Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast

Welcome to the Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast – the monthly podcast where we let you know what we’ve been up to on our farm and on our clients' farms to help inspire and guide you on what makes sense for you to be doing on your farm or lifestyle property.

In this episode we explore two services that will help you manage your small acreage farm or property more efficiently and effectively; cow and sheep scanning, and integrating electric fencing.

Our special guest host is Steve Davis from The Adelaide Show and Talked About Marketing, who also raises the issue of "backyarders" popping up in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu area, undercutting farm services professionals and putting properties and property owners at risk.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for future episodes, please send us an email.

00:00 Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast July 2023 Edition

Introduction

Amid a busy week on the farm, Belle also took time out to attend an Adelaide Business Hub, Women In Business event in Victor Harbor.

She got to meet Small Business Minister, Andrea Michaels, and Adelaide Business Hub Chief Executive, Lyn Hay.

Belle and Steve discuss this briefly and if you'd like to learn more about the Women In Business mentoring, which Steve conducts as part of the program, email him at [email protected] and he can point you in the right direction.

04:05 Backyarders At Work In The Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Region

Steve asks Belle to reflect on the rise of backyarders who are throwing some tools into a ute or onto a trailer and undercutting farm services professionals in the area.

She says she's all for "having a go" but it can be a short-sighted decision to opt for these casual operators due to varying degrees of experience, lack of insurances (to protect them and you), and possible lack of a safety ethos when it comes to selecting materials on your property.

10:36 Cow And Ewe Scanning

Belle explains the latest addition to the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Farm Services list of offering, a service scanning cattle and sheep for pregnancy.

As opposed to the old way of scanning involving hands and very long gloves, Belle explains how a probe is used to provide a scan that is similar to an ultrasound.

The big benefit that comes from knowing if cows or sheep are pregnant is that decisions can be made quickly and efficiently, as Belle discusses.

She notes that vets will always have a role but her scanning service can bring peace of mind quickly.

22:14 Electric fencing on your property

Belle explains the benefits of incorporating electric fencing, whether for new fences or for retro fitting existing fencing.

She says this is part of a trend to move away from barbed wire.

Steve is surprised to learn that the "zap" of an electric fence is not there to be punitive but rather to be educational.

As Belle explains, most livestock are very smart and once they have the first couple of zaps, they learn that fences are a no go, especially when coupled with some visual cues.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast – the monthly podcast where we let you know what we’ve been up to on our farm and on our clients' farms to help inspire and guide you on what makes sense for you to be doing on your farm or lifestyle property.

In this episode we reflect on our Farm Fencing Demo Days that were held on May 12 and 13, right after our Tractoring For Women course on May 11, 2023.

Our special guests for this episode are Daniel Stuart from Gallagher, along with Alex Thomas from #PlantASeedForSafety, Jackie Davies from Emmetts, and Tim Glover from Ramsay Bros.

So, join us as we put all our cards on the table and give you a good sense of what's in store as we try to be the rising tide that lifts all boats for fellow contractors and fellow small acreage farmers and hobby farmers in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for future episodes, please send us an email.

00:00 Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast June 2023 Edition
Introduction

Just after packing up on Saturday evening, May 13, Belle Baker sat down with Daniel Stuart from Gallagher to talk about electric fencing and other items of discussion arising from the Farm Fencing Field Days.

The discussion covers some interesting insights about structuring electric fences and an innovative rat and mouse trap.

Plus we hear from some attendees at the Farm Fencing Field Days.

Alex Thomas, #PlantASeedForSafety

The wonderful Alex Thomas, #PlantASeed4Safety, spoke at the Friday Farm Fencing Demo Day to raise the concept of realistic work and health safety for Farm Fencing Contractors.

As you'll hear, the concepts were surprising, and well received, and raised questions, which is the precise outcome Alex wants. After all, where else do down-to-earth people actively start a conversation about WHS?

25:51 Farmcast Interview: Jackie Davies, Emmetts, John Deere

Belle Interviews Jackie Davies, from Emmetts Murray Bridge, who was on site for the Tractoring For Women workshop.

You'll hear a little bit more about her farming background and the importance of tractor familiarisation.

35:02 Farmcast Interview: Tim Glover, Ramsay Bros, Case IH

Belle Interviews Tim Glover, from Ramsay Bros, who was also on site for the Tractoring For Women workshop.

You'll hear a little bit more about his farming background, Belle's very personal motivation for making Tractoring For Women happen, and some common sense discussion about owning and operating tractors.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast – the monthly podcast where we let you know what we’ve been up to on our farm and on our clients' farms to help inspire and guide you on what makes sense for you to be doing on your farm or lifestyle property.

In this episode we dive deeper into our Farm Fencing Demo Days to be held on May 12 and 13, right after our Tractoring For Women course on May 11, 2023.

Our special guest for this episode is the star attraction of our Farm Fencing Demo Days, Tim Thompson.

So, join us as we put all our cards on the table and give you a good sense of what's in store as we try to be the rising tide that lifts all boats for fellow contractors and fellow small acreage farmers and lifestyle farmers in the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu.

