Party members and senators had gathered for a special party meeting at 8am in Parliament House to see former leader Barnaby Joyce formally stand down after weeks of fall out surrounding his marriage break-up and relationship with a former staffer who is now pregnant.

"I want to make sure that people know that in me they will have a fighter. I have a huge challenge ahead of me," Mr McCormack, 53, said after the vote.

He acknowledged the outstanding leadership of Mr Joyce and insisted his legacy would endure.

NSW MP David Gillespie and agriculture minister and Joyce supporter David Littleproud earlier withdrew from a leadership contest.

Mr McCormack is the Federal Member for the Riverina, which covers towns such as Bland, Coolamon, Cootamundra, Cowra, Forbes, Gundagai, Harden, Junee, Lockhart, Parkes, Temora, Wagga Wagga, Weddin and Young.

He was elected to the role in August 2010 and has  fought for local communities by advocating against the importation of New Zealand apples in 2011, moving a Disallowance Motion against the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in 2012 and successfully lobbying against the proposed takeover of GrainCorp by American multi-national Archer Daniels Midland in 2013.

He was also the Minister for Small Business when the 2016 Census was moved online, which was plagued by major technical problems.

Prior to entering Parliament, Mr McCormack began professional life with a journalism cadetship with The Daily Advertiser newspaper in Wagga Wagga in 1981 and was appointed to the newspaper’s editorship in 1991, becoming the youngest person (27 years of age), at the time, to be appointed to edit a daily newspaper in Australasia.

Mr McCormack has three children with his wife Catherine.

Closer settlement developed pre-World War I when the Australian Government purchased large rural holdings and converted them to smaller allotments to encourage family farmers to set up a livelihood on the land.

Although the scheme proved to be mainly a failure, the government persisted in opening up the land to World War I soldiers, many of whom on their return from war service were unable to find employment.

A land ‘‘Fit for Heroes’’ was the promise — prosperous farms, contented families and thriving regional development.

More than 12000 took advantage of the scheme in Victoria although only 20 per cent had any farming experience.

Most came from the city and, needing work, turned their pioneering spirit to farming. Some families were able to build a home, but others were less fortunate as the burden of loan repayments and poor crop yields forced many to live in tents, or in homes made of canvas or hessian bags.

Those less suited to the task soon began to relinquish their blocks.

The settlers who succeeded generally had a great capacity for hard work, genuine farming experience and sufficient capital.

The unveiling of the panels will take place in Station St, Girgarre on Sunday, February 25 from 1.30pm followed by complimentary refreshments provided by Girgarre Development Group.

■Inquiries can be made by email to girgarrersl@gmail.com or by phoning RSL secretary John Crilly on 0437 438 077 or Rob Axen on 5854 6429.

That will be the question posed to the state’s grains industry by Terry Griffin from Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics who will headline the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Grains Research Update in Bendigo on February 27 and 28.

Assistant Professor Griffin will explain how small data can be collated and analysed for important on-farm decision-making, reflecting on lessons learned from experience in the United States.

Dr Griffin will be one of many world-leading experts at the research update who will deliver revealing insights and new knowledge emerging from investments in grains research, development and extension.

GRDC Southern Regional Panel chair Keith Pengilley said the update at Ulumbarra Theatre would present information critical to informing growers’ tactical decision-making for the 2018 cropping season and into the future.

‘‘The update each year plays a key role in influencing practice change and uptake of new technologies by growers, to underpin continued improvements within their farming systems and opportunities for profit growth,’’ Mr Pengilley said.

With the theme of ‘‘strategic steps, enduring profit’’, Mr Pengilley said the update would be attended by hundreds of agronomists, consultants, researchers, growers and other grains industry personnel.

Keynote speakers include Pulse Australia chairman Ron Storey, who will provide his thoughts on the status of the nation’s rapidly expanding pulse industry. Mr Storey will discuss the sustainability of demand and prices for pulses, new opportunities and key messages from recent global forums.

In another keynote address, Chris Preston from the University of Adelaide will bring the Victorian grains industry up to date on the state’s herbicide resistance situation.

Dr Preston will also explain the measures that can be taken to help reduce the risk of resistance occurring in the future.

The art of communicating science and maintaining peak performance will be the subjects of additional plenary sessions during the update, presented by Jennifer Metcalfe (Econnect Communication) and former Australian Football League high performance coach Mark McKeon (MMA TEAM Pty Ltd) respectively.

Management of Septoria tritici blotch and powdery mildew will be among the relevant agronomic issues to be covered on day one, along with management tips for pulse crops, a review of high rainfall wheat and barley, cereal diseases in 2018, new knowledge on Russian wheat aphid, optimising value from the National Variety Trials Online service, optimal performance from inoculants, and weather and seasonal forecasting.

Other day one topics include recent fungicide resistance discoveries, the effects of stubble on nitrogen tie-up and supply, countering blackleg disease in canola, brome grass and other emerging problem weeds, improving barley performance in the low rainfall zone, and emerging research from university students.

What are their personalities like?

Choc is the biggest personality of the bunch. Ken is like the little brother. He lives in the shadows. I’m still figuring her (Polly) out. She definitely has a bit of spunk about her.

Where did the dogs come from?

Ken and Choc we bred. The family bloodlines go back 30 years. They are half-brothers. Polly I got from Tom Austin at Elfinvale Kelpies.

Are they paddock or yard dogs?

Choc is the paddock dog of them all. Ken is more of a yard dog. He has an obsession with jumping on the sheep no matter where they are. They have a pretty good working relationship.

Do they have any unusual habits?

Choc splashes in the water (trough) like he’s fishing all the time. Ken’s weird habit is he makes eye contact wherever you are. He has a real consciousness of what you’re thinking or whether you’re happy or not.

Have they ever had any accidents?

Choc and Ken have fell off bikes a couple of times in near-death experiences. Choc ran through a wasp nest and got stung by about 10 of them. He healed pretty quickly.

Do they like to travel?

They love the back of the ute and the bikes. They know it’s show-time when the bikes come out.

What would you do without them?

It would make things a bit harder. I’d lose a lot more time. In the Shepparton yards in spring I wouldn’t get much sleep (without them). I’d nearly have to be there the night before.

It is disappointing to see disingenuous criticism of the exhaustive work the Murray-Darling Basin Authority conducted during the Northern Basin Review.

I believe that this criticism has contributed to the decision of the Australian Parliament to disallow an amendment to the basin plan affecting the northern basin.

The Northern Basin Review involved four years of extensive research to inform the MDBA’s recommended amendments to the basin plan.

These recommended amendments included a decrease to the northern basin water recovery target of 70Gl while ensuring better protection for environmental and low flows and safeguarding jobs.

Claims by the Australia Institute and others that the MDBA figures are rubbery are simply untrue and lack an understanding of the hydrological modelling and ecological research involved in the review.

I can personally endorse the thorough and detailed analysis by the MDBA and I am dismayed that all this work is reduced to a sensationalist 10-second grab by fellow scientists and researchers, who understand just how technically complex the work is.

The MDBA considered more than 20 different scenarios to test alternative forms of water recovery on hydrological flows across the northern basin catchments, as well as whole-of-north scenarios.

This was an integral part of the decision-making process, to assess the impact of water recovery on the environment and regional communities.

These multiple scenarios were transparently conveyed in the Northern Basin Review reporting and consultation sessions.

The final scenario recommended by the MDBA included significantly less impacts to flows to the Menindee Lakes and to South Australia, through targeted recovery of water in certain northern basin catchments.

The modelling and data in these scenarios was found to be robust by independent environmental, economic and water experts.

The review process also involved extensive consultation with environmental, industry and community stakeholders. It also included consultation with Aboriginal community members.

Whether stakeholders agree with the final recommendation or not, it is incorrect to question the work and evidence used by the MDBA. I stand by this process and the decision made by the authority.

I believe collaboration and understanding between scientists is the key to informing good public policy outcomes.

Energy should be put towards growing our evidence base, not attacking each other and undermining the premise of the basin plan.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is committed to implementing the basin plan.

The valuable information gained through the Northern Basin Review will not be wasted and will continue to inform future work.

— Professor Barry T. Hart,

Murray-Darling Basin Authority member

Policy change has legal implications

Landowners will be aware that the ‘Reset’ initiative was a change of policy by Goulburn-Murray Water. This policy relates to the implementation of the second stage of the FoodBowl Plan, with Commonwealth money.

Landowners may not be aware of the legal implications of this change of policy.

Goulburn-Murray Water will itself do the works rather than engage independent contractors.

In my opinion, if Goulburn-Murray Water engages an independent contractor, it has a duty to see that the contractor takes care (i.e. supervises the contractor) and is liable itself to rectify damage to private land and for economic loss, including for failure to supply water, if Goulburn-Murray Water is in breach of its duty and loss arises caused by the contractor’s lack of care and skill.

Goulburn-Murray Water, in my opinion, will be liable where it could have avoided the loss by proper supervision of the contractor.

If Goulburn-Murray Water does the works itself, it is not liable for economic loss under section 155 of the Water Act, unless it agrees in writing with the landowner that it will be.

It is wise for landowners to include a provision in their Connections Agreements that the authority is liable for economic loss if works are not completed or water is not supplied on time or if land is damaged and not rectified in time.

This is especially relevant where ground is not prepared or seed not sown in time or water not provided for the autumn season and the landowner suffers economic loss as a result.

— Edwin Kennon,

Lawyer, Kyabram

Ideal for incorporating straw and crop residue, Kubota’s CD series speed discs offer farmers and contractors a versatile machine that can perform shallow or deeper cultivation, as well as good cutting and mixing actions to incorporate cereal or corn residues and green crops.

The CD1000 Series comes in rigid working widths of 2.5m, 3.0m and 3.5m, and the speed discs are 15 per cent lighter than the heavy duty CD2000 Series models which come in working widths of 3m, 3.5m and 4m.

Three linkage-mounted folding models are available for wider working widths to allow for narrow road transport, with working widths of 4m, 5m and 6m available.

Four trailed versions of the CD2000 are available in 4m, 5m, 6m and the beast of the range, the 7m CD2700T. CD1000 versions have 520mm x 5mm discs while the CD2000 versions have 600mm x 6mm discs.

Kubota Implements product manager Mark Allott said both ranges offered sturdy frames that could be fitted with heavy rollers to level the ground tilled by the discs.

‘‘CD speed discs have a robust disc arm that withstands high stress at fast working speeds of up to 20km/h. Strong 35mm shafts each carry two rows of maintenance-free bearings and have five lip seals that prevent any contamination from soil or dust,’’ he said.

‘‘The discs are heat-treated to harden the steel to increase lifespan.

‘‘Because they are conical discs, they work at an aggressive angle. This means CD1000 and CD2000 speed discs deliver excellent penetration, even in dry conditions.

‘‘They completely cut the ground and slice the stubble abolished and mix it on the surface to provide good emergence so that you can control weeds and volunteer cereal seeds.’’

The working depth of the discs are adjusted manually on the CD1000 and hydraulically on the CD2000 series via the rear roller.

Standard equipment for both CD1000 and CD2000 includes adjustable lateral side deflectors to control the soil flow and provide a perfect level finish.

The standard following harrow is positioned just in front of the roller and cuts the flow of the soil and levels the surface, while the finger harrows allow adequate soil flow without a big power demand.

Working depths can be adjusted from the tractor cab, as can hydraulic folding and unfolding into and out of transport mode.

Announced in parliament two weeks ago, the scheme would see regional centres of Shepparton, Mildura, Warrnambool and the Latrobe Valley play host to two regional sittings of each chamber.

‘‘You can’t fix country Victoria’s problems from behind a desk in Spring Street,’’ Opposition leader Matthew Guy said.

‘‘Regional sittings offer country communities a unique opportunity to be the focus of parliament and are an important opportunity for city-based parliamentarians to learn more about regional communities.’’

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party member and Member for Northern Victoria Daniel Young welcomed the announcement, and said there was a ‘‘real disconnect’’ between the city-centric Victorian Government and regional constituents.

‘‘After being returned to opposition in 2014, the Nationals are feeling the heat and are now trying to play favourite in places like Shepparton, Mildura and the Latrobe Valley — places the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party will target in November,’’ he said.

Ms McGowan made the comments in parliament last week and said following on from government policy implemented in 2016, which set the target for at least 50per cent of government board positions to be held by women, it was time to focus on meeting the targets in agriculture.

‘‘In agriculture, there are 18 government boards with 114 positions and 39 women in those positions, which is 34 per cent — way short of the target,’’ Ms McGowan said.

‘‘Across government portfolios of agriculture and water resources, Attorney-General, communication and the arts et cetera, they found that, second to the Attorney-General’s, agriculture has the lowest representation of women on boards.’’

Although acknowledging there had been progress, Ms McGowan said there was more to do to increase representation across rural research and development corporations, agricultural committees, panels and councils.

‘‘We’ve moved some way,’’ she said.

‘‘There has been some effort, and slowly there has been an improvement, but it’s not nearly enough.’’

■The Murray-Darling Basin Plan is a landmark bipartisan agreement reached between the Federal Government and four states to manage the water in a system made up of the Murray and Darling rivers.

■It was signed into law by the Gillard Labor Government in 2012.

What just happened?

■On February 14, the Federal Government failed to stop a joint effort by Labor, Greens and Nick Xenophon Team to block its amendments to the Murray-Darling Basin Plan in the Senate.

■That government wanted changes to the plan that would have reduced the amount of water being returned to the environment in southern Queensland and northern NSW.

■The disallowance motion was narrowly carried, 32 votes to 30.

What’s the problem?

■The outcome has divided ‘up-water’ states and ‘down-water’ jurisdictions.

■Victorian Water Minister Lisa Neville says the plan is over for her state.

■NSW has also threatened to pull out.

■The Federal Government is concerned Queensland will follow the other states’ lead and the entire plan will unravel.

Who wants what?

■The Federal Government wants to reduce the amount of water it acquires for the environment in the northern basin by 70Gl (equivalent to 400 Olympic swimming pools), supplying more to irrigators and reducing pressure on farmers.

■The Victorian and NSW governments want those amendments to ensure jobs for their states’ irrigators.

■Labor wants an additional 450Gl of water allocated to return to the environment, and assurances regarding the health of the river and tackling allegations of corruption.

■South Australia says it was the promise of this extra 450Gl that convinced it to sign on to the plan in the first place.

■The Greens want an independent audit to crack down on corruption and water theft allegations, greater community consultation and consideration of environmental impacts.

Bill Gordon, spray application consultant with Nufarm Australia, said the focus of spraying herbicide needed to be on doing the job right so the weeds received the correct dose and died, and this included reducing the airborne fraction to a bare minimum.

‘‘In many cases this means not spraying at night if the wind speed is too low,’’ he said.

‘‘Many product labels prohibit night spraying due mostly to the risk of spray drift. Our studies have shown that with a coarse spray quality drift may travel up to 300 to 400m during the day after any inversion has broken, but spraying at night can leave up to five times as much chemical in the air using the same products, nozzles and ground speed. This can result in spray drifting 10 to 20km or more at night, and this is unacceptable for other farmers, the community and the environment.’’

Mr Gordon said most growers were implementing best spray practice when it came to boom height and nozzle selection but the temptation to spray at higher speeds and into the night could override commonsense at times.

‘‘The flip side of this is that it is becoming more evident that using Delta-T as the main determinant of safe day-time spraying conditions may not be the best approach,’’ he said.

‘‘What really matters most is the wind speed and whether the weeds are stressed or not.

‘‘If the weeds are not stressed on a hot day, due to ample soil moisture, then spraying at a higher Delta-T may still be effective and safe, with coarse droplets surviving quite well and not becoming airborne.’’

This can essentially increase the number of daytime hours available to growers to get the job done without spraying at night or early in the morning when the risk of spray drift is the highest.

‘‘Getting onto paddocks as soon as possible after rain and using up the daytime hours to target priority paddocks will maximise weed control and minimise spray drift risk,’’ Mr Gordon said.

‘‘Spraying can continue into the evening in summer if the soil remains warm and the wind speed stays above 12km/h. If the wind drops off, then spraying should cease, usually by about 10pm through to a few hours after sunrise.’’

The bottom line is that it is very difficult to determine safe night-time spraying conditions.

When environmental conditions are borderline in terms of wind turbulence, the safe spray window can be extended slightly through the use of coarser sprayer quality where the proportion of droplets less than 150 microns is 10 per cent or less, keeping drift to a minimum. The trade-off, however, is reduced efficacy when using very coarse droplet size, particularly when the target is small, vertical or hard to wet.

‘‘When buying new nozzles, check them against the new standard, which shows spray quality with adjuvants rather than water only,’’ Mr Gordon said.

He said the GRDC had published a Nozzle Selection Chart for growers to use as a reference.

‘‘Using the correct nozzle and adjuvant combination can have a positive impact in reducing spray drift and maintaining efficacy.

‘‘Reducing ground speed by just 5km/h can also make a big difference to spray coverage and efficacy of weed control, particularly if there is a high stubble load present.

‘‘Water-sensitive paper, in combination with apps such as SnapCard, is a good way to test the coverage, penetration and spray pattern achieved under different conditions, such as different ground speeds.’’

Mr Gordon’s rule of thumb for effective weed control when applying fully translocated products (e.g. glyphosate and Group I) is a minimum of 68 per cent coverage, while coverage of 10 to 12 per cent or more is required for contact herbicides.

‘‘Pre-emergent herbicides are the most difficult to judge due to the number of variables involved in their effective application, but as a rule of thumb I generally look for coverage of at least 15 to 20 per cent,’’ he said.

‘‘If you are going out killing weeds, you need to get everything right.’’

She warned that by blocking the northern basin changes, the senate had put the entire basin plan on the brink of collapse.

‘‘We are dismayed at this decision by the Senate that puts the whole plan at risk,’’ Cr McKinnon said.

‘‘Remember, the plan is all about achieving a balance — improving the environment without destroying basin communities.

‘‘The result of the Senate blocking the recommended adjustments — this one and potentially the 605GL southern basin adjustment — would be disastrous for our communities.

‘‘It would force the Commonwealth to go back to purchasing water.

‘‘We know from independent studies and from listening to our communities that taking more water from northern Victoria will devastate our agricultural industries when the next big dry comes.

‘‘That means horticulture — it will mean pulling up permanent plantings of fruit trees and grape vines or more growers walking away from their blocks as is already happening in some locations.

‘‘That means potentially the entire dairy industry in northern Victoria gone. That’s 25 per cent of Australia’s dairy production.

‘‘This is your food bowl we are talking about — this is about securing ourselves up for the challenges of this century to feed our nation as our cities and regions keep growing.

‘‘And the human toll of that is something that we don’t hear much about from Senators. But we in local government do.

‘‘We hear from our communities of the mental strain, the stress and the uncertainty.

‘‘Our communities have lived with uncertainty for years now around water and if the basin plan collapses, that is the worst outcome — for the environment, for the economy and food security and for basin communities.’’

The study, commissioned by World Bank, focused on the productivity and contribution to farm profitability of workers through the Seasonal Worker Program and working holiday makers.

ABARES executive director Steve Hatfield-Dodds said one set of workers was more productive than the other.

‘‘The productivity of seasonal workers was, on average, 20 per cent higher than that of working holiday makers for the farm businesses in this study, based on fruit picking tasks,’’ Dr Hatfield-Dodds said.

‘‘This estimate was derived from data for 150 seasonal workers and 109 working holiday makers over three years.’’

Seasonal workers who returned to the farm were on average 15 per cent more productive than new seasonal workers.

‘‘We found workers from the Seasonal Worker Program delivered higher productivity and less staff turnover, while working holiday makers could be accessed at short notice to meet urgent demand in peak periods,’’ Dr Hatfield-Dodds said.

‘‘Seasonal workers also had an average work period of 22 weeks compared to working holiday makers’ five weeks.’’

However, the report found that working holiday makers were easier to access at short notice, although they tended to have shorter periods of employment and higher turnover, requiring more training.

My Joyce denied the claims and told reporters in Armidale on February 23 that he will throw open the leadership at a meeting in Canberra at 8am on Monday.

"To give these people in the weatherboard and iron, in those regional and small towns the best opportunity, this current cacophony of issues has to be put aside," Mr Joyce said.

The deputy prime minister has spent 16 days fighting off accusations of improper conduct over his affair with his now-pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion, and she was moved to two other political offices.

"Over the last half a month, there has been a litany of allegations. I don't believe any of them have been sustained," Mr Joyce said.

But he believes the government and his family needs a "circuit breaker" to stop the flood of stories.

"This has got to stop. It's not fair on them," he said.

He said the final straw was a sexual harassment allegation revealed on Thursday, which he has asked to be referred to the police.

Mr Joyce has not directly told Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull he is resigning, but he said he spoke to Mathias Cormann, who is acting in the role while Mr Turnbull is overseas.

He also says he won't "snipe" from the back bench.

"I want to assist my colleagues, where I can, to keep their seats and also, quite naturally, in April, a baby will be born. I'll have other things on my mind," he said.

Mr Joyce said he would not be endorsing a replacement at Monday's party room meeting.

Three potential contenders are David Littleproud, David Gillespie and Michael McCormack.

Member for Murray Damian Drum said the news was disappointing.

The water will be sold through selected brokers.

VEWH chairperson Denis Flett said all priority environmental watering targets in northern Victoria would be achieved this year and some of the allocation of water for the environment would be saved for next year.

This water will be carried over to help keep regional rivers healthy and to boost plant and animal populations early in the new water season.

Having provided for priority watering objectives, Mr Flett said the decision to sell had been made.

‘‘We’ve had a few watering events at Barmah Forest and Lindsay Island where we needed less allocation than planned, and we’ve decided to make some of that unused water available for sale,’’ Mr Flett said.

‘‘Before deciding to sell we’ve considered current and forecast seasonal conditions and have provided for our largest demands next spring.

‘‘Our ability to provide for future environmental flows will help keep rivers and wetlands healthy for this year and beyond.

‘‘We have also assessed conditions in the water market to ensure that our trading won’t have any significant adverse impacts on other market participants and we will monitor trading conditions throughout our trading period.’’

Proceeds from the sale will be used to help Victoria’s regional waterways, and the plants and animals that rely on them, to survive and thrive.

This may include purchasing water to deliver to a waterway that doesn’t have enough, or investment in structural or technical works to improve the management of water for the environment.

The VEWH flagged that it would consider selling water in northern Victoria in its annual trading strategy released last year in July 2017.

The company diverts thousands of tonnes of food and green waste from landfill each month by converting it into premium quality compost that is sold to farming operations for organic farming and also farmers who want to improve their soils and are looking to change from conventional farming practices to a more sustainable approach.

‘‘Biomix compost is not just an inorganic fertiliser used only to add plant available nutrients,’’ biomix managing director Jackie Yong said.

‘‘While it has nutrients that are available to the plant, it also boasts abilities to increase soil carbon significantly, flocculate soil structure and increase the nutrient holding capacity of the soil.

‘‘This in turn leads to greater water retention and more plant available water, less nutrient application and synthetic fertiliser use and a lower risk of crop failure due to more robust soil and plants,’’ she said.

Biomix’s premium composts build soil health for all types of crops, pastures, orchards, vegetables, vineyards and lawns.

‘‘By investing into your soil’s health with biomix composts and compost blends, farmers can face today’s farming challenges with a soil that promotes insect and disease resistances, reduces society’s reliance on water and produces a healthier product.

‘‘We work with farmers to determine the best way to overcome the soil challenges they face.’’

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority released a 120-page report called the MDBA ‘evaluation’, examining progress in the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s five first five years.

The report is available here: www.mdba.gov.au/report

MCKENZIE ELECTED:

Victorian Senator Bridget McKenzie, who is based in Bendigo, was elected deputy leader of the federal parliamentary National Party, to replace Fiona Nash who fell foul of the citizenship qualifications.

FONTERRA PRICE LIFT:

Dairy processor Fonterra has announced a small increase in the price it pays its suppliers, but downgraded its end-of-season forecast.

WATER ALLOCATIONS:

The northern resource manager has announced small increases in low-reliability water allocations for several systems. Most of the districts already have a 100 per cent high-reliability allocation.

More information here: www.g-mw.com.au/allocations

MINCO MEETING:

Commonwealth and state water ministers will meet at Wodonga on Tuesday to hear the latest basin plan developments. Ministers expect strong lobbying from South Australia, which is insisting on the delivery of the proposed 450Gl of ‘up-water’.

NEW SRI LEADER:

Southern Riverina Irrigators has elected a new chair, Finley mixed farmer, Gabrielle Coupland.

Although the trial is only one year old, Mr Pogue said cover crops were becoming a large part of his business.

‘‘We are into biological farming, using no insecticides or fungicides and increasing diversity with cover crops,’’ he said.

The objective of the trial is to test whether growing and grazing multi-species cover crops prior to a summer corn crop increases soil health and profitability, compared to growing a hay crop — and, one year on, Mr Pogue could already see the differences.

‘‘Multi-species cover crops are better than hay,’’ he said.

Despite economic figures finding a gross return on oats and vetch cut for hay was $909/ha and the grazed multi-species crop returned $874/ha, Mr Pogue said with more experience the grazed cover crop could be even more profitable.

‘‘Pugging could have been managed better as could grazing. The hay went really well — there was not much more we could have done but there is room for improvement on the grazing site.’’

Goulburn Murray Landcare’s soil project officer Jo Doolan said farmers enjoyed learning from each other.

‘‘It was well received. There was a lot of interest in cover cropping courses,’’ she said.

‘‘Farmers learning from farmers — they find it valuable to share information.’’

MLA started legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia last year on behalf of the meat industry to appeal an Australian Patent Office decision to allow the patent application to be granted.

MLA argued that the scope of the claims of the patent application were unclear and, as a result, so broad that they would inhibit genomic selection for all cattle production traits in Australia.

In the reasons for judgment announced Friday, the Court invited Cargill USA and Branhaven LLC to amend the patent application to overcome the lack of clarity in the proposed patent claims.

Both parties are due to return to court within 21 days to address the court on the issue of amendment of the patent application.

The Cargill/Branhaven patent application is titled Compositions, methods and systems for inferring bovine traits, and covers cattle selection methods.

The broadest of the claims in the application encompasses a method for identifying a trait of a bovine subject from a nucleic acid sample of the bovine subject by the use of naturally occurring genetic markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms.

MLA opposed the grant of the patent application in the Australian Patent Office because of the potential impact on industry’s ability to adopt and continue to use standard cattle genomic tools.

MLA’s opposition was unsuccessful and the Australian Patent Office subsequently indicated its intention to allow the patent application to proceed in May 2016.

MLA appealed the Patent Office’s decision to the Federal Court of Australia.

MLA undertook the legal proceedings because of its concerns that there would be significant scientific and financial implications for research agencies and the industry if the patent application proceeded to grant.

At a minimum, MLA formed the view that the breadth of the proposed patent claims would discourage or hamper industry research into the natural genetic makeup of cattle and the continued progress of Australia’s national genetic improvement programs.

On Thursday night last week the federal Greens, Labor and Nick Xenophon Team parties voted to block an adjustment to the northern basin’s water recovery target.

Ms Sheed said while the move was expected, it was a significant blow to all basin communities — including communities in South Australia, whose government lobbied for the adjustment to be disallowed.

‘‘The Greens and Labor have been threatening to block the adjustment for some weeks, so the result comes as no surprise,’’ Ms Sheed said.

‘‘Nevertheless, it is incredibly distressing for our regional communities to be placed in a situation of even greater uncertainty about our future than ever before.

‘‘The Goulburn Murray Irrigation District Water Leadership Forum called for a pause in the plan last November to allow time for the many reviews and inquiries to be completed and the serious issues of inadequate compliance, metering and inappropriate use of environmental water in the northern basin to be understood and resolved.

‘‘The decision to forge on with the plan at all costs has now resulted in what will inevitably be another period of chaos, while states and communities scramble to understand what this extraordinary deviation from the plan means on the ground.’’

Ms Sheed urged the federal Opposition, and the South Australian Government, not to risk further disruption to industry and community confidence by blocking the southern basin adjustment which is still before the Senate.

‘‘The Victorian Government has said it wants to meet its obligations under the basin plan. Victoria has already done so much of the heavy lifting and is now on the home stretch,’’ Ms Sheed said.

The FBP 3135 Bale Pack is the latest innovation from leading farm machinery manufacturer KUHN.

‘‘Following carefully mowing, tedding and raking, silage needs to be secured for storage — and to prevent loss of nutritional value, the bale needs to be sealed as soon as possible,’’ KUHN’s product manager Michael Murer said.

‘‘Traditionally, silo production required more than one machine, as well as multiple operators — but this system creates a true one-man operation via its bale-and-wrap technology.’’

Having recently been awarded Machine of the Year 2018 in the Forage Harvesting category at Agritechnica 2017, the FBP 3135 Bale Pack has been designed to meet the specific challenges facing farmers as they contend with factors like adverse weather conditions, as well as increasing labour and production costs.

With only a short harvest window and little time to make the highest quality silage, farmers need a machine that is fast, reliable and versatile, and where quality is the first priority.

Being capable of working on even the steepest slopes and in all crop conditions, the FBP 3135 Bale Pack has a film binding system with two film reels, as opposed to one big mantle film roll.

‘‘This binds the cylindrical side of the bale, and offers several advantages compared to other film binding systems — not least the ability to use standard sized rolls, eliminating the need to order separate binding and wrapping film of different sizes.

‘‘Furthermore, the film roll change is easier, as the rolls weigh only 27kg, rather than 40kg,’’ he said.

The two reels guarantee a secure binding start, regardless of rain or terrain — and the two strands of film ensure the binding material is effectively applied, without the necessity to feed extra material into the chamber.

The KUHN system also reduces film usage by up to 30 per cent, by pre-stretching it prior to application — and it boasts quicker and easier roll loading thanks to a user-friendly system which hydraulically folds the film reels into their loading/unloading position.

The FBP 3135 Bale Pack can also be used with conventional net binding.

The KUHN FBP 3135 also has a specially adapted bale chamber to prevent film damage, and to guarantee film binding without any compromises.

For more information, visit www.kuhn.com.au

But Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh has criticised the plan to overhaul the industry as only adding red tape.

Two weeks ago the Victorian Government hit out at Opposition MPs voting against the Labour Hire Licensing Bill 2017, legislation to ‘‘stop exploitation in the Victorian labour hire industry’’ and introduce a universal licensing scheme to protect labour hire workers.

Ms Sheed said she had initially harboured concerns about the red tape that went into setting up a system for contractors.

After speaking with constituents she ‘‘came to the view that the abuse that has been there and still is to some extent, warrants a system to be set up to deal with dodgy contractors who do the wrong thing’’ — especially, she said, when it concerned workers from other countries where language difficulties compromised an ability to defend their position.

Mr Walsh believed most farmers and contract workers did the right thing, and any further regulations would be a cost they could not afford.

‘‘This legislation goes considerably further than a lot of the recommendations out of the inquiry into labour hire, and we are concerned this will limit the amount of labour available,’’ Mr Walsh said.

‘‘In this legislation, if a contractor doesn’t do the right thing, it sets in place a process where farmers will have to pay huge fines for a contractor not doing the right thing, and that’s just blatantly wrong.’’

Mr Walsh said he believed laws in place under the Fair Work Act that held wrong-doers to account were effective, but a recent Goulburn Valley case highlighted flaws in the system.

Thirteen Shepparton workers remain thousands of dollars out of pocket due to ‘‘privacy laws’’, despite Fair Work Ombudsman involvement.

Tallygaroopna farmer Frank Carmichael, who represented the workers during the process, said while he believed there were investigative resources to do the job, there was not enough money invested into hiring enough people to carry out the work.

‘‘I believe that the way to go is by beefing up and increasing the manpower of the Fair Work Ombudsman,’’ Mr Carmichael said.

‘‘We need more people on the ground where they believe people are not abiding by the law.’’

Mr Carmichael said although the Victorian Government regulations were well-intended, they did not bring back the money the workers had lost, and would not prevent further exploitation.

Labour hire services may only be provided by organisations that have a licence and are listed on a publicly accessible register, under the new scheme.

Providers will be required to pass ‘‘a fit and proper person test’’ to get a licence and show compliance with workplace laws, labour hire laws, and minimum accommodation standards.

Mr Freeth works on his family’s 5500ha dryland broadacre cropping and livestock enterprise near Gilgandra in NSW, and has spent the past two years studying effective on-farm grains storage and supply chain logistics from around the world.

Funded by Grains Research and Development Corporation, Mr Freeth’s report has unveiled a suite of recommendations for moving grain to market in an efficient, cost-effective manner, while considering future trends affecting the industry.

Mr Freeth said growers had seen unprecedented structural change during the past 25 years, including the need to increase storage capacity on-farm and improve sophistication of existing infrastructure.

‘‘The competitiveness of Australian grain growers relies on an efficient supply chain into domestic and export markets,’’ Mr Freeth said.

‘‘But in order to capitalise on these opportunities, growers are looking at newer, more innovative ways to reduce their supply chain costs and boost their profitability.

‘‘One of these is investing in on-farm storage, a growing trend being driven by harvest logistics and capacities, upcountry grain storage networks, increasing production of pulse and specialty crops, amongst a range of other industry and government incentives.’’

More broadly, Mr Freeth said government needed to provide the right policy settings to meet the needs of a modern grains industry, its consumers and the companies that operate within the supply chain.

‘‘A modern and cost-effective freight network will be a game-changer for Australian agriculture,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s anticipated the Inland Rail will accelerate the rationalisation of the upcountry storage network, so as to reduce transportation costs and improve profitability of supply chain operators.

‘‘Further to this, new partnerships between grain growers, trading businesses and supply chain operators will be critical to ensure productivity improvements from mainline operations follow through to higher prices at farm-gate.’’

Lake Eppalock is currently at 79 per cent capacity and holding about 240Gl.

Goulburn-Murray Water customer operations general manager Scott Barber said the increased releases would be delivered as inter-valley transfers, which were a result of water trading activity.

‘‘The reservoir is in a good position at 79 per cent capacity and is being called on to deliver allocation which customers have chosen to trade downstream,’’ Mr Barber said.

‘‘The increased flows are being delivered in consultation with the North Central Catchment Management Authority to ensure they will provide an environmental benefit downstream of the reservoir. In particular, these flows aim to attract native fish upstream into the Campaspe system from the Murray River.

‘‘Depending on flows into the lake in the coming months, we forecast Lake Eppalock’s level will be about 66 per cent by the end of March. This is a reasonable level at this time of year after summer, leading into traditional wet season, for our customers.’’

Recreational users of Lake Eppalock and nearby river users may notice the rivers will appear higher than usual as the releases take place.

More than 500 exhibitors were set up, offering those attending the most up-to-date advice, as well as plenty of entertainment.

The expo included displays and demonstrations, informative lecture series, a market-style shopping experience, food and liquor tastings and live entertainment.

One of the highlights — the Flipping Disc Dogz — saw seven Border Collies perform jumps, dances and obedience.

Normally running with eight dogs, co-owner and trainer Beau Pearson said the show must go on.

Mr Pearson said one of his girls was recovering from toe surgery and was unable to perform, but seven of the smartest Border Collies in Australia still performed.

The Super Tank fishing show was also a crowd favourite, with Michael Cooke offering a ‘‘fish eye view’’ of how lures work using a 15m by 3m Perspex tank, so onlookers could see exactly what happens under the surface.

McPherson Media Group events manager Susie Filleti said the event had done wonders for Seymour.

‘‘The event contributes about $6million in economic impact every year, from the exhibitors staying in the town, through to getting their coffees down the street,’’ Ms Filleti said.

Words: Madeleine Caccianiga

Pictures: Ray Sizer and Madeleine Caccianiga

Conservationists are protesting VicForests’ decision to undertake harvesting in the forest that would see 50 per cent of trees in the planned harvest area logged.

Victorian Greens forests spokesperson and Member for Eastern Metropolitan Samantha Dunn called on the Victorian Government to halt logging, saying it put the great glider possum at risk.

‘‘VicForests is all too happy to continue to push Victoria’s threatened species to the brink of extinction,’’ she said.

