“THE STAR”, Tuesday, June 16, 2015 - PAGE 37
Farming Insight
WANTED STE3810681
Left, For sale: John and Judy Macdonald from Leongatha South had 18 Angus steers for sale at the store sale last Thursday and were hoping for a good price.
Holstein- Friesian Heifers - 200kg plus - China Protocol - Immediate Inspection & Delivery - Up to $1100.00 Inc GST
Paul Wilson - 0407 865 202 Mario Arestia - 0417 600 222
FOR SALE Dairy Heifers (Dispersal Line) 27 Friesian heifers, 8 Fries x Jersey heifers, well grown, good condition, full AI history, sires include Farmdealer, Medallion, Altaross & more. Calving 15th July to Jersey bull, genuine sale. $1600 + GST Friesians $1350 + GST Fries x Jersey
Keep looking: Scott and Tracy Buijs from Loch were at VLE Leongatha last Thursday, hoping to buy cattle. Left, What’s happening: George Johnson of Nerrena was keen to see how prices were at the VLE Leongatha store sale last Thursday, and was considering bidding for a pen or two.
5 Angus Bulls 2 1/2 year old. Quiet and good condition, $1750 Agistment required for dairy cattle, top rates apply. Contact: Alex Dixon 0409 581 935 KORUMBURRA
INSURANCE
PH: 5658 1894 FAX: 5658 1895 korumburra@elders.com.au
Leongatha PH: 5662 2602 David Mathieson Mob: 0458 011 178
LEONGATHA
FINANCE
PH: 5662 3523 FAX: 5662 4316 Leongatha@elders.com.au
Dale Smith Mob: 0419 011 798
BRANCH MANAGER
Don Bowman Mob: 0429 801 138 Alex Dixon Mob: 0409 581 935 Michael Foote Mob: 0427 162 370 Ross McRobert Mob: 0418 838 454 Dean Foat Mob: 0488 732 181
Rohan McRae Mob: 0417 836 664
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION Melissa Fowles Prue Maskell Sharon Shepherdson J’nae Seeley
LIVESTOCK
REAL ESTATE Don Olden Mob: 0417 805 312 Jean O’Loughlin Mob: 0428 571 083 Zel Svenson Mob: 0438 636 290
ELD9240530
Novel idea: native plant nurserymen Frank Smolders of Fish Creek shows attendees a tray of hiko seedlings and planting equipment.
Tree tips save money ATTENTION FARMERS!
MORE than 30 landholders attended an information session at Mark Walters’s property east of Loch to explore the different techniques available for planting trees recently.
Mr Walters presented what he has achieved through revegetation: providing shelter for livestock and habitat for wildlife, as well reducing the sediment load from his creeks into the nearby Bass River. He has planted more than 100,000 trees on his property, both commercially and for biodiversity. An additional benefit has been to increase the value and appeal of his property. Native plant nurseryman Frank Smolders gave a demonstration of a Pottiputki planter that consists of a hollow tube with a duckbill end that is driven into the ground and levered open to create a hole
suitable for the seedling. The seedling is then dropped down the tube into the hole and pressed into place with foot pressure. On observing this one attendee described it as “just like magic”. This back saving device is favoured by commercial planting contractors to plant large numbers of trees. A practised operator can plant between 2000 and 5000 seedlings a day using a Pottiputki. These are suited to either forestry tubes or hikos. Hiko seedlings are roughly half the size of standard tube stock and come in a tray of 40 seedlings rather than individual tubes. One advantage of using hiko cells is the cost savings at nearly half the price of standard forestry tube stock. However timing is critical and the ground needs to be soft enough for this planter to work effectively otherwise it will bend. The duckbill jaw on a Pot-
tiputki planter can also be adjusted to suit different soil types. There are also Hamilton tree planters type designed for hikos which are far more durable. After the demonstration, attendees walked around Mr Walters’ property to look at the different areas he has planted using a mixture of direct seeding, tube stock (in the early days) and now hikos. He favours direct seeding on the flattish areas of his property with a tractor and sources his seed locally.
Quad bikes can also be used for direct seeding. Mr Walters now prefers to use hiko cells on his steeper areas, of which he has many. He has planted up his gullies and creek lines, and has created a number of shelterbelts using these different planting methods. He has received assistance from both Melbourne Water and Landcare to undertake his revegetation projects. If you would like further information please contact the South Gippsland Landcare Network on 5662 5759.
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