Information and Articles

No one likes starting an article this way, but it's an unfortunate truth that we hope to change. Kids who live on farms are more likely to be injured or killed than their parents or farm workers. Children are naturally curious, so it's important to keep them away from danger. This could be in the form of machinery and equipment, livestock or bodies of water. Keep in mind children under the age of 15 are more vulnerable to on-farm related accidents too. Whilst children learn about farm safety as they develop and grow, they also mimic the behavior of those around them.

What is Sheep Body Lice?
Sheep body lice (Bovicola ovis) are responsible for most lice infestations of sheep and cost Australian sheep producers millions a year.

Body lice are a common problem in Victorian sheep flocks and cause significant economic loss as a result of:

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) is reminding people this winter to clean up any dead or dry pinewood on their properties to help prevent the spread of European house borer (EHB).

Let's be real. Farming is expensive.

Equipment and machinery are costly to buy let alone maintain. A known struggle if you’re a small business owner.

Farmers have been sharing their farm machinery for centuries and why not, it’s an effective way to curb the price rises. Let’s explore the benefits and pitfalls of owning and sharing farm machinery and what you need to know.

Ever wondered what it would take to fix severe gully erosion? In this video from Tropical North Queensland Drought Hub, well-known and respected extension officer, Bob Shepherd, describes how the Nicholas family of Paynes Lagoon near Charters Towers, transformed an active and severely eroded site into a stable and rejuvenated feature of the landscape. Bob describes it as 'one of the better projects he has been involved in'.

NRM (Natural Resources Management) Southern is one of 54 natural resource management organisations in Australia and one of three in Tasmania. The role of the NRM is to protect, sustainably manage and improve our natural resources for the shared environmental, social and economic benefit of the community.

Chickens naturally stop laying eggs in winter.  Actually when you think about it, the fact that they lay an egg a day for so much of the year is completely unnatural.  Birds in the wild will only lay a few eggs until they have a clutch to hatch, but we have bred chickens to just keep laying every day, no wonder they need a break!

Liz from Eight Acres outlines why and when you should feed hay to your cattle. The series of small farm diary videos are proudly bought to you by Farmstyle Insurance.

If there is one thing a small farm owner can count on during a high-risk fire day, it’s that your local rural fire brigade probably won’t arrive in time to control a fire on your property. They are likely to be busy fighting fires elsewhere, as fire-fighting resources are often allocated to places where there is the greatest risk to life on high-risk fire days. 

This can be a difficult fact to take on board for some new landholders, especially those living close to our larger regional towns and cities who are used to services being nearby and instantly available. 

Undoubtedly you’ve heard about new quad bike rollover protection regulations which have come in. Agriculture and forestry use quad bikes, sometimes called an ATV, as they are a useful tool for many farming jobs.

Quad bikes are designed for an operator who straddles the bike. There are 3 categories of quad bikes: