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Forbes Phoenix

Farmers Urged To Vaccinate Against Q Fever

October 16, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

There have already been 51 confirmed cases of Q Fever in the Central West in 2020. Image Credit: Kateryna Kon/ Shutterstock

Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD), Manager Communicable Diseases and Immunisation Susan Turcato, is strongly urging farmers and people who work with livestock to get vaccinated against Q Fever to guard against being unable to work due to prolonged illness.

Q Fever is a bacterial infection carried by livestock that can lead to chronic lethargy that may last for several months. Susan said a single dose vaccine is recommended for people who work in high-risk occupations, as well as for people aged 15 years and over who could be exposed to Q Fever.

There have been an alarming 51 confirmed cases of Q Fever reported in WNSWLHD so far this year, the symptoms of which, mainly chronic fatigue, can affect individuals and families, as well as impact their ability to work.

“With all the pressure on farmers and livestock handlers with the recent drought and the COVID-19 pandemic, the last thing we want is for them to be needlessly drained of energy for months on end after being struck down by Q Fever,” Susan said.

People become infected when they breathe in dust particles contaminated by infected animal secretions, which can lead to high fevers and chills, sweating, severe headaches, muscle and joint pains and extreme fatigue.

Susan is urging anyone who might be at risk to consult a GP who can screen for Q Fever and vaccinate them, if needed. “We want people to proactively talk to their doctor about Q Fever,” she said.

The NSW Government is investing around $1 million between 2018 and 2022 to help protect farmers and other people in rural areas who work with animals from Q Fever.

NSW Health is currently delivering an education campaign targeting people in occupations and locations at higher risk of Q Fever.

Be Road Ready For Harvest Field Day

September 18, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Updated information for harvesters, farmers, machinery retailers and transporters will ensure all are road ready for harvest.

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 Thursday, 24 September from 8am.

Forbes, Parkes, and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said that while the usual face to face Field Day at the Central West Livestock Exchange wasn’t possible due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the online delivery will hopefully make it more easily accessible for participants to attend.

“For the first time in about three years it is looking like we are going to have a good harvest. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, the organising committee realise it is important to refresh people’s knowledge about the new and current rules and regulations for legally and safely moving harvest equipment on the road.”

“Safety during harvest is very important, meaning operators need to be aware of their responsibilities and ensure that during harvest all warning devices and travel requirements are adhered to,” Melanie said.

Regulations have changed since last harvest and access arrangements have been replaced and it is important to understand these changes.

Topics which will be discussed include how to apply for permits, the new National Agricultural Machinery Notice, load restraint, pilots, the Grain Harvest Management Scheme, COVID-19 Safety Plan for silos, border restrictions and much more.

“The first 20 people to register will receive a free cuppa! And by taking part in a short road safety quiz you could win one of threeEngel car fridges valued at $190,” Melanie said.

Registration is free and can be completed via the Parkes, Forbes, or Lachlan Shire Councils’ Facebook pages.

Attendees will all receive a Moving Harvest Machinery 2020 USB, which contains most of the relevant notices and information about moving agricultural machinery on the road.

The Be Road Ready For Harvest Field Day has been running since 2010 and usually attracts about 60 attendees. Organisers are hoping for similar numbers to this year’s virtual event.

Return Of A Beautiful Curse

September 11, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Beautiful but deadly Paterson’s Curse has exploded around the Ski Dam in Forbes.

Residents and regular Ski Dam walkers in Forbes will have no doubt noticed the beautiful sprawling weed around the Ski Dam and around paddocks in the Shire, the beautiful purple hue reminiscent of the picturesque lavender fields of Provence, France. However, this local version must not be mistaken for such.

Echium Plantagineum, more commonly known as Paterson’s Curse, Riverina Bluebell and Purple Viper’s-Bugloss is an invasive weed which is extremely harmful to livestock. Rumoured to have been named after the Paterson family of Cumberoona, NSW who planted it in their garden in the 1880’s, only to watch in horror as it spread across pastoral and agricultural land. Paterson’s Curse’s poisoning symptoms range from loss of appetite, abdominal swelling, weight loss, diarrhea, constipation, and sleepiness, to more severe symptoms that can result in death due to liver damage.

While livestock tend to ignore Paterson’s Curse, contaminated hay bales or feed is more often to blame for the consumption of this toxic weed. In 1988 and 1994, the CSIRO released moth, root weevils, flea beetles and two more types of beetles in South Australia which is said to have significantly contributed to the decline in the abundance of the weed as both the moth and beetle species can kill the plant before it flowers. In human’s the plant can cause skin irritation so please give this smiling assassin a wide-berth if and when you might come across it.

