tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-268871452024-03-13T16:48:24.182+11:00Ochre ArchivesThe Ochre Archives blogsite enables me to record for my own future reference and to share various learnings and experiences, many of which are connected with the farm that Jan and I purchased in 2003, "Ochre Arch", Grenfell, Australia.
Readers should carry out their own independent checks before acting on any of the comments contained in this blogsite.
To have your say on whatever I've said, click on the 'comments' link that appears below the blog article and follow the prompts.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.comBlogger192125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-83172161429599207402021-05-24T09:57:00.005+10:002021-05-24T10:30:21.753+10:00Trail Camera Initial Results<p><b>Background</b></p><p>Some months ago our oldest son, Stuart, gave us a digital trail camera so that we could assess its effectiveness in monitoring wildlife use of the <a href="https://www.conronstockcrete.com.au/" target="_blank">Conron Stockcrete</a> 'Mini' water trough we installed in the 5-ways Paddock at the top of the farm. We installed the trough during the last drought to support survival of native fauna. One of the main reasons for installing the camera is for monitoring birdlife. We have had discussions with <a href="http://www.birdingnsw.org.au/" target="_blank">Birding NSW</a> about them possibly being able to remotely access the camera via the internet to enable their members to check in on what's happening with bird activity.</p><p><b>Camera</b></p><p>The camera is a <a href="https://www.campark.net/products/campark-t80-trail-camera-wifi-20mp-1296p-hunting-game-camera">Campark T80</a> which has features such as built in WiFi function enabling wireless connection to a smart phone, 20 megapixel images (with date, time and temperature timestamp) and video option, infrared function and a bunch of other neat stuff. This photo shows the overall layout of the camera and trough, with us having attached the camera to the star post closest to the trough.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQh4eNE4r-7JW69AJYyNa7quTlti4sONpPtHNknCAS0aJdbPW7aeaBabNh5pxFx1BkjhJx35OF-kwAPJGi00fBuY3vX4Li0mGhGLHnX5jmoTnlVsPIPKRfh3Ne1tKyU1_JgSQIA/s1307/20210522+Trail+Camera.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="1307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQh4eNE4r-7JW69AJYyNa7quTlti4sONpPtHNknCAS0aJdbPW7aeaBabNh5pxFx1BkjhJx35OF-kwAPJGi00fBuY3vX4Li0mGhGLHnX5jmoTnlVsPIPKRfh3Ne1tKyU1_JgSQIA/s320/20210522+Trail+Camera.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>You will see that there is green vegetation around the trough. We now realise that it's due in no small part to the aggressive way some birds wash themselves in the water.<div><p>At the time of installing the camera the water in the trough was pretty mucky as we've not been in the habit of regularly cleaning the trough. We did clean it prior to installing the camera around midday on Saturday 22nd May 2021.</p><p><b>Initial Results</b></p><p>Mid afternoon yesterday, Sunday 23rd May 2021 we connected one of our smart phones to the camera and copied all of the images that had been captured since the previous day. There were about 200 still images in all; reflecting the fact that our trough is being used by quite a bit of fauna.</p><p>Here's some of the photos that were taken in the afternoon of 22nd May:</p><p><i>Australian Magpie</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXjg4IFBpGvR_O2ymDL1MIX_Ay3ftKkzd5_hqGu5-QdlGD7cmPK_h1Z2t6pbd-cb9eqQ7zyXJRjVeCMhQJryo7tMYHMFlcSFqTJ6xPAjGsEVquwfsgABXc-YOhjMCSkHnxi2NIg/s1934/20210522+14_03+Australian+Magpie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1165" data-original-width="1934" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZXjg4IFBpGvR_O2ymDL1MIX_Ay3ftKkzd5_hqGu5-QdlGD7cmPK_h1Z2t6pbd-cb9eqQ7zyXJRjVeCMhQJryo7tMYHMFlcSFqTJ6xPAjGsEVquwfsgABXc-YOhjMCSkHnxi2NIg/s320/20210522+14_03+Australian+Magpie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Australian Raven</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPiYmnebn96ZmXkIEGuOGlMIn_CKtWw4pdnuBCA4YA04tSzlccMRH5z1DKYY0P_dFvu89mS30V6Wbd7IB65N3Iw5kPsXNlCyYIT1Hs0FHPVm1Gmd8w_efi-kXd2YNbIBrFkgynA/s1878/20210522+14_12+Australian+Raven+question+mark.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1385" data-original-width="1878" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPiYmnebn96ZmXkIEGuOGlMIn_CKtWw4pdnuBCA4YA04tSzlccMRH5z1DKYY0P_dFvu89mS30V6Wbd7IB65N3Iw5kPsXNlCyYIT1Hs0FHPVm1Gmd8w_efi-kXd2YNbIBrFkgynA/s320/20210522+14_12+Australian+Raven+question+mark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><i>Currawong</i></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq3IyXuDOIKqciEESBMhlll7CK43MPfvfME5bHJvtacKhzJ63hJZBsRoUB04j85RLWY2i4nA6vkCvzp25CjlZ0rcKvMFgIPYXiR0Z066dR7jthsiPxmdcTn1vIhlnw_J4LNOjow/s2048/20210522+14_40+Currawong.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1287" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYq3IyXuDOIKqciEESBMhlll7CK43MPfvfME5bHJvtacKhzJ63hJZBsRoUB04j85RLWY2i4nA6vkCvzp25CjlZ0rcKvMFgIPYXiR0Z066dR7jthsiPxmdcTn1vIhlnw_J4LNOjow/s320/20210522+14_40+Currawong.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Crested Pigeon</i></div></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ43godE4PSML193yn9OlusB-r-7ndTcN4Mwoa9iLWLCgWMSaX8h3MvW6Jy0qoDpp68VDalkeujZLAiU691IRZAbwNC9HJ453UtTf_3BgBCOPTCSrk9M1r64IX5R9wXEsppmzjQ/s1954/20210522+16_26+Crested+Pigeon.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1954" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnZ43godE4PSML193yn9OlusB-r-7ndTcN4Mwoa9iLWLCgWMSaX8h3MvW6Jy0qoDpp68VDalkeujZLAiU691IRZAbwNC9HJ453UtTf_3BgBCOPTCSrk9M1r64IX5R9wXEsppmzjQ/s320/20210522+16_26+Crested+Pigeon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Grey-crowned Babbler</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88xCVNwmg8hAFuCMUxR8vxK-i4lrKJvwHjeUp4KhkdXHpKah72V0jH6j_5-MEWvb_qCxYYm57OuKWeUkAkhSU5ZYCpmNuGcuwSR2O1OIxLUYaGV8PhJ5FnzVd-VV2msnDHzYwAQ/s1612/20210522+15_59+Grey-crowned+Babbler.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1336" data-original-width="1612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh88xCVNwmg8hAFuCMUxR8vxK-i4lrKJvwHjeUp4KhkdXHpKah72V0jH6j_5-MEWvb_qCxYYm57OuKWeUkAkhSU5ZYCpmNuGcuwSR2O1OIxLUYaGV8PhJ5FnzVd-VV2msnDHzYwAQ/s320/20210522+15_59+Grey-crowned+Babbler.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Noisy Miner</i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4RmWSU3ov4bT35Su-Jgwp9IIS-VeBqAg9jD4hnksZ6YtNGcscFDDtISl12cjhkbCE9Ax5xbL8LDeEabTCuomBd-0lygyF_Nwrxl4LGit2mrsDxis4xQ1TApSaZ3bFnK-jcBGRQ/s1873/20210522+15_19+Multiple+Noisy+Miners.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1558" data-original-width="1873" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx4RmWSU3ov4bT35Su-Jgwp9IIS-VeBqAg9jD4hnksZ6YtNGcscFDDtISl12cjhkbCE9Ax5xbL8LDeEabTCuomBd-0lygyF_Nwrxl4LGit2mrsDxis4xQ1TApSaZ3bFnK-jcBGRQ/s320/20210522+15_19+Multiple+Noisy+Miners.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div>Just the one image was captured during the night via the infrared function.