CAPERTEE COOL BURN IGNITES INTEREST IN TRADITIONAL LAND MANAGEMENT
The Mingaan Wiradjuri Aboriginal Corporation and Capertee Valley Landcare got together for a Cool Burning workshop at Glen Davis.

















This was Central Tablelands Local Land Services’ first cool burn for 2019, and took place on ‘Gnamperi’, a property owned by Kerry Cooke and Dom Della Libera from Capertee Valley Landcare.

More than sixty people from Landcare and Aboriginal organisations attended the workshop with some travelling from as far away as Lithgow, Mudgee, Orange and Dubbo to learn more about the use of fire in land management.

Greg Ingram Indigenous Communities Officer said the aim was to educate Aboriginal community members and landholders about traditional burning methodologies and techniques.  We want to gain a better understanding on how to use fire as a cultural land management tool.  Preliminary findings from previous cool burn trials indicate fire management can be useful for increasing biodiversity, with vegetation responding well to the regime.

Central Tablelands Local Land Services carried out a cool burn on a site at Yetholme (east of Bathurst)  back in autumn 2018 with the aim of improving habitat for the rare purple copper butterfly.  Follow up monitoring at the site has found increased regeneration of bursaria spinosa, a native blackthorn bush which is the exclusive food source for the purple copper butterfly.  At the sites that were burnt the bushes now have more fresh green foliage that is more palatable for the butterfly larvae, and easier for them to climb on to when they crawl up from the ground at night to feed.  Greater numbers of copper butterfly larvae were also counted at Yetholme, suggesting that the cool burn regime is beneficial for the regeneration of bursaria plants and habitat for the purple copper butterfly.

The recent cool burn workshop at Capertee was also an opportunity to promote and share Wiradjuri culture with a ‘welcome to country’ and a smoking ceremony delivered by the Wiradjuri Astronomy group, along with a bush tucker lunch and a performance by the Woongadine traditional Wiradjuri dancers.

Central Tablelands Local Land Services organised the workshop, supported by Glen Davis Rural Fire Service volunteers. More workshops are now being planned across the Central Tablelands this winter.

YOUR ANNUAL LAND AND STOCK RETURN
It's time to start preparing your Annual Land and Stock Return.  This information helps us protect NSW against pests, diseases and environmental threats.

Even if you don’t have stock, it is still important to fill out your Annual Land and Stock Return.Your return information is also invaluable in the event of an emergency or disease outbreak.  It allows us to respond quickly and accurately to help you get back to business!

Click here to lodge your return by August 31. 

NEW GUIDELINES FOR FRESH FOOD SAFETY OUT NOW
This is important for all producers and suppliers of fresh fruit and vegetables.  The guidelines set out the procedures and steps to prevent or deal with contaminations, and covers a comprehensive list of practices and potential hazards to assist growers, packers, transporters, wholesalers and retailers along the supply chain.

Download a free copy here 

LATEST EDITION OF AGROCHEMICALS REGISTERED FOR USE IN AUSTRALIAN VITICULTURE OUT NOW.
Known as the ‘Dog book’, click on the link to download your copy.

COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRANTS ON OFFER
Grants are now available for a broad range of community initiatives.  Click on links to find out more about Tackling Tough Times Together grants and In a Good Place grants on offer.  The ANZ Seeds of Renewal Program opens on 2 July and the Purves Environmental Fund is now accepting applications from organisations with a focus on plastic pollution, biodiversity species loss, broad-scale landclearing and renewable energy and climate change advocacy.

SAVE A KOALA
We need your help understanding and conserving koalas and other local wildlife.  The State Government is running a survey that incorporates citizen science to improve our understanding of the distribution of koalas and other wildlife in NSW and how their populations have changed over time.

The information you provide will build on the findings from earlier community surveys and allow us to compare wildlife populations in 2006 and 2019. This will help pinpoint priority sites for action as part of the NSW Government's Koala Strategy.

This survey should take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete.

There's also a new website shining a spotlight on koalas and the people working to save them across the state.  Have a look and join the virtual community of koala conservationists.

