Summer 2016-2017

Message from the Chair

Big yields in Winter Crop Competition

Huge yields have been a feature of the Inverell Ag Bureau’s 2016 Winter Crop Competition along with plenty of enthusiasm from the farmers who entered.

“The wheat, barley, chickpea and faba bean crops are looking fantastic. The enormous yields, around seven tonnes per hectare for the top yielding wheat and barley crops, will hopefully offset low cereal grain prices,” said Glen Uebergang, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Mixed Farming Officer.

“Chickpea and faba bean crops were also very good, which is nice to see considering the particularly high chickpea prices on offer this year.”

Glen Uebergang works closely with the Inverell Ag Bureau to organise and judge the annual crop competition, with assistance from Kevin Moore from NSW DPI in the chick pea section, and from North West Local Land Services agronomist, Bill Manning, in the faba bean category.
 
“The competition is all about the sharing of ideas and best management practices. Winning is far less important than the learning experience of seeing what everyone else is up to in the paddock.”
 
2016 Inverell Ag Bureau Winter Crop Competition winners: 

Wheat
Best Overall Point Score:  Blair Burton and Nancy McPherson
Best Agronomy:   Anderson Farming
 
Barley
Best Overall Point Score:   PG and ML Penberthy
Best Agronomy:   Kenyu Pastoral
 
Chickpeas 
Best Overall Point Score:  Dave Lafontaine T/a Fountain Trading Trust
 
Faba beans 
Best Overall Point Score:  MJ and JE Taylor
 

Focus on farming's key asset

Search is on for Bell's Turtle habitat

Bunya, the springer spaniel turtle egg detection dog has his first encounter with a Bells Turtle.  

Work on the 'Turtles Forever' Bell's Turtle recovery project has begun with ecologists trekking into the last remaining areas of Bell's turtle habitat.

Specially trained sniffer dogs will also be used to detect turtle nests. Eggs will then be protected from foxes using exclusion cages on site or incubated off site so that hatchling turtles can later be released into  the environment.

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services is keen to work with landholders willing to allow researchers to search for turtle habitat around rivers and creeks and upstream of dams and barriers.

Target areas include the Macdonald, Namoi, Gwydir, Rocky, Deepwater, and Severn rivers, and Beardy Waters. Financial incentives are available to protect habitat.

For more information about the Turtle's Forever project contact Kelly Twigge on 02 6720 8312.
 

 Ladies in Livestock

The newly launched Ladies in Livestock initiative has been welcomed with great enthusiasm by women involved in agriculture on the Northern Tablelands.

Paying close attention at a Ladies in Livestock event at Tenterden.

The Ladies in Livestock initiative aims to empower women by building their technical knowledge and confidence in the paddock and the stock yards.

“The ladies meet each month on a different property where we provide hands on practical sessions on topics such as livestock management, pastures, biosecurity, pest control, financial administration, health and safety, and the environment,” explained Local Land Services Officer, Georgie Oakes.

“If there are other women out there who would like to get involved we’d really like them to contact us so we can organise more activities for women working in agriculture,” said Georgie.

For more information contact Georgie Oakes on 0429 310 264.

Farming Together Initiative

The $14.9m Farming Together Initiative is a national two-year campaign for primary producers and processors to collaborate and claim marketplace power.

This Federal Government initiative aims to build financial and societal sustainability across Australia’s primary producers.

Visit the Farming Together website to find our more about the assistance available for product research and development for farmers who become part of a collaborative group, either as a co-operative, as a collective bargaining entity, or through a less-formal network.



 

The fencing and dam construction has been funded through the National Landcare Programme in recognition of the high conservation values identified on the Oak Park and Milkomi North reserves.

Carbeen trees on the Oak Park TSR near Yetman.

The Oak Park TSR is one of the last remnants of winged peppercress (lepidium monoplocoides) habitat. It’s estimated there are only about 6,000 winged peppercress plants remaining in just 13 wild populations in NSW and Victoria.

As well as the winged peppercress, Northern Tablelands Local Land Services has identified a range of high conservation value vegetation communities on Oak Park and Milkomi North, including weeping Myall habitat, and poplar box and carbeen woodlands.

