NSW DPI ensures bumper Primex field day

NSW Department of Primary Industries in conjunction with the organisers of Primex have planned a bumper field day bonanza of information for farmers at this year’s Rural Exhibition held in Casino next week from June 14 to 16.

A series of five mini-field days covering beef, horticulture, soils & climate, paddock plants and Hendra virus, organised by NSW DPI, will be held at site N15 over the three days at Primex.

In addition there will be displays in the NSW DPI tent on fisheries, cattle ticks, Bureau of Meteorology, water, soils, weeds and livestock.

DPI has been an enthusiastic and regular exhibitor for over two decades and this year is changing format to a series of half-day events, with presentations on topics relevant to local producers.

Each mini-field day or workshop will be about 2.5 hours long - the morning workshops will be held from 9.30am and the afternoon workshops from 1pm:

THURSDAY

Hendra Virus Update (9.30am)

1. Overview of Hendra disease, history, precautions - Paul Freeman, NSW DPI regional veterinarian
2. Human health precautions – Greg Bell, North Coast Public Health Unit 
3. Farm visits for suspect hendra - what we see and do - Matt Ball, Senior district veterinarian LHPA 
4. Hendra research update - what we aim to find out - David Jordan, DPI Principal Research Scientist

Horticulture (1pm)

1. Latest control measures for diseases of fruit and nut trees and crops on the NSW Nth Coast – Phillip Wilk, NSW DPI horticulturist 
2. Integrated pest management of fruit and nut crops in Nth Coast orchards – from macadamias to stonefruit – Jeremy Bright, NSW DPI horticulturist 
3. Encouraging and using biological controls in fruit, nut & vegetable crops on the Nth Coast – Ruth Huwer and Craig Maddox, NSW DPI entomologists

FRIDAY

Beef (9.30am) 

1. European Union accreditation - Jason Siddell, DPI Beef Livestock Officer Glen Innes 
2. Australian poll gene marker test - Trevor Rose, DPI Beef Livestock Officer, Casino 
3. Understanding EBV's - Nathan Jennings Graduate Officer DPI Casino

Soils & Climate (1pm) 

1. How farmers can make best use of the Bureau of Meteorology website – Julie Evans, NSW BoM 
2. Where we are heading with Soil Carbon: from soil health to carbon sequestration – Susan Orgil, NSW DPI research officer soil carbon. 
3. Biochar update – Lukas van Zweiten, NSW DPI Principal Research Scientist

SATURDAY

Introduction to paddock Plants (9.30am) 

1. Intro to paddock plants, indicators and biodiversity – Carol Rose and Harry Rose, DPI agronomists 
2. Grasses commonly found in the paddock, how to tell what you have and what they indicate 
3. Legumes and herbs in the paddock, what you have, what they indicate and how to manage them

(Includes identification of plants brought in by workshop participants – so bring your pasture plants along.)

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