BEWARE OF AFRICAN SWINE FEVER
There's been a lot of talk in the media recently about African swine fever. This disease is exotic to Australia and has been sweeping through Asia, particularly China where there have been mass mortalities and forced destocking of infected premises to control the outbreak. 

The most alarming aspect for us is that Australian Border Security Offices have detected the virus in confiscated pork.  Some of the samples also detected the foot and mouth virus. It's a good wake up call to all producers in Australia about the need to remain vigilant. Often these threats are just a conversation piece, not treated with the seriousness they deserve.

While this disease is primarily a pig disease it does test our alertness to any exotic disease incursion and the threat to all forms of animal production. Producers should not only revisit property Biosecurity measures but take a proactive stance. Producers should also consider other measures we have in place for tracing livestock movement such as accurate NVD statements. Administration is often low on everyone's list but it may be the very thing which is vital in the early detection and reduction in the spread of a disease. Remember the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline number 1800-67588 and have it saved in your phone. This can be used to report a suspected exotic disease. 

While every effort is made to protect our industries it is essential that we act as if the potential threat is only around the corner and constant vigilance is a daily management necessity. 

FREE HEALTH CHECK FOR YOUR SHEEP BREEDING STOCK
Why not take advantage of Central Tablelands Local Land Services breeding stock health check to test for a variety of diseases and mineral imbalances.  We are looking for sheep properties willing to take part in this project which will build on our local knowledge, assist in ongoing monitoring of diseases in our region and provide a regional  overview of health issues for  farmers to consider in their management approach.

The aim is to optimise the health of breeding stock and maximise production, by surveying for common ailments and infections and preventing them where possible.  Where health problems are detected we can discuss treatment and management options with the farmer involved.  

The research gathered through the program will be used to raise awareness about common livestock health issues and their implications for human and animal health.

We don’t release any of the individual results to the public, the data collected from all of the tests will be compiled into a report at the end of the program.  We’ll use this information to develop a more detailed understanding of the animal health issues affecting local landholdings.

Central Tablelands Local Land Services will pay for the tests conducted through the Ewe Health program to ensure that farmers don’t incur any costs for participation.

Farmers taking part are also asked to complete a short survey about their farm management practices to assists us in understanding our findings.

The data generated through these tests will inform discussions on the prevention, management and treatment of zoonotic disease in both livestock and humans.

Farmers interested in taking part in the Ewe Health projects, should call Local Land Services District Veterinarian Lucienne Downs 0417 043 966.

YOUR HELP NEEDED TO TEST FOR LEPTO AND SWINE BRUCELLOSIS IN FERAL PIGS
Central Tablelands Local Land Services is working on a feral pig disease surveillance project, testing for the infectious diseases leptospirosis and swine brucellosis.

Several diagnoses of swine brucellosis in dogs has raised concerns about the disease in the Central Tablelands so we're doing research to find out more about the prevalence of these diseases in the feral pig population across the region.

We’re asking any landholders who might be trapping feral pigs to assist us with this research, by letting us know at least one to two weeks before traps are set.  Our vets and biosecurity staff will, with landholder permission, then take blood samples from trapped pigs to test for the presence of leptospirosis and swine brucellosis.

Landholders who take part in the project will be sent the test results for the pigs trapped on their property.  Published results will not identify any individual landholder, but may be linked to a general location. The information collected will also provide baseline data for use in future research. For further information please contact Local Land Services District Veterinarian Nigel Gillan on 0428 710 002.

GROWING INTEREST IN THE PROTECTED CROPPING INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
The Protected Cropping Industry is experiencing a five percent annual growth with significant interest from soil based growers looking to convert to low or medium tech protected cropping.

In response to growing interest, Local Land Services contracted Applied Horticultural Research to develop six short videos designed to support new and existing growers looking at changing from soil based systems.

The videos can be watched as a series or individually.

They include technical content on:

Layout and planning
Setting up a greenhouse
Irrigation management
Nutrient management
Sanitation and cleaning the greenhouse
Pest and disease management

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable research and development levy funds and funds from the Australian Government.