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Feral Cat</i></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgD_LuBvWc4Lz9ymZK-ZFpcNMCoBdGdRYdSgU_2GC9N4NM-bILves23uu1J2XohIHRf3ioSiUT_ekdMYP1iMNvqDlO2Mm4sUKUJfCbh7XCnneYPUws9rn3Rd5T11c2ocoIam18g/s2048/20210522+22_07PM+Cat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsgD_LuBvWc4Lz9ymZK-ZFpcNMCoBdGdRYdSgU_2GC9N4NM-bILves23uu1J2XohIHRf3ioSiUT_ekdMYP1iMNvqDlO2Mm4sUKUJfCbh7XCnneYPUws9rn3Rd5T11c2ocoIam18g/s320/20210522+22_07PM+Cat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Whilst we were aware that feral cats are on the farm from time to time if we find that this cat is a regular user of the trough we'll most likely trap and remove it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's a sample of the bird species photographed in the morning of Sunday 23rd May 2021.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Eastern Rosella</i> (Phillip's favourite birds!)</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cqRwImjk5ZlcEN-n5TpWK19zb2nxGOSRHKM5Zj8r1ADHqdJuzTm4ssv8RcfQ9X2NrZK7meG5oEG3xfPRAwLVmFj7Srl1HULgiiucnubI5t-oT9oos79TZgHHzk4tnrw9LLrClQ/s1476/20210523+08_49+AM+Rosellas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1107" data-original-width="1476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cqRwImjk5ZlcEN-n5TpWK19zb2nxGOSRHKM5Zj8r1ADHqdJuzTm4ssv8RcfQ9X2NrZK7meG5oEG3xfPRAwLVmFj7Srl1HULgiiucnubI5t-oT9oos79TZgHHzk4tnrw9LLrClQ/s320/20210523+08_49+AM+Rosellas.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hooded Robin</i> (we LOVE seeing these on the farm)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqWxul6_77kxD8RcTCRCi3kAAXQwmM1riXyXG1mr5wCxOCPhVmTaAs6F73RyIlePmTzXLI5ql3hy9QS-JVJRaOgO-N-3izuq3lIIAdsGhuqD9I5HpgU5QT2nJId5AF2TIq3nVPA/s2048/20210523+09_05+Red-capped+Robin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1558" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqWxul6_77kxD8RcTCRCi3kAAXQwmM1riXyXG1mr5wCxOCPhVmTaAs6F73RyIlePmTzXLI5ql3hy9QS-JVJRaOgO-N-3izuq3lIIAdsGhuqD9I5HpgU5QT2nJId5AF2TIq3nVPA/s320/20210523+09_05+Red-capped+Robin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Double-barred Finch</i> (this is the first time we've seen these on the farm and this takes total number of species we've seen to 107)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZWzx-FWAyqW4pcvWYxQwLbvETfozBX8slW93U0s-BLmYpmymkqLeAVQNe24HKE12JP4Omm05JL2lHtHqJ1OPeRKHeWsYsj9bc-mROptlEoteSoBA4YiofnqHpbvviCXjs2WCRQ/s2048/20210523+11_19++Double-barred+Finch+question+mark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1273" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZZWzx-FWAyqW4pcvWYxQwLbvETfozBX8slW93U0s-BLmYpmymkqLeAVQNe24HKE12JP4Omm05JL2lHtHqJ1OPeRKHeWsYsj9bc-mROptlEoteSoBA4YiofnqHpbvviCXjs2WCRQ/s320/20210523+11_19++Double-barred+Finch+question+mark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Pied Butcherbird</i></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BKWkQfxycaVV6bmQ7B22vmWf0ig9QtjP0CyYcaAEC1GlvouzMsM1QzK0HHETcf4ICSt-o5NqCr-SlsquAh7sjqPnq-Ftc_GPLB9YOVSfattmIupSqy9ZKyWs6IP83j7DD0mOow/s1670/20210523+12_24+Pied+Butcherbird.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1390" data-original-width="1670" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BKWkQfxycaVV6bmQ7B22vmWf0ig9QtjP0CyYcaAEC1GlvouzMsM1QzK0HHETcf4ICSt-o5NqCr-SlsquAh7sjqPnq-Ftc_GPLB9YOVSfattmIupSqy9ZKyWs6IP83j7DD0mOow/s320/20210523+12_24+Pied+Butcherbird.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>There were 6 more species captured by the camera but we've not included them as they were not clear or we did not know what they were.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Overall comments</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Our overall comments are as follows:</div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The camera really does do an excellent job of taking images that enable identification of what is using the trough</li><li>That said, with especially small birds the images are not to a standard that would allow quality publication. On the other hand we might find that if we moved the camera closer to the trough they'd be fine.</li><li>The 'high traffic' nature of the location is such that there's quite a bit involved in going through and managing the images. It would be good to 'outsource' this ... possibly to Birding NSW ... assuming we can get the internet connectivity set up correctly. For us at this point we plan on only having the camera turned on periodically; and may set it up at different locations.</li><li>We were surprised that some of the more common birds we see here were not captured; such as Galah, Apostle Bird, Bronze-wing Pigeon and Blue Bonnet. This may be because the water quality in the trough has not been what it could have because we don't clean it regularly and the alternate water sources (dams ... 2 within about 1 km of the trough) are better options for them.</li><li>We were also a bit surprised that we did not see species such as Eastern Grey Kangaroo, Wallaroo and foxes.</li><li>Of course we don't know if there were species that used the trough but were not captured by the camera</li><li>There were very few photos that showed no fauna in them. We assume that it these cases the camera detected movement but the critter was gone by the time the camera activated.</li><li>We are very happy overall with the camera and what we've experienced already.</li></ol></div>Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-17723760952394749172016-03-29T11:19:00.002+11:002016-03-29T12:26:39.486+11:00Video - How to Sharpen a Stihl Chainsaw ChainHere's the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWcckW3ghFg" target="_blank">official video from Stihl</a> showing how to sharpen a chainsaw chain using the standard equipment they manufacture and sell (which fortunately we have on hand!).Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-44569665075016459712015-12-31T18:03:00.001+11:002015-12-31T18:03:14.565+11:00Equipment List for Installing Strainer Posts and Stays<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUZMThcOl1PkXmLyQs6P98Z-jHG1xZrDeaNsr4yKNgz1F71QtZ-PUe2drThfsMfftrYvfJFxYTWyJ4C33m6rHUWVxhdeUlbJrd4EcQtP2UVJ20wknuXdKldg52WOyN3V_UX7Tug/s1600/rcIMG_20151231_083141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAUZMThcOl1PkXmLyQs6P98Z-jHG1xZrDeaNsr4yKNgz1F71QtZ-PUe2drThfsMfftrYvfJFxYTWyJ4C33m6rHUWVxhdeUlbJrd4EcQtP2UVJ20wknuXdKldg52WOyN3V_UX7Tug/s320/rcIMG_20151231_083141.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fencing seems to be a task carried out intermittently which
means that it can be a challenge to remember all the bits and pieces to take
with us to the pale where we are installing strainer posts and stays. We appreciate
that different people have different equipment to do tasks of this nature. What
follows is what we take with us together with the logic where possibly not
obvious.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Vehicles</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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If it’s a full blown effort and not in the fire season we