AgriBusiness Careers and Professions program  

The AGCAP - AgriBusiness Careers and Professions program is offering a practical pathway to employment in agriculture for students in Year 10.
 
Through the program students are paid while they learn as part of a Certificate 3 school-based traineeship.
 
AGCAP students also gain advanced standing for entry to Tocal Agricultural College and the University of New England.
 
AGCAP aims to meet the needs of young people and employers in our region and is supported by Regional Development Australia – Northern Inland NSW.
 

Landholders visited the Kolora Lagoon at Bald Blair during an Upland Wetlands Field Day.

Landholders have signed up to revive more than 170 hectares of precious upland wetlands on the Northern Tablelands.

Senior Land Services Officer, Carina Johnson, says the collaboration between private landholders, Local Land Services, and Conservation Volunteers Australia will have significant benefits.

“This is great news for improving biodiversity and the restoration of these habitat gems. It will also have a beneficial effect on the countryside around these wetlands, helping to store moisture in the landscape to support increased agricultural productivity,” said Carina.

The Upland Wetlands Incentives Project has been funded through Catchment Action NSW and the National Landcare Programme and offers financial support to landholders to improve the management of native wetland vegetation and regionally significant wetlands on the Northern Tablelands.

“These small wetland and swamp patches were once part of far more extensive wetlands in the landscape and are particularly important as a refuge for native species during periods of drought.”

For more information contact Carina Johnson on 02 6770 2000.

Biosecurity Officer, Eden Sutherland, at the Atholwood Producer Field Day at Stanhope hosted by Local Land Services with kind assistance from the Atholwood Wild Dog Association and the CWA. Topics included NLIS requirements, animal health and the impact of noxious plants on livestock.

We're experiencing a bumper season and there are a lot of valuable new calves and lambs in the paddocks, but these bright prospects could all be undone without an effective vaccination program in place.

A five in one vaccination program is the starting point for an ongoing effective program to prevent disease and stock losses in calves, while a six in one vaccine is recommended for sheep as it provides additional protection against CLA (caseous lymphadenitis) or cheesy gland, which causes subcutaneous and internal abscesses in sheep that can lead to condemnation of the carcass and mortality in older sheep.

For both lambs and calves two injections are required at least four to six weeks apart.

Critically, vaccines need to be handled correctly to ensure their effectiveness. Vaccines are kept under refrigeration by retailers and it is essential to avoid exposure to heat and sunlight right up to the point of injection. 

It’s advisable not to buy more vaccine than you need for each season and to discard any remaining product at the end of the job. Left over vaccine is unlikely to maintain its effectiveness after a day in the yards. The most expensive vaccination is one that doesn’t work.
 
Contact your Northern Tablelands Local Land Services District Veterinarian for more information about effective vaccination programs and disease risk in livestock.  

Local Land Services has been working with NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and local Aboriginal seed collectors on a unique project aimed at preserving the endangered Boliva Wattle (Acacia pycnostachya).

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Seedbank Manager, Ivan Lackay, is passionate about the survival of the Bolivia Wattle which grows only in this region.
 
Ivan and local Aboriginal contractors have been gathering Bolivia Wattle seed, for use in revegetation work following an RMS road upgrade on Bolivia Hill between Tenterfield and Glen Innes.  
 
“The Bolivia Wattle is unique to this region. This is the only population of this particular wattle in Australia,” said Ivan.
 
“The Inverell Aboriginal Men’s Group participated in a professional seed collecting course in 2015 and we have now contracted the group to work with us on this project.”
 
“This sort of species insurance is essential to the longevity of an iconic species like the Bolivia Wattle and the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services Seedbank is ideal for storing and protecting this valuable seed. It has also enabled these young Aboriginal men to get back on country and practice traditional land management,” said Ivan.

The Northern Tablelands Local Land Services office at 8 Evans Street has relocated to 15 Vivian Street, Inverell.

If you prefer to visit our office in person to seek advice, pay rates, lodge your Annual Land & Stock Return or arrange your on-farm baiting program, visit us at 15 Vivian Street.

All services previously available at 8 Evans Street are now available from the Northern Tablelands Local Land Services office in Vivian Street.

We are very happy to help you with any enquiries you may have and look forward to seeing you at our Vivian Street office. 
 

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services 

     Agriculture Environment People

Here When It Matters