AgLife – January 29, 2020 edition

January 29, 2020

Auction boost A monster auction is shaping up as a major part of this year’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days. Manager Murray Wilson, left, Elders’ Angela Dicker and O’Connors Horsham manager Zach Holmes are gearing up for the event.

Story, page 23.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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BY DEAN LAWSON

monster auction shaping as a major part of this year’s Wimmera Machinery Field Days will become an annual regional agricultural attraction if successful.

Organisers are predicting everything from ‘a tractor to a toolbox’ will be up for grabs in what represents a first for a major agricultural field days in Australia.

The Ag Machinery and Equipment Auction on March 5, as part of the third day of the field days at Wimmera Events Centre at Longerenong, will be open for exhibitors to ‘offload and promote’ everything from surplus goods to specials.

Field days manager Murray Wilson

said excitement was growing, not only among event committee members but also dealers keen to make the most of the promotion.

“There’s no doubt this is going to be a major feature of the field days,” he said.

“The Thursday of the field days has been traditionally the come-and-graba-bargain day and while circumstances have changed, this works in with that theme.

“If it’s as successful as we suspect, we plan to make it an annual part of the showcase. It will certainly add some excitement and colour and a lot of good buys.

“It represents a great way for us to offer all onsite machinery and equipment traders and exhibitors, already with a mindset of moving gear, a

chance to get together and to offer something a little different. Everyone loves a good auction.

“Of course an auction might just appeal to people who are simply looking for some good ag equipment and this could provide a chance to pick up a bargain while also enjoying the field days.

“Anyone who registers for the auction on the Tuesday and Wednesday of the field days will get a free Thursday pass, but they can also register on the day. That means they can visit dealers earlier in the week, get an idea what might be up for grabs, come back on Thursday and make a bid.”

Mr Wilson said Elders would be in charge of the auction, which potentially might offer ‘anything from $200 to $200,000’ in goods.

“It’s a first for a big agricultural field days in Australia and our committee has been pleased with the feedback received from dealers and exhibitors,” he said.

“Some companies have already committed to providing goods and from what we are hearing there could be items listed as having unreserved as well as reserved prices.

“That suggests that exhibitors might want to bring items specifically for the auction and won’t be keen to take them home.”

Mr Wilson said the auction would occur mid-morning at a designated auction site.

“I’m predicting there will be some people who come to the field days just for the auction,” he said.

“We might see anything from tool

boxes, generators and air compressors to, sprayers or tractors. There might be a second-hand car from a local dealer available and who knows, there might even be a header in the mix.

“The field days has always provided an opportunity for people involved in agriculture to pick up a bargain, and this might just take it to a new level.”

Mr Wilson said in-depth discussions with exhibitors after last year’s field days on ways to generate fresh enthusiasm into the event while maintaining focus as an agribusiness and rural machinery trade event had led to the auction.

ACE Radio, through The Weekly Advertiser and radio stations 3WM and MIXX FM, is a sponsor of the auction.

At home in the Wimmera The word ‘home’ for Canadian Pat Guay often means snow, minus-15-degree weather and an approximate 160,000-person city to keep him company.

After travelling to Australia on a working visa, he quickly realised that calling a small town in the Wimmera ‘home’ would mean the polar opposite.

Mr Guay has been helping with farm work and harvest on Nathan Dart’s Lah East farm near Warracknabeal.

He said making the move from New Brunswick to Australia had been an interesting but nice change, including adapting to the heat and the unique slang.

“I’m from Moncton, New Brunswick, where there is about 160,000 to 170,000 people,” he said.

“And then here in Warracknabeal it’s about, what, 3000 people? So, small town lifestyle where you get to meet the same people around and around.

“In New Brunswick we’ll get snow. The last snowfall was about 20 to 25cm, and then there’s minus-15 to minus-20 weather usually, compared with here… plus 20, plus 30, plus 40.

“But, yeah, it’s nice – everybody is kind of laid back and gets stuff done.”

Mr Guay said he originally came to Australia on his previous boss’s recommendation, after ending a seasonal road-building job in Canada.

He said that in order to extend his one-

year visa for a second year, he had to complete 88 days of farm work, leading him to the small wheatbelt town of Warracknabeal.

