Information and Articles

So, you’re thinking about throwing in the towel at your city gig and moving to the country for some peace, quiet and fresh air. A shift  in gear that gives you  time to start work on that novel you’ve always wanted to write, raise some ducks and a cow or two and grow your own veggies.

You crave a quieter existence and the joys of hobby farming, but you want to do it without channelling Chevy Chase’s character from Funny Farm, whose attempts to embrace rural life are wrought with one disaster after another.

A Victorian landowner has been convicted, fined $500 and ordered to pay $38,747 in compensation costs to the Department of Primary Industries for failing to control rabbits on his property.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court made the decision after the DPI entered the property and undertook rabbit control works recently.

DPI biosecurity area manager Mark Farrer said the DPI conducted rabbit and invasive plant compliance programs to support the community effort and protect high value environmental and agricultural assets.

Sheep and goat producers in Western Australia are now required to record mob-based movements on the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database.

Department of Agriculture and Food Brands Registrar Farran Dixon said the new recording requirements were designed to accelerate the tracing of sheep and goats in the case of a disease outbreak or the detection of a residue in meat, milk or fibre.

Have you ever asked yourself: What is the difference between organic and non-organic honey? Milk? Meat? Clothing?

Advice and information for people looking to buy a small farming property can now be found in the Department of Agriculture and Food publication ‘Tips for Purchasing Small Rural Landholdings’.

The information booklet, developed by the department’s Small Landholder Information Service (SLIS) aims to improve prospective small landholders’ understanding of the importance of selecting a property best suited to their needs and expectations.

The Regional Relocation (Home Buyers Grant) Act 2011 will operate for four years, commencing 1 July 2011. The scheme will provide applicants with a one-off payment of $7,000 to assist them with the cost of relocating from their metropolitan home to a regional home.

The metropolitan area means the local government areas of the Sydney metropolitan area, Blue Mountains, Hawkesbury, Gosford, Wyong, Wollondilly, Wollongong and Newcastle.

The regional areas are participating local government areas which are located outside of the metropolitan area.

The Department of Agriculture and Food is reminding sheep farmers to check all new rams for ovine brucellosis.
The best time to check rams is before they come onto the farm, but if this is not possible they should be isolated until appropriate checks are performed.

Merredin district veterinary officer Roy Butler said that ovine brucellosis was present in a small number of Western Australian flocks, and ram buyers should take care not to buy infected rams and infect their own flocks.