If you’d like to suggest a topic for future episodes, please send us an email.

00:00 Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast May 2023 Edition

Introduction

Tractoring For Women - Thank You Jeremy Clarkson

I snagged the name ‘tractoring’ from the hilarious television series Clarkson’s Farm.

In episode one, Jeremy Clarkson coined the term tractoring and it’s stuck with me!

If you haven’t seen Clarkson’s Farm, you’re missing an absolute treat. Love him or hate him, he has done a wonderful job highlighting farming practices in the UK and the red-tape and archaic laws that farmers have to deal with to get their products to market.

There are 3 seasons and they can be viewed on Amazon Prime.

So, if you’re a little like Jeremy Clarkson and you have ‘truly no idea what to do’, Tractoring For Women is the workshop for you.

We’re going to take you through everything you need to drive your tractor safely, and nothing you don’t. We’ll have at least four different types or brands of tractors on site and with careful planning, we’ll match you up with a tractor similar to what you have at home.

Initially, David Evans will take you through the basics of where everything is on a tractor, prestart checks and what you need to know before driving. David will work with our guest, Alex Thomas, the dynamo behind #plantaseedforsafety and #savealifelistentoyourwife and together they will highlight the risks and how to prevent machinery accidents on farm.

After lunch, its time to get in a tractor for a test drive. You’ll be in the hands of the dealership reps – no one will know their tractors better than them and you’ll learn how to start, stop and drive and to operate the front end loader. You can have a go at moving hay bales with the fork and you’ll learn how to swap between the forks and bucket. We’ll also have a slasher on site so you can learn how to attach three point linkage implements.

It's going to be a wonderful day – we’re so grateful for the support of our guest speaker, Alex Thomas and the Dealerships that are supplying tractors: Emmetts Oakbank, Ramsay Brothers, G & J East, and ND & JA Giles.

Farm Fencing Demo Days

Friday 12th of May is our Farm Fencing Demo Day specifically for Farm Fencing Contractors. The Saturday 13th of May is for the general public and anyone who wants to learn the fencing basics.

We are so fortunate to have Tim Thompson, the poster boy for Australian fencing and you tube sensation with over 50,000 followers here over the two days and instead of me telling you all about the events, I’m going to let you hear it straight from Tim.

04:10 Farmcast Interview: Tim Thompson

Belle Interviews Tim Thompson ahead of our Farm Fencing Days.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast – the monthly podcast where we let you know what we’ve been up to on farm and for our clients and what makes sense for you to be doing on your farm or lifestyle property.

In this episode we lead off with our big news. We're announcing Farm Fencing Demo Days to be held between 11 and 13 May, 2023.

Plus we have other on-farm insights and two interviews: Emma Gilbert and John Pickard.

So, join us as we take a broader look at farm operations and focus on one or two key things that you need to address as a part of running your small acreage farm throughout the year.

We have plenty of fodder to work through, but if you’d like to suggest a topic for us to discuss, please send us an email.

00:00 Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast April 2023 Edition

Introduction

Farm Fencing Demo Days

The big thing I want to announce this month is our Farm Fencing Demo Day’s to be held between 11 and 13 May 2023.

First cab off the rank is a ‘Tractoring for Women’ workshop that will cover everything you need to do to understand your tractor and safely undertake practical jobs around the farm. We’ll cover prestart checks; lifting, moving and stacking hay bales safely; swapping out the bucket for forks and attaching a slasher with 3-point-linkage. And when you book in, we’ll ask you to select the tractor brand and size and that’s what we’ll have on site for you to learn in.

And we’ll do all this between 10 and 2. Sound good? I know I’m keen to get to know our tractor better without all the dull mechanic stuff that just bores me to tears, and I love the idea of being able to do more tractoring myself!

And we’ve pulled in the big guns – we have invited Tim Thompson, an ag communicator and educator from Victoria and with over 50,000 followers on You Tube!

The next couple of days we have planned will be truly immersive – we want you to get your hands dirty, try out different tools and materials and have a go at straining fences. You can learn how to repair your own fences and what you’ll need in your DIY kit.

All this and so much more will be on offer and yes, these two days are free!

We truly believe a rising tide lifts all boats. Come and learn from the experts, talk to suppliers directly and go away with the confidence of a kid in a Superman costume!

And we’ve invited our friends at DART Agricultural Drones to come along as well. They’ll demonstrate their new 40L Drone and you can see for yourselves if this method of spraying, seeding or fertilising spreading is suitable for you

More information will be released soon so please make sure you subscribe to our e-newsletter so that you don’t miss out!

Cattle

Yes, it’s a falling market for both sheep and cattle. However we had to cut our losses and sell the six I spoke about last month.

Once we had our 24, much quieter heifers at home, we left them to acclimatise in the yards for a couple of days (with plenty of good hay and water) and then we vaccinated, drenched with a good 5 in 1 and back lined them. We also tagged them so that we can easily identify them in the paddock. I mentioned last month that when buying in stock, we presume they haven’t been vaccinated. This information ‘should’ be on the NVD you receive but often it’s not.

