“Mark Ricciuto”

Newsletter
July / August 2008
www.mackillopgroup.com.au
UPDATE ON “10 YEARS OF MACKILLOP”
You will notice that “Dipper” is no longer our Guest Speaker at
the “10 Years of MacKillop” dinner.
Due to unforseen circumstances Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico is unable to join us.
We are very pleased, however, to announce that we now
have
“Mark Ricciuto”
The Committee
of the
MacKillop Farm Management Group
invites you to celebrate
10 years of MacKillop
with us at the
joining us for the evening.
Naracoorte Town Hall
A South Australian legend following a brilliant career spanning
312 games with the Adelaide Crows, Mark Ricciuto has now
turned his attention to entertaining the nation with his presence in the media in 2008.
on 18th July for dinner
Away from the media, Mark has continued his close link with
the game through his role as an AFL Ambassador. Here
Ricciuto is working closely with the next generation of young
stars at the under 16 level where his knowledge will be invaluable in their development into the AFL system.
Guest Speakers to include
As one of the greatest ever South Australian players, Ricciuto
achieved football's ultimate in 1998 where he was a member
of the Crows premiership side that defeated North Melbourne.
In a superstar career spanning 15 seasons, Ricciuto was a three
time winner of the Crows best and fairest as well as winning
the Brownlow Medal in 2003. Having been awarded All Australian selection eight times throughout his career, Ricciuto later
became the club's longest serving captain.
This night is intended to allow our members, sponsors and
any other interested parties to get together for a social evening to reminisce about events of the last 10 years and to look
forward to the future of the MacKillop Group.
We would like to see as many husbands, wives,
friends, partners etc attend this evening to enjoy
some social interaction with others involved in the
Agricultural sector.
from 6.30 pm
MARK RICCIUTO
Proudly sponsored by
$50 (incl GST) per ticket
Catering by Frances Hotel
Bar facilities available
Dress: Jacket and Tie
RSVP to K McElroy (0408 655108)
by Thursday 10th July
Please book with Krysteen McElroy prior
to 10th July, but preferably as soon as
possible.
Individual or table bookings (8-10) are
available.
Effective Weed Control for the Australian White Clover Seed Industry
(published in 2004) by RIRDC
The project was initiated by white clover seed growers in south eastern South Australia and western Victoria who identified high levels of weed infestation as a major threat to their industry through reduced production and contamination.
The aim of this project was to develop effective weed control strategies for white clover seed production in
Australia through the identification of suitable herbicides, optimum rates and times of application. Experiments were established on commercial properties to determine the efficacy of selected herbicides on four
major weed species and the tolerance of white clover cultivars to herbicides.
This document reports on the findings and implications of the research. It identifies where growers can gain
immediate increases in returns and indicates areas where further research is needed to secure the future
of the industry.
Copies of this report have been requested by members to the White Clover Growers Association, if you
have not received a copy (via email or hard copy) and would like one please contact Krysteen McElroy.
Trial site report as at 19th June 2008
Frances site at Wayne Hawkins’
The Frances site was sown on the 30th of May. The site was a bit
soft and had uneven sowing depth especially the canola but most
are up and looking good. The second time of sowing was the 19th of
June and is pretty soft in places.
Conmurra site at Hartley Hocking’s
The Conmurra site was sown 3rd of June. All up and looking good.
The second time of sowing was on the 19th June.
Sherwood sites at Lutt’s and Groocock’s
Sown during the first week of June all trials went in well and are
looking good. Also spread a variety of fertilisers for Roger Groocock
to incorporate with his spader machine.
In general all sites have emerged very well as sowing has been reasonably early. All sites at this stage have good potential. Millicent
trials will be sown next week.
Report provided by Jack Kay Senior Technical Field Officer, Crops
South East
Eyre Peninsula Field Days
12, 13 and 14th August 2008
www.eyrepeninsulafielddays.com.au
Hart Field Days
16th September 2008
www.hartfieldsite.org.au
Study Tour 2009
Proposed Destination: Irrigated cropping areas of St George / Dirranbandi (Qld).
This would include the iconic irrigation property of "Cubbie Station" as a major
destination.
Proposed Date: August 2009
Expressions of Interest or Enquires to Krysteen McElroy
WHITE CLOVER GROWERS’
GENERIC DODDER MANAGEMENT PLAN
This document is a collaborative effort between the South East Natural Resources Management Board and Lucerne Australia. It
provides a generic outline of how to effectively manage dodder infestations in lucerne or small seed crops.
The information contained in this document includes legislative requirements and also what is considered by the lucerne industry to be best practise management options.
The contents of this management plan are largely designed on a golden dodder infestation in a lucerne or clover crop. However,
the principles of dodder management described in this plan will apply to most dodder outbreaks regardless of the host crop.
Enclosed with this newsletter is a

“Dodder Aware & Prepared” Fact Sheet

Flow chart showing procedures and actions to follow if dodder is found on your property.
Complete Copies of the management plan are available via email from Krysteen McElroy or for hard copies please contact Justine
Drew of SENRMB on 87629114, email [email protected]
Other upcoming events for MacKillop
members
24th July 2008

10 am until 1 pm (with lunch provided)
IPM and Insect Identification
Struan House with Ken Henry
from SARDI
Struan House
27th August 2008 for breakfast

Trace Element Disorders in Crops and Pastures

Where is the Manola Industry at?

