AgLife – June 29, 2020 edition

July 29, 2020

Growing herd Wimmera alpaca farmers David and Pam Pratt are making the most of a growing alpaca industry.

Story, page 29 Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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Hobby farm to expanding business 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

BY DYLAN DE JONG

W

GROWING HERD: David and Pam Pratt’s hobby farm now has more than 100 alpacas. The couple breeds and shows the animals and is meeting a high demand for sales and leasing of alpacas to property owners to protect their livestock.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

immera alpaca farmers David and Pam Pratt are making the most of a growing alpaca industry.

The husband and wife team started farming alpacas eight years ago when Mr Pratt returned to the Wimmera after serving in the Army.

Mrs Pratt, a keen crocheter, was excited to start knitting her own garments with the ‘luxurious’ alpaca fleeces.

Starting as a small hobby farm at Haven before expanding to Laharum, Rosehaven Alpacas now has a herd of more than 100.

“We got a couple of alpacas and things got out of control from there,” Mr Pratt laughed.

“We started breeding stud animals and then we got into showing alpacas.”

The animals, characterised by long necks and elongated eye lashes, are farmed for their genetics, meat and fine fleece.

Australian Alpaca Association leaders, AAA, say the alpaca industry has never been stronger and is becoming fully sustainable – the registered herd size in Australia is expected to top one million by 2021.

And Mr Pratt said he could confirm popularity of alpaca farming was booming.

“There’s a lot of commercial oper-

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

ations now – it’s not just people with three or four alpacas in their back yards. There’s people running herds between 1000 to 5000,” he said.

“From a commercial point of view, we’re going quite nicely and we expect next year to be the same.

“We have high demand for sales – it’s nowhere near as big an industry as sheep, but it’s certainly a growing industry and there’s a good demand for it.”

Mr Pratt said demand for alpaca fleeces was growing significantly internationally.

“There’s some going to Germany and there’s a large demand in Italy for high-end suits made from the alpaca fibre,” he said.

“One of the advantages is they can blend all the different colours rather than having to dye the fleece.”

Alpacas come in a diverse range of colours such as browns, greys, blacks, whites, fawns and roans.

Mr Pratt said colour diversity was making the alpaca fleece more attractive to buyers looking to make garments without using dyes.

“There’s a strong interest in the

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clothing industry for materials that are less processed. It’s a unique quality – you can get a really wide range of natural colours,” he said.

Mr Pratt said an additional benefit was the warmth.

“It does knit up really well – in terms of warmth – you don’t need a thick alpaca jumper to get the same effect as a wool jumper,” he said.

“You can wear lighter garments that give you the same level of warmth.”

The Pratts are also keen supporters of alpaca shows and can usually be seen showcasing the animals at events

across Victoria. Mr Pratt said he was disappointed to see the AAA board cancel the 2020 National Alpaca Show next month due to COVID-19, but he would look forward to next year to show his alpacas.

He said alpacas made an ideal safeguard among a paddock of sheep to protect against foxes or wild dogs and a key component to their alpaca operation was leasing the animals to sheep farmers to protect their livestock.

“Alpacas will chase and even kill a fox,” he said.

“They’ve got a really strong drive to protect their own offspring and it transfers over to the lambs.

“There’s a huge demand for heard guards. This year has probably been our busiest year yet. People are starting to see the effects of running alpacas with sheep flocks.”

The couple is now planning to open a petting zoo aspect to the farm to take advantage of increased interest in alpacas.

“We’re currently working with Horsham council, trying to get approval to do farm tours and have alpaca experiences,” he said.

“On Northern Grampians Road, with people going up to Halls Gap, there’s always people stopping at the fence looking at the animals.

“It’s just another part of business we’re trying to develop that’s showing a bit of potential.”

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TALKING CROPS: A contingent of farmers catch up at last year’s Mallee Machinery Field Days at Speed.

Picture: PHIL DOWN

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BY DYLAN DE JONG

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rganisers of Mallee Machinery Field Days are confident exhibitor and community support will continue for next year’s event.

The Mallee’s prime agricultural showcase was building at the start of this year, with buyer confidence at an all-time high thanks to an above average harvest across the Wimmera and southern Mallee.

And although the 42nd event was called off due to COVID-19, president Terry Kiley is encouraging farmers and exhibitors to continue to support the event when it can go ahead again.