He said the thing that stood out to him most about Australian culture was the way people spoke.

“Just all the slang you guys have,” he said.

“The way that all the words are super short, you know, the shortening of everything. Australians don’t talk a whole lot – it’s brekky, facey – the less words you can put in a sentence the better it is.

“At the beginning I was like, ‘what are people saying?’ and then you start to catch on. Like, ‘pass me the dead horse’ means tomato sauce. Back home it would be ketchup.”

Mr Guay said apart from travelling north to ‘chase the heat’ and heading to Thailand for a couple of weeks next month, he was largely unsure of his long-term plans, but would probably apply for a third-year visa in Australia.

“If I do another six months of farm work I can an extend another year, but after the third year, it will be all said and done here,” he said.

“So, I don’t know what that is going to bring to me. But we’ll go where the wind blows and see what opportunity comes up.”

– Lotte Reiter

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ACTION ABROAD: Canadian Pat Guay is working on Nathan Dart’s Lah East farm near Warracknabeal.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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BY DEAN LAWSON

he impending start of the school year has prompted Longerenong College leaders to urge prospective students to get enrolments in as soon as possible.

The college had 10 student places remaining for 2020 intake late last week and issued an 11th-hour reminder that enrolments close on Monday.

College business development officer Donna Winfield said it was important for first-year students to avoid waiting until the last minute to put their names forward.

“They haven’t run out of time just yet but the cut-off is right upon us,” she said.

“And it would be a shame for anyone to miss out, especially when 2020 is the inaugural year of the Longerenong Data Farm.

“Incorporating digital ag into the curriculum is a major step forward for the college and a serious bonus for prospective agricultural professionals studying for their Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management.”

Ms Winfield said she suspected the many courses and opportunities avail-

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GO, GO GOANNA! A lace monitor, Varanus varius, otherwise known as a tree goanna, suns itself on the trunk of a gum tree at Tooan near Mount Arapiles.

Lace-monitor goannas, the second largest of Australian monitors behind the perentie, are relatively common in wilderness areas in the Wimmera, with a range stretching from far north Queensland to South Australia.

They become more active in warmer months, occasionally providing visitors to national and state parks in the region with a unique wildlife experience.

Picture: KELLY LAIRD

able in the tertiary-education space was responsible for students waiting for the last minute to confirm their enrolment.

“It can be very easy to overlook what we’re offering at Longerenong and we are acutely aware that students might suddenly realise that they have missed an opportunity,” she said.

“We are more than comfortable and happy with the number of students we have already but believe people out there have been pondering over their plans and urge them to avoid delaying any longer.

“From a selfish perspective, we also want to be able to say we have a full quota of students considering the high regard our graduates are held in and sought after in the agricultural industry.

“Agricultural workplace opportunities are as strong as they have ever been and we remind everyone across the Wimmera-Mallee that opportunities to gain the most hands-on credible and practical training available in this field are available here in our own region.”

As well as its intake of domestic students, the college has attract two more students from oversees, taking its international contingent to five.

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Peter LeLievre Mr LeLievre attended Murtoa High School and was a harvest season ‘racker’ at the Murtoa wheat bins rail receival.

He said his lifetime passion for sport, particularly in cricket as a player, coach and administrator, also started in Murtoa with the former Dunmunkle Cricket Association.

The protein-powder project, the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, was a concept initially launched through a Wimmera Development Association business case in response to a worldwide demand for high-quality plant-based protein food.

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Australian Plant Proteins’ $20-million twostage project plan to manufacture high-grade protein powder from pulses is in full swing in Horsham Enterprise Estate.

Developers have announced they would soon start recruiting on-ground staff, with plans to start operations from June.

This follows the appointment of operations general manager Peter LeLievre who joined the project at pre-commercialisation stage.

Mr LeLievre’s career includes extensive private-sector financial, commercial and senior management roles across many areas including agriculture.

He has experience in business development at start-up and expansion stages, senior financial management and development of internal and client strategic business plans.

Mr LeLievre also holds fellow-level membership with CPA Australia, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and spent 11 years as the chief executive of Stephen Pasture Seeds during an expansionary period of the business into South Australia and Tasmania.

