1. Rain affected towns in Victoria are holding council meetings to prepare for even more rain, with a band on the north east of the state set to hit again.
2. A review of lifestock farming has found that the biggest concerns for animal welfare are forcing premature births in dairy cows, docking heifers’ tails & mulesing sheep. They are looking to balance the benefits and risks of each.
3. A recent survey found that the 128,000 Australian farm businesses feed approximately 60 million people worldwide, including 24 million Australians. That a total of about 1% of the entire world being fed with Australian-farmed produce.
4. Contestants of the show Farmer Wants A Wife have said that the show ‘ruined their life’, with one farmer hospitalised after struggling to cope with the experience.
5. A bomb that went of in a rich New York neighbourhood, injuring 29 people, is being considered an ‘act of terror’ but has not been connected with ISIS.
6. Bourke, NSW has one of the highest rates of crime in Australia. To combat this problem, they are aiming to spend more money on community-building, rather than the prisons and correctional facilities that are most often employed to solve the problem.
7. The Port of Melbourne has been sold by the Victorian government for $9.7 billion – most of it will go towards improving public transport but $200 million will go to a rural jobs fund.
8. Calls have been made to ban the ATA 5-shot semi-automatic shotgun after a farmer suffered brain damage when his gun exploded sideways during routine shooting.
9. A Brisbane bug breeder is selling predator mites that kill smaller mites that damage strawberry crops and have an immunity to chemical pesticides.
10. A farmer in WA is using a drone that emits bird of prey noises from a speaker to scare birds away from his crops.
Five Biggest Mistakes When Building a Horse Arena
If building a horse arena is costly, making mistakes in the process can be painfully costly. A horse arena is a major investment, and getting it right in the earliest planning stages will save you a lot of time, money and heartache. Take the following points into consideration if you’re planning to construct your own arena, and remember than one mistake made can often lead to others.
1. Location by nature, not by aesthetics.
Obviously, drainage is a problem that looms large in arena construction. It is important to locate your arena on a high point of the property; never choose a site that is at the base of hills, or in the path of runoff water. Working with nature rather than against it can cut the drainage battle in half, and will probably reduce the costs as well.
2. Drainage; Get it right the first time.
Water pooling on your arena will lead to a breakdown in expensive arena surface and sub-layers, and create an unstable riding environment. Make sure you design a proper, realistic drainage system based on location, the lie of the land, anticipated annual rainfall, soil type and your own sub-layers. There are a number of methods used for arenas, take the time to investigate which will work best with the above factors. Obviously, building a covered over horse arena will eliminate a lot of the drainage problems, so long as surrounding run-off is properly drained, the arena surface itself won’t have to stand up to downpours and sodden surfaces. Another big advantage of a covered arena is that you can collect and store the water at little cost and with huge lasting benefits.
3. Use the right materials.
It is absolutely essential to spend time and money to ensure you use materials that will work for your arena. There is no across the board ‘rule book’ for sub layers, as materials vary from region to region. Skimping on base layers or choosing the wrong materials can undo the ultimate effectiveness and quality of your arena in a wink. Have a good idea how you want to use the arena when choosing materials, so you can make sure you have the right amount of each layer, and that one layer won’t become too thin after compacting to be effective.
4. Top layer is crucial.
Ideally, a “perfect” riding surface should be cushioned to minimise concussion on horse legs, firm enough to provide traction, not too slick, not too dusty, not overly abrasive to horse hooves, inexpensive to obtain, and easy to maintain. There is a wide range of top fill products available on the market, both natural and commercially produced, and your selection will depend largely on your budget and intended arena use. It would probably pay to make use of some local knowledge, talk to the people who have already done what you are seeking to do.
5. Maintenance.
You can extend the lifetime of your arena by practicing some simple TLC. Harrow the topping regularly to prevent it compacting too much. Removing manure will preserve the quality of your top layer. Watering regularly will keep the dust down, and likewise if the surface is sodden after heavy rain, leave it to dry up a bit before riding. Ongoing maintenance not only saves you time in the long run, but will also save you money in lengthening the time between construction and when your arena is due for a renovation. Once again, building an arena cover will extend the life of your arena a lot by not exposing it to the weather and preserving the surface and below layers.
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