The other thing we did was invite the lovely Emma Gilbert along so that she could get hands-on experience working with cattle. Emma has plans to breed Highland Cattle and already has semen and embryo’s sitting on ice. She has been slowly building her plan over many years and is nearly ready to execute. She hadn’t worked with cattle for many years (although she did participate in the SA Heifer Expo as I did when she was younger) – but Emma was so generous with her time and knowledge for this month’s podcast it was only natural that we would want to give back.

Needless to say her stock handling skills were good and she picked everything up very quickly.

I’ll talk more about Emma a bit later in the podcast.

Hay

Now I think I mentioned in the March episode of the Farmcast that the next thing to happen with our hay paddocks will be sowing.

Pods and I went for a walk over the paddocks a few days ago and he made an interesting observation. Some of the weeds are coming back – but not enough that it would warrant re-spraying.

You see, everything has to be weighed up. Does the cost of spraying the paddocks again out weigh the benefit? It’s always a balancing act between producing the best hay we can, the input costs of producing the hay and good stewardship of the land.

We’re due for some rain this week so that will probably freshen up the weeds again and we won’t be sowing until mid April. I’ll let you know how we get on with that next month.

Summer Crop

I was going to tell you about this fab summer crop that is planted out the back and was here when we bought the property in December. It’s called a Fast Summer blend and is a mix of 20% Brassica, 20% Chicory and 60% Millet.

And both the heifers we just sold and the ones we have just bought are thriving on it. It looks a bit straggly, the long stalks of the brassica is an unusual look for a fodder crop but we reckon these new heifers have easily put on 10 kg’s in the week they’ve been here.

The rule of thumb is around 1kg a day for young stock that are on a rising plane of nutrition.

We’re going to be following up with the supplier of this mix and talking to other local seed suppliers to find out more about this super blend of fodder and we really need to understand what goes in next when it’s done. We’ll share what we find out and what our plan is in the next Farmcast.

Fence Posts

The team have just finished a very sexy fencing project at Yankallila using Tanaposts. Tanaposts are similar to creo posts but wait for it – they have 90% less exposure to free creosote, have a vastly reduced odour, vastly reduced skin irritation upon handling and they’re dry to touch.

The big difference that you’ll notice is the colour. It is a lighter colour than traditional creosote. So if you’re all about looks (and honestly we believe that fencing should be all about safety and fulfilling a purpose) this may not be the product for you. You can always paint it, your local agri reseller will have suitable products that you can paint on if it worries you too much. But here’s the news; both creo and CCA WILL be fazed out soon. Its time to start looking to the future.

The guys have enjoyed this project – no one enjoys a project with traditional creosote – and the finished product looks fab. I’ll put photos in the show notes.

And I should mention; we’ll have the Tanapost team at our Farm Fencing Demo Days so you can get more information and make up your own mind. In the meantime, your local FP Ag branch are selling Tanaposts and should be able to help you with any queries you may have.

10:23 Farmcast Interview: Emma Gilbert, The Farm, Clarendon

I caught up with Emma Gilbert of The Farm, Clarendon.

Emma produces Heritage breed poultry and it the only producer in Australia who sells day-old chickens and freights them across the country!

She is incredibly generous with her knowledge and is now running workshops to help people new to poultry or keeping chickens.

33:49 Farmcast Interview: John Pickard, The Australian Fencing Historian

And then we met up with an Australian treasure, John Pickard. John is an (or is he THE) Australian Fencing Historian!

He has had a remarkable career as a vegetation ecologist and geomorphologist both here and in Antarctica and that led him to researching the role of fences in farming systems in Australia. He has written several books including the ‘History of Australian Wire Strainers’ and there is a new one on the way.

The interview was recorded at The Ed in Adelaide and our apologies if the background noise is annoying. Who knew The Ed would be so busy at 6pm on a Monday!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Farmcast – the monthly podcast where we let you know what we’ve been up to on farm and what makes sense for you to be doing on your farm or lifestyle property.

Over the past 12 months we’ve run through an almanac of farm management tasks to do every month but now we’re going to take a broader view.

Also, we have some guest interviews to take us deeper into some very timely topics.

So, join us as we take a broader look at farm operations and focus on one or two key things that you need to address as a part of running your small acreage farm throughout the year.

We have plenty of fodder to work through, but if you’d like to suggest a topic for us to discuss, please send us an email.

Thanks for listening to the Adelaide Hills & Fleurieu Farmcast. We hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s episode and jotted down a few things for your to-do-list.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast March Edition

Introduction

00:50 Topics

Horses

Japanese encephalitis in horses. Look for symptoms.

Summer weed spraying

Ours is all done. Finally got our hay bales off and able to spray.

And we’ve just had lime added to our two hay paddocks at a rate of 2 tonnes to the hectare.

Pods and Craig are out spraying Potato weed, caltrop blanket weed, buckbush, milk thistle stick wart for clients today and tomorrow they are heading just down the road to spray Cooch & Kiakoya.