Mr Kiley said the field days committee was planning to build the event, which attracts more than 8000 attendees and up to 300 exhibitors, to be even stronger next year.

“This pandemic keeps throwing curve balls at us, but we look forward to having our event next year,” he said.

“We’ll be trying to make it as presentable as we possibly can. We might look at other attractions that might boost up its profile. We plan to meet with the Lions Club to start getting some ideas down for next year.”

Mr Kiley said his biggest concern was for the schools, hospitals and sports clubs that would miss out on donations due to this year’s cancellation.

Organisers estimate the event gen-

erates between $50,000 and $100,000 each year, which is then injected into Speed, Hopetoun, Ouyen and Sea Lake communities.

“What will suffer is the schools and those who benefit from the field days.

We hand out a fair bit of money from this event,” he said.

Mr Kiley said the Lions Club was also looking to recruit more people to help for future events.

“The biggest concern is the organising committee – we continue to need young people to jump on board with the Lions Club to help with the administration,” he said.

“A lot of us are getting older so we do look to have a top-up of young ones to help us out.”

Secretary Andrew McLean said the volunteers were the fabric that made the field days.

“All up we use about 250 volunteers for the field days event,” he said.

“We might only have 23 or so Lions Club members, but we have the support of three or four different neighbouring clubs and the schools who all chip in.”

Mr McLean said he was confident exhibitors would continue to support the event in 2021.

“Throughout the years some of the exhibitors have stuck with us right through, we hope that will continue,” he said.

Social side of field days ‘invaluable’ Field days have long been a hub for farmers to network, research farming techniques and purchase new machinery and equipment.

Another characteristic often overlooked for these large-scale agricultural exhibitions is the chance to catch up with mates.

Organisers of Mallee Machinery Field Days at Speed say it is ‘hard to quantify’ how much farmers will miss the social aspect of the event, which is cancelled due to COVID-19.

Field days treasurer and farmer Phil Down would normally be hastily helping Speed Lions Club prepare the site in time to welcome more than 8000 visitors and 300 exhibitors for the annual July event.

But this year will be a little quieter in the Mallee town.

“The field days will be missed in a

big way, probably as much in a professional front as social front. We’ve lost all of our social gatherings as well, it’s like a double whammy,” Mr Down said.

“We can get a good handle on the economics of running our event. But that social interaction, we’ve always known it’s important, but it’s hard to measure how much that actually is.”

Mr Down said the social aspect of the event was particularly important in Speed, where farms were only getting bigger and population smaller.

“The number of people in the Mallee region has dropped a lot,” he said.

“To keep that social and professional connection is as important as ever.”

Mr Down said when the field days started more than 40 years ago, it served as a place where farmers could

peruse through machinery exhibitions and learn about all the latest farming technology in one place.

He said while this was still a key aspect of the event, the chance for a mid-season catch up was equally important to farmers and the surrounding communities.

“When it first started, they were a place to research. Now that’s changed, and most farmers can do that research online,” he said.

“But it’s also about getting people together. Not everyone is into football or fishing or other social groups, some people are just full-on farmers. This is a great place for them to get together with like-minded people.”

Mr Down said he hoped the field days committee could continue to run the event for years to come.

– Dylan De Jong

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Wednesday, July 29, 2020

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We’re in it for the long haul A

first one. The inaugural president of Speed Lions Club at the time suggested we have a demo day of machinery – and it just grew from there,” he said.

“We used to skip around from farm to farm originally – we lived a nomadic lifestyle.

“I remember we had 38 exhibitors and we boasted that we had $1-million of machinery on display – I think the first field day we had, we made $2800 profit and we thought we were on a real winner.”

Being immersed in the field days for its duration, Mr Emonson has seen first-hand the rapid evolution of farming technology.

“The field days has developed as the farming techniques have changed over the years,” he said.

“If you’d told people back then that we could sit there with our arms folded driving a tractor that was covered in computers telling you what’s going on with the machine, everyone would have laughed,” he said.

“The technology, the size and the capability of what a man can do in one day now is unreal. It’s a testament to the grain growing industry.”

Mr Emonson said the event had proven to serve as the biggest fundraising opportunity for the town of less than 100 and its neighbouring communities.

“The Lions Club won’t be able to support the community as strongly as we have in previous years,” he said.

