Strong winds can wreak havoc on crops, pastures, vineyards and orchards causing breakages, fruit fall and sandblasting. Small landholders can avoid potential damage to their farming enterprise with just a bit of careful planning.
Some of the world’s safest meat, milk and fibre products are produced here in Western Australia. WA farmers produce safe food by keeping their livestock free of harmful residues.
Farmers occasionally have to dispose of milk, which, for one reason or another, cannot be taken by the processor. There may be problems at the factory or with the transport system, or the milk may have been inadvertently contaminated with antibiotics.
It is illegal to feed meat, meat products and food that has been in contact with meat to pigs in Australia. These rules apply to every pig, including pet pigs and pigs kept for home consumption.
The Furmint and Kadarka varieties of wine grapes were identified by the wine industry as having potential for future development of premium Western Australian wine and were planted for evaluation in Manjimup in 2003.
Supplementary feeding of sheep, with grain, hay or silage is necessary when pastures or stubbles are deficient in energy and protein.
Downy mildew of grapevines can cause serious crop loss if weather conditions are favourable. The presence of oil spots in the vines indicates that primary or secondary infection events have occurred.
Nasal bots are the maggots or larvae of the sheep nasal bot fly, Oestrus ovis. Nasal bots are often found in sheep and goats but do not cause significant problems and owners are usually unaware of their presence.
Wool growers can achieve their breeding objectives by retaining superior breeding stock and by choosing superior rams. It can be difficult for growers to choose superior rams because there are few estimates of the actual production differences between ram producers.
Adequate supplies of good quality stock water are just as important as feed supplies during summer, a period when feed and water quantity and quality are at their lowest in the agricultural areas of Western Australia.