Heiffers

Our heifers – many lessons learned:

• Don’t buy the ones you don’t want
• When you get them onto your property, assume they haven’t been vaccinated and administer a 5 in 1 vaccine immediately followed by the booster shot 4-6 weeks later
• And get all instructions from your vet in writing. Ie. Whether you’re administering an anti inflammatory every day for 3 days or once every 3 days.

And consider getting an autopsy. We did, courtesy of Dr Jeremy Rogers, Senior Veterinary Officer PIRSA.

Vaccination protocol for cattle

Biosecurity. The document highlights on-farm biosecurity practices as key to:

• producing healthy livestock
• maintaining access to premium markets
• combatting the constant threat of exotic and endemic diseases

More spraying insights

Talking of spraying, we met up with the powerhouse duo behind DART recently. Dart, or Drone agricultural remote technology is a new operator in south Australia offering spraying, seeding and mapping via drone technology. These guys can get your spraying or seeding program done quicker and with more accuracy than traditional boom sprays and they specialise in managing hard to access areas like steep hills and river beds and of course, they don’t need to worry about getting bogged in winter!

You can find more about them via their website: droneagremotetech.com.au.

WOTL Event

I attended a WOTL event: Back to basics best practice farm animal husbandry, Kuitpo. If you'd like more information, talk a look at the WOTL website.

11:40 Farmcast Interview: Michael Bowden, Hills Farm Supplies

Many of you would know Bodes or Michael Bowden from Hills Farm Supplies in Mount Barker.

Bodes and Pods went to Roseworthy together and we caught up with him to talk about capeweed and the best time to undertake a spray program.

24:16 Farmcast Interview: Anthony Chick from Optiweigh

I was lucky enough to attend the sold out Ag tech conference, Evoke Ag in Adelaide last week.

Whilst I did enjoy the conference, it was the Exhibition and start-up alley that I found interesting. There were some fabulous technologies on display and some fabulous concepts that are well beyond my pay grade.

I met with Anthony Chick from Optiweigh and asked him about his in-paddock weighing system and most importantly, what the benefits of the technology are.

30:37 Farmcast Interview: Dwain Duxson from Farm Tender

I also caught up with Dwain Duxson from Farm Tender.

Farm Tender is an online sales platform for all things agriculture.

His insights into the ag-tech sector and whats next for agriculture are definitely worth listening to.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to this month’s Adelaide Hills Farmcast or should I say Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Farmcast!

In this episode of the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Farmcast, I go through our monthly almanac – a list of things to consider doing on your small acreage property and I talk with Paul Clifford from Raine and Horne Rural SA, based in Strathalbyn, about selling rural properties and what potential buyers are looking for.

Also, this episode rounds out our complete twelve months set of farm management tasks in our farm almanac. We’ve deliberately made them evergreen so that any July episode you listen to in any July will be relevant to that month. And they’ll be available forever.

But starting next month, we’ll take a broader look at farm operations and focus on one or two key things that small acreage farmers need to address as a part of running their farms throughout the year.

We have plenty of fodder to work through, but if you’d like to suggest a topic for us to discuss, please send us an email.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast February Edition

Introduction

01:00 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm Calendar

Cattle

• February is stud bull selling season. The Stock Journal Beef Week 2023 this Friday the third with the Fleurieu, Adelaide Hills and Loxton cattle studs having their open day on Sunday 5th February.
• If you haven’t been to a beef field day, its well worth a look. Cattle studs are clustered into areas so that you can easily spend the day attending 4 – 5 different properties. Here in the Fleurieu, Adelaide Hills and Loxton we’ve got 11 enterprises opening their doors (or should I say gates) to the public. Some cattle studs offer the ability to buy cattle on the day, others use it as a prelude to their on-farm sales held at a later date. Of course, you will need a PIC number if you intend to make a purchase.
• And there won’t be just bulls on display. Many studs take the opportunity to display their breeding stock (cows and heifers) and sometimes there will be a pen of weaners there as well. Breeders generally take any opportunity they can to show what their cattle can achieve in the saleyards or abattoirs. The Stock Journal produce a guide to Beef Week so you can map out which properties are on display in your area.

All this talk of stud bulls and cattle sales may have you wondering what the difference is between stud cattle and commercial cattle?

Whilst I haven’t been able to find an Oxford Dictionary definition on what stud cattle are versus commercial cattle, I can explain it by saying that stud cattle are tightly held, lines of single breed cattle eg. Angus that are selected and bred with clear genetic advantages in mind. The cattle and their dams and sires will be registered with the breed association and this registration can be transferred to a person who purchases the cattle.

It’s like a family tree or ancestory. Stud cattle are generally sold with accompanying Estimated Breeding Values (or EBV’s) which are measurements of genetic potential that can be used to assess an animal’s breeding merit for a specific trait. For example birth weight (low birth weights are desirable as they represent calving ease however it may also indicate a later growth pattern), docility (quiet cattle are easier and safer to handle and tend to put more weight on more quickly. Interestingly, docility is a highly heritable trait like coat colour and so can be improved genetically with good breed selection), 400 Day Weight (the higher this figure is, the quicker you can potentially get a vealer to market) and Eye Muscle Area (the larger, more positive this is the more favourable as consumers will pay a premium for this cut of beef).