BY DYLAN DE JONG

former Mallee Machinery Field Days president believes the deep-rooted history and community spirit at the heart of the key agricultural exhibition will ensure its longevity.

Organisers of the field days at Speed say cancelling the 42nd annual event was a disappointing outcome for farmers, exhibitors and the communities it supports.

But Kevin Emonson, a current committee member, believes the event’s ‘long and proud’ history is exactly why it will push on beyond the coronavirus pandemic.

“We’ve got a good history. We’re known as being a friendly field day, which we’re proud of,” he said.

“Speed will get through this. We’re going to have to battle on.

“The Mallee is full of resilient people and we will look forward to getting back into it next year.”

Mr Emonson remembers at age 26 his family farm was the first site to accommodate farmers for machinery demonstrations for the inaugural event in 1979.

He said for many years the field days would be on a different farm before Speed’s Torpey family offered their farm to be the permanent site for the event.

“It was actually on our farm for the

HERE TO STAY: Former Mallee Machinery Field Days president Kevin Emonson says the event’s strong history will ensure it can continue beyond COVID-19.

“We’ll still support as much as we can, but we’re mostly going to be conservative with the amount of money we normally put out.

“One of the local schools sells coffee and they get about $6000 or $7000 over the two days – in a local community like ours, it’s pretty hard to save that much money.”

Mr Emonson said community sup-

port would be key to getting the event off the ground next year.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to keep it going. If we didn’t have community support, it wouldn’t run for 10 seconds,” he said.

“We’ll just come back to the drawing board and approach it with full vigour again.”

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Federal Member for Mallee Anne Webster believes organisers must take necessary steps to ensure rural events can continue beyond COVID-19.

She encouraged Speed’s Mallee Machinery Field Days committee to look at state and federal government grants or into corporate sponsorship to shore-up the event’s longevity.

“There will be a way to move forward, even if it has to be slightly smaller the first year, whatever steps need to be taken,” she said.

Dr Webster said events such as field days were crucial to rural living.

“Culturally, it’s incredibly important that farmers can get together and tell stories, communicate and just share each other’s burden. There’s not too many environments where that can occur anymore,” she said.

“Whether it be field days, Quambatook Tractor Pull or Patchewollock Music Festival, all are really significant and valuable to those communities.

“I’ve always maintained our communities could not survive without our not-for-profits and our charity organisations, whether that’s Lions or Rotary clubs, Men’s Sheds, you name it. All provide tremendous support to our communities and the fundraising they do is exceptional.”

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we have above average rainfall for parts of Victoria,” he said.

“But the models have backed away from that now – the Indian Ocean is likely to stay neutral.”

BY DYLAN DE JONG

Wimmera farmer is banking on a wetter than average spring to push his crops to full potential.

Wonwondah farmer Jason Pymer is optimistic the season will pick up in the warmer months as July remains largely dry across western Victoria.

Horsham Aerodrome recorded 13.8 millimetres, Edenhope 37.4mm, Hopetoun 6.4mm and Mount Williams in the Grampians 62mm rain this month to yesterday.

And many parts of the Wimmera also recorded average or below average rain during June.

However, Bureau of Meteorology, BoM, is keeping a watchful eye on ocean temperatures.

Forecasters say there is early indications of a La Niña pattern, associated with wetter weather across Australia, forming in spring.

Mr Pymer is finishing off his pre-emergent spraying program for his grain and pulse crops.

He said wetter weather would be a welcome change.

“We need to see rain in August, September and October for crops to reach their potential,” he said.

“But like most farmers, I’m an optimist. I’m hoping for a better than average season and if we get an average year, I’ll be pretty happy.”

September rain

REACHING POTENTIAL: Wonwondah farmer Jason Pymer is hoping for some decent rain to bolster his grain and pulse crops.

Mr Pymer said while rain earlier in the year was beneficial, it was not significant enough to penetrate through and top-up his drying soil moisture profile.

“We certainly had a really good start where crops established really well – but the past six weeks there has been minimal rain, so we’d take any rain we can get,” he said.

“We haven’t got much stored moisture, we’re probably sitting at about 20 percent, so there’s still a fair bit of water needed to get us home.”

Mr Pymer said he was staying confident he would pull off decent crops come harvest time, which would likely be in November on his farm.