‘‘The minister should stop sitting on her hands and put proper protections for the greater glider in place. VicForests are using this opportunity to log their best known habitat while they can.

‘‘It’s time Victoria moved away from unsustainable native forest logging before it’s too late for both our species and the industry. A move to sustainable plantations is the only way forward.’’

Yet VicForests has hit back at the claims, stating it has met with community members on many occasions to discuss their concerns and although it supported the right for anyone to protest, those protesting against the harvesting operation ‘‘do not necessarily represent the views of the wider Victorian public’’.

VicForests community forestry manager Bill Paul said a survey conducted by Arthur Rylah Institute had been undertaken looking into a number of threatened species in the forest, including greater gliders.

‘‘Following this, our conservation biologist spent three days walking the area with a conservation focus and individually marking trees to ensure best available habitat is protected for the greater glider,’’ he said.

The trees, which were last harvested several decades ago, will be harvested via single-tree selection, a method that removes about 50 per cent of the trees in the planned area, leaving behind trees of varying ages to either grow larger or provide habitat for native species.

The area being harvested in the Strathbogie forest is about 0.1 per cent of the total forest.

The harvested wood is expected to be used to produce furniture, flooring, staircases and housing material, as well as firewood and paper.

VicForests estimates the harvesting will directly create 25 jobs.

The union says rural communities around Australia are being abandoned by the bank.

The ANZ recently announced it was closing the branch at Rochester and is planning other closures in Heidelberg and Abbotsford.

‘‘The closure of these 12 branches will lead to potential job losses for 43 bank workers at the same time the ANZ is forcing its customers to conduct their banking on the internet,’’ FSU Australia’s national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

‘‘These closures will hit rural communities hard and bank workers will be struggling to find other work in areas where jobs are scarce,’’ Ms Angrisano said.

‘‘Banking is an essential service, especially in regional communities, and customers rely on their bank having a branch that they can access.’’

Ms Angrisano said when a branch closed, it impacted on bank workers, the local community and the regional economy.

The Finance Sector Union is working with its members and the community to build an industry plan for the future of the finance sector.

A guiding principle for this plan is that banking is an essential service for communities.

MLA’s market intelligence manager Scott Tolmie said Australia supplied red meat to more than 100 countries and with trade heavily influenced by changing consumer demand in those markets it was important producers had access to detailed insights.

‘‘The snapshots are designed to enable producers to be more informed when having discussions with their supply chain partners and — armed with a better understanding of where their product is going — make more informed business decisions about their own production and on-farm investments,’’ Mr Tolmie said.

‘‘Knowing the consumer and operating environment in key markets is critical to ensure the right product is being sent to the right market.

‘‘The snapshots aim to not only provide information around what is driving export volumes and values, but a more forward looking analysis of what are the consumer and industry trends that will influence Australia’s future red meat exports into each market.

‘‘We have designed each snapshot with a brief summary for time-poor readers on the opening page that lists in bullet-point form all the key challenges and opportunities for Australian red meat, and a more in-depth analysis following each summary.’’

The snapshots cover 11 key markets for beef and eight key markets for sheepmeat, including Australia, the United States, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South-East Asia, Indonesia, the European Union, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The goatmeat industry is covered by a global snapshot, which will be released in March.

Each market snapshot provides a brief, easy-to-read and up-to-date summary of the:

■challenges and opportunities facing Australian red meat in coming years;

■key consumer insights and future trends;

■growth areas across both the foodservice and retail segments;

■competitive context and market access; and

■performance of Australian exports for 2018 compared to 2017 and historical averages.

Among the insights contained in the beef snapshots is the growing demand in Japan for steak, and the increasing demand in the US for grassfed beef.

‘‘Australia’s strong presence in supermarkets and a wide range of foodservice outlets in Japan has it well positioned to take advantage of key consumer trends, such as increasing interest in akami, which is a lean meat, and steaks,’’ Mr Tolmie said.

‘‘In the United States, grassfed beef is a key growth area in both retail and foodservice.’’

Looking at sheepmeat, Mr Tolmie said premium lamb consumption and import demand in MENA were forecast to continue to grow, driven by increasing disposable incomes, ongoing urbanisation and Westernisation, and large wealthy expat populations.

Introduced in 1977, these combines were a departure from the traditional straw walker design, in that threshing and separation was now performed by a rotor.

The rotary design from United States manufacturer International Harvester was the first of its kind to be mass-produced and represented a giant step forward for farmers, with an increase in capacity translating to a significant boost in productivity.

Case IH product manager Tim Slater said in today’s market, Case IH offered a broad model range to suit any operation, with the efficiency and reliability of the Axial-Flow among the qualities valued most by customers.

‘‘The Axial-Flow turned 40 last year and the technology has definitely evolved in that time, but the core design principles are still important today.

‘‘The Axial-Flow has less drive components than anything else on the market, this simplicity in design enhancing the machine’s reliability in all conditions,’’ he said.

In terms of improvements in harvesting efficiency over the years, Mr Slater pointed to increases in horsepower from 170hp in the original 1460 combine to a maximum of 625hp in today’s 9240, along with a number of industry-leading features along the way.

The evolution of the Axial-Flow combine has also been marked by the inclusion of a feeder reverser in 1986 to a rotor reverser in 2003.

Cleaning systems have also evolved with a self-levelling cleaning system with hydraulic cleaning fan drive on the 240 Series, and a cross-flow cleaning system on the 140 Series, in order to maintain performance when the combines are harvesting on slopes.

Clean-out doors have also improved farmers’ ability to clean down their machines between crop types or at the end of the season.

Other milestones include automatic header height control and terrain tracker (automatic header tilt) when used with Case IH fronts, long unloading augers with a pivoting spout, and suspended tracks suitable for controlled traffic farming operations.

‘‘We also started with precision farming, with the first yield monitors being fitted in 1996, which has progressed through to yield mapping, auto steering and now the grain analyser for measuring oil or protein content,’’ Mr Slater said.

The icing on the cake in its 40th anniversary year was the awarding of the Highest Retained Value Award to the Axial-Flow 140 Series combine by EquipmentWatch, recognising its performance and proven value on the market.

It identified the machine as ‘‘an excellent choice for demanding farming needs’’, citing features including the lauded Case IH residue management system built to handle the tough residue associated with new crop genetics, an engine that produces up to 442hp and a grain tank capacity of 10570litres.

To find out more about the Axial-Flow range, see your local Case IH dealer or visit the Case IH website at www.caseih.com

Commissioned last year, the research found that 82 per cent of rural Australians surveyed and 72 per cent of Australians in regional centres are concerned or very concerned about battery cages, compared to just over 74 per cent of Australians in capital cities.

RSPCA Australia senior policy officer Dr Jed Goodfellow said the revelations flew in the face of claims by the cage egg industry.

‘‘Cage egg industry lobbyists are very fond of saying that opposition to cruel battery cages comes mostly from people in the cities, who don’t understand the realities of farming,’’ Dr Goodfellow said.

‘‘That’s simply not true.

‘‘People in Australia’s farming communities and regional centres, who work with animals and understand farming, know just as well as their city-based cousins that battery cages are unacceptable and unnecessary.’’

The current trial program, using culled kangaroos where they have become a nuisance, would become permanent.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh said the Liberal Nationals would also expand the program to take in other areas where kangaroo numbers were out of control.

‘‘The kangaroo pet food industry doesn’t need another extension, it needs certainty,’’ Mr Walsh said.

‘‘Daniel Andrews and his city-centric Labor government refuse to support this fledgling industry and the jobs it’s created.’’

Since the trial was established by the former Liberal Nationals government in 2014, about 87000 kangaroo carcases that would otherwise have been discarded, have been processed.

Currently, the trial is restricted to 16 regional local government areas, but the Liberal Nationals’ plan would expand it to all rural and regional LGAs.

A permanent program would align with the guidelines of the existing trial and would not change the requirement for Authority to Control Wildlife permits to be issued for any kangaroos used as pet food.

According to VFF Livestock president Leonard Vallance, the growing kangaroo population has a detrimental impact not only on agriculture but also on native flora and fauna, leaving little shelter for other animals, reptiles, birds and insects.

‘‘The kangaroo pet food industry is a means of managing the kangaroo population at a sustainable and viable level in a regulated environment,’’ Mr Vallance said.

The chief executive officer of Canadian-based global processor Saputo, which has all but purchased Murray Goulburn, addressed 450 suppliers, industry stakeholders and rival processors at the Australian Dairy Conference in Melbourne last week.

Mr Saputo — who the previous day had met with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is currently reviewing the potential takeover — showed potential suppliers a harder edge to his usually charming persona.

He said during the four years it had owned Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, Saputo had honoured all commitments made to its suppliers and employees, and that Murray Goulburn suppliers could expect the same commitment.

‘‘Without a strong relationship (with suppliers) you’re only as good as your last transaction,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re thinking about this business, not year to year, but generation to generation. The lifeblood of our industry are suppliers; without them we don’t have an industry.’’

Mr Saputo had ‘‘a simple message to MG suppliers’’.

‘‘You don’t have to be a co-op to act fairly and responsibly. The ethics, respect and loyalty that we employ every day will be translated to our relationships with suppliers.

‘‘I want to be clear that loyalty, ethics and respect go both ways. We made it clear to suppliers: if you are going to be a supplier that jumps around, it will be very tough for us to be loyal in return.

‘‘However, if you’ve been loyal to our organisation and we decide one day to close a plant that’s close to your farm, it’s our responsibility to make sure your milk comes to one of our facilities.’’

Mr Saputo said the company ‘‘aggressively’’ paid down its debt and kept its ‘‘balance sheet clean’’ to enable it to take advantage of future potential acquisitions.

‘‘The dairy industry has a great future, but as an industry, we need to be mindful of the fact that we need to balance supply and demand.

‘‘Part of my frustration is I think there is a lack of leadership in the industry, perhaps in the producing side. We need to be responsible when putting production on at farm level, that there are consumers for these solids. And if there won’t be consumers, then stockpiles will grow.

‘‘If stockpiles grow, the prices will be depressed. Somewhere along the line there needs to be better balance in producing the amount that will be consumed.

‘‘I’m hoping somewhere along the line we may have some influence there.’’

The community members, who have been allocated to groups, will assist with major projects arising from G-MW’s Strategic Plan, released in September last year.

The outcomes of this work will feed into the Essential Services Commission (ESC) review of G-MW’s price structure from 2020.

The role of the GMID Asset 25-Year Strategy group will be to objectively provide input about the future service needs of customers within the GMID.

The Tariff and Pricing Review working groups will advise on the future service needs of customers as they relate to service and pricing options and customers’ understanding of what charges they would face for each option and why.

Both groups will also advise on G-MW proposals to reduce the future cost of maintaining and renewing assets; and opportunities to optimise on the use of assets within the GMID.

Members include representatives from catchment management authorities, other water organisations that are urban water customers, ‘‘retail’’ customers, environmental water holder customers and community members from across the region.

G-MW managing director Pat Lennon said the next pricing submission was due in August 2019, and the new ESC requirements and previous submissions had shown the importance of early, transparent and genuine engagement with customers.

‘‘We are delivering on a theme that was touched on a number of times during the lead-up to our updated strategic plan — that was the commitment to inviting our customer base to the table to have a genuine opportunity to have input and influence on important decisions,’’ he said.

Numurkah dairy farmer and Tariff and Pricing Review Gravity Irrigation and Drainage working group member Rachelle Moon said G-MW had previously not had a good track record when it came to customer engagement, and believed the groups were a big step towards more positive outcomes.

‘‘Pricing is complex and you only need to listen to some of the comments from today to realise that, but this is a worthy process,’’ she said.

‘‘Pricing is a big part of our business and that’s why we should be part of this process.’’

The laws will strengthen Australia’s biosecurity, and Federal Member for Murray Damian Drum welcomed the changes.

‘‘Strong traceability is a key part of a strong biosecurity system,’’ he said.

‘‘We have world class piggeries right here in the Murray electorate and it is important we can keep them disease-free and healthy,’’ he said.

‘‘The NLIS for pork, known as PigPass, uses ear tags or tattoos to identify animals.

‘‘All pig movements onto farms, saleyards, showgrounds and abattoirs are documented in a database using a National Vendor Declaration.

‘‘This database is used by state and territory governments to trace livestock in an emergency.

‘‘PigPass means animals can be identified quickly and allows the property of birth and residence to be easily located if there were ever a food safety issue or an exotic disease outbreak.

‘‘This would be important if Australia had, say, a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak — it would help find the source of disease and stop its spread.’’

JW and GE Bourke Pty Ltd owner John Bourke said it was about time the identification system was mandatory.

‘‘It’s about time they brought everyone in line. We’ve been doing it since 2006,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s been good for years and it will be bringing the 10 to 15 per cent that don’t do it into line.

‘‘I’m congratulating the government for doing something.’’

VFF Pig Group president and pig producer Tim Kingma agreed.

‘‘I think it’s a positive. The majority have been doing it for a long time and it gets us all in line with each other,’’ he said.

With the pork industry worth more than $1.3billion to the national economy, Mr Kingma said this mandatory law was important.

‘‘I’m glad that we have a big part to play. It’s a positive that all producers can trace all pigs.

‘‘If we have a foot and mouth outbreak, we will be able to trace where they came from and where they are. It’s good to know where everything is,’’ he said.

A further 40Ml a day will also flow down the Serpentine Creek through a three-day flow event.

North Central Catchment Management Authority environmental water manager Louissa Rogers said river regulation had resulted in artificial drought in some sections of waterways.

‘‘When you think that less than 20 per cent of Victoria’s water is allocated for the environment, and almost 60 per cent for irrigation, flows such as this one are really important,’’ Ms Rogers said.

‘‘Restoring native fish populations and building resilience in all our rivers, to prepare for whatever climate change throws at us, is something the community values strongly.’’

There are efforts Ms Rogers believes are paying dividends, with monitoring undertaken by the Arthur Rylah Institute showing significant increases in Murray-Darling rainbow fish in the Loddon and surrounding rivers.

The fish, which were once widespread across the basin, including in the Loddon River, suffered from the introduction of redfin and carp, as well as the impacts of river regulation.

‘‘They are still listed as vulnerable, but our water for the environment program is helping them make a comeback, in a big way,’’ Ms Rogers said.

‘‘We have done a lot of work in the past decade, especially since the end of the millennium drought, to rebuild rivers like the Loddon and restore the habitat and conditions native fish love.

‘‘We have put the right amount of water through the region at the right time which has created a productive environment for a lot of fish, frogs and other animals.’’

This follows the very heavy rainfalls in Broome at the end of January resulting in a record total for January of 915.6 mm.

To 9 am last Saturday, February 17, a total of 370.6 mm fell and this is a record daily fall for February and broke the 1932 record daily fall for February which was 302.5 mm on February 3, 1932. The next day another 96 mm fell in Broome.

So far this month 545 mm have fallen in Broome and the total this year to date has reached 1471 mm and this is only 25 mm short of the record wettest year of 2000 when 1496 mm. Broome could become the wettest ever town in northern WA this year.

Kalumburu currently holds this record when 1836 mms fell in 1955 which was a very wet year in our regions. High level cirrus clouds just this last weekend was observed to be moving from the NW and this is a good sign of rain.

Moisture levels from tropical cyclone Kelvin which gave Broome all that rain is anticipated to invade our regions this week resulting in hot and humid conditions. Isolated thunderstorms are likely, the heavier falls around the weekend of February 24 and 25.

Any rain would be most welcome. The first half of this month has been very dry indeed, the driest in our regions at most places since 1991. It was the driest first half of February in Coonabarabran since 1982. That year heavy rain fell in early March.

The first half of February 1955 was rainless in Coonabarabran, but a huge deluge of 292 mm fell during the last half of February 1955. The previous record daily fall for February of 302 mm in 1932 at Broome did set up violent thunderstorms across Victoria about three days later.

My mother who was staying at Mornington told us of a terrifying night she experienced during a violent thunderstorm in February that year. Many years later I did look up rainfall data for Mornington and found that 24 mms fell on Friday night, February 5 1932. (well before my time)!!

Tropical cyclone Gigie, which did lot of damage to Fiji a few days ago, is now sitting in the Tasman Sea and will provide more humid air to our regions as winds tend to be easterly the next few days.

Hosted by Numurkah District Health Service, the day was put on to see how farmers are feeling about recent changes to the industry.

‘‘I organised this day to talk to farmers about how they are tracking with the recent changes to the industry and so we know how to really help them,’’ Numurkah District Health Service’s community development dairy industry support worker Emma Knapp said.

‘‘It will also help shape the project I’m doing. The project is to develop resilience and build capacity in the dairy industry and aims to raise awareness of local support services and to establish and enhance social networks.’’

While Numurkah District Health Service has programs in place for dairy farmers, Ms Knapp said it was difficult to tell how many had enrolled in them.

‘‘There are 200 farmers within the Moira shire but it is hard to say how many farmers have taken up these services,’’ she said.

Murray Dairy’s community liaison officer Karen Rowlands said her role involved talking to farmers to see how they were feeling, and pointing them in the right direction when they needed help.

‘‘I’m usually ringing farmers and asking them how they are feeling and whether they have tapped into government initiatives available to them,’’ she said.

Agrisafe clinician and community health nurse Sue Crowther said the reason for her being at the event was to promote the new clinic based in Shepparton and to discuss how farmers can improve their overall health.

‘‘We’ve recently established an AgriSafe clinic in Shepparton which offers farmers a 10-minute occupational, health and wellbeing assessment.

‘‘The health checks include blood pressure checks, respiratory testing and hearing screenings,’’ she said.

The recommendations, which will be implemented by 2020, include:

■Creating a simplified business structure for better community transparency;

■A transformation panel will be appointed to drive the changes necessary;

■Reducing operating and capital costs to ensure prices remain affordable;

■Better managing and utilising G-MW assets into the future and delivery of capital projects;

■ A new customer engagement program to improve customer and stakeholder trust, and performance management;

■Developing a more transparent reporting framework to explain costs, financial performance and project updates to customers and the Board.

The key finding of the report is that financial savings are needed to ensure G-MW can continue to deliver reliable and affordable prices for its customers, irrigators and water users into the future.

It highlights the challenges facing G-MW, which require significant change to ensure the future prosperity of the irrigation district.

The report outlines efficiencies for improving delivery of G-MW’s core business that will promote and encourage further investment in the region.

A transition panel will work with G-MW to report back to the Board and Ms Neville to ensure these recommendations are implemented by 2020.

‘‘We want to support G-MW to ensure it can meet current challenges, so it can maximise investment and grow the irrigation district to support jobs and vibrant regional communities,’’ Ms Neville said.

Asked why a panel was needed, Ms Neville said the review was asked for by the community.

‘‘We needed to come at it from another lens, to have a closer look. It has been a really useful project that has enabled us to deeply understand the challenges and opportunities and a way forward.

‘‘The board and management were in the process of some of the transformation, but what is clear is that we need to accelerate that, and this is a road map for that.’’

The report found better stakeholder communication was needed.

‘‘I have met with chairs of the water services groups and the report makes it clear that not only do we need to take the staff with us on the journey of transformation, but we need those water service committees owning these changes so we need to make those committees more strategic and more central to decision making. They are certainly up for it, according to the conversation I have just had.

‘‘They feel almost a sense of relief that we have identified the problem and we have a solution.’’

Ms Neville said the board had embraced the report’s findings and the way forward.

The commission has released a wide-ranging draft report into financial sector competition, following a request by Treasurer Scott Morrison.

It found no government agency was specifically tasked with overseeing and promoting such competition and questioned the roles of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

‘‘Under current regulatory architecture, promoting competition requires a serious rethink about how the RBA, APRA and ASIC consider competition and whether the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is well placed to do more than it currently can for competition in the financial system,’’ the report said.

The commission also found the ‘‘Four Pillars’’ policy, first articulated in the 1990s as a way to maintain the separation of the big four banks to ensure competition, was no longer effective and may have done more harm than good.

‘‘The Four Pillars policy is a redundant convention,’’ the report said.

‘‘It is also not clear that the Four Pillars policy has met its stated objective of preserving competition, or whether instead it has eroded competition by embedding a fixed market structure.’’

Meanwhile, the commission said a regulatory clamp-down last year on the interest-only home loan applications for investors may have actually benefited the banks.

It argues the action by APRA resulted in higher interest rates on new and existing investment loans.

‘‘Up to half of the increase in lenders’ profit was in effect paid for by taxpayers, as interest on investment loans is tax deductible,’’ the report said.

It estimated the cost borne by taxpayers at up to $500million a year.

The draft report comes ahead of the start this week of a royal commission into the financial sector.

It warns the big four banks have substantial market power and the ability to pass on cost increases and set prices to maintain high profits — without losing market share.

Meanwhile, one-in-two people still bank with their first bank, because it’s ‘‘too much hassle’’ to change or they just want to keep their accounts at the one bank.

The commission also recommended the development of an online tool, using monthly data from mortgage lenders, to allow consumers to select different combinations of loans and show the specific fees that would affect the total cost.

‘‘We have recommended a 21st century disclosure regime that leverages the benefit of consumer digital data to make actual real-world prices openly available to the consumer public,’’ Productivity Commission chairman Peter Harris said.

The commission’s inquiries continue ahead of it handing a final report to the government in July.

A new study has found eating raw chicken increases the risk of dogs developing a paralysing and sometimes fatal condition by more than 70 times.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne’s U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital say the cause of acute polyradiculoneuritis (APN) in dogs has always baffled vets.

But their new study has found raw chicken, especially chicken necks, are a major risk factor.

APN is a relatively rare but debilitating condition that initially causes weakness in the hind legs that can spread to the front legs, neck, head and face.

‘‘Some dogs die if their chests are affected. Those who survive can take six months to recover,’’ chief investigator Dr Matthias le Chevoir said.

The paralysis is caused by the dog’s immune system becoming unregulated and attacking its own nerve roots, and is the doggy equivalent of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) in humans.

The bacteria Campylobacter is now considered a trigger agent in up to 40 per cent of people who develop GBS and it is present in undercooked chicken.

Dr le Chevoir and his colleagues set out to determine if raw chicken could also trigger APN in dogs.

They looked at the diets of 27 dogs with symptoms of the disease and compared them with a symptom-free control group, finding Campylobacter was the likely reason for immune system impairment and paralysis.

Researchers say the findings are a concern given the growing popularity of raw meat diets for dogs.

They say dog owners should choose regular dog food over raw chicken until more research is done.

The sale saw the stud sell its highest ever top-priced ram for $16000 and achieve an overall average of $1459/ram.

Ella Matta stud principal Jamie Heinrich said the app was an important part of the stud’s promotional activities and offered a great way of providing buyers with detailed information on each ram listed.

‘‘We put the full catalogues on RamSelect and we saw value in doing that because it gave our clients a good way to compare rams to meet their specific needs. Sorting through 200 rams without the assistance of RamSelect can be a daunting task,’’ Mr Heinrich said.

The web-based app allows ram buyers to find and rank rams based on Australian Sheep Breeding Values that match their own breeding objectives.

‘‘Commercial buyers find the site much easier for identifying rams of interest than sorting through spreadsheets of ASBV data,’’ Mr Heinrich said.

Work is starting on a flood study for the Broken River floodplain (Lake Nillahcootie to East Goulburn Main Channel), Goulburn River floodplain (Lake Eildon to Toolamba), rural areas (excluding Benalla, Seymour, Murchison and Shepparton) and large floods.

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority will be holding a series of drop-in sessions this month, which will allow the authority to understand how communities are affected during significant rain events.

Member for Euroa Steph Ryan said the study was designed to improve the GBCMA’s understanding and planning for a 100-year flood.

‘‘These drop-in sessions are an opportunity for locals to share their own knowledge of flood events or close encounters over recent years,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘It is important the catchment management authority hears about how our communities are affected in times of flooding and extreme rain events.

‘‘I encourage anyone interested to try and make it to one of the drop-in sessions.’’

If you are unable to make it to a drop-in session, you can still contribute feedback via a form online at www.gbcma.vic.gov.au or by phoning 58227700.

A session was held on February 12 at Nagambie.

The other sessions include:

■Toolamba — on Tuesday, February 13 from 4pm to 8pm at Toolamba Community Centre, Toolamba Recreation Reserve Site, Wren St, Toolamba.

■Benalla — on Wednesday, February 14 from 4pm to 8pm at the Pat Claridge room, Benalla Library, 2 Fawckner Dve, Benalla.

■Molesworth — on Thursday, February 15 from 4pm to 8pm at Molesworth Public Hall, 4355 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Molesworth.

■Trawool — on Friday, February 16 from 4pm to 8pm at the Committee Room, Trawool Valley Resort, 8150 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Trawool.

Ms Martin, 27, was bitten outside her home in Meekatharra last Monday night and taken to hospital, where she died after going into cardiac arrest.

The mother-of-one was 31 weeks pregnant with her second child but her unborn baby could not be saved.

Ms Martin, who according to her social media profile studied at Hamilton Senior High School in Perth, moved to Meekatharra to be with family.

Grieving relatives have described her as a loving mother who was taken too soon.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner.

Toxicology reports could take months but it is believed a western brown snake is most likely responsible for the bite.

Funded through Hort Innovation during 2016-17 with the tag #mangoemojiplease, emoji authority Unicode announced the inclusion of the emoji among a suite of others including a kangaroo, bagel and skateboard.

‘‘It’s very exciting for Australian mangoes and particularly for growers,’’ Hort Innovation acting market lead Elisa King said.

‘‘There are about six billion emojis sent on a daily basis and with so many fruit emojis, it is about time one of Australia’s favourite fruit has its own.’’

GOTAFE secured the contract to deliver the study tour with the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

The delegation has been drawn from representatives of all dairy producing states across India and consists of representatives from dairy co-operatives, dairy manufacturers and NDDB extension officers.

The Indian dairy industry is the largest producer of dairy products, however the productivity and quality of milk per cow is comparatively low.

The Dairy Study Tour will visit dairy farms selected for their specialty area of excellence where guest speakers will provide presentations and demonstrations on site.

Demonstrations of vocational education and practical education at remote sites will also be included.

The Dairy Study Tour will visit DataGene at La Trobe University at Bundoora; Tatura Milk; dairy farms around Shepparton, the Riverina, Kiewa Valley and Western District as well as GOTAFE’s Werribee Pilot Factory and Shepparton Campuses.

The NDDB Dairy Study Tour will commence on Monday, February 19 where the group will be welcomed by GOTAFE board chair Joanne Dwyer, GOTAFE chief executive officer Paul Culpan and representatives from the Greater Shepparton City Council.

The study tour will conclude with a presentation dinner on Saturday, February 24 at GOTAFE’s Werribee Campus.

An ANZ spokesperson said customers had changed the way they banked in recent years, with more opting to use online options and ATMs rather than visiting branches.

‘‘Of our customers who have Rochester as their home branch, only 21 per cent of them currently use the branch, with nearly 57 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,’’ a spokesperson said.

‘‘We have been responding to this change by making sure we provide the services they use most and reconfiguring our branch network to focus on where demand is greatest.

‘‘These have been difficult decisions and we apologise for the inconvenience we know this will cause some of our customers.’’

An ANZ branch in Mooroopna, a NAB branch in Murchison, and a Commonwealth Bank branch in Boort were all closed last year.

Berrigan’s NAB branch was also closed last year.

ANZ customers who prefer face-to-face services are encouraged to use Bank@Post services — which include deposits, withdrawals and debit or credit card payments — at their local post office.

The ATM will remain in Rochester, with staff members currently working at the branch being supported while redeployment opportunities within ANZ are explored.

The ATM will remain in Gillies St, Rochester.

The VFF met with a number of state farming organisations, as well as the council, to discuss how best to represent Australian cattle producers.

However, VFF Livestock president Leonard Vallance said the suggested solutions fell short.

‘‘They’ve had three years to get it right and they’ve failed to do so. That’s long enough by anyone’s standard,’’ VFF Livestock president Leonard Vallance said.

‘‘They failed to provide a funding model, and a workable structure for the new body. Their suggested 15 regions were not viable and would’ve led to huge financial burden on the industry.’’

Mr Vallance has argued that the proposed 15-region model would create a disconnect between state and national representation, and given that the state farming organisations are the peak industry bodies for cattle in their state, they provide a better avenue for policy development from grassroots through to state and federal issues.

‘‘The SFOs provide a free service for Peak Industry Councils through board member training, industry knowledge, and taking care of local and state issues, which allows bodies like Cattle Council to focus on national and international trade and market access issues,’’ Mr Vallance said.

He also encouraged producers to join and stand for office with the Cattle Council of Australia.

‘‘The time for throwing stones is over; sign up and have your say,’’ Mr Vallance said.

And I have 1.8 billion Chinese people almost entirely focussed on me and my extraordinary qualities, to which they all aspire, according to The Boss. While it might seem, at first blush, that so many people hold me in awe and admiration, if The Donald has taught me one thing, it is that one should assume this is the natural order or things.

The Boss tells me the dog is the eleventh animal in the Chinese zodiac and is the symbol for loyalty and honesty. This shouldn't surprise you. People born in the Year of the Dog have a shot at acquiring the finest of human qualities - qualities that my friends and I possess in abundance: apart from being loyal and honest, we are faithful, friendly, straightforward, smart, venerable and have a deep sense of responsibility.

No point going into weaknesses when one has so many strengths.

So the Chinese get very excited about having siblings and relatives being born in this year - and they also covet their dogs. 

I figure they are collecting this lot together to go to a New year party, right?

I mean, ever since The Boss mentioned it I have been reflecting on what special treats might be in store for me. A bone a day - for a year? A regular lunchtime biscuit? Or some more meaningful changes, like, with the season opening coming up, The Boss swimming out to get the ducks and bringing them back to ME. That would be worth watching.

Perhaps I let my thinking wander, because The Boss tells me they may not be going to a party after all. Well, not the sort of New Year's Eve party we imagine.

The Boss says he once saw a Chinese restaurant inviting customers to bring in their dogs and they would cook them! The eldest Young Boss sent him this picture from western China a few years back.

Well, it could just be a dog-minding centre, couldn't it? I mean, who would ever eat a dog? Then again, this dog looks remarkably like the Golden Leave-it-There, and no-one would be sorry if they ate him. Least of all me. He's the one who has bad dreams, wakes up suddenly and takes a piece out of me as if I'm about to murder him. 

But it's not just the Chinese, The Boss insists. When he was in Vietnam a few years back, a taxi driver told him that blokes scouting for edible dogs ride around on motorbikes, holding a long stick with a fish-hook in the end of it. They try and snare any likely hound in the corner of the mouth and make off with him. Lovely.

Then he showed me this shot of a Vietnamese "food delivery."

This is enough to turn your stomach. Even mine, and mine will put up with a lot.

So, I've decided that, while I feel compelled to make a fuss about the Year of the Dog, I will do that right here, in my own patch, along the Goulburn River - and keep an eye out for suspicious motorbike riders.

But no need to think about this picture when Chinese New Year starts tomorrow - just think of ME. It's my Year, after all. Woof!

Makes 48.

Ingredients:

3 sheets butter puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tbsp milk

Option 1: Feta and black olive

100g feta, crumbled

2 tbsp finely chopped basil

2 tbsp finely chopped black olives

Option 2: Smoked ham, gruyere and asparagus

100g gruyere or strong cheddar cheese, cut into 16 batons

100g prosciutto, cut into 16 strips

8 mini asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in half

Option 3: Fig, caramelised onion and brie

onion, finely chopped

20g butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 small figs, cut into 16 wedges

100g brie, cut into wedges

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan-forced). Cut each sheet of pastry into 16 even squares. Allocate each pastry sheet to a filling.

Fill as per instructions below.

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

1: For feta and olive filling:

Combine all ingredients. Spoon filling diagonally across each square and fold over opposite corners to overlap and seal like a Danish.

2: For prosciutto, gruyere and asparagus filling:

Place a stick of cheese diagonally across each square and top with a stick of asparagus and a strip of prosciutto. Fold over opposite corners to overlap and seal like a Danish.

3: For fig, brie and caramelised onion filling:

Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and add butter and onions.

Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

Add sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes or until caramelised. Remove from heat and cool.

Spoon onion diagonally across each square of pastry.

Top with wedge of brie and fig.

Fold over opposite corners to overlap and seal like a Danish.

■Source: Dairy Australia, visit

http://www.legendairy.com.au/recipes/the-dairy-kitchen-recipe-landing

Min was very premature when she was born and she was just so tiny. I didn’t think she would even make it through the night when we brought her home. Ants had started to bite her eyelids and she was in quite a poor condition, but I still fed her. I was surprised when she made it through the first night and she just continued to get stronger as the days went by.

So does Min really think she is a dog?

Well, she certainly doesn’t think she is a sheep. She doesn’t associate with them at all. She won’t eat from the same trough and if you put her in a paddock with other sheep she just stands at the gate and cries until I come and get her.

What about her morning walk?

She likes to walk every morning with me and the dogs, although she doesn’t go with anyone else because she thinks I am her mum. She sniffs everything along the way like the other dogs but she stays away from the Kelpies and just hangs around with me and the Border Collie, Bella.

Tell me about the other dogs.

There are two Kelpies — Jo and her aunty Tok, and Bella the Border Collie. Jo is the most loyal dog I have ever seen and she loves me unconditionally. In fact, one day in the shearing shed she actually nipped me when she was trying to protect me. Tok got too close to me and they started to fight and she accidently ended up nipping me. She was very sorry after.

Do Tok and Jo normally fight?

They are normally very good together and they make a great working team. Tok works the outside very well and Jo the inside — they actually work quite harmoniously.

You must be very happy to have such good working dogs.

We certainly are. We are lucky to even have Tok. She was meant to be shipped out to Dubai as a working dog, so we ended up with her by default. She is actually smarter than both of us and she has taught us a lot. Tony is very good with the dogs and they respect him. Jo was my attempt to be a better sheepdog person than Tony but there were two problems with that: I am not a better dog person and my dog’s not (better than Tok) either, but I love her anyway.

Words and pictures: 

Sophie Baldwin

Broome artist Sobrane, who begun to paint the silo on Sunday said she expects the whole process to take a total of 10 days.

And I have 1.8 billion Chinese people almost entirely focussed on me and my extraordinary qualities, to which they all aspire, according to The Boss. While it might seem, at first blush, that so many people hold me in awe and admiration, if The Donald has taught me one thing, it is that one should assume this is the natural order or things.

The Boss tells me the dog is the eleventh animal in the Chinese zodiac and is the symbol for loyalty and honesty. This shouldn't surprise you. People born in the Year of the Dog have a shot at acquiring the finest of human qualities - qualities that my friends and I possess in abundance: apart from being loyal and honest, we are faithful, friendly, straightforward, smart, venerable and have a deep sense of responsibility.

No point going into weaknesses when one has so many strengths.

So the Chinese get very excited about having siblings and relatives being born in this year - and they also covet their dogs. 

I figure they are collecting this lot together to go to a New year party, right?

I mean, ever since The Boss mentioned it I have been reflecting on what special treats might be in store for me. A bone a day - for a year? A regular lunchtime biscuit? Or some more meaningful changes, like, with the season opening coming up, The Boss swimming out to get the ducks and bringing them back to ME. That would be worth watching.

Perhaps I let my thinking wander, because The Boss tells me they may not be going to a party after all. Well, not the sort of New Year's Eve party we imagine.

The Boss says he once saw a Chinese restaurant inviting customers to bring in their dogs and they would cook them! The eldest Young Boss sent him this picture from western China a few years back.

Well, it could just be a dog-minding centre, couldn't it? I mean, who would ever eat a dog? Then again, this dog looks remarkably like the Golden Leave-it-There, and no-one would be sorry if they ate him. Least of all me. He's the one who has bad dreams, wakes up suddenly and takes a piece out of me as if I'm about to murder him. 

But it's not just the Chinese, The Boss insists. When he was in Vietnam a few years back, a taxi driver told him that blokes scouting for edible dogs ride around on motorbikes, holding a long stick with a fish-hook in the end of it. They try and snare any likely hound in the corner of the mouth and make off with him. Lovely.

Then he showed me this shot of a Vietnamese "food delivery."