I have a tendancy to get a bit excited when I talk about EBV’s and it is tempting to get carried away with the data, but you must always look at the animal in front of you and take a visual assessment into account, together with the EBV’s when purchasing stud cattle.

Unlike stud cattle, commercial cattle are often a cross between two or more breeds for example Angus and Murray Grey Cross. This is done to improve the hybrid vigour with the goal of producing more weight per day of age. Commercial cattle rarely have EBV’s because other than average weight gains, few other traits are recorded. Stud cattle are generally considered genetically superior to commercial cattle and if being sold as stud cattle i.e. registration of that animal is transferred to the new owner, then that animal ‘should’ be a good representative of the breed with few visual or structural flaws.

If considering buying cattle for your property, its always a good idea to seek independent advice, stock agents are a good starting point and be prepared to pay more for stud cattle than commercial cattle.

If this is something you’d like more information on, you can go to futurebeef.com.au and navigate to the resources.

Spraying

• Pods is up at Summertown today putting the finishing touches on a fence around a house paddock, but I did ask him to give me a run down on the spraying jobs he’s got booked in for February.
• As soon as it rains, and the summer weeds have freshened up (which will help with the uptake of chemical), Pods is heading out to spray a few properties for cooch grass, potato weed, wire weed, cowtrop and melons. Particularly for the cooch grasses, he will be using a heavy brew of Glyphostate or Crucial 600, Garlon, LI-700 and Ammonium Sulphate.
• It will take a few goes to get rid of the cooch grass (we’ve got several applications planned for our back paddock throughout 2023), but the other weeds should only need one hit before the paddocks are ready to sow again.

Rabbits

• This is something I am not going to miss! I haven’t spotted a single rabbit on our property at Currency Creek and I’d really like to keep it that way!
• The Hills and Fleurieu landscape Board are running their rabbit baiting program again this month and we would encourage anyone with a rabbit problem to give it a go. (I’ve put a link to their registration page in the show notes). As we talked about last year in our April Edition of the Farmcast with Rob Murphy, you really need to attack rabbits on a number of fronts. One single method will not be enough to eradicate the problem.

Water

• This month, we’re replacing all the round plastic troughs on the property with more robust, cement troughs. I can acknowledge that plastic troughs have a place, but they really don’t hold up when you’ve got cattle drinking from them all the time.
• When we go to do this, I’ll take some footage and show you how we prepare the site with rubble so that its flat and slightly raised and how we install the float so that the trough is always kept full, but not overflowing.

Hay

• We are always talking about the importance of asking for a feed test when you’re purchasing hay.
• A few weeks ago with had Alice Morley from FP AG come out and take samples of the hay that we will have for sale. The results make interesting reading – protein levels are down because it was such a long wet season and there was such a delay in getting the hay cut and baled. But we’re not alone, most hay producers are in the same boat and at least when you buy our hay, you can determine for yourself if you want it for your horses, sheep, cattle etc.
• I took some footage of Alice taking samples, it’s a very easy process that only takes about 30 minutes. I’ll post it here soon, and in the socials.

08:54 Farmcast Interview: Paul Clifford from Raine and Horne Rural SA

The episode closes with my interview with Paul Clifford from Raine and Horne Rural SA.

In this chat I ask Paul about selling rural properties and what potential buyers are looking for.

He even helped me move some bales around our paddock!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, our Adelaide Hills Farmcast is a joint recording with Steve Davis from The Adelaide Show Podcast.

We still cover our monthly almanac of things to focus on during the upcoming 4-6 weeks on your property but Steve also gets us to reflect on what it's like to be farmers for his city-based audience.

The almanac has been structured into five things to think about over the summer break.

Plus we also announce that we've moved to Currency Creek and can now work with propery owners and small acreage farmers on the Fleurieu Peninsula.

We hope you find this helpful and we wish you a prosperous New Year.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast January Edition

Introduction

03:26 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm CalendarWater Security For Summer

• If you’re planning to go away over the summer, please ensure you have someone available to check your stock water every day or every second day.
• Some problems can be assessed from a distance, but not all.
• There are a number of remote water level sensors on the market and if this is the direction you want to go down please do your research. Some are better than others. We have been very impressed by the Water Rat sold by Farmco.
• Clean out troughs regularly and slip in some Copper Sulphate tablets.

Bushfire Risk

• Have you done what you can? If a bushfire goes through your property can you honestly say that there was nothing more that you could have done?
• Spraying/slashing fencelines.
• Farm fire fighting units are invaluable.  The CFS has a Farm Fire Units Handbook on their website and we would encourage every landowner to read it – even if you haven’t got or don’t intend to have a farm fire unit.
• We would encourage you to install both the Alert SA app and CFS app on your smartphone.
• And only drive diesel vehicles around paddocks during the fire season. According to the CFS website – vehicle and engine exhausts cause about 25 fires each year in rural South Australia.