BoM senior climatologist Jonathan Pollock said the bureau had ini-

tially forecasted a wetter than average winter across Victoria.

But he said weather was likely to remain dry throughout the remainder of this month and most of August across the Wimmera due to a climate driver in the Indian Ocean.

“There was a bit more excitement for a negative Indian Ocean dipole – when in a negative phase that means

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Mr Pollock said the outlook was likely to remain dry until at least September.

“Throughout August, in northern Victoria there’s a chance of above average rain, but that pattern doesn’t extend down as far as Horsham,” he said.

“But places like Warracknabeal have slightly increased chances of rain.

“In September that pattern strengthens a bit.”

Mr Pollock said the bureau’s El Niño-Southern Oscillation, ENSO, outlook was at La Niña ‘watch’, indicating the chance of La Niña forming in 2020 was about 50 percent – twice the average likelihood.

“A lot of international models are favouring a La Niña developing later this year,” he said.

“This is due to what’s happening in the Pacific Ocean where we had seen cooling in the central Pacific.

“That’s typically a precursor to a La Niña and that combines with our model outlooks.

“In the past when we had those types of conditions, we ended up having a La Niña 50 percent of the time.”

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But they suggest only consider treatment if infestations were approaching potentially damaging levels.

Colder conditions since March – in comparison with 2019 – are likely to have slowed aphid population growth during establishment and early tillering stages.

Jessica Lye from research organisation cesar said this was fortunate, because RWA growth rates were also influenced by plant growth stage, with younger plants supporting faster aphid reproduction than older plants.

“If there is wet weather during late winter and spring, as predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology, this is also likely to suppress RWA,” she said.

But she added that despite this outlook, monitoring and making threshold-based decisions remained key to effective long-term management of this aphid.

“Growers and agronomists are advised to monitor for RWA during tillering and stem elongation, keeping in mind current recommended thresholds if they observe any infestations,” Dr Lye said.

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Formerly

What a start it has been to the season with reasonable summer rains across parts of our region then a good start early things have really got moving along in the cropping job as well as the livestock job being very strong also.

As I write this it seems we have encountered a little dry spell for the moment for what the BOM said was going to possibly be a wet July, hopefully taking a pot shot at them it might turn for us all and I’m happy to be proved wrong and see some rain before the end of July to keep things moving along.

For the croppers it has been just about the ideal start to the season, summer rains provided knockdown opportunities in the paddock followed up by us being able to achieve not only a knockdown but double knocking again come into vogue with guys having the opportunity to get the chance to get out and clean up some problem weeds with a round of paraquat for the first time in about 6 years. This has provided a great clean up with many crops now being reasonably clean and in crop post emergent brews have been able to follow up with cheaper options of weed control than traditional brews over the years.

The burning question on everyone’s mind at the moment is the were to next with the weather. Do we look like seeing some follow up rains as forecasters are talking about and if so when. Decision making at the moment around nitrogen application is one that I know we are focusing on and the best way to do that after coming off a strong previous season is by getting the facts and doing a deep N test. Nitrogen testing is the simplest and most economic way to making decisions around nitrogen application. Knowing what your target yield is and setting crops up with the right amount of nitrogen is paramount in either not over applying or under applying and leaving protentional yield on the table at the end of the year. With all that in mind it is only the end of July and there is a lot of season to come yet.

If the season does take a turn in the right direction and the rains do come one thing to keep in mind is fungicide moving forward. There has been quite a bit of pressure on supply of some actives this season which has had some agronomists in a spin somewhat trying to plan and ensure that growers have a handle on what products they need going forward if and when the rains come. Personally I would recommend that you speak to your agronomist if the conversation hasn’t been had already and get a strategy in place, things like Septoria, botrytis grey mould and other fungal disease can become common during prolonged periods of wet conditions, and prevention is often far better than cure if it can be actioned.

I hope that the season brings all growers what they are after and I look forward to seeing our guys around the traps. good luck with all in 2020.