This is enough to turn your stomach. Even mine, and mine will put up with a lot.

So, I've decided that, while I feel compelled to make a fuss about the Year of the Dog, I will do that right here, in my own patch, along the Goulburn River - and keep an eye out for suspicious motorbike riders.

But no need to think about this picture when Chinese New Year starts tomorrow - just think of ME. It's my Year, after all. Woof!

The kangaroo population has exploded to plague proportions in recent years with the abundant supply of grazing feed and water artificially inflating the natural kangaroo population, with the Federal Department of Environment quoting more than 48million head in Australia, which is up from 25million in 2011.

According to VFF Livestock president Leonard Vallance, the growing kangaroo population has a detrimental impact on not only agriculture but also native flora and fauna, leaving little shelter for other animals, reptiles, birds and insects.

‘‘The kangaroo pet food industry is a means of managing the kangaroo population at a sustainable and viable level in a regulated environment,’’ Mr Vallance said.

‘‘It’s time for Minister D’Ambrosio to commit to the commercialisation and provide certainty to the people invested in the industry.

‘‘We’re very concerned about the amount of damage and destruction the kangaroo population is currently presenting to Victorian farming land.

‘‘This is the best way to reduce the economic and environmental damage caused by excess numbers of kangaroos, create jobs in the meat supply chain, and boost revenue that would be invested back into rural communities at the same time.’’

Nationals deputy leader Steph Ryan said more needed to be done.

‘‘The Kangaroo Pet Food Trial is a practical measure to address Victoria’s kangaroo problem,’’ Ms Ryan said last month.

‘‘It reduces waste, allows carcases to be repurposed and creates employment, but it is soon due to expire,’’ she said.

Commercial kangaroo and wallaby harvesting is regulated by state legislation which licenses commercial kangaroo and wallaby shooters on the condition that they can only sell carcases of animals that have been treated in accordance with the National Code of Practice.

The VFF also sees the benefit of investigating the pet food supply chain for the management of the increasing deer population in Victoria.

Held at the Kyabram Showgrounds, the March 17 and 18 event will have more than 100 Mack trucks on show, and the event will bring together a number of other brands as well as displays of Australian machinery from the past.

Vintage engines, blacksmithing and sheep shearing will all be on display, as well as car and hobby displays.

Entry is $5 per adult with children under 16 years old free, and on-site catering is available.

■For more information phone Barb on 0439 448 444 or John on 0427 484 247 or email thomobarb@bigpond.com

‘‘This would risk returning the future of our nation’s most important water resource, and the communities and industries that rely on it, to a state of uncertainty and peril,’’ Mr Glyde said.

‘‘Claims that the plan’s investment in more modern and efficient water infrastructure is not delivering benefits for the environment are simply not true.

‘‘So far, basin plan water infrastructure efficiency programs have recovered over 700Gl of water for the environment. These are genuine water savings transferred to the Commonwealth in the form of water entitlements.

‘‘In total, we have now achieved almost all the water recovery required under the plan, with more than 2100Gl of water recovered for the environmental health of the river system.

‘‘That’s more than 2100Gl of water that will be delivered back to the environment every year, on average, and is equivalent to more than four times the volume of Sydney Harbour.

‘‘The basin plan was neither expected nor intended to deliver immediate results. It is simply not possible to repair 100 years of damage to such a vast river system overnight or even within five years.’’

Mr Glyde said a progress report on the plan’s first five years found that where environmental water was able to be delivered, there were positive ecological responses.

‘‘Environmental water has been used in over 750 planned watering events in the past four years, with environmental water holders working together to get water to priority areas at the right time,’’ Mr Glyde said.

The company recorded an after-tax profit of $14million for the first half of the financial year.

The first half of 2018 had been challenging for Murray Goulburn, chief executive officer Ari Mervis said.

‘‘The inability to pay a competitive milk price has resulted in a substantial loss of milk. While management initiatives continue to address the cost base and commercial performance, the business remains exposed to competitive pressures and future refinancing requirements.’’

Mr Mervis said the step-up in milk price announced in October last year had helped in stabilising milk intake.

‘‘Successful completion of the Saputo transaction is expected to result in a favourable outcome for stakeholders, including ensuring value for shareholders and unitholders and a competitive milk price and milk collection commitment for suppliers.’’

Subject to completion of the Saputo sale, Murray Goulburn maintains a forecast farm gate milk price of $5.60/kg — a 40¢/kg increase on the underlying $5.20/kg price.

The company noted that if the Saputo sale failed to eventuate, Murray Goulburn might not be able to pay a competitive farm gate milk price.

‘‘Further losses of milk flow may trigger an impairment to Murray Goulburn’s assets that could breach banking covenants and result in potential withdrawal of creditors’ support and an increased risk to Murray Goulburn’s ability to refinance its expiring debt facilities,’’ the company said.

Murray Goulburn’s normalised after tax profit was $14.4million, compared to $9.4million in the first half of 2017. The company noted it had recorded a statutory net loss after tax of $27million, taking into account adjustments related to the proposed sale to Saputo.

Mr Drum said the government had received legal advice that the the 605Gl and the 450Gl were tied together.

Basin governments have identified a suite of projects which make the delivery of water more efficient and flexible. An assessment by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has determined there will be 605Gl of additional water available for communities through the adjustment mechanism if the package of projects is agreed to.

‘‘We have always understood that we had to get the 605Gl signed off and agreed to first before we could worry about the 450Gl,’’ Mr Drum said.

‘‘We need to get that agreed to and accepted by all the states.

‘‘We are not backing away from the fact that the 450Gl can only be delivered under social and economic neutrality.

‘‘And on this point, the National party, David Littleproud and myself have seen no change in our language.

‘‘In my conversations with the minister (Littleproud) and with Mr Joyce, they both understood that it was going to be practically impossible for the irrigation communities to find the 450Gl without causing social and economic detriment to all those farming communities.

‘‘We are working around the clock to try to get the 605Gl SDLs through.’’

Asked if there was a divide between him and the water industry leaders of the Goulburn Valley in view of recent public statements, Mr Drum said he was regularly talking to the leaders and he understood their concerns about the delivery of the 450Gl.

But he said it was only the National party and the Liberal party which were really aware of the impact the 450Gl would have on rural communities.

He said he supported the GMID water leadership group in its approach.

Mr Drum said he was maintaining the fight in Canberra.

‘‘We are fighting like hell on this issue,’’ he said.

Police Minister Lisa Neville accused the Opposition’s amendments of disgracefully seeking to support organised crime figures over victims.

‘‘We won’t be accepting any amendments to the bill or tolerating any attempts by the Liberals to water down this crucial piece of legislation,’’ Ms Neville said.

‘‘If Matthew Guy’s not eating lobsters with alleged mobsters, he’s watering down laws that target organised crime.’’

The new laws, which are supported and required by Victoria Police, are designed to step up the fight against criminals who use illegal firearms to destroy the lives of innocent people.

Victoria Police had said the laws were a game changer when it came to disrupting organised crime — and they want the laws passed because they will give officers the power to search the premises or vehicles of anyone subject to a Firearm Prohibition Order, as well as anyone in the company of someone with such an order, without a warrant.

According to the government, the Liberal party amendments do nothing except weaken the ability of Victoria Police to target organised crime gangs who use firearms.

Shadow Police Minister Edward O’Donohue accused the government of not having these laws passed already.

‘‘Buried in the bill is the default start date of September 30, 2018,’’ he said.

‘‘This bill should already be law if Daniel Andrews had put it to a vote months ago instead of prioritising other bills.

‘‘We flagged some reasonable amendments like changing the avenue of appeal to the Magistrates’ Court and the operation period of the order.

‘‘We also made it clear that if these amendments do not pass, the Liberal Nationals will vote for the government’s bill.’’

Suzanna Sheed said inadequate mobile reception in Shepparton district towns was just not acceptable because it was a safety issue and could affect the welfare of communities.

The State Member for Shepparton used a constituency question in parliament this week to quiz the Victorian Government on progress towards removing the Shepparton-area blackspots.

‘‘Can you please advise what action is being taken to appropriately assess and improve the significant lack of mobile phone reception in the Shepparton electorate and to ensure my constituents receive the service they deserve?’’ she asked.

‘‘Katunga is a town in my electorate that was already identified as a priority area, and indeed many constituents in that area have voiced their concern about lack of coverage for years.’’

Katandra West is in a similar situation.

Ms Sheed said phone reception should not be a luxury in the modern day and it was now a safety issue for the towns, which needed to be addressed as a priority.

‘‘I and many of my constituents hold grave concerns about what the poor coverage could mean in an emergency when vital safety information cannot be relayed to communities, and I look forward to seeing what the government will be doing about this,’’ she said.

Stakeholders last month argued whichever tier of government was best placed to provide reliable mobile phone coverage to poorly-connected local communities should lead the way with it.

It follows the Victorian Government’s decision last month to turn its back on the Federal Government’s mobile blackspot program to instead put funding into its own towers.

In a thinly veiled barb, the Victorian Government committed to instead choosing mobile tower locations ‘‘based on merit and necessity, rather than political interests’’.

The state will instead spend $11million it would have invested in the third round of the federal program to work with major telcos to build new towers.

Katandra West dentist David Whelan this month said the town had been disappointed it had not yet been provided for under the program, despite continuous efforts.

Last month Katunga locals told Country News connectivity in the town was ‘‘virtually non-existent’’.

Despite the state government’s decision, locals remained unconvinced it would improve their situation.

Virbac Australia said drench resistance cost the Australian sheep and wool industry millions of dollars from lost production and associated costs each year and some sheep farmers continued to use outdated drench technology on their farms.

Virbac Australia sheep product manager Terrance Loughlin said most older drenches relied on a single drench group or a combination of drench groups and did not always kill triple-resistant and monepantel-resistant worms — making it historically very difficult to eradicate them.

‘‘That’s because when farmers use a drench that doesn’t kill triple-resistant worms, over time they’re actually increasing the proportion of those resistant worms on their property,’’ he said.

‘‘Not only do certain combination drenches provide a better worm kill rate, but they can also substantially reduce the proliferation of drench-resistant species. The chance of a worm having genes resistant to a drench containing three active ingredients is much lower than being resistant to just one.

‘‘This leaves fewer resistant worms to reproduce, reducing any further development of resistance.’’

Virbac has launched a new class of combination oral sheep drench incorporating micellar technology for improved efficacy that will revolutionise the worm control market.

Tridectin is the only broad-spectrum combination drench with a registered claim to kill triple-resistant and monepantel-resistant worms.

With 14 days’ persistent activity against moxidectin-sensitive strains of barber’s pole worm and small brown stomach worm, and with a shorter-than-usual export slaughter interval (ESI) of just 17 days — 11 days shorter than other combination drenches — Tridectin delays drench-resistance, and stops worms from coming back.

‘‘A shorter ESI means that sheep can go to slaughter sooner, and greater persistency after drenching helps to break the worm cycle for cleaner pastures and healthier overall conditions. That makes this new product an essential part of any sheep producer program,’’ Mr Loughlin said.

Last week Mr Littleproud said the 450Gl of ‘‘up-water’’ and the 650Gl of ‘‘down-water’’ were tied together.

He said the nation was now facing a risk that if the 650Gl of water savings was not approved by Federal Parliament, then Victoria would have to find an extra 250Gl of water.

Mr Littleproud has also referred to the plan as a 3200Gl plan.

Irrigation communities have been reminding parliamentarians that the 450Gl, under the basin plan, can only be delivered if there is no negative impact on communities.

Water industry leader Peter Hall has accused Mr Littleproud of making a policy backflip on the basin.

‘‘Wasn’t it only 12 months ago that the previous water minister, Barnaby Joyce, endured a tirade of expletives for stating calmly and factually that the 450Gl of up-water could not possibly be delivered according to legislative requirements?’’ Mr Hall, from Mooroopna, said last week.

‘‘To great relief in irrigation communities along the Murray, he reaffirmed what we all know to be true — removing any more water from the consumptive pool cannot be achieved without harming communities who depend on this water for their lifeblood.

‘‘In only two months on the job, David Littleproud has breathtakingly reversed this position, injecting uncertainty and confusion into the issue that, whilst contentious, was settled by the previous minister. Its disingenuous for him to reduce the socio-economic test to that between a willing seller and a bucketful of public money.

‘‘It’s bewildering. We have Federal Labor hellbent on ramming through the 450Gl, a Nationals Federal Minister riding roughshod over regional community concerns and state Nationals completely silent. Ironically, at this stage Lisa Neville, State Labor Water Minister, seems to be a lone voice standing up for Victorian irrigators.

‘‘Our communities have never felt so abandoned by those who traditionally should see us as their heartland.

‘‘Minister Neville rightly appreciates the heavy lifting Victoria has done in contributing to agreed environmental flows and has put a halt on any further removal of water.

‘‘In reality, irrigators’ contribution to the MDBA plan is virtually complete. Real leadership would take on those like Ian Hunter and Tony Burke, who oppose the plan’s rules on the 450Gl up-water and want to see regional Victoria torched for a few South Australian seats.

‘‘I would ask Minister Littleproud to rethink his position, take on the legitimate concerns communities up and down the Murray share, or we will run the risk of starting a ‘‘water war’’ in the middle of an election year.’’

The coalition was unable to strike a deal with Labor, which supported a Greens disallowance motion in the Senate last night with it passing 32 votes to 30.

.NSW Water Minister Niall Blair said the plan, which delivers healthy rivers and viable regional communities, had been thrown on the scrap heap in a "race for votes in South Australia"."This move makes the basin plan untenable for NSW," he said.His Victorian counterpart Lisa Neville has also flagged intentions to walk away."(It) is a slap in the face to communities and a slap in the face to the environment," she said."We want the commonwealth to investigate all options to overturn this decision. If that is not possible the plan cannot be delivered."The federal government was attempting to reduce the amount of water being returned to the environment in southern Queensland and northern NSW, easing pressure on farmers in those regions.

Farmers are also upset with the Labor and Greens for pushing through the disallowance motion.

The Labor Party and the Greens have all but guaranteed the Basin Plan will not deliver outcomes for environmental health according to Southern Riverina Irrigators.

“Labor Senator Penny Wong admitted the Basin Plan is now at risk and blamed Malcolm Turnbull for handing the water portfolio to the Nationals,” SRI Chair Gabrielle Coupland said.

“But the amendment is the result of a clause in the Basin Plan written in there by Labor’s Tony Burke and follows years of scientific review and community consultation.

“By taking this action today, the Senate has decided they know better than the experts and have put at risk environmental outcomes, jobs and industries.  “The only people to blame are the Greens and the Labor Party. “Every issue they have raised can be addressed, and processes are in place to do so.  They have no justifiable reason not to support the recommendation of the MDBA - an independent authority.”

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill this week said he was ‘‘fighting for what’s right’’, and I agree with his sentiments.

It is time we all started not only ‘‘fighting for what’s right’’, but also ‘‘doing what’s right’’.

Mr Weatherill was commenting directly on the South Australian Royal Commission into the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, which needs to be more far-reaching than protecting South Australia’s interests, which the premier proposes.

He seems to have forgotten that this was a plan developed by four states and the Federal Government to protect the entire Murray-Darling Basin, not specifically South Australia’s water supply.

Mr Weatherill is also a bit loose with the facts when he says 3200Gl has been ‘‘secured to deliver a healthy Murray-Darling Basin’’.

In fact, 2750Gl was secured, and his government supported the legislation that this would only be recovered if there were no adverse socio-economic impacts across the basin.

Now that we have unequivocal proof there will be socio-economic damage if there are attempts to recover the additional 450Gl, Mr Weatherill is trying to use his government’s political clout to have this vital part of the legislation ignored. Is that ‘‘fighting for what’s right’’?

It is past time that South Australia accepted this is a four-state basin plan, not a South Australian plan.

As part of its Royal Commission, it needs to investigate recommendations of the 2016 report from a Senate inquiry into the basin plan, in particular those relating to South Australia, as follows:

■Evaluate the effect of purchasing irrigation water while declining to use its desalination plant;

■Undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the South Australian barrages including removing them all, removing some or modifications, and if the analysis indicates one or more lead to positive social, economic and environmental outcomes then the basin plan be amended accordingly;

■Calculate the economic value of freshwater evaporated from the Lower Lakes;

■Undertake a detailed study to inform whether a reassessment of the Coorong’s Ramsar listing from a freshwater system to an estuarine system is more appropriate; and

■Investigate construction of an additional lock above Lake Alexandrina, such as near Wellington, South Australia.

Remember, these were recommendations from a detailed Senate inquiry that investigated ways to implement a basin plan that could deliver social, economic and environmental benefits across the entire basin.

They should be back on the table at the next meeting of the basin’s Ministerial Council, with the federal and other state governments demanding immediate action.

One also has to question why the supposedly independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority is not strongly articulating the view that these recommendations should be actioned as a matter of urgency.

That, I believe, would be ‘‘fighting for what’s right’’. As a consequence, I trust all these issues will be part of the South Australian Government’s Basin Plan Royal Commission and ongoing basin plan discussions.

— Shelley Scoullar, Deniliquin

More than faith needed

How comforting that Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce ‘‘has faith’’ that those central to striking the TTP deal know what they are doing, and would not set us up with a dog of a deal.

Saints preserve us from fools!

Australian farmers everywhere can tell you horror stories about FTAs.

Have Joyce, who is yet to see the full details of the deal, and Ciobo, who won’t release any details, never been to a cattle sale?

You know, that place where you go to inspect, assess and see what you are laying out your hard earned for.

How about showing us the details of this deal, because ‘‘faith’’ just doesn’t cut it?

— Peter Neilson,

Heathcote

Dig deeper

The individuals who signed a so-called Murray-Darling Declaration calling for changes to the basin plan make some good points which deserve further consideration.

An environmentally-healthy, working basin is in the interests of all Australians and is certainly the priority for virtually all its residents. I was surprised the group did not place more emphasis on achieving this aspiration for the benefit of their fellow mankind.

That being as it is, I offer my support and comment on some of the issues that have been raised:

■Stop further expenditure on irrigation infrastructure. I’m not sure we really want to stop projects that save water, however if this was to take place, the money could be channelled into end of system infrastructure, which for some inexplicable reason has been ignored. As I am sure those in the group would appreciate, we are trying to turn a traditionally estuarine system into a freshwater system which, to my mind, seems contradictory from a scientific perspective. I’m not sure why the group is not insisting that the barrages be modernised or upgraded and perhaps the suggested Wellington Lock installed, thus returning the end of system to its natural state.

■Audit all water recovery. This is essential. Latest scientific reports, including CSIRO, question many aspects of water recovery so far under the basin plan, including the modelling on which recovery targets were based. Much of the modelling was undertaken during the millennium drought which, as the studies are now showing, was not a true indication of the basin’s health or history. Remember the saying about lies, damned lies and statistics? The same could be said for basin plan modelling — you can make the science tell to you what you want, it’s just a matter of selecting the right timeframe. In this instance the millennium drought appears to be used to suit a particular agenda, so let’s stop all water recovery and undertake some serious scientific study that accurately reflects long-term trends.

■Establish an independent expert advisory body. The group suggests this should be a scientific body. I would make it broader and truly representative of our nation’s interests in achieving a healthy, working basin that supports regional communities, puts food on the tables of our city cousins and feeds billions of people throughout the world. Unfortunately, it would be extremely difficult making this a truly independent body because, as we have seen, personal agendas tend to dominate, such as the need to secure government funding streams and politics. But it’s worth a try.

I look forward to the group endorsing my actions, which would benefit the basin, my fellow Australians and billions of starving people throughout the world who I believe our nation should support.

— Daryl McDonald, Murrabit

Ms Ryan told Victorian Parliament last week that a source with intimate knowledge of the wire rope barrier project raised concerns about the rollout, claiming it was rushed, didn’t meet safety standards and there were not enough people to inspect and supervise the works.

‘‘Thousands of people across Victoria believe the rollout of wire rope barriers is making our roads more dangerous,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘I am urging the premier and the roads minister to halt the rollout until these concerns and last week’s awful accident can be investigated by authorities.

‘‘The information passed to me alleges the wire rope barrier was installed behind a fixed rail W-beam, which caused the car to slide along the rope barrier and into the end of the rail barrier. This is a serious and alarming allegation which warrants an immediate and thorough investigation.’’

In December Ms Ryan called on Roads and Road Safety Minister Luke Donnellan to halt the rollout.

‘‘These aren’t just my own concerns, they also come from emergency services workers, farmers and road transport industry workers, as well as motorists and motorbike riders,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘Instead of investigating or agreeing to my request for the rollout to be halted, the minister’s only response has been to label country people raising their concerns about these barriers banjo-playing conspiracy theorists and dingbats.’’

Ms Ryan has launched a petition which will be tabled in Parliament calling on the Victorian Government to immediately halt the rollout of wire rope barriers until safety issues have been addressed and a more strategic approach for barrier placement can be adopted.

‘‘I am not opposed to the strategic placement of these barriers in places where they will be most effective. I am, however, vehemently opposed to a blanket rollout which jeopardises community safety,’’ Ms Ryan said.

A photograph of Mr Joyce’s pregnant partner Vikki Campion, 33, on the front page of The Daily Telegraph has triggered a fierce debate about whether the image and accompanying article are an invasion of privacy or matter of public interest.

Mr Joyce, 50, broke his silence on the scandal during an interview on national television on Thursday night.

‘‘I can’t quite fathom why basically a pregnant lady walking across the road deserves a front page,’’ he told ABC TV.

‘‘I think once we start going through this salami-slicing of a private life, where does it end?’’

Mr Joyce said there was no evidence that he had used taxpayer dollars for trips to conduct a relationship with the staffer.

‘‘I’ll say up front that one of the greatest failures in my life was the end of my marriage,’’ Mr Joyce said.

His former wife, Natalie Joyce, said her husband’s former media adviser had been a welcome visitor to the family home.

‘‘Naturally we feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved,’’ Mrs Joyce said.

‘‘The situation for myself and the girls has been made worse by the fact it’s been played out in public at this time.’’

Rumours of the affair and pregnancy surfaced during the by-election in Mr Joyce’s New England seat in October but weren’t publicly confirmed.

After winning the by-election, Mr Joyce told Federal Parliament his 24-year marriage was over.

The couple has reportedly moved in together and the baby is due in April.

‘‘It’s something I view as none of my business,’’ Labor frontbencher Tony Burke said.

‘‘This ricochets and affects families. There’s a principle here that I’ve always abided by, to not engage in anything that hits the private lives of other members of parliament.’’

Greens MP Adam Bandt agreed.

‘‘I don’t really care who Barnaby Joyce or anyone else is sleeping with,’’ he told Sky News.

However, gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded on ‘‘hypocrite’’ Mr Joyce, who had opposed legalising same-sex marriage.

‘‘You can’t put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,’’ Mr Croome said.

Mr Joyce denied he was a hypocrite.

‘‘I am not going to say therefore just because I failed I’m going to completely change my views and definition,’’ he said.

A fifth generation dairy farmer, Mr Keely runs a herd of more than 300 milking cows near Cohuna and developed an interest in sustainable farm management practices which has inspired his research.

‘‘I’ve observed that as dairy operations in Northern Victoria get bigger, they are becoming more intensive, and the need for environmentally sustainable effluent management systems is becoming more and more critical.

‘‘Average herd size has increased from 93 cows in 1985 to around 284 cows today. This has led to an intensification of the industry resulting in the widespread use of feed pads and loafing areas.

‘‘These practices see large amounts of manure build up quickly, and I know I’m not alone in the struggle to develop cost-effective and environmentally sustainable management methods in response.’’

Mr Keely’s Nuffield experience saw him visit intensive operations in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Netherlands, Denmark, United States, New Zealand and Canada, where he met with farmers and researchers and observed a range of innovative effluent use and disposal methods.

His research led him to conclude that the regulatory environment within which Australian dairy farmers operate is more relaxed than other countries, partly due to our abundance of space and lower soil fertility levels.

‘‘Australian farmers generally use the cheapest method to apply effluent and manure. This is understandable, but overseas examples demonstrate that the cheapest application method is not always the most cost-effective over the long term.’’

The group is calling for a halt to all public subsidies and grants towards irrigation infrastructure in the basin and an independent audit to examine environmental outcomes.

‘‘This is not about politics or about playing the ‘blame game’,’’ Australian National University economics professor Quentin Grafton said.

‘‘It is about saying water reform is not delivering what it said it would for the basin, its environment or its people, and saying how we solve it.’’

The group of 12 signatories also includes former chief science adviser to the National Water Commission Richard Davis.

But the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and other water industry leaders have dismissed the declaration.

‘‘Claims that the plan’s investment in more modern and efficient water infrastructure is not delivering benefits for the environment are simply not true,’’ chief executive Phillip Glyde said.

‘‘The basin plan was neither expected nor intended to deliver immediate results.

‘‘It is simply not possible to repair 100 years of damage to such a vast river system overnight, or even within five years.’’

Federal Assistant Water Minister Anne Ruston said scientists would be the first people screaming at them for not delivering the plan on time, ‘‘and yet they are now the ones telling us to stop the plan’’.

The Murray River Group of Councils expressed disappointment at the intervention.

‘‘The assertions in this so-called declaration are simply wrong and shows that Prof Grafton and his group just don’t understand the impact on the communities of the basin,’’ Murray River Group of Councils chairperson Cheryl McKinnon said.

‘‘The assertion that investment in irrigation infrastructure is only providing benefits to irrigators is untrue and is offensive to the people who live in the basin who have put in huge efforts to provide water for the environment.

‘‘The recommendations of the so-called declaration are invalid and represent an irresponsible intervention into the politics of the basin plan.

‘‘It is strange that on one hand Prof Grafton and his group are worried about a waste of taxpayers’ money and on the other want to spend more on an audit and on a group of scientists to apparently replicate the work of the basin authority.

‘‘The communities of northern Victoria and I believe in the whole basin and reject this type of irresponsible and political intervention and strongly urge ministers to reject it too.’’

The Murray River Group of Councils comprises six councils in northern Victoria — Mildura and Swan Hill rural city councils and Loddon, Gannawarra, Campaspe and Moira shires.

Broome artist Sobrane, who begun to paint the silo on Sunday said she expects the whole process to take a total of 10 days.

Check out some drone footage of the artwork below.

‘‘For me it is a lattice because you often go sidewards and can be very nimble in trying different parts of the agricultural industry to get ahead, as opposed to straight up in one organisation to the next senior role,’’ she said.

This adequately describes Ms Gartmann’s personal career path, which has seen her move through different organisations and roles to her current position which began in 2015.

Her position at Rural Bank also means she is included in the 14 per cent of women who are in management positions in the agricultural industry.

And while this is low, she believes there has been an increase in the involvement of women in the industry, just not in higher management roles.

‘‘When I think about the Rural Bank customer base there are actually at least — if not more than — 50 per cent where the primary contact for the financial side of the business is the female,’’ Ms Gartmann said.

Ms Gartmann made the comments in a podcast produced by Birchip Cropping Group with funding from Hugh DT Williamson Foundation.

Also discussed in the podcast is working overseas, the difference between working for BCG and Rural Bank, how we can increase the number of women in management roles, why more than just agricultural graduates are needed and what opportunities there will be for graduates in the future.

This episode is part of the Ag Careers in Focus podcast series aimed to showcase the range of ag careers on offer.

The podcast can be found on iTunes and Soundcloud by searching ‘‘Ag Careers in Focus’’.

■For more information about the podcast series or any questions, phone the BCG office on (03) 5492 2787.

Northern Central Catchment Management Authority project manager Angela Gladman said it is important to reduce the amount of animal waste that entered waterways.

‘‘Poo from cows and sheep brings with it a lot of harmful nutrients and pathogens, which impacts on human health, water quality and affects downstream water users,’’ she said.

‘‘Fencing off creeks and rivers also has benefits for more efficient farm management and can increase land value.

‘‘It also allows river bank vegetation to regenerate naturally, which is a cost-effective way to improve the river habitat for birds, fish and animals such as platypuses and water rats.’’

Farmers along the Campaspe River can now access generous grants to help with fencing, offstream watering for their stock, weed control and revegetation.

‘‘Almost 70 landholders have realised the benefits of fencing the Campaspe River since 2012, resulting in the installation of 53km of river fencing,’’ Ms Gladman said.

‘‘Reducing the impact of grazing stock on riverbanks is the key to river recovery.

‘‘The Caring for the Campaspe project is keen to work with landholders to negotiate fencing styles, alignments and offstream watering options to ensure that the fencing enables better stock management and is resilient to the impacts of flooding.’’

■For more information phone Angela Gladman on 5440 1825 or email angela.gladman@ nccma.vic.gov.au

The highest temperature so far at Broome since 27th December last, has not yet reached 35 degrees and this is the longest such stretch since 2008 and before that in 1991.

Both those years did see an absence of very hot days in our region during the second half of February and also not much rainfall, but the first half of March saw several hot days of 38 degrees.

Just before last weekend a pool of very hot conditions developed in remote areas of South Australia. At Woomera the temperature last Saturday 10th February reached 45 degrees, almost a record high for February at Woomera.

At the same time well below normal maximum temperatures in Northern WA were still happening .

A very similar situation occurred in February 1963 when the temperature reached 44.7 on 11th February 1963 at Woomera when a long cooler spell was occurring in northern WA.

We were fortunate that this very hot pool of air did not invade our region during last weekend but instead moved across the western inland of NSW where the temperature reached 45 degrees at Wilcannia and also at Ivanhoe.

Exactly the same situation occurred in February 1963 when the temperature reached 44 degrees at Wilcannia on 12th February and only 34 at Wangaratta which it was last weekend as well.

This very hot pool of air then advanced into southern QLD and gave Rockhampton it's hottest February day since 1969, the temperature reaching 41 degrees.

But it's strength is waning now. There was very little rainfall in our region during the second half of February 1963 and the first three weeks of March 1963 apart from isolated light falls at end of February and early March. Heavy rain did arrive on 23rd March in 1963.

The highest temperature was 35 degrees in early March that year. Much the same picture is anticipated in our region the next six weeks including the third successive warmer than normal March in Wangaratta which did previously happen in 1951 to 1953.

The highest temperature so far at Broome since 27th December last, has not yet reached 35 degrees and this is the longest such stretch since 2008 and before that in 1991.

Both those years did see an absence of very hot days in our region during the second half of February and also not much rainfall, but the first half of March saw several hot days of 38 degrees.

Just before last weekend a pool of very hot conditions developed in remote areas of South Australia. At Woomera the temperature last Saturday 10th February reached 45 degrees, almost a record high for February at Woomera.

At the same time well below normal maximum temperatures in Northern WA were still happening .

A very similar situation occurred in February 1963 when the temperature reached 44.7 on 11th February 1963 at Woomera when a long cooler spell was occurring in northern WA.

We were fortunate that this very hot pool of air did not invade our region during last weekend but instead moved across the western inland of NSW where the temperature reached 45 degrees at Wilcannia and also at Ivanhoe.

Exactly the same situation occurred in February 1963 when the temperature reached 44 degrees at Wilcannia on 12th February and only 34 at Wangaratta which it was last weekend as well.

This very hot pool of air then advanced into southern QLD and gave Rockhampton it's hottest February day since 1969, the temperature reaching 41 degrees.

But it's strength is waning now. There was very little rainfall in our region during the second half of February 1963 and the first three weeks of March 1963 apart from isolated light falls at end of February and early March. Heavy rain did arrive on 23rd March in 1963.

The highest temperature was 35 degrees in early March that year. Much the same picture is anticipated in our region the next six weeks including the third successive warmer than normal March in Wangaratta which did previously happen in 1951 to 1953.

A group of concerned locals sat down with Greater Shepparton councillors last week to express their concerns and both Mooroopna orchardist Peter Hall and Tallygaroopna dairy farmer Natalie Akers both said a grading system, like what is present in New South Wales and Britain, was necessary for Victoria.

‘‘Disappointingly we have no guidelines developed at state level,’’ Mrs Akers said.

‘‘There are 60 pages of guidelines if you want to build a wind farm but no guidelines for large scale solar.

‘‘The UK have developed clear guidelines where land is graded zone 1-5, with one being the most productive and five being the least productive.

‘‘Areas zoned 1 and 2 cannot have large scale solar farms,’’ she said.

Mr Hall said another concern of his was the locality of the projects.

‘‘The issue of the installation of these large projects will present elevated temperatures in day and night,’’ he said.

Agriculture is sensitive to temperature changes. Research in Arizona said that solar panels produce elevated temperatures.

‘‘More research on these affects is needed before the projects are allowed,’’ he said.

‘‘No one is against them wholesale but they just need to pick an appropriate location. At the moment the site location is demonstratively inappropriate.

Mrs Akers agreed.

‘‘All five of the proposed solar developments in Shepparton are on productive agricultural irrigation land, located on a modernised irrigation backbone.

‘‘We have a conflict of government projects, we are investing $2 billion to modernise irrigation infrastructure for the next 50 to 100 years, and now we want to put thousands of acres under solar panels with no agricultural output,’’ she said.

Despite the concerns raised, Mr Hall said he was happy he was given the opportunity from council.

‘‘I appreciate being invited and it’s a great move to consider community views on these projects and I thank council for that opportunity.’’

Fruit Growers Victoria grower services manager Michael Crisera also called on council to re-consider its approach to solar developments in key food producing areas.

‘‘Solar energy is an important part of the nations energy needs, but care should be taken that these developments aren’t detrimental to agricultural industries.’’

The proposed solar farms are located at Tatura East, Tallygaroopna, Lemnos, Congupna and Mooroopna.

Solar farm applications totalling more than $300million will be addressed at a Greater Shepparton City Council meeting this month.

The council declined to comment on the matter, and Mayor Kim O’Keeffe, when contacted, also declined to comment.

The City will have to decide on whether to give planning permission in a policy vacuum.

The council has no planning policies on solar farms to refer to, and neither does the Victorian government.

The council’s planning department has been looking at the issue of solar farms for about six months.

The Motorbike Muster Show and Shine will be a display of vintage to modern motorcycles, with the Mulwala Water Ski Club sponsoring the best motorbike, trike, spyder, side car and ATV with a $60 club voucher and certificate for each category.

Exhibitors are in the running for a great list of prizes with hourly giveaways and prizes including an RACV Cobram Resort $500 voucher for the lucky motorbike exhibitor major draw winner, people’s choice, a $150 AJ’s Motorcycles voucher for best exhibit, $100 Stuart Simmons Motorcycles Mowers and Marine voucher for the runner-up, $50 Phil’s Garage Harley Davidsons vouchers for third and fourth placegetters and Yarrawonga Chronicle, Burke Hotel and Big Strawberry lucky voter draw prizes.

Children can enjoy the jumping castle and waterslide at $5 per child with endless jumps and slides during the event. The Ski Club Coffee Shop will be open from 8am for coffee and bacon and egg sandwiches.

Boosey Creek Club will have a sausage sizzle and La Porchetta and Golden Inn Chinese Restaurant will be open for lunch or takeaway.

Exhibitors can register from 8am.

Entry is $2 for exhibitors and the public, with children six and under admitted free.

This event is presented by Boosey Creek Club and Mulwala Water Ski Club.

Sold by agency Pat Rice & Hawkins, the property went for an undisclosed price which was significantly beyond the agency’s indicative sale expectation in the region of $4.5million.

Selling agent Matt Childs, of Pat Rice & Hawkins, said the purchaser had also secured the irrigation water rights attached to the property, significantly adding to the sale value.

‘‘At the closing of the expressions of interest we had seven parties willing to purchase Blackwood Park and the successful purchaser is an established cotton grower with a major holding at Narrabri in NSW,’’ Mr Childs said..

‘‘My understanding is that with some further development, this important southern Riverina district holding will be converted to cotton production.’’

The total land area of 3416ha, with double frontages to Forest Creek, was offered on behalf of Robert Landale, and the property’s sale concludes five generations of family ownership.

The property was offered with significant modern farm infrastructure including a large grain shed, two machinery sheds, a workshop, 700tonnes of on-farm silo storage, a set of steel cattle yards and a new set of steel sheep yards.