Summer Weed Spraying

• If you’ve cut your grass for hay, now is the ideal time to spray glyphosate to clear up the residual weeds. Basically keeping the paddocks brown to conserve moisture for the following planting season.
• Continue to spray your box thorns, blackberries and gorse.
• Paddy melons can be sprayed or spray-grazed.
• Soil Testing.

Home Garden And House Paddock

• Mulch your garden beds and fruiting trees – careful to leave an area at the base of the trunk to prevent rot.
• Always water plants at the base and consider where the water is running off. Creating a small dam to prevent water wastage is a great idea.
• Clear debris, limbs, old wood – anything flammable from around buildings. Not only does this reduce the likelihood of burning your dwellings, but it also reduces the spots that snakes can hide.
• Rooftop sprinkler systems are invaluable.
• Mosquitoes – we are about to put a small fountain in our lagoon to reticulate water which should prevent or at least reduce the amount of mosquito lavae sitting on the surface.

Going Away? Let Your Neighbours Know

• As we mentioned above, if you’re planning to go away over the summer, please ensure you have someone available to check your stock water.
• Also, having someone monitor for any unusual activity is crucial. We hear far too many stories, including a friend of ours recently, who have had their animals stolen and house and sheds ransacked.
• Consider putting locks on external gateways.

37:01 Farmcast Interview with Steve Davis

In this interview, Steve Davis from The Adelaide Show Podcast chats with Belle and Pods about what life is like on a farm over the summer holidays.

He also delves into the impacts of the River Murray flooding, and other topics.

Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month, our Adelaide Hills Farmcast spans topics from goats to Salvation Jane to horse racing.

To be more specific about horse racing, we shine a spotlight on turf preparation at the Oakbank Racing Club, with Pods taking some time to talk with Oakbank CEO, Shane Collins, about what it takes to get the track ready for summer racing.

I also sit down with the lovely Megan Miller. Megan has several breeds of goats including dairy goats and miniature goats. One of the things I love about goats is they have a tendency to eat unusual things – including Salvation Jane, despite it being moderately toxic to them!

We’ll cover that, plus your summer preparations in the Almanac so lets stop kidding around and get started!

00:30 Adelaide Hills Farmcast December Edition

Introduction

01:32 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm Calendar

01:37 Water Security For Summer

• If you’re planning to go away over the summer, please ensure you have someone available to check your stock water and monitor for any unusual activity. We hear far too many stories, including a friend of ours recently, who have had their animals stolen and house and sheds ransacked. It’s an awful situation to be in but you can reduce the chances of it happening to you if you have someone to take on caretaker duties. You could work in with your neighbour or have someone to stay for the time you are away. Early detection of problems with your irrigation can prevent harm to your animals and even if the person keeping an eye on your property can’t fix irrigation problems, they can call someone who can.
• There are a number of remote water level sensors on the market and if this is the direction you want to go down please do your research. Some are better than others. We have been very impressed by the Water Rat sold by Farmco.
• It is by far THE EASIEST water sensor to set up, you literally just pop it in the trough! It recently won Gold in the product design category of the Australian Good Design Awards earlier this year and other than the absolute simplicity of the design, the other magnificent feature is that you simply pick it up when you move stock out of one paddock and take it with you and drop it in the trough in the next paddock. It’s a subscription product however you do get a 30 day free trial. And what better time of year to give it a go. I think the Water Rat has a lot of potential and if you give it a go, please let me know!

04:05 Mosquitos And Encephalitis

• I don’t know what the official record will say, but I don’t think we’ve had a Spring at all! It’s still wet under foot and you can see runoff seeping out of hills and flowing down roadsides all over the hills. The Bureau of Meteorology is telling us that it will be a wet summer and Pirsa and the Department of Health have highlighted the increased risk of contracting Japanese Encephalitis.
• The main high risk areas will be around the flood plains as the storm water runs through the Murray River and out to the mouth, however increased levels of pooled water on properties together with hot summer weather will mean there is a real risk for all property owners.
• Encephalitis is rare and in most cases if you contract it the symptoms will be mild. Sadly that wasn’t to be for my Dad, who contracted Encephalitis seven years ago. He’s still with us however he can no longer farm, drive a vehicle, his fine motor are greatly impaired and he has short term memory loss. I always say that outwardly it looks like dementia, but it is so much more.
• Unfortunately due to the scarcity of the vaccine, vaccinations are only available to people who live in identified high risk areas. However, if you reduce the opportunities for mosquitoes you’re half way there. The other really important thing to do, particularly in rural areas is to remove any water-holding containers where mosquitoes may breed. So, old feed troughs, watering cans, clogged gutters, unused garden pots etcetera.
• I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it truly ruins lives, so please, do what you can to reduce the risk of contracting the virus. SA Health have some good information on their website so I’ll put the link in the show notes.

