AgLife - August 28, 2019 edition

August 28, 2019

The real deal Horsham livestock auctioneer Will Schilling is taking his skills to another level at state competition next month. Story, page 47.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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Budding auctioneer ready H

BY LOTTE REITER

orsham auctioneer Will Schilling, 24, might have less than two years’ experience in the industry, but he’s already qualified to compete in a state competition.

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The Driscoll, McIllree and Dickinson stock agent will be among 10 auctioneers competing in a 2019 Victorian Young Auctioneer Competition at Pakenham’s Victorian Livestock Exchange on September 9.

He secured his position after attending Australian Livestock and Property Agent’s auctioneers training in Echuca in July, where he was selected from 20 competitors.

Mr Schilling, who auctions mutton and lamb at the weekly Horsham Sheep and Lamb Sale, said he started selling about 18 months ago after leaving a seven-year career as a shearer.

Still in the process of building clientele, he said he never would have imagined he’d be competing at the event this early in his career.

“I started at Driscoll, McIllree Dickinson about 20 months ago, and it wasn’t long after I started that I mentioned to my boss I might be interested in having a go at auctioneering,” he said.

“Pakenham wasn’t something I thought I’d be doing when I first

started, but I think you’ve got to be under age 25 to compete, so if I didn’t do it this time, I wouldn’t have another chance. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do”.

Mr Schilling said the 10 competing auctioneers would sell three lots of cattle at the event, with first and second-place sellers progressing to the next stage as state representatives.

He predicted the winning spots to be in close contention after meeting ‘plenty of good auctioneers’ at the Echuca training.

“There were 20 blokes from all across Victoria at Echuca, some who sell dairy cattle, a couple who sell beef cattle every week. There’s a lot of different young blokes from different backgrounds,” he said.

“There were also a couple of pretty experienced auctioneers and a few speech pathologists who taught us things like breathing and how to take care of your voice.”

Though quick to make his mark in the industry, Mr Schilling said transitioning from being a shearer to an auctioneer was a challenge.

“In the shearing industry you are your own boss essentially, you work for yourself five days a week and then go home,” he said.

“But when you start auctioneering at the markets, you’re working for

five to six different fellas. So, I think the biggest thing I’ve learnt and had to adjust to is how to deal with people.

“In this industry you have to go out and call people, express yourself more, and try and build a relationship with your clientele, which I suppose is my main aim at the moment.”

Driscoll, McIllree and Dickinson administration and finance manager Sally Ison said Mr Schilling would be the company’s second young auctioneer to secure a place at the state event.

She said the company prided itself

on developing the skills of young industry members, and Mr Schilling’s quick success would be another great representative.

“Will hasn’t been with us for long, so we are pleased with where he is at the moment,” she said.

“We’re all pretty stoked and pretty proud. He has a real natural auctioneer voice and absolutely loves the industry.

“We’d be over the moon if he were to go all the way. But there are a lot of amazing auctioneers competing, which I think is also great for the industry as a whole.”

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Wimmera and Mallee growers and consultants have the opportunity to learn about the newest agricultural innovations produced at Longerenong’s Wheat and Oilseed Breeding Centre on Tuesday.

Chemical company BASF will host a ‘field walk’ event at its Longerenong Centre from 9am to 12.30pm, followed by a barbeque and networking opportunities.

The event will showcase BASF’s pipeline of new herbicides launching for cereals and canola, a new seed treatment, new canola varieties and wheat seed breeding that have been produced through BASF’s work in the region.

People interested in attending can reserve a place by calling Madeleine Van on 0447 306 536.

Regional outlook The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics will present its Regional Outlook conference in Mt Gambier on September 25.

The event, from 8.30am to 4.30pm at Mt Gambier City Hall, will feature regional producers and industry speakers who will share views and experiences in three sessions.

Sessions will focus on themes: Investing in primary industries and growing our future; Overcoming challenges and exploiting opportunities in livestock industries; growing and diversifying cropping and forestry.

Pre-conference registration for the free Department of Agriculture event is essential.

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STEPPING UP: Driscoll, McIllree Dickinson’s Will Schilling is preparing to compete at a Victorian Young Auctioneer Competition at Pakenham on September 9.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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Annual conference at Gum San 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

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erennial Pasture Systems, PPS, independent farmer group will present its 11th Annual PPS Conference at Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre in Ararat on September 11.

The Wednesday conference will start at 8.45am.

The PPS group provides productive and sustainable pasture research and

extension to the region and the annual conference forms a vital part of the group’s calendar.

