Paddock Chat

With the high cost of crop input prices weighing on most farmers minds at present, we put the focus on chickpea this week as a potential high value legume option for the coming season.

Over the last three years, West Midlands Group trials have found that chickpea have yielded consistently and have had a competitive Gross Margin in our region despite not being a traditional chickpea growing area.

In this episode, Nathan Craig (WMG Executive Officer) sat down with Mark Seymour & Harmohinder Dhammu from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, to answer the two most asked questions about chickpeas:

• How well do they yield across WA
•  What are the weed control options now available to keep the crop clean?

This conversation covered a lot of good information and so it will be a two-part episode. Be sure to download and listen in to part 2 which is available right now:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1067260/10154568 

*Harmohinder Dhammu would like to note that at 17:13 of this episode, he should have said "susceptible ryegrass" rather than "resistant ryegrass".

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In this Episode we spoke to Reagan Manns from RSM in Jurien Bay about the use of Figured and XERO to supercharge your business financial budgeting process.
Topics we cover:

• What is Figured and how does it differ from other packages
• What are the benefits of using Figured above the standard XERO budgeting package
• Where does the real power lie in having an integrated budgeting package

And the real question: how to get started and who can help me get my first budget up and running!

For more information, contact RSM Moora: (08) 9651 1606 

We would like to acknowledge and thank RSM who have been a valued supporter of the West Midlands Group over the last 10 years.

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In this episode of Paddock Chat, we look to demystify the first steps that farmers need to take in creating a ‘smart’ or ‘connected' farm, where the Internet of Things (IoT) can make farm management that much easier!

Nathan Craig (WMG Executive Officer) sat down with both Nathan Dovey, CEO and Phil Honey, Smart Farm Coordinator of Stirlings to Coast. Nathan has been involved with Stirlings to Coast for more than 6 years, and Phil's role is to assist farmers to adopt digital technologies and de-risk some of the adoption challenges around this.

We discuss their collective experience in setting up two farms in the Great Southern region of WA with fence to fence 4G phone service, as well as talking about some of the tools that they have installed, including  a large network of over 25 weather stations and some of the key management benefits that they have seen so far.

Useful Resources:
SMART FARM INITIATIVE

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In this episode of Paddock Chat, Executive Officer Nathan Craig sat down with Helen Viola, who is a Bookkeeper with RSM, to discuss how digital payroll systems are making it easier for businesses to manage their payroll.

Key points:
1. Many programs are now on the Cloud which allows Bookkeepers easy access to business accounts when required.
2. It is important for businesses to understand the programs they are using, and RSM is available to help with any queries.
3. Digital payroll systems will help businesses to save time and collate information accurately.

Contact RSM Moora: (08) 9651 1606 

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In this episode of PaddockChat, Beef Industry Development Officer Erin O'Brien sits down with Zoey Durmic and Peter Hutton to talk about the Carbon Neutral by 2030 Project, which includes their work in DietID. 

CN30 and DietID are projects within the BeefLinks research and development program, which is being delivered by Meat and Livestock Australia, The University of Australia and MLA Donor Company to strengthen production in the Northern Beef Supply Chain. 

In this episode, Peter Hutton and Zoey Durmic discuss their trips to the Pilbara to catalogue methane retention in native Australian plants. They hope this information will change our understanding of the potential of methane reduction in the cattle supply chain, ultimately helping to achieve Carbon Neutral by 2030. 

They also touch on virtual fencing and backgrounding, and how these projects interact with CN30. 

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In this episode of Paddock Chat Erin spoke to RSM Accountant Ella Raffan about the benefits of using Xero as a part of your business management.

Xero is a cloud-based accounting program which enables the user to access it at any time, and makes sharing information with accountants or advisors simple.

This conversation was recorded in December 2021.

Useful resources:
Xero  

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In this episode, we take you to our most recent event, a perennial pasture field walk hosted by Will Browne and facilitated by Ben and Sean Plozza, held on the 30th of November. This was our first event that focused solely on grower discussion and peer to peer learning.

At the beginning of this episode, we get a farm introduction from Will Browne before hearing from Ben and Sean Plozza about the event, and why they brought the idea to the WMG team in the first place. We then hear thoughts about the field walk from some of the people that attended including Fred Echaniz, Craig Forsyth and Ken Sharpe. 

This podcast was recorded by the WMG team, including Jamieson Kay, Melanie Dixon, Adam Anfuso and Erin O’Brien. This episode was recorded in November 2021.

Keep an eye out for our write up of the day.

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Professor Terry Rose from Southern Cross University joins the podcast to share his strategies for improving soil health in your farming system.  

He talks through common strategies for improving soil health including cover cropping, interrow management to improve soil biodiversity and how to manage different soil types and season conditions. 

World Soils Day is coming up on December 5th, and to acknowledge this event WMG is talking all about how our region is looking to improve soil health.  In this episode, Terry Rose talks about strategies that may work in the West Midlands region specifically. 

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On this weeks episode of PaddockChat, West Midland's Group's Beef Industry Development Officer caught up with Rio Tinto pastoral manager Simon Mathwin to discuss virtual fencing technology. 

In this episode, Sim and Erin talk about how virtual fencing works, the origins of the trial and how it's progressed in 2021. They also discuss potential commercial uses for the technology and how the trial slots into a larger BeefLinks program.  

The virtual fencing technology trial, currently being tested at Rio Tinto-owned Hamersley Station in the Pilbara, is part of a wider #BeefLinks program. #BeefLinks is a research and development program funded by Meat and Livestock Australia, The University of Western Australia and MLA Donor Company.  Virtual fencing sits alongside West Midlands Group's backgrounding project to deliver a wider program to strengthen the capabilities of the Northern cattle supply chain. 

Virtual fencing technology use was showcased for the first time in Western Australia at a BeefLinks field day, organised by West Midlands Group, UWA, MLA and Rio Tinto earlier in the year. To stay up to date with the progress of the virtual fencing trial, including when a second BeefLinks Field Day will be held to showcase the technology to the public, follow West Midlands Group on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or call to subscribe to our mailing list.  

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PaddockChat coming to you from the ute as Erin O'Brien (Beef Industry Development Officer) and Melanie Dixon (Mixed Farming Systems Officer) interview locals about their experiences managing grasshoppers and locusts this season. 

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the pest problem in the region, Melanie and Erin visited farms in the area on behalf of DPIRD to surveil damage. While there, Melanie and Erin recorded these interviews with local growers Charles Wass and Steele Rudd, who discussed grasshopper problems this season, management practices and what has or hasn't worked. 

Apologies for sound quality issues, this episode really *is* coming to you from the paddock!

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