Information and Articles

 The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) is reminding farmers to guard against the contagious disease Leptospirosis, which can be transmitted from  animals to people. Senior Veterinary Officer for Cattle at DPI, Michael Jeffers said the lepto bacteria, as it’s commonly known, can infect cattle, pigs,  horses, sheep and goats.

All terrain vehicles (ATVs, also known as quad bikes) are one piece of farm equipment that most farmers can’t do without. Although they are not designed  to be a tractor, on most small farms they can reduce the need for one.

ATVs are capable of a variety of farming tasks, including transporting people and equipment from A to B, towing a trailer, spraying, spreading and much more. For those that don’t know anything about motorbikes, selecting a hobby farm ATV can be a daunting task. 

Rural crime is on the increase. This is mostly due to the isolation and ease of access to farms and the portable nature and high value of its livestock and  farming equipment. Hobby farms in particular are at high risk of theft as owners are often absent while such farms are usually located within close proximity to towns or cities.

Although it’s impossible to prevent all rural crime, being vigilant of farm security and implementing prevention strategies will lower the risk of it happening.

 Many people move from cities to regional areas and part of the lifestyle shift usually includes taking up ownership of small parcels of land and rearing  livestock.

Known as nature’s tractors, a chicken’s favourite pastime is scratching in loose litter looking for worms and little bits of grain that have dropped out of hay or feed.

Chickens will also clean through stable bedding, which means that horses are not continuing to pick over the same places ingesting dirt that could potentially cause colic, however, the biggest benefit to horse owners is the constant noise and movement around their horses’ legs.

Have you purchased a small farm, or are you interested in lavender and thinking of starting a lavender farm? Many people do, some as a paying hobby and  others that go on to make a successful business from it.

Background to lavender farming
Compared to most other agricultural crops lavender can provide an excellent return from a small area. There is however a limit to the area of lavender that can be successfully grown at any one point in time. For most producers this area is around five hectares. It is possible to grow a larger area, however a larger farm is required with a much greater capital investment. A large commercial lavender farm in France.

Keys to growing lavender successfully  
Before setting up a lavender farm a number of preliminary decisions need to be made. These decisions need to be based on what you want to do on a daily basis and how much money you would like to earn? The best lavender returns come from agri-tourism, this is where the lavender farm becomes an attraction for tourists. This business method requires the owner to have the right personality to deal with the public. 

If you are a person who likes to keep to themselves or your property is not on a main road or near a tourist precinct then agri-tourism will be difficult to  achieve.If the idea of growing lavender is still of interest then you are best to develop a sales channel through a network of tourism outlets, not necessarily  lavender.

 Recent worm count and egg count results throughout the south east of Australia suggest that Barbers Pole worm (Haemonchus contortus) will be a  challenge this spring and summer on farms that traditionally may not have seen issues previously with this parasite.

For small landholders wanting to make a success of calf rearing and make a supplementary income from it, calf housing will be an important consideration. Providing suitable housing for calves at night and in bad weather for the first 4 weeks of their life can result in growth rates of up to 25%  above those of non-housed calves.

Individual or group housing?
There are two basic approaches to housing calves. They can be housed individually in pens or small huts or together in small groups. Both approaches have their advantages as well as some disadvantages.

Individual housing has the advantage that it’s easier to provide calves with individual attention and potentially gives greater control over infectious diseases. Problems of calf testicle/pizzle and ear sucking are also avoided. However, tending to calves in individual housing does tend to require more labour input. In addition, individually housed calves can experience socialising problems and post-weaning growth checks once they are introduced to other calves.  

For small landholders who are time poor and rearing calves part time, group housing can provide significant time savings. Group housing is effective so long  as continual attention is paid to shed hygiene and the progress of each individual calf is monitored well.  

 As we head into spring, a few cases of cattle bloat have caused some problems in the region over the last week. Bloat is a seasonal problem in both dairy  and beef cattle.

Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a sustainable food production system where farmers sell direct to the consumer. Farmers grow a product  consumers want, in exchange for them supporting the farmer.
It provides small landholders who farm close to large urban populations with potential economic opportunities. CSA encourages both farmers and consumers to form a relationship and share the risk of agricultural production providing economic, social and environmental benefits. 

Farmers producing for CSA groups can either supply limited produce from their own farm or team up with other farmers to provide a wider range of produce including vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, meat and eggs.

CSA meets growing demand for local sustainable food production
Interest in CSA has grown as consumers have demanded fresh, sustainable food that is produced locally. CSA involves the establishment of a consumer group that signs up to a 6-12 month subscription with a farmer. Subscriptions are paid in advance or in instalments throughout the growing season. Consumers can receive weekly or fortnightly deliveries, collect produce from a central point or collect directly from the farm.