Agtech at Henty field days
Agtech Alley will educate and demonstrate the latest in agricultural technology at the Henty Machinery Field Days in September.
Henty Machinery Field Days is one of 22 organisations around the nation to receive funding under round two of the AgriFutures Agritech Event Sponsorship Program to host an innovative new event in 2024.
In partnership with NSW DPI, the funding will be used for Agtech Alley, a dedicated interactive trade exhibition space during the field days on September 17 to 19.
Agtech Alley will deliver practical advice to producers and industry organisations through hourly showcases, panel discussions and live demonstrations.
Visitors will be able to learn about cutting edge innovation and how they can apply the latest technology on-farm, be it remote sensors, connectivity or post-harvest solutions to streamline business operations.
Henty Machinery Field Days chief executive officer Belinda Anderson said Agtech Alley would be a one-stop shop aimed to educate and demonstrate adoption of best practice.
Making recreational fishing better
VRFish, the peak body for recreational fishing in Victoria, is calling on anglers to have their say on making fishing better via the annual VRFish advocacy priorities survey.
The survey aims to gather the views of Victorian recreational fishers and understand the issues that are deeply important to the recreational fishing community.
Recreational fisher input and feedback collected from the survey will be used in advocacy planning to ensure VRFish is representing recreational fishers on the issues that matter most to them.
“Our last advocacy survey received almost 5000 responses. We’re eager to hear from even more recreational fishers for this survey,” VRFish chair Rob Loats said.
Recreational fisher involvement in previous surveys activated successful campaigns to restore fish habitat in waterways, access new fisheries, provide more support for fishing clubs, fix boat ramps and secure a new native fish hatchery.
The survey is open from May 7 until June 17 at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/vrfish2024
Major culvert works at Caniambo
As part of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Major Culvert Renewal Program, construction work will be carried out on Bridge Rd at Caniambo.
Works on the crossing of the road and a natural watercourse will be undertaken to replace the culvert structure and install new guard railing.
Construction began on May 1 and the works are expected to take about eight weeks to complete, weather permitting.
Bridge Rd will be closed to traffic at the immediate site, between River Rd and Bells Rd, and a detour route will be in place via Lowes Rd, Bells Rd and River Rd.
Local residents’ access will remain throughout the construction period.
For further information about the works, email council’s project team on projects@shepparton.vic.gov.au or phone 5832 9700.
India drops desi chickpea tariffs
Activity in the Australian chickpea market has surged after the Indian Ministry of Finance announced it would remove import tariffs for desi chickpeas.
The news comes as crop planting is under way across the key regions of NSW and Queensland.
“The removal of import tariffs is a game-changer for the Australian chickpea market,” IKON Commodities director of brokering Sam Sloane said.
“We’ve witnessed increased market activity and firming prices for a few months now in anticipation of a tariff removal.”
He said following the announcement “prices for current crop shipments are up over $250 per tonne, and new crop up $200 per tonne since a little over three months ago”.
Chickpea growers across NSW had another reason to celebrate when widespread rain arrived with near perfect timing across the state, setting the season up with expectations of an above average crop.
What support do farmers want?
Farming can be physically and psychologically tough. So, when things get overly stressful, who do farmers turn to for support?
Finding out what farmers want in terms of mental health support is the focus of a new University of South Australia study, with researchers wanting to know who farmers turn to once they’ve exhausted their personal coping systems through family and friends.
“Farmers face multiple barriers to accessing mainstream physical and mental health care,” UniSA researcher Dr Donna Hughes-Barton said.
“There are fewer face-to-face services in rural areas, which means it can be difficult for farmers to access mental health support,” she said.
“But there is a gap in the research about what farmers respond to and want to see from mental health and wellbeing support services. This study aims to fill this gap.”
The anonymous survey takes 20 minutes to do, and all farmers, farm workers and members of farming families are invited to have their say.
To complete the survey, visit: https://bit.ly/3PLC5nI