As flood waters recede in and around the Central Tablelands, the Agricultural and Animal Services Functional Area (AASFA) continue working with landholders, local council, contractors and other government agencies to locate and safely rehome displaced or straying livestock.
Due to the sheer scale of these floods, and the damage to infrastructure, flood recovery may be slow. It may take many days or weeks to locate and rehome livestock.
You can help by calling the Agriculture and Animal Services hotline on 1800 814 647 to report any lost, found, or injured stock between 8am and 8pm every day or email aasfa@emergency.dpi.nsw.gov.au.
The Agriculture and Animal Services hotline operates from 8am-8pm, 7 days a week.
Have you been impacted by flooding, need assistance with emergency fodder or have stranded or injured livestock? Emergency support is available by calling the AASFA hotline including animal assessment, veterinary advice, and coordination of disposal of deceased animals. You can contact the Ag and Animal Services Hotline on 1800 814 647 between 8am and 8pm every day or email aasfa@emergency.dpi.nsw.gov.au
If you have damage to your property, you can now report it online via the Primary industries natural disaster damage survey. The survey allows you to record crop, animal, or infrastructure damage and losses, or to upload photographs to show the severity of damage in your area.
Vets in flood-impacted areas are seeing an array of animal health and welfare issues including lameness, bloat, pneumonia and infections. Call your district vet if you see any illness in your animals.
Japanese Encephalitis is a mosquito borne disease that causes significant reproductive disease in pigs, with up to 100% still-born or mummified piglets. It may also cause neurological signs in young (<6 month old) piglets.
Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) is transmitted by mosquitoes, so controlling mosquitoes on your property is an effective way to minimise the risk. JEV can also cause severe neurological disease in humans - consult with your doctor or NSW Health for more information on vaccinations for people working with pigs.
An updated version of the Integrated Mosquito Management Principles for Piggeries is now available, along with a suite of other resources on the Farm Biosecurity website. These resources will support you to manage mosquitoes and the risk of Japanese Encephalitis on your property.
If you suspect your piggery may have Japanese Encephalitis or for more information, contact your local vet or nearest Local Land Services office on 1300 795 299.
Australia’s animal biosecurity surveillance network – we all have a role to play
Many producers will be familiar with the role our District Vets play in investigating animal health issues such as sudden deaths, abortions, and lameness. What you may be less familiar with is how these farm visits contribute to the greater surveillance network that helps keep our export markets open and our “clean, green” image intact.
When we come out to your farm to investigate a disease, we are always vigilant for emergency, exotic and notifiable diseases. Fortunately, we rarely find them and can focus on diagnosing and managing the disease affecting your animals. Every time we obtain a negative test result we are proving we don’t have these diseases in Australia.
Our favourable animal health status underpins the ‘clean, green’ image of our animal industries and this supports our competitive advantage in international markets. However, our valuable trading partners and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) are continually calling for more robust evidence to support our freedom from disease claims.
Australia is currently free of several significant emergency animal diseases (EADs) including African swine fever, African horse sickness, lumpy skin disease (LSD), foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry. However, many of these exotic animal diseases have been increasing in incidence and/or geographical distribution towards Australia’s borders over the past three years. The recent arrival of both LSD and FMD in Indonesia is just one example of this.
The introduction of any of these exotic diseases would have significant socio-economic consequences for our community.
The surveillance our District Vets carry out when visiting your farm provides evidence to support the EAD ‘free’ status of NSW and Australia which in turn gives confidence to our export partners. This surveillance is also the main tool to support early and rapid detection of emergency animal diseases if they were to get into the country.
Clostridial bacteria are commonly found in the environment, in soil and faeces and in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy animals. Their spores can survive in the environment for long periods. When there is any risk of clostridial diseases, clostridial vaccination is extremely cost-effective and worthwhile.
Other vaccinations for sheep:
Ovine Johne’s disease (OJD) causes significant production loss. There is often no sign for the first few years hence why it is referred to as a ‘silent but costly disease’. It has a long incubation period so by the time OJD is identified it is generally well established. The current vaccine (Gudair®) provides good protection against sheep developing OJD, and further assists in control by reducing shedding of OJD organisms for any infected sheep.
