointed to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority board.

M

r Woods has been in the role since September, and said he’s learned a lot more in that time.

His role consists of liaising with a variety of stakeholders in the Murray Darling Basin to ensure positive outcomes for First Nations groups.

“I listened to the stories of the Elders, talking about how the river once looked and how country once looked when they were younger and what they had heard from their Elders,” Mr Woods said.

But those lessons didn’t entirely hit home until Mr Woods’ community received access to water in the early 2000s, and he saw how it transformed their lives.

“Having people on country – getting them back out there, they’re healthy and they’re strong.

“When country looks good, people are good.

“Having that access to land sparked my interest to see what more can be done.”

Mr Woods said one of the most rewarding parts of his role is being able to communicate the needs of various First Nations groups with other non-government organisations and government authorities to provide better outcomes “across the board”.

“I think my role within the board has improved the discussion from a First Nations point of view

“When country looks good, people are good.”

RENE WOODS

across other government departments, to make sure we’re at the forefront of discussions and that those are a part of project planning.

“We all want great cultural and economic and environmental outcomes and that leads to healthy communities.”

Working towards this “collaborative” effort also means communicating “two way knowledge” about the river systems from a First Nations perspective, and for other stakeholders.

Mr Woods said the link between cultural and environmental water conservation for First Nations groups was unbreakable.

“The cultural use involves environmental assets of water being totems. Highly regarded species are coming back in slow numbers, but they are coming back.

“Mob are reconnecting with water systems through agreements with government and private property owners.”

Mr Woods said First Nations people “want a seat at the table” in government negotiations so they can have a fairer say in maintaining their connections to the Basin.

He acknowledged there is a need for First Nations women in water decision making roles too.

“It allows the cultural appropriateness for First Nations lore for the women’s way and bringing that into a modern structural regime.”

Mr Woods said his main goal would always be ensuring an Indigenous voice was always present in water negotiations.

“It is about understanding First Nations interests and rights in the water space, so the Elders of the day can communicate their objectives in a modern water management framework.

“The First Nations water sector is an emerging topic that I think all communities will benefit from.

“If we have strong First Nations groups in the water space and they’re productive, the flow on effect in the wider community is going to be just great and hopefully we can all come together working on different projects.”

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MAY 2021

MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 17

FARMtalk • 17

J-BAS five years on The last two years have been an overwhelming reminder of the potential a disease or virus has to bring the entire world to a halt. Viral and bacterial scares have never been a distant memory for farmers around the world, but a constant threat. A single case of Johne’s Disease could force an entire herd of cattle into quarantine.

T

he bacterial infection — caused by organism Mycobacterium paratuberculosis — can cause cattle, goats, and sheep, to slowly starve to death by ceasing their ability to absorb nutrients. The disease is incurable, and often not apparent until cattle are two to six years old — giving it plenty of time to spread throughout the herd. It would kill both herds and livelihoods.

Such a threat placed a significant burden on producers, who were forced to enact a disease management plan and enter mandatory quarantine before re-entering the market. But this July marks five years since Johne’s Disease became deregulated in the cattle industry, easing the financial burden associated with the disease.

In 2016, the voluntary Johne’s Beef Assurance Score (J-BAS) was launched to allow producers to assess the likelihood that a herd of cattle carried JD. The J-BAS is designed to help producers communicate the potential risk of their herd to buyers, and to manage their own risk of introducing Johne’s into the herd.

The J-BAS system places an emphasis on disease prevention and management, and goes from zero (no assurance that a herd doesn’t carry JD) to eight (high assurance).

To receive a score of seven or above, producers must secure veterinary approval of their biosecurity plan, and achieve a successful Johne’s sample test every two to three years. Below this score, a producer will have a self maintained biosecurity plan that aligns with specified standards and no confirmed cases in the past five years.

Deniliquin producer Amanda Barlow — who is chair of the Deniliquin NSW Farmers Association branch, a federal board director of Shorthorn Beef and committee member of NSW Shorthorns — said the introduction of J-BAS has had some economic benefits for producers compared to the regulated system.

However, she said the system has a long way to go before the full economic stress of JD is alleviated.

“Everyone now has to have their J-BAS plan, with a grading from one to eight,” she said.

“As far as I know, it’s impossible to sell cattle to Western Australia unless you’re at eight.

“In some ways, it’s still regulated, even though it may seem to be unregulated.

“For us, to really sell cattle freely throughout Australia, you still have to test and have good biosecurity. It’s probably not true to say it’s completely unregulated.”

Mrs Barlow said strict quarantine restrictions have devastating effects on producers. And she said while the new system does not eliminate the need for quarantine completely, it has succeeded in reducing some of the costs associated with management of the disease.

“There would be less testing now, certainly around our area,” she said.

“It’s superficially freer, but when you get down to the nitty gritty, it would still be very financially demanding to keep your cattle at seven or eight.”

Biosecurity at Animal Health Australia senior manager Dr Rob Barwell said the transition to J-BAS was not without its challenges, but five years later it has been proven to have eased regulatory burden on the industry across much of the country.