His new role with private company Australian Plant Proteins, which already has customers from America, Canada and Europe seeking repeat orders of samples and considerable interest from Australian companies, will add another item to this list of experience.

It will also reconnect him with the experiences of his younger days as a former student in the region.

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“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our regional communities and they are doing their best to serve farm businesses also affected by drought.

“Those businesses – livestock transporters, equipment repairers, harvesting contractors – can use these small-business drought loans to refinance existing debt or just keep their Vecteezy.com

More Federal Government support for small businesses affected by drought is now available.

Drought and Rural Finance Minister David Littleproud said a new Regional Investment Corporation loan system for farm-dependent small businesses was in place.

“As drought continues to hit small businesses across rural Australia, the RIC’s AgBiz

businesses going until the drought breaks.

“Loans of up to $500,000 will be available with a two-year interest-free period.

“Following those first two years, concessional interest-only payments will apply before principal and interest payments are required in the final five years of the 10-year loan term.”

Guidelines and forms can be found online at www.ric.gov.au.

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“When you look at it from a macro level, almost all grain and fodder required for the east coast of Australia this year will be coming out of Victoria”

BY DEAN LAWSON

ecember rain more than 12 months ago, a ‘relatively gentle’ 2019 spring and farmer adaptability and planning has underpinned one of the best overall Wimmera and southern Mallee harvests in years.

A similar summary also applies to the Western District to the south, where farmers are still finishing off the last of late-maturing crops.

A favourable mid and south-western Victorian harvest represents an isolated thumbnail on an Australiawide dryland farming map otherwise smeared with the devastation of drought.

Victorian Farmers Federation president and Wimmera farmer David Jochinke said western Victoria, as a result, would this year be the primary provider of grain and fodder needs for the country’s eastern seaboard.

“When you look at it from a macro level, almost all grain and fodder required for the east coast of Australia this year will be coming out of Victoria,” he said.

“A high percentage from the Wimmera and southern Mallee has already been sent and that will be followed up by the Western District.”

Mr Jochinke said with north-west Victoria and other dryland cropping regions across Australia crippled by

drought, the Wimmera had done extremely well in comparison.

“While it has again to some extent been a bit of a tale of two sides of the Great Dividing Range, anyone who managed to snag some of that rain either side back in December 2018, and got their timing right, has generally done well,” he said.

“Even though at the time it was a bit of a curse because of harvesting, it provided an opening for some farmers

to have solid average to above-average crops, despite overall having a belowaverage rain season, even in the south.

“It appears anywhere people got crops in on top of that moisture andor managed to use circumstances to feed their crops – anyone who got that right, especially north of the divide – has done well.

“No farm north of the ranges got average rain, but some had ripper crops based on timing and where

the rain fell. In the Wimmera, if we didn’t have that 2018 December rain we would have been in strife and be telling a different story.

“We also had a mild spring with minimal impact from frost, that also helped.”

Mr Jochinke added that results amid a lack of extensive rain also reflected how modern farming practices in the region were at the cutting edge in understanding and responding to a

– David Jochinke, left

variable and ever-changing climate.

“It shows off techniques the modern farmer is using to make the most of every opportunity to use every drop of moisture available,” he said.

“It’s a real credit to how we’ve adopted modern technology and gained an understanding and how we can adapt.

“Overall for many there’s been a sigh of relief in that we’ve managed to have a decent season that will hopefully flow through regional communities.

“We are an ag-based sector and when farmers have a good year our communities have a good year as well.

“In the two previous years many crops in the region were smashed by frost and this now gives many a chance to get a bit of breathing space and catch up a bit.

“And there is also the confidence to adequately fund the upcoming season as well.”

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#Includes first service, travel and parts. Three years free preseason inspections if performed by June each year. Travel included within Emmetts dealer AOR, charged at normal travel rate outside this area. Expires 29/02/2020. ^Additional one year offered, totaling 3 years or 1250 hours limited warranty on engine and power train. The Limited PowerGard Protection Plan does not cover headers, attachments, maintenance or high-wear items, nor other non-covered components specifically mentioned in the contract terms. Always check the actual PowerGard Protection Plan contract for details, exclusions and limitations. Expires 29/02/2020.