normally take the ute and the car, both with trailers. In the fire season we
still use 2 trailers but transport them onto the site in sequence using the
ute. We don’t take the car during fire season as the catalytic converter for
ULP vehicles gets extremely hot and can cause fire. Our ute has a diesel
engine.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Trailer 1 - Contents include:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -18pt;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><o:p style="text-indent: -18pt;"></o:p><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Sand and gravel mix</i> - for making the concrete for placement
around the strainer posts and at the base of the stays</span></div>
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<br /><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i>Brickies wheelbarrow</i> – for transporting the mixed concrete
to the posts and stays</span></div>
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<b>Trailer 2 – Contents include:</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><i>Portable generator and starter cord</i></div>
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<i>Concrete mixer</i>. We find that an ideal quantity when making
the concrete is 18 shovels of sand and gravel and 3 shovels of cement. This
suits both the mixer bowl and the wheelbarrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Ratchet straps and a rope</i> for anchoring the concrete mixer
and generator on the trailer<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Ute – Equipment taken on the back of the tray<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<i>Extension cord</i> – from the mixer to the generator<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Old towel </i>– for hand wiping and cleaning up the top of the
strainer post after making the concrete cap at the top<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Spirit level</i> – for ensuring that the strainer post is in
fact vertical and not on an angle<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Crow bar</i> – for digging the holes and in some cases as a lever
to get old fencing out of the way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A few star posts</i> – for keeping old fencing out of the way,
levering the bottom of the strainer if not centred properly and for temporary
stays while the concrete sets<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Hammer</i> – for hitting in the star posts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Bags of General Purpose cement.</i> The mix ratio is one shovel
of cement to six shovels of sand and gravel<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>(pocket) Knife</i> – for cutting open the bags of cement. Norma
practice is to lay the bag down and cut on one side across the centre. This
then allows for the centre to be pulled up exposing 2 halves – from which to progressively
shovel out the contents.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Half a dozen bricks or so</i> – for placing under the ends of
the stays to get them the right level from the ground. Also for chocks for the
trailers and mixer if the ground’s not level.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Full 20 litre plastic water containers</i>. About 6 or so. For
adding to the cement, sand and gravel in the mixer; cleaning the mixer, shovel
and electric fencing posts; and for other general washing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Shovel</i> – for filling the concrete mixer, sticking into the
wet concrete around the post and stays to ensure gaps are filled, and for smoothing
the surface of the wet concrete.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>A round 42 litre flexible multi-tub</i> aka horse feed bucket.
Good for left over cement until next time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Fuel</i> – for the generator<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Leather gloves </i>– for when digging and also good for the starter
cord pulling hand with the generator<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Ratchet straps</i> – for tightening the stays against the
strainer until the concrete sets. See photo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>8 inch soil auger</i> – for the strainer post hole and end of
the stays.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Mattock</i> – helps in making the trench for the stays.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Drinking water and other sustenance</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-52408293305380672522015-10-05T17:40:00.000+11:002015-10-05T17:40:00.829+11:00Heavy Duty Ring ClipsHere's a quick tip when buying ring clips to clamp the end of a flexible hose to a camlock fitting. If your water pressure is high then it's important to buy heavy duty rather than standard ring clips, and to tighten them at least once more (after the initial tightening) after leaving the hose and fitting in the sun for a while (after the first tightening).<br />
<br />
Below is a photo of one of our hose fittings. We also elected to use 2 rather than 1 ring clip per end fitting. Better to be safe than sorry. In our case we started with standard ring clips but the water pressure blew the fitting off when there was in excess of 50 metres of head pressure.<br />
<br />
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<br />Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-39820171815414482222014-11-17T12:38:00.000+11:002014-11-17T12:38:03.518+11:00Ear Tagging of Cattle on Ochre Arch<div class="MsoNormal">
We thought we’d share the accompanying photo for those not
familiar with the tagging process of cattle in Australia. The high-tech white
tag on the left is for compliance with the National Livestock Identification
System (NLIS) requirements and the tag on the left is for the low-tech Ochre
Arch cattle management system. The white tags are designed for lifetime animal
traceability.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJo4Z65vbQ-BKBxAGiPuqjkmFDLDFYmy_TngF0d6e1ZDamqi0j7tDF510CzazvqqIC38gnndtf8y3ewY9p3q6l1O0AcuW9SmYbClOzx4a29TiD86WD9es5tdcNzRL69DLFRpCPg/s1600/cIMG_20141114_121231.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJo4Z65vbQ-BKBxAGiPuqjkmFDLDFYmy_TngF0d6e1ZDamqi0j7tDF510CzazvqqIC38gnndtf8y3ewY9p3q6l1O0AcuW9SmYbClOzx4a29TiD86WD9es5tdcNzRL69DLFRpCPg/s1600/cIMG_20141114_121231.jpg" height="278" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The white tags have two numbers associated with them. An
internal Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) number which is 16 characters
long (15 numbers and a space between the 3<sup>rd</sup> and 4<sup>th</sup>) and
is read electronically via a scanning device affectionately known as a ‘wand’;
and an external visual National Livestock Identification System identification number.
The NLIS ID indicates the property where
the animal was identified and whether that was the property of birth or not.
