Red leather leaf (RLL) is a common fungal disease caused by Spermospora avenae, that reduces hay and grain yield, reduces grain quality and impacts hay appearance and colour. In Victoria we are beginning to see evidence of infection this season. RLL infection is favoured by cool (5-16°C), wet conditions so is more predominant in medium […]
Fantastic Autumn rain and an optimistic outlook resulted in many farmers taking the opportunity to sow a wide range of crops and plant early. These decisions are now expressing themselves across the region. After a dry winter, the recent rains in August have put us back on track for a possible average to above-average season. […]
SnapshotProperty: Merriwa Pastoral Company Owners: Bronwyn and Geoff Hunt; Karen, Bill and John Fenton Area: 1484 hectares, 1436ha cropping Location: Normanville, Victoria Average annual rainfall: 320 millimetres Soil types: duplex, clay loam over clay Soil pH: 8 to 8.5 Crops grown: Scepter wheat, Spartacus barley, Stingray canola, Hurricane and Jumbo 2 lentils, Winteroo oats for hay, Morgan and Twilight field peas for hay It’s spring 2019 and Normanville grain grower Bronwyn Hunt is marching up and down the rows of Hurricane lentils and Scepter wheat, vigorously swinging a sweep net in search […]
Matt, thanks for agreeing to be this month’s Farmer in Focus! Can you give us a bit of background on yourself, your family and your farm? Our property is called Pinelea. We’re situated in the Terricks east of Pyramid Hill. I work on the farm with my wife Gemma and parents Andrew and Marie. We […]
Do you farm your land in a way that improves the soil, plant and animal health? Yes, you do! Have you reduced tillage to reduce evaporation and preserve soil moisture, and sow earlier to increase water use efficiency during the season? Do you use legume crops or pastures to build soil nitrogen? Do you amend […]
A NEW unique pest monitoring network is set to dramatically improve insect monitoring and crop checking processes for growers and agronomists across Australia. The Trapview Predictive Pest Network developed by ADAMA, launches to the market this month as part of the company’s ongoing drive to provide Australian growers with the latest AgTech solutions to support […]
BCG: busy and diverse During July, BCG was involved in some exciting work and participated in wide-reaching discussions. The Industry Crop Walk was attended by 60 agronomists from across the region. Participating in two hours of professional development at BCG’s industry site at Whirily, agronomists moved around the trial sites in teams. They met with […]
Brayden Botheras in the crop at Narraport – pic: BCG This month BCG caught up with Narraport Young Farmers Brayden and Rhylie Botheras, for a socially distanced interview over the phone. The brothers from Narraport and the third generation to work the family property. Rhylie and Brayden (Bobbo) have already helped expand the operation purchasing […]
Are you wanting to trace productivity in your breeding ewes or make better informed decisions when selecting rams? Wanting to manage sheep on feed but unsure how to group them into management lots? Are you interested in using your time in the yards more efficiently while reducing labour requirement? Or do you have other ideas […]
You’re all now aware that from the 1st of July in Victoria it will be an offence to mules sheep without using pain relief. But what is available, how do they work and what provides the best pain relief? From 1st of July you must use a pain relief product registered by the APVMA for […]
L-R: John Lucas and Dan Winston (Zetify), Rachel Ferrier, Sammy & John Mitchel, Andrew, Joel, Trent and Denita Donnan standing in front of Andrew’s Landcrusier with the Zetify rover mounted on the roof. Many growers and rural businesses continue to experience issues with mobile and internet connectivity that would be considered substandard and unacceptable in […]