SRI chair Gabrielle Coupland travelled to Canberra last week to highlight to decision makers the impact of the basin plan on the NSW Murray and the need to support the sustainable diversion limit adjustment mechanism (offsets) to end water recovery from productive water users.

‘‘I arrived in Canberra the day after Labor announced they would support the Greens to disallow the Northern Basin Review amendments — which sets a disturbing precedent for the adjustment mechanism,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘There is a real risk that the actions of the Greens, with Labor’s support, could see the whole basin plan as we know it fall over — but each side has a different opinion of what that means.

‘‘Labor believes they can disallow the adjustment and see a basin plan of 2750Gl worth of held entitlement, but the government is worried that the states may walk away raising legal issues as to how the basin plan can be fully implemented.’’

Mrs Coupland said it was confusing and concerning to see Tony Burke, who wrote the basin plan, put its full implementation at risk.

‘‘This comes down to the difference between ambition and practicality,’’ she said.

‘‘We in the regions know that the easy water recovery has been done and now the focus has to be on managing the environmental portfolio to maximise outcomes.

‘‘At the end of the day that is what the adjustment mechanism is about. Looking for ways to get more from what they have.

‘‘We have always said the basin plan needs to be outcomes-focused — but the Greens are yet again making it simply about a number and unfortunately Labor looks like they are prioritising volume over outcomes.’’

According to VFF Livestock president Leonard Vallance, the growing kangaroo population has a detrimental impact on not only agriculture but also native flora and fauna, leaving little shelter for other animals, reptiles, birds and insects.

‘‘The kangaroo pet food industry is a means of managing the kangaroo population at a sustainable and viable level in a regulated environment,’’ Mr Vallance said.

Research by the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation (Sheep CRC) reveals that studs in MERINOSELECT now provide about half of the Merino rams used by commercial producers and more than 80 per cent of the semen used for ram breeding.

The previous assessment in 2014 found that only 18 per cent of Merino rams were produced by studs using MERINOSELECT.

Sheep CRC chief executive Professor James Rowe analysed a range of industry data sources in the Growing Impact of MERINOSELECT report.

‘‘The data shows that use of ASBVs is now becoming the norm in the Merino industry, with the number of sheep registered with MERINOSELECT having doubled since 2011, and this trend has been accelerated by the availability of DNA testing and the fast growing demand for poll rams,’’ Prof Rowe said.

‘‘In reviewing genetic technology uptake in the Merino sector, the trend lines show strong growth in the number of studs using MERINOSELECT and increasing sales of rams and semen by studs that are members of MERINOSELECT.

‘‘The availability of DNA tests also appears to have accelerated the swing towards poll rams among Merino breeders and their clients.’’

About 25Gl will be released from Lake Eppalock during February and March. Lake Eppalock is currently at 79 per cent capacity and holding about 240Gl.

Goulburn-Murray Water’s customer operations general manager Scott Barber said the increased releases would be delivered as inter-valley transfers which were a result of water trading activity.

‘‘The reservoir is in a good position at 79 per cent capacity and is being called on to deliver allocation which customers have chosen to trade downstream,’’ he said.

‘‘The increased flows are being delivered in consultation with the North Central Catchment Management Authority to ensure they will provide an environmental benefit downstream of the reservoir. In particular, these flows aim to attract native fish upstream into the Campaspe system from the Murray River.

‘‘Depending on flows into the lake in the coming months, we forecast Lake Eppalock’s level will be about 66 per cent by the end of March. This is a reasonable level at this time of year after summer, leading into traditional wet season, for our customers.’’

Recreational users of Lake Eppalock and nearby river users may notice the waterways will appear higher than usual as the releases take place.

The piles of rotting pears, stretching almost 10m, are causing a stink on the side of Lataris Rd, Shepparton East, on the corner of Channel Rd.

Goulburn Murray Valley regional fruit fly co-ordinator Ross Abberfield said the fruit could have been left at the site as early as November, posing a serious economic threat to nearby growers.

It is believed the fruit was recently dumped and good fruit, deeper in the pile, could act as a larvae host.

Mr Abberfield said the pears showed signs of fruit fly activity, due to evident larvae exit markings.

‘‘The flies are prolific breeders and, if they get a foothold here, this is potentially a breeding ground that can infect and spread right through this whole area if it’s not controlled,’’ he said.

‘‘If this starts to infest these nearby crops, it means the growers have to spend a lot more money to control it, which means their profit margins are down.’’

The dumping of fruit is fiercely frowned on in the horticultural community and producers found to be operating unlawfully may be liable for prosecution.

A female fly can lay up to 2000 eggs at a time, which can then go on to reproduce in less than four weeks.

A nearby grower, who did not want to be named, said producers in the area were concerned about the pile and hoped authorities would intervene promptly.

‘‘I don’t want to get involved because I know who the culprit is and I hope someone gets on to this, cleans it up and sends out a bill for it too,’’ he said.

‘‘You’re trying your best to keep everything out and then this sort of thing happens. We just want to get back to what we’re doing.’’

Mr Abberfield said there had been a campaign locally to spread awareness about fruit fly control and the community had responded positively up until the find.

‘‘It seems that this is deliberate, almost malicious, and it’s extraordinary because it normally doesn’t happen,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s clearly been dumped here by a grower, and it’s a sign that an individual isn’t taking the warnings around fruit fly seriously, but it is in no way reflective of the industry.’’

With growers already in northern Victoria, including one near Rochester, association member David Brian said the idea behind going to Seymour was to attract more growers before sowing time later in the year.

‘‘We are looking for growers to grow hemp in the Goulburn Valley,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s the right time to get ready for next year’s crop, which will be sown around September, October or November.

‘‘So if we went to Elmore (field days) it would be bordering on too late.’’

For a hemp crop to be successful, Mr Brian said it relied on certain soil and conditions like any other crop.

‘‘It does need a sandy lane. There’s good sandy lanes in the Goulburn Valley and southern NSW and it also needs irrigation,’’ he said.

He said growing hemp would be a good fit for any cropping cycle.

‘‘You can sow after winter crops are off and it doesn’t interrupt the cropping cycle,’’ he said.

‘‘In fact, it actually benefits it as the tap root helps break up the soil and produces organic matter in the soil.

‘‘Most are growing it for the hemp seed, which is the highest seed-based protein.

‘‘The heart of the seed is sold and then pressed into oil. The protein then goes into meals after it is processed.

‘‘There is a focus on protein shakes and powders.’’

■For more information visit the Industrial Hemp Association of Victoria at the Seymour Alternative Farming Expo at site B105 or phone David Brian on 0407 775 336.

The Australian Industrial Hemp Conference will be held in Geelong from February 27 to March 2.

For more information on that event, email the AusBiotech events team at events@ausbiotech.org or phone 9828 1400.

Connamara Angus stud, on 1011.7ha at Ruffy, and Tarcombe Herefords, on 1618ha at Tarcombe, held open days as part of the nine-day event and Connamara Angus owner Michael Hill said Beef Week allowed his family to get its stud out there.

‘‘It’s a way of advertising our cattle,’’ he said.

‘‘We sell weaner bulls on the day.’’

Tarcombe Herefords owner Tim Hayes agreed.

‘‘It allows us to show off our whole herd, not just our sale bulls,’’ he said.

Mr Hill said he looked for a number of traits when purchasing cattle.

‘‘I look for moderate birth, as much growth as we can and we target marbling,’’ he said.

‘‘Our adviser Dick Whale said if we are not keeping up with marbling, Wagyu may take a portion of our market in Japan and China.’’

Mr Hayes, who is holding an on-farm sale on March 7, said he looked for a range of things when purchasing new cattle.

‘‘We look for a balance of traits and a range of genetics from the United States, New Zealand and Australia,’’ he said.

‘‘We bought a fair few from Wirruna Poll Herefords at Holbrook.’’

He dismissed statements from the scientists issuing the ‘‘Murray Declaration’’ who argued that the Murray Mouth should be kept open ‘‘90 per cent of the time’’ using freshwater flows.

Mr Lolicato acknowledged realistic changes were needed to develop a workable plan, however he said they did not revolve around the ‘just add water’ approach which had been adopted by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority and others who were calling for more water.

‘‘The authority knows that an original objective to keep the Murray Mouth open at least 90 per cent of the time cannot physically be achieved with a freshwater solution. This was proved during the 2016 floods,’’ he said.

Mr Lolicato said after the 2016 flood peak, the lower Murray returned to its usual state, proving that a high Murray Mouth flow could not be maintained.

‘‘It’s time the MDBA came clean and clearly acknowledged this indisputable fact,’’ Mr Lolicato said.

He said there were statements from the MDBA that showed it knew there was a problem in relation to unrealistic expectations around keeping the Murray Mouth open without dredging.

‘‘Proposals for river flows of 60000 to 80000Ml a day at the South Australian border cannot be consistently achieved due to the many constraints along the major rivers and tributaries and major flooding that would be created.

‘‘The MDBA knows this, but has failed to publicly acknowledge it. I suspect it learned a few things from the 2016 floods but is reluctant to say so, as this would mean admitting that their proposed environmental flood flows cannot achieve all the desired environmental outcomes.

‘‘Landholders with vast experience of the river systems have been telling the MDBA since 2013 that their flow objectives are unattainable under the legislative requirement of no adverse social and economic impacts, but they have been reluctant to listen,’’ Mr Lolicato said.

Rebecca Peisley’s research into the benefits and costs of bird activity in agroecosystems was conducted across three different farming systems between 2014 and 2016. Some of the study was done on apple orchards in Shepparton.

The research found that apple yields could be improved by an average of 11 per cent.

‘‘It was pretty simple. I went out with commercial bird netting on some trees and left some open,’’ Dr Peisley said.

‘‘Then I counted how many (of the fruit) had insect damage on what could be reached and what couldn’t.

‘‘Then I calculated the yield percentage difference. In some cases it was higher and some cases not so much, but yield percentage was 11 per cent on average.’’

Dr Peisley also looked at the benefits birds have at vineyards and cattle grazing paddocks.

‘‘In apple orchards, birds were overwhelmingly positive. Damage to apples was just two per cent and insect damage was reduced by up to 20 per cent,’’ she said.

‘‘In vineyards in northern Victoria, in Glenrowan and Rutherglen, I installed artificial perches.

‘‘(There were) not many birds of prey, but magpies loved them. Smaller birds thought the magpies were birds of prey.

‘‘It was like a negative reinforcement for the small purpose birds.’’

In vineyards, damage reduced from nine per cent down to four per cent, while in paddocks, Dr Peisley used rabbit carcases to see the benefits of birds.

‘‘In cattle grazing, I looked at birds removing rabbit carcases. Birds of prey and scavenging birds got to the carcases and removed them before foxes,’’ she said.

‘‘On average, 20 per cent were removed and on most occasions they would eat the whole rabbit.’’

Dr Peisley said on orchards, honey eaters, robins and kookaburras were most common and despite damage birds can cause to yields, feedback had been positive from farmers.

‘‘It’s been really positive from everyone so far,’’ she said.

‘‘As a scientist it is important to acknowledge, yes, birds are doing damage, but if you look over a whole season, you can see the difference.’’

The theme was announced at a community day, attended by about 200 people, at the Tungamah caravan park on Sunday.

The day was used to spruik the town’s new five-year Community Kickstart Plan, which included the announcement of what would be painted on the silo as well as the commencement of the artwork.

The silo’s owner Will Cooper said the idea to put artwork on the cement structure was aimed at keeping the town of Tungamah thriving.

‘‘A key driver for us was to keep Tungamah a strong and healthy town,’’ he said.

‘‘The community were keen and wanted it to happen.

‘‘It was an easy decision to be a part of it, to make Tungamah a better place.

‘‘A bit of artwork on the silos will help (with this aim).’’

For Broome artist Sobrane, this will be her first project on a silo but she has done other projects all over the globe.

‘‘Not on a silo — but I have done artwork on a 36m wall in Italy,’’ she said.

In addition to the Italy project, Sobrane has also completed street art in Broome and artwork on army bases in Port Hedland and Broome.

Sobrane said she had been talking with Mr Cooper since November 2016 about the silo project, which will take between seven and 10 days.

‘‘I started talking about it with Will in November 2016. They had to put it aside for six months as they were waiting for funding, and when Will said it’s definitely happening I started training.

‘‘It’s really demanding work for three days and then I’ll have a break to let the body recover,’’ she said.

Tungamah Primary School’s principal Gemma Whinray said she wanted the children to cherish a history-making moment for the town.

‘‘It’s amazing to have that in our town. I want the kids to watch Sobrane so they can say in 20 years that they saw it being painted,’’ she said.

As part of the Kickstart program, the town will also make the diesel tank more accessible for locals and tourists to use.

A Parks Victoria draft plan has suggested removing all horses from the Bogong High Plains and Barmah National Park, and at least 400 each year from the larger population in the eastern section of the Alpine National Park.

Conservationists claim the brumbies cause damage to the local environments, yet brumby advocates have called for a greater focus on fertility control and other population control methods rather than removal for the ‘‘iconic and historic’’ horses.

Parks Victoria’s Protection of the Alpine National Park — Feral Horse Strategic Action Plan said horses were causing damage to the alpine areas.

‘‘This includes the destruction of habitat critical to many threatened plant and animal species, damage to waterways, degradation of fragile vegetation and soil disturbance that results in erosion or compaction,’’ it read.

During recent years, small numbers of horses have been removed from the Victorian Alps in co-operation with horse interest groups.

Yet Victorian Brumby Association president Colleen O’Brien has slammed the plan, labelling it ‘‘narrow’’ and ‘‘very shoddy’’.

She said while there was support for population controls, she did not agree with removing all brumbies.

‘‘There’s better ways of doing it,’’ she said.

‘‘We do support the management and removal of some brumbies and the fertility control of some, but there’s a very small population at Bogong and the plan is to move every single one of them simply because they can.

‘‘We just don’t think that’s good enough.’’

Australian Brumby Alliance president Jill Pickering echoed Mrs O’Brien’s sentiments.

She said evidence of damage in the Bogong High Plains included in the report showed deer tracks, not horses tracks.

‘‘You could drive 60 trucks through it (the report), the info is so shoddy and amateur — it’s atrocious,’’ she said.

‘‘The number of deer to number of horses (in the Victorian Alps) is about 320 deer to one brumby. Parks (Victoria) in their assessment have done nothing to refer to deer ... there is absolutely no science behind that at all.’’

The plan will also affect brumbies living in the Barmah National Park.

‘‘This decision will have an impact because (Parks Victoria) were able to say even one horse is not acceptable,’’ Ms Pickering said.

‘‘At the moment, the argument in Barmah is they’re eating moira grass. It’s been proven the disappearing grass has virtually nothing to do with horses, it’s the flooding regime.’’

Victorian National Parks Association’s Phil Ingamells said action on the brumbies was long overdue.

‘‘Extensive scientific studies show that horses damage the many peat beds and wetlands that should be feeding clear water into our rivers and streams all year long. They also threaten a number of rare alpine plants and animals,’’ he said.

‘‘The damage horses do to the High Country has been well known since the 1940s and action was taken back then before the area was made a national park. So it is disappointing that horse numbers have rebounded and continue to damage our magnificent alpine region.’’

The plan is open for public consultation until February 16.

The water will be made available through selected brokers from February to June.

Water Holder chairperson, Denis Flett said all priority environmental watering targets in northern Victoria will be achieved this year and some of the allocation of water for the environment will be saved for next year.

"This water will be carried over to help keep regional rivers healthy and to boost plant and animal populations early in the new water season,'' Mr Flett said.

Having provided for priority watering objectives, Mr Flett said the decision to sell has been made.

“We’ve had a few watering events at Barmah Forest and Lindsay Island where we needed less allocation than planned, and we’ve decided to make some of that unused water available for sale.

“Before deciding to sell we’ve considered current and forecast conditions and have provided for our largest demands next spring. Our ability to provide for future environmental flows will help keep rivers and wetlands healthy for this year and beyond,” Mr Flett said.

“We have also assessed conditions in the water market to ensure that our trading won’t have any significant adverse impacts on other market participants and we will monitor trading conditions throughout our trading period,'' Mr Flett said.

Northern Victoria Farmer Relief Drive facilitator Jenni Clark said the milk price crisis was an event that hit her — and the industry — hard.

As a dairy farmer herself, Ms Clark found the difficulty of accessing practical and readily available assistance was making a bad situation worse.

While the nation tried to rally behind the industry, buying name brand milk and shirking $1/litre milk, Ms Clark and a team of volunteers set about sourcing donations to help her fellow dairy farmers.

Deliveries of groceries, food hampers, hay and other donations were little wins that were gravely needed by an industry that had been hit with devastating news.

Although now months down the track, Ms Clark said a widely-held belief that farmers might not be suffering as badly now as they were last year, was just not true.

‘‘A lot have had to delve into their credit cards, they’re still short on cash,’’ she said.

‘‘Giving them the hampers is just the little bit of extra help to pay something up.

‘‘We still get a couple of new ones (needing help) each month; (but) it’s not as hectic as it was.’’

For some the financial and emotional strain of the milk price crisis was too much, and hundreds left the dairy industry.

‘‘There’s guys we were helping at the start and they’ve actually closed up shop,’’ Ms Clark said.

‘‘The crisis is still there. It’s definitely still there.

‘‘A lot of people just don’t like asking for help ... We’re there if people need us — we’re trying to provide that cushion.’’

Figures from the North East Rural Financial Counselling Service Victoria annual report reveal that hundreds of dairy farmers approached the group for help in the wake of the milk price crisis.

Assistance offered to dairy farmers rose by 155 per cent on the previous year, with the number of clients assisted reaching more than 460.

Dairy regions in Campaspe Shire and Moira Shire were hardest hit with more than 120 clients from each council area seeking advice and assistance from the service.

The latest thing I've noticed is that he enjoys watching hares more than chasing them - which means he leaves the hard work up to me, when he could easily pick off one or two with his rifle.

Or even more. Lately we've been seeing up to six of them tearing around in the paddock, sometimes in file and other times all over the place.

The Boss reckons it's how the dominant male sorts out the other males ahead of breeding but my own view is that they are taunting us. Mocking us. Daring us to do something. Sometimes, he says, the female (called a Jill) will get up and belt the male (called a Jack) when she doesn't want his molesting attentions - a kind-of hare version of #MeToo.

Here's a video I found of the males chasing each other - this is pretty much what I am seeing every night and The Boss won't let me get in amongst it.

 Not that I can catch them anyway, except when they're three days old. The hare lives above ground all the time, unlike a rabbit, and has to live on his wits. The hares we see are descended from the European hares (Lepus Europaeus) bought out by much more loving dog owners in the 1870s so they could go coursing with their dogs.

Like the old poachers in the English countryside, they used these lanky big hounds called Lurchers - usually a sighting dog like a greyhound, crossed with something with a hunting instinct like mine. Well - and it hurts me to say this - they must be faster than me too, if they can catch an adult hare. The Boss says hares can run at more than 55kph.

That's probably why the lurchers couldn't catch all the hares and by 1900 they had spread from Phillip Island up through Victoria, New South Wales and into southern Queensland. They prefer temperate climes to the dry country, where rabbits adapted well - but rabbits can live underground during the heat of the day.

The Boss has pointed out these shallow nests in the grass, beside a log or in a hollow - called a form, where the hares breed. And I can smell them. The baby hares - called leverets - are born with hair on and their eyes open, and generally find their own hiding spot after three days.

They have to worry about foxes and eagles and The Boss says 40-60% of the leverets don't make it. He used to shoot a hare regularly - the back-straps and hind legs could do wonders for a terrine or a burger, he says - but now he worries that the population is struggling. 

I think he's become a secret admirer of the hare, which is another disappointment. I can see him watching them and he laughs when I put one up and give half-hearted chase - or don't even try, pretending I'm more interested in my ball.  He says they have their own constellation in the sky, called Lepus, and it's naturally right next to Orion, the hunter, and Canis Major, the dog.

In our neck of the woods, you can see Orion high in the summer sky - some people call it "The Saucepan" - and nearby is Sirius, the dog star, the brightest star in Canis Major. Lepus is more or less between the Hunter and the Dog, and out a bit. Here's how the stars in Lepus look like the hare:

I can't see the similarity myself. I'm not sure they deserve their own constellation either, particularly getting between the hunter and the dog. You'd think they're important. And they've got their own collective noun, The Boss says (as if I'm interested.)

"General," he says, "a bunch of dogs like you is just a pack. But a bunch of crows is a murder; a bunch of whales is a pod; a bunch of crocs is a float; and a bunch of hares is a drove. Can't you do better than a pack?"

So he's not satisfied with being disappointing. He has to take the mickey out of me as well. Woof!

A meeting held last week in Deniliquin was attended by irrigator representatives from all five landholder associations covering the entire Murray irrigation footprint.

SRI chair Gabrielle Coupland said there was support among those who attended to implement the outcomes of a structural review and workshop that had been undertaken in 2014.

‘‘We have the foundations from which to build sound governance processes that will see us accountable to our members through their landholding associations which will in turn strengthen our credibility,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘With so much going on in water reform now, we need to make sure we represent our irrigators in the most constructive and strategic way to ensure we retain productive water for a strong irrigation industry.’’

Delegates at the meeting also discussed priority policy areas for the region including the basin plan, the SDL adjustment mechanism and the 450Gl ‘up-water’.

‘‘We discussed the risks associated with the adjustment mechanism and the whole room agreed that, while it is not perfect, there is more to be gained from supporting offsets to water recovery than not,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘Obviously we will need to continue to monitor the implementation of projects to ensure there are no unmitigated third-party impacts, but the alternative is for the government to keep buying our water and that is not acceptable.’’

On the 450Gl, Mrs Coupland said delegates agreed the Ernst & Young report was lacking robust data to definitively declare there would be no socio-economic impacts.

‘‘Ernst & Young themselves admit that there is not enough long-term data to categorically state there has been no negative impact from efficiency projects and they recommend more monitoring.

‘‘We agreed that is just not good enough in a region that has already had over 27 per cent of productive water entitlements transferred to environmental accounts through various programs.

‘‘We cannot risk further water recovery and then in 10 or 20 years’ time have someone say ‘oh yes, our monitoring now tells us that there has been a negative impact’.’’

SRI has confirmed a meeting with Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud in Canberra where Mrs Coupland will be presenting the messages taken from last week’s meeting.

Two states means two sets of rules and double the fees.

For businesses, like Echuca-based builders Bluebird Constructions, working over the border is a vital part of the success of their business. It has also proved costly and complicated.

With about 50 per cent of their work over the border, it means they must be registered in Victoria and NSW, pay for insurance in both states and stay up-to-date on the latest guidelines in each state.

The same goes for any sub-contractor employed on-site — even down to having the correct testing and tagging done on any electrical tools brought onto the work site.

This is just one story.

Look a little deeper and it’s clear the Murray River is more than just a line on a map for our border communities.

It means farmers must navigate two separate sets of rules to move agricultural equipment.

Emergency services struggle to share information, making it harder than it should be for them to help our family and friends in times of need.

Young drivers risk fines of up to $500 because of differences with P-plate licensing laws and passenger restrictions between Victoria and NSW.

Electricians, plumbers and other tradespeople must pay for two licences and comply with two different sets of rules to run their business.

And recreational fishers in Victoria need two licences to wet a line in the Murray River.

It’s yet more complicated for businesses like Devilee’s Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. With a base in Mildura, their work regularly takes them into NSW and South Australia.

Managing director Peter Devilee says registering the company and their tradespeople in three different states has its consequences.

They pay more for insurance, more for registration and licensing and have to work to three different sets of guidelines.

Cross-border issues add another set of rules, cost and more red tape to business and everyday life.

It’s clear something must be done to solve these problems, but in three years the Andrews Labor Government has only announced a business case to tell it whether or not the problems are real.

Unlike Daniel Andrews, the Liberal Nationals have listened to our border communities and we’ve made a solid commitment to establish a Cross Border Commissioner dedicated to finding and fixing the problems our border communities live with every day.

We believe this will be best done by basing the commissioner’s office in regional Victoria.

It’s time for action to resolve our cross border issues with NSW and South Australia, and the Liberal Nationals are committed to working with border communities to find and fix the problems.

The update will kick off on February 13 with Nuffield Scholar and Warakirri Cropping manager John Stevenson, who said Australia was a world leader when it came to our ability to produce quality crops in a challenging climate.

Mr Stevenson’s Nuffield study investigated ways to close the gap between potential grain yield and the soil’s plant available water capacity, with a focus on boosting productivity from sustainable dryland cropping systems.

‘‘A yield gap between crop production and available soil moisture exists globally, with Australian dryland growers very efficient compared to our overseas equivalents, but there is further room to improve,’’ Mr Stevenson said.

‘‘We need to do more to visualise our soils in three dimensions to allow us to address limitations in the root zone of crops and optimise inputs to match our soils’ productive capacity.’’

Mr Stevenson said of the technologies he saw overseas, those now in use in Israel had exciting potential for adaption to Australian farms.

‘‘Whole-of-farm wireless connectivity and plant growth tracking are systems now helping Israeli growers to maximise production,’’ he said.

‘‘Long-range wireless area networks allow remote monitoring of thousands of in-field sensors at very low cost.

‘‘Another exciting prospective technique was the use of an in-field penetrometer to measure near infra-red reflectance/adsorption, which was developed by Texas A&M University in collaboration with Sydney University.

‘‘This process allowed growers to get a three-dimensional view of their soil without the disruption of excavation and this technology has now been commercialised.’’

Other speakers include Greg Rebetzke of the CSIRO on breeding wheat to increase competitiveness against weeds, Felicity Harris from the Department of Primary Industries NSW on getting the best performance from barley, and Dale Grey from Agriculture Victoria on the facts and fiction of weather and seasonal forecasting.

■The two-day GRDC Research Update will be held on February 13 and 14, at Joyes Hall, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga. To register, go to: www.grdc.com.au/events/list/2018/02/grdc-grains-research-update-wagga-wagga or phone 5441 6176.

The theme was announced at today's community day at the Tungamah caravan park.

Initiated as part of the town’s Community Kickstart Plan, the silo, owned by Will Cooper and his family, will be painted by Broome artist Sobrane.

"Mum had followed her work for a long time and when I saw it I thought it was cool," Mr Cooper said.

Sobrane, who specialises in painting birds, said the process would take up to 10 days to complete.

Read more in Country News.

SA Premier Jay Weatherill marked the start of the royal commission by visiting Meningie on the lower lakes.

Barrister Bret Walker is set to begin his investigation after the final terms of reference were gazetted on Wednesday.

He will examine the effectiveness of the existing Murray-Darling Basin Plan and whether it can deliver on its promise to ensure the system’s environmental health and future as a sustainable resource.

The inquiry will also examine compliance from all states with the current plan and whether alternative arrangements need to be put in place.

Mr Weatherill said one of the first things he did as premier was stand up for the Murray and secure 3200Gl of water to deliver a healthy Murray-Darling Basin.

‘‘But we must always remain vigilant and it’s clear some people upstream have been doing the wrong thing,’’ he said.

‘‘Now it’s time to stand up again and fight for what’s right.’’

Mr Weatherill announced the royal commission late last year after an independent basin authority review — sparked by reports of widespread water theft — found NSW and Queensland were failing to make sure irrigators complied with water rules.

The royal commission has the support of the state Opposition and SA irrigators while the Federal Government has indicated it will co-operate with the investigation.

Mr Walker is to present his final report to the SA Government by February 1 next year but has the discretion to hand down interim reports.

Before barrages were built in the 1930s, tidal effects and the intrusion of seawater occurred during periods of low flow into the Lower Lakes and in the Murray River, up to 250km upstream from its mouth.

Although not in the Murray-Darling Basin, Adelaide pumps about 40 per cent of its city water supplies from the Murray River.

The study monitors more than 1000 observation bores and allows G-MW to map shallow groundwater level changes across the Shepparton Irrigation Region, which includes the Murray Valley, Shepparton, Central Goulburn and Rochester irrigation areas.

As part of the study, groundwater has been mapped in depth segments of 0-1m, 1-2m and 2-3m from the ground’s surface.

G-MW drainage systems manager Simon Cowan said the increased area showing shallow groundwater rises could be linked to average to above average annual rainfall, particularly in late autumn and early winter 2017.

‘‘The August 2017 study saw a notable increase in area associated with the 1-2m and 2-3m depth ranges compared to 2016,’’ Mr Cowan said.

‘‘At the same time, the watertable within the shallower 0-1m depth range decreased markedly in 2017.

‘‘The majority of this decrease occurred in an area between Lake Cooper and Waranga Basin. This area tends to show greater annual fluctuations than any other part of the SIR.’’

Mr Cowan said in the 12 months to the end of July 2017, rainfall totalled 549mm, compared to the annual average for this period between 1982 and 2017 of 442mm.

‘‘We tend to see rising watertables when rainfall occurs on a wet catchment. During extended dry periods, there are risks associated with high watertables.’’

While these recent watertable rises are not likely to impact customers, they highlight the value of long-term monitoring and planning.

Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority’s sustainable irrigation manager Carl Walters said the mapping project had been undertaken since the early 1980s.

‘‘It’s been a significant and simple tool to help landholders and the community understand what is happening with the rise and fall of the threat of salinity over time,’’ Mr Walters said.

‘‘As rising groundwater is often linked to an increased risk of salinity, the annual watertable study has also helped us with the planning and development of salinity management programs such as surface drainage, watertable management and irrigation efficiency.’’

MLA managing director Richard Norton said the award was designed to recognise beef producers accelerating the development and adoption of innovation and new technologies.

‘‘The MLA Producer Innovation Award will be awarded to a beef producer who best demonstrates innovation across one of three streams,’’ Mr Norton said.

‘‘The three streams include accelerated adoption of innovations to improve on-farm performance; producer-led innovations resulting in new products, brands and value chains; or producer-led new ventures and start-ups.

‘‘A finalist will be chosen from each stream and this group will form the pool of three finalists for the MLA Producer Innovation Award.’’

The award is part of the 2018 Rabobank Beef Industry Awards, a joint initiative between Rabobank and Queensland Country Life.

The winner will be announced at the awards dinner on Monday, May 7 at Beef Australia 2018 in Rockhampton, Queensland.

The winner of the MLA Producer Innovation Award will receive a trip to attend the awards dinner at Beef Australia 2018, and a trip to attend MLA Red Meat 2018 in Canberra in November.

They will also receive the assistance of a consultant to help refine their project concept or business model.

Nominations for the MLA Producer Innovation Award close on Wednesday, February 28.

■For more information or to nominate, visit: mla.com.au/news-and-events/events-and-workshops/beef-australia-2018

Hosted by NAB’s Victoria and Tasmania agribusiness head Neil Findlay, guests enjoyed a panel discussion with David Blackmore from Blackmore Wagyu, Peter Jones from Australian Consolidated Milk, Chris Ryan from the Port of Melbourne and Phin Ziebell from NAB Economics on the theme of export and the dairy industry.

The Australia China Agricultural Co-operation Agreement program provides $50000 in funding.

Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Minister David Littleproud said this year’s program would focus on advanced agriculture technologies, water in agriculture, eCommerce innovation, science and technology, food safety, animal husbandry, farming sustainably and exploring niche markets.

‘‘These grants fund projects including technical exchanges, staff secondments, working groups, training programs, research and development, feasibility studies and information exchanges,’’ Mr Littleproud said.

‘‘Previously, these grants helped grow the market for Australian raisins and sultanas by funding Dried Fruit Australia’s trade mission to China; it helped to establish the Australia-China Sustainable Agricultural Technology Forum in Tasmania; and gave funding to the ABC’s Landline program to promote opportunities and benefits under ChAFTA.’’

China is Australia’s largest export market for agricultural, fisheries and forestry products, worth almost $11.5billion in 2016-17.

■Applications open on February 13 and close on 13 March. To apply for funding and for more information, visit: agriculture.gov.au/market-access-trade/acaca

A new study by Australian researchers suggests health warnings about the link between high-salt diets and cardiovascular disease simply have not worked.

Sydney’s George Institute for Global Health has analysed data from more than 30 salt-intake studies carried out between 1989 and 2015 and involving almost 17000 people.

Despite public warnings about the risks of salt-laden diets, there was no evidence that intake had dropped.

The analysis found Aussie men are still consuming 10.1g a day — more than double the 5g the World Health Organisation recommends.

Aussie women are not doing much better, at 7.34g a day.

‘‘We couldn’t find any evidence that salt consumption has gone down,’’ Professor Bruce Neal, who led the study, said.

‘‘It’s good that it didn’t go up either, but it’s disappointing that we could not detect a fall.’’

Prof Neal said public health messaging about the dangers of salt had been weak to date, and focused on food avoidance and improved cooking methods.

‘‘But we know, in a society like Australia, where most of the food people eat is packaged or bought at a restaurant the salt is hidden.

‘‘If you ask someone at a restaurant they won’t know, and on packaged foods salt is listed, but it’s presented in a way that is incomprehensible to some people.’’

He believes meaningful change is far more likely to result from health authorities ramping up engagement with food producers to reduce salt in their products.

‘‘We really do need to change the food supply — along with letting people know what they should be doing — but the challenge is that’s unfashionable because everyone sees that as the nanny state,’’ Prof Neal said.

‘‘It’s a strange situation where we’re happy to have big business influencing our choices through advertising that’s everywhere, but we’re very unhappy with the suggestion that government might step in and do that — hence the current debate about the sugar tax.’’

The research has been published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan certainly reflects this complexity through its many moving parts, including the opportunity to recover water for the environment by being even more efficient in our use of water.

This was agreed by governments to minimise the impact of water recovery on communities.

The rollout of irrigation upgrades and other efficiency measures has the potential to recover up to 450Gl of water for the environment.

This represents the other side of the southern basin adjustment mechanism that could see 605Gl returned to farmers through smarter management of environmental water.

The recovery of up to 450Gl has always been a requirement of the basin plan, as long as it can be achieved with a neutral or positive socio-economic impact.

Last year, the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council commissioned Ernst & Young to review how programs to deliver this 450Gl might be best designed, implemented and resourced.

The resulting EY report says further recovery is possible, but emphasises the need for careful analysis first.

They also made the point that communities and industries are non-negotiable partners in designing any measures.

The Murray-Darling Basin Association welcomes any evidence-based pathway that will support implementation of the basin plan.

It’s now up to governments to consider the findings of the EY review and commit to the next steps that could see more water available for the environment through efficiency upgrades.

We have heard from several communities that are very concerned about the prospect of more water being removed from production, regardless of efficiencies.

We are currently doing more work to understand how much the basin plan has influenced socio-economic change and we hope to finalise this work by April of this year. However, we already know that investment in more efficient infrastructure leads to better social and economic outcomes for communities than recovering water through purchase.

Without efficiencies and other measures to enable an adjustment to the basin plan’s recovery requirement, it is hard to see how we can deliver the basin plan on time.

With the water recovery task almost complete, and new limits on water take becoming legally binding from 2019, it is more important than ever that we continue to work together to realise the full long-term benefits of the plan for basin communities and their environment.

What started as a way for local Albanian community members to gather to celebrate culture and connect with each other has grown and thrived during the past 15 years.

One of the things that shines through most vividly during the festival is the pride the local Albanian community has for its heritage and culture, and this is indicative in community leaders’ calls for one and all to come along to the festival and help celebrate.

This year’s festival was to have an even stronger emphasis on the culture specific to the southern Korce region of Albania, organisers said.

‘‘It (the festival) really highlights where our ancestors and parents are from,’’ community leader Enver Sabri said.

The local Albanian community is a significant part of Shepparton’s cultural fabric, but there is some concern among its leaders that local ties to the culture might slowly be disappearing across the generations.

Mr Sabri hopes the customs and cultures from the homeland can be passed down and maintained locally for as long as possible.

With this in mind, events such as the Shepparton Albanian Harvest Festival create opportunities to enjoy the food, dance and music the culture has to offer, hopefully ensuring younger members of Shepparton’s Albanian community continue to celebrate this rich heritage.

The decision to open the festival gates progressively to wider cross-sections of the community appears to have paid dividends for organisers, as interest grows.

An attendance of between 3000 and 4000 — the estimated turnout last year — is significant, with some travelling from outside the region to attend.