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Bulk Drops: 15

Natimuk: 234 RMB Delivery: 184 Bulk Drops: 50

Apsley: 25 Bulk Drops: 25

Dadswells Bridge: 13

Navarre: 60

RMB Delivery: 13

RMB Delivery: 60

Landsborough: 75 Stawell: 3146

RMB Delivery: 75

RMB Delivery: 187 Town Delivery: 2814

Great Western: 50 RMB Delivery: 50

Halls Gap: 126

Edenhope: 90

RMB Delivery: 126

Bulk Drops: 90

Ararat: 3827 RMB Delivery: 327 Town Delivery: 3200 Bulk Drops: 300

Pomonal: 105

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Harrow: 30

RMB Delivery: 105

RMB Delivery: 30

Moyston: 41

Balmoral: 91 RMB Delivery: 91

Willaura: 267

RMB Delivery: 41

RMB Delivery: 267

Source: AMAA; CAB Total Distribution Audit for October 2019 to March 2020. For further information visit www.auditedmedia.org.au

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Millers adapting to ‘unknown’ 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

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BY SARAH MATTHEWS

his time last year, Brimpaen’s Miller family was celebrating its most successful showing at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo and gearing up for three big days at Hamilton’s Sheepvention.

Fast forward 12 months, Glenpaen’s show rams are shorn off and in a paddock, Sheepvention is the latest in a long line of events cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty surrounds the format of the studs’ annual on-property sales.

Glenpaen stud principal Rod Miller said like all industries, sheep breeding was facing plenty of challenges in the wake of COVID-19.

“It’s all a bit of an unknown at the moment,” he said.

Mr Miller, who breeds merino and poll-merino sheep at the western foothills of the Grampians, said he had been excited for the 2020 show circuit following a standout 2019.

Glenpaen won champion ram and champion ewe at the national show in Bendigo last year, with the ram also named supreme champion. The ram sold for $26,000, equal top price in the show sale.

Mr Miller said he had come close to the main prize two or three times since he started exhibiting at the Australian show, when it was in Melbourne.

He said the ‘big prizes’ had eluded the family stud until 2019, with the outcome exceeding his greatest expectations.

Glenpaen’s success at Bendigo and other sheep shows in western Victoria had a flow-on effect, with additional interest in the stud’s on-property ram sale in October.

“It was one of our better ram sales,” Mr Miller said.

“We got a lot more people coming to have a look and our semen sales also went up from our leading sires and our show sheep.”

Before the pandemic hit, the Millers planned to enter sheep in premier shows in Tasmania, Ballarat, Bendigo and Hamilton.

“Last year we also went to the inaugural Marnoo Field Days, which was really good and was only going to grow,” he said.

“The cancellation of Sheepvention was a big loss, because we have a display there. There’s probably not one year where we don’t pick up at least one or two new clients – it’s one event we can’t afford to miss out on.

“As well as not being able to show sheep, by missing out on these things we don’t get to see what sires are breeding well out there.

“There’s also the social and networking side. You always pick up knowledge and ideas from one an-

CHAMPIONS: Glenpaen stud principal Rod Miller and son Harry celebrate success at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo in 2019. This year’s show season has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and sheep breeders are adjusting to challenges. other – at Bendigo, you’re talking to people from all over Australia.”

Mr Miller said other breeders were in the same boat and needed to push ahead with plans and programs despite uncertain times.

“We’ve just got to keep going on the same,” he said.

“We actually just picked out our show sheep for next year and have shorn them off, hoping there is going to be a show. It mightn’t happen yet, but we’ve still got to get the wheels in motion in case it does.”

Mr Miller will also pick sires for his artificial insemination program, which starts in December.

“I actually wasn’t so concerned about my ram sale, but now with this second wave of the virus, I’m starting to get concerned,” he said.

“We still should be able to have it, but if this pandemic keeps going the way it is and we’re only allowed limited numbers at the sale, we’ll probably have a pre-selection day.

“We will bring people in according to a timeline so there’s not too many

and then we’ll do the sale in conjunction with an online service like AuctionsPlus or some sort of format like that.”

Business at AuctionsPlus, an Australian online platform for agricultural and livestock sales, is booming throughout the pandemic as producers adapt to changes in the industry.

Mr Miller said Wimmera studs had already started participating in online multi-vendor sales, including the Victorian Stud Merino and Poll Merino ram sale planned for Bendigo.

Nhill’s Glendonald stud had the toppriced ram at $10,750.

Mr Miller said he deemed the sale a success.

“I think it went okay,” he said.

“It’s hard to buy online because I think you need to physically see a sheep, especially if you’re buying more than one, because you want to try to match them up.

“It’s a big outlay – to not be able to see them and buy them online, is a big risk.

