Latest News• Add My News • Search Old News Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary IndustriesCool Climate Viticulture ForumThe Institute for Horticultural Development (IHD), Knoxfield, will host a two-day forum on cool climate grapevine management on Thursday 21st and Friday 22nd August, 2003. Coordinator Dr Erika Winter said that the forum is a good chance for growers, researchers and students to interact with each other, learn about advances in management techniques and identify opportunities for business improvement. "The program will feature seminars on themes of plant management, extension services, environmental management and pest and disease management," she said. "Topical subjects such as market outlook for cool climate viticulture, modern technology for cost-effective production, and methods of producing high-quality fruit will be discussed." Dr Winter added that there will be ‘hands-on’ sessions and displays on topics such as diagnostic services, bud dissection, mulches, trunk diseases and much more. A dinner with keynote speaker Dr John Stocker, DPI Chief Scientist and board member of the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation, will be held on the evening of the 21st August. The forum registration fee of $50.00 includes entrance fee, handouts, two lunches and dinner. For a copy of the program and registration form, please contact Karen Heselschwerdt; at IHD Knoxfield on (03) 9210 9222. The Institute for Horticultural Development is at DRYING COWS OFFDrying cows off is an important job – the consequences of a bad job can be severe. It is important that milk production levels be at appropriate levels at drying off. Aim to put cows out when they are producing between 5 and 15 litres of milk per day with 10 litres per day ideal. Dry cow antibiotics require some milk to be present in the udder for it to dissolve properly and disperse throughout the udder. A cow should have milk, but any more than 15 litres per day and you run the risk of diluting the antibiotic in the udder. For cows that are to receive dry cow it is important to allow enough time to do the job properly. A single operator can dry off around 20-30 cows per hour, so don’t plan to throw 300 cows out on a single day. It takes time to prepare and swab all teats, insert tubes correctly and dip the teats afterwards. Rushing increases the chance of introducing mastitis into the udder. Dry period infections are very destructive. All cows teats should be clean and dry before administering tubes. Wash them if necessary and then ensure they are completely dry before proceeding. Teat swabbing is a vital step. Make a mixture of 70% methylated spirits and 30% water. When using cotton swabs, use one of these for each teat. An alternative is to use a roll of toilet paper. Use a fresh sheet for each teat. Swab the teat end in a circular manner and then inspect the swab. If the swab is dirty, discard it and repeat the process with a fresh swab. Keep going until the swab becomes clean. Allow the teat to air dry and then proceed to tube insertion. Do not touch any part of the tube that is to go inside the teat and try not to scrape the lining of the teat canal when inserting. Massage the contents high up into the udder. The job is not finished until the udder is thoroughly teat dipped. Check all cows daily for the next week. Watch for hot, swollen, red udders and sick cows. Inspect all potential cases for mastitis and if there is a flare up, treat the cow with a course of lactating tubes until the infection is under control. Do not leave them or just insert another dry cow tube. Taking time and doing the job properly will minimise the risks of new infection in the dry period. NATIONAL REGISTRATION AUTHORITY NAME CHANGEThe name change was announced by AFFA (Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) at the ABARE Outlook 2003 conference on March 5 of this year. According to AFFA: "The name change is more definitive and clearly identifies the APVMA's role and responsibilities for agricultural and veterinary chemicals. It will make recognition of the national regulator much easier, which is important when building on public support." The APVMA will need to continue to work hard to ensure it maintains its high scientific standards, steadily improves its processes and continues its pursuit of excellence. It is also vital that the APVMA continues to demonstrate and report its outcomes to the community. The APVMA will also introduce the Adverse Experience Reporting Program for Agricultural Chemical Products. This will enable agricultural and veterinary chemical users and the wider community to provide valuable feedback to the regulator on how registered agricultural chemical products are performing. It will be able to gather adverse experience reports about agricultural chemicals that are not working according to the registration conditions, or not performing in ways that users expect. For more information on this topic contact the APVMA on (02) 6272 5852 or see its website www.apvma.gov.au Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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