05:49 Fire Season Crucial Insight

• Hopefully you have taken up the opportunity to upgrade your farm fire units following the incentive scheme run by the CFS. Farm Fire fighting units are an important early response to fire events and the CFS is really pushing to get as many of them on the ground as possible.
• The other thing we’ve done is install a sprinkler system on our roof, powered by a petrol driven fire fighter pump. We also have a Rain Aid valve on our tanks which means if the water level gets too low, it automatically switches to mains water. This is really important if you consider the likelihood of needing significant water in case of fire only to find that there is very little left.
• And we check and do a service on our system regularly.
• Pods taught me how to run the fire fighting system last year and I recorded my lesson and published it on the socials. Here is the link to my fire fighting system training. It’s a handy guide for those of us who are not super familiar with irrigation pumps etcetera.

07:12 Salvation Jane

• Salvation Jane – that old chestnut! We recently went out to a property that was completely covered in 3 foot high Salvation Jane. It was appalling and just so sad to see. There is no quick fix for Salvation Jane – I repeat, NO. QUICK. FIX.
• Salvation Jane can be sprayed over a number of years but it has to be at the right time.
• I took a few photos of the area including a MONSTER of a plant that had a stem about 15cm wide! The plants need to be in their growth stage.
• The seeds can lay dormant in the soil for around 20 years. Like I said, no quick fix. The best thing to do is to keep on top of it and treat small outbreaks when they occur. We covered Salvation Jane in a blog post several years ago and the information is still relevant today. Here’s a link to an updated Salvation Jane factsheet from Pirsa.

11:46 Farmcast Interview: Pods and Shane Collins, CEO of the Oakbank Racing Club

In this interview, Pods chats with CEO of the Oakbank Racing Club, Shane Collins about what it takes to prepare the track for summer race meetings.

And he recorded this interview on the track itself!

21:01 Interview with Megan Miller

Megan has several breeds of goats including dairy goats and miniature goats. They are all adorable, incredibly friendly and affectionate and they really do make good pets!

Megan talks to us about what you need to keep in mind if you’re keen to have goats on your property and she covers off on some of the common myths.

Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/

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This month, our Adelaide Hills Farmcast is focussed on hay.

It's been a very long and wet season and we need to consider the implications for fodder availability in the new year.

I rang my good friend, James Stacey from Bremer River Fodder and chatted to him about what it all means.

Unfortunately there is no good news however there are ways that you can mitigate the risks if you rely on hay to feed your stock so we've covered that in this month's Farmcast.

And we've included a couple more interviews that we did at the Small Acreage Field Days last month. First up is David George from Emmetts at Oakbank followed by James Gilbert from Half A Cow.

And finally, I chat with Jane Somers from Big Sky Flowers in Brukunga. I'm so inspired by what she is achieving on a small property and in a relatively short space of time.

We hope you find this show helpful and welcome your comments below or email Belle or Pods at [email protected]

You can play the episode, below, or search for Adelaide Hills Farmcast in your favourite podcast app, on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast November Edition

Introduction

02:14 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm Calendar

Hay & Horse Fodder!

• It's not going to come as a surprise that the industry is forecasting significant shortages of hay this season. And what hay that is available will potentially be at a lower quality and yet, more expensive to buy. There are a number of reasons that will contribute to this. Firstly and most obviously, we've had a very wet finish to the growing season. Many paddocks have been cut but in the process of curing further Spring rains have lead to a decrease in the quality of the hay. In addition to the wet weather, there has been a significant increase in the cost of fertiliser, chemicals and of course, diesel.
• It's more important than ever to source your hay from a hay producer or trader who is able to provide you with a feedtest. This will ensure that you're buying hay that will meet your needs. For example, there is a big difference in the type of hay you need to purchase if you're just wanting it for roughage or to grow out stock. The Feedtest website provides some good information on Metabolisable Energy and Crude Protein levels of various grains and hays. It's well worth a look.
• If you want accurate information on the nutritional needs of your stock, Agriculture Victoria have a handy feed calculator you can check out here.
• Every year, James Stacey from Bremer River Fodder says that initial sales of small hay bales is quite slow. However demand skyrockets in the new year when paddock grasses bare off and supplementary feeding begins. This sudden increase in demand - particularly in years like this one when supply is low, will mean many buyers can be caught out. Of course, this can be avoided by planning ahead, buying in advance of when you know you are going to need it. Growers will usually store any pre-bought hay until you need it.

Gardens

• It's official. My strawberry crop is a fail. Last year it was rabbits so I thought I'd get clever and plant strawberries in hanging baskets. This year, it's Magpies. It seems I can't win. I think I'd better leave it to the experts like Green Valley Strawberries!
• I spotted a great product in amongst Jon Lamb's Good Gardening newsletter this week. It's called Potstream. It's It’s a side mounted watering solution for potted plants and containers. The distributor has some great information and a very clear diagram of how you can potentially set it up. You can download the Poststream Factsheet here or go to their website. I couldn't find too many local distributors however Brighton Irrigation seems to be your best bet.

Spot & Boom Spraying

• It can be a tricky time of year to be spraying selective herbicides like MCPA or Dicamba. You don't need to go too far in the Adelaide Hills to find a vineyard and with vines budding up now, there is a real risk of spray drift if the utmost caution isn't taken. This is where engaging a fully qualified and insured spray technician (like Pods!) becomes so important. Please, please be carful if you're spraying your own paddocks at the moment and if in doubt, talk to whoever you buy your chemicals from or have a chat with Pods.