HORSHAM KADINA MURRAY BRIDGE OAKBANK PARNDANA PINNAROO RENMARK ROSEWORTHY RUPANYUP SWAN HILL WARRACKNABEAL

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020

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Bucking a nation-wide trend A

BY DEAN LAWSON

Wimmera-based contract harvester has revealed the extent of dramatically different circumstances and cropping results for dryland broadacre farmers in Victoria and New South Wales.

Chris Bartlett, who operates Bartlett Brothers Harvesting with his brother Dale, said some of the Wimmera crops he had worked on this summer were among the best he had seen in five years.

But he said that was in stark contrast to a lack of harvesting opportunities in drought-ravaged areas of far northern Victoria and NSW. “We work right up to the Queensland border and last season didn’t take a machine. Not going to NSW left a massive hole in our run,” he said.

“But in the Wimmera it seems to have been a really good season for just about everyone.

“Hopetoun in the southern Mallee had good-yielding barley, wheat and lentils crops – probably the best season I’ve seen up in Hopetoun area. And you talk to blokes up there and the general feeling is that it’s been a very solid season with good yields and good prices.

“We were also over at Minimay in the west where there were good yields in beans and wheat and good straw quality as well.

“From our experience, areas around Horsham were very solid as well and

ALL SYSTEMS GO: Nathan Dart is pictured loading lentils bound for Rupanyup at his Lah East farm.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER where we’ve worked we’ve seen examples where crops have gone a lot better than many expected.

“In some cases, where the expectation was for yields of four tonne a hectare, it’s gone five, and the majority of barley seems to have gone malting quality.

And everyone has seed.”

The Bartletts, a farming family based at Pimpinio, were running six headers in the Wimmera and had little chance or opportunity to leave Victoria.

Mr Bartlett said many areas in the Wimmera-Mallee appeared to have dodged a bullet with frost and a general

lack of rain. “We, like the rest of our contract clients, enjoyed a very solid and profitable season,” he said.

“In fact, from our perspective, it appears to have been a solid year everywhere across the Wimmera in a region stretching from the south and south-west and Horsham and Natimuk districts to Hopetoun.

“You just have to look at the amount of grain that’s gone to Dimboola, for example. You only need to take note of the size of the bunkers.”

Nathan Dart, who farms at Lah East north of Warracknabeal, echoed com-

ments from growers across the region in reporting good results.

Busy last week moving lentils and straw after a busy harvest, he summed up his circumstances with a typical Wimmera-farmer understatement: “It’s pretty good, can’t complain,” he said.

Mr Bartlett said southern Wimmera and Western District crops had also been highly productive.

“We’ve been harvesting spring barley and peas and safflower in the Skipton-Lismore area with some places having returns of seven to eight tonne per hectares,” he said.

Rabbit warning 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

A group dedicated to fighting against rabbits in Australia has warned the pest animal’s numbers were likely to grow when a national drought breaks.

Foundation for Rabbit Free Australia chair professor Wayne Meyer said drought was affecting rabbit populations but expectations were that the introduced rodent would rebound quickly with an onset of improved seasonal conditions.

“It is easy to forget that 70 years ago Australia had a wild rabbit population estimated at six-billion, wreaking havoc on agriculture, soil and the environment despite billions killed by trapping, shooting and poisoning,” he said.

“The breakthrough was of course myxomatosis and 45 years later RHDV, calicivirus. Neither was an accident; they were the outcome of thorough, hardslog, scientific research.”

Rabbit Free Australia is a publicly subscribed fund supporting research, awareness and encouraging on-ground action to eradicate wild rabbits in Australia.

People seeking more information can visit website www.rabbit freeaustralia.com.au.

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Catastrophe of fire A

s it seemed like Australia had been on fire for months, my mind in recent weeks has wandered back to previous catastrophic events that, as a journalist, I’ve had little choice but to cover.

It’s given me insight into humanity, both good and bad, though like many fire victims, if you gave me my time over again, I would rather not have gone through the experiences.

I’ve covered many natural disasters, from cyclone emergencies when I lived in Western Australia, to floods and of course the many bushfires during the past three decades.

I’ve even slept under a desk in the office to wake every half hour for another emergency warning.

But that’s emergencies at arm’s length. There’s nothing quite like being there, even if in the aftermath.