The festival also serves as a reminder of the diverse cultural offerings sitting right on our doorstep; they are an important part of the region’s history and have contributed greatly to the place Shepparton and its surrounds are today.

That will be the question posed to the state’s grains industry by Terry Griffin from Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics who will headline the Grains Research and Development Corporation’s Grains Research Update in Bendigo on February 27 and 28.

Dr Griffin, an assistant professor, will explain how small data can be collated and analysed for important on-farm decision making, reflecting on lessons learnt from the United States’ experience.

Dr Griffin will be one of many world-leading experts at the GRDC Grains Research Update who will deliver revealing insights and new knowledge emerging from investments in grains research, development and extension.

GRDC’s Southern Regional Panel chair Keith Pengilley said the update would present information critical to informing growers’ tactical decision-making for the 2018 cropping season and into the future.

‘‘The update each year plays a key role in influencing practice change and uptake of new technologies by growers, to underpin continued improvements within their farming systems and opportunities for profit growth,’’ Mr Pengilley said.

With the theme of ‘‘strategic steps – enduring profit’’, Mr Pengilley said the update would be attended by hundreds of agronomists, consultants, researchers, growers and other grains industry personnel.

Keynote speakers include Pulse Australia chairman Ron Storey, who will provide his thoughts on the status of the nation’s rapidly expanding pulse industry.

In another keynote address, Chris Preston from the University of Adelaide will bring the Victorian grains industry up to date on the state’s herbicide resistance situation.

Dr Preston will also explain the measures that can be taken to help reduce the risk of resistance occurring in the future.

The art of communicating science and maintaining peak performance will be the subjects of additional sessions during the update, presented by Jennifer Metcalfe, from Econnect Communication, and former AFL high-performance coach Mark McKeon respectively.

Management of Septoria tritici blotch and powdery mildew will be among the relevant agronomic issues to be covered on day one, along with management tips for pulse crops, a review of high-rainfall wheat and barley, cereal diseases in 2018 and new knowledge on Russian wheat aphid.

Agronomic topics to be delved into on day two include insights into sclerotinia disease in canola, refining nitrogen placement in cereals, control of insects such as mites and aphids, glyphosate effectiveness, critical agronomy management for optimal canola growth, and practical use of agricultural machinery technology.

■For a detailed program and to register, visit: https://grdc.com.au/events/list or phone 5441 6176 or email admin@orm.com.au

The GRDC’s Grains Research Update will be held in Bendigo on February 27 and 28 at Ulumbarra Theatre, 10 Gaol Rd, Bendigo.

The company has reported a $14 million after tax profit, but with a 29 per cent reduction in milk supply compared to the same period last year.

‘‘The inability to pay a competitive milk price has resulted in a substantial loss of milk.

‘‘While management initiatives continue to address the cost base and commercial performance, the business remains exposed to competitive pressures and future refinancing requirements.’’

The company has a net debt of $474 million.

Mr Mervis said the step-up in milk price announced in October last year had helped in stabilising milk intake.

‘‘Successful completion of the Saputo transaction is expected to result in a favourable outcome for stakeholders, including ensuring value for shareholders and unitholders and a competitive milk price and milk collection commitment for suppliers.’’

Agriculture Minister Alannah MacTiernan said WA should follow international examples and scrap battery cages.

The government has opposed a federal draft review of animal welfare standards for poultry, saying it did little to change rules for battery hens made more than two decades ago.

‘‘We think it’s time we followed New Zealand and the European Union and phasing out those battery cages, which are very small, slightly less than an A4 size,’’ Ms Mactiernan told ABC radio on Wednesday.

She said the guidelines failed to meet current community expectations and improved understanding of the science around animal welfare.

About 56 per cent of WA eggs can be classified as free range.

Opposition agriculture spokesperson Ian Blayney accused the government of arrogance in its failure to properly consult with industry before considering any changes.

‘‘I have been in discussions with industry and I am aware more than $50million has been invested improving the welfare of caged chickens,’’ Mr Blayney said.

‘‘It is quite obvious there is strong demand for cage eggs. Caged eggs are an affordable protein for many families.’’

The minister denied eggs would suddenly become unaffordable.

INGREDIENTS:

250g chicken breast, cut into 24 nugget-sized pieces

2 tbsp plain flour

1 egg

1 tbsp milk

cup panko breadcrumbs

cup finely grated parmesan

2 tbsp olive oil

6 bocconcini balls, cut into thin slices

12 (about one punnet) cherry tomatoes

24 basil leaves

METHOD:

Cut chicken into 24 bite-sized pieces. If chicken breast is quite thick in sections, halve horizontally to thin out.

Place the flour in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper. In another bowl, whisk the egg with milk until combined. In a third bowl, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan.

Dip chicken pieces in flour, then egg mixture and then breadcrumbs to crumb and place on a plate. Refrigerate until ready to cook.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for 2-4 minutes each side or until the chicken is crispy, golden and cooked through. Remove from heat and drain on absorbent paper.

Top each chicken bite with a slice of bocconcini, half a cherry tomato and a leaf of basil and secure with a serving toothpick.

TIP: Make the chicken ahead of time and re-warm in the oven before skewering. Or, if it’s a hot day, serve the chicken cool.

Source: Dairy Australia

www.legendairy.com.au

At Marble Bar where a near record 314 mms for January occurred, the last three days were the coldest in 115 years of records for January and it was the coolest week for this time of year since 1942.

The last summer month of 1942 in our region saw an absence of very hot days, although early March 1942 did see a short hot spell of about 36 degrees.

Then moderate rains fell after mid month which did lead to a very wet May to July in 1942. Broome had it's wettest ever January with 915 mms in 120 years of records.

The highest temperature last month was only 34.8 . There were only five previous times when the highest temperature did not reach 35 in January at Broome. These were in 1920, 1935, 1979, 1991 and 2008.

The month of March following these cases did have a tendency to be warmer and drier than usual in our regions with the hottest days during second week but not excessively hot.

The welcome cool change of early last week did lower temperatures quite significantly in our region and when it reached the southern part of QLD many places had their coldest February day since 1989 and few had their coldest February day in over 100 years of records.

The Warrego and Maranoa district of QLD which had one of their hottest January on records had welcome heavy rain after a very dry January and then very low maximum temperatures for February.

At Charleville the maximum temperature last Saturday 3rd February of 20.7 was the lowest in February since 19.3 in 1949. St George with a maximum of only 18.6 had it's coldest February day since 1953 and the third coldest since 1917.

Roma's 19.0 was it's third lowest for February in the last 61 years Such a big drop in maximum temperatures over the past week in this part of southern QLD does to some extent lead up to a wet year in Eastern Australia.

For the present the second week of this month will be the hottest for this February, but certainly not as hot as the last half on January in our region. Not much rainfall is expected until well after mid month.

At Marble Bar where a near record 314 mms for January occurred, the last three days were the coldest in 115 years of records for January and it was the coolest week for this time of year since 1942.

The last summer month of 1942 in our region saw an absence of very hot days, although early March 1942 did see a short hot spell of about 36 degrees.

Then moderate rains fell after mid month which did lead to a very wet May to July in 1942. Broome had it's wettest ever January with 915 mms in 120 years of records.

The highest temperature last month was only 34.8 . There were only five previous times when the highest temperature did not reach 35 in January at Broome. These were in 1920, 1935, 1979, 1991 and 2008.

The month of March following these cases did have a tendency to be warmer and drier than usual in our regions with the hottest days during second week but not excessively hot.

The welcome cool change of early last week did lower temperatures quite significantly in our region and when it reached the southern part of QLD many places had their coldest February day since 1989 and few had their coldest February day in over 100 years of records.

The Warrego and Maranoa district of QLD which had one of their hottest January on records had welcome heavy rain after a very dry January and then very low maximum temperatures for February.

At Charleville the maximum temperature last Saturday 3rd February of 20.7 was the lowest in February since 19.3 in 1949. St George with a maximum of only 18.6 had it's coldest February day since 1953 and the third coldest since 1917.

Roma's 19.0 was it's third lowest for February in the last 61 years Such a big drop in maximum temperatures over the past week in this part of southern QLD does to some extent lead up to a wet year in Eastern Australia.

For the present the second week of this month will be the hottest for this February, but certainly not as hot as the last half on January in our region. Not much rainfall is expected until well after mid month.

Tongala dairy farmer Scott Fitzgerald has taken charge of programming the February 12 to 15 event, held at Pulman Melbourne in Albert Park, which is expected to attract 400 dairy farmers from across the country.

Mr Fitzgerald, who milks 300 cows with his wife Anna, said there would be fresh programming for young farmers.

‘‘A focus this year has been on attracting younger members of Australia’s dairy community to involve themselves with ADC,’’ Mr Fitzgerald said.

‘‘I attended for the first time only a few short years ago and look where that involvement has led me to today.

‘‘The digital age we are moving into is going to be moving a lot faster than I believe we are ready for.

‘‘The pressures might not necessarily be coming at us from on-farm, where we can see them coming and influence it, but off-farm in a space we probably haven’t even given any thought to.

‘‘Is our industry ready for change, how do we manage change? Our markets seem to be becoming more volatile, how will our industry change from being reactive to proactive?’’

After attending his first conference in Tasmania in 2015 on a whim, Mr Fitzgerald said it inspired him and drove him to get involved in the event.

He said the conference provided a great opportunity to network with other farmers.

‘‘People are there for the same reason.

‘‘The conversations you have at conference are more looking at the big picture, rather than the conversations you often have locally where you talk about the day-to-day issues of running the farm.’’

A number of speakers will present at the conference, including Saputo chief executive officer Lino A Saputo, Dairy Australia’s John Droppert and Kaila Colbin from Silicon Valley think-tank Singularity University.

■Full registrations including dinner functions are $880 for dairy farmers and $1320 for non-farmers. Day registrations can be purchased for $450 for dairy farmers or $715 for non-farmers per day.

■To register or see the program visit: australiandairyconference.com.au

Averaged across Victoria, the mean maximum temperature was 3.17°C warmer than average, the highest January daytime temperature for the state since 2001, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Mean maximum temperatures were more than 4°C above average around Swan Hill in the Mallee.

The temperature reached 45°C or more at sites in Victoria on four separate days during January, the first month that has happened since January 2009, and the second-highest count of such hot days behind January 1939 (seven days).

Numerous sites across northern Victoria had record counts of days of 35°C or more for January, including Kyabram (17 days).

There were also many sites with new records for long runs of consecutive days of 35°C or more, including Bendigo Airport with a run of 12 consecutive days (previous record run was eight in 2014) and Mildura Airport with a run of 14 days (previous record run was 12 days in 1961).

Nights were warmer than average throughout Victoria in January, with the overall mean minimum temperature being Victoria’s sixth-warmest on record and highest since 2006.

Night-time temperatures were very much above average across eastern Victoria, including patches of the highest on record in Gippsland.

Temperatures didn’t drop below 30°C at Mildura Airport, Ouyen and Walpeup Research Station in the north-west on the morning of January 29.

Mildura Airport’s minimum temperature of 31.4°C on the 29th was a Victorian January record and the state’s second-highest for any month.

Many sites had either their highest January mean daily maximum temperature on record or their highest January mean daily maximum temperature since the 1980s.

Several sites had their warmest January night on record on the 28th or 29th.

The former factory closed last week, throwing about 100 people out of work.

Murray Goulburn extended the factory across one of the town’s streets many years ago and some older residents who remember the sacrifice are not happy the company has wound down operations.

‘‘We gave up the street, an old church and several businesses had to shift. It’s slap-bang in the middle of our town,’’ Cr Wilson said.

He said the town would be pushing the proposed new owners of Murray Goulburn to either sell the site or use it.

He said the Leitchville situation would be unpalatable to the community.

The former Murray Goulburn factory at Leitchville closed down years ago, but the company has refused to allow other businesses to use it.

‘‘We’ll be working hard to see that does not happen here,’’ Cr Wilson said.

Murray Goulburn has told Country News the future of the Leitchville factory would be a matter for the new owner, Saputo.

Cr Wilson said the shire was undertaking the biggest strategic study ever carried out for Rochester to see what opportunities there were for growth. The report could take a few more months to complete.

He was confident this would lead to longer term investment in the town.

Whether a dairy company is interested in the old factory is not a major concern for Cr Wilson.

‘‘I have been advocating for some time that we move away from water-intensive industries and look at other industries,’’ Cr Wilson said.

He said there had been some difficulties in recent years with developing water-based industries in the region and now was the time to look elsewhere.

‘‘We have had a chicken hatchery established on the outskirts of town and that has provided about 20 jobs,’’ he said.

The Rochester community has been disappointed to see other dairy factories expanding in the Goulburn Valley, while Murray Goulburn was contracting.

‘‘It’s incredibly disappointing that everyone else seems to be able to move on, but our Australian-owned company seems to be going toes up,’’ Cr Wilson said.

Murray Goulburn said it had been actively engaged with the Rochester Open for Business Advisory Group since it was formed last June.

Cr Wilson said while the company was represented at the meetings, it could not provide any more information than was already publicly available.

He had a warning for Murray Goulburn or its successive owner if they neglected the site, and the town was left with no option but to campaign against the company.

‘‘Devondale could become Devonfail,’’ he said in reference to the dairy brand.

Asked about the mood in the town on the last day of operations, Cr Wilson said it was a sad moment, but most people were just glad to see it over with and wanted to move on.

‘‘We are a resilient community,’’ he said.

‘‘We will survive.’’

Released last week, the report predicts that lamb prices will be particularly strong, with demand outpacing supply for the sixth consecutive year, leading to an expected record high price early in the year.

‘‘The exchange rate, seasonal conditions and slightly higher production in New Zealand will be factors to watch in 2018, but Ag Answers expects that 2018 will be another exceptional year for Australian sheep producers,’’ the report said.

Following record prices and strong exports last year, the wool market is expected to again remain strong with stockpiles low as Australian wool production continues on a 23-year-long period of decline.

‘‘The lagged and slow process of increasing the size of the flock and, therefore, wool production means that building supply will take time,’’ the report found.

‘‘Unusually for the wool supply chain, there appears to be very little wool stockpiled at any point of the chain, removing the buffer effect of stocks from the market.

‘‘Declining wool stocks in China have helped boost the Australian market, building on demand for woollen apparel associated with rising incomes.

‘‘The Australian dollar has been trending lower since September and some commentators suggest that it will fall further, which would add support to Australian wool prices.’’

In the dairy industry, while flat milk prices are expected in the first half of the year, a ‘‘more positive’’ outlook for 2018-19 prices is predicted.

India could play a big part in improving the sector, with a big order of skim milk powder expected from the country as it continues to eat into its stockpile.

‘‘India doesn’t import skim milk powder regularly, but when they do it is in large quantities,’’ the report said.

‘‘History tells us they could buy between 20000 to 35000 tonnes in the calendar year. This is something the dairy industry would welcome as it would reduce world skim milk powder stocks more quickly, bringing supply and demand closer to balancing.’’

Local wheat prices will continue to come under pressure, with the future of pulse crops uncertain, given the recent tariffs and discussions occurring in India.

‘‘At this stage, at a global level, it appears that the supply of most crops will at least meet demand, keeping prices under pressure in 2018,’’ the report said.

He said Mr Sheridan had a unique combination of skills and attributes that could be difficult to find in the market, which included extensive commercial expertise and experience developed in various senior management roles in a large corporate agribusiness.

Mr Jochinke said Mr Sheridan also brought his own personal experience and empathy for the sector, having been raised on a mixed cropping, livestock and irrigation property.

Mr Sheridan’s appointment comes at an important time as the VFF works to increase agriculture’s influence in the next state election and potential federal elections, and tackles the ongoing organisational issues that all not-for-profit advocacy bodies face as industries consolidate and the number of farm businesses decreases.

‘‘I consider my commercial and industry experience and expertise places me in an ideal position to bring a new perspective to the VFF’s operations, while also being well informed of the issues and challenges being faced by VFF and the broader agriculture sector,’’ Mr Sheridan said.

‘‘I look forward to working with the board and management to bring these commercial attributes to achieving our objectives as one of ... the most effective, efficient, and influential member-based advocacy organisations in Victoria.

‘‘I am always heartened working in an industry that, though it may not sit front of mind for the urban population, is at the very heart of what we all devote so much of our time to. Our farm sector is the source of what we eat and drink, and the core ingredient to much of our fashion industry.

‘‘We should be proud that Victoria produces approximately 30 per cent of the nation’s agricultural product, providing healthy food not only for our domestic population to enjoy, but also numerous overseas countries, which in turn contributes over $11billion to our Victorian economy,’’ Mr Sheridan said.

‘‘Part of my challenge is ensuring that we at the VFF are advocating as effectively as possible on behalf of our members to ensure that government, industry and whole of community understand both the value of our agricultural industry to the economy, and that our domestic produce is some of the cleanest and healthiest in the world and should be valued accordingly.’’

Both followed a similar path into their work as a CRC, starting out as water bailiffs and then undertaking various project management roles, including stints with the Connections project.

The CRC role was introduced at G-MW six years ago, not long after the Connections project began.

Currently, CRCs service the Torrumbarry, Loddon Valley, Rochester, Central Goulburn, Shepparton and Murray Valley areas.

These regional CRCs provide tailored customer service face-to-face and over the phone and assist with account management, troubleshooting and transactional assistance and other customer inquiries.

They are also located in Tatura to work collaboratively with customer support teams on projects that improve G-MW’s customer service across the whole area of operations.

CRCs also provide customer feedback and ideas for changes and improvement to ensure all of G-MW’s programs and services are meeting the changing needs of its customers.

Mr Simkin, whose service with G-MW spans about 40 years, said these various roles had held him in good stead to understand customer needs and issues in the Murray Valley irrigation area.

‘‘Having that local knowledge does help, as I know a lot of the history of the area and properties as well as the channel network,’’ he said.

‘‘It makes a difference in being able to help the customer as often their issues or queries are very localised and specific to their property — sometimes simple problems can be hard to fix and I’ve found there is no one size fits all.’’

Mr Halden, who assists customers in the Central Goulburn irrigation area, agreed and said customer queries varied between large irrigators and smaller domestic and stock property owners.

‘‘We assist customers big and small for all of their water needs, whether that’s helping with transferring water share entitlements, talking them through carryover and risk of spill or just generally explaining things and discussing their options,’’ he said.

‘‘Post unbundling (when water entitlements were able to be held or sold separately from land), the way water is arranged can be very complex.

‘‘There’s so many ways to set things up and sometimes customers just want to better understand this so they can decide what works for them.’’

Mr Simkin said he enjoyed working as a CRC because he often got to go out into the field to meet with customers face to face at their properties, which allowed him to get a good understanding of their business enterprises.

‘‘I’ve been at G-MW for many years but when I go out and talk to people I’m still learning new things every day — there’s been so much change in the industry and what some of the farmers in our region are doing is really quite innovative.’’

A CRC may be able to discuss:

Your water services and account options;

Ordering and using water;

End-of-season carryover and risk of spill;

Land and water transfers;

Water shares and water use licences; and,

Options and processes for subdivisions and amalgamations.

The Grains Research Development Corporation research update in Corowa on Thursday, February 15, will feature presentations from Riverine Plains Inc and the CSIRO.

With a focus on exploring the issues that impact the profitability of retaining stubble across a range of environments in southern Australia, the research is aimed at developing regional guidelines and recommendations that assist growers and advisers to consistently retain stubbles profitably.

Riverine Plains research and extension officer Cassandra Schefe said the group established four large, commercial scale field trials at Dookie, Yarrawonga, Henty and Coreen/Corowa to compare different stubble management practices, plant establishment, growth and yield.

‘‘Smaller trials also evaluated the importance of timing of nitrogen application, plant growth regulators, row spacing and variety selection in optimising production in stubble retained systems,’’ Dr Schefe said.

‘‘The large plot field trials were always placed into a cereal stubble, so the sites didn’t continue in the same location every year, but were placed in different paddocks to maintain the same rotation position, with the trial crop being sown into wheat stubble.’’

Dr Schefe said while the trial results could not be directly compared across seasons, the effect of different stubble management techniques could be reviewed across years to determine if any single approach appeared to consistently yield better.

‘‘Generally, across the past four seasons stubble management has not been a key driver of yield, except for stubble height at Dookie, and addition of nitrogen at sowing at Yarrawonga and Henty in 2014,’’ she said.

‘‘This general lack of effect may be largely due to extreme weather through some of the growing seasons, being heat stress in October 2015, and waterlogging and high cloud cover in winter and spring 2016, which would have overridden any effects of stubble management on yields.

‘‘The timing of flowering had a strong impact on the degree to which these two factors influenced final crop yields.

‘‘It is important to view these results within the context of the seasonal conditions. Therefore, the most productive and profitable approach to stubble management may change according to the season.’’

Dr Schefe will address the one-day GRDC Research Update at Corowa RSL on Thursday, February 15 from 9am to 3.30pm.

Other speakers include Roger Lawes from CSIRO on understanding the basis behind the yield gap and Rohan Brill from NSW Department of Primary Industries on critical agronomy management points for optimising canola profitability.

■For a full list of speakers or to register visit: www.grdc.com.au/events/list/2017/02/grdc-grains-research-update-corowa

Milk processing at the Rochester factory closed last week, throwing the last 30 people out of work, but Fonterra is recruiting staff for its expanding Stanhope site and dairy company ACM is believed to be looking for staff for a new factory it is building at nearby Girgarre.

Murray Goulburn chief executive officer Ari Mervis thanked Rochester employees for their significant contribution to the company.

‘‘The decision to close the Rochester site was difficult to make, however a necessary step on the journey to ensure the competitiveness of MG,’’ Mr Mervis said.

The company announced the Rochester factory was closing last May in an attempt to create efficiencies following an exodus of suppliers.

Canadian company Saputo proposes to buy Murray Goulburn, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, but the company says the Rochester closure will stand.

Milk supply from the Rochester region has transferred to Murray Goulburn’s Cobram factory along with the manufacturing of many cheese products previously produced at Rochester, while whey powder production at Rochester will move in time to its Leongatha site.

The Rochester site was acquired as part of the merger with the Rochester Butter and Canning Company in 1963.

Campaspe Shire’s Cr Leigh Wilson said there had been some interest from outside businesses in the site, but nothing was yet firm.

Asked about the mood in the town on the last day, Cr Wilson said it was a sad moment, but most people were just glad to see it over with and they wanted to move on.

‘‘We are a resilient community. We will survive,’’ he said.

Cr Wilson chairs the town’s development committee and he said it was interested in casting a wide net for future business opportunities.

‘‘I don’t think the future has to be with dairy. It’s a water-intensive business and that can be difficult in our area. We have been successful in attracting other types of business,’’ he said.

Campaspe Shire has commissioned a strategic economic report to help find opportunities for the town.

Murray Goulburn has been represented on a community advisory group and Mr Wilson said the company had apparently listened to the issues, but was not able to share any more information than what was available publicly.

Many people in the town have been dismayed to see Murray Goulburn winding down operations while other dairy companies were expanding.

Older residents can also remember how the company successfully lobbied to close down a street close to the centre of the town, so the factory could expand. Several businesses had to relocate and an old church was demolished.

The latest thing I've noticed is that he enjoys watching hares more than chasing them - which means he leaves the hard work up to me, when he could easily pick off one or two with his rifle.

Or even more. Lately we've been seeing up to six of them tearing around in the paddock, sometimes in file and other times all over the place.

The Boss reckons it's how the dominant male sorts out the other males ahead of breeding but my own view is that they are taunting us. Mocking us. Daring us to do something. Sometimes, he says, the female (called a Jill) will get up and belt the male (called a Jack) when she doesn't want his molesting attentions - a kind-of hare version of #MeToo.

Here's a video I found of the males chasing each other - this is pretty much what I am seeing every night and The Boss won't let me get in amongst it.

 Not that I can catch them anyway, except when they're three days old. The hare lives above ground all the time, unlike a rabbit, and has to live on his wits. The hares we see are descended from the European hares (Lepus Europaeus) bought out by much more loving dog owners in the 1870s so they could go coursing with their dogs.

Like the old poachers in the English countryside, they used these lanky big hounds called Lurchers - usually a sighting dog like a greyhound, crossed with something with a hunting instinct like mine. Well - and it hurts me to say this - they must be faster than me too, if they can catch an adult hare. The Boss says hares can run at more than 55kph.

That's probably why the lurchers couldn't catch all the hares and by 1900 they had spread from Phillip Island up through Victoria, New South Wales and into southern Queensland. They prefer temperate climes to the dry country, where rabbits adapted well - but rabbits can live underground during the heat of the day.

The Boss has pointed out these shallow nests in the grass, beside a log or in a hollow - called a form, where the hares breed. And I can smell them. The baby hares - called leverets - are born with hair on and their eyes open, and generally find their own hiding spot after three days.

They have to worry about foxes and eagles and The Boss says 40-60% of the leverets don't make it. He used to shoot a hare regularly - the back-straps and hind legs could do wonders for a terrine or a burger, he says - but now he worries that the population is struggling. 

I think he's become a secret admirer of the hare, which is another disappointment. I can see him watching them and he laughs when I put one up and give half-hearted chase - or don't even try, pretending I'm more interested in my ball.  He says they have their own constellation in the sky, called Lepus, and it's naturally right next to Orion, the hunter, and Canis Major, the dog.

In our neck of the woods, you can see Orion high in the summer sky - some people call it "The Saucepan" - and nearby is Sirius, the dog star, the brightest star in Canis Major. Lepus is more or less between the Hunter and the Dog, and out a bit. Here's how the stars in Lepus look like the hare:

I can't see the similarity myself. I'm not sure they deserve their own constellation either, particularly getting between the hunter and the dog. You'd think they're important. And they've got their own collective noun, The Boss says (as if I'm interested.)

"General," he says, "a bunch of dogs like you is just a pack. But a bunch of crows is a murder; a bunch of whales is a pod; a bunch of crocs is a float; and a bunch of hares is a drove. Can't you do better than a pack?"

So he's not satisfied with being disappointing. He has to take the mickey out of me as well. Woof!

American company First Solar is the brains behind yet another solar farm — this time near Numurkah.

The 80MW project, 2km from Numurkah, is planned for construction in 2019.

First Solar will hold an information session on Thursday, February 15 at the Numurkah Visitor Information Centre at 99 Melville St, Numurkah from 1pm to 6pm.

■For more information or to provide feedback, email: moirasolarfarm@firstsolar.com or phone: (02)90027725.

Community meetings for Horfield project

Leeson Group, the developer of the Horfield solar farm, will hold community consultation sessions at Leitchville to discuss the progress of the project.

The first of the sessions, on February 7, will allow the general public to hear about the project and provide feedback.

The second session, a day later, will allow individuals and local businesses, who may want to be part of the construction process, to have their say.

Leeson Group managing director Peter Leeson said more sessions would be held as the project gets closer to construction.

The $45.5million project will cover 82ha and will generate enough power from 104000 panels to power 8000 homes.

Mr Leeson said at its peak, 100 jobs would be created.

‘‘During operation, there will be three to four people. Very little maintenance is needed for the panels.’’

Mr Leeson said the grid connection would be complete by April, with construction set down for October.

Both community consultation sessions will be held at the Leitchville Recreation Reserve, with the Wednesday, February 7 session starting at 7pm and the Thursday, February 8 session starting at 10am.

An ANZ spokesperson said customers have changed the way they bank in recent years, with more opting to use online option and ATMs rather than visiting branches.

‘‘Of our customers who have Rochester as their home branch, only 21 per cent of them currently use the branch with nearly 57 per cent of them preferring internet or mobile banking,’’ a spokesperson said in a statement.

An ANZ branch in Mooroopna, a NAB branch in Murchison, and a Commonwealth Bank branch in Boort were all closed last year.

The New South Wales town of Berrigan had its NAB branch closed last year.

Read more in next week's Country News.

Both men received $750 fines and will be required to sit the Waterfowl Identification Test again if they choose to renew their game licences.

The hunters’ ducks were inspected at Wooroonook camping ground by authorised officers on the opening weekend of the 2017 duck hunting season.

The officers found the men were in possession of a partially plucked Freckled Duck, a threatened species which is illegal to hunt in Victoria.

Game Management Authority chief executive officer Greg Hyams said the men stated they had mistakenly identified the duck as a black duck, retrieved it from the water and included it as part of their bag.

‘‘Failure to correctly identify protected wildlife or shooting or retrieving a non-game species is unacceptable and can result in significant fines, forfeiture of equipment and loss of game and firearms licences,’’ Mr Hyams said.

To ensure a higher standard of bird identification skills, the GMA is set to raise the minimum pass mark for the Waterfowl Identification Test from 75 per cent to 85 per cent next month. In addition, all protected species must be correctly identified to pass.

All hunters applying for a duck-hunting game licence will need to meet these requirements in order to obtain their licence. Hunters found guilty of an offence may be required to re-sit the WIT.

(With Belle) I just thought of her name. Then I thought I would call all her litter with names starting with the same letter. I’m not doing that again as I get the names confused.

Brighid I named after St Brigid, the main saint in Ireland. She was the biggest of the litter and she is a standing-by-you like dog.

How are their working abilities?

Bramble and Brighid are the main working two. Bramble is probably the best. Bramble is a better paddock dog and Brighid likes to work close in. Maggie is still training. I’m not sure how good she’s going to be but she will be a good pet anyway.

Which commands do they respond to best?

Each one is different. Bramble has a good cast.

Do they have any habits — good or bad?

Maggie has taken to digging. She’s made herself a den. Maggie gets so excited on the back of the ute she jumps on to the cap and slides down the windscreen. She always looks surprised. Maggie also steals boots and shoes and decorates the driveway with them.

Bramble is too smart for her own good. She tries to read your mind, so you have to make sure she’s not already rounding them up.

Have they had any accidents?

Other than a couple of grass seed incidents, thankfully the dogs haven’t had any serious accidents.

How do they get on with other animals?

They do annoy the horses and alpacas. It’s all to get a reaction out of them. The horse is pretty good, it just ignores them.

Words and pictures:

Rodney Woods

■Do you have a dog or dogs you’d like to nominate for Man’s Best Friend? Phone Rodney the Dog Man on 5820 3259 or email him at: rodney.woods@countrynews.com.au

The highest price ever paid at the Shepparton Regional Saleyards was reached when Paringa Fever Opa EX 91, the 2016 International Dairy Week Grand Champion, was sold for $33000 to a syndicate of Australian and overseas buyers.

N, M and J Staley of Yarram paid $10800 for Paringa Dempsey Nicoise, a very correct heifer bred from six generations of Aussie EX dams.

The sale saw 50 cows and heifers gross $186650, averaging $3733.

Featuring boutique drinking options, a foodie’s feast of various cuisines and take-home treats at the Farmers Market, the expo from February 16 to 18 is sure to tantalise.

With more than a decade of experience in the kitchen, chef Simone Garusi has channelled his passion for cooking into his range of homemade frozen pastas.

He opened his Chapel St restaurant Italian Chef four years ago, but still enjoys the farmers’ market circuit where he sells gnocchi, tortelli and a Wagyu ragu sauce.

Mr Garusi’s fusion of chocolate and slow-cooked duck has created a unique tortelli pasta — best paired with a creamy mushroom sauce — an inspired combination that has become much-loved.

The taste of the Otway Ranges runs deep in Prickly Moses’ specialty brews, with water being key to crafting the Barongarook-based brewery’s beers and ciders.

‘‘This year we will be coming to the expo with a new beer that’s not for the faint-hearted called Saboteur Double IPA. It’s about 10.4 per cent in alcohol and it’s packed full of hops,’’ events co-ordinator Rosie Heaton-Harris said.

Other enticing offerings include apple berry cider, alcoholic ginger beer, and everything else in between from easy drinking through to dark rich stouts.

The gourmet delights of fine goat meat will also take centre stage with Seven Hills Tallarook’s renowned goat sausages, hamburgers and ‘‘world famous’’ chorizo.

‘‘People weren’t accustomed to goat when we first started but it is well recognised now. We now supply various Melbourne restaurants with our goat meat and we have the same customers that follow us from show to show too,’’ owners Taylan and Megan Atar said.

Lovers of a tipple with a sweet, creamy flavour will be spoilt for choice with Kensal Estate Wines’ range of liqueurs which include chocolate-mint, butterscotch, coffee, and chocolate.

Also on offer by the Cobram winery are its chardonnay, shiraz, cabernet franc, moscato, trebbiano and ciders.

‘‘We have an apple cider, straight pear cider, limoncello and a pear-wine cooler which is a bit sweet,’’ owner Thomas Ley said.

Mildura business Callipari Food and Wine will be back for the 10th time at the expo with its popular Ned Kelly red spritzer in tow.

‘‘It’s basically a sangria so it has red wine, oranges and lemons and is slightly carbonated,’’ sales director Larry Brennan said.

‘‘We will also have a white wine spritzer with apple and ginger, a pink moscato and a fortified red and white port.’’

■The Seymour Alternative Farming Expo will be held from February 16 to 18 at Kings Park in Seymour.

■For more information or to buy tickets online and save 17 per cent, visit www.seymourexpo.com.au

Ms Martin is a water resource officer at Goulburn-Murray Water and the 2018 recipient of the Laurie Gleeson Development Award.

The highly-regarded award offers $5000 to a water industry professional to undertake a professional development project and is named after a former Goulburn Valley Water general manager

Ms Martin’s video entry contributed to the win; it proposed a two-week study tour to the United States, predominantly spending time in California as the state is known for having similar climactic conditions to Victoria and must deal with a variety of extreme weather events.

‘‘My three aims are to investigate the communication methods in place to inform the public regarding extreme weather events, flood routing methods used in dams and procedures regarding pre-releases, and river monitoring and data collection,’’ Ms Martin said.

‘‘As part of the trip I hope to spend two days in San Francisco meeting with Facebook and Google to discuss the role of social media in an emergency; three days in California’s Central Valley to learn about flood management and the local issues they face; and then a week in Sacramento where I will meet with a number of agencies and authorities.’’

Ms Martin also hopes to find time to visit the Hoover Dam in Nevada and learn more about flood and drought management techniques in the region.

After the 2010 and 2011 floods in Victoria, the Comrie Review required dam owners to inform people situated downstream of water storages if an immediate threat arose from the dam to the safety of those people.

‘‘I’m interested in finding new ways to help inform downstream communities and learning about their effectiveness in California,’’ Ms Martin said.

‘‘I will bring this knowledge back to G-MW with an aim of improving communication with G-MW customers and downstream communities.’’

Mr Crawford, as a Murray Goulburn supplier, said he was not pleased about how he was treated.

‘‘It was meant to be a farmer co-op. It made it tough for us young farmers. I didn’t like the way things were handled,’’ he said.

Mr Crawford said it was tough as a young farmer due to him having to start from scratch.

‘‘Young farmers starting out are more in debt than most,’’ he said.

He was also not a fan of the way the water system is structured, but said his water issues came down to two things.

‘‘Cost and uncertainties (around water) were the main things.’’

After a successful sale during International Dairy Week, Mr Crawford is looking forward to his new career.

‘‘I’m extremely happy. With the way the industry is at the moment, we couldn’t ask for much more,’’ he said.

‘‘The averages were fantastic, really.

‘‘We still have some young stock that we will be selling at various times when they are closer to calving. I’m pretty keen to move into beef.

‘‘I only have a handful (of beef cattle) and over the next month or six weeks we will start picking up a few (more).’’

In a statement released today (Wednesday), the company also disclosed milk intake was down by 29 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The normalised after tax profit was $14.4 million, compared to $9.4 million in the first half of 2017.

The company noted it had recorded a statutory net loss after tax of $27 million, taking into account adjustments related to the proposed sale to Saputo.

Dividends and distributions continue to be suspended.

Net debt at the end of the first half of the year was $474 million, similar to the position at the end of the financial year.

The company expects to distribute its memorandum related to the Saputo offer in March or April, and is watiing on a decision by the ACCC.

The first video in the series focuses on fencing requirements for goats and features goat meat producers from across Queensland and NSW who manage a mix of enterprise types.