Scabby mouth disease causes painful lesions around the mouth, lips, eyes, nose and occasionally feet and teats of affected sheep that can cause significant production loss and possibly death. Scabby mouth is a zoonotic disease (humans can catch it) so care must be taken when handling infected animals or using the live vaccine. Scabby mouth vaccine (Scabigard®) is a live vaccine administered via scratching the bare skin and is only given once. A small line of pustules form along the scratch line, which then encrusts, scabs and falls off. This vaccine would be considered in certain circumstances if there is a history of scabby mouth on the property.
Campylobacter is a common cause of late term abortion in ewes sometimes causing abortion storms. In many cases an issue is only detected due to low marking percentages. Campylobacter vaccination (Campyvax®) protects against abortions caused by campylobacter and may increase lambing percentage by decreasing foetal losses.
Erysipelas is a cause of arthritis in lambs and young weaned sheep. It can result in significant wastage as affected animals are generally not saleable. As Erysipelas arthritis is mostly a problem in young lambs protection is best provided by pre-lambing vaccination of ewes in order to protect lambs via antibodies in the colostrum following birth and up until marking.
If you have any questions regarding designing a vaccination program for your sheep flock, please contact your Local Land Services District Veterinarian or private veterinarian for advice specific to your circumstances.
If you have concerns about the health of your livestock, please contact
your nearest Local Land Services office on 1300 795 299.
Thank you to everyone who gave their feedback on the regional strategic weed management plans. The plans were downloaded by more than 1000 people and we are now busy collating and reviewing all of the feedback received. Feedback will be considered in finalising the plans which are set to be released early next year.
In the Central Tablelands we will be reviewing the listing of our eradication priority species based on the comments received through the public consultation. This will be a great opportunity to ensure that in the Central Tablelands we set regional priority weed lists that are meaningful. It was also identified that we need to develop stronger programs to support the management of local and more widespread weeds to complement our efforts on management of priority weed species.
Water lettuce is a highly invasive water weed which is very likely to move from Queensland down the Darling Barka River systems with the current prolonged flood event.
Water lettuce grows quickly, blocking waterways and smothering native plants. It causes:
• poor water quality
• blocked irrigation equipment
• problems for boating, fishing and water activities
• less food and habitat for fish and other water life
• more habitat for mosquitos.
Rivers, billabongs, wetlands, lakes, reservoirs and slow-moving streams are most affected. It is most invasive in northern NSW.
Water lettuce looks like an open head of lettuce floating on the water. It’s roots hang in the water and do not attach to the bottom. If you think you have seen this plant in the Macquarie or Lachlan Rivers or their tributaries, please notify the NSW DPI Biosecurity Helpline on 1800 680 244.
Natural Resource Management
2022-23 Environmental Innovation & Sustainability Award
Central Tablelands Local Land Services is seeking nominations for people in your district who you know to be displaying best practice management in environmental sustainability and innovation.
In its first year, this Environmental Innovation and Sustainability award will assist Local Land Services to recognise landholders in the Central Tablelands who have been managing their land in an environmentally sustainable manner and can provide learnings for other landholders about how they can implement these practices.
We’re looking for nominations of people who have introduced practices on their property that assist with biodiversity conservation. Visit the website for more information, or to cast your vote.
The Jack’s Creek Travelling Stock Reserve (TSR) is a Box Gum Grassy Woodland site that has suffered from erosion and subsequently creek line incision. This has been caused by historical land clearing and over-grazing.
Central Tablelands LLS have invested some much-needed funds into this TSR by planting 300 native trees, shrubs and grasses. The expectation is that the native species will outcompete the invasive species that have taken over the site and to provide habitat for species that rely on a box gum grassy woodland system. This will also continue connectivity of the existing box gum woodland along the creek. The added benefit of the planting will be to stabilise the erosive banks of the creek which will ensure cleaner water flowing into the Belubula River.
LLS are currently working with landholders adjoining TSR’s containing high quality Box Gum Grassy Woodlands to buffer sites and improve connectivity across the landscape through native revegetation initiatives.
