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.
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.
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.
2020 South Australian AgriFutures Rural Womens Award Winner, Stephanie Schmidt has launched the pilot for her ACTFORAG program.
ACTFORAG provides practical skills to learn to thrive in adversity, with the aim of building resilient farmers, families and businesses. The program provides practical, easy to use strategies to manage the challenges that life throws at us and skills to choose to do what is most important to us.
The program is developed for farmers, farming couples/families and rural communities to build skills to manage stress and daily challenges and is open to individuals as well as couples or farming families to take part in together.
The pilot will begin on Thursday, June 11 via zoom and includes three 90 minute weekly sessions. Due to the nature as a pilot program, participants will be required to complete brief evaluation questions and provide feedback.
Limited spaces are available. Participants can register here or contact Steph.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment is extending the due date for submissions on the WoolPoll Review, to give wool industry stakeholders the best opportunity to share their thoughts on how the poll is run.
The submission deadline is now COB Friday 12 June 2020.
We encourage all wool levy payers and interested wool industry stakeholders to contribute their perspectives and lived experience to help shape a roust and accurate review.
Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin is still receiving applications for the 2020-2021 NRM Agricultural Knowledge Small Grants. Final submissions due by 5pm ACST Monday 15 June 2020.
The Agricultural Small Grants are designed to allow groups to undertake agricultural training, skills and knowledge building activities. This grant is intended for eligible groups who are currently operating within the current Natural Resources SA Murray-Darling Basin region
How much can be applied for?
A maximum of $3,000 (GST Exc.) is available per group applying.
When do projects need to be completed by?
Projects must be completed, all funding acquitted, and project final reports completed and submitted 4 weeks after the grant event has been executed or no later than Friday 28th May 2021. There will be no opportunities for project extensions.
Who can apply?
The Agricultural Knowledge Small Grant is available to the following existing groups:
Funding through the Agriculture Knowledge Small Grants is anticipated to give groups the opportunity to undertake agricultural training, skills and knowledge building in the following land management/farming issues:
Eligible projects will demonstrate the following:
Groups must be pre-existing and can be formal or non-formal. State and federal government agencies are ineligible to apply.
For more information contact Zoe Starkey, Regional Agriculture Landcare Facilitator, on zoe.starkey@sa.gov.au or 0408 416 684.
Meat & Livestock Australia have recently launched some important digital initiatives including several podcasts to deliver timely and effective stakeholder communications, particularly given the disruptions from COVID-19.
The Feedback podcast
The Feedback podcast is a new bi-monthly podcast from MLA. Hosted by media personality Ben Dobbin, the hour long podcast includes content ranging from red meat producers to policy makers and celebrity chefs to scientists.
Episode one features gold medal winning Australian Paralympian and Beef Ambassador, Temora’s Scott Reardon, as well as an in-depth interview with MLA Managing Director Jason Strong on how industry is responding to the challenges from COVID-19. The podcast also features help available for producers impacted by bushfires, some red meat cooking tips from MLA sponsored celebrity chef Hayden Quinn, and Victorian producer, Fiona Conroy walks through the making of her family’s carbon neutral farm. The podcast also contains a snapshot of news from MLA. Listen to the podcast here
MLA’s ‘On the ground’ podcast
In response to the ongoing disruption and changes caused by COVID-19, MLA has recently launched this new short-form weekly podcast series providing the latest information from key international markets, delivered by MLA staff based across the globe. The podcast is hosted by MLA’s Josh Anderson. Listen to the podcast here