The first 8 characters of the 16 digit NLIS ID number is the Property
Identification Code (PIC) of the property it was ordered for and if the device
is white in colour it means that the animal was born on that property. Pink
NLIS ID tags are for use with cattle not born on the property.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The RFID can only be read electronically. The NLIS ID cannot
be read electronically. There is no logical correlation between the RFID ID
number and the NLIS ID number. The two numbers are supplied simultaneously by
the device manufacturer to the NLIS administrators and it is via that database
that ‘linking’ is recorded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On Ochre Arch we don’t have the volume of cattle to warrant
the purchase of a ‘wand’ and use of associated software to use the NLIS tags
for cattle management. It is really only practical for us to see and read the
NLIS ID number when the animal is in the cattle crush. Of course we do install
the NLIS ID tags as this is a prerequisite for any process that results in
cattle moving off our farm. To date our cattle have had only two destinations –
the Forbes Central Livestock Exchange for sale at the weekly ‘fat’ cattle
market and direct to the Cowra meat processing plant in connection with our
direct sales of beef as quarter packs. In both cases the NLIS database is
advised by third parties of the animal transfers – by the stock agent and by
the meat processor.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we order and purchase NLIS ID tags the manufacturer
sends details of the tag and their numbers to the NLIS database and the tags
are recorded against our PIC in the database. We also have tag numbers move
onto our database when we acquire stock. To this point we have only acquired
stock from two sources – purchase of our cows and bull from a neighbour; and
purchase of steers at store sales held at Forbes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have installed pre-printed yellow management tags on all
of our cattle and keep manual records. We initially purchased ‘blank’ yellow
management tags but found that the hand-written numbers we put on them using
permanent marker pens faded making them pretty useless. The tags enable us to
do a range of tasks such as:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Matching’ cows with their calves</li>
<li>Calculating calf ages in the context of doing visual growth
rate assessments</li>
<li>Off the above … using the age to estimate when to sell
calves to optimise the financial return. All things being equal buyers tend to
pay a higher price per kg the younger the animal is.</li>
<li>Seeing how many cattle we’ve sold over time and have on hand</li>
<li>Identifying cows that may have not fallen pregnant and need
to be culled.</li>
<li>Problem solving when and if the NLIS tag gets lost.</li>
</ul>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The last point was particularly relevant with stock we sent
to market last Sunday for sale on Monday. After the sale we received an email
warning notification from the NLIS that one of the steers recorded against of
National Vendor Declaration had a NLIS tag with a number suggesting it had come
from another property. After much investigation by us and our agent it was
discovered that the steer had lost its National Livestock Identification System
(NLIS) ear tag in transit and due to unusual circumstances a replacement tag
from another property was installed in error at the yards. This event has been
the catalyst for us doing the research behind this article and also reconciling
and amending the records in the NLIS database for our farm. The NLIS database is
not particularly friendly to use!<o:p></o:p></div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-31852627332880975072014-08-01T16:18:00.001+10:002014-08-01T16:18:42.265+10:00Just Add Water Experiment - Final Write UpAt the start of this year in the midst of very dry conditions we set up an experiment where we enclosed and regularly watered a small area of land. The last update was on 25th January and link to that article is <a href="http://ochrearchives.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/just-add-water-experiment-update.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
We continued the watering until mid February when reasonable rainfall occurred and it became clear that strong growth was occurring both within and outside the enclosure. The bottom line of the experiment was that, not surprisingly, good growth of grass does occur just through regular watering ... and that it was not necessary to add seed or fertiliser to make grass grow. What follows is a series of photograph taking you through to present day. The area is still enclosed and provides a good insight into the continuing growth of plants not subject to any grazing pressure.<br />
<br />
<b>1st February 2014 - Bird Life Attracted to the Enclosure</b><br />
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<br />
<b>1st February 2014 - Rams pushed the enclosure out of the way to access green pick</b><br />
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<br />
<b>13th February 2014 - Rabbits attempt to move in to the enclosed area</b><br />
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<br />
<b>19th February 2014 - Real progress evident within the enclosure</b><br />
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<br />
<b>13th July 2014 - Condition inside enclosure - due to stock exclusion</b><br />
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<br />Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-71424913683596957162014-01-25T17:34:00.001+11:002014-01-25T17:34:16.428+11:00Just-Add-Water Experiment - UpdateOn 4th January 2014 we kicked off our 'Just Add Water Experiment' which we described in our blogsite post dated 6th January 2014. Here's a<a href="http://ochrearchives.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/just-add-water-experiment.html" target="_blank"> link</a>. In the comments section of that post you will find updates describing watering events, daily temperatures, rainfall events and a few other bits and pieces.<br />
<br />
It's now 19 days since we kicked things off and we felt it time to share photos taken today showing what's happening at the site.<br />
<br />
The photo below was taken outside but adjacent to the site i.e. not watered aside from natural rainfall. Stock are able to access this section of land. If you enlarge the image and look very closely you will be able to see some very slight green grass growth ... just a few plants:<br />
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<br />
<br />
The photo below was taken inside the watering area of the site. Stock are able to access this section of land. If you expand the image and look closely you will see many green plants but only minimal leaf area due to the grazing impact.<br />
<br />
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<br />
The photo below was taken inside the watering area of the site and inside the stock exclusion area. You will see many plants and most have a reasonable amount of green leaf area. We expect to see rapid growth in the coming weeks.<br />
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At this point it is fair to say that considerable seed germination has occurred on the watered area.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-47769892625195199612014-01-25T16:41:00.000+11:002014-01-25T16:41:08.992+11:00Remote Power Supply Performance During Serious HeatOur maximum daily temperature during the past fortnight has been as follows:<br />
12th January: 42 degrees C, 13th January: 40, 14th January 40, 15th January: 42, 16th January: 44, 17th January: 43, 18th January: 45.5, 19th January: 42, 20th January: 40, 21st January: 38, 22nd January: 38, 23rd January: 35, 24th January: 25 (17 mm rainfall received during the course of the day), 25th January: 30<br />
<br />
9 days of temperatures of 40 degrees or more is quite an extended hot spell. It has given us quite an opportunity to see how both we and our set-up handle the heat.<br />
<br />
A few years ago we installed what our research suggested was the most energy efficient reverse cycle refrigerated air conditioner manufactured by Mitsubishi Industrial, model number SRK71ZEA-S1. A photo of the external inverter unit is below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagRvYm_W_n377m4SiXpWf010DplL4m67iNVya9CZU3d0cLJc4bVLwmi5opmJVRxmDJOoPTuXsUFzXDN_pUKbZvxUt3bhs4MqelBVxr0OaIdGiWku2ztOacmjitedK1V9fKF08ow/s1600/r001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjagRvYm_W_n377m4SiXpWf010DplL4m67iNVya9CZU3d0cLJc4bVLwmi5opmJVRxmDJOoPTuXsUFzXDN_pUKbZvxUt3bhs4MqelBVxr0OaIdGiWku2ztOacmjitedK1V9fKF08ow/s1600/r001.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Our original intention was to install an evaporative air cooler but we opted for an air conditioner on advice from many that the former are of little use during high humidity periods. The latter does require considerably more power to run and was not in the calculations for our remote power system. It and the stock water pump are by far and away the two major power use items during summer. The latter is getting more use than normal presently due to the '<a href="http://ochrearchives.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/just-add-water-experiment.html" target="_blank">Just Add Water Experiment</a>' we kicked off on 6th January.<br />
