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Farm Chemical Information ServiceTo assist agricultural and horticultural industries to improve farm chemical use DPI provides a Chemical Information Service through its Chemical Standards Branch based at Knoxfield. By Department of Primary Industries - 2nd June 2004 - Back to News A key function of the service is to provide accurate information about registered agricultural and veterinary products, and the uses for which they are approved in Victoria, according to the product label.
This information is sourced from the chemical registration database of the Agricultural Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA, formerly the NRA or National Registration Authority), and from current product labels.
The Chemical Information Service uses this database, and other information, to answer enquires such as:
- What chemicals are appropriate for use on specific hosts and pests, eg the control of capeweed in a pasture containing clover or the control of green peach aphids in a canola oilseed crop.
- Access to product label information and copies of current labels.
- What chemicals are restricted or prohibited under Victorian legislation, eg whether an Agricultural Chemical Users Permit is needed for the chemicals that the caller proposes to use.
- Information on MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits, Australian and International) for food commodities.
- Information on Victoria's requirements for fertiliser content and labelling.
- Answers to all general inquiries regarding farm chemical use.
The service can help growers decide whether or not the agricultural commodities they produce meet food safety and marketing standards and suitable withholding periods (WHPs).
To contact the Farm Chemical Information Service telephone (03) 9210 9379, fax (03) 9210 9298 or visit our Website at www.dpi.vic.gov.au. Select Agriculture and Food, then Chemical Use.
DUNG BEETLES
One of the most intriguing creatures found in nature surely is the dung beetle.
The adult beetles fly actively in search of fresh dung, some species by day and some by night. They can apparently fly for miles and can detect dung by smell over great distances.
When they land on a fresh dung pad they immediately burrow into it and start feeding. The mouths of the adult beetles are so formed that they can only suck the fluids of the fresh dung, and they feed on nothing else.
Once in the dung the beetles pair off, a male and a female working together to make dung balls for breeding. The female digs tunnels in the soil directly under the pad, and the male carries dung down the tunnels.
Dung beetles found in paddocks in Victoria could be either native or introduced species.
Native dung beetles occur throughout Victoria and while they almost exclusively live on the dung of native animals, they can occasionally be found in the dung of introduced animals.
Dung beetles were introduced to Victoria by the CSIRO from the early 1970s until the early 1980s. These beetles came from Africa or Asia, where they were adapted to feed, and breed, in the dung of large herbivores. This makes them suited to the dung of our introduced farm animals.
Some of these introduced species have become established in Victoria and may be found in paddocks along with native ones.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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