Pastures are looking fairly lush around Grenfell with winter crops in and some recent rainfall. However, with high-producing pastures comes an increased risk of enterotoxaemia, colloquially called pulpy kidney.
Pulpy kidney is caused by a bacteria, Clostridium perfringens, which is a normal inhabitant of sheep, cattle, and goat intestines. Under certain conditions, such as a sudden intake of high-energy feed, the bacteria proliferates and produces a toxin that can cause severe disease and sudden death.
Livestock of all ages are vulnerable, however, young animals such as weaners are most at risk. The largest, best-conditioned animals tend to be most affected, resulting in significant economic loss during an outbreak.
Fortunately, pulpy kidney can easily be prevented by vaccination with a 5-in-1 clostridial vaccine that is available from local agriculture stores and veterinary clinics.
If you have concerns about the health of your livestock, please contact
your nearest Local Land Services office on 1300 795 299.
Pests & weeds
Feral pigs on your property? Watch our video series now
Feral pigs are a wrecking ball of environmental, agricultural production, livestock and fencing damage as well as being a significant biosecurity risk. That’s why we’ve developed a new video series about all things practical feral pig management.
From the types of grain to use, to trap designs, to what free feeding actually means and more, this video series covers all the essentials you need to reduce feral pig numbers on your property.
You'll also hear from landholders across the state about what’s been working for them in their feral pig programs.
Sticky nightshade (Solanum sisymbriifolium) is a fast mover...it can flower within five weeks from sprouting.
Found mostly in Western Sydney and the Central Tablelands, it has also been spotted in our region as well as the South East, Hunter, Mid North Coast and Riverina.
Sticky nightshade is an invasive plant that:
• competes with crops and pastures
• prevents native plants from growing
• has sharp prickles which can injure people, pets, livestock and native animals
• can make harvesting difficult.
Interested in hosting a healthy farm dam workshop?
Are you looking to improve water quality, enhance biodiversity, and improve the health of your livestock?
If so, we invite you to consider hosting a Healthy Farm Dams Workshop on your property. These workshops offer a unique opportunity to learn about cost-effective practices that can transform your farm's water sources into ecosystems that benefit both your livestock and the environment.
Our workshop presenter, Alison Elvin, brings a wealth of knowledge from both current research and a lifetime of practical experience in agriculture and natural resource management.
Additionally, a Local Land Services Veterinarian will provide valuable insights into animal health in relation to water quality, focusing on issues such as liver fluke and worm burdens in grazing stock.
Two workshops are scheduled to take place in the Central West region. If you're interested in hosting one on your property, please contact Libby McIntyre via the button below, or call 0429 019 309.
We are also seeking land managers interested in hosting and attending soil workshops across the rangeland zones in our region.
Our Soil and Land Project will deliver soil health workshops to land managers to develop an improved understanding of the basic principles of soil. Attendees will develop skills in sampling soils and interpreting soil test results and general impacts of land management on soil health. Three types of practical workshops are available to host and attend:
Erosion control Identify different types of erosion, causes and common management techniques with demonstrations.
Soil pits and kits Learn about overall soil health, sampling and interpreting test results.
Salinity management Identify different types of salinity, causes and common management techniques.
Landholders that attend the workshops may have the opportunity to develop a demonstration site on their property.
If you're interested in hosting one on your property, please contact Jasmine Wells via the button below, or call 0417 488 496.
With winter in full swing, now's the time for producers to get out in the paddock and assess how much feed is currently available. This short video steps you through how to take pasture cuts and determine how much feed is on offer in your paddock right now.
Click above to learn how to calculate how much feed you have and how to budget to ensure you can meet the nutritional requirements of your livestock.
Getting the jump on sheep genetics
With ram sales coming up in September, it is important for sheep producers to appreciate the value of genetics to their breeding flock.
Genetics plays a crucial role in determining the productivity, adaptability, and overall quality of the flock. Selecting and breeding for desirable traits can lead to permanent, cumulative improvements in wool quality, meat production, pest and disease resistance and reproductive performance.
Getting the most out of genetics requires setting a breeding objective which is the first step to take when considering ram purchases. A breeding objective outlines the specific goals and priorities wanting to be achieved through the breeding program. It’s a description of where you hope to see your flock production and traits in the future. Having a breeding objective sets a long-term breeding goal for you to work towards.
Understanding and benchmarking your flock’s current performance will give a baseline to compare the difference in 5 – 10 years’ time with genetic selection. This can be created with results from wool sales, abattoir feedback or store sheep sales.
The next step to progressing towards a breeding objective is understanding Australian Sheep Breeding Values (ASBVs) and selection indexes. An ASBV is an estimate of the genetic potential a sheep will pass onto its progeny. The values are calculated from pedigree records, measurements, and genetic evaluations from each animal. ASBVs allow producers to compare animals within a breed and make more accurate decisions with regard to joining, identifying superior individuals for breeding, and strategically improving specific traits.
Selection indexes combine multiple ASBVs into a single overall value, reflecting the economic value of different traits within a breeding objective. This allows producers to simultaneously consider multiple traits and their economic importance as well as balance conflicting selection goals.
When buying rams, it’s important to not rely solely on ASBVs/selection index data but also carefully assess each ram to check his structural soundness. Prior to a sale read the ram catalogue and rank the rams based on the value of your chosen index. Consider the individual ASBVs which are important to your breeding objective and create a short list of rams to inspect on the day. On the day make sure you visually inspect the rams you’re interested in and stick to your breeding objective!.
TSRs
Do you want to use a TSR? Have you got a permit?
With conditions drying off in some parts of the Central West Local Land Services region, there has been an increase in our community utilising Travelling Stock Reserves (TSRs) for many purposes.
TSRs are gazetted for several uses, these include grazing livestock, recreation, Indigenous and European culture, and biodiversity conservation.
There are restricted uses of TSRs, including camping, usage of water resources, timber removal and firewood collection, motorbike and four-wheel drive use, installation of fences and use of mechanical equipment. Restrictions have been designed to protect the integrity of TSRs so they can continue to be used for their intended purposes, and provide benefits to our community.
To undertake an activity on a TSR, it is a legal requirement to have a permit. Have you got a permit?
Top Fodder - successful silage making: 3-day workshop
Dubbo, 29 - 30 Aug and 4 Sept
Join us for a 3-day workshop to learn the ins and outs of successful making and feeding of silage. Top Fodder is delivered by Neil Griffiths, former NSW DPI Pasture Production Technical Specialist and Top Fodder Silage Coordinator. More information.
Spring pasture updates
Wellington, 3 Oct
Grenfell, 4 Oct
Come and see our pasture demonstration sites with some of the latest pasture varieties and hear from NSW DPI’s Richard Hayes and Mathew Newell on up-to-date pasture research. We'll also take a field walk to see 45 varieties of grasses including medics, clovers, herbs, lucerne and hard-seeded legumes. 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.
Our mailing address is:
PO Box 1048, Dubbo NSW 2830
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
If so, we invite you to consider hosting a Healthy Farm Dams Workshop on your property. These workshops offer a unique opportunity to learn about cost-effective practices that can transform your farm's water sources into ecosystems that benefit both your livestock and the environment.
We are also seeking land managers interested in hosting and attending soil workshops across the rangeland zones in our region.
