2020 Where are the Worms

WEC table 10.12.20 – this is the last WEC table for 2020. Please get in touch if you are after any test kits or if you have any on hand that you aren’t using and we will arrange collection.

WEC table 17.11.20 – two entries for the past fortnight. One from Bigga and one from Biala with both recording low WECs.

WEC Table 3.11.20 – This past fortnight we received 8 WEC test results. We are still seeing some positive fluke results and so we have included a fluke factsheet NSHMP-Liver-Fluke. This factsheet was prepared by Animal Health Australia.

WEC table 20.10.20 – 4 test results submitted this past fortnight. Two Taralga tests came back positive for Fluke. I spoke with Catherine Culley this past week and she reported she is just starting to see worm numbers in tests creep up. Catherine assumes that the bulk of feed has been keeping the worm numbers down but she anticipates that numbers will increase soon.

5/10/2020 – We haven’t received any lab results in the last couple of weeks therefore no updated WEC table. If any members are after some WEC kits for testing through Dawbuts please get in touch with us via email and we will organise to get some to you. We welcome WEC test results from any lab that members are using – please email them in and they will be included in the next WEC table on Farming Forecaster.

WEC table 15.9.20 – The second edition of ‘Where are the Worms’ sees only 2 entries for the fortnight. Interestingly we have an entry that has returned a positive test for fluke. As always please let us know of any feedback on what we are doing here at the virtual TFS ‘office’.

WEC table 4.9.20 – As a majority of the TFS area has experienced a wet end to winter and as we move into Spring, the TFS board thought it would be beneficial to members to be able to review information captured from the WEC testing program on a regular basis. As an indication of what’s happening around the TFS area in regards to worm burdens, we will be loading a table with essential information from submitted WEC tests, every two weeks. At this stage these tables only refer to sheep test results.

If you have any feedback on these tables or anything else that TFS is doing, please get in contact with us via the TFS email address.

Drench Resistance Final Report

Earlier this year TFS members took part in an AWI funded drench resistance program. The project was a joint effort between TFS staff and Dawbuts Animal Health located in Camden. The results and final report were collated by Dawbuts and have now been made available to TFS for distribution. A copy of the report can be found here Final Report Drench Resistance 2020

If you have any questions or comments regarding this report please send us an email.

Lab Christmas Hours

For your information the following closures apply to the two labs that TFS members deal with:

Dawbuts Animal Health – Worm Testing

The last days for submission of samples to the Dawbuts parasitology lab are:

  1. Cattle, goat, alpaca, horse and sheep monitoring tests  – 11 DEC 2020 (or 18 DEC 2020 without Worm ID, i.e. worm egg count only)
  2. Drench Tests Day 0 (treatment date) – 30 NOV 2020. Note: if you have properties/mobs lined up, please phone and let us know details.

This is to allow completion of the 7 day larval culture (Worm ID) and reporting before Christmas. The lab and office will close from 21 DEC 2020 and re-open on Monday 04 JAN 2020, so if you have urgent testing, samples can be posted on 31 DEC 2020 to arrive in the lab Monday morning.

Nutrient Advantage – Soil Testing

The Laboratory will remain open during the December / January period, operating normal business hours.

Dr Jason Condon presenting at Healthy Soils Workshop this Friday the 20th

In conjunction with Graminus Consulting, Dr Jason Condon will be presenting at the upcoming Healthy Soils workshop to be held on farm at Gunning. Dr Condon holds a BAgricSc (Hons) degree from LaTrobe University (honours research around the amelioration of subsoil acidity) and a PhD investigating the effect of nitrogen transformations on the formation of acidic subsurface layers in grazed pastures.

On being awarded his PhD, Dr Condon was employed as the Lecturer of Soil Science at CSU and continues to enthusiastically teach soil science and soil management. Dr Condon is the Program Leader for the Agriculture discipline of the School of Agricultural and Wine Sciences. In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr Condon has research experience in nutrient and fertiliser management, soil degradation and many aspects of soil fertility.  He has current nutrient cycling research projects in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam and Australian based research of acidic subsoils for cropping. He has extensive experience of postgraduate supervision of students covering a wide range of soil and agronomic projects.