“I think there might be a few more people looking to buy rams after ram sales, a bit more private selection.

“We’re going to have to rely on the agents a bit – they’re going to have to know what’s working and what’s not.

“But this is the way things are at the moment. It’s all a bit of an unknown.”

• Balmoral online sale, see page 43.

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“The larrikin, knock-about or ‘she’ll be right’ attitude is a great part of our culture, but it can’t be a part of our businesses”

BY DYLAN DE JONG

n over-representation of deaths in agriculture has called for a rethink about workplace culture across Victorian farms.

Victorian Farmers Federation president David Jochinke believes the ‘she’ll be right’ attitude present on farms needs reconsideration if farms are to become safer.

This comes after annual National Farmer Safety Week, July 20 to 25, where primary producers were reminded to think ‘safety first’ in an industry subjected to high numbers of injury and workplace deaths.

“The larrikin, knock-about or ‘she’ll be right’ attitude is a great part of our culture, but it can’t be a part of our businesses,” Mr Jochinke said.

“We have to be pragmatic with how we do it, we can’t put everything in cotton wool, but we can understand the risks.”

Mr Jochinke said safety on farms was paramount because it concerned wellbeing of workmates and often family members.

“You’ve got to demonstrate you’ve done due diligence to protect yourself, your employees and your loved ones – because farms are a business, but it’s also a home in many cases,” he said.

“We need to make sure farmers reduce as much risk as we can. It can be as simple as writing a note in your workbook to say you’ve checked this machine on this day.”

Victorian Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes said on average two serious injuries occurred on Victorian farms every day and in the past five months six people died while working on a farm.

WorkSafe Victoria also recognised agriculture continued to be overly represented in workplace fatalities – farms employed just two percent of the Victorian

95 Nelson Street, Nhill

– David Jochinke

workforce but accounted for one in seven workplace fatalities in 2019-20.

Mr Jochinke said part of improving safety was opening up safety conservations among workmates.

“Agriculture represents more deaths than any other workplace in Victoria and Australia. That’s a stat we’re not proud of,” he said.

“We need to own it and we need to have that safety-first culture in our vocabulary daily.

“There are things that occur in agriculture that just shouldn’t – there are circumstances where shortcuts are taken.”

Mr Jochinke said farmers should always be looking to invest in equipment that would improve safety.

“If we have a decent season, we should be investing in our operations to make them safer,” he said.

“I know it’s hard when seasons are tough. But when seasons are good, that’s the opportunity to get on top of those bigger issues.”

Mr Jochinke sits on a newly formed Farm Safety Council, linking Victorian farming bodies such as Agriculture Victoria, to help reduce injuries or deaths in the industry.

Following the formation of the council, the VFF also received $3-million from a ‘Making our Farms Safer’ State Government grant to employ two farm safety officers.

The VFF will also use grant money to develop an online platform with a range of safety resources for Victorian farmers.

Make sure you visit the HARDI display at this year’s Mallee Machinery Field Days at Speed, on July 31st and August 1st.

BACK IN CLASS: Longerenong College first-year certificate-four agriculture students Alyssa Geurts and Ayden Ferrari get a handle on mechanical maintenance as part of a hands-on approach to their studies. Longerenong students have been back on campus near Dooen for about three weeks since returning from COVID-19 restrictions. Mr Ferrari, who has a passion for livestock and hopes to eventually become a stock agent, said it was important more people recognised the diversity and value of farming. Ms Geurts, planning to eventually travel north and work on a cattle station, added it was important more people engaged in learning about agriculture and was happy to provide an example of how the industry was welcoming more women into the workplace.

Picture: PAUL CARRACHER

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95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

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think it is time for some politicians to come visit us, ‘down on the border’.

The NSW government’s decision to tighten border restrictions on Wednesday last week was understandable in one breath, but ill-thought through in another.

We in Victoria can withstand being ostracised by other states for the sudden increase in coronavirus cases, but we can’t stand by and watch our highly valuable horticulture industries lose money hand over fist because state governments can’t come up with a simple compromise to allow essential seasonal workers to cross the border to work.

The citrus harvest is currently in full swing.

The industry estimates citrus growers have lost at least a quarter of their seasonal workforce, stuck south of the border, at the cost of $1.7-million a day.

