Farming Forecaster on Site Training

The LLS will be running a series of information sessions on Farming Forecaster at a range of probe sites and at local halls over the next few weeks. These sessions will be presented by Matt Lieschke and Phil Graham and will cover:

  • collecting data from the paddock – soil moisture, soil temperature and rainfall
  • making sense of the paddock data – how to read and interpret the information on the website
  • pasture forecast – how the pasture forecast is generated and how it can be used to aid decision making
  • seasonal outlook – good seasons also bring challenges. What are some of the things we need to watch out for this year? (e.g. worms, feet, dystocia)

Find out more information here Farming Forecaster flyer probe sessions Apr 2021 including locations and RSVP details.

Autumn Seasonal Update Agrista Presentation

As promised the presentation John Francis from Agrista made at the recent Seasonal Update is available here Agrista TFS 3 Mar 21

Also available from the link below is the Laggan Grazing Demonstration Results from 2015 through to 2020 that John referenced in his presentation at the Seasonal Update. These trial results were compiled by Matthew Lieschke, Livestock Officer with the South East LLS.

Laggan Grazing Demo Feb 2021

Rabobank Research

We were fortunate enough to secure the latest Rabobank Agribusiness Outlook for 2021 from our sponsors at Rabobank. This outlook gives a brief overview of where we were at the start of 2021 and what we can expect going forward. It goes on to give a summary of what individual commodities can expect throughout 2021 and the  prospects for land prices and the AUD. A link to this report can be found here: Rabobank Agribusiness Outlook January 2021

If you would prefer to listen to a podcast which gives an overview of some of the commodities from the full report you can listen using this link: RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness Australia/NZ: 2021 Outlook for Australian Ag – Part 1 on Apple Podcasts

We thank the team at Rabobank in Goulburn for making this valuable research available to TFS members.

NSW DPI Weeds Survey

The NSW Department of Primary Industries is currently looking at a research project which aims to develop an autonomous robot capable of finding and then selectively spraying, target weeds in a pasture. They have asked that we distribute a survey to our members to complete that will help them identify the most problematic pasture weeds for producers.

The link to the survey is below and we are told it only takes 5 minutes to complete.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2RBXQSG

Responsible Spraying Field Day

We have been advised of a field day being held at the Crookwell Showgrounds on the 26th of March focusing on spraying. There will be a demonstration of XAG spray equipment and autonomous vehicles as well as the latest technology to help improve spray performance. The local LLS Regional weeds coordinator will also be in attendance. RSVP and further details included in the flyer above.

TFS AGM

5/2/2021 – The formal AGM notice has now been sent out to all members advising the details and announcing that the Autumn Seasonal Outlook will be held on the same day. The Outlook presentations will include John Francis of Agrista and the latest key market information direct from Rabobank.

We are also pleased to announce that Achmea Farm Insurance is coming on board as a sponsor of this event. Achmea is a dedicated farm insurer with more than 200 years experience in the insurance game. Achmea will give a presentation on the night and members will be able to nominate to receive a follow up call from an Achmea representative. The Achmea website can be accessed here Achmea Farm Insurance – Achmea Farm Insurance

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss nominating for the Board or have any specific items you would like to raise at the meeting.

21/1/2021 – The TFS AGM has been set for the 4th of March 2021 in Crookwell. We are pleased to announce that John Francis from Agrista will be delivering another informative presentation in the afternoon followed by the AGM and a light supper. We encourage anyone who is interested in joining the TFS board to get in touch with existing board members or TFS executive officer Tracy Watson (0414 811 185) to discuss further.

We would also encourage all existing members to bring any potential new members who may be interested in joining TFS to John’s presentation and the AGM. There will be a supervised jumping castle from 5pm for any little people who can come and we would love to see as many of the TFS members that can make it.

Further details will be sent out in February.

Phosphorus Efficient Pastures Project

The Phosphorus Efficient Pastures project TFS was involved with, commenced in late 2016 and was finalised in 2020 with the final reports made available in the last quarter of 2020. This project was part of a network of farmer participatory studies in temperate Australia aimed at examining the productivity, persistence and potential use of Serradella (Ornithopus spp.).

Simple experiments were conducted on two farms in the region one near Yass, the other near Bigga.  The sites were used not only to provide valuable data but also as focal points for the groups participating in the experiments to learn about Serradella and efficient soil phosphorus management.

The final reports from this project are available below:

Participatory Site Coordination Final Report (Dr Jim Virgona, Graminus Consulting)

Final Report (Dr Jim Virgona, Graminus Consulting)

Milestone 8 Final Overview Report (Richard Simpson, CSIRO Agriculture and Food)

Healthy Soils Workshop 3 Soil Interpretation

Towards the end of last year we held the third Healthy Soils workshop in the series of workshops we are running in conjunction with Graminus Consulting. Jim and Nathan from Graminus combined with Dr Jason Condon from Charles Sturt University to present an entertaining and informative half day on soil interpretation. It was a very hands on workshop with participants learning the art of soil ribboning to determine the texture of different soils. Below are links to the notes handed out at the workshop.

Soil Interpretation Workshop Notes

Prime Fact – Determining soil texture using the ribboning technique

TFS thanks Charles and Lucy Knight for hosting us in the historic Collingood shearing shed at Gunning.

The next Healthy Soils workshop will be based around looking at soil profiles and will again involve Dr Condon. This workshop will be skills based and involve pulling up some core samples in the paddock. It has been scheduled for March.

Bloat Survey

We received an email advising that CSU are currently running a survey to assess the impact of bloat in southern Australian beef production systems. They want to understand what producers think about bloat even if they haven’t ever had cattle affected by it. The survey takes approximately 10-15 min to complete.

The link to the survey is listed here: https://www.research.net/r/Bloat_survey  This page contains more information around the purpose of the survey and the researchers involved. We will make contact with CSU and ask to be kept informed of the results and anything further that comes from it.