For 66 years the Roylance name has been synonymous with the automotive and agricultural industries in Forbes, but more recently their focus has been on farming with the development of their Tractor Replacements business in Sam Street.

Now regional distributors for such iconic names as Kubota and Krone, in 2020 they added the globally recognised JCB brand to their list of products. Renowned for their earthmoving equipment – the iconic yellow and black backhoe, and their great selection of Skid Steers – JCB’s range of agricultural equipment is also well recognised around the world, the Fastrac range of tractors the fastest on the market, whilst their Agri Telehandler range provides farmers with immense flexibility across a range of applications.

Of importance for Roylances – who pride themselves on customer service – was to ensure that they had complete customer support for all their products.

From initial contact with Justin Roylance (grandson of company founders Jim and Nea Roylance) and Sales Manager Barry Cusack, to their after-sales service department and team of service technicians that can provide not just first-class service at their Forbes workshops, but also valuable on-site service in case of setbacks on the farm.

For anyone looking to upgrade their existing machines, or looking to take advantage of the various financial support pack-ages on offer from the Federal Government and JCB, call Roylances Tractor Replacements Forbes on 6852 2020, drop in to Unit 10, 42-46 Sam Street, Forbes or email enquiry@roylances.com.au

More than 4,500 staff from the Department of Regional NSW, including Local Land Services and the NSW Department of Primary Industries, will be able to access five days’ special leave to assist farmers for an expected bumper harvest season in 2021.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said special leave entitlements rolling out for the very first time will allow departmental staff to lend a much-needed hand as farmers struggle to find workers to bring in the crop.

“Agriculture and farming play a pivotal role in our economy, so providing harvest leave to staff to provide an extra set of hands in the field helps get produce to market and dollars into farmers’ pockets,” Mr Toole said.

“Nearly 80 per cent of staff from the Department of Regional NSW already live and work in regional NSW, so chances are most of them know their way around a header or a chaser bin and how important this busy time of year is for regional communities. We’ve had a tough run in the regions over the past few years with prolonged drought, and COVID-19, which has significantly impacted seasonal harvest worker availability, right at a time when we need all hands on deck to get crops off.”

“These workers can volunteer to help out with any harvest, anywhere in the state – from harvesting blueberries in Coffs Harbour, oranges and table grapes in the Riverina and Murray, to cherries in the Central West or helping bring in a bumper grain harvest.”

Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall said the unprecedented move was another example of the good work this government was doing to help farmers source the workforce they need for another record harvest.

“Drastic times call for drastic measures. There is no silver bullet to solve the COVID exacerbated workforce shortage, but this is another step we are implementing to support industry,” Mr Marshall said.

Staff can use local contacts or the Help Harvest NSW website to help find suitable opportunities to assist in this year’s harvest. There is no cost to farmers getting help from departmental volunteers, as staff will be paid at their standard leave rate by the Department.

Leave will be managed to ensure there will be no impact on services provided by the Department.

The NSW Government has implemented a range of measures to overcome the agriculture workforce shortage, including subsidies for quarantine costs of 2,500 overseas agricultural workers, the Ag Workers’ Code and the ‘Help Harvest NSW’ website to connect agriculture employers with out of work Australians.

Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall is encouraging farmers throughout NSW to use the online tool to report mouse activity and crop damage to assist their fellow landholders to respond quickly to increasing populations through Spring.

The NSW Government’s innovative new monitoring tool developed by CottonInfo and the CSIRO was designed to both help farmers manage mice population numbers ahead of another record harvest and provide a live snapshot of on-farm rodent activity across the state.

The technology has proven popular and trialled successfully in the NSW northwest since July.

“By asking farmers to use mouse chew cards once a week and record their results by filling out a quick online form, not only can we closely track any rise in numbers, but also see what level of damage is occurring in particular crops. These results are fed into an online dashboard so farmers can see when populations are increasing in their area, which will help them quickly respond,” Mr Marshall said.

Farmers can find the form, dashboard, and instructions on how to report their own mouse activity on the Local Land Services website at www.lls.nsw.gov.au/mice