Riverine Plains Inc PO Box 214 Mulwala NSW 2647 4/97-103 Melbourne St Mulwala Phone: (03) 5744 1713 Email: [email protected] Web: www.riverineplains.org.au Hours: 9am—3pm Monday—Thursday May 2018 Newsletter 9am—2.30pm Fridays A word from the Chair I am writing this in late April and am hoping that People who have been sitting on hay for a while between now and when you’re reading this that are now seeing it start to move in a big way the weather has changed to something particularly into central and northern NSW and you resembling autumn, maybe even with a bit of rain. would expect hay to be in demand right through Last week we had two of the hottest April days winter now, which is good news for people trying to recorded and a day that was off the scale in terms sell. of a fire rating index for April. In early March, we held an Agribusiness Dinner The number of out of control fires that were a which included the launch of the John Hanrahan direct result of escaped stubble burns on that day Scholarship and a presentation from Rural Bank reflected badly on our industry. We can be CEO and Managing Director, Alexandra Gartmann. thankful that there was no loss of life, but there The evening was also an opportunity for Riverine were certainly injuries sustained and significant Plains Inc to acknowledge and thank those livestock and infrastructures losses. The agribusinesses in the community who sponsor our resources deployed in terms of fire crews, water group. bombing aircraft and man hours spent The evening was also about celebrating two of extinguishing the fires we started were also John Hanrahan’s passions; agriculture and significant. community, and it was great to see so many How and when we burn plays a big part on how people enjoying each other’s company. much we impact the broader community and we An enormous amount of work went into the need to move away from thinking that burning off organisation of the Agribusiness dinner and the is our right. Burning is a valuable tool to have in establishment of the Scholarship Fund. On behalf the toolbox, but I think as an industry we need to of the committee, I thank Barry Membrey, Meri be more responsible in how we use that tool to Long, Fiona Hart and Kate Coffey for their efforts, prevent it being taken away from us. the Hanrahan Family for their support, and to all There have been some positives to a dry start. those that helped out in some way. I’d also like to Sowing into stubble has been a lot easier, while thank all of our members, sponsors and members stubbles that need to be burnt have burnt easily. of the community who supported our fundraising The harvesting of irrigated summer crop has also efforts and those who have generously made been a breeze. donations. Thank you also to the businesses that donated produce for our display and sale (see The biggest challenge however, has been for page 4). mixed farmers. Autumn is often the peak time for supplementary feeding but this year that seems to I wish you all good luck for the remainder of sowing and I look forward to catching up at one of have stepped up a notch or two and is soaking up considerable time. our events this year. Ian Trevethan Chair GOLD SPONSORS Rainfall deciles in the Riverine Plains March 2018 summary Dale Grey and Rachel Coombes, Agriculture Victoria Bendigo January rainfall was stormy and patchy, with greater Overall it has been a drier to average start to the year rainfall in the north of the Riverine Plains region, across the Riverine Plains area. with some areas receiving decile 10 rainfall. The The Youanmite moisture probe is still showing 68% southern area received closer to average January full from 30-100cm. Dookie Land Management Group rainfall (deciles 6-7). probes show more variable moisture levels from 30- February was dry, with most areas receiving little to 87%, with an average of around 58%. no rainfall. The exception was at Corowa and Albury The Riverine Plains Inc probe at Rand shows a nearly which received average rainfall. full profile of 92% from 30-100cm. March was another dry to average month with deciles between 3 and 6, while April was a decile 1 month across the board. Euroa dec RRI dec Dookie AC dec Yarrawonga AP dec Cobram DPI dec 82016 82039 81013 81124 80109 Jan 2018 33.2 6 36.0 6 38.8 7 33.0 7 58.6 9 Feb 2018 9.8 3 13.4 4 0.0 LOR* 0.0 LOR* 0.0 1 Mar 2018 30.6 5 13.8 3 11.4 3 13.8 4 9.4 4 Apr 2018 N/A N/A 5.4 1 N/A N/A 3.0 1 1.6 1 Year 74 69 2 50 50 1 70 2 Albury AP dec Henty PO dec Corowa AP dec Lockhart BC dec Urana PO dec 72160 74053 74034 74064 74110 Jan 2018 30.6 6 122.6 10 28.6 6 81.4 10 87.4 10 Feb 2018 23.4 5 12.8 3 12.5 4 6.6 3 4.0 2 Mar 2018 21.0 4 11.0 3 12.0 3 7.8 3 6.8 3 Apr 2018 7.8 1 2.0 1 4.0 1 2.8 1 2. 