• Gemma Turnbull — Team Leader based in Bourke
• Tanisha Shields — Senior Land Services Officer based in Balranald
• Claudia Bryant — Land Services Officer based in Broken Hill
• Luke Stacey — Senior Land Services Officer based in Buronga
• Max Brownlow — Senior Field Officer based in Broken Hill

Managing ewes and pastures leading into summer (webinar)

 

Join us for a webinar with the highly regarded Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions. 

When: Wednesday, 27 October (6-7 pm AEDT)
Register: Click here to register

Geoff will cover off on a number of topics in the webinar, including: 

•  feed values — what are they now
• ewe requirements — how to achieve the best joining result 
• strategies — meeting ewe requirements 

Please submit any questions you'd like answered by Geoff prior to the webinar. If you are unable to attend the event live, please still register and you will be emailed a recording of the webinar. Contact Max for more info. 

NLIS for rangeland goats

 

With significant interest in the goat industry at present, there has been an increase in enquiry around the NLIS requirements for rangeland goats. There is a tagging exemption in place for unmanaged rangeland goats that are being moved from the property on which they were captured to an abattoir for slaughter, either directly or via a goat depot. The exemption recognises the difficulties associated with handling unmanaged or wild harvest goats and determining their property of birth.

The questions that are often asked are in regard to unmanaged vs managed goats. Rangeland goats that are being managed do not qualify for the exemption and need to be tagged prior to movement or sale. Goats are no longer considered unmanaged or wild if they are:

• captured goats that have been marked, ear marked, tagged, joined or treated with any veterinary medicine, drench or other chemical
• domestic goats that have been bred in captivity and subsequently escaped or released.

Movement of all goats, regardless of whether they are managed or unmanaged, must be accompanied by an approved movement document and transferred on the NLIS database.

Click here to visit the NSW DPI website for more information. 

Looking at pastures — Buffel grass

 

Buffel grass (cenchrus ciliaris) is an introduced perennial grass. It is a vigorous and tussocky grass with low lying stems that bend upwards at the nodes. It has cylindrical seed heads that are often purple in colour.

Buffel grass is widespread across Australia due to low cost of seed resulting in aerial distribution and sowing as pasture in all states. It is, however, considered a weed in some states of Australia.  

Buffel grass is a valued species due to its summer growth, its vigorous growth, drought tolerance and ability to respond quickly after rainfall. It can be useful as a fast growing colonising species in areas at risk of erosion, being a perennial species and as a feed source when green and growing.

Despite these benefits it is not a highly desirable species in the Western region due to its lower feed value in lower rainfall areas and negative interactions with desirable native species.

Buffel grass is sown for hay and pasture in higher rainfall areas, but in low rainfall zones its palatability is moderate to low depending on growth stage. Buffel grasses are also likely to out compete native grasses due to their vigour, less preferred by sheep, providing a flammable ground layer that results in hotter fires and producing a chemical that can deter establishment of other more desirable species.

Due to its invasive nature the introduction of Buffel grass is only appropriate in some certain circumstances and managing to improve native pastures should be the priority. When managing areas with Buffel grass, it is best to graze when it is growing to utilise the feed before going dry and unpalatable, reduce potential fire risk and give other species a chance for recovery and competition.

For more information on managing pastures please contact a member of the Ag team or attend a Tactical Grazing Management workshop. Click here to view further information on Buffel grass on the NSW DPI website.
                                   

Mice monitoring tool to help keep farmers one step ahead

 

The NSW Government has launched an innovative new monitoring tool to both help farmers manage mice populations and provide a live snapshot of on-farm activity across the state. 

Farmers are asked to use mouse chew cards once a week and record their results by filling out a quick online form, with the results then fed into an online dashboard so farmers can see when populations are increasing in their area, which will help them respond quickly with targeted baiting programs. 

Click here to view the monitoring tool and instructions on how to report your mouse activity, via the LLS website.

The monitoring tool has been successfully trialled in the state's northwest since July and was developed in collaboration with CottonInfo and the CSIRO. Pictured below is a screenshot of the mice monitoring tool. 

Animal health — Farm biosecurity action plan

 

Biosecurity is everyone’s business as pests and disease can have a long-term impact on the profitability of all primary industries. Effective on-farm biosecurity planning will help to reduce the likelihood and consequence of disease incidents, ultimately improving the profitability and efficiency of production and thus allowing producers to attract market premiums.

In the words of one of our District Veterinarians, Zi Yi Lim — "on-farm biosecurity is the cornerstone of animal disease prevention. A little planning now can save a lot of trouble later." 