Ridgehaven Ram Sale Offers Top Quality Animals

August 21, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Ridgehaven Poll Dorsets will offer 10 Stud Rams, 20 Stud Ewes and 130 Flock Rams.

Ever since Ridgehaven Poll Dorset stud was started in 1965, it has always been run with a focus on producing top quality, commercially focused animals. Structural correctness, fertility, ease of lambing, growth rates, muscle and fat cover and the wool type have been a basis for selection from the start. In the last four years, the stud has worked with meat processors and UNE to accurately identify genetic lines with superior lean meat yield, intramuscular fat (IMF) and eating quality. Ridgehaven has seen the benefits of carcass measurement and how this can be used for genetic gain and it is now an important annual aspect of their breeding program.

To maximise the opportunity for all their clients to be able to get the rams they want, the Ridgehaven ram sale will not only be held in person on property on Thursday, 10 September, but will also be interfaced on AuctionsPlus.

On Thursday, 27 August, there will be an open day where the rams and ewes can be viewed. For the safety of all attending, on the open day and on sale day, COVID-safe measures will be in place. For more information contact Ruth Klingner 0438642113, Isabele Roberts 0405098335 or Floyd Legge 0402185727.

Felix Rams 22nd Annual On-Property Sale

August 21, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Felix Rams focuses on producing efficient and profitable prime lambs by breeding high performance, structurally sound rams for efficient prime lamb enterprises. Their commitment to collecting good accurate performance data is in the DNA and is embedded as the fundamental approach to the way they breed sheep.

In the world of big data, 27,000 lambs weighed within 12 hours of birth, 22,000 weaning weights, almost 18,500 scans with weights for postweaning fat and muscle and 4,400 individual worm egg counts is a lot of data. This is the performance data that influences the ram selection and the accuracy of the Sheep Genetics Lambplan asbvs on the rams you buy.

Felix Rams are selected for quick early growth and maturity, not maximum adult ram size. Most of the selection is done at 6.5 to 7 months, reflecting the age most lambs are sold. At Felix it is all about the lambs. Felix Rams selects for early maturity to efficiently produce a 22-28 kg lamb. Early maturity also means your suckers have the best chance of hitting the target year in year out, while attention to the “right” amount of fat means that you will almost always have finish on your lambs at market weights.

Despite the tough start, the 2019 drop rams have transformed with the improved season. Felix Rams selection are for rams that perform on pasture and under commercial conditions. This year’s sale rams are paddock grown and finished and are not pumped up or grown out on a grain feeder.

Felix Rams will offer around 140 Poll Dorset and 50 White Suffolk rams at their 22nd annual on-property sale at Greenethorpe on 1 September at 1pm. Catalogues are available at www.felixrams.com.au. Email felixrams@gmail.com or call Rodney 0417 499 204, Isaac 0437 493 407 or the selling agents, Allan Gray and Co Cowra 02 6342 2377.

National Approach To Managing Wild Dog Scourge

July 3, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Image credit: https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/

Australia’s new blueprint for humane, best practice wild dog management officially took effect from 1 July.

Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management Minister David Littleproud praised the way government and industry stakeholders collaborated on the new National Wild Dog Action Plan.

“Wild dogs are terribly destructive pests, costing farmers conservatively upwards of $89 million a year in lost production and control costs,” David said. “They can decimate livestock, tearing down sheep and goats at will, and in doing so, can hurt rural and regional economies because of the destruction they wreak and anxiety they cause.”

Having a clear, coordinated and borderless national plan to guide farmers and other stakeholders on the best strategies and safest tools for livestock and biodiversity protection is critical for rural and regional communities as they recover from COVID-19, bushfires and drought.

David applauded the way producers, peak farming bodies, governments and research and development corporations came together to ensure control measures are evidence-based and best practice. “Wild dog management is an Australian Government priority, with over $54 million invested in wild dog management since 2014-15, including recent wild dog fencing commitments in South Australia and Western Australia,” he said.

“The National Wild Dog Action Plan has already proved an exemplar in the way we should be approaching Australian predator management.”

The National Biosecurity Committee endorsed the National Wild Dog Action Plan 2020-2030 as the national plan for the co-ordinated management of wild dogs on 11 March 2020.

Delay The Spray-Clethodim Advice

June 26, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Grain growers are reminded they should avoid spraying annual ryegrass with clethodim herbicide when frost is forecast.

