BlazeAid volunteers concluded three months of assistance in the Forbes district and the last five volunteers packed up their base and accommodation last week.

“These volunteers worked tirelessly alongside the rural families to rebuild and reclaim fences and other structures that have been damaged or destroyed,” said Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller.

Since arriving in Forbes on 4th January, BlazeAid volunteers have cleaned 41.2km of fences and built over 16km of new fencing. At times they had up to 46 volunteers helping out, who worked for 711 days, six days a week.

“These amazing people have worked hard in the summer heat and in very difficult circumstances to assist families and farmers after the substantial flood damage sustained in the most recent floods,” Phyllis said.

Catering officer and Parkes volunteer Alicia Westcott said being a part of BlazeAid was about working towards making life better for each other.

BlazeAid volunteers assisted people in the Bedgerbong, Grenfell, Garema and Wirrinya areas.

Phyllis thanked BlazeAid and its many selfless volunteers who helped out in Forbes and acknowledged that not only did many of these volunteers stay in our town but contributed to our local economy by purchasing thousands of dollars worth of groceries, fuel and supplies.

“We wish you well as you move on to support other communities,” she said.

Many of the BlazeAid volunteers will be heading to the next disaster zone to assist after the floods in the north of the state.

BlazeAid is a volunteer-based organisation that works with families and individuals in rural Australia after natural disasters such as fires and floods. Volunteers also help to lift the spirits of people who are often facing their second or third flood event after years of drought, or devastating losses through bushfires.

Australia’s best young sheep judges have been announced including 18-year-old Campbell Rubie of Forbes by Agricultural Shows Of Australia as eligible to compete in the prestigious national young judges championship in April.

The competition brings together the best young judges aged 15 to 25 in each state to compete at the national finals. Qualification occurs through success in competitive regional and state competitions with only one per state making the national championship.

The national championships are held in a different location each year. This year, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, in its bicentenary year, will host the 2022 championships including the 2021 finalists who were unable to compete at EKKA due to COVID cancellations.

Rubie will represent the state in the Merino sheep young judges competition.

“I’ve grown up on a family farm, which is a mixed farming enterprise, with the major focus on our Merino and Poll Merino Stud. I am actively involved in all farming activities, including sheep work, machinery work and many other activities,” Campbell said.

The 2022 cohort of delegates for New South Wales will be determined at the Sydney Royal ahead of the national competition.

The NSW Government has today announced mice bait rebates for farmers, small businesses and households have been extended into 2022, while primary producers will now be able to make multiple claims for zinc phosphide purchases, up to the $10,000 cap.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the changes ensured the mice bait rebates would benefit those in the bush who need it most ahead of a potential post-harvest surge.

“The reports we are getting indicate mice numbers are down, but we can’t be complacent, which is why we’ve extended the deadline,” Mr Toole said.

“Under the changes, households and small businesses will have until 31 January to claim up to $500 or $1,000 respectively to help meet the cost of mice baits, traps and cleaning materials bought after 1 February 2021.

“Primary producers, who can claim up to $10,000 in zinc phosphide-based bait re-bates, will also have until 31 January next year to claim. This change means farmers can better protect crops from any resurgence in mice numbers.

“More than 52,500 households and 6,500 small businesses have taken advantage of this rebate worth more than $31 million so please get your applications in. It’s an easy process both if you’re a small business or household applying through Service NSW, or the Rural Assistance Authority if you’re a primary producer.”

NSW Rural Assistance Authority (RAA) had so far approved more than 800 rebates worth $5.5 million.

For information on rebates for small businesses and households, visit the Service NSW website. For information on zinc phosphide rebates, visit www.raa.nsw.gov.au.

For the latest information about the mice plague, including information about eligibility, how rebates can be claimed as well as health advice visit www.nsw.gov.au/mice.

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

When you’re wanting to buy one of the best rams, you anticipate paying the best price.

However the simple idea of boosting stock was what led to Kinellar Stud paying the world record price for a ram.

Victoria Patterson and family from Kinellar Stud, Canowindra (75%) and James and Rosemary Corcoran from Gooramma Poll Dorset Stud, Galong (25%) paid a record-breaking $41,000 for a Poll Dorset ram last Monday.

They bought the ram ‘Lyell’ (formerlly known as Valma 200040) from Valma stud in Whitemore, Tasmania via an online auction hosted by AuctionsPlus.

“We weren’t setting out for a world record. We just wanted a ram for our pad-dock,” said Lachlan Patterson.

He said ‘Lyell’ is one of the country’s best rams. “The ram is probably in the top five per cent in growth and top five per cent for muscle,” Mr Patterson said.

“He’s also got good eating quality with good marbling and quite tender meat.”

Heading into the auction, their budget was $40,000. They were expecting a price in the mid-20,000s, keeping in mind that good rams go for prices in the 30,000s.

Mr Patterson said the auction bidding was hot, with blind timing keeping everyone on the edge. “We didn’t expect this kind of competition,” he said.

The family are supremely content with their purchase. “By 2023 we will have bred great lambs by him, will win a lot of shows and sell a lot of rams by him,” Mr Patterson said. They also want to ensure the customer has the best eating experience.

Farmers, contract harvesters, transport companies and agricultural machinery retailers are invited to attend the Be Road Ready for Harvest Virtual Field Day via Zoom on Tuesday, 15 September from 8am.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said that unfortunately due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the event will be held online for the second year in a row. Last year’s online delivery was well received and attended. We had 50 attendees on the day and a further 20 people had signed up for the waitlist.

“It was very pleasing to see many of the regulars join us for the online event last year, but there were also a large number of first-time attendees from right across the Central West,” Ms Suitor said.

The Virtual Field Day is supported by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, Transport for NSW, NSW Police, NSW Rural Fire Ser-vice, NSW Farmers, Australian Custom Harvesters Association, Graincorp and the Grain Transport Safety Network.

Topics which will be discussed include access, permits, fire safety, fatigue, load restraint and much more.

Registration is free but spaces are limited, so get in quick. Register online at www.eventbrite.com and search ‘Be Road Ready for Harvest Virtual Field Day’.

Farmers across the Riverina and Central West will “greatly benefit” from the newly announced Agricultural Worker Visa, Riverina MP Michael McCormack said. The Federal Government has delivered a vital agriculture visa to help secure the future of rural and regional Australia.

The visa will provide a long term and reliable workforce for our critical industries. Mr McCormack said the Agriculture Minister David Litttleproud and he had agreed on an Agricultural Visa with the Prime Minister in June and was pleased to see it implemented.

“The Agricultural Worker Visa delivers on the Federal Government’s commitment to best support our food and fibre producers,” Mr McCormack said.

“It is important our farmers have the confidence to plant a crop and know they will have access to a reliable workforce to assist during harvest, and this visa will deliver just that.

“The Agricultural Worker Visa will help to steady the agriculture sector as we build it to a $100 billion industry by 2030.”

The Government’s primary and growing method for meeting agricultural workforce shortages are the existing Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme. The new visa program will build on these.

Between now and March 2022, the number of Pacific and Timorese workers in Australia will double to more than 24,000. These workers are highly valued by Australian industry and are critical to Australia’s horticultural and meat processing sectors, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.