The farm biosecurity action planner helps landholders to identify and prioritise the implementation of biosecurity practices relevant to their property. It is a practical way of showing how you are preventing the introduction of pests, disease, weeds and contaminants to, around and from your property.

The farm biosecurity plan helps landholders identify and prioritise the implementation of biosecurity essentials relevant to their property. These factors included:

• farm inputs
• farm outputs
• people, vehicles and equipment
• production practices
• pests and weeds
• train, plan and record.

The plan allows landholders to assess all potential biosecurity risks, as well the available actions to reduce these risks. If you need help with your plan or have any questions about on-farm biosecurity, please contact a member of the Ag team.                     

Know your cactus — Common Prickly Pear

 

What is it?

Forming part of the Cactaceae family, Opuntia stricta, or the Common Prickly Pear, is one of the greatest biological invasions of modern times. The shrubby, sprawling to erect, evergreen cactus can grow up to two meters tall with yellow flowers and pear-shaped fruits.

Originating in the South Americas, the first plant was brought to Australia in 1788 to be used for natural agricultural fencing and to establish a cochineal dye industry.

Why is it a problem?

By 1925, the Common Prickly Pear had infested 25 million hectares of NSW and Queensland country, rendering a lot of this land useless for production. The fruits are eaten by various animals and birds, which then spread the seeds through their droppings. Stem segments are spread via animals, footwear, vehicles, floodwaters and in dumped garden waste.

This weed forms dense thickets that can hinder livestock and wildlife access to water and pasture, harbour pest-animals, play host to the fruit-fly and deter the growth and regeneration of smaller native shrubs and ground flora.

What to do?

This weed is found in all states of Australia and is thus classified as a Weed of National Significance. It must be controlled, eliminated and minimised under the Biosecurity Act 2015 due to the threat that it imposes on the natural environment.

This weed can be controlled via the release of biocontrol agents (cochineal), by digging then burning or burying, or by using a registered herbicide.  

For more information on the use of cochineal as a biocontrol agent, or to discuss other possible options for controlling this weed on your property, please contact a member of the Ag team. Further information is also available via: 

• NSW DPI website
• Overview on Common Prickly Pear, Olivia Mosse 

       

Drought Resilience Leaders Program

 

The Future Drought Fund’s Drought Resilience Leaders Program is about generating a cohort of leaders and mentors to drive action in their community to get better prepared for inevitable future droughts. The program gives farmers and regional communities opportunities to gain knowledge and skills through training and mentoring programs, and leadership development.

The program’s delivery partner, the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation (ARLF), will deliver leadership development in a total of 12 regions. The seven additional regions opening for applications to participate in leadership development are:

• Western NSW
• Northern Wheatbelt, WA
• Gascoyne Murchison, WA
• Mallee, Vic
• South-West Qld
• Eyre Peninsula, SA
• Murraylands, SA.

Interested young and emerging leaders across these regions are encouraged to apply directly to ARLF to participate. Click here to visit the ARLF website for further information, including eligibility criteria.

Click here to visit the Future Drought Fund webpage for more information about drought resilience leaders and other programs.

Technology in Ag — Software, Geo GLAM

 

The “Group on Earth Observations and its Global Agricultural Monitoring” (GEOGLAM) initiative is bringing together space agencies, existing associated institutional frameworks, in-situ networks, rangeland ecologists and the pasture productivity modelling community.

This initiative aims to establish a dedicated global system for observing the condition of pastures and rangeland status and estimating biomass dynamics and productivity.

GEOGLAM Rangeland and Pasture Productivity (RAPP) Map is an online spatial data platform that provides the global community with the means to regularly monitor the world’s pasture and rangelands and to assess their capacity for sustainable livestock production in real-time, at global, regional and national levels.
The RAPP map includes global time-series data of vegetation and environmental condition including vegetation fractional cover and NDVI. GEOGLAM is currently working on adding the following layers to its map:

• global rangeland biomass
• vegetation cover for selected regions at 30-meter resolution
• conservation areas
• tree density and cover.

For a better understanding of the ways this online tool can help your business, please visit the following site or contact a member of the Ag team.  

In case you missed it

Until next time...

• Gemma — (02) 6870 8632 and gemma.turnbull@lls.nsw.gov.au
• Tanisha — 0447 642 131 and tanisha.shields@lls.nsw.gov.au
• Claudia — 0448 796 109 and claudia.bryant@lls.nsw.gov.au
• Luke — 0419 518 307 and luke.stacey@lls.nsw.gov.au
• Max — 0408 241 200 and max.brownlow@lls.nsw.gov.au