Adelaide Hills Farmcast October 2022

This month’s Farmcast is a cracker! I had Pods in the studio (aka – cramped home office) because the rain had stopped work outside again.

So I had his help in recording the Almanac and it was good to get some information about what weeds can be sprayed this time of year directly from him.

We went to the Small Acreage Field Day in late September and recorded a number of interviews. We’ve included three of them here; Arnd from Mobishear Australia; Megan from Dairy Goats Society of South Australia and Nic Kentish from RCS Australia. We’ll hold over the other interviews for another Farmcast down the track.

We hope you find this show helpful and welcome your comments below or email Belle or Pods at [e-mail]

You can play the episode, below, or search for Adelaide Hills Farmcast in your favourite podcast app, on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

00:00 Adelaide Hills Farmcast October Edition

Introduction

02:35 Adelaide Hills Farm Almanac / Farm Calendar

Livestock

• Fly Blown Sheep

  Spring is a notoriously bad time for fly strike in your sheep. And yes – even your pet Dorpers and other self-shedding sheep are prone to fly strike. One of the early signs to look out for is ‘Unthrifty Sheep’. According to the Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania  an unthrifty sheep is one that is not eating properly, is losing condition, tends to lag behind the mob when moved and, in severe cases, is clearly weak. A worm problem often (but not always) results in sheep scouring and becoming daggy. Flyboss.com.au is a wonderful resource for determining the correct treatment of fly blown sheep.

Alpacas

• It’s time to shear your Alpacas or if you’re not doing it yourself, you’ll need to book in a shearer. The South Australian Alpaca Association website lists a number of Alpaca Shearers, you’ll be sure to find one that’s available.
• Mobishear interview.

Gardens

My garden is struggling to thrive because I’ve got rabbits roaming around like they own the place…and we have so much clay. I’m adding a mix of Gypsum, sandy/loam and compost in areas that we intend to plant next year. I had thought I was going overboard a little, but then a Google search reviled this short instructional video by ABC Gardening back in 2016. I think I might be on the money.

Horses

• Let me tell you about a few fun problems that horses can have when they spend extended time on muddy and wet ground!

1. Greasy heel or mud fever. It presents as lesions, a greasy appearance, or hair loss on lower limbs typically around heels. Treatment is an antibacterial wash and keeping the horse off wet ground.
2. Thrush is another one and is easily diagnosed by a foul smell from the hoof, and discharge from the frog. Treatment is best in the form of thoroughly cleaning the hooves, treating them with an iodine solution and making sure that dirty stable bedding is replaced with clean dry bedding.
3. Hoof abscesses present as acute la