The theme of this year’s conference is based on risks to farm profitability and called ‘Risk strategies to reap the rewards – Adaptive management to reduce risk’.

Group president Tony Roberts said PPS had lined up a range of quality speakers for the day as well as a visit

to a highly productive PPS member farm.

This year’s seminar speakers include leading consultant Cam Nicholson, looking at the question of adopting change to deal with risk.

Dr Kevin Foster from the University of Western Australia will speak on dealing with risks and opportunities in clover based pastures.

Andrew Whitelaw will look at

feed-supply cost management and Mick Taylor from Meat and Livestock Australia will be presenting on risks to the future of the sheep meat industry.

“Farmers Tom McGuiness from Bigga, NSW and Jason Pymer, Wonwondah, will also put in plain words how they manage risk in their enterprises,” Mr Roberts said.

A farm tour to a PPS member farm

at Great Western will complete the day session.

At the end of the conference there will be a dinner at Chalambar Golf Club in Ararat with Les Gason from farm-machinery company A. F. Gason as guest speaker.

People can book tickets online at www.trybooking.com/BEFID or by contacting project manager Rob Shea on 0438 521 357.

Sheep industry takes steps The Australian sheep industry is taking steps to demonstrate its credentials in sustainable production by developing a whole-of-industry framework.

The Sheep Sustainability Framework will seek to improve transparency and build trust with the Australian community by aligning industry practices and community expectations.

Golden fleece at Marnoo Some of the best examples of Australia’s merino sheep were on display at an inaugural Victorian State Merino Field Day at Marnoo in the Wimmera’s east.

Prize sheep, some of them responsible for producing wool rated among the best in the world, were in the spotlight as 28 Victorian studs presented their animals at the showcase competition.

Marnoo field days have been running for three decades but this year organisers expanded the attraction into statewide championships. People travelled from across the state and beyond to attend the Friday event.

Marnoo Merino Stud Breeders Association organised the field day, which featured thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs.

Ribbons for a Victorian Champion March Shorn Hogget Ram competition went to Robert Harding from Glendonald Merino Stud at Nhill, first, Norm Weir, Kerrilyn Merino Stud, Dunluce, second, and Clarie McGauchie, Terrick West Stud, Prairie, third.

It will define sustainable sheep production and track annual performance using a series of indicators.

Sheep Producers Australia and Wool Producers Australia, with support from Meat and Livestock Australia and Australian Wool Innovation, are leading the framework’s development.

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We work with you to maximise your returns – from a few bales, right up to the main shearing, through the good times and the tough, because with us, quality counts.

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FOR ALL AGES: Louis Sweeney, 3, above, gains an early understanding of the value of highquality wool at Victorian State Merino Field Day at Marnoo and top, Warren McRae checks the quality of fleece. Pictures: PAUL CARRACHER

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s a crusty old reporter of more than 35 years, one can’t help but become a tad cynical.

I have a very healthy lack of respect for many, if not most politicians. Of course, the feeling is mutual.

I’ve been sworn at, belittled, given a lecture on how I’d got it all wrong, laughed at, even told, ‘I feel very sorry for your husband’… the list of condescending behaviour from our supposed champions of democracy goes on.

When former Prime Minister Bob Hawke died recently, everyone said what a great bloke he was.

I’ll never forget in 1989 in the middle of a media scrum when I asked a very pointed question about the pilots’ strike and Mr Hawke’s relationship with Sir Peter Abeles, then owner of Ansett Airlines.

He bent down, pushed right into my face, pointed his finger at me nearly touching my nose and said, ‘You wouldn’t ask such a stupid question if you knew what you were talking about, GIRLIE!’ Not so nice after all.

Back then, the notoriously honest and decent politician was the senior Labor Minister, the late John Button.

I remember asking him some tough questions which he duly answered and, flabbergasted that he didn’t deliver a whole lot of political spin, I reminded him afterwards that it wasn’t compulsory to answer so frankly.

He looked genuinely shocked at the suggestion.

That kind of steadfast, unwavering honesty was also Tim Fischer’s trademark. He had an incredibly strong moral compass.

As deputy Prime Minister, he, like then Prime Minister John Howard, never forgot your name and always treated you with respect.

I was working with ABC TV’s 7.30 Report in 1996 when Martin Bryant slayed 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania.

I was assigned to report on the subsequent progun rally at Sale in Gippsland.

Country Today with Libby Price

I stood behind Mr Howard as he stood on the podium to address the crowd.

He was clearly wearing a bullet-proof vest. I have to admit to also feeling unsafe. The crowd was angry and aggressive.