Weed control experts are advising growers not to spray clethodim two to three days before or after a frost event due to the impact on efficiency. The poor performance of clethodim on annual ryegrass, a weed becoming increasingly resistant to clethodim, can be associated with cold and frosty conditions.

University of Adelaide Associate Professor in weed and crop ecology, Dr Gurjeet Gill, says frosty conditions make it even harder to control annual ryegrass when clethodim resistance is present in the population.

“Growers are advised to carefully review weather forecasts for their district and spray clethodim when cloud cover is present and the risk of frost occurrence is low,” Gurjeet says.

Clethodim resistance has been slowly increasing in the northern region with current testing indicating resistance through New South Wales is less than 10 per cent.

This message is particularly pertinent to Forbes, which is prone to frost at this time of year, when many canola and pulse crops are likely to be sprayed for ryegrass control.

New Restrictions From 15 June At CWLE

June 19, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

The Central West Livestock Exchange (CWLE) is moving into Stage 2 of the recovery from COVID-19, with the allowance of agents, vendors, restockers and contractors on site while business is being conducted from 15 June.

“The Saleyards are not open to the general public, if you are not conducting direct business here please do not come,” says Forbes Shire Council’s General Manager, Steve Loane, who also advised that “we require all to follow some simple guidelines when attending the facility. Please fill out the attendance form before turning up at the yards. Failing to do so only results in long queues at the gate, which nobody appreciates. This form can be found on our website and the agents also have access to it.

“We know how important it is for our farming community to have a chance to catch up with fellow stock men and women and talk about their trials and tribulations. This place is a common meeting ground and everyone’s mental health needs considering,” Steve said.

For further information please contact Central West Livestock Exchange manager Cassi Walmsley on 6850 2300.

Farmers’ Flexibility Put To The Test Again

June 12, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Callen Thompson from the Central West Local Land Services has some great advice to help farmers adapt to recent change.

Following earlier rainfall, warmer temperatures, and generally lower numbers of stock across the region some producers are now considering silage as an option for storing excess feed.

Central West Local Land Services mixed farming advisor Callen Thompson said while excess feed was a good problem to have there were a number of things to keep in mind before trying silage for the first time.

“Particularly if they have sown grazing crops or their cereal crops have started to run up growers are looking at their options to conserve this fodder for future use or create a saleable product to help with cash flow,” Callen said.

“Silage can be a great fodder source used to fill gaps in feed supply,” he said. The growth stage of the crop, what the silage will be used for and how it will be made were all important considerations for producers.

If cut at the right time, silage can retain much of the crops fodder quality, unlike hay which decreases in quality through the hay making process. “At this time of year you need to know if you will be able to dry the cut material quick enough to ensure feed quality, you may need to wait until daytime temperatures start to increase,” Callen said.

The decision on whether to produce bales or chopped silage would also depend on how much would be used at a time and whether it would be used on the farm or sold. Bales can be a better option if you only want to feed out small amounts at a time and wrapped bales can be sold off farm more easily.

For more information on considerations for making silage or to be notified of upcoming silage workshops contact Central West Local Land Services on 1300 795 299.

Polaris Ceases Quad Bike Range

March 6, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Polaris will not be selling their quad bike range (ride on ATV’s) from October this year due to changes in government standards for quad bikes.

As a retailer of Polaris, Forbes Small Engines have informed customers they will continue to stock all Polaris quad bike models, however some models have already sold out.

Paul and Maree Westcott have been selling quad bikes for many years, but noticed the market had been steadily moving towards the side by side ORV models.

“We still have many customers that use ATV’s/quad bikes and this is why we will continue to stock Polaris quad bike models for as long as they are available.”

Managing Director of Polaris Australia & New Zealand, Alan Collins said, “Over recent years the Australian off-road vehicle market has experienced record levels of transference as farmers transition en masse from quad bikes, to Side by Side vehicles, Polaris has led this transition with its industry leading range of 30 vehicles with ROPS, and the market shift has been helped along in no small part by the safety rebates offered by SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe Victoria.”

Polaris maintains its view that the market itself would end up signalling the end for quad bikes over coming years anyway through sheer lack of demand driven by the availability, benefits and range of side by side vehicles.

Polaris has committed to continuing to support all ATV/quad bikes with parts, accessories and warranty support for the next decade.

If you are an avid user of quad bikes and Polaris in particular, now is the time to get in touch with the Forbes Small Engines team before it’s too late and stock has run out.

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