It is also the pruning season for grapes. The bulk wine grapes are mainly mechanically pruned but the smaller wine producers still rely on skilled seasonal workers, while the table grape industry is entirely reliant on highly skilled pruners. That is not to mention avocado growers on the border.

And so the list goes on.

It must be easy for a health minister hundreds of kilometres away to make the decision with the stroke of a pen, but doesn’t he realise one of the largest food-producing districts of our nation is along the mighty Murray River?

Border horticulture industries are imploring seasonal workers to wait for the border restrictions imposed by the NSW government to be sorted out so they can return to work, with hopes it will be later this week. But, as head of Citrus Growers, Nathan Hancock said on Country Today: ‘Sometimes when you do something in

Country Today with Libby Price

haste, it can take a while to untangle the mess.”

I spoke to a truck driver last week who was stuck at the border at Albury for four hours. He has the required permit, but the queues were kilometres long. I guess it’s out of sight, out of mind.

Even when the border closure is sorted, there is still going to be a chronic shortage of shearers. Firstly, nearly 500 shearers fly in from New Zealand around this time of year to shear around seven million of our sheep, the equivalent of two thirds of South Australia’s entire flock.

At the moment, the Kiwis can’t come into Australia, but even if they could, why would you take the risk when New Zealand is fundamentally COVID-19 free?

Shearing contractors are already cancelling work commitments due to lack of shearers.

Again, if you are in NSW, why would you cross into Victoria when there is going to be plenty of work closer to home with less risk of infection?

Not to mention the strict two week isolation regimes they’ll have to comply with.

Shearing Contractors Association’s Jason Letchford wants woolgrowers to plan ahead for the shortage.

“Being two or three months late this year – for shearing – people need to start to get their heads around that and start planning. If there’s staff available, they should grab them and shear now,” he said.

RESEARCH: Agriculture Victoria is researching the impact of turnip yellows virus on the yields of broadacre canola and pulse crops. Pictured taking notes at trials at Horsham’s Grains Innovation Park is Horsham-based molecular epidemiologist Narelle Nancarrow.

The research aims to help develop control plans and to lower costs in dealing with the virus.

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Wrecking Parts JD946/956 MOCO, Wrecking for parts, good tri lobe roller etc.

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Merino field day heads online 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

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ulti-vendor Glenelg Regional Merino Field Day and auction will be an online event on August 10.

AuctionsPlus will lead the auction, which starts at 11am.

A field day and auction organising committee has changed the sale format to online based on restrictions and protocols associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Field day and auction group president Warren Russell said running the auction online, moving from the traditional open-cry format of the past 25 years where rams have been on display for inspection on the day, to an AuctionsPlus platform, would be a new experience for participating studs.

Last year Thornlea stud sold the toppriced ram to Nerstane for $8250.

Gleneden and Glendonald studs also sold rams at $7500.

All studs had strong buyer interest with a $2638 sale average.

“Regretfully there will be no sale champions this year or an official opening of the event,” Mr Russell said.

“However, the nine participating studs will be offering 101 rams of high quality, which will be available for viewing on AuctionsPlus, as well as each stud conducting on-site inspections, prior to auction day.”

Mr Russell said prospective buyers should contact the stud principals andor their stock agents to make suitable

arrangements for inspection of the rams.

“All interested buyers are urged to familiarise themselves with the AuctionsPlus system and the buyer registration timeline,” he said.

Participating studs are: Thornlea, Mount Yulong, Gleneden, Kevlyn, El-

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mbank Poll, Melrose, Glendonald, Wurrook and Valleyella.

Nutrien and Elders are joint officiating agents for 2020.

A catalogue is available online at auctionsplus.com.au.

TOP PRICES: Wayne McClure from Thornlea stud at Harrow, above, is pictured with the top-priced ram at last year’s Glenelg Regional Merino Field Day auction at Balmoral. Craig Potter from Elders Ararat and Robert Harding from Nhill’s Glendonald stud, above left, are with Mr Harding’s top-priced ram at the 2019 event.

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Nullarbor Plain ‘eerily’ quiet But the grain farmer and truck driver said he had never seen Australian roads this quiet.

He is still regularly driving the Nullarbor Plain to deliver sheep at the Western Australian border during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Foott said crossing the wide open plains on Australia’s most iconic stretch of road was now even more ‘eerie’ than usual.