Booroolong Frog Release
The Booroolong Frog is a nationally endangered species with known populations in the Sewell’s Creek catchment area. The LAMP (local area management plan) aims to secure the species and its habitat at a local scale with voluntary participation in land management to work towards this goal.
The LAMP release was held at Mayfield Garden on Friday 14th October with an attendance of around 40 people, including some very young budding land managers and conservationists!
David Coote and Rachel Melrose from the Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) have been researching and monitoring the frog for many years and were able to show the decline in numbers over time and attribute it to land management practices, chytrid fungus and extremes of weather (e.g. flood and drought).
Attendees were taught about how to spot a Booroolong and many land managers were keen on having Dave and Rachel come to their properties to undertake some surveys.
Casey Proctor from Local Land Services has been working on the Save our Species (SoS) Booroolong Frog project for the past 7 years and discussed with the room the recommended land management strategies to improve habitat quality for the frog by undertaking simple things such as willow control to reduce sediment build up or ensuring rock availability for habitat.
Overall, the day was a big success with many landholders interested in forming a group to work with the LAMP going forward and many were also interested in joining Dave and Rachel on their Booroolong surveys. The first working group will go ahead in December and LLS will be holding future workshops around the management of riparian zones.
It's Frog ID week and it's not too late to take part.
Pull on your gum boots and contribute to frog research by recording any frog calls using the FrogID app.
Every recording of ‘croaks’, ‘cricks’, ‘bonks’ will contribute to our annual ‘audioshot’ of frogs calling across Australia, helping measure the health of our frogs and our environment.
If you haven't already, download the FrogID app, tell your friends and family, and get ready to take part in Australia's biggest frog count.
Koala breeding season is upon us, and we are asking people living or passing through the Central Tablelands region including Copperhania Nature Reserve or Roseberg and Pennsylvania State Forests to report any sightings of koalas!
In conjunction with Forestry Corporation of NSW we are undertaking monitoring of koala numbers, distribution and habitat to assist us with long term koala conservation strategies.
Many producers in the Central Tablelands reported lamb losses this past season, especially over the winter months. Even when all other possible factors are controlled, such as predators, ewe condition and ample, high-quality pasture is available, cold weather can undo all the good work.
Next year Gordon Refshauge, a research scientist with NSW DPI, Cowra, is looking for producers to engage in a research study examining the effect of grain and forage crops height on lamb survival.
The survival of lambs is affected by many variables, but cold weather during late autumn to early spring makes twin and triplet lambs especially vulnerable to exposure in areas with a high risk of chill. The only way to reduce the effect of cold exposure is wind speed reduction. Shelter from cold weather or lambs can provided through paddock topography, trees, other vegetation, or artificial structures.
A solution to this problem is to create shelter using grain and forage crops. The adoption of dual-purpose crops has been rapid and widespread in NSW, but more could be done to utilise their rapid winter growth and high-quality nutrition. Questions need to be answered about how to incorporate grain and forage crops as edible feeds into lambing paddocks without creating monocultures, without being too expensive or affect the cropping rotation. Producers are being sought who will lamb ewes on canola, barley or mixed species forage crops.
An ongoing shearer and wool handler shortage has left many wool growers in the Central Tablelands desperate to find workers. To find out more about the issues facing shearers in the Central Tablelands, Claudia Macleay caught up with Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) shearing instructor Josh Clayton, who has been working in the industry for 25 years.
Workplace safety and workplace facilities are some of the main areas to consider if you want to improve your property to improve shearer retention:
• Individual shearing plants that included an automatic safety off switch, so that in the event of an emergency shearers can quickly and safely turn the machines off.
• Having basic access to hand washing facilities is important for health reasons, especially so workers can wash their hands before meals.
• Another basic facility are toilets, remembering that it’s not just men working in sheds anymore, more and more women are working in the industry.
Another aspect that is often forgotten is of the suitability of the shed for the sheep. Josh says that sheep have been bred to be larger than what they were 100 years ago; "If you’re going to breed larger sheep, you need to consider that the chutes for shorn sheep will also need to be made larger”.
We are likely going to head into a few more wet months. Long grass in pastures tends to keep the belly and legs of the sheep wet. If you have a paddock with shorter grass it is a good idea to place sheep into these paddocks before shearing to help the underside of the sheep dry out a little more.