As soon as I was allowed in, I went into the burnt-out villages decimated by the Black Saturday fires.

Even now, that smell of fire and death triggers shocking memories.

I’ll never forget reading messages pinned to a board asking if anyone knew the whereabouts of a friend, messages of grief, hope and sadness, or of driving around Marysville with only a few houses randomly left standing and so many lives lost.

So, it was with some trepidation that

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Country Today with Libby Price

I joined a convoy of trucks laden with donated hay heading into Corryong fire complex.

I managed to hitch a ride with a bloke from the Australian Professional Rodeo Association who, with his mates, had found time on their hands after the fires resulted in the cancellation of several rodeos.

Like so many young country lads he was a man of few words, but obviously gentle and kind and reaching out to get fodder to where it was most needed.

While he didn’t talk much, there was plenty of country music and talking over the CB radio, which involved an entirely different language that it’s probably best I didn’t understand.

Certainly, it wasn’t as traumatic as Black Saturday. The land didn’t seem to have been burnt beyond recognition and while there were livestock losses, they were remarkably small.

We also seem to have become a lot better organised with fires, with

councils quickly setting up evacuation centres, which were filled with donations of clothes, mobile phone chargers, shoes, toiletries: you name it, it was there.

Tallangatta Hall stage was piled high to the point where some goods had to go to another building.

I’m sure there would be plenty left over, such was the generosity of not just locals, but even people from Melbourne who drove up with trailer loads to donate to those who’d found themselves tragically homeless.

One farmer we gave a load of hay to said she was flat-out organising logistics while her husband was out burying dead cattle.

She was worried about her mental health after she stopped as the enormity of the destruction hit.

Sometimes it’s just incomprehensible, and as I warned her, the trigger points can hit months, even years later and suddenly the trauma washes back over you.

It’s cathartic even writing this. But may I end on a question. Where are all the hundreds of millions of dollars of celebrity donations going to?

The farming community has pulled together, but will they be forgotten as this unprecedented global response rolls out? Let’s hope not.

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Don’t delay securing seed 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

With paddock plans at various stages, there has been a good amount of inquiry for new crop varieties, many of which are in short supply.

So, a key message to farmers is do not delay in securing seed for sowing this year.

Three new Australian Hard, AH, varieties have created interest – the LRPB Nighthawk, LPB19-0392, Rockstar, IGW4341 and Catapult, RAC2484.

In the barley space, there’s eyes on Leabrook, WI4896, a mid-season potential malt variety.

Next year appears set to be an exciting year for barley releases in our area with anticipation of seed varieties WI4952, a mid-early season and IGB1705T, an IMI-tolerant barley. Keep an eye on trial data for these two.

On the pulse front, PBA Royal Chickpea, CICA1156, an early-mid high-yielding Kabuli, is new for 2020 and well worth a look.

There is also great anticipation around the new IMI-tolerant lentil CIPAL1721, that we’ll hopefully see available in 2021.

The early-mid dwarf oat, Bilby, also looks like a crop to consider, both for yield and with similarities to Bannister and improved quality.

There’s considerable interest in Kingbale, a world first IMI-tolerant oaten hay variety. Current information is that seed will be available for

planting in 2021. Thinking ahead to 2021 and hay oats, Koorabup is a new mid-tall potential hay variety bred by National Oat Breeders and marketed by AEXCO. Marleigh represents a new grazing and silage forge oat option.

Forage and hay oats in particular seem to be in short supply this year.

Recent forecasts of rain created plenty of activity on the phone from people wanting to make the most of a bit of moisture – some for soil health, some for forage and others trying to achieve both.

Tillage radish is a significant variety for farmers looking for an annual species that benefits soil health and provides forage.

If you are wanting to know more about the evolving area of carbon farming and emissions for your farm business, the Western District branch of the Grasslands Society of Southern Australia will be presenting a one-day conference, Front Foot Farming – Carbon Farming for the future, on February 26 at Hamilton Showground.

Front Foot Farming is supported

by Carbon Farming of Australia, MLA, Landcare Australia, Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority and the Federal Government’s National Landcare Program.

Register at www.grasslands.org.au.

– Craig Altmann

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Wednesday, January 29, 2020