Delivering GM Canola

Single Desk update

9th September at 3pm

Presenters include

Nigel Wilhelm

Mat Taylor
MacKillop AGM
Irrigating for the Future
Conference & Exhibition at Mundulla
Lucerne Aust & White Clover Growers
24th September


RSVP Monday 21st July
$25 per head
Mrs Krysteen McElroy
or
Executive Officer MFMG
$10 Members of MFMG
Telephone: 0408 655108
to cover cost of lunch
[email protected]
MacKillop Field Days
29th and 30th October 2008
Should you wish to view the trial sites at
either Sherwood, Conmurra or Frances prior
to this date, please contact Chris Klose on
0427 667005 to arrange a time to suit.
Occupational Health & Safety Info
Responsible Officer
Did you know that occupational health and safety accountability lies with the Responsible Officer? So, who is
the Responsible Officer in your organisation?
The Responsible Officer in your organisation is the most senior officer or member of the governing body of the
organisation who resides within the State. That means that the chief executive officer, the director, the owner
or - in many circumstances in South Australia - the single business owner is the person responsible for safety
across the whole organisation.
If an employee is hurt or seriously injured in your workplace - the buck stops with the Responsible Officer.
Changes to the legislation
Under Section 61 of the OHS&W Act, every body corporate is required to appoint one or more Responsible Officers. The Responsible Officer is required to "take reasonable steps to ensure compliance by the body corporate
of its obligations under this Act".
Changes to the legislation in 2005 now makes training for Responsible Officers compulsory.
Business SA can help you comply with the legislated changes
As the leading provider of occupational health and safety training in South Australia, Business SA can provide a
range of training solutions - from face-to-face to online training, which assists the busy Responsible Officer to
meet their legal and moral obligations quickly and easily.
To discuss the range of options available contact Phil Howe—SE Manager and Principal Consultant for Business
SA on 8723 3313 0438 194 593, via email [email protected] or website www.business-sa.com
MFMG recognise that we have a legislated
duty of care to any contractor we engage. This requires us to treat the safety
of contractors in the same way as we do any other employees, visitors and
members.
Contractors and sub-contractors selected to work in our workplace, or conduct any work on our behalf, are expected to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety standards.
Controls have been developed to help us maintain workplace safety and minimise risks to workers, contractors
and the public. They do not reduce our obligations to the health and safety of anyone likely to be effected by our
activities.
Contractors will be required to provide proof of their capacity to responsibly manage their own workplace safety
by providing a copy of their Occupational Health and Safety Policy, Initial WorkCover premium notice for the current year and Public Liability insurance policy (minimum $10 million cover).
Contractors considering sub-contracting any part of the specified works must ensure the sub-contractor provides
them with similar proof of their capacity to manage their OHS.
If a contractor or any of their employees are involved in accidents, injuries, incidents or notifiable incidents in our
workplace they must be reported and recorded on forms provided by MFMG.
We introduce all contractors to our workplace using the attached New Contractor Induction Checklist.
OH&S packages will be forwarded to all contractors shortly.
MacKillop Farm Management Group Inc will provide and maintain a safe working
environment for the health, safety and welfare of our contractors, sub contractors,
visitors and members of the public who may be affected by our work.
MacKillop Farm Management Group
AGM
9th September 2008 at the Naracoorte Hotel from 3pm
(With Drinks and Dinner to follow)
The following positions are available for nomination

Committee members (2 to 4 grower members from each of the northern and southern regions)

Agribusiness Representatives (2)

Vice Chairman (elected for one year, then automatically becomes the Chairman for a term of two years, followed
by a year as outgoing Vice Chairman)
If you would like to nominate for any of the above positions please contact Krysteen McElroy or Chris Klose
Guest Speaker
Greg Butler on “Understanding Carbon Trading”
Greg Butler fulfils the role of Research & Development Manager at the South Australian No-Till Farmers Association
(SANTFA).
After gaining years of agri-production experience predominantly in Australia and the USA, Greg has developed a true passion for sustainable agriculture and combines the commercial practicalities with a desire to take the industry forward
through innovation.
In 1993 Greg graduated from the University of Adelaide with Honours in Organic Chemistry and since then he has been
involved with better land and resource management at the on-farm, industry and research level. With the advent of Climate Change Greg is very well positioned to explain how carbon actually works in our farming systems and what this may
mean for our businesses in the future.
MacKillop Farm
Management Group
Inc
Chairman
Chris Klose
PMB 73
Lucindale SA 5272
Publications available through SFS
Southern Farming Systems has a range of publications available to
members and non-members via their website (or via post if more suitable). Some are free downloads, whereas others require payment.
Publications include:

Subsoil Constraints to cropping in High Rainfall Zone
fax 08 8766 7004

Pest Facts
[email protected]

NLP Stubble management

Grain and Graze

Cereal Disease Guide 2008

Integrated Pest Management for Crops and Pastures.
ph 0429 667 005
Executive Officer
Krysteen McElroy
Nyroca Road
Padthaway SA 5271
Ph 0408 655108
Fax 08 87655229
[email protected]
Log on to www.sfs.org.au to view the entire range
Taking The Guesswork Out Of Decision Making Can Save You Money!
With fertiliser and other farming input costs reaching exorbidant levels, ensuring you make the right decisions is imperative. As such the use of decision support tools such as Yield Prophet which is developed by Birchip Cropping Group and
the CSIRO can help to take some of the guesswork out it and assist you
As part of the healthy soils project 10 farmers from the Wirrega and Wolsely Agricultural Bureaus are using Yield Prophet
on selected paddocks this season to help them to match their fertiliser inputs to anticipated seasonal finishes.
Yield Prophet is a crop simulation model which uses soil moisture and nitrogen budgets to monitor the amount of plant
available water and nitrogen available to the plant throughout the growing season. The plant available soil water soil water, nitrogen and organic matter at the start of the season are determined by soil sampling prior to sowing.
The crop model then runs a budget based upon inputs such as rainfall, nitrogen added as fertiliser and from mineralisation,
and outputs such as plant evapotranspiration and nitrogen used by the plant nitrogen. At any stage the model (often
around August) can be ran to determine how much plant available soil moisture and nitrogen remain.
From this point the model is then used to project likely crop yields based upon anticipate rainfall (ie using deciles 1 to 9)
and long term climatic data to determine anticipated crop water usage and nitrogen requirements. The model can take
into account fertiliser costs and anticipated crop prices, as well as helping to determine likely protein levels of the grain to
decide whether additional nitrogen is going to be of benefit.
Critical to the model is the use of accurate drained upper limits and crop lower limits to determine plant available water for
various soil types. The Healthy Soils Project has recently determined these for 5 soil types in the area, and identified constraints to root development in the soil profiles which there by reduces the amount of plant available water.
Healthy soils can mean healthy production and healthy returns!
None of us perform at our best when we aren’t in good health. And its much the same with your soils, unhealthy soils can
contain numerous problems that restrict your productivity and cost you money. Often soil health declines slowly, and many
of the problems we see in our agricultural production are symptoms of imbalances in our soils.
Many in the South East would be familiar with molybdenum deficinicies in their soils which is reflected through poor performance in their cattle. It is relatively easy to fix - once you recognise it. Similarly soil acidification is a slow process, but
once your soil pH reaches a critical level, productivity drops dramatically. So once again an occasional addition of lime is a
relatively easy fix. Also one problem can often lead to another. Compaction, loss of soil structure and declining organic carbon levels constrain root development, decrease plant available water, and reduce soil microbial activity.
As we know to stay in good health requires a bit of maintenance and is often cheaper in the long run than being sick. The
problem is we don’t always directly recognise that our soils are in poor health, and aren’t always sure of the processes to remedy them.
As its’ name suggests, the Healthy Soils Project, funded under the National Landcare Program, was designed to promote the
concept of healthy soils. However as this program is drawing to a close, the Mc Killop Group in conjunction with the Wirrega, Wolsely, Bangham Flat, and Mundalla Agricultural Bureaus and the Sherwood Farm Management Group has submitted
an NLP proposal to continue the promotion of healthy soils.
The proposal is to conduct localised trials and demonstrations in each area relating to the management of a range of soil constraints for soil types in those areas and improving soil health. It will also provide the opportunity for workshops and forums
for guest speakers on a variety of topics. It is anticipated that the latest round of funding for NLP projects will be announced
shortly.
Above articles submitted by Rod Eldridge
Senior Land Management Consultant for Rural Solutions SA
Murray Bridge Office
PO Box 469
Mobilong House, Level 2
Cnr Seventh St & South Tce
Murray Bridge, SA, 5253
Telephone: 08 8535 6411 or Mobile 0427 220 183
Email: [email protected]
Contact Andrew Marks on 0427400471 for information on NAB Agribusiness commodity
hedging or any other financial requirements
Gold
Silver
Bronze
White Clover Growers
Association
AGM
Wednesday
30th July 2008
Frances Hotel
at 5.30pm
for Dinner
Enquiries to Lou Koch or Krysteen McElroy
Followed by meeting with Lucerne Australia
Re planning for “Irrigating for the Future” exhibition and conference