The Howard government had only been in office a couple of months and if it weren’t for the steadfast support of Tim Fischer, the radical gun reforms would not have got through.

He was a man who knew when to stand his ground against the groundswell of protest from his fellow Nationals and many of his constituents.

Mr Fischer was a man of habit and punctuality was an obsession.

I sat next to his wife, Judy, at a lunch function and he insisted on speaking at the exact allotted time even though the main course hadn’t been served. There was no stopping him. She laughed and said, “That’s Tim. Just get on with it.”

He used to ring ABC Regional offices very early in the morning or late at night and leave a news story on the answering machine.

It would be complete with an introduction, then with the countdown ‘three, two, one …’ and the exact 10-second radio grab, then a cheery farewell, ‘God bless’.

I bumped into him just short of 12 months ago when I’d made headlines for all the wrong reasons in a defamation case.

I won’t reveal what he said, but he put his arm around me and gave his very forthright view of the situation. Honest and real: a true gentle man.

Vale Tim Fischer. If only there were more like him.

Wimmera hay workshops Wimmera farmers and advisers will be able to attend hay workshops in the region next month.

Agriculture Victoria and Wimmera Farming Network are running the workshops at Winiam, Wallup, Noradjuha and Navarre.

The workshops will feature fodder expert Colin Peace of Jumbuk Consulting, along with Agriculture Victoria’s seasonal risk agronomists Dale Boyd and Dale Grey.

Agriculture Victoria land management extension officer Heather Drendel said the workshops would give farmers confidence to include hay

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

as a planned enterprise in their crop rotations.

Mr Boyd will discuss the latest soil moisture measurements for the region and Mr Grey will provide an update on the spring climate forecast.

The workshops will be at Winiam Hall from 2pm to 5pm on September 16; Wallup Hall from 9am to noon and Noradjuha Hall from 2.30pm to 5pm on September 17; and Navarre Recreation Reserve from 9.30am to noon, September 18.

People can register online at: wimmera haydays.eventbrite.com.au.

Victoria’s peak farming group is imploring farmers to use extreme care when using quad bikes.

Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had found quad bikes caused an average of six emergency-department visits a day in Australia.

“That is an absolutely shocking statistic.

Deaths from quad-bike accidents make the news, but what we don’t know about is the huge number of people, many children, being rushed to hospital every day as a result of quad-bike-related injuries,” he said.

“I am appealing to all farmers to review their quad-bike use. Please only allow adults with helmets and proper training to use quad bikes installed with OPDs. Never allow children to ride on or drive quad bikes. If you’re ready to remove the risk of quad-bike accidents entirely, you can transition to using a safer farm vehicle.

“There are only five weeks left for Victorian farmers to take advantage of a Quad Bike Safety Rebate Scheme.”

Farmers wishing to apply for the $1200 rebate should call the VFF on 1300 882 833 or visit website www.vff.org.au/quadbike before the rebate scheme closes on September 30.

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CALL 03 5391 2106

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Vale Tim Fischer

Plea for quad-bike safety on farms 95 Nelson Street, Nhill

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GRDC: Look out for Russian aphid 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

R

esearchers have urged graingrowers to be vigilant in the approaching weeks with the potential of spring and warmer conditions to promote flights of Russian wheat aphid.

Grains Research and Development Corporation has reported that numbers of the pest, RWA, had been minimal so far this season, due largely to low survival rates during a hot and dry 2018-19 summer.

It has warned that higher temperatures in spring might lead to an increase in aphid migration.

But scientists are saying crops older than ‘growth stage 40’ did not appear to be attractive to migrating RWA, therefore colonisation of such advanced crops during spring was unlikely.

Growers and advisers in areas such as the southern Mallee and East Gippsland, as well as NSW’s Riverina, Central West Slopes and Plains and Central Tablelands, have reported rare cases of RWA presence and symptoms, below intervention thresholds, this year.

Entomologists involved in GRDC research projects said an economically significant yield impact was more likely from infestations that occurred before stem elongation, but only if these persisted during the later heading and flowering stages.

South Australian Research and Development Institute, SARDI, entomologist Maarten van Helden said detecting RWA in crops was not difficult because infestations were usually obvious.

“A tell-tale sign is white or purple leaf streaking in cereal crops. And at late tillering and during stem elongation, leaf rolling might occur,” he said.

He said growers should search for aphids by peeling back rolled leaves.

Symptomatic tillers did not always contain aphids and therefore treatment might not be required if the aphids had either moved on or died.

First identified in Australia in 2016, RWA is now present in many cropping areas of SA, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW. The aphid has not been detected in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland.