To register for the workshop click here https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/healthy-soils-training-course-tickets-128475017235

This Season and Bloat

With current conditions on the Southern Tablelands, the TFS Board thought it prudent to bring the issue of bloat in livestock to the forefront of members minds. The attached article has been put together by TFS staff in conjunction with TFS member vets, Bill Johnson and Catherine Culley. It is not designed to be another ‘bloat bible’ but does headline the risk faced this season and provides some tips and tricks that Bill and Catherine have picked up over their years as vets.

TFS thanks Bill and Catherine for their time and efforts in editing and contributing towards this article which can be found here Bloat Oct 2020

Spring Seasonal Update Presentations

The Spring Seasonal Update for TFS members and their guests was held on Monday the 26th of October. We were fortunate to have John Francis from Agrista (formerly of Holmes Sackett) and Matt Lieschke from the SELLS present.

John’s presentation around options for utilising the spring feed surplus and pasture budgeting can be found here Agrista TFS 26 Oct 20 pres Throughout the discussion on the day one issue that came to light was restocking post drought. John agreed to conduct some analysis around the options available to producers in regards to retention of younger ewes that would have been culled in any other year v. retention of older ewes that would have been culled due to their age. This analysis can be found here Agrista Restocking options analysis.

Matt’s presentation centred around the common questions and comments he has received and heard since the launch of Farming Forecaster in April this year. Matt also went through how you can best apply the pasture forecasting information to your property even when you don’t host a probe.

Matt’s presentation can be accessed here: TFS seasonal update-Lieschke-producer notes

Next Healthy Soils Workshop 20th November

The next workshop in our Healthy and Productive Soils series with Graminus Consulting has been set for the 20th of November. This workshop will be looking at getting to know soil types with this one focusing on sands, loams and clays.

To register to attend this event please go to https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/healthy-soils-training-course-tickets-128475017235

The location for this event will be confirmed as soon as we can.

Goulburn Young Farmers Network Regeneration Ag Field Day

Goulburn Young Farmers Network (GYFN) is an initiative of the Goulburn Show NextGen group. It is run by young farmers for young farmers in the Southern Tablelands region. The TFS ‘virtual office’ has been providing some background support to the group over the past few years. GYFN’s vision is to give young people in the agricultural industry a networking platform for discussion, ideas and knowledge sharing as well as information on current events.

Earlier this year GYFN organised a Regenerative Agriculture Field Day which had to be cancelled due to COVID. They have now been able to reschedule the event with details and ticket information below:

The Goulburn Young Farmers Network, together with the Young Farmer Business Program and Tablelands Farming Systems, are hosting a Regenerative Agriculture Field Day on the 14th November, with special guest Colin Seis. The day kicks off at 9.30am at Roslyn Hall, followed by a farm tour of Rosedale at Crookwell. Tickets are $10 for young farmers and $20 for over 35s. Morning tea and lunch will be provided. Tickets are limited, register via  https://www.trybooking.com/BLWGY

 

Financial Skills Workshop

TFS sponsor Rabobank, in conjunction with the RaboClientCouncils has two upcoming virtual financial skills workshops. These workshops will be run in conjunction with their content and facilitation partner, Hudson Facilitation. They are run over two sessions on consecutive days for two hours each.

To learn more about the sessions please click 2009_RaboClientCouncil_FinancialSkills_CNSW_Agenda. There is a button towards the bottom of the document under this link to register to attend.

The sessions are run via Microsoft Teams: Rabo asks that you join the Microsoft Teams meetings from your desktop or laptop for the best experience. You will also need webcam and microphone.

Probe Calibrations

12/10/2020 – You may have noticed some unexplained changes to the moisture percentage readings on Farming Forecaster towards the end of last week. The reason behind this is Matt Lieschke from the LLS has updated the calibration settings at all the probe sites over Thursday and Friday of last week. The reason for calibrating is so that the whole network of probes are bought up-to-date as August 2020 was the first time the sites have fully wetted up and recharged to depth. This is important because the moisture readings are a relative measurement (expressed as a percentage) and we need to establish both the bottom (dry) and upper readings (wet/ Field Capacity) for each sensor depth and the wet August allowed for this to happen across the whole network.

Matt is confident that the calibration settings are now correct and will be right from now on as we have experienced the recent drought conditions (bottom/dry readings) and to date, the good 2020 season (wet/field capacity readings). You can be confident that the soil moisture readings are now fully calibrated and accurate with the exception of Hovell’s Creek as it has only recently been established.

If you have any questions or comments on the Farming Forecaster site or anything else TFS related, please email us.