<br />
Our house is not large by any means and during the renovations we did our best to insulate both the roof cavity and walls where we replaced the old plasterboard.<br />
<br />
So here are some observations and learnings during the recent hot spell:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>We both seem to be a bit better at handling heat than the 'average Joe-blow', which might be genetic or physiological</li>
<li>Our house insulation combined with fan use is such that we are comfortable inside in temperatures up to about 35 degrees</li>
<li>Solar panel performance deteriorates in temperatures above about 35 degrees C. On days below that our solar panels will harvest up to 19 kilowatt hours on a clear day, and when it is above 40 degrees about 17 kilowatt hours is the best we can hope for</li>
<li>The inverter we use that converts battery stored direct current to 240 volts AC recently 'chucked a serious huff' during temperatures above 40 degrees while the back-up generator was running.</li>
<li>The air conditioner doesn't draw much power when external temperatures are up to about 35 degrees, uses more up to 40 degrees, and heaps more when it is above 40 degrees.</li>
<li>We've found that the most appropriate internal temperature setting for us with our air conditioner unit is 28 degrees. The internal unit is near the ceiling so that actual temperature at 'living' height is well below 28 degrees</li>
<li>We've found that on above 40 degree days it works well to run the back-up generator for an hour in the morning and another hour in the evening. We see the cost of running the generator as the price of comfort during extremes.</li>
<li>We'd need to double the capacity of our solar panels to capture enough natural energy to cater for above 40 degree days. This is not cost justifiable as the reality is that there are not that many days during the year when temperatures are above 40 degrees.</li>
<li>On days when the maximum temperature exceeds 40 degrees we run the air conditioner from around 12.00 pm through to 9.00 pm.</li>
</ul>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-73134123558668667712014-01-09T13:01:00.002+11:002014-01-09T13:01:19.033+11:00Upgrading Some Tree GuardsOur livestock are by nature pretty handy at consuming the leaf matter on Kurrajong Trees across the farm. This is not an issue with established trees but is for those we planted some years ago to become paddock trees. The addition of cattle to our enterprise mix also means that being taller than sheep they are easily able to get over the top of the guards we installed ... at the time just to protect the plants from sheep.<br />
<br />
We've decided to upgrade the tree guards around young Kurrajong Trees in paddocks that have below what we think is the desirable number of paddock trees, especially in the Spring Paddock, Airstrip Paddock and Duck Dam Paddock. The photo below shows one of the Kurrajong trees in the Spring Paddock with the old guard still in place.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-a2-ZFCmmjAgq_fm0sCMf-glrl02MnEpIzpjv4d0xnUPPMS2D5kdK5HBd612h4HmG0FAg-7O4OkNT3k51-FvkVG8bfXEyXyNlCUZPi9S0hM-_VCGKhQvzEXuEefT0zEs9_fb28g/s1600/rPhoto006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-a2-ZFCmmjAgq_fm0sCMf-glrl02MnEpIzpjv4d0xnUPPMS2D5kdK5HBd612h4HmG0FAg-7O4OkNT3k51-FvkVG8bfXEyXyNlCUZPi9S0hM-_VCGKhQvzEXuEefT0zEs9_fb28g/s1600/rPhoto006.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It would be great to be able to upgrade the guards on all of the trees we've planted as paddock trees but the materials are a bit on the pricey side.<br />
<br />
The photo below shows the same tree in the Spring Paddock with a new guard in place. Height is 1.8 metres constructed out of sheep yard mesh. Hopefully this will do the trick!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYnmkaM1uc-HpeqAHI8O0dgSm4OA2EEj5Vr2Wm54oc5o7PlAFq1O4mWbcwb7W8HhiGN2N_8DMbNMkVtgKHSNw_oPKXJgG2PYpVNzcV6tucRIWHcNSY8fLnbCnuS_Ty08sqB6NJw/s1600/rPhoto007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEYnmkaM1uc-HpeqAHI8O0dgSm4OA2EEj5Vr2Wm54oc5o7PlAFq1O4mWbcwb7W8HhiGN2N_8DMbNMkVtgKHSNw_oPKXJgG2PYpVNzcV6tucRIWHcNSY8fLnbCnuS_Ty08sqB6NJw/s1600/rPhoto007.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-15178743254590296662014-01-06T17:18:00.000+11:002014-01-06T17:18:40.688+11:00Just-Add-Water Experiment<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><b>Context</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our last
decent rainfall event was in mid-September 2013 at 36 mm; so things here on
Ochre Arch are ‘crisp’ and the long term forecast suggests little rain until
autumn or beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The quality
of our bore water supply is first class, both in terms of mineralisation (or
lack of it) and lack of impurities (zero chance of hose fitting blockages). The
marginal supply cost is low at around $0.50 per kilolitre and marginal on-farm
pumping cost is next to zero provided we don’t need to draw on the back-up
diesel generator i.e. power source is from our solar and wind turbine sources.
We are not stocked to capacity and thus are not using our full daily bore water
scheme supply allocation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s been a
while since we kicked off a new on-farm experiment. They are one of the best
ways to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Experiment Description</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 18px;">We've</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> installed a high flow water sprinkler well out from fence-lines in the Airstrip
Paddock and will observe vegetation change over time from the soil (under the
range of the sprinkler) being kept constantly damp from regular evening
watering events using our surplus water scheme supply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Current Soil
Surface Condition</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The photo
below shows the soil surface condition at the site.</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfwJfep8OC5BRUhg8EGwfNSWrys-0DPebmLJ0qVNbmLOz1GTxiSMYFS9fdJIRyqqlMpciwxFBFNDjQ1gz8L46wG9INgU_0A5oEacJ8vGnW_gGhaHoKvru8gVGBsDl54EpkFEeIw/s1600/r011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfwJfep8OC5BRUhg8EGwfNSWrys-0DPebmLJ0qVNbmLOz1GTxiSMYFS9fdJIRyqqlMpciwxFBFNDjQ1gz8L46wG9INgU_0A5oEacJ8vGnW_gGhaHoKvru8gVGBsDl54EpkFEeIw/s1600/r011.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Equipment</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We recently purchased
the following parts and assembled a water sprinkler (parts listed from the ‘top
down’ in terms of the final assembly):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">20 mm brass
two-nozzle impact sprinkler. This was the highest capacity sprinkler the
supplier had on hand. We wanted to be able to apply the maximum water over the
greatest area in the shortest period of time.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">3/4 inch BSP
threaded plastic socket</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">900 mm 3/4
inch BSP threaded pipe riser. The riser needed to be at least this high to keep
it clear of the sheep.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">3/4 inch BSP
threaded elbow</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">3/4 inch to
18 mm Neta brass fitting. Our hoses are 18 mm rather than the 12 mm standard,
allowing for higher volume flows.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a photo of the brass nozzle on the top of the riser.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu6Y0YDiyuP7eJVWZbxzhFKB-DOvWrmzyY1FfvP_TyH_4ACkG_LcaMMvsyyzJJw5hGW-DUqT8dqJrS8lfAo1bH_my7HoCg5ykRzKwEPxVXgaSWnCaFGiKGTPokPVYSi_cEAu0_Q/s1600/r010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJu6Y0YDiyuP7eJVWZbxzhFKB-DOvWrmzyY1FfvP_TyH_4ACkG_LcaMMvsyyzJJw5hGW-DUqT8dqJrS8lfAo1bH_my7HoCg5ykRzKwEPxVXgaSWnCaFGiKGTPokPVYSi_cEAu0_Q/s1600/r010.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Estimating
Water Flow Rate</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the
assembly was complete we attached it to a hose near the house connected to the
bore water supply hydrant. The spray nozzle was placed in an empty 20 litre
bucket and the hose turned on full pressure. We timed to see how long it took
to fill the bucket with water. The pressure was such that initially water
flowed out of the bucket. After things settled we calculated bucket fill time
at 25 seconds giving a flow rate of 0.8 litres per second.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our initial
thinking was that we’d run the sprinkler in the paddock long enough to disperse
1,000 litres. Based on the above figures this would take a tad over 20 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Installing
the Sprinkler</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We chose to
set the sprinkler up in the Airstrip Paddock with water sourced from the
hydrant on the fence between the holding yard for both our sheep and cattle
yards and the Airstrip Paddock. Site location factors included being within
close proximity to the house (we can see the site from under the covered area
to the east of the house), on pasture that has been reasonably heavily grazed
and in a paddock that we set stock with both pet sheep and our rams. Whatever
grows will be a good source of protein for these livestock through to the end
of summer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using one of