“In deregulating the disease, most governments have brought JD into line with other diseases which a producer may need to manage in their herd,” Dr Barwell said.

“The uptake of J-BAS and the associated boost in biosecurity planning on individual properties means more producers than ever are applying a riskmanagement approach to diseases; so not only are they actively preventing JD, but also a host of other notifiable or emergency diseases which may have even more devastating impacts on their herds and their livelihoods.’

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MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 19

Annual ryegrass is one of the most troublesome weeds of winter crops. It usually finds a way to get around growers attempts to manage it in their cropping programs, especially if they rely solely on herbicides for control.

T

here have been two local projects looking at ryegrass management over the past six years. The first was funded by Catchment Action NSW and the second by the Grains Research & Development Corporation (GRDC). This article will highlight some of the findings from these projects and comment on principles of ryegrass weed management.

Project #1: Catchment Action This project initially compared the efficacy of pre-emergent herbicides with post-emergent. It confirmed that: •

Pre-emergence herbicides are usually more effective than post-emergence

•

The more expensive pre-emergence herbicides (e.g. Sakura®, Boxer Gold®) are more effective than trifluralin

•

Resistance to post-emergence herbicides (and Group B pre-emergence herbicides) is common

•

Using both pre and post emergence herbicides usually gives the best ryegrass weed control

•

A post-harvest weed seed control technique further reduces ryegrass populations in the following crop.

The following table shows how the various treatments in 2016 impacted ryegrass seed survival. It indicates the effect the treatments had at reducing the ryegrass populations the following autumn.

Treatment

% Reduction in autumn ryegrass Populations

1. Fallow (no crop, weeds controlled)

98% d

2. Sakura® + Axial® + Autumn burn

97% cd

3. Sakura® + Axial®

94% bcd

4. Sakura® alone

93% bc

5. Axial® alone

86% b

6. Autumn burn (no herbicides in crop)

86% b

7. Trifluralin + Logran®

34% a

(The letters indicate statistical significance. Any treatments that have the same letters are not considered statistically different from each other. For example, the first three treatments all have the letter ‘d’, so are not statically different from one another, however treatment 1 is statistically different from treatment 4 as it does not have a ‘d’ alongside it.)

The autumn burn of the stubble was the method used to reduce post-harvest seeds in this trial. It was not very effective when it was used alone (i.e. treatment 6) but was very useful when used in combination with a rigorous herbicide regime.

Other effective harvest weed seed control systems that don’t require burning include chaff lining (low cost), chaff decks (increased cost) and seed destructors (high cost).

Project #2: GRDC Integrated Weed management project This project was done in association with the Central Murray Ag Group based in the Bunnaloo area. One of the demonstrations examined the impact of seeding rate on weed establishment and seed set. The results are summarised below.

Wheat Seeding Rate Ryegrass plants/m2 at 8 weeks after sowing

Ryegrass heads/m2 at pre-harvest

40 kg/ha

3.2

14.2

70 kg/ha

4.1

4.9

100 kg/ha

3.9

5.7

Above: Herbicide Resistance Trial burning stubble plots.

Below: Herbicide Resistance Trial burnt plot.

The crop had a pre-emergence herbicide application of trifluralin plus triallate (i.e. Avadex® Xtra). The higher seeding rates did not seem to have any impact on the germination of rye grass, but they did provide extra competition during the growing period that led to less weed seed set.

WeedSmart Big 6 Both these local projects gave results that agree with the ‘WeedSmart Big 6’ message on weed management. While not all six principles were demonstrated in these projects, but those that were (i.e. No’s 3, 5 & 6 in the following table) reinforced the principles of effective weed management.

The WeedSmart Big 6: 1.

Rotate crops and pastures 2.

Double knock to preserve glyphosate 3.

Mix and rotate herbicides 4.

Stop weed set (crop topping) 5.

Provide crop competition 6.

Use harvest weed seed control Ryegrass needs to be actively managed to prevent it causing major crop losses.

Relying on herbicides alone will not prove effective in the long run. They need to be complemented with other agronomic practices to prevent rye grass blow outs in future crops.

John Fowler is senior lands services officer – extension agronomist with Murray Local Land Services.

MAY 2021

20 • FARMtalk

Choice in cotton Greg Sandford got his start in farming by baling hay in his younger years. The money he earned in that job helped him put a deposit down on a 4500 hectare farm near Deniliquin, Kyagre Holdings, in 1983.

M

r Sandford grows seasonal crops and has a 5000 ewe shearing operation on the property, 25km south east of Deniliquin. Traditionally growing rice in summer, Mr Sandford made the move to cotton a few years back and said he stuck with it because of the better returns.

“You’ve got to look at the most efficient return (per megalitre of water),” he said.

“I couldn’t make rice pay, but cotton is one of the best returns.

“I’m using half the amount of water to grow a hectare of cotton than I was with rice.”