18:59 Farmcast Interview: Pods and David George from Emmetts at Oakbank

David George from Emmetts Oakbank talking with Patrick O'Driscoll from Adelaide Hills Farm Services

24:58 Farmcast Interview: Pods talks with James Gilbert from Half a Cow

Pods and James Gilbert from Half a Cow

29:23 Farmcast Interview: Belle talks with Jane Somers from Big Sky Flowers, Brukunga

Jane Somers, Big Sky Flowers and Belle Baker, Adelaide Hills Farm Services

Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month’s Farmcast is a cracker! I had Pods in the studio (aka – cramped home office) because the rain had stopped work outside again.

So I had his help in recording the Almanac and it was good to get some information about what weeds can be sprayed this time of year directly from him.

We went to the Small Acreage Field Day in late September and recorded a number of interviews. We’ve included three of them here; Arnd from Mobishear Australia; Megan from Dairy Goats Society of South Australia and Nic Kentish from RCS Australia. We’ll hold over the other interviews for another Farmcast down the track.

We hope you find this show helpful and welcome your comments below or email Belle or Pods at [email protected]

You can play the episode, below, or search for Adelaide Hills Farmcast in your favourite podcast app, on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast October Edition

Introduction

02:35 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm Calendar

Livestock

• Fly Blown Sheep

  Spring is a notoriously bad time for fly strike in your sheep. And yes – even your pet Dorpers and other self-shedding sheep are prone to fly strike. One of the early signs to look out for is ‘Unthrifty Sheep’. According to the Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania  an unthrifty sheep is one that is not eating properly, is losing condition, tends to lag behind the mob when moved and, in severe cases, is clearly weak. A worm problem often (but not always) results in sheep scouring and becoming daggy. Flyboss.com.au is a wonderful resource for determining the correct treatment of fly blown sheep.

Alpacas

• It’s time to shear your Alpacas or if you’re not doing it yourself, you’ll need to book in a shearer. The South Australian Alpaca Association website lists a number of Alpaca Shearers, you’ll be sure to find one that’s available.
• Mobishear interview.

Gardens

My garden is struggling to thrive because I’ve got rabbits roaming around like they own the place…and we have so much clay. I’m adding a mix of Gypsum, sandy/loam and compost in areas that we intend to plant next year. I had thought I was going overboard a little, but then a Google search reviled this short instructional video by ABC Gardening back in 2016. I think I might be on the money.

Horses

• Let me tell you about a few fun problems that horses can have when they spend extended time on muddy and wet ground!

1. Greasy heel or mud fever. It presents as lesions, a greasy appearance, or hair loss on lower limbs typically around heels. Treatment is an antibacterial wash and keeping the horse off wet ground.
2. Thrush is another one and is easily diagnosed by a foul smell from the hoof, and discharge from the frog. Treatment is best in the form of thoroughly cleaning the hooves, treating them with an iodine solution and making sure that dirty stable bedding is replaced with clean dry bedding.
3. Hoof abscesses present as acute lameness in a particular leg, often as the result of eliminating lameness further up the leg. The use of hoof testers or a farrier may be needed to accurately diagnose the abscess.

Spot & Boom Spraying

• Pods says you should be doing know-down spraying along fence lines, around stock yards etc with a glyphosate. Including silver grass, barley grass, brome grass and rye grass.
• Pods also suggests that, like Prue from Echunga who rang up during our FIVEaa interview with Richard Pascoe (link to the FIEaa interview HERE), its time to start thinking about spraying your Blackberry.

Bush Fire Preparation

• A light reminder to make a start…
• If you need your paddocks slashed, we recommend you call Jake from Adelaide Hills Slashing. In addition to his slasher, Jake has invested in a remote control (industrial) lawn mower that can handle inclines of up to 55 degrees.

Farmcast Interview: Pods and Megan Miller from the Dairy Goat Society of SA

It was wonderful to talk with Megan and get a better understanding of goat breeds and what each breed is used for. The most fascinating thing we learnt was

Goats do NOT make good lawnmowers. Goats are browsers like deer, not grazers like sheep. The best breed to mow your lawn is a Victa. (Or a John Deere Zero-Turn Lawnmower…)

Please note: We had technical issues with Megan’s interview, so we’ll need to regroup with her because she had some very enlightening things to share. Can we say the goat ate our homework?

20:51 Farmcast Interview: Pods talks with Nic Kentish from RCS & the Rotary Club of Stirling

Nic Kentish is one of the volunteers at the Rotary Club of Stirling that put together the Small Acreage Field Day.

He is also an advisor, facilitator and coach with Resource Consulting Services Australia or RCS.

27:06 Farmcast Interview: Belle talks with John Koumi and the team from Maccy Biochar

Maccy Biochar operates a not for profit community biochar centre in Macclesfield, South Australia. We take your dead woody material and convert it to biochar to use as the basis for earth-friendly fertilizers for home and farm; and for other biochar-based products.

Support the show: https://theadelaideshow.com.au/listen-or-download-the-podcast/adelaide-in-crowd/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.