Authorities expect RWA distribution to move northwards again this year to northern NSW and possibly southern Queensland.

RWA has only been confirmed in Australia in recent years, which means there has been limited research under ‘local’ agro-climatic conditions and farming systems.

In response, a GRDC investment project called ‘Russian wheat aphid risk assessment and regional thresholds’, is investigating regional risks and management tactics.

SARDI is leading the research proj-

MONITORING: South Australian Research and Development Institute entomologist Dr Maarten van Helden. Picture: GRDC

ect in partnership with sustainable agriculture research organisation cesar.

Field trials involve a variety of farming systems.

The investment is based on an investigation into how RWA survives between winter cropping seasons.

Scientists consider this knowledge pivotal in determining the risk of infestation and potential damage ahead of each new cropping season, as well as aiding RWA management planning and development of cultural controls.

It is also seeking to determine regional production risks and economic thresholds that will guide growers in effective management.

“When the aphid was introduced into the United States in the 1980s, the Americans developed economic thresholds. We are determining whether those same thresholds are valid in Australia,” Dr van Helden said.

“Current threshold recommendations for chemical control, based on US research, are more than 20 percent

of seedlings infested with aphids up to the start of tillering and 10 percent of tillers infested thereafter.”

Trial sites are in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and NSW to determine scientifically robust thresholds under varying Australian conditions.

Dr van Helden said trials had so far shown that a considerable amount of RWA population pressure was required before yield loss was incurred.

“Overall, yield loss in our trials has not been as high as expected when aphid numbers have largely been above the overseas threshold,” he said.

“It seems that the overseas thresholds are, at this stage, acceptable for affected Australian grain growing regions.

“Be aware that RWA seems to develop better on stressed plants, so in very dry conditions the risks might be somewhat higher.”

Further information on RWA management is available online at grdc. com.au/rwa-tacticsfuturecontrol.

Authorities are encouraging growers to report occurrences of RWA in known areas of distribution to the GRDC’s PestFacts services at bit. ly/2O3hoBj for south-east cropping areas.

People can report suspected infestations in previously unaffected regions to an Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.

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BY CRAIG ALTMANN

’m looking for a better way to farm so my kids can still farm.

That was the message accompanying a picture tweeted by Wimmera farmer Paul Oxbrow that has created healthy discussion.

As part of the message, the photo featured a paddock of wheat, comparing two different rotations side by side.

The rotation involved a cover crop looking better than a crop that had been summer fallowed.

This sparked my interest considering this season has been generally excellent in the area and the trial being what I’d consider in its early days.

Paul Oxbrow remarked in favour of the rotation including the cover crop – • Water infiltration way better.

• Penetrometer goes in further and easier.

• Could be nitrogen-response carryover from last year or more N and other nutrients more available because of the cover crop or 30 months of growing roots.

Given that this is very much an evaluation of two systems for Mr Oxbrow, the positive observations are balanced by the yield and financial side of the equation.

He commented that there was a big difference in canola yield last year due to timing of late frost, resulting in the rotation involving chemical fallow was a better gross margin at this stage.

I’m positive the passionate desire expressed in the tweet, to leave the land in better condition for the next generation, would resonate strongly with every farmer.

Cover crops are a tool that are being used extensively internationally and are gaining interest in Australia in finding a fit, ranging from conventional systems through to regenerative

Craig Altmann inspects a cover crop on the outskirts of Horsham with tillage radish in hand.

agriculture. For instance, at last year’s Australian Biological Farming Conference, I found myself talking to croppers, graziers, cane growers, vignerons and orchardists to mention a few – all using cover crops in their systems.

One of the cornerstone varieties in cover cropping is tillage radish.

Heralded for its ability to reduce soil compaction with its aggressive tap root, the attributes of tillage radish don’t end there.

You might think of tillage radish as a tap root with grazing options with its excellent early vigour and provision of quick-grazing and high-quality feed.

The radish tuber is also a big part of the story and is often the part that steals the limelight.

The tuber is very effective at cycling nutrients, feeding soil biology and leaving the topsoil open as it decays.

It is worth noting the tuber does decay quickly.

Whether for grazing, soil health or a combination; going into spring with a good profile of moisture, there is an opportunity to sow something soon to potentially grow out-of-season feed and promote soil health.

Experience the difference, Goldacres self-propelled sprayers with the direct drive system are efficient by design, durable by nature.

The drive system operates at lower engine RPM which equates to lower cabin noise, less fuel usage and a less stressed drive line and direct power to the ground.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019