Mr Sandford said the support and research in the cotton industry is one of the best across agricultural industries, and said a new variety to improve efficiency further will be available in Australia in time for next summer. Variety 606 is expected to provide a 10 per cent increase in yield.

Helping Mr Sandford on the farm are his sons James and Will, as well as two full time staff because of the scale of his operation. And he’s just hired another full time employee to assist with harvest and the next cropping cycle.

Cotton harvest starts mid-May, and at the same time the employees are sowing irrigated wheat and canola for winter cropping, and preparing beds for the next cotton season.

“I’m using half the amount of water to grow a hectare of cotton than I was with rice.”

GREG SANDFORD

DENILIQUIN, NSW

Kyagre Holdings has the capacity to plant up to 200 hectares of cotton, but because of uncertainly around water available heading in to the sowing period late last year only 100ha was grown this season. Mr Sandford expects a return of about 10.5 bales of cotton per hectare.

With their own cotton picking machine, Kyagre Holdings saves money by not having to bring in contract harvesters. And they earn extra revenue by offering those contract harvesting services to other farms in the region. Once baled, the cotton is sent to Hay for ginning before being passed onto buyers.

“One of the beauties (of cotton) is you can sell it four or five years in advance, and there’s a lot of choice,” Mr Sandford said.

Water has long been the main hurdle for the family business, stemming from an 80 per cent cut in their groundwater allocations more than a decade ago without compensation.

Mr Sandford said it almost destroyed his business, but they have managed to “do the best with what we’ve got”.

“The beauty of this region is it’s so adaptable, you can grow and produce almost anything.

“You just need a reliable water source.”

MAY 2021

FARMtalk • 21

Murray Local Land Services ANIMAL WELFARE & BIOSECURITY

Introducing

KATELYN BRAINE DISTRICT VETERINARIAN DENILIQUIN

Katelyn Braine is the new District Veterinarian at Murray Local Land Services. Her arrival doubles the veterinary capacity at the Deniliquin office, enabling us to provide better services to producers of the district.

Growing up on a mixed production farm near Finley, Katelyn Braine has always had an interest in animals and farm production, which led her towards a career as a vet.

“I have always enjoyed helping around the farm, and I feel really fortunate to have been able to turn that into a career that helps others,” Katelyn said.

Graduating from Charles Sturt University in 2014, Katelyn started her veterinary career in private practice, working as a mixed practice vet for two years, furthering her experience with a two-year livestock production internship at Apiam Animal Health.

At Murray Local Land Services, Katelyn works alongside three other District Veterinarians and two Biosecurity Officers and is available to assist local landholders. She is keen to work with local producers on animal and livestock biosecurity and

‘

welfare, improving animal health and profitability as well as collaborating during emergency management responses.

“I know this area well, and some of the production systems.

I look forward to working with locals to improve their production, animal health and welfare on farm,” Katelyn said.

“I’m here to help, so give me a call.”

Katelyn works out of the Deniliquin Local Land Services office at 449 Charlotte Street. You can contact her on 0499 339 018.

I’m here to help, so give me a call

Murray Local Land Services P: 03 5881 9900 (Deniliquin) 03 5886 2100 (Jerilderie 02 6051 2200 (Albury)

‘

Katelyn has a passion for working at the flock and herd level, which has led her to the District Vet role. Having previously worked in both the Riverina and Northern Tablelands Local Land Services areas, the opportunity to work as a district vet in her home region was one she couldn’t refuse.

- Katelyn Braine www.lls.nsw.gov.au/regions/murray

MAY 2021

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FARMtalk • 23

Farming education ‘Australians can’t get enough of The Barefoot Investor’

The NSW Farmers Association will be partnering with farmers across the state to provide a diverse range of farm enterprises for primary-school students to experience as part of the Kids to Farms program.

Funded by the Australian Government, the program aims to enable every child in NSW to have two educational interactions with the agricultural sector before they are 12.

“From the far west of the state to the south and north coast, students in all areas will have the opportunity to visit a farm in their local area and learn more about where local food and fibre comes from,” NSW Farmers president James Jackson said.

“With agriculture being rolled out across the New South Wales Curriculum, we aim to provide teachers and students with an opportunity to learn about Australia’s food and fibre production in a hands-on, interactive environment with the farmer.

“We cannot underestimate the importance of our primary teachers in supporting our kids to engage with the agricultural industry.”

Mr Jackson said the program was a combination of digital programs and on-farm experience.

For more details on Kids to Farms, go to www.visitmyfarm.com.au/kids-to-farms-home.

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FARM

life

Photo of the Month Prue Chalmers snapped this photo of Merino ewes drinking on well known district property ‘Front Crow’ on Monimail Rd, via Pretty Pine recently. The Chalmers family has been breeding this same line of Merino’s continuously since 1874, now spanning six generations.

Submit your photo and caption for the FARMlife Photo of the Month via Facebook (@farmtalkmagazine), Instagram (@farm.talk) or email farmtalk@denipt.com.au.

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