1 Year 83 1 148 57 1 99 4 100 5 *LOR = Lowest on record Closing date nears for Federation Business Awards 2018 The entry date for the Federation Business Awards, • Excellence in Sustainability presented by Corowa Business Chamber in affiliation • Excellence in Small Business (1-10 employees with the NSW Business Chamber has been extended • Excellence in Small Business (11-20 employees) to 25 May 2018 . • Excellence in Business (20+ employees) • Excellence in Sport Business Award Categories include: • Outstanding Young Employee (aged 18-35) To enter: • Outstanding Young Entrepreneur (under 35) https://www.corowachamber.net/how-to-enter • Outstanding Business Leader • Excellence in Social Enterprise Winning applicants can also enter the NSW Business • Excellence in Innovation Chamber Regional and State Awards. SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS • Australian Grain Technologies • Advanced Ag • Heritage Seeds • Baker Seed Co • Advanta Seeds • Hunter Rural • GrainGrowers • AvantAgri Australia • Hutcheon & Pearce • Incitec Pivot Fertilisers • AWB • IK Caldwell • Nufarm • Bayer • Kelvin Baxter Transport • O’Connors • Belmores • Market Check • Pioneer Seeds • Burando Hill • NAB Agribusiness • Precision Agriculture • Cobram Farm Equipment • Onley Consulting • Seed Force • Elders Insurance/Michael Middleton • Rabobank • The Silo Construction Company • Elders Yarrawonga • RSM • Wiesners • Farmanco • Riverina Oils & Bioenergy Latest canola blackleg ratings Advanced spray training—SNSW The latest blackleg ratings for canola cultivars are A series of hands-on spray training workshops that now available through the GRDC Blackleg include farm visits to fine-tune individual spray Management Guide autumn 2018 edition, available equipment will start in late May for southern New a t https://grdc.com.au/GRDC - FS- South Wales grain and cotton growers. BlacklegManagementGuide The Advanced Chemical Spray Application Training Blackleg ratings can change if the fungus course is being offered by Tocal College through the (Leptosphaeria maculans) overcomes cultivar AgSkilled strategy, funded by the NSW Government, resistance, so it is important growers refer to the and led by industry partners GRDC and Cotton latest ratings when planning their programs. Australia. The guide can be used by growers to determine The next round of courses start in May, with the first whether they are in a high-risk situation and what being held at Deniliquin (May 22), followed by Finley practices they can change to reduce or prevent yield (May 29), Jerilderie (June 5) and Oaklands (June loss from blackleg. These include: 19). • Never sowing your canola crop into last year’s The sessions will be run by Craig Day, an canola stubble; experienced spray specialist from Spray Safe and • Avoid sowing your canola crop next to last year’s Save. canola stubble; The courses consist of two parts: a one-day • Choosing a cultivar with adequate blackleg workshop and an on-farm visit later the same week. resistance for your region; Spray drift is still a serious issue for the grains and • Only using fungicides if there is a high probability cotton industries and the course covers topics to of yield loss. Relying only on fungicides to control help growers build on their knowledge and in turn blackleg poses a risk of fungicide resistance; ensure more informed decisions are made on-farm. • If monitoring has identified yield loss and you have grown the same cultivar for 3 years or more, • Deniliquin – workshop, May 22; workplace visits, choose a cultivar from a different resistance group; May 23-25 • Monitor your crops in spring to determine yield • Finley – workshop, May 29; workplace visits, April losses in the current crop. 30 – June 1 The new BlacklegCM blackleg management app has • Jerilderie – workshop, June 5; workplace visits also been updated with the latest disease ratings. June 6-8 The app, available for tablets via the App Store and • Holbrook – workshop, June 12; workplace visits, Play Store, is an extension of the Blackleg May 13–15 Management Guide which is updated twice yearly to reflect any changes in the resistance status of • Oaklands – workshop, June 19; workplace visits, individual cultivars. The app can account for some June 20-22 of the major factors relating to blackleg yield loss To register your interest contact Cath on 02 6345 5818 and allows comparison of the likely profitability of or 0437 455 818 or email [email protected].