He said he was lucky to see anyone other than service station operators – and the odd dingo.

“It was booming with activity just seven months ago,” he said.

“It’s shocking when you get past the populated towns – I’ve never seen it this bad. I pulled up at the Nullarbor Roadhouse and there wasn’t a car, nothing.

“The dingoes are having a great time.

They’re just hanging around the roadhouse and no one chases them away.”

Mr Foott said border crossings were made relatively easy for truck drivers – depending on where they crossed.

“It depends what checkpoint you go through. I went through Broken Hill recently and they really give you a run

Memorable crossings

Crossing the flat, almost treeless, arid and semi-arid plains – one wouldn’t expect to see much.

But Mr Foott has no shortage of stories and he regularly updates his social media with photos of what he stumbles across during his crossings.

“You see something different every trip. I remember last year it was really dry and a camel appeared,” he said.

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down on what you’ve got to do. You keep to yourself as much as you can,” he said.

Mr Foott said he normally liked to stop to talk to everyone – from backpackers, caravaners and farmers along his journey.

“But now you can get out and have a sleep on the side of the road for half an hour and no one would even pass you,” he said.

Mr Foott said he was concerned about how towns along the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor Plain were coping without holiday-makers travelling through.

“It’s really affecting the shops along the way. The Nullarbor Roadhouse is usually fully staffed, but I went in there the other day and I was the only customer,” he said.

“It’s whale watching season at the moment, and there’s usually people everywhere around this time of the year, but there’s just no one.”

DA Y

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BY DYLAN DE JONG

irchip truck driver Mick Foott has been driving trucks since he was 18 and has seen his fair share of sights while crossing the country.

LONELY JOURNEY: Birchip truck driver Mick Foott has never seen the Nullarbor Plain so quiet. He is concerned for small communities along Eyre Highway missing out on passing traffic and tourists to keep them afloat.

“All of a sudden we’ve got another 20 camels walking straight up the middle of the road.”

A perk of being a farmer who travels the country is that Mr Foott also sees how crops are faring in different states.

He said he was always comparing crops as he travelled through Victoria, southern NSW and South Australia.

“You see they had rain at Kimber last week so you see what their crop yields might be – or you go through New South Wales and see they’re having a good year, for example,” he said.

“You can keep a good eye on what the grain market might do and that just gives you confidence in what you’re doing.”

Farm safety for students 95 Nelson Street, Nhill CALL 03 5391 2106

Two new educational programs for rural and regional school students will aim to change attitudes towards safety on farms from an early age.

The State Government is supporting the move with Agriculture Minister Jaclyn Symes reinforcing the government’s commitment towards reducing deaths and injuries on farms.

The government will provide $97,000 to Kidsafe Victoria to support its work preventing unintentional death and injury of children with a three-year farm-safety campaign and creative competition in primary schools.

National Centre for Farmer Health will receive a $108,500 grant to lead 20 ‘Gear up for Agriculture Health and Safety’ workshops to Victorian secondary school students who have an interest in agriculture.

Ms Symes said teaching children about farms as workplaces as well as homes was a vital part of changing attitudes, with information showing children influenced decisions their parents made, in turn improving farm safety for the whole family.

She said the grants were part of the government’s $20-million Victoria’s Smarter, Safer Farms program.

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PVC and mesh wind-on truck tarps are made to measure with quick turnaround guaranteed.

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Mesh in industry proven reinforced heavy-duty polyester for sand, soil and gravel and PVC vinyl is used for waterproof systems required for carrying sensitive loads like limestone and super phosphate.

• Worksafe approved • Council, contractors, farmers and cartage trucks all catered for.

Be it a truck or trailer, large or small, Carey Covers will custom-make a system to suit your exact requirements. There are no spillages, accidental fall-offs or blow-away with Carey Covers truck tarps. Your load is fully secure. A definite plus to meet environmental and safety requirements.

Location and contact Peter & Robert Carey 14 Ararat Road (Western Highway) Stawell Victoria 3380

CAREYCOVERS CAREYCOVER

Phone 03 5358 1937 Mobile 0400 583 021 - Peter

0400 581 937 - Robert

Email sales@careycovers.com.au Website www.careycovers.com.au Wednesday, July 29, 2020

www.theweeklyadvertiser.com.au

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Wednesday, July 29, 2020