our 18 mm hoses as the connector and distance setter we selected a spot
equidistant from two fence-lines such that it would not be possible for the
water to land on fence-lines i.e. all growth will be within the Airstrip
Paddock. In the interest of simplicity a shortened star post was hit into the
ground at the desired location and the new assembly attached.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's a photo of the riser in place, with the nozzle on top.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqwqNpYNempTnv0aFjVPRXR67uL9ivAWFXfvmbbSSWh88HnQG8kZ6Do_mj4-wudA-0cYR3wPvtRrGRD9VwmSihhFU6ofI4FxpkQTJlAuP07UIVkFBXCKjmIvc0mefktC54PJAKQ/s1600/r009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqwqNpYNempTnv0aFjVPRXR67uL9ivAWFXfvmbbSSWh88HnQG8kZ6Do_mj4-wudA-0cYR3wPvtRrGRD9VwmSihhFU6ofI4FxpkQTJlAuP07UIVkFBXCKjmIvc0mefktC54PJAKQ/s1600/r009.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Stock
Exclusion Area</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Using two
panels of weldmesh we constructed and put in place under the estimated drip
line a circular fenced area. The diameter is approximately 3.6 metres giving an
area of approximately 10.2 square metres. Having this in place will allow us to
observe vegetation growth without the sheep having access, although other
herbivores such as kangaroos and rabbits may gain access</span><span style="font-size: medium;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The photo below shows the stock exclusion area with the sprinkler 'doing its thing'.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMFMFv_QA3MHf_OhvsdJJ-GV_fA6qwtmYW2Meg9gcALWYkzAO20B8TIW5JXsgk5b429wT_sD7NwtSrQAGQxbao5DSW-BwDlL0OBbMXIHnOlsIIMDfRJNz5nvinoulukCEZiHXdQ/s1600/r015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMFMFv_QA3MHf_OhvsdJJ-GV_fA6qwtmYW2Meg9gcALWYkzAO20B8TIW5JXsgk5b429wT_sD7NwtSrQAGQxbao5DSW-BwDlL0OBbMXIHnOlsIIMDfRJNz5nvinoulukCEZiHXdQ/s1600/r015.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>First
watering</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At a tad
after 7.30 pm on Saturday 4 January 2014 we turned the water supply to the
sprinkler on. There was a brisk breeze blowing which meant that the water spray
up wind was not nearly as far as it was downwind. The sprinkler worked
extremely well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After 20
minutes when in theory about 1,000 litres of water had been dispersed the top
of the soil under the sprinkler was damp but our impression was that it would
not be sufficient to get much growth happening. Consequently we decided to run
the sprinkler for a full hour, making 3,000 litres dispersed. The soil surface
was very damp (but no mud).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Watering
close to sunset should mean we reduce the evaporation from the site, or
certainly in comparison to what might occur if we did the watering during the
middle of the day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Area Watered</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once the
watering was complete we were then able to calculate the total area watered. We
simply walked across the wet area from drip-line to drip line twice at
perpendicular angles. From this we estimated that the diameter of the wet area
was 22 metres or slightly more than the length of a standard cricket pitch.
Using a web-based calculator (<a href="http://www.calculateme.com/cArea/AreaOfCircle.htm">http://www.calculateme.com/cArea/AreaOfCircle.htm</a>)
the approximate area watered was 380 square metres or 3.8 % of a hectare.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Water
Applied per Square Metre</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3,000 litres
of water spread evenly over 380 square metres equates to roughly 8 mm water
falling per square metre (sought-of comparable to 8 mm rainfall). Using the
generally accepted guide that every mm rainfall produces 10 mm soil profile
moisture this means that roughly 8 cm of soil profile moisture would have been
created. Most of the ‘action’ in the soil happens in the top 4 inches or 100
mm, so we are pretty happy with our first watering. Using the foregoing it
means that we will be applying roughly 1 mm water over the area each 7.5
minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Second
Watering</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On 5<sup>th</sup>
January 2014 we again watered the area for one hour. Our intent is to repeat
this at around the same time each day for at least 2 weeks regardless of any
natural rainfall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Moisture
Profile Check</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At 4.00 pm
on Monday 6<sup>th</sup> January 2014 we dug into the soil within the drip line
to see what the moisture penetration was so far. The top 100 mm was damp, and
dry below this depth. Daily watering for one hour should be sufficient to
stimulate plant growth. One point to note: the temperature on 4<sup>th</sup>
through 6<sup>th</sup> January 2014 has not been extreme but the wind has been
strong.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Cost of the
Experiment</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The total cost
of the materials used in the experiment is around $100. Daily water cost will
be about $1.50.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Reporting
Outcomes</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We will make
periodic posts showing any material change on the site.</span></span></div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-2620187806442788162014-01-02T11:17:00.000+11:002014-01-02T11:17:15.821+11:00Review of 2013 RainfallOur impression was that 2013 was, overall, a dry year. With 2014 upon us it is a good opportunity to check the data and do a brief analysis of the 2013 rainfall results to see what actually happened.<br />
<br />
Some context:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>The summer of 2012/3 was particularly dry</li>
<li>The previous two summers were very wet</li>
<li>Our long term average rainfall is around 600 mm per annum, spread evenly over each month (50 mm per month)</li>
<li>We tend to have more rainfall event days during the cooler months, but higher falls per event during the hotter months</li>
<li>2006 was one of the driest on record at a total of about 265 mm</li>
</ul>
<div>
To the 2013 figures:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Total rainfall received was 385 mm. This is roughly 2/3rds of the long term average.</li>
<li>Thus overall 2013 WAS a dry year</li>
<li>Total for the summer months was 31.5 mm (average 10.5 per month) ... dry</li>
<li>Total for autumn was 114.5 mm (average 38 per month) ... dry</li>
<li>Total for winter was 169 mm (average 56.3 per month) ... a tad above average</li>
<li>Total for spring was 70 mm (average 23.3 per month) ... dry</li>
</ul>
If we define a significant rainfall event as one where we receive 25 mm or more (half the monthly long term average figure) then:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>There were (only) 4 significant rainfall events during 2013</li>
<li>They were: 70 mm on 1 March, 42.5 mm on 2 June, 28 mm on 19-20 July, and 36.5 mm on 16-18 September</li>
<li>The year was one where rainfall was predominant during the cooler months</li>
<li>A pretty good year for those growing winter crops</li>
<li>Not so bright for us graziers</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-27360952832784831692013-11-16T13:53:00.001+11:002013-11-16T13:53:35.627+11:00Chooks no longer laying in the nesting boxesWe've only got 3 chooks and let them out each day to roam where they choose. A few weeks ago we sensed that something must have spooked them around the laying boxes that are set up in the chook-yard. Since then they now lay their eggs on the 'director's chairs' around the round table under the shade area to the east of the house. Here's a picture of today's effort:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEmqgXfm67d4pLwqoVF0FB9rMq2bH-6V9V8kFf57JaeHticYv4THU2-cJUhH9O9jrqKkCF63iyh480bU-Xuz1Y3on5LuTvJqjIYDwAJ3rcEPRlqYwt7UEdCtMhLDiYUmp-IfnmA/s1600/r006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzEmqgXfm67d4pLwqoVF0FB9rMq2bH-6V9V8kFf57JaeHticYv4THU2-cJUhH9O9jrqKkCF63iyh480bU-Xuz1Y3on5LuTvJqjIYDwAJ3rcEPRlqYwt7UEdCtMhLDiYUmp-IfnmA/s320/r006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-41065923857452736852013-10-19T09:40:00.001+11:002013-10-19T09:40:46.620+11:00Aboriginal Heritage Site Recording ApplicationWe registered the ochre arch on our farm some years ago on the Aboriginal Heritage Information Management System (AHIMS), colloquially pronounced 'aims'. The process was very much paper based, cumbersome and it took a few years for the registration to be lodged in the database.<br />
<br />
Yesterday we received a courtesy email from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage informing us about the recent release of 'the new Site Recording Android application', following the earlier release of an iPhone application. By the look of things both applications will make recording of aboriginal heritage sites much simpler and more accurate, with all key information collected on site.<br />
<br />