Finally, inspect your shearing sheds. The AWI produces the SafeSheds, The Shearing Shed Safety Program which provides a details guide on shearing shed safety as well as a checklist that can be used to assess shearing sheds to improve their safety for both the people and sheep.
Farming Forward Project launched
We recently launched our Farming Forward Project involving a series of events and activities across Local Land Services regions over the next two years covering drought planning and preparation, understanding and managing soils and livestock production requirements.
Soil management
Soil testing programs and soil health workshops will build knowledge and understanding in interpreting soil testing data, soil capabilities and other key soil constraints including soil moisture to allow producers to adapt and implement management strategies that increase productivity and sustainability.
Livestock production
Through the delivery of PROGRAZE™ and Tactical Grazing Management courses, we will assist livestock producers to improve their knowledge of animal nutrition requirements at different ages and stages of production. Producers will also improve their capacity to assess pasture/feed availability and match these requirements to increase productivity.
Drought planning and preparedness
Drought planning and preparedness events will help landholders to be proactive in planning, decision-making and undertaking priority activities to improve resilience. Events may include developing drought plans, calculating carrying capacity, managing fodder and water, maintaining groundcover and stock management areas (also known as confinement feeding).
By coordinating our service delivery in these three key areas across all Local Land Services regions, we can be even better placed to help landholders make informed decisions to improve their farm businesses.
We will continue to deliver other local targeted extension and advisory services as required whilst focusing on the Farming Forward Project throughout 2022/23.
Booroolong Frog Camp meeting, O'Connell. December 1
Join us to learn more about protecting the endangered Booroolong frog – once common throughout the NSW tablelands now only found in small populations in key catchments – through riparian land management practices. More information.
Stream Management Workshop, O'Connell. December 1
A general overview about biodiversity conservation, weed and pasture management, cultural heritage awareness, water regulations and best practise stream management for landholders. Find out more here.
Pasture Plant ID Walk & Workshop. December 2
Join us to learn about common pasture plants growing in the Lithgow and Mudgee area. We will look at the features on local grasses, clovers and broad leaf weeds in paddocks this year, focusing on native grasses. More information.
Soil Probe & Tropical Pasture Walk. December 6
Learn more about the soil probe located in a tropical pasture at Gulgong. Hear about soil temperature and moisture, and how it relates to pasture growth. Inspect a tropical pasture and see how local surveys relate to the most recent research. More information.
Speak My Language - The Regent's Rest Area, Capertee. December 9
The area of Capertee has unique biodiversity values and is important habitat for the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. To raise awareness of the species we have been working on a novel project, including a mural and soundscape at the Capertee Rest Area. More information.
Drone Workshop, Appletree Flat. December 27
Are you curious about drones and how you can benefit by utilising this technology on your farm? We are offering a half day drone workshop in conjunction with Watershed Landcare and DATA SENSE Technology. The workshop will fly you through the benefits and efficiencies of drone technology. More information.
PLEASE CHECK BEFORE PUBLISHING
Should you wish to use any articles from this newsletter for external publications please contact us first to discuss your idea. Thank you kindly.
Local Land Services acknowledges that it stands on Country
which always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land and waters,
and we show our respect for Elders past, present and emerging.
The information contained in this publication is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. However, because of advances in knowledge, users are reminded of the need to ensure that the information upon which they rely is up to date and to check the currency of the information with the appropriate officer of Local Land Services or the user’s independent adviser. For updates go to www.lls.nsw.gov.au
The Jack’s Creek Travelling Stock Reserve (TSR) is a Box Gum Grassy Woodland site that has suffered from erosion and subsequently creek line incision. This has been caused by historical land clearing and over-grazing.
The Booroolong Frog is a nationally endangered species with known populations in the Sewell’s Creek catchment area. The LAMP (local area management plan) aims to secure the species and its habitat at a local scale with voluntary participation in land management to work towards this goal.
Koala breeding season is upon us, and we are asking people living or passing through the Central Tablelands region including Copperhania Nature Reserve or Roseberg and Pennsylvania State Forests to report any sightings of koalas!
