Your strong and independent voice for livestock producers.
Livestock SA is conducting this survey of South Australian livestock producers to gauge their views on issues in the industry.
The following survey is confidential and can be anonymous.
It only takes 5 minutes to complete and it will help Livestock SA to better advocate for producers and develop policy and submissions on your behalf.
You could also be in the running to win a $500 fuel voucher!
The Agricultural Bureau of South Australia has opened its 2020 Spirit of Excellence in Agriculture Awards, which offer young farmers and rural youth the opportunity to pursue personal and professional development to ultimately benefit their local communities.
Applications are now being accepted for the following awards:
Application forms can be downloaded from the Agricultural Bureau of SA website at www.agbureau.com.au/awards.
Entries close 5pm Wednesday 30th September 2020.
Award winners will be presented at the Ag Bureau’s Spirit of Excellence Awards Dinner on Friday, 23rd October 2020
Cattle Council 2020 Yearbook out now!
Cattle Council’s 2020 Yearbook has been published and has been mailed out to all Cattle Council members and key stakeholders.
Where broadacre producers have properties next to more intensive agricultural and horticultural pursuits and residential or industrial areas, there is always the concern regarding spray drift.
The proposed policy document ‘Valuation of Land Affected by Spray Drift’ refers to the need for a ‘buffer zone’ relating to an area to be left fallow between a spraying area and neighbouring areas to mitigate the impact of spray drift. Consideration needs to be given to how to assess this buffer zone and how to assess its lower value for the landowner.
The ‘Valuation of Farming Land Adjoining Sensitive Land Uses Directive’ policy should work in conjunction with the ‘Valuation of Land Affected by Spray Drift’ policy as each document is dealing with different land parcels.
If we are to protect and grow existing broadacre agriculture and to avoid conflict with other agricultural pursuits, there needs to be policies ensuring the landowner is responsible.
The suggested changes to the Agricultural Census, recommended by the Australian Bureau of Statistics will results in no reporting for the split between the number of pure Merino lambs marked versus all other breeds, the number of ewes mated to produce lambs marked to Merino rams versus all other rams and the split between the number of pure Merino breeding ewes versus all other breeds. From a wool perspective, it is vital to the industry to determine the breeds that are being produced. Knowing the split between breeds helps producers and industry bodies to determine the growth of the industry in each sector. From a livestock perspective, it is extremely important to have information on differing classes of livestock and the differing breeds within a stock class. The changes that are proposed will not provide sufficient differentiation between differing sheep breeds within the broad category of lamb.
For the best representation of all pastoralists in the SA Parliament, Livestock SA believes that pastoralists should all be in the one electorate with Port Augusta also in the same electorate.
Board Member Gillian Fennell presented at a hearing in Port Augusta on June 24, highlighting that most pastoralists did business in Port Augusta, not Whyalla, and so aligning pastoralists with Whyalla did not make sense.
Australia’s new blueprint for humane, best practice wild dog management officially takes effect from 1 July 2020.
Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud praised the way government and industry stakeholders collaborated on the new National Wild Dog Action Plan.
“Wild dogs are terribly destructive pests, costing farmers conservatively upwards of $89 million a year in lost production and control costs,” Minister Littleproud said.
“They can decimate livestock, tearing down sheep and goats at will, and in doing so, can hurt rural and regional economies because of the destruction they wreak and anxiety they cause.
PIRSA is advising sheep producers, particularly those in high rainfall areas, to be vigilant on the health of pregnant ewes following reports of a number of late term abortions.
Chief Veterinary Officer, Mary Carr said early laboratory results indicate that the likely cause is a bacterial infection caused by Campbylobacter fetus spp (formerly known as ovine vibriosis).
“Ovine campylobacteriosis is one of the infectious causes of abortion in ewes which normally occurs during late preganancy,” she said. “It is highly contagious and can spread quickly within a flock.
Livestock SA provided input to the commission’s inquiry into research and development outlining key targets from the Sheep and Beef Industry Blueprints.
It acknowledged that the State Government has an objective to lift the sustainable economic growth rate in South Australia to an average of 3% per year. Livestock SA is participating in further developing these sectors in line with this growth agenda but said the need for dedicated R&D for sheep, cattle and goats is essential.
The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure’s (DPTI) has announced that it will not award a contract for Stage Two of the Heavy Vehicle Inspection Scheme (HVIS), and has discontinued the implementation of Stage Two for the periodic inspection of heavy vehicles.
If implemented, this scheme would have required certain heavy vehicles of more than 4.5 tonnes to undergo inspections every two years once they reach four years from the date of manufacture and inspected annually once they reach 10 years since manufacture.
Change of ownership inspections will remain to ensure compliance with heavy vehicle standards.
From 1 July 2020, Change of Ownership Inspection services will be provided at DPTI’s metropolitan and regional locations, as they are currently provided for road worthy inspections, clearing defects and various other inspection services.
GPSA will continue to hold workshops as part of its Roadworthy Heavy Vehicles… Made Easy! campaign, designed to educate South Australian primary producers about heavy vehicle standards and their obligations under the National Heavy Vehicle Inspection Manual.
For more information or to register to attend a workshop, visit www.grainproducerssa.com.au
To learn more about the change of ownership inspections and the locations of inspection stations, visit the Heavy Vehicle Inspection website.