Here's a link to the website were the application and process is explained: <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/licences/DECCAHIMSSiteRecordingForm.htm" target="_blank">AHIMS Site Recording forms</a>.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-45607424286559141032013-03-25T17:03:00.000+11:002013-03-25T17:08:36.482+11:00New Cattle Yards Now Functional<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">At long last we have our cattle yards
up and running; except one item – a loading ramp which we’ll arrange before too
long. The bottom line is that the yards are operational and we used them for
the first time yesterday with calf marking. In this post we share some of our experiences
in getting to this stage.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Yards Location<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Our existing sheep yards and shearing
shed are about the right distance – 100 metres or so - from the house. Far
enough away that we don’t get dust at the house when working on the sheep and
close enough that they are easy to get to. The sheep yards have an excellent hinge-joint
holding yard with great stock access from the Duck Dam Paddock. The holding
yard is designed for relatively low stock densities and feeds into the main
part of the sheep yards (which are steel and too low for cattle) and we figured
would comfortably double up as a holding yard for cattle (although not at the
same time, of course!). So our new cattle yards run to the north from the
holding yard, with the sheep yards running to the west. The topography at this
location is pretty much flat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Yard Design<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Given our lack of experience with
cattle handling in yards we did a power of research in developing the design
for our yards. Some of this included:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Reviewing
standard <a href="http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/livestock/beef/equip" target="_blank">cattle yard designs</a> produced by the NSW Department of Primary Industries and
several yard manufacturers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Talking
to many cattle producers</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Seeking
input from one of the owners of <a href="http://www.lss.net.au/" target="_blank">Low Stress Stockhandling</a> on the draft design (sadly
no response)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Assisting
our friends Sam and Claire Johnson at <a href="http://www.boxgumgrazing.com.au/" target="_blank">Boxgum Grazing</a>, Murringo with their annual calf marking</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The latter brought to light the
following important observations:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Drafting
can be carried out using low stress stock handling principles in the larger
pens in the yards i.e. not necessary to use a drafting race per se</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Adult
and young cattle are relatively easy to separate as the adults get used to the
flow of the yards and are keen to go through open gates, while the juvenile are
more hesitant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Young
cattle can more readily and tend to turn around in the standard width races.
Thus bringing them through in small lots is likely to save time in the long
run.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">A
crush is pretty much these days an essential part of any good yard design.
Added to this, most veterinarians will now only attend to cattle on farms that
have crushes in place for OH&S reasons</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">There
is a real skill in getting the timing right to get the front doors of the crush
to shut at the right moment so that the neck of the animal is restrained. If
one gets the timing wrong and the animal ends up getting out of the front of
the crush it’s important that it ‘escapes’ into a pen in the yard where it is
straightforward to get them to return to the crush</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; text-indent: -18pt;">Races
can be a bit too long necessitating a second or third person to be pushing the
animals forward to the working area / crush.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We made the decision early on to make
our yards using mobile cattle panels rather than fixed rails. This was in part
due to our lack of experience, in the knowledge that if we made a mistake it
would be a pretty simple process to move panels to something more workable. When
we were drawing up the yards we went through several sheets of paper, scrapping
and refining what we thought would work. It then occurred to us that we could
use match sticks to represent standard panel lengths, and that when we were happy
with the design we could photograph and print the layout. Here is a photo of
the layout we came up with that is in fact our final design.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SrDngBe1NFXhpu_e_CWZOBecyRM5cOMkQbCQ-Z5AGL2NOLmvsCJc_t5AL8Eh5gQdvq4cWIRFJqAlK_Ve7Ep57mZGeYHEaiKmQJuSRNx6y07HEN9co54HvaoJ0sXTDhrb3kFC1w/s1600/r008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3SrDngBe1NFXhpu_e_CWZOBecyRM5cOMkQbCQ-Z5AGL2NOLmvsCJc_t5AL8Eh5gQdvq4cWIRFJqAlK_Ve7Ep57mZGeYHEaiKmQJuSRNx6y07HEN9co54HvaoJ0sXTDhrb3kFC1w/s320/r008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Some explanatory points in respect of
the above design:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Entrance to the yards from the
holding yard is from the bottom left</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There are 3 ‘pens’ within the yards.
The flow of the cattle through the yards is basically 1. From the holding yard
(not shown) into the “Main” pen, then right or east into the “Bud Box” pen,
then left or north into the small ‘Forcing” pen, then left or west down the
race, through the crush and either back in to the “Main” pen, out into the
Front Paddock or (in time) up the loading ramp</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The position of the (future) loading
ramp is represented by the open parallel matches at the top left</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Gates (6 in all) are represented as
in an open position, hinged as shown</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">‘Man’ access gates (2 in all) in
specially made panels are represented by the small silver rods</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There are 3 slide gates – one at the
rear of the loading ramp, one at the back of the crush, and another at the rear
of the race leading up to the back of the crush</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The ‘crossed’ matches represent the
cattle crush</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The following photograph shows the
entrance to the cattle yards from the holding yard.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCd744iTrGTy0GwC-ni6nQerErV3UHfzxq_MQvISYRMm77LHfwItDzLwdv0ZLDMqVRZj05sec9Xmxd8KHc2iFAeAd3JXzZf4nqH5Grc2kMelDnhFasTOYJ4iqiAkVFNo83MQQ0g/s1600/r005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCd744iTrGTy0GwC-ni6nQerErV3UHfzxq_MQvISYRMm77LHfwItDzLwdv0ZLDMqVRZj05sec9Xmxd8KHc2iFAeAd3JXzZf4nqH5Grc2kMelDnhFasTOYJ4iqiAkVFNo83MQQ0g/s320/r005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The photo was taken while standing in
the holding yard. Visible to the right is the standard sheep gate that goes into
the holding yard from the Duck Dam Paddock. This standard gate is, of course,
closed when moving cattle from the holding yard into the main pen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The following photo is taken from
where the loading ramp will be in time.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdXaKb6md68qeoAxDv7yMpWES-fDo-ysF40LPhN7bvFiU80BFPtzyFgNhSHIqfwOsF8B-0XRXPp65eU-cIUZaYpQIB0HoJOY3MFkS5bRaqe4Yv3UPgbW3xwzX54TfU5JH5f_4LA/s1600/r004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdXaKb6md68qeoAxDv7yMpWES-fDo-ysF40LPhN7bvFiU80BFPtzyFgNhSHIqfwOsF8B-0XRXPp65eU-cIUZaYpQIB0HoJOY3MFkS5bRaqe4Yv3UPgbW3xwzX54TfU5JH5f_4LA/s320/r004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">On the left you can see the sliding
gate that will provide access to the loading ramp in due course. The front of
the crush is in the background. The ‘Man’ access gate can be seen to the right
of the panel in the centre of the photo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">In this photograph you can see the closed
exit gate from the ‘Push/Forcing’ pen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PI7VGTe3FYLxP4A7y43So_RAqglznbnMSGGYhOBV1nhzEQUcz-wb_DY3NrAiSh8nen-n6W_yrffhU_fr7fstrQXzFw2Txzhu9O5gtvBQaXQMC4Xnd9kNOmVt5NmNKRzcOV7rnA/s1600/r002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0PI7VGTe3FYLxP4A7y43So_RAqglznbnMSGGYhOBV1nhzEQUcz-wb_DY3NrAiSh8nen-n6W_yrffhU_fr7fstrQXzFw2Txzhu9O5gtvBQaXQMC4Xnd9kNOmVt5NmNKRzcOV7rnA/s320/r002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Several people recommended that we
install a ‘bugle’ race in the design. Our own experience with sheep and
experienced low stress stock handlers suggests to us that these are not suited
to the way we intend handling our stock in the yards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Yard Suppliers</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Approaches were made to 4 different
cattle yard / panel suppliers:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.masteel.com.au/" target="_blank">M A Steel</a> at Young. We have made
several other steel purchases from them previously and have been happy with the