MLA goat industry project manager Julie Petty said the videos were produced in consultation with the Goat Industry Council of Australia (GICA) and would be rolled out during the next 12 months to further add to MLA’s extension resources for goat meat producers.

‘‘The videos are designed to answer commonly asked questions from current and potential goat meat producers to help build their knowledge and skills to improve business performance, and to lift productivity,’’ Ms Petty said.

‘‘Topics covered in the series of videos include nutrition, profitability and target markets for goat meat producers.

‘‘They also include commentary on why producers recommend others get into the industry, how to make the transition and why it makes sense to move away from harvesting goats and into semi-managed herds.

‘‘To stabilise goat meat production in Australia and grow domestic and international markets, an increase in the number of goat meat producers and volume of turn-off is needed,’’ she said.

MLA’s extension services to goat meat producers have also been further boosted with the addition of an updated parasite control module in MLA’s Going into Goats (GiG) guide.

The online GiG guide has 12 modules that address different aspects of the goat production system and can be found at: https:// www.mla.com.au/extension-training-and-tools/going-into-goats/

Updated versions of the Goat depots and Nutrition modules will also be uploaded in the coming weeks.

To view MLA’s goat fencing video, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nMgEzbKNN8& feature=youtu.be

Tatura Farm Supplies’ Caroline Minns said she arrived at the Ross St business early Friday morning to discover it had been broken into and the store’s 1939 National cash register was taken.

Following a busy week with International Dairy Week in the town, Ms Minns said it was a sad way to end the week.

‘‘I got very attached to it, I’m heartbroken ... I think it’s gone forever,’’ she said.

‘‘They’d made a mess and stole the cash register. We don’t leave any cash on the premises but they just targeted that, unfortunately.

‘‘The register worked and you could turn the handle and it had a beautiful timber cash draw. We used it in the shop every day.’’

Following the break-in, Ms Minns and her husband Martin Ward took to Facebook last Tuesday in the hope of having the cash register returned to them.

Since publishing their story online the post has been shared more than 900 times.

‘‘It’s been so lovely. You just wish you could thank them all,’’ Ms Minns said.

He said construction of the factory, to be built next to the former Girgarre Cheese Factory, was well under way — despite no visible movement at the site.

‘‘The building is being made and engineered off-site as is equipment, like dryers,’’ Mr Auld said.

‘‘It’s much more efficient.’’

The company is hoping to make some on-site progress shortly.

‘‘The permit should be issued this week and then we can start digging up the dirt. Then you should see it evolve pretty quickly.’’

Mr Auld expected milk processing to begin in September or October this year.

Released at the end of last year, consultancy firm Ernst & Young was tasked with analysing the opportunities to recover 450Gl of additional environmental water with neutral or positive socio-economic impacts.

Yet the report is devoid of original analysis, lacks detail and was built on ‘‘flimsy’’ foundations, according to Mr McKenzie.

He said he was particularly surprised to see that none of the 13 case studies took place in the GMID, with the closest case study taking place in Deniliquin.

‘‘The GMID and big parts surrounding it are already suffering negative consequences,’’ Mr McKenzie said.

‘‘The fact they haven’t analysed any of the work already done on the region makes me think they’re scared of asking questions because they’d find out something they didn’t want to find out.

‘‘It’s really clarified for me that all our concerns have been really well placed. The fact the report hasn’t addressed any matters, that makes me think there’s something there.’’

The 307-page report also failed to clearly outline what would be required to achieve the 450Gl, according to Mr McKenzie, with the report’s finding that there is ‘‘sufficient evidence’’ the 450Gl can be recovered with neutral or positive socio-economic outcomes based on ‘‘magic’’.

‘‘At the end of all the work there is no new analysis ... To cover themselves they say it’s subject to a number of projects and assumptions and they haven’t quantified the assumptions,’’ he said.

‘‘They haven’t said what the projects are, what they’ll cost. It’s obvious to anyone that the 450Gl cannot be recovered without any negative impacts.

‘‘It’s clear they (Ernst & Young) think it can’t be done so it’s subject to all this magic that happens in the background.’’

Ultimately Mr McKenzie said he was disappointed by the substance of the report and had hope for rigorous new evidence that took into accord the whole regional impact.

He said there were too many small snapshots that focused too narrowly on the impacts of the basin plan.

‘‘They haven’t addressed the accumulative impacts of all these decisions and the real impact on all these people in the region,’’ Mr McKenzie said.

‘‘No-one will know the full impact (of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan) until we have a drought.

‘‘It’s going to hit regions like a ton of bricks.’’

With a focus on the future of the climate, new technology, business planning or predicting what the market will do, the expo will provide farmers and industry with new ideas and the latest information on farm management.

North Central CMA regional Landcare facilitator Darren Bain said the focus of this year’s expo was managing risk.

‘‘Farmers, scientists and industry experts will be on hand to share their research, experience and ideas on managing risk, but also looking for opportunities to increase profit,’’ Mr Bain said.

‘‘One of the emerging challenges for farmers is insecticide resistance. Dr Siobhan de Little will show farmers what they can be expected to be confronted with over the next few years.

‘‘Dr de Little will show how correct pest identification and chemical choice will be critical for future management of this problem.’’

Three local farmers will discuss their farming businesses, providing information on current issues and opportunities within each of their enterprises.

A panel session will be included to allow participants to ask farmers questions relevant to their enterprise.

The sessions will feature information on the latest climate forecasts, soil moisture probes, technology on drones and virtual fencing, business management, succession planning and grain selling and marketing.

‘‘Weather forecasts are always a hot topic with farmers; this year we have Dr Andrew Watkins from Bureau of Meteorology,’’ Mr Bain said.

‘‘We are very excited with this year’s line-up and have tried to put a forum together that will give farmers looking to minimise risks and explore opportunities to reduce costs to take their businesses to the next level.’’

■Places are strictly limited and RSVPs are required by 5pm on Friday, February 16 by phoning 5448 7124 or emailing info@nccma.vic.gov.au

‘‘We are using worms as the engine of our waste and water treatment plant,’’ Booth Transport project manager Brendan Edwards said.

Common in Chile, the technology allows the business to clean 125million litres of wastewater a year, which comes from cleaning up to 50 tankers per day as well as silos.

‘‘The water treatment facility we have will be known as a worm farm ... Traditional methods are very costly, so using a worm farm is a cost-effective method by filtering for a start and then it will be sprayed onto the worms where the worms will be eating the food, so the fats and proteins, and then that will reduce the biological oxygen of that wastewater,’’ Strathmerton plant manager Michael Banfield said.

‘‘It will then go through a desalination process which remove the salts from that water.

‘‘That water can then be put back into the irrigation channel where the water can be reused for irrigation.’’

Mr Banfield said it was obvious from the start of the project that wastewater was going to be a problem.

‘‘As the plant was being built, wastewater was going to be a hassle.

‘‘Bringing milk in is fine but with all the cleaning and rinsing of the line it becomes a waste stream. This waste stream we are now able to clean up and be able to reuse any as clean water.’’

Mr Banfield said using the town’s existing water plant was not an option.

‘‘It doesn’t go out this far and it’s not very cost-effective,’’ he said.

Moira Shire Mayor Libro Mustica said the project would allow the shire to attract more businesses to the region on top of the 77 jobs that the project would deliver.

‘‘It will attract other businesses to the town,’’ Cr Mustica said.

‘‘We have the raw material within the Moira shire to attract other companies and we want these companies to expand and grow.’’

The company was able to fund the project with help from the Sustainable Melbourne Fund.

‘‘A project like this reduces operating costs associated with business so those reduced operating expenses enable the loan to be repaid,’’ SMF chief executive Scott Bocskay said.

‘‘By saving water they’re actually paying the loan. Also, this a three-way agreement between ourselves as a lender, also the local council and Booths, so it’s a loan repaid through council rates,’’ he said.

The company’s chief executive officer Alastair McCredden said the next milestone was just days away.

‘‘The most imminent milestone to come is the product being back in Coles and Woolworths, which is literally days away from occurring,’’ he said.

‘‘We are literally just waiting on orders.’’

Once the orders are in, one and two-litre full cream and lite milk and 500ml iced coffee and chocolate milk will be available.

‘‘The world-famous iced coffee was launched the week before Christmas. There is a specific coffee brand exclusive to Kiewa Country iced coffee, hence why others have tried to replicate but failed,’’ Mr McCredden said.

‘‘The first commercial trial of samples of chocolate milk will be on Monday.

‘‘We bring in loyal chocolate lovers to make sure the taste and consistency is right. That’s the main thing. It’s got to tick all the boxes.’’

Although most of the Kyvalley Dairy Group’s milk supply comes from the Goulburn Valley, it is always looking for ‘‘quality suppliers’’.

‘‘We have our first dedicated milk supplier — Stephen Coulston, who is just out of Tangambalanga. It’s very exciting for us,’’ Mr McCredden said.

‘‘The rest of our milk supply comes from the Goulburn Valley.

‘‘We are always on the lookout for quality suppliers. We have a loyal band of suppliers, so it would have to be a good fit for us and a good fit for them.’’

Although the company’s ownership of the brand is only new, Mr McCredden said the aim was to process as much milk as was processed last year by Murray Goulburn.

‘‘We are aiming to get it back to where Murray Goulburn had it last year,’’ he said.

In addition the Kiewa Country brand’s favourites of iced coffee and chocolate milk, Kyvalley is set to put a modern twist on an old favourite.

‘‘We are looking at some innovative flavours,’’ Mr McCredden said.

The group is calling for a halt to all public subsidies and grants towards irrigation infrastructure in the basin and an independent audit to examine environmental outcomes.‘‘This is not about politics or about playing the 'blame game'," Quentin Grafton, economics professor at the Australian National University, says.‘‘It is about saying water reform is not delivering what it said it would for the basin, its environment or its people -- and saying how we solve it.

"The group of 12 signatories also includes Richard Davis, former chief science advisor to the National Water Commission.But the Murray Darling Basin Authority, and other water industry leaders have dismissed the declaration.

‘‘Claims that the plan's investment in more modern and efficient water infrastructure is not delivering benefits for the environment are simply not true,’’ chief executive Phillip Glyde said.

‘‘The Basin Plan was neither expected nor intended to deliver immediate results," Mr Glyde said.

‘‘It is simply not possible to repair 100 years of damage to such a vast river system overnight, or even within five years.’’

Federal Assistant Water Minister Anne Ruston said: ‘‘The first people to be screaming at us for not delivering the plan on time will be these people [the scientists], and yet they are now the ones telling us to stop the plan.’’

Murray Goulburn’s Rochester factory had its final day of production last week, with the future of the site in the centre of town still unknown.

Despite depressed prices for dairy, there are new projects being planned, with Fonterra at Stanhope spending $125million this year and ACM building a new factory on a greenfield site at Girgarre.

Meanwhile SPC is selling its Kyabram IXL jams and Taylors sauces brands, manufactured on the site of what was originally the ‘‘KY’’ brand fruit factory.

On a more positive note for the SPC company, it announced its expansion into China, launching its Goulburn Valley and SPC fruit brands in that country.

The partnership between SPC and China State Farm Agribusiness Shanghai, the company’s master distributor in China, will see SPC products sold online and in supermarkets.

Committee for Echuca Moama chief executive Martin Szakal recently met with Chinese and Australian-based trade development officers on a trade trip to China.

‘‘I visited the Victorian Government office in Beijing and saw the region that will host the 2022 Winter Olympics, so tourism development and investment discussions were plentiful,’’ Mr Szakal said.

‘‘I also presented for 10 minutes to the Hebei Chamber of Commerce on the Victorian economy including exports and specific insights into central and northern Victoria.’’

Although there have been reports of strained political ties between China and Australia, Mr Szakal said Chinese businesses were open to collaboration.

‘‘Agribusiness was a key topic including the potential importation of nectarines into China,’’ Mr Szakal said.

‘‘One business was keen to understand if they could procure nectarines for their canning factory and another wanted to learn more about smart farming technology.’’

Murray Goulburn suppliers are now waiting on more information on Saputo’s offer for the company.

The company has promised a memorandum will be circulated early this year setting out details of the offer.

‘‘We continue to work with Saputo to progress towards completion of the asset sale, which includes obtaining all necessary approvals,’’ a spokesperson said last week.

‘‘At the appropriate time, an Explanatory Memorandum will be sent to shareholders with relevant details of the transaction. This will include details of the Extraordinary General Meeting for shareholders to be able to vote on the proposed transaction. We expect the transaction to be completed in the first half of 2018.’’

The deployment of several regional field officers allows for the immediate management of fruit fly hot spots as they occur.

Goulburn Murray Valley regional QFF co-ordinator Ross Abberfield said the regional QFF trapping program had detected a significant upsurge in fruit fly numbers during December, and indications suggested the increase would continue through January and February.

‘‘The appointment of field officers results in a considerable bolstering of existing resources and is an important element in protecting the region from fruit fly through co-ordinated area-wide pest management,’’ Mr Abberfield said.

The officers have been funded through the Goulburn Murray Valley Regional Fruit Fly Program and were deployed at the beginning of January.

Mr Abberfield said vigilance was required from the whole community in order to protect the region and its horticulture industry from the pest.

‘‘Under laboratory conditions, each female fruit fly can lay up to 2000 eggs, which, in the field can translate to approximately half that number,’’ he said.

‘‘Those offspring can breed another generation in less than a month if suitable host fruit and weather conditions exist, resulting in rapid population increases.’’

In order to prevent townships becoming breeding grounds for fruit fly, anyone who grows fruit trees and vegetables should inspect their ripening produce and correctly dispose of contaminated fruit and vegetables before the larvae turns into breeding adults.

‘‘Any fruit and vegetable in the home garden that has been infested with fruit fly should be destroyed by placing it in the freezer or microwave, or alternatively by placing it in a sealed plastic bag and leaving it in the sun for five to seven days to kill any maggots prior to disposal,’’ Mr Abberfield said.

Fruit and vegetables affected by fruit fly should only be disposed of once they have been appropriately treated in order to ensure the pest is not transferred to another location.

Home gardeners are asked to apply a range of control methods, such as the use of exclusion netting or fruit bagging, traps and insecticide or bait spray where it is considered appropriate.

‘‘Home gardeners with host fruit in their garden, yard or vegetable patch should apply a combination of control measures rather than relying on just one action,’’ Mr Abberfield said.

The company declined to comment on the matter following a number of attempts by Country News to seek a response and an interview regarding a number of topics, including the future of the factory site, the future of the employees currently working at the site, the timeline of the sale and the amount of interest in the factory.

A spokesperson for the brands said the company did not wish to provide any further detail on what had already been reported in the public domain, citing the confidential process and the ‘‘considerable air time’’ already devoted to the sale, as the reasons behind its decision.

The spokesperson said there was ‘‘nothing more to add’’ other than the fact the company was seeking expressions of interest for the brands.

SPC has been producing IXL jam at the Kyabram factory since purchasing the brand in 2002.

Initiated as part of the town’s Community Kickstart Plan, which sets out five years of programs to improve and reinvigorate the town as nominated by locals, the silo art will be the first of a number of projects to be completed.

Broome artist Sobrane, who specialises in painting birds, will share the idea for the art with the town at the Kickstart launch event.

Local farmer Will Cooper, whose family owns the silo, said he was looking forward to seeing the final design.

‘‘I’ve seen a few ideas and versions (of the artwork) and they’re awesome,’’ he said.

‘‘Sobrane will talk about the idea for the art on the day and start painting ... She thinks it will take her about a week (to paint the silo).’’

The Kickstart launch will get under way with a community breakfast on Sunday, February 11 at 9am.

■To donate to Tungamah’s Kickstart project, email Will Cooper at willytcooper@hotmail.com or visit the Facebook page ‘Tungamah Kickstart’.

Announced at the end of last month, the partnership between SPC and China State Farm Agribusiness Shanghai, the company’s master distributor in China, will see SPC products sold online and in supermarkets.

‘‘China represents a significant business opportunity for SPC in the years ahead, and this is an important step in realising our growth strategy,’’ SPC managing director Reg Weine said.

‘‘We are thrilled to be able to bring our premium Goulburn Valley and SPC packaged fruit to the largest consumer market in the world.’’

SPC’s plans include bringing its premium branded products to Chinese consumers through high-end supermarkets, speciality retailers and leading online and e-commerce platforms.

‘‘It’s about taking our market-leading brands into markets where provenance plays a part and there is a large enough consumer segment that is affluent and willing to pay a premium for Australian produce,’’ Mr Weine said.

‘‘The Chinese market is five times the size of the Australian processed fruit market, which makes this a huge opportunity.’’

SPC has appointed well-known singer and actress Ye Yiqian to promote the brand to Chinese consumers.

The free lunch, on February 12, will allow farmers to talk with NDHS representatives about how the health service can support them now, and into the future, after the recent changes to the industry.

There will also be activities for children and prizes handed out on the day.

The BBQ lunch will be held on Monday, February 12 from 12:30pm to 2:30pm at the Numurkah District Health Centre's Community Room, 2 Katamatite-Nathalia Rd, Numurkah.

RSVP's to be made by February 6 by calling (03) 5862 0560.

Major, well, he’s the main dog and he was born on Anzac Day, so that’s how he got Major. Ted — he had a yap when he was a younger pup and one of my mates down the road we nicknamed Ted and he talks a bit, so I thought that’s appropriate, and Fluff when she was younger she seemed to be more of a fluffy dog, so that’s how she got her name.

What are their personalities like?

They are great companions. Most of the time I’m out here on my own. They are very faithful. They wouldn’t snap at you. They are good-natured like that.

What are Major’s and Ted’s working abilities like?

The two males work in the paddock and the shed. They are versatile at both. They all watch the sheep all the time and know what’s going on more than I do. They are pretty well on the ball. They are too keen, so I have to slow them down. You can slow them down, but you can’t speed them up.

They would work for anyone I think. As long as work is involved they’d do it. They love it, absolutely love it.

What are they like with the cows?

The older bloke (Major) has no idea with the beef cows. That’s why they are not very often with the cows.

Where do they sleep?

They camp out here in the shed. I come out here every day (Mr Wootton lives in the Rushworth township). They would bark if they were in the town.

Do they love to travel?

They are on the bike well before you are. They are on the back of the ute as soon as it starts. All three of them will get on the bike and there’s no room for the pilot (driver).

Words and pictures:

Rodney Woods

The dinner celebrates the strong, passionate and successful women involved in the dairy industry and organiser Jade Sieben said it was great to see so many attend and enjoy some time away from the farm.

Celebrations included the announcement of the winner of the Bette Hall Power of Women in Dairy Award for Excellence, which was presented to Pam Malcolm.

Ms Malcolm, from Paringa Holsteins at Stewarton (near Shepparton) is a master breeder and well known in the dairy community.

‘‘Pam has been breeding top production cows in Australia and New Zealand for the last five decades and is well known throughout the country for her dedication to the dairy industry,’’ Ms Sieben said.

‘‘Pam once told me ... ‘Life does not get any easier but we are all still here because of our love for the black-and-white cow’ — and that, I think, sums Pam up very well.’’

Ms Malcolm was overwhelmed and honoured to receive the award and, fighting back tears, she told the crowd she bred cows because, simply, it was what she loved.

The night also included guest speaker and former dairy farmer Di Schubert.

Ms Schubert spoke about her career in the industry and the highs and lows she experienced during that time, including taking over the running of the dairy farm after the unexpected loss of her first husband, the joy of showing cows and the low of losing a third of her dairy herd to botulism.

Amelia Morris from Nagambie spoke about her personal battle with mental illness, a battle which led her to attempt to take her own life in 2015.

Ms Morris is an ambassador for Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health.

‘‘There is no shame in having a mental illness, it’s no different to being physically ill and I do think things are changing and there is a lot more awareness around the issue than there used to be. It is so important to speak about it and not hide it away,’’ Ms Morris said.

The night concluded with a parade of vintage Christian Dior hats as part of the Hats for Hope program (a fundraising initiative that supports Orygen).

■Anyone needing help can phone Lifeline Australia on 131114.

Following on from the 10th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture event in Berlin earlier this month, Ms Ruston said discussions left no doubt about the increasing demand for more sustainable use of natural resources in livestock production, and higher animal welfare standards.

‘‘Our livestock industries are productive, profitable, sustainable and subject to some of the highest animal health and welfare standards in the world. Our farmers are great innovators, and our livestock and livestock products are in considerable demand all over the world,’’ she said.

‘‘Australia’s edge in competitiveness rests with the high quality of our livestock and livestock products, and our unrivalled biosecurity status.

‘‘Farmers will also need to be able to demonstrate the strongest possible environmental sustainability and animal welfare credentials to ensure future market access. Industry must develop effective and unique ways to do this, and innovation will be critical here, too.’’

Ms Ruston also represented Australia at the Berlin Agriculture Ministers Conference as part of the GFFA.

‘‘It was an invaluable opportunity for Australia to play its role in shaping the future of global agriculture,’’ Ms Ruston said.

‘‘The conference is the largest of its type in the world, this year attended by more than 80 agricultural ministers.

‘‘Australia has much expertise and experience to offer, but there’s much we can learn as well — we must continue to innovate and improve.’’

The briefing paper, Growing Gulf Between Work and Wealth, shows the number of Australian billionaires increased by eight to 33 last year and has more than doubled during the past 10 years — while workers’ wages have stagnated.

Released as the world’s political and business leaders gather this week in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum, the Oxfam analysis shows inequality in Australia is higher than at any time during the past two decades.

The share of wealth held by the richest one per cent continues to rise, while wage growth for ordinary workers has slowed to record lows — barely keeping up with the cost of living.

‘‘Oxfam is committed to tackling poverty and inequality, but a broken economic system that is concentrating more wealth in the hands of the rich and powerful, while ordinary people struggle to scrape by, is fuelling an inequality crisis,’’ Oxfam Australia’s chief executive Helen Szoke said.

‘‘Over the decade since the Global Financial Crisis, the wealth of Australian billionaires has increased by almost 140 per cent to a total of $115.4 billion last year.

‘‘Yet over the same time, the average wages of ordinary Australians have increased by just 36per cent and average household wealth grew by 12 per cent.

‘‘The richest one per cent of Australians continue to own more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent of Australians combined.

‘‘While everyday Australians are struggling more and more to get by, the wealthiest groups have grown richer and richer.’’

The Oxfam paper also highlights that the system is broken for workers in Australian global supply chains — trapping people in poverty, no matter how hard they work.

‘‘This economic injustice is nowhere more apparent than in the clothing industry, where the people, mainly women, making clothes for household Australian brands are often paid poverty wages,’’ Dr Szoke said.

‘‘A handful of the highest paid chief executives in the Australian clothing retail sector earn, on average, about $6 million a year.

‘‘At the same time, many women working in Bangladesh to make the clothes sold by these brands take home a minimum wage of $974 a year.’’

Dr Szoke said to tackle the top end of this inequality crisis, the Federal Government must end cuts to corporate taxes and introduce tougher tax transparency laws that required companies to publicly report on income, profits and taxes for every country in which they operated.

To address the other extreme of the economic divide, Dr Szoke said Australian companies should commit to ensure at least a living wage to workers in their supply chains — and to publish a step-by-step strategy outlining how this would be achieved.

Acting Agriculture Minister Ben Carroll released Victoria’s draft Freshwater Fisheries Management Plan last Monday and the plan sets out a new, statewide approach to build better recreational fisheries by bringing together fish, water and land management.

It is the first Freshwater Fisheries Management Plan for Victoria that considers the sustainable management of the state’s most popular recreational fish — including trout, redfin, Murray cod, golden perch and bass.

Key elements of the draft plan include:

■Improving fish habitat to help boost fish populations naturally.

■Using recreational angler catch and effort data to help track the performance of fisheries.

■Accelerating recovery of threatened species, including Macquarie perch.

■Expanding the breeding and stocking program of native fish.

■Creating the next generation of responsible anglers.

■Promoting our best recreational fisheries as tourism destinations.

■The plan is available online at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/freshwaterplan and submissions are open until March 22.

The conference, to be held on February 11 to 14 at RACV Goldfields Resort, Creswick, Victoria, will draw more than 60 delegates from almost every state and territory.

The event will be open to commercial producers, industry stakeholders and the public who have registered to attend.

Sheep CRC researcher Dave Pethick will open the morning session on February 12 with the latest news on genomic advancements, followed by Jason Trompf of Agri-Source speaking on the White Suffolk’s performance in maternal trials.

Sheep Producers Australia chairman and White Suffolk breeder Allan Piggott will cover trends in overseas sheep and lamb markets, plus industry issues, while delegates will enjoy a dinner that evening featuring guest speaker Nathan Scott.

Guest speakers on the second day include Liv Ryan of McCain Ballarat, giving a run down on the local potato industry; Mike Stephens of Meridian Agriculture, on succession planning; and Struan Pearce of Studstocksales.com will give social media and online marketing advice.

Producers will receive an update on LAMBPLAN and hear the latest trends on the skin market for White Suffolks from PKF Sheepskin Valuations principal Paul Fitzsummons from Adelaide.

Boasting more than 30 years’ experience in the sheepskin industry, Mr Fitzummons started his own business in 2012 and specialises in sourcing sheep and lambskins (green and drum salted) for domestic and overseas clients.

The conference will conclude on Tuesday evening with a dinner featuring White Suffolk lamb cuisine and the AWSA Young Guns quiz night.

AWSA president Peter Button said producers were encouraged to join the association’s commercial register in anticipation of a White Suffolk lamb brand being rolled out nationally.

Mr Button said the conference would include information on the maternal performance of the breed, with many producers electing to retain their first-cross ewes as a self-replacing flock.

In 2017, White Suffolks received higher returns and better clearance rates than in previous years, with many sales averaging from $1000 to $1500 for flock rams.

New records were set for a stud ewe at $5000 and an on-property sale record in NSW for a stud ram at $21000.

This followed a national record price of $68000 for a White Suffolk stud ram in 2016.

■For more information, go to: www.whitesuffolk.com

Makes 24

Ingredients:

2 Lebanese cucumbers

cup mascarpone cheese

1 tsp each of lemon zest and juice

2 tsp finely chopped fresh dill

pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

50g smoked salmon slices, cut into strips

Method:

Using a vegetable peeler, slice cucumber lengthwise into long ribbons until you reach halfway.

Turn over and repeat until you reach the middle section that cannot be sliced and discard. You should make about 12 ribbons per cucumber.

Lay cucumber strips on a clean workbench and pat dry with paper towel.

Combine mascarpone, lemon zest and juice, dill, salt and pepper until just combined.

Spread mascarpone over each cucumber ribbon leaving 1cm at the end uncovered. Top ribbons evenly with smoked salmon and roll up, toward the uncovered end, to enclose.

Sprinkle with black sesame seeds and place on a serving plate. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until required.

Source: Dairy Australia

www.legendairy.com.au/recipes/

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)  will not announce the outcome of its review into Saputo’s acquisition of the company until March 1.

The original announcement was set for February 15 but has been delayed due to the ACCC requiring more time to consider data and other information.

"In large transactions of this nature, it is not unusual for a short delay to occur in the ACCC regulatory approval process, particularly given the Christmas break," a Murray Goulburn spokesperson said.

Murray Goulburn will continue to work with the ACCC to assist in its review.
 
The transaction is still anticipated to be complete in the first half of 2018.
 

Under the agreement, the council understands that market access outcomes for agriculture that were previously agreed under the original TPP have been preserved (with the exception of those negotiated with the United States).

Importantly for the Australian dairy industry, indications are that the CPTPP agreement will deliver an improvement in Australian dairy market access arrangements into Japan, Australia’s largest cheese export market.

Australia already has a trade agreement in place with Japan, called JAEPA (the Japan Australia Economic Partnership Agreement). However, the market access provided under CPTPP delivers improvements for dairy in some areas that were notable exclusions under JAEPA.

The council believes there will also be some improvements in market access into other markets including Mexico, Peru and Canada.

Australian dairy would maintain its competitive position into the CPTPP markets, and would continue to be a key supplier into CPTPP member countries as well as an important player in dairy supply chains across the region, the council said.

The council congratulated Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and the Australian negotiators in achieving this result, in what was a long and complex negotiation.

The CPTPP is a regional trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Mexico and Canada.

The event, which started out as a School Picnic Sports Day in 1886, still features many of the original events such as the foot races, the dog jump, the wood chopping and the equestrian events. The day will also include woodworking displays, local historical and craft displays, a whipcracker, the cross-cut saw wood chopping event and an egg toss.

The CFA’s Mobile Education Unit will be a feature at this year’s sports, along with the perennial favourite — the ‘Boys Toys’ display.

This year will also see the Life Membership induction of a member of the greater Mansfield community.

Admission to the sports day is $10 for adults, $5 for pensioners and students, while children under 14 are free.

■The Tolmie Sports will be held at the Tolmie Sports Ground, Old Tolmie Rd, Tolmie, on Saturday, February 10, from 9am to 5pm.

■For more details go to www.tolmietimes.com or phone secretary Meg Allan on 5776 2178 or email roballan@hotkey.net.au

Responding to the release of a report by Ernst and Young into opportunities to recover more water with neutral social and economic impacts, SRI chair Gabrielle Coupland said it was important to look beyond the farm gate because this region had already given up so much.

‘‘Our region has been at the forefront of water reform and environmental water recovery since the 1990s,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘They do not need a further 450Gl if environmental water is managed well,’’ she said.

‘‘In this report we expected more recognition of the variable impacts the basin plan has had to date in different regions and a recommendation that future programs consider how hard a community has already been hit.

‘‘We acknowledge the report identifies some constructive opportunities for future discussion especially taking a more regionally based approach to maximise opportunities and to increase flexibility in the programs.

‘‘But the reality is that it is going to get harder and harder to find savings and water is going to get more and more expensive and that will negate any of the potential benefits of further efficiencies.

‘‘The report touches on this issue but we think they have not given enough credence to the reality of it nor really understood the industry and regional scale impacts.

‘‘Over the years, through every new reform, our productive farmers have adapted and adjusted to ensure this region remains one of the key irrigation districts in the basin, but we are the ‘reformfatigued’ as identified in the report.

‘‘What we really want is innovative approaches made by those in charge of water recovery so they don’t just keep coming back to the farmer who is seen as an easy target.

‘‘We are pleased to see the report identify water recovery options that do not target farmers such as urban and off-farm projects,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘Finally, there is recognition that urban centres like Adelaide and Canberra, as identified by Earnst and Young, need to be part of the overall basin plan solution.’’

Mrs Coupland welcomed a commitment from NSW Minister Niall Blair that any future recovery in NSW had to be socially and economically positive.

‘‘We are always open to working with our state government and others to ensure that investment in our region will result in increased productivity.

‘‘For us that conversation also needs to be about how to avoid any further water recovery from vulnerable communities while maximising opportunities.’’

 
Now in its 16th year, the program offers $100_ 000 in small grants up to $5_ 000 to not-for-profit community groups based in Gippsland, northern Victoria and south west Victoria.

The funds are designed to support projects that improve infrastructure and community facilities, and address local issues to strengthen the small rural communities that support Victoria’s dairy farmers.

To assist community groups in translating their local ideas into a suitable project, the Gardiner Dairy Foundation and FRRR are running one free grant seeking workshop in each of the three dairy regions.

Referencing the Strengthening Small Dairy Communities Grant Seeker toolkit these sessions will offer invaluable advice for community groups wanting to put together a competitive grant application, for this or any other program.

 
Workshops will be held at:

• Echuca - Tuesday, February 6, 10.30am to 1pm, DEDJTR Echuca office - 198 Ogilvie Ave & Cnr. Annesley St, Echuca.                                                                                     Book at: https://gardinerfoundation.typeform.com/to/gr2DWj
• Koroit - Wednesday, February 7, 10.30am to 1.00pm, Koroit Blackwood Centre.          Book at: https://gardinerfoundation.typeform.com/to/Yp5q5w
• Heyfield - Thursday, February 8, from 10.30am to 1.00pm, Heyfield War Memorial Hall. Book at: https://gardinerfoundation.typeform.com/to/YrTZNw

 For more information, visit: www.gardinerfoundation.com.au.

Known as the ‘Legendary Mural’, the artistic masterpiece contains about 18000 photographs provided by the community that together form a motif depicting the history of the local dairy industry.

A coffee table book has also been published detailing the story.

‘‘Fonterra has contributed greatly to the local community and economy with the mural proving to be a major drawcard with the number of visitors to the town increasing since its construction,’’ Campaspe Shire Mayor Adrian Weston said.

‘‘On behalf of council and the community, I congratulate all the winners and nominees of the Australia Day awards across the shire.

‘‘We are, indeed, privileged to have such outstanding citizens in our midst, inspiring us all through your high standards, generosity and passion for community.’’

Campaspe Shire Australia Day award winners:

CAMPASPE:

■Citizen of the Year: Kenneth Walter.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Kaija Pedler.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Peter Raglus.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Marley McConnell.

■Community Event of the Year: Rosie Batty Gala Dinner.

■Arts Group of the Year: Fonterra Stanhope.

ECHUCA:

■Citizen of the Year: Kenneth Walter.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Kaija Pedler.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Jessica Pitts.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Poppy Palmer.

■Community Event of the Year: Rosie Batty Gala Dinner.

■Arts Group of the Year: Echuca Moama Artists.

ROCHESTER:

■Citizen of the Year: Marjory Sharp.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Not awarded.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Annette Brereton.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Laura Dobson.

■Community Event/Group of the Year: Dedication of the Nanneella War Memorial, Nanneella Soldiers Memorial Hall and Recreation Reserve Committee.

■Arts Group of the Year: Two Weeks quilt exhibition.

KYABRAM:

■Citizen of the Year: Sharon and Michael Crompton.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Madeleine Willsher.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Paul Newman.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Aidan Robinson.

■Community Event of the Year: Kyabram RV Country Music Festival 2017.

■Arts Person/Group of the Year: Not awarded.

TONGALA:

■Citizen of the Year: David Simkin.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Not awarded.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Not awarded.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Marley McConnell.

■Community Group of the Year: Kyvalley Swimming Club.

■Arts Person/Group of the Year: Not awarded.

RUSHWORTH:

■Citizen of the Year: Marion Riley.

■Young Citizen of the Year: Not awarded.

■Sportsperson of the Year: Peter Raglus.

■Junior Sportsperson of the Year: Not awarded.

■Community Group of the Year: Rushworth RSL.

■Arts Group of the Year: Fonterra Stanhope.

MLA’s market intelligence manager Scott Tolmie said while lamb and sheep slaughter were both expected to drop slightly in 2018, to 22.5million head and 7.2million head, respectively, carcase weights would increase.

‘‘We are forecasting a slight increase in lamb carcase weights in 2018 which will help offset lower slaughter, resulting in a stable outlook for production at 514000 tonnes cwt,’’ Mr Tolmie said.

‘‘The story for mutton, however, is slightly different, with carcase weights expected to ease from the record highs of 2017.

‘‘This, combined with declining slaughter, suggests we will see a small reduction in mutton production to 177000 tonnes cwt.’’

Mr Tolmie said the 2018 outlook for the Australian sheep industry was positive, with the increase in production and lift in prices recorded in 2017 underpinning the market’s current strength.

‘‘With flat to declining production forecast this year, combined with strong, ongoing international demand, lamb and mutton prices should continue to see strong support this year,’’ he said.

‘‘Consumer demand for lamb has been strong, with exports hitting record highs in 2017 at 251000tonnes cwt as well as maintaining domestic consumption levels despite increases in average retail prices.

‘‘While lamb exports are expected to draw back slightly in 2018 to 244000tonnes swt, this is still four per cent above the five-year average.’’

Mutton exports are also likely to reduce as a result of decreasing slaughter flowing through to a decline in production. China, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia remain the major export markets for mutton, and together account for more than 40 per cent of Australian exports.

Mr Tolmie said that although 2018 should see a slight drop in overall sheepmeat production, it was forecast to rise again in 2019 as the national flock grows.

‘‘Lamb carcase weights for the year are expected to average around 22.9kg, continuing the upward trajectory of the last 10 years.’’

"The soil pits we will be looking at have been established next to these weather station sites, and will provide extra data and context for the day."
 
