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.