quality of goods and service, and delivery arrangements.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Hayley’s Steel and Hardware,
Forbes. Standard panel lengths were shorter than what we were looking for.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Mad Harry’s at Young. We’d been
told that their pricing was considerably less than what M A Steel charged but
this proved not to be the case.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">National Livestock Systems based at
Rutherford near Maitland in NSW. We’d heard rave reviews about their products
and sent them our yard design. They undertook to provide us with a quote but
did not respond. Some time later we visited a local farmer who sourced yards
from this business. Whilst he was happy with the product the access to the
yards did not work effectively and he told us that the amount of effort
required to finally get the yards delivered was atrocious. The problem stems
from the fact that the business revolves around one person who is ‘all over the
place’. Our take on this was that this is not a business to deal with if you
need yards in a reasonable time frame.</span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We ordered our panels, gates etc from
M A Steel. They were very helpful in altering 2 gates so that they hung
differently to the norm.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Crush Supplier</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The different crush designs are, to
put it mildly, mind-blowing. To cut a long story short we purchased a Vet Crush
from <a href="http://www.johnberendsimplements.com.au/" target="_blank">John Berends Implements</a> through <a href="http://www.southwesttractors.com.au/" target="_blank">Southwest Tractors</a> at Young off the back
of a recommendation from a neighbour. The beauty of their crush is that they only
make one design. It also happened to be about $800 cheaper than what was on
offer from M A Steel. The fact that our neighbour had one installed also meant
we were able to check it out (several times) and get better prepared for how to
set it up properly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We ordered our crush toward the
latter part of 2012 but were not ready to receive it at that time. Southwest Tractors
kindly agreed to store it at their business premises at Young until we were
ready, with us paying for it in total when they received it. They were
consequently able to sell at least one other crush that we know of due to ours
being on display at their premises.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s a picture taken looking toward
the east from inside the front of the crush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">You can see from the concrete that
our cattle have now properly ‘christened’ the crush!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Yard Assembly</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Given that our yards site is fairly
level it was a straight-forward process to use the pins supplied by M A Steel
and assemble the panels. There were a couple of slight hiccups:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">M A Steel supplied us with short pins
but ended up exchanging these for long ones at no extra cost. One of their
employees was especially helpful and took the pins to his home for us to
collect outside of normal working hours.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">It was necessary to move some of the
lugs on some of the panels, and we got a bloke from Grenfell who has a mobile welding
plant to help us.</span></li>
</ul>
<b style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Concrete Slab for the Crush</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The process of getting the slab in
place for the crush was roughly as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Via Southwest Tractors we sourced
from John Berends Implements a set of installation instructions. These helped
us figure out approximately where the anchor bolts need to go.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We sought the help of a local handy
man who made up a set of 100 mm high form-work to the length needed as well as
pins to put the form-work in the correct position.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">When we started digging to move soil
from where the slab was to go it quickly became apparent that we’d be digging
for several hours. At the suggestion of our handyman we rang David Troth from
Troth Equipment in Grenfell who came to the farm within about 1.5 hours with
his Bobcat. It took him all of 20 minutes or so to remove the soil. At our
request we got him to pile the topsoil up in the house-yard and have subsequently
created 2 new garden beds. He also used the Bobcat to lift a wooden fence post
and a wooden gate post out of the ground. More on this later.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We put the form-work in place and used
mesh that was at one stage part of a trellis structure for reinforcement. Section
of the mesh were cut away to allow for later drilling for the holes for the
anchor bolts of the crush.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Mitton Brothers Earthmoving supplied 1.4 metres
of concrete for the slab. The amount proved spot-on, although the delivery
fellow turned up about 20 minutes before the agreed time which meant we did not
have time to install the reinforcing mesh as well as we might have liked. Not a
biggie in the scheme of things.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Our handyman and yours truly </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">leveled</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> out the concrete and our handyman did the finishing touches using appropriate
hand tools.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<b style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Crush Delivery and Placement</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">After the concrete slab was in place
for a few days we lined up a time for the crush to be delivered (on a trailer –
driver was Ben from Southwest Tractors – delivery was included in the price of
the crush) and another neighbour to be on hand with his front-end loader with
forklift attachment in place. Here you can see the crush being lifted from the
trailer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Our neighbour very kindly stayed
around and helped us position and anchor the crush. It’s quite amazing just how
much practical knowledge long term experienced farmers have, and we were most
grateful for the assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The equipment we had on hand to
install the crush included:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Generator for power</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Industrial concrete drill and bit
(borrowed from another neighbour)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Air compressor and fitting for
blowing air at high pressure (to clean out the holes drilled in the concrete)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Various other hand tools such as a
crow bar, block, spanners etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">WD 40 for lubricating the drill holes</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Bolts suitable to screwing into the
holes through the base plates on the crush. These were 12 mm X 100 mm and cost
over $5 each.</span></li>
</ul>
<b style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Holding Yard Fence Repairs</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">It proved both opportune and
appropriate to renovate the northern fence-line of the holding yard. Some of
the steps included:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Replace the wooden strainer post that
the long gate at the western end hangs from with a steel strainer post and stay.
Our handyman welded the gudgeon and hinge used (both with some amendments) with
the wooden post onto the steel post as well as a lug on the other side of the
post to anchor the stay.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Cut the fence to create a space for
the entrance gate to the Main pen of the yard. A new steel strainer post and
stay were installed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Remove a wooden fence post. (Both
wooden posts were lifted out of the ground by David Troth using his Bobcat.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Star posts along the fence-line lifted
where necessary</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">New hinge joint installed</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Barbed wire removed and replaced with
plain wire</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Both steel strainer posts were
concreted into the ground using left over concrete from the slab order</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Large rock placed to support the long
gate when opened to the north.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The result is that the fence, posts
and gates are now in much better condition and should not need further repair
for quite some time. We left the two strainer posts much longer than necessary,
allowing for later heightening of the fence to make it more cattle proof if necessary.
Here is a photo of the repaired northern holding yard fence, taken from inside
the sheep yards.</span><br />
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