"By looking at the soils pits, the 2017 soil test results, as well as the local weather and soil moisture probe data, we can a put together a story about soil water movement and where nutrients, such as nitrogen, went last season.

"This in turn can also provide us with useful planning information for the 2018 season," Dr Schefe said.

The first session begins at 10am at Bungeet, with the soil pit site located to the north of 320 Devenish-Wangaratta Road, Bungeet West.

The second session commences at 2pm at Carters Rd, Miepoll, with the soil pit located between Arcadia Two Chain Road and the Euroa-Shepparton Rd.
 
To register, or for more information, please contact Cassandra Schefe at Riverine Plains on 5744 1713, via email: cassandra@riverineplains.org.au, or by visiting: riverineplains.org.au
 

Held on-farm on January 23 during International Dairy Week, the sale conducted by Flanagan Marketing Services was an ‘‘outstanding success’’ according to FMS director Lawrie Flanagan.

‘‘All in all it was a buoyant sale attended by 70 registered buyers and 29 successful purchasers,’’ he said.

The purchasers bought 120 head, which grossed $521150 and averaged $4342, with the top-priced heifer Horizon Bradnick Paradise 5 selling for $32500 to the Bryce/Coolmount partnership from Nowra, NSW.

The second-highest-priced cow sold for $20250 and went to Koroit stud Elm Bank Holsteins, of Chris and Mary Gleeson.

Daughters of high-profile cow Carisma Cairnhill Paradise, with a ranking of Excellent 91, were in high demand, including the top-price and second-top-price cows, grossing $69750 to average $23250.

The major buyers included the Wilson family from Jamberoo, NSW, who purchased 15 head at an average of $3486; Nev, Michelle and Justin Staley from Gippsland, who purchased eight head averaging $5100; and Kevin and Helen Jones of Foster who purchased three head which averaged $7500.

However, the first active cool change for many weeks is expected to arrive in our regions by next Tuesday 30th January with many places receiving moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms.

More hot days are not expected until about the middle of next week when humidities will be higher than normally. Further heavy rain in Darwin and Broome occurred recently.

During the last few days some places were fortunate to receive moderate to heavy rainfalls with thunderstorms. Humidity has been notably high and dew point temperatures well above normal with readings 16 to 20 degrees.

A very localized thunderstorm brought 69 mms to Wangaratta in three hours from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm last Saturday night , 27th January. There were strong winds from NNW up to 50 km per hour and dew points very high at 22.5, a value normally experienced in Darwin during the wet season. No rain fell at Yarrawonga, Benalla and Rutherglen, all only 50 odd kms away.

These three places experienced much lighter winds from NE during the course of the storm in Wangaratta. Many places in NE Victoria and at few places elsewhere in our region are experiencing their hottest January since 1981.

The last four months of 1980 were notably warmer than usual with December 1980 being wetter than average.

The same pattern did eventuate the last four months of last year. The year 1981 was notably very very wet especially during the winter in our regions and this year will not be much different to that of 1981.

Further north many towns in the Warrego and Maranoa district in out back QLD are in severe drought . Charleville last year had it's driest year on record with only 203mm, just pipping the previous driest year of 1899. It was the hottest year at Charleville since 1915. Records at Charleville go back to 1874.

This year has started off worse in Charleville with the first rainless January likely to happen this month and this month is the hottest January there since 1947 after a very dry 1946.

The year 1947 was notably wet across much of the nation and the first few months of 1947 was notably warmer than usual in Victoria.

However, the first active cool change for many weeks is expected to arrive in our regions by next Tuesday 30th January with many places receiving moderate to heavy rains and thunderstorms.

More hot days are not expected until about the middle of next week when humidities will be higher than normally. Further heavy rain in Darwin and Broome occurred recently.

During the last few days some places were fortunate to receive moderate to heavy rainfalls with thunderstorms. Humidity has been notably high and dew point temperatures well above normal with readings 16 to 20 degrees.

A very localized thunderstorm brought 69 mms to Wangaratta in three hours from 7.30 pm to 10.30 pm last Saturday night , 27th January. There were strong winds from NNW up to 50 km per hour and dew points very high at 22.5, a value normally experienced in Darwin during the wet season. No rain fell at Yarrawonga, Benalla and Rutherglen, all only 50 odd kms away.

These three places experienced much lighter winds from NE during the course of the storm in Wangaratta. Many places in NE Victoria and at few places elsewhere in our region are experiencing their hottest January since 1981.

The last four months of 1980 were notably warmer than usual with December 1980 being wetter than average.

The same pattern did eventuate the last four months of last year. The year 1981 was notably very very wet especially during the winter in our regions and this year will not be much different to that of 1981.

Further north many towns in the Warrego and Maranoa district in out back QLD are in severe drought . Charleville last year had it's driest year on record with only 203mm, just pipping the previous driest year of 1899. It was the hottest year at Charleville since 1915. Records at Charleville go back to 1874.

This year has started off worse in Charleville with the first rainless January likely to happen this month and this month is the hottest January there since 1947 after a very dry 1946.

The year 1947 was notably wet across much of the nation and the first few months of 1947 was notably warmer than usual in Victoria.

Mr Fitzpatrick, along with Gippsland’s Bill Batty, left from Tallygaroopna on the eve of Australia Day with 12 square and 18 round bales of hay, on the long trek to Cunnamulla in south-west Queensland, from where they planned to distribute hay to towns across the state.

‘‘We will camp there and on Saturday morning will be given stations to deliver it to,’’ Mr Fitzpatrick said last week.

‘‘It could be 200 to 300km out or further.’’

Mr Fitzpatrick, who was participating in his second hay run, said he enjoyed last year’s run and wanted to go again.

‘‘It was a terrific trip last year and I thought I had another trip in me.’’

Mr Fitzpatrick and the other runners travelled 900km in 12 hours on Australia Day.

The Victorian Renewable Energy Auction website indicates bids are being considered up to a February 14 cut-off for this round of Victorian Government invitations to build these facilities.

The above website describes the requirements for applicants such as Lightsource BP.

These include evidence of community support, benefits to community, social risk analysis, ongoing community engagement strategy and other similar points such as planning permits.

If successful it seems Lightsource BP would receive Victorian Government encouragement of a guaranteed price plus another subsidy paid over the next 15 years.

Additionally they receive reduced municipal rates on the value of capital improvements.

A 60 megawatt installation could generate 60 x 1000 equals 60000 kilowatts in an hour. At 10¢ per kWh, this provides a return of $6000 per hour. At last week’s spot market price (NEM) of 1000¢ per kWh the facility could provide $600000 per hour.

And where do most of the millions of dollars generated annually end up? In Europe and London.

So why is this a dark day for Naringaningalook?

Firstly, long established planning procedures by local and state government are set up for orderly and fair consideration of proposals consistent with a democracy.

Lightsource BP has gone around this cunningly by contracting a Melbourne group (Urbis) supposedly to gauge community comment by a drop-in day at the local hall on January 17.

The drop-in meeting was not the normal arrangement whereby the inquiries from individuals (or groups) could be listened and responded to privately and confidentially by knowledgeable people.

The four (Urbis) representatives just stood around two circular tables with pictures of what the development might look like.

Any engagement with them was a public conversation.

Urbis even countenanced the presence of the vendor of the proposed site.

Urbis seemed to be from another planet, mentioning chickens and lambs grazing under the panels, fauna gates for wildlife, not knowing which native grass species were to be sown, unaware of invasive weeds and displayed a flood overlay that showed a picture different to our last flood.

So the procedure for handling inquiry by individuals was ill-considered and the process inappropriate. Even some adjacent landowners were unaware of the event.

Secondly, Naring people do not know about the next steps.

Will there be a proposal for public comment? Will our shire or some government department be interested in convening a structured process to gather comment?

Will these normal processes be brushed aside so Lightsource BP can meet the February 14 deadline set by Victoria’s renewable energy department enabling our government to show it is one step further along the path to achieving its renewable energy targets?

Thirdly, Naring landowners do not understand what the apparent intended price to be paid for land will have on their future municipal rates and land value.

Figures of more than twice normal land values have been mentioned and of even up to $6000 per acre being paid for sites.

Fourthly, our district and region is being ‘dudded’ thoroughly by the way these developments are set up.

We should be ensuring that the people of our district have the first chance to benefit from developments using our resources.

As an example, a 10 megawatt solar generator may cost $8000000 to build. It could generate 10 x 8 x 365 equals 29200,000 kWh and at 10¢ per kWh this provides an income of $2920000 annually.

Even at half the value for power generated (the government guaranteed price) the returns are excellent.

If the Moira district set up a 100 megawatt unit with local money a $30million annual income would go a long way toward rate reductions and municipal developments.

Unfortunately, we seem to be happy to see this money go to offshore corporates.

Additionally these corporates receive a government guaranteed electricity price, capital incentives over the next 15 years to offset the cost of the facility and reduced municipal rates.

—Barry Croke

Naring

Get on with the job of delivering the plan

The Murray-Darling Basin Plan can be implemented as intended.

The Ernst and Young’s (EY) independent report was commissioned by the Federal Agriculture and Water Resources Department on behalf of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council to analyse efficiency measures in the Murray-Darling Basin relevant to the delivery of 450Gl of additional water by 2024.

Significantly, the independent EY report concludes: ‘‘From the analysis and discussions undertaken, and assuming the recommendations in the report are implemented, there is sufficient evidence the 450Gl can likely be recovered from water efficiency projects on a neutral or positive socio-economic basis’’.

The EY report found the 450Gl can be achieved with water recovery programs designed the right way and has, as requested, outlined how this can be achieved through program design.

The report recommends all industries and communities should be encouraged to participate equally in programs to negate distributional impacts; with equal access to funding and include projects to support structural change.

The EY report follows the recently released Marsden Jacob Associates report commissioned by the Federal Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities into on-farm water efficiency programs in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, which also reported similar findings.

Productivity and the regional economy will continue to grow, and this growth is projected to continue into the future.

Federal Water Minister David Littleproud has made it very clear, delivering the plan ‘‘in full’’ includes the 450Gl, ‘‘all basin governments agreed to the plan, he believes this report provides a pathway to delivering it’’.

The Goulburn Valley Environment Group calls on all parties to the basin plan to get on with the job; perceived uncertainty is both delaying our response to over-allocation of water resources and damaging the clean green image of our farmers and regions.

—John Pettigrew

president, Goulburn Valley

Environment Group

Basin plan is flushing productive water away

In Country News (July 4, 2017) the then Victorian Shadow Water Minister Peter Walsh said that the 450Gl could not be delivered when the Wentworth Group claimed that the plan could be delivered ‘‘on time and in full’’.

Mr Walsh said ‘‘there was no evidence to support the 450Gl’’ when it was written into the plan after a secretive deal between the Federal Government and the South Australian Labor Government.

Note that was in the dying days of the Gillard Government and she also came from South Australia.

Today a Federal Coalition Government dumps a strong performing Victorian minister in favour of a Queensland minister, who has said that he wants to deliver the 450Gl.

This is a politically stupid decision because the Coalition holds all of the irrigation seats and Labor holds none.

It is contrary to the state National Party, having only one seat majority it could easily cost them government.

Shepparton district has been already gutted by the removal of half its allocations.

The front page of the Shepparton News (December 13, 2017) states that estimated hundreds of millions of dollars would be taken out of the local economy.

Whose interests does Federal Water Minister David Littleproud represent when making these statements? These are the Wentworth Group, the Greens and the Labor Party that oppose irrigation.

Given that $1000 can be generated from each megalitre, this 450Gl represents nearly half a billion dollars.

To put this into perspective, if you add 450Gl to the 2750Gl it totals 3200Gl. That is nearly equivalent to the capacity of Eildon which is to be taken away from irrigators to be flushed down the rivers so it can be evaporated from saltwater lakes.

—NT Sims

Shepparton

Held at Tatura’s Ballantyne Centre as part of International Dairy Week, the guests heard from Professor Sandra Kentish from the University of Melbourne’s ARC Dairy Innovation Hub.

The hub has been looking at reducing the salt loads from effluent, surveying waste stream management and looking at separation technologies.

The ARC Dairy Innovation Hub brings together two of Australia’s leading dairy research groups, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland together with industry stakeholders Dairy Innovation Australia Ltd and Food Innovation Australia Ltd and dairy manufacturers — in a five-year research program co-funded by the Australian Research Council.

The hub was established in early 2014, following receipt of a grant of $5million from the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Program.

Ms Ryan said kangaroos were wreaking havoc on Victoria’s roads and not enough was being done to ensure the state’s kangaroo population was managed in a sustainable way.

‘‘The Coalition’s Kangaroo Pet Food Trial is a practical measure to address Victoria’s kangaroo problem,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘It reduces waste, allows carcases to be repurposed and creates employment, but it is soon due to expire.

‘‘There have been 797 collisions with animals resulting in injury or fatality in Victoria over the last five years, according to VicRoads crash data.

‘‘This figure does not include the huge number of smaller prangs which have resulted in damage to vehicles, inconvenience to drivers and costly repair works, or the frightening near misses most of us have encountered.

‘‘The overwhelming feedback I am receiving from my constituents is that kangaroo numbers are out of control, they are making our roads dangerous and more needs to be done,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘Extending this scheme across all regional local government areas in Victoria and making it permanent is one step the government should be taking.’’

Seymour resident Andrea McKenzie, who regularly travels along Hume Fwy to Kilmore for work, knows only too well what an encounter with a kangaroo on the road can mean.

Ms McKenzie said she was lucky to escape with only minor physical injuries after her vehicle collided with a kangaroo on her way to work one morning, but was shaken by the incident.

‘‘As a frequent driver along this road, I see hundreds of kangaroos at all times of the day,’’ Ms McKenzie said.

‘‘Many of these are roadkill, meaning that other drivers have ended up in the same unfortunate situation as me, hitting the kangaroo, damaging their car and being out of pocket due to vehicle repairs and possible time away from work.

‘‘I’m sure some people have endured more serious injuries than myself.’’

The privately owned silos have a current demolition permit attached following an April 2017 council meeting.

The decision to demolish the silos sparked much conversation within the town, with many calling for the silos to remain.

Moira Shire chief executive officer Mark Henderson said there were other opportunities for silo art.

‘‘There are other, perhaps better situated, silos within Moira Shire which could be used for this increasingly popular art style,’’ Mr Henderson said.

‘‘The silos in Tungamah are an excellent example, with plans for a large-scale artwork to commence in coming months.’’

Although admitting she was in two minds about the Cobram silos, resident Catherine Wright believed art would become an asset to the community.

Having seen the silo art in Rupanyup, in the state’s west, she said she thought they were beautiful and believed painting the Cobram silos could attract more tourists to the town.

‘‘They are privately owned, and some would say just a haven for vermin and should be pulled down and then the block be put to better use,’’ Ms Wright said.

‘‘(However) I would love to see some artwork on them and it could be a feature for the town.

‘‘Also tourists could come to appreciate the artwork, which is definitely popular in other country towns on the Silo Art Trail.

‘‘I am sure it would be a big debate for the town, many people would be very opposed to any modern art being such a big feature in the town.’’

Koonoomoo resident June Williams agreed that artwork on the silo would be an asset and said she would be sad to see the silos go.

‘‘I think it’s a crying shame and an absolute waste, it is an iconic item in the community,’’ Ms Williams said.

‘‘From the outset I’ve always considered that as being an obvious site (for artwork) and it would be viewed from all directions.

‘‘I imagine it would bring people into the town more as well.’’

Conducted by Dairy Livestock Services, the showpiece Holstein sale at International Dairy Week could not live up to the hefty prices of last year, with Eclipspeirce Modesty Canto-ET, owned by Garan Peirce, Richard Hull and Declan Patten, selling for $30000, beating the second-top-priced lot which sold for $17000

The 33 lots that sold went for an average price of $6990 and auctioneer Brian Leslie could not have been happier.

‘‘It was a wonderful sale. The quality was great. The presentation was great. There was a huge crowd. We’re ecstatic,’’ he said.

The top-priced lot was sold to Sexing Technologies Australia, and ST Genetics Australia general manager Peter Semmens said it was a first for the company.

‘‘It was our first female purchase in Australia for our company,’’ he said.

Mr Semmens said the calf, born on August 17, 2017, was purchased because of its world ranking.

‘‘She was purchased because of her standard in the world ranking of indexes.

‘‘She is an outstanding heifer and is a valid purchase for our future breeding program.’’

Mr Semmens said the calf would now call Brad and Jessica Gavenlock’s Tallygaroopna property home.

‘‘The process going forward is she will go under the management of Brad and Jessica Gavenlock.

‘‘She will be part of an embryo program and we will endeavour to make bulls for the Australian bull team and make some females as well,’’ he said.

The industry was ranked third on the list, with researchers expecting the industry to grow by eight per cent in 2017-18, adding an additional $320 million in value.

Following a number of years of difficulty in the industry, IBISWorld senior industry analyst William McGregor expected this year to be the year the dairy industry began to bounce back.

‘‘With the Australian dollar projected to depreciate this year, we anticipate local dairy products will become more competitive in export markets, boosting returns to domestic milk processors, which will then flow through to dairy cattle farmers,’’ Mr McGregor said.

‘‘We’re also expecting an increase in the size of the national dairy cattle herd, which will drive up milk volumes, and contribute to an expected eight per cent increase in revenue in 2017-18.’’

Following a year of low prices and depressed milk production, analysts said conditions had begun to stabilise, while demand and returns for domestic dairy products was rising.

Despite positivity, analysts have raised concerns regarding the wide fluctuations in domestic and global dairy prices, which have made industry revenue more volatile, and the reality that farm gate milk prices are largely determined by major dairy processors such as Fonterra and Murray-Goulburn.

However, the forecast rise in farm gate milk price is expected to boost industry revenue.

While the report signals a good year for the dairy industry, broadacre vegetable growers could be in for a tough year, with IBISWorld predicting the industry’s value to drop 13.5 per cent.

While the value of vegetables grown this year is predicted to increase slightly due to strong potato and onion output, the anticipated drop in domestic pulse production, including chickpeas, lentils and broad beans, will hurt the industry’s overall performance.

Record pulse output in 2016-17 means that although this year’s production is still projected to be high, revenue will decline this year, with lower yields hurting pulse growers’ revenue.

NIC was among 10 agricultural groups that met last Wednesday night to discuss the need for action on electricity prices.

The meeting of the Agricultural Industries Energy Taskforce noted some positive steps during the past 12 months, with the taskforce’s submissions and lobbying gaining recognition that the electricity crisis directly impacts food and fibre production.

NIC chief executive officer Steve Whan said the group made it clear that it believed the long-term ceiling for power prices should be 8¢/kWh for electricity and 8¢ for distribution — about a 30 per cent reduction on current prices.

‘‘As agricultural groups we sometimes feel our perspective is not given enough precedence by energy regulators and rule setters, often because we aren’t talking the language the industry insiders use,’’ Mr Whan said.

‘‘We make no apology for not talking their language because we are talking about whether Australia can produce and export food and fibre competitively, whether our farmers can afford to keep generating the jobs families and communities rely on.

‘‘We want regulators to make Australia’s national interest a much higher priority when they consider network prices and setting the rules that are supposed to generate a competitive market.’’

Mr Whan said that Australia should be a country with affordable power yet price increases were pushing some producers off the grid and onto diesel generation.

‘‘One Queensland irrigation district is in danger of shutting down completely because of the cost of pumping water,’’ he said.

‘‘The taskforce this week recommitted to its engagement with decision makers, lobbying for rule changes to benefit consumers along with encouraging direct action to help primary producers reduce their power costs.

‘‘It was a positive meeting but we still have a lot of challenges ahead.’’

Mr Donnellan was in Ravenswood South (south of Bendigo) when he made the comments and said those with concerns can ‘‘go around playing banjos, playing conspiracy theories, rubbish like that, they need to actually deal with the facts and figures’’.

A number of politicians and residents have raised concerns about the implications the barriers would have on motorcyclists and emergency services access.

Ms Ryan labelled the comments ‘‘disrespectful’’ and ‘‘disgraceful’’.

‘‘These are the facts: longstanding CFA volunteers are concerned about emergency access, farmers are concerned they won’t be able to safely move machinery and many motorists are concerned the wire rope barrier doesn’t give enough room to pull off to the side of the road in the event a car is forced to stop on the side of the road,’’ Ms Ryan said.

‘‘This kind of behaviour from a senior Cabinet minister is true to form for Daniel Andrews’ government.’’

Mr Donnellan was announcing $40million in funding to install more than 2000km of flexible safety barriers across regional Victoria.

The data shows run-off-road crashes were the leading cause in regional road accidents which claimed 155 lives on rural roads last year.

‘‘Drivers on country roads are four times more likely to be killed on our roads than drivers in the city,’’ Mr Donnellan said.

‘‘It’s simply unacceptable, that’s why we’re investing more than $1 billion to make our country roads safer.’’

Ms Ryan called for the government to halt the rollout until local communities had input.

‘‘All we want is for the government to engage with local communities about how and where wire rope barriers should be used,’’ she said.

Interested land managers are invited to view the farm trial on Thursday, February 15, which has been set up to test whether growing and grazing multi-species cover crops prior to a summer corn crop increases soil health and profitability, compared to a hay crop.

Trial practicalities, management and learnings will be presented along with profitability assessments and will be followed by a Q&A session with cover crop specialists Colin Seis and Graeme Hand.

This free event is supported by Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority with funding from the Federal Government’s National Landcare Program.

The event at 295 Minchin Rd, Ardmona begins at 10am and runs until noon, with lunch provided.

■RSVP by Monday, February 12, by emailing gmln2@bigpond.com or phone 0412 151 652.

Greens Lake, located off the Midland Hwy between Elmore and Shepparton, has become increasingly popular for fishing, camping and boating in recent years with hundreds of holiday-makers typically visiting over the Australia Day long weekend and Easter.

The lake is one of 24 water storages across northern Victoria managed by Goulburn-Murray Water on behalf of its irrigation and bulk-water customers.

Fourteen of these storages support recreational activities.

‘‘Some of our storages that host recreation are more regulated than others,’’ G-MW’s customer operations general manager Scott Barber said.

‘‘For example at Lake Eppalock, near Bendigo, there are numerous private recreational clubs, a caravan and holiday park along with designated camping, picnic and public areas.

‘‘Greens Lake is more isolated and less regulated. However, we need people to respect some simple rules designed to protect water quality and to ensure this popular spot can continue to be shared and enjoyed by all.’’

Mr Barber reminded visitors that camping is not permitted within 20m of the full supply level of Greens Lake; pets are not allowed at Greens Lake for the protection of flora, fauna and the amenity of other visitors. Camping at the same site is not permitted for more than seven consecutive days. Campers must maintain their site and ensure it is left in a clean and tidy condition. Fishing activities must occur only where allowed and anyone doing so must have an appropriate licence.

‘‘In recent years, poor behaviour has led to the lake being closed to campers for up to three days over the New Year’s Eve period at the request of local police and in the interests of public safety.

‘‘We don’t want more regulation where it can be avoided,’’ Mr Barber said.

■For anyone organising an event at a G-MW storage, visit: www.g-mwater.com.au/recreation-tourism/event-permits to apply for a permit.

‘‘I’ve just spent the morning chipping out Bathurst burrs,’’ he said when he spoke to the media about being appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in this year’s Australia Day honours.

Education, agriculture, the water industry and health have all benefited from his skills as a teacher, farmer and business leader.

A 20-year association with Goulburn Valley Health came to a pinnacle last year when Mr Ryan stepped down after four years as board chairman.

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, Dookie Agricultural College and the Dairy Industry Association of Australia have all benefited from his commitment and diligence.

‘‘Seeing things happen is the greatest reward, as well as all the people you meet and their enthusiasm; then, over time, things improve,’’ he said.

Mr Ryan’s home patch is the Sunbury, Gisborne and Kilmore area where he grew up and attended Sunbury’s Salesian College.

A University of Melbourne degree in agricultural science followed by a Diploma of Education took Mr Ryan to Colac, where he taught science at the technical school.

He went on to join the Department of Agriculture and worked in Gippsland and at Werribee Agricultural College.

Along the way, he married his wife Lorraine and had three children — two girls and a boy.

Mr Ryan spent nine years as principal at Dookie Agricultural College and 10 years as Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE’s chief executive.

Mr Ryan is 68 and looking forward to a ‘‘gentle slide into retirement’’ on his Caniambo South farm.

But not before he sees stage two of GV Health’s redevelopment begin.

Education is also a priority — he is a big supporter of the Lighthouse Project and the school merger plan for Shepparton.

‘‘All the education reforms coming through now — let the experts tell us what is best, because what we had was failing,’’ he said.

‘‘Every child must have the same opportunity as the next.’’

Mr Ryan sees nothing but positives ahead for the region.

‘‘My absolute conviction is that the GV is on the brink of great things. Fundamentally we are very strong. We do need better rail transport for freight and passengers, and basing the MDBA on good science, not politics, is fundamental for the future,’’ he said.

He encouraged everyone, particularly young people, to get involved in their communities.

‘‘We really do need to encourage the next generation. Even the little things matter — join a service club or a school council.

‘‘As soon as you make that effort, the rewards outstrip the effort.’’

DELWP is seeking information from the community about the deaths as part of its investigation.

Compliance Operations program manager Greg Chant said more than 100 dead birds had been collected on one day close to Tatong.

‘‘It’s highly likely that the number of birds impacted by this incident will increase over the coming days,’’ Mr Chant said.

‘‘A number of the birds will be tested to determine the cause of death.

‘‘Sulphur-crested cockatoos are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975 and there are significant penalties for hunting, taking or destroying protected wildlife — including imprisonment.

‘‘Illegally destroying protected native wildlife is a serious environmental crime.’’

Residents who find dead birds in the Tatong area are advised to remove them safely, and dispose of them through their normal waste collection service.

■If large numbers of dead birds are found, please phone DELWP Benalla on 5761 1611.

■Information can be provided anonymously by phoning DELWP’s Customer Service Centre on 136 186 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 300 000.

It was a sad day for the workers, their families and Rochester. It comes as Saputo takes over the business.

While the plant will shut, transport is still going strong, however it is not known for how long.

Saputo chief executive Lionel Saputo Jr said in November there were no plans to reopen the Rochester site if Saputo was successful, but he left the door ajar if milk was to return to the business.

‘‘We trust the evaluation that the MG management has taken,’’ he said.

‘‘Again, with 1.9billion litres of milk there isn’t enough milk in the system to support those plants reopening.

‘‘Until such time we come back to a higher level of milk and need incremental capacity, I don’t think the plants will open up.’’

Mr Saputo said there were opportunities to drive efficiencies and ‘‘shave some costs’’ in the MG business, pointing to ‘‘something as simple as leasing space MG may have or perhaps some other expenses that may not be necessary’’.

State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed said the conclusions of a review of efficiency measures in the Murray-Darling Basin were disappointing and were based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the basin plan legislation.

Ms Sheed said the review completed by consultancy firm Ernst & Young for the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council was little more than a surface-level assessment based on inaccurate data assumptions.

‘‘Not only have the potential water savings been inflated, the cost of on-farm efficiency measures and the market price of high-reliability water shares have been considerably underestimated and no costing has been provided for any of the proposed regional development initiatives for communities.’’

Ms Sheed said she was disappointed that the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, which is broadly acknowledged as one of the hotspots of negative outcomes arising from the basin plan, was not considered in the report as being worthy of a case study with a targeted analysis of the impacts of future water removal.

‘‘We have been telling anyone who will listen for some time now that the GMID is at a tipping point — it has been struggling under the strain of the basin plan and will not be able to withstand the removal of any further water,’’ Ms Sheed said.

‘‘There has clearly been an overriding imperative in the preparation of this report to find the extra 450Gl of water at all costs, effectively writing the GMID off as an unfortunate loser who could be placated with funding for non-related community and industry needs.

‘‘That is not acceptable and represents a complete disregard for the plan itself which states the additional 450Gl of ‘up-water’ cannot be recovered if there are negative social or economic impacts.’’

Cutting-edge technologies take centre stage at the 2018 Seymour Alternative Farming Expo at King’s Park from February 16 to 18, in an array of fascinating apps and devices.

The Good Bulls app by business PregRite Genetics is allowing farmers to meet their breeding objectives by sorting, filtering, shortlisting and exporting bulls to meet the farmers’ preferences.

‘‘It helps you pick bulls using a phone or tablet and it’s another tool we use to pick the right bull for your cow,’’ PregRite Genetics owner and technician Garth Matthews said.

Agriculture technology company The Yield has created an app called Sensing+ which converts data collected from on-farm sensors into a seven-day weather forecast.

The company’s free app is the only application to show figures for evapotranspiration, the sum of evaporation off the earth’s surface and plant transpiration, crunching 2.5million Bureau of Meteorology data records every six days to predict the weekly amount of evapotranspiration to aid growers.

‘‘Growers face enormous uncertainty trying to pre-empt weather, and its impact can be disastrous. But many still rely on weather apps that might be showing data from hundreds of kilometres away,’’ The Yield founder and managing director Ros Harvey said.

Win tickets to the expo

Country News is giving away three double passes to Seymour Alternative Farming Expo.

To win one of the adult double passes, email Country News with an answer to the following question: What is the name of the venue for the Seymour expo?

Your entry must contain the answer and the email must carry the words ‘Seymour Expo’ in the subject line. You need to include a daytime phone number and name. Send your entry to editor@countrynews.com.au before Friday, February 2.

Mr Lonie pledged at his niece’s funeral that on Good Friday he would help to raise money for other children at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

And 10 years on, Mr Lonie has done just that — having raised more than $150000 — and in doing so has been recognised by being named Moira Shire’s Citizen of the Year for 2018 at an Australia Day awards ceremony on January 18.

Mr Lonie, who grows cereal crops on 1011.71ha, said he could not have imagined the outcome of the ceremony.

‘‘I was humbled. I knew I was being nominated but I thought I might have a chance in the local St James/Tungamah awards — but I had no idea about the whole of Moira Shire awards,’’ he said.

‘‘I wasn’t sure about the categories until I read the program. There were 13 people nominated and I never thought I’d win but when my name was read out I was absolutely blown away.’’

Mr Lonie and his niece were very close and this is the reason for his fundraising effort.

‘‘She was a like a daughter to me. We got on like a house on fire. She was a lovely outgoing girl and I miss her.

‘‘That’s why I do the work I do.’’

The two were so close that Mr Lonie decided to name his swimming pool ‘Lisa’s Pool’ in her memory.

In addition to his fundraising work, Mr Lonie, 65, also volunteers his time at CFA District 22 and St James CFA as well as the Tungamah and Dookie Lions clubs.

On top of this, Mr Lonie somehow still finds time to work on the farm with his wife Trish and son Brett.

‘‘Our son Brett came home to work on the farm.

‘‘We now have a full-time worker; before, it was just Brett, myself and Trish with some casual labour from to time.

‘‘Now I’m looking to slow down with the farming but I want to continue fundraising.’’

The five-day event had 190 exhibitors and 1156 entries competing across the seven shows, with 18000 people watching the event via live stream and thousands more watching on from the stands.

Event manager Robyn Barber applauded the entrants for the quality of cattle.

‘‘We were delighted with the quality of cattle on display. The show was right up there with international standards and the quality of cattle was the same that could be found in America and England where showing is extremely strong,’’ she said.

‘‘The cattle sales went really well, Dairy Livestock Services saw some really good results. I’m sure there’s some very happy vendors and purchasers.’’

This year was the first that Tatura Park’s new airconditioners were operational — a welcome addition to the show, according to Ms Barber.

‘‘It provided comfort for everyone and made it a lot more bearable, it was an extremely hot week ... The fans certainly allowed everyone to live up to their ability and function and perform well,’’ she said.

This year’s event also welcomed a judge from Japan, Kiichi Matsushima, to judge the National Holstein Show.

Mr Matsushima was joined by translator Ippei Tanaka who helped deliver the judging remarks, a unique process for International Dairy Week.

With good attendance at the seminars and other events organised in conjunction with the cattle shows, Ms Barber congratulated and thanked all those involved in the event.

British solar project developer Lightsource is building a 60MW solar farm on 122ha at 3405 Katamatite-Nathalia Rd, which will be a first for the company in Australia.

The project is set to power 17240 homes and include 204012 solar panels.

Lightsource’s business development director Conor McGuigan said the site fit the company’s planning.

‘‘The site meets our stringent conditions for planning and visual impacts while also benefiting from available grid capacity in the vicinity,’’ he said.

In terms of responding to any criticism that may come the company’s way, Mr McGuigan said Lightsource believed community consultation was a must.

‘‘Lightsource are experienced and responsible developers of solar farms. We believe it is vital to engage with local communities and farmers, in particular regarding their concerns and being able to work with them through the development process and on-going management of the site,’’ he said.

‘‘With regards to working with the community, Lightsource have held discussions with statutory bodies as well as engaging in an initial consultation process with the local community through a letterbox drop and informal community information drop-in session.

‘‘Since the drop-in session, Lightsource are working through the feedback and comments received to incorporate farmers and other local community requests into the design and the on-going management of the project and operation of the solar farm.

‘‘This would benefit the community and local farmers through continuous open dialogue and input so that Lightsource can alleviate any concerns regarding the project and illustrate the benefits that this solar farm can bring to the local area.’’

The company has cited a decline in sales as the reason behind the decision, with managing director Reg Weine also pointing to a desire to consolidate the company’s manufacturing base in Shepparton as a strong driver.

‘‘IXL and Taylors are great brands, but the spreads and sauces/marinades categories are a little outside the core of the business,’’ he said.

‘‘They are both relatively small brands in our overall portfolio and we’ve concluded we are best to focus where we have a distinct competitive advantage.

‘‘We have a great sense of responsibility in ensuring these heritage brands find a good home and we will be sad to see them go.’’

Mr Weine did not respond to requests for further comment at the time of printing.

SPC workers at the Kyabram factory have been told their jobs are safe, with the employees expected to be able to continue under new owners or be transferred to the Shepparton plant.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union organiser Jason Hefford said the announcement was ‘‘no real shock’’ to the more than 50 workers at the plant.

‘‘For basically seven or eight years the company has always talked about how they’d like to centralise their operation (in Shepparton),’’ he said.

‘‘If they find a buyer hopefully they’ll take the factory too ... Being a regional town we’d like the lines and factory, obviously the whole lot (to stay in Kyabram) ... Any buyer that stays local helps to grow the town.’’

SPC has appointed KPMG Corporate Finance to examine bids for the brands, with the process expected to take six months.

With an upcoming state election, Mr Hefford said it could be the perfect opportunity for a potential buyer of the factory to seek funding to upgrade the facility.

Regardless of what occurs with the sale of the brands, Mr Hefford said Kyabram needed to keep the jobs.

‘‘If you take 30 to 40 jobs out of any community it has flow-on effects to other businesses. We don’t want that for regional Victoria.’’

Kyabram Chamber of Commerce president Miles Gould said there had been plenty of conversation regarding the future of the factory.

‘‘Obviously as a community we’d prefer the factory stay there and be operational. It provides a great service to the town and the district and provides livelihoods to so many people,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s not just the people that work there, it’s their extended families, the people that supply the factory and the people that work for them.

‘‘There’s onflow effects to businesses in the community ... We would just hope that everyone is doing well.’’

The new figures released by Wine Australia reveal that exports to China have increased by more than half to $848million, an increase of 63 per cent, while the overall exports to north-east Asia increased by 47 per cent to more than $1billion for the first time.

The export value of the industry has increased by 15 per cent, the highest annual growth rate in the sector since 2004, with volume also increasing by eight per cent to 811million litres.

‘‘Growing demand for premium Australian wine, particularly in north-east Asia, increased the value of bottled wine exports by 17 per cent to $2.1billion, while the average price per litre for bottled wine grew by three per cent to a record $5.36,’’ Wine Australia chief executive officer Andreas Clark said.

While wines valued at $15 to $19.99 took a huge hit, losing more than $10million in value, the higher priced $20 to $29.99 range more than made up for the loss, adding 60 per cent and almost $50million in value to the industry.

Mr Clark said it was notable that exports of wines priced above $10 per litre grew by 29 per cent to a record $738million.

