Events
2, November 2011: Cost of Production Workshop
A workshop was hosted at Keith to enable members to use the new cost of production tool that Lucerne Australia launched earlier this year at the Business Skills Day. Executive Committee Member Warrick Thorpe went through the program in detail. A second workshop will be held in the first quarter of 2012 for new members and anyone interested in revisiting the template and fine tuning it for their own business.
19, September 2011: 'Seed Quality' Symposium
The annual symposium had a 'seed quality theme and was held at the Keith Institute on Monday, 19 September. Speakers were well received and take-home messages were transparent for the audience. For example, with Dr John Heap’s Golden Dodder project, (a leafless, parasitic weed which removes nutrients, reduces yield and even kills its host plant), DNA testing will enable the detection of Golden Dodder seed during seed cleaning and it will enable imported seed to be checked for contamination. Therefore identification of existing and new Golden Dodder paddocks is more likely, plus a reduction in export and import seed contamination, thereby reducing risk. Dr Heap also highlighted developments with aerial remote sensing of Golden Dodder, using UAV with cameras to capture images in c. 45 minutes per site, and with low running costs. Several images of this technology were shown. Shane Oster outlined how findings from a recent Setaria Trial show the best control is achieved using a combination of both pre- and post-emergent herbicides. Mark Kester and Peter Gibbs presented together as they had both recently returned from a visit to the USA to study Golden Dodder and seed quality. They confirmed how Golden Dodder has been an issue in the USA for decades, and how seed can remain dormant in the soil for 30-90 years. Control methods include hand-cutting and then burning of the cut foliage but this has risks due to regeneration of dodder if not followed up; destroying dodder by using flame throwers with migrant labor; the use of velvet and magnet rollers in all processing plants and finally chemical usage, which is now the most effective. With abnormal seedlings, the LSD (Lucerne Seed Damage) kit is an outcome of a RIRDC-funded research project launched in 2009 and was featured by James DeBarro. It was stressed to the audience that the process of harvesting lucerne seed presents the most significant threat to seed quality. Robert Will also outlined issues with headers, including the thresher and concave settings, and tips including making one adjustment at a time, keeping records, not solely relying on monitors and taking responsibility for the machine and its settings. Finally, Dr Christopher Preston highlighted the use of the Harrington Weed Destructor which effectively process’ chaff to destroy weed seeds during harvest.
In th
e evening, our special guest speaker was Julian Burton, South Australian of the Year 2010. Julian is founder of the Julian Burton Burns Trust which he established following his rehabilitation having suffered life threatening third degree burns to his body from the 2002 Bali Bombings. It has become Australia’s first national community organisation solely committed to prevention, care and research associated with burn injury. A passionate and powerful speaker, Julian delivered a presentation that focused on enhancing personal and organisational performance in the areas of communication, lifestyle balance and life management skills. He also delivered this straightforward advice to members with energy, knowledge and humour.
22, June 2011: Business Skills Day
Lucerne Australia and Rabobank held a Business Skills Day at the Keith Institute on 22 June. This event provided Lucerne Australia members and Rabobank clients with an opportunity to gain knowledge into business operations, financial management and strategies, and analyse tools to assist in developing business skills. The event included five speakers with up-to-date, relevant information with practical take-home messages in business cashflow, margins and budgets, as well as an industry-first cost of production template. A business case study was also provided by Lachlan Sutherland, a dairy and beef farmer from Lamont in Victoria.
3, March 2011: Trial Site Field Day
The centre pivot variety trial progress report was given at a trial site field day at Kinyerrie, Keith, where a number of members and associates attended. In summary, the trial site had very good initial seedling vigour and growth in most of the varieties. However, like many other early ‘locked-up’ crops in the district, it has suffered from the cool weather and other seasonal factors, which is reflected in the amount of pod set across the different trial plots. A summary of the results released from the 2010 harvest report at the flood irrigation site were also provided. In addition, John Heap attended and demonstrated project work he is undertaking with a remote controlled airplane.
4, February 2011: Lucerne Seed Contract Forum
Lucerne Australia hosted a lucerne seed contract forum at the Keith Institute with guest speaker Professor Rocque Reynolds from the University of Technology, Sydney. The meeting purpose was to discuss developing a standardized lucerne seed contract and agreed minimum industry standards between growers and marketers. As author of ‘Fair Dinkum: A seed production agreement for the pasture sees industry’. Rocque addressed over 60 Lucerne Australia members and associates and took questions from the floor regarding the draft seed production agreement and the use of fair and effective contracts.