Corop winery Lake Cooper Estate, which produces wines including chardonnay, shiraz and cabernet, has been exporting overseas for the past three years.

The winery’s Tony Lee said while many clients preferred French wine, there was growing demand for Australian wines.

He said explaining the story of where the wine came from and discussing the winery itself had been key to entering the export market.

‘‘We have found it is important to let consumers understand your product, especially when the product is from other countries,’’ he said.

‘‘We’re doing the same things when we introduce our wine to the market; we do not just tell the stories about our business and wines ... we present to our clients a lot of information about the Heathcote wine regions such as the soil, land, temperature, culture, and Australia winemaking traditions and drinking customs.’’

While exports to China led the way, exports to Europe, south-east Asia and Oceania also grew by a combined 11 per cent, to add $835million in value to the export market.

Conversely, exports to North America decreased by two per cent, stripping $636million in value from the industry, yet the United States still remains Australia’s second-largest market by value and volume.

Agriculture and Water Resources Assistant Minister Anne Ruston welcomed the news of the record export levels.

‘‘Australians have long known that Australian wine is second to none,’’ Ms Ruston said.

‘‘It’s wonderful to see our wine industry reinvigorate its exporting efforts to make sure the world knows it too.

‘‘Each of the top five exported wine varieties have recorded significant growth: cabernet sauvignon exports increased by 20 per cent to $341million, while shiraz rose 18 per cent to $601million and merlot went up by 17 per cent to $114million.’’

With the mercury topping 40°C outside he met with locals and Wall to Wall organisers in the much cooler surrounds of the Railway Hotel, where ideas were bandied around.

‘‘The meeting today was all about engaging the community to find out what they’re thinking, and what they’d like to see,’’ DVate said.

‘‘Obviously we can’t put everything on there, so it’s just about finding out what’s important to people in the area, and finding something that will be relatable for the people here as well as having that wow factor for people coming from out of town.

‘‘It’s a massive honour for me.

‘‘It’s something that I’ve really wanted to get involved in, unfortunately I missed out on the first round as I had a few clashes with other projects, but I’m sure excited to be part of it now.

‘‘Especially in a town like this where it’s really going to bring something to the area and should bring a lot of people through.’’

At this stage the proposed artwork is still to be confirmed, however event organisers said the theme would be Australian fauna.

Painting on the silo is due to start during the Wall to Wall festival, which runs from March 9 to 11.

—Simon Ruppert

The company has recently completed a $140million cheese plant in the town of only 500 people.

Just down the road, at Girgarre, milk company ACM is also building a new dairy factory.

The Fonterra investment will double the size of the cheese plant, increasing cheese production by a further 35000tonnes for a range of cheeses including cheddar and mozzarella.

Stanhope can currently produce 45000tonnes of product including cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan, pecorino, romano and ricotta.

Fonterra managing director Rene Dedoncker said the expansion would turn Stanhope into one of its largest facilities.

The company will be looking for up to 200million litres of milk to satisfy its $165million factory expansions across Victoria.

Mr Dedoncker said the Stanhope investment largely focused on expanding the site’s cheese making capacity and doubling the daily milk volumes it could process.

‘‘We are looking for the next 200million litres of milk,’’ Mr Dedoncker said.

‘‘We are seeing a boost in production, particularly in the north.

‘‘We hope an extra 60 to 80million litres will come from our own farmers.

‘‘We do see the need for more farmers. We have a number interested in joining. It will be a mix.’’

Mr Dedoncker said customers wanted trusted supply options out of Australia, especially for products like cheese, whey and nutritional powders which are in high demand.

‘‘We have a clear strategy that is delivering sustainable returns. To create value, we need to invest to stay ahead of the demand curve. These investments support our aim to secure positive returns back to our farmers on both sides of the Tasman.’’

Fonterra is looking into whether its Australian operation could become a co-operative, and will put information to its Australian suppliers in April.

Fonterra is a farmer owned co-operative in New Zealand but runs as a private company in Australia.

Asked about pricing, Mr Dedoncker said they knew they needed to have a competitive farm gate milk price every day.

‘‘Our milk price is $5.60/kg milk solids, (absolute price $5.62) following a step-up prior to Christmas.

‘‘In addition to the $5.60 there is the 40¢ milk payment, taking the total to $6.

‘‘We are confident that price is sustainable in the season.’’

Cheese production at Stanhope’s Fonterra factory will almost double and employment increase by up to 36 people as part of its new upgrade.

The company plans to spend about $125million at the site.

The investment in the new cheese plant and aligned facilities will increase cheese production by a further 35000tonnes at the site for a range of cheeses including cheddar and mozzarella. Stanhope currently produces 45000tonnes of product including cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, parmesan, pecorino, romano and ricotta.

Stanhope site manager Jason Wright said the plant, which officially reopened in August 2017 following a $140million rebuild and expansion, was seen as an important asset in Fonterra Australia’s push to make the most of domestic and global demand opportunities for products like cheese.

‘‘It’s important for dairy in Australia that we’re showing confidence and investing in expansion. We believe in the long-term demand prospects for dairy, and especially for cheese given the growth we’ve seen in food service.’’

The cheese investment follows on from a $1.3million investment to support product innovation, as Stanhope rolls out its Perfect Italiano Ricotta Stir Through for pasta and a further $6million to secure efficiency gains.

‘‘Ricotta is a staple product for us and our investments have enabled us to launch a first-of-its-kind innovation. We’re confident the dollars spent in the plant will bring solid returns to farmers with these value-add, fit-for-purpose offers.’’

Mr Wright said with the cheese expansion the site was keener than ever to secure additional supply.

‘‘Our Australian milk pool has grown by 400million litres this season, and with this new investment we plan to grow our milk further which we expect will come through growth from our existing farmers who wish to grow, coupled with milk from new suppliers joining Fonterra.

‘‘We’ve employed an additional 15 drivers after investing more than $8million in 14 truck and trailer units across our milk collection regions in Victoria and Tasmania,’’ Mr Wright said.

The Stanhope site employs about 150 people including the milk supply group, with about 110 working in the factory.

The factory holds regular consultation meetings with a Stanhope community advisory group.

Construction is expected to be finished by the end of this year.

Showers and isolated thunderstorms over central and western districts will tend to a band of rain later this evening then move east overnight.

HEAVY RAIN which may lead to FLASH FLOODING is expected to develop over parts of eastern Victoria during the early hours of Tuesday then contract east and clear later in the day.

Over the nine hours, falls of 30 to 50mm are expected, although thunderstorm activity may result in isolated higher falls of 50 to 80mm.

Locations which may be affected include Morwell, Traralgon, Sale, Moe, Bairnsdale and Falls Creek.

The GRDC discussion paper sets out the objectives of the corporation’s research, development and extension investments to 2023, with the aim of creating enduring profitability for Australian grain growers.

GRDC managing director Steve Jefferies is resolute in the need to seek open and honest feedback from growers in the paddock.

‘‘Research and development corporations exist to drive profitability on Australian farms, so it is crucial that we have the input of grain growers at the grassroots,’’ Dr Jefferies said.

He said a focus on taking calculated risk to achieve transformational change represented an exciting shift in investment portfolio balance for the GRDC.

‘‘We understand that the profit equation is being squeezed by high input, operational and post-farm gate costs while volatile pricing is not trending in the same direction,’’ he said.

‘‘As a body investing on behalf of Australia’s grain growers, the GRDC needs to target high reward opportunities to create transformational step changes to their profitability.

‘‘The new plan provides the opportunity to mature the GRDC’s investment culture to manage the risk that comes with seeking a greater return for our grain-growing investors.’’

The draft plan has been developed with grower and researcher input through consultation with GRDC panel members and GRDC’s representative organisations, Grain Growers Ltd and Grain Producers Australia, and key research partners.

‘‘Agricultural businesses exist in constantly evolving operating environments, and the strategic plan outlines a flexible and responsive approach to investment to ensure the GRDC can adapt and reflect grower requirements,’’ Dr Jefferies said.

■The GRDC’s consultation closes on Friday, February 16 and the full discussion paper and information on how to provide feedback can be accessed at: https://grdc.com.au/R&Dplan

Nufarm Australia spray application consultant Bill Gordon said the focus of spraying herbicide needed to be on doing the job right so the weeds received the correct dose and died, and this included reducing airborne spray to a bare minimum.

‘‘In many cases this means not spraying at night if the wind speed is too low,’’ he said.

‘‘Many product labels prohibit night spraying due mostly to the risk of spray drift.

‘‘Our studies have shown that with a coarse spray quality, drift may travel up to 300 to 400m during the day after any inversion has broken, but spraying at night can leave up to five times as much chemical in the air using the same products, nozzles and ground speed.

‘‘This can result in spray drifting 10 to 20km or more at night, and this is unacceptable for other farmers, the community and the environment.’’

Mr Gordon said most growers were implementing best spray practice when it came to boom height and nozzle selection but the temptation to spray at higher speeds and into the night could override commonsense at times.

‘‘The flip side of this is that it is becoming more evident that using Delta-T as the main determinant of safe day-time spraying conditions may not be the best approach,’’ he said.

‘‘What really matters most is the wind speed and whether the weeds are stressed or not.’’

When environmental conditions are borderline in terms of wind turbulence, the safe spray window can be extended slightly through the use of coarser sprayer quality where the proportion of droplets less than 150 microns is 10 per cent or less, keeping drift to a minimum.

The trade-off, however, is reduced efficacy when using very coarse droplet size, particularly when the target is small, vertical or hard to wet.

Mr Gordon’s rule of thumb for effective weed control when applying fully translocated products (e.g. glyphosate and Group I) is a minimum of six to eight per cent coverage, while coverage of 10 to 12 per cent or more is required for contact herbicides.

Bill Gordon’s 10 tips for reducing spray drift

1.Choose all products in the tank mix carefully.

2.Understand the product mode of action and coverage requirements.

3.Select (and check) the coarsest spray quality that will provide effective control.

4.Expect that surface temperature inversions will form as sunset approaches and will likely persist overnight and even beyond sunrise on many occasions. Do not spray.

5.Use weather forecasts to inform your spray decisions.

6.Only start spraying when the sun is about 20 degrees above the horizon and when the wind speed has been above 4-5km/h for more than 20 to 30 minutes, and clearly blowing away from any adjacent sensitive crops or areas.

7.Set the boom height to achieve a double overlap of the spray patterns.

8.Avoid higher spraying speeds.

9.Leave buffers unsprayed if necessary and come back.

10.Continue to monitor conditions, particularly wind speed, at the site during the spray operation.

According to Southern Riverina Irrigators’ chair Gabrielle Coupland, recent reports of increased irrigator confidence in the Murray-Darling Basin due to booming commodity prices and increased export demand bodes well for farm businesses that have the ability to respond to seasonal changes as long as it is accompanied by policy stability.

‘‘The basin plan is just the most recent in a long list of water reform programs that predate the millennium drought,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘What we need now is policy stability so that our farmers can plan their business programs and cropping programs to best suit their individual situations.

‘‘One result of the ongoing reform is that people are looking at how to ensure they get the best value out of their water and utilising the water market as part of their business,’’ Mrs Coupland said.

‘‘We are in the middle of the southern connected water market so our farmers can hold a portfolio of different water products to suit their cropping needs and can respond to the different seasons by either buying or selling allocation.

‘‘For example, a rice grower can adjust the size of their crop dependent on how much water they have available. If it is dry they may choose not to plant rice and either sell their available water to get an income or irrigate winter crops to maximise the yield from costs already incurred.

‘‘On the other hand, someone with an almond crop, that uses similar volumes of water to rice, needs water every year regardless of climate and can access the market to make up the difference in a year of low allocations.’’

Mrs Coupland said knowing the final water recovery targets and the outcomes of the SDL adjustment mechanism would give farmers some certainty.

‘‘The basin plan is there and we have to live with that, but continuous uncertainty about the final recovery targets is undermining confidence in our regions at a time we should be enjoying the favourable agricultural conditions.’’

The heavy rain caused about $700000 worth of damage to a number of the region’s roads and the repairs will be scheduled to be completed over the coming months.

The works will include roadside slip repair works, clearing of debris and repairs to drains and culverts, vegetation removal and shoulder repairs.

‘‘We had more than 30 road closures during the weather event,’’ VicRoads acting north-eastern regional director Steve McCallum said.

‘‘Murrindindi and Strathbogie shires were the worst affected with six road closures in each area, followed by Alpine Shire with five road closures, four road closures in each of the Wangaratta and Mansfield shires and minor impacts in the shires of Moira, Benalla, and Indigo.

‘‘Sections of the Hume Fwy, Maroondah Hwy and Goulburn Valley Hwy were closed due to flooding and our crews were quickly on the scene to manage the impacts,’’ Mr McCallum said.

‘‘Our incident management team received around 100 calls involving a variety of issues such as water over roads, fallen trees, landslips and blocked drains.

‘‘The north-eastern region was the hardest hit by the extreme weather event.

‘‘Our staff and workers did a fantastic job in handling and responding to the impacts and we now have some work to do to repair those areas that were damaged as a result.’’

Work has already started on repairs to Murchison-Violet Town Rd and works on other areas will be completed over the coming months.

Held in February and March, the updates are a chance for growers and agronomists to stay informed with seasonal advice and support.

GRDC senior manager Jan Edwards said GRDC investment directions, innovation and research to guide on-farm decision-making were key themes across this year’s updates.

She said on the theme of innovation, David Lamb from the University of New England’s Smart Farm would be presenting on experiences gained across a range of automation technology uses on-farm.

‘‘This includes the use of sensors, telemetry, data capture and management, all of which are hot topics.

‘‘To have David Lamb talk specifically about lived experience and relevant research in this area will provide growers and agronomists with great insight,’’ she said.

‘‘Other field-based insight will come from Colin McMaster, who will delve into a survey of 90 commercial canola paddocks in Central NSW and precision seeding trials to discuss how growers established seeding equipment, and what worked in terms of seed placement and crop establishment.’’

Additional sessions will feature Peter Hayman talking about understanding and managing frost risk, the CSIRO’s John Kirkegaard on key farming system decision points, canola diseases updates and chickpea management.

‘‘The update programs are developed to bring growers the latest cutting-edge innovation and research outcomes from the GRDC extensive RD&E (research, development and extension) investments,’’ Ms Edwards said.

‘‘They are a mix of farm-ready research results that growers can apply directly to their farming operations, as well as perspectives on trends in grain production and agriculture provided by Australian and international speakers.

‘‘These programs are developed in consultation with local farming groups and agronomists so the information is locally relevant and ties in with seasonal conditions — and I strongly recommend growers and agronomists attend.’’

The 2018 GRDC NSW updates will be held at:

■Wagga Wagga — Charles Sturt University, Joyes Hall, Pine Gully Rd, Wagga Wagga on February 13 and 14.

■Corowa — Corowa RSL, 30 Betterment Pde, Corowa on February 15.

■Dubbo — Dubbo RSL, 178 Brisbane St, Dubbo on February 27 and 28.

■Wee Waa — Imperial Hotel Function Room, 104 Rose St, Wee Waa on March 1.

■Breeza — Breeza Hall, Kamilaroi Hwy, Breeza on March 2.

■The Rock — The Rock Memorial Bowling Club, 86 Urana St, The Rock on March 15.

■Condobolin (Farm Business Update) — Condobolin RSL Club, 20 McDonnell St, Condobolin on March 22.

■For more details go to: https://grdc.com.au/events/list

The heifer challenge will be run during nine days from Monday, January 29 to Tuesday, February 6.

As one of the programs RASV conducts throughout the year to highlight quality production in agrifood and fibre, the heifer challenge recognises excellence in herd replacement females in seed stock operation.

This year, RASV welcomes Agriculture Victoria BetterBeef co-ordinator and experienced breeding and selection consultant Malcolm Cock as heifer challenge judge.

A long-time entrant of Beef Week and the RASV Heifer Challenge, Mr Cock has shown cattle for about 30 years, including at the Royal Melbourne Show, taking home the prestigious Borthwick Trophy three times.

He has also judged breeding cattle and steers at royal shows and numerous regional and local shows, carcase competitions and junior handlers in Victoria and interstate.

‘‘My favourite area of the industry is female selection, as it takes a great cow to produce a great bull that produces great cows,’’ Mr Cock said.

‘‘I am excited to see the quality of studs entered in this year’s heifer challenge and look forward to finding and rewarding the best of the best.’’

The competition culminates in the RASV Heifer Challenge Celebratory Dinner on Thursday, February 8 at Silks in Bendigo, with the champion presented a $3000 cash prize and the reserve champion awarded $1500.

With close to 50 entries, the competition offers some of Australia’s best beef cattle studs the opportunity to benchmark their herd replacement females against a wide variety of breeds and styles.

Animals are judged on a number of criteria including breed characteristics, maternal potential, uniformity, temperament, overall presentation and physical correctness.

For further information on the RASV Heifer Challenge, visit: rasv.com.au or beefweek.com.au

Merribrook Angus — owned by Graeme, Michele, Rachel and Lachlan Collins — started in 1987, with the foundation cow family of the well-known Mildred bloodlines, purchased as an embryo at the Angus National.

They have continued with their own cow families, which come from bloodlines of Cheyanne, Jane, Vicky, Ester and Wilcoola families.

‘‘We continue to do ET (embryo transfer) on our best females to give us quality bulls, which are going out and performing outstanding in the beef industry,’’ Lachlan said.

‘‘Our program aims to reach high-growth, easy-doing cattle that are functional and with great temperament.

‘‘Clients continue to top weaner sales locally, all over Victoria and NSW.’’

At its Beef Week open day on Wednesday, January 31, Merribrook Angus will have on display yearling and weaner bulls by leading AI sires — including VAR Index, JMB Traction and EF Compliment — and exciting young ET calves out of some of the best donors the family has bred at home.

These animals will be available for private sale.

Lachlan said the stud had been involved in different beef shows and events.

‘‘We continually help and supply heifers at Angus Youth Round-ups, with the aim of encouraging the youth in the industry, and have shown at royal shows all over the country with great success,’’ he said.

Merribrook Angus can be found at 434 Milloo Hall Rd, Milloo (north-west of Elmore).

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

an avocado

40g haloumi cheese

2 cups of chopped kale

2 free-range eggs

2 rashers of Primo Premium Selections Black Pepper Bacon

1 tbsp avocado oil

juice of a quarter of a lime

lime wedges, to serve

1 pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp dukkah spice

Method:

Halve the avocado, gently removing one half. Slice into even strips.

Add the bacon and haloumi to a hot pan. Cook bacon until crispy and haloumi until brown on both sides.

Cook eggs your way. Massage the kale with avocado oil and a pinch of sea salt.

Place all ingredients in a bowl and sprinkle with lime juice, sea salt and dukkah.

Source: Primo Australia

The Federal Government has filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organisation in protest at the way Canada applies rules over the sale of Australian wine.

Australian winemakers complained about what they described as ‘‘protectionist’’ measures.

Imported wines in Canada sold in supermarkets are meant to be pushed into a ‘‘store within a store’’ with separate shelves and cash registers, while Canadian wines can be kept on regular grocery store shelves.

Australia says so far no Canadian supermarkets have set up a ‘‘store with a store’’ because of the onerous requirements, meaning its wines don’t get a look-in.

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo said Australia’s $200million share in the Canadian market was eroding.

‘‘Potentially this could cost Australian jobs,’’ he told ABC radio on Wednesday last week.

‘‘I want to make sure we’re on the front foot about protecting Australia’s interests.’’

Mr Ciobo denied the action was connected to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s snub of other world leaders during talks on a new Trans-Pacific Partnership deal at APEC last November.

‘‘These are unrelated events,’’ he said.

The Canadian government says it works closely with all of its provinces and territories to ensure liquor distribution and sales policies are consistent with its international trade commitments.

A spokesman for Canada’s international trade minister says it will also give ‘‘careful consideration’’ to consultation requests from any WTO member.

Under WTO rules, Canada has 60 days to settle the dispute with Australia. After that, Australia could ask the WTO to adjudicate.

Representing 26 breeds, studs are expected to net up to $35million in total during Beef Week through on-property bull sales in February and March.

Of the 196 studs participating in the week, 35 will conduct bull auctions during the busy autumn sale season.

These annual sales have catalogued 2500 bulls that will be on display for potential buyers to inspect throughout Beef Week.

‘‘The 161 studs in Beef Week that do not have on-property sales will offer bulls during Beef Week and will also have on display bulls catalogued for the big multi-vendor national sales coming up at Wodonga and Dubbo later in the year,’’ Beef Week director Geoff Phillips said.

‘‘We estimate another 2500 bulls will be cleared by these 161 studs.’’

A total of 58 Angus studs will be on display, making it the best represented breed, closely followed by Hereford with 57 studs.

Long established breeds such as Shorthorn, South Devon, British White and Belted Galloway will be displayed while newer breeds such as Speckle Park and Wagyu will create interest.

There will also be lesser known breeds on display such as Australis, Senegus, Simangus and Speckleline.

‘‘All breeds have a contribution to make to the beef industry depending on target markets and environment in which they need to operate,’’ Mr Phillips said.

Stud breeders will be on hand at host properties to explain the attributes of the various breeds and discuss the needs of stud and commercial producers.

Livestock agents and breed society staff will also use Beef Week to visit clients and members and gain first-hand knowledge of the latest industry trends.

The RASV Heifer Challenge conducted in conjunction with Beef Week has attracted 45 entries with participating studs to display 10 heifers from their 2016 drop that will be replacements in their registered breeding herd.

These entries will be on display on their Beef Week day and will be judged by former Galloway, Angus and Buchan Black breeder Malcolm Cock, who has been breeding, showing and advising in the cattle industry for more than 40 years.

Beef Week opens on Monday, January 29 in the north-east Riverina and progresses through nine days until it concludes in north-east Victoria on Tuesday, February 6.

The Greta South stud was established in 1993 from an imported embryo and the herd immediately had a base of easy calving and good temperament.

‘‘These attributes have been enhanced by the careful selection of AI sires used in the ensuing 25 years and the prudent selection of AI sires and a commitment to cull animals that do not fit the selection criteria of our stud has ensured that Mistletoe animals breed true to genetics,’’ stud owner Denis O’Connor said.

As part of Beef Week, Mistletoe Limousin will offer bulls and selected females for sale on Tuesday, February 6.

Mr O’Connor said repeat and new customers would be purchasing bulls bred to enhance the commercial buyer’s bottom line.

‘‘The progeny of Mistletoe bulls continue to provide extra money per animal for the commercial breeder,’’ he said.

‘‘At Mistletoe Limousin the emphasis continues to be on bulls that have good growth, muscling, fat cover, being structurally correct, calve easily and are docile and easily handled.’’

Mr O’Connor said the continued introduction of the polled gene to the herd had proved beneficial.

‘‘Great care is taken in the selection and use of sires such as French pure polled Exclusive, Jim Dandie, polled Zansibar, polled Excellant and Cyan Po.

‘‘These sires, being homozygous polled, have complemented the dams sired by proven horned bulls sourced from France, Canada and England.’’

Mistletoe will have two-year-old bulls, 18-month-old bulls and weaner bulls (a total of more than 25 bulls) on display on February 6 and there will be a selection of cows and calves and cows due to calve in the autumn.

Sons and daughters of dams will be available for inspection to show the consistency of breeding, as will groups of animals by the same sire.

Animals going to the National Limousin Show and Sale at Wodonga will also be on display.

Mistletoe animals all come with Limousin assurance warranty and are Breed Plan recorded.

Mistletoe Limousin can be found on Dinnings Lane, Greta South (east of Benalla).

Mr Guerra is an internationally experienced leader, having held managing director and chairman roles and has a wide range of experience in Australia and the Asia Pacific region across many different sectors.

After a thorough recruitment process beginning in October, RASV president Matt Coleman said the organisation was delighted to appoint Mr Guerra, whose impressive corporate career had spanned several industries.

‘‘We are thrilled to have appointed someone with Paul’s proven experience and accomplishments to lead RASV into the next stage of development and opportunity,’’ Mr Coleman said.

‘‘His business acumen, knowledge and foresight is invaluable to our growth as we continue to identify and create new and greater outcomes for our organisation and our stakeholders.’’

Mr Guerra has been chairman of the Queen Victoria Market since 2011, overseeing the company and preparing for the upcoming renewal, along with ensuring the effective management and operations of the iconic Melbourne precinct. Most recently he held the position of Asia Pacific managing director for Optum International, one of the world’s leading providers of health services.

Mr Guerra was also Vodafone’s Victorian director and was previously a director and vice-president of Motorola Asia Pacific.

In addition to his past employment, Mr Guerra holds an honours degree in electronic engineering from Swinburne University as well as a post-graduate diploma in management with a major in marketing.

‘‘RASV has a long and proud history and I am honoured to lead this exceptional team of talented professionals,’’ Mr Guerra said.

‘‘This is a fantastic opportunity for any leader and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in ensuring the long-term future growth of such an important organisation.’’

The sale will be held at the Alpine Selling Complex on Tuesday, March 6, with 100 HBR and APR registered bulls up for auction.

The Rosewhite stud has grown substantially over the past few years, particularly following the incorporation of Welcome Swallow genetics.

Alpine Angus has increased the number of bulls offered at its autumn sale from 70 to 100 and, in 2016, began annual spring sales, selling another 50 bulls each year.

The expansion of the Alpine herd has seen more than 500 females joined in the 2017 calendar year.

Manager Chris Oswin has been responsible for overseeing the steady expansion of the herd.

‘‘Alpine combines its use of AI and ET programs with quality Alpine-owned back-up bulls, a number of which are AI sires in their own right,’’ Mr Oswin said.

‘‘Our growth in bull sales can be attributed to the further improvement of the Alpine herd which has been carefully planned.

‘‘The incorporation of the top end of Welcome Swallow genetics and the rise in fortunes of the beef industry have also helped immensely.

‘‘The help Jim and Suzy Martin (of Welcome Swallow) have given us since selling their herd is extraordinary and Suzy is an absolute dynamo when it comes to all things marketing and organising.’’

Alpine Angus principal Jim Delany said it had been a privilege and it continued to be a great pleasure to work with the Martins.

Mr Delany said a feature of the March bull sale would be 10 sons by Coonamble Hector, sire of the record-setting $190000 Millah Murrah Prue M4, and six sons by Coonamble Junior, another outstanding Coonamble sire.

Alpine Angus will also offer its first progeny of Texas Mount K2, a bull part-owned by the Martins.

As well as being available for inspection during Beef Week, the sale bulls can be inspected at the Alpine Angus field day on Wednesday, February 21.

The Alpine Sale Complex, where the open days and autumn sale will be held, can be found at 1138 Happy Valley Rd, Rosewhite (south-east of Myrtleford).

Firstly, as we have come to expect, the MDBA continues its mantra to sugarcoat the plan’s implementation and ignore the negative impacts and those which do not suit the political agenda.

The two most important are the lack of scientific knowledge on which the plan is based and the effect it is having on rural communities.

It is difficult to understand why Mr Andrew makes no reference to the recent independent reports (including the CSIRO) which cast doubt over the scientific modelling on which the plan was based, as well as subsequent monitoring and evaluation.

Surely they should be an issue of serious concern to the MDBA, because if the science, the modelling and evaluation are not correct the entire plan is flawed and must come into question.

Then there is Mr Andrew’s convenient neglect of the plan’s impact on rural communities.

Further independent reports on its social and economic consequences have revealed:

■in the NSW Murray, an economic cost of $190million a year and nearly 700 jobs; and

■in the Goulburn Valley, production losses of $550million a year and a massive 2000 job losses.

Mr Andrew is prepared to state ‘‘the basin economy has grown’’ and ‘‘some towns have had a tougher time than others’’, yet fails to acknowledge the pain being suffered, nor the need for remedial action.

Likewise he ignores the environmental damage caused by river slumping, as well as the significant damage from carp proliferation, from the MDBA’s ‘just add water’ environmental approach.

Mr Andrew talks about water being ‘‘shared fairly’’ for ‘‘benefit of both irrigators and the environment’’ but Blind Freddy can see that the genuine triple bottom line social, economic and environmental balance we were promised from this plan is not the reality.

As we enter 2018 and the important 18 months ahead to which Mr Andrew refers, I would respectfully request a higher level of accountability in relation to all aspects of the basin plan from the MDBA, not just the positives it wants to highlight.

This must include:

■Acknowledging that 86 per cent of the water recovered so far under the basin plan has come from the southern connected system, and honestly accepting the social and economic damage caused, which will become clearer when reports are released in coming months. Genuine action must be taken to alleviate this economic pain and support these communities.

■Highlighting to politicians and the public that under legislation the 450Gl ‘up-water’ only applies with no adverse economic impacts, and independent reports already indicate this is not possible.

■Highlighting the serious constraints issues and the flooding risks to public and private land.

■Honestly reporting on South Australia’s failure to be an active participant in measures to limit the amount of water from upstream that needs to be transferred from productive to environmental use.

■Acknowledging that some of the science and modelling on which the basin plan has been based was carried out during the millennium drought and is not a realistic assessment of the basin’s long-term health. Take positive action in relation to monitoring and evaluation concerns, as expressed by 2017 independent reports.

The MDBA is supposed to be an independent body, but as Mr Andrew’s assessment yet again shows, it chooses to ignore any report that does not paint a rosy picture of the plan. This must change.

Australians also need to remember that high value agricultural crops like almonds may help the basin economy in the short term, but they do not put staples on your dinner table.

If we decimate industries like dairying and rice, will you be happy to eat almonds instead?

—Graeme Pyle

Berrigan

For me Australia Day should be about celebrating what we value about our nation, which has seen a great deal of change over the last 230 years. It is what each of us feel contributes to making us the lucky country, and is a chance to reflect on what we can be thankful for.

While I am certainly grateful for the freedom of speech our great country has, because I certainly wouldn’t be blogging away and expressing my strong views without it, at the top of my list Australia stands for mateship and a fair go.

So what is a fair go? Well I believe it is being able to be the best you can, to be allowed to pursue your chosen career (as long as it isn’t illegal!), to have equal opportunity to resources, to be treated fairly and respectfully and to be valued if you are contributing to the good of the nation.

Mateship, in my opinion, is about helping out a neighbour, even if you don’t know them, lending a hand when someone you don’t know is in trouble or down on their luck. But most importantly it is about being honest and speaking the truth.

Unfortunately, the values of Australia Day have been challenged of late. As a food producer who wants to contribute to the national economy and producing food for our people and the rest of the world I do not think we have been treated with mateship and a fair go.

The South Australian Government has not been entirely truthful with its own people about food producers in the Southern Basin, and it has not been honest about the management of the Lower Lakes, Coorong and Murray Mouth. The worst part is there are a number of leaders in the country not prepared to stand up to the misinformation and unfairness which is preventing others from getting a fair go. They are not mates. Is it fair that we jeopardise the future for some of the most efficient food and fibre producers in the world so that others can turn a once estuarine system into a fresh water one, with million dollar housing developments and yacht parking facilities? Is it fair to remove over 4 Sydney harbours of water from farmers to make an estuarine system fresh and then let it evaporate or run out to sea, while at the same time that state diverts vast quantities of water which once flowed into the system out to sea?

Mates don’t do that. The whole Murray Darling Basin Plan is certainly un-Australian and to me puts a dampener on everything there is to be valued about the day.

The 7-year-old Holstein, led by owner Steve Hore, also secured Supreme Champion in the National Holstein Show for the Leitchville based Steve and Deanne Hore.

Mrs Hore said she the whole family was thrilled with the result.

For more International Dairy Week coverage, grab a copy of next week's Country News.

The plan is aimed at helping farmers reduce energy costs, maintain competitiveness and create jobs by providing on-farm energy assessments, as well as grants to improve energy efficiency and install renewable energy systems.

The VFF has flagged cost, reliability and access to power as the key concerns held by farmers.

An on-farm energy survey undertaken by Agriculture Victoria provided evidence to support an on-farm energy initiative, revealing that investment costs, the speed of technology change and uncertainty about implementation were barriers for farmers in pursuing alternative energy options.

‘‘This plan will better prepare our agricultural sector for the future and reflects our determination to work with farmers to maintain a sustainable, adaptable and internationally competitive agriculture sector,’’ Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said.

The Agriculture Energy Investment Plan will begin this year and includes $5million in funding for energy efficiency assessments on-farm and $20million in grants to help farmers invest in energy efficiency and generation technology.

‘‘This is about working together to boost business productivity through energy efficiency upgrades and helping reduce energy costs on the farm,’’ Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.

That’s according to a study commissioned by the Grains Research and Development Corporation which has identified the key profit drivers in successful cropping businesses.

The project titled The integration of technical data and profit drivers for more informed decisions involved collecting a minimum of three and up to five years of benchmarking data from more than 300 cropping businesses nationally.

The project was led by Rural Directions in the southern region and involved Meridian Agriculture and Macquarie Franklin.

According to Tony Craddock from Rural Directions, a consistent message from the project was that a large gap in financial performance existed between the ‘‘top 20 per cent’’ of businesses and the average business in each agro-ecological zone.

‘‘It demonstrated that there is abundant opportunity for many grain growers to increase profit from the resources that they currently have available to them,’’ Mr Craddock said.

Learnings from the project were detailed to growers and advisers attending GRDC Opportunity for Profit workshops in the southern region in 2017.

Designed to enable growers to better understand the profit drivers in their own businesses and therefore adopt profit-generating changes, the workshops will again be delivered throughout the southern region in 2018-19.

Driven from the agro-ecological zone level upwards to ensure that the key profit drivers reflected the farming conditions relevant to different rainfall zones and soil types, the project explored the management characteristics of cropping operators which influence their decision-making processes and farm business performance.

The study found that four primary profit drivers separated the top 20 per cent of grain businesses — which are consistently retaining 30 per cent of turnover as net profit — from average businesses in the GRDC’s southern region (Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania).

These four primary profit drivers were identified as gross margin optimisation; low cost business model; people and management; and risk management.

Mr Craddock said that in terms of opportunity for enhanced profitability, some businesses may have a yield and revenue opportunity, other businesses may benefit from a more disciplined approach to variable costs, while for others the opportunity could be in managing total plant machinery and labour-related costs.

‘‘While it takes skill, courage and discipline to replicate top 20 per cent performance, it is generally decisions and choices that are well within our control that we can influence to achieve it,’’ Mr Craddock said.

‘‘Low risk, high margin agriculture is possible.’’

Neil Lonie was inspired to raise money for the Good Friday Appeal after the death of his niece in 2008 and has since raised more than $150000, including $24000 last year.

Mr Lonie is a prominent figure in the St James community and surrounds as he is a member of St James Fire Brigade, the Tungamah and Dookie historical societies as well as the St James Recreation Reserve and Hall Committee. He also was the foundation member of the St James Young Farmers group.

Mr Lonie was one of 30 nominated individuals, community events and community groups recognised for their contribution to local communities.

Other winners from the ceremony held on January 18 were Muckatah’s Tristan Grinter, who won Young Citizen of the Year; Rotary Club of Cobram, which won Organisation of the Year; Relay for Life – Oasis Movers & Shakers, which won Event of the Year; and the Trees Please – Conservation Awareness Project which was named Environment Project of the Year.

One-hundred-and-thirty cows from the Babrooten stud, aged from three to 12 years, together with their calves will be on display.

‘‘The calves were born from March through to August. While the autumn calves do better, in a 14-inch rainfall area with very little irrigation, it has been necessary to calve the majority in winter to carry more numbers,’’ stud owner John Brian said.

Also on display are 25 Angus cows with first cross South Devon calves at foot as well as 25 pure South Devon cows with pure South Devon calves at foot.

During Beef Week, Mr Brian said there would be a selection of first cross bulls and a number of pure South Devon bulls up for sale.

‘‘This is a unique opportunity for commercial cattle breeders to see how two-breed combination breeding can produce a herd superior in performance than either of the two pure breeds,’’ he said.

‘‘In recent years Greenham Tasmania have taken all steers for their Cape Grim quality beef as they meet their high-standard specifications.’’

The Babrooten stud will be open for viewing during Beef Week on Wednesday, January 31 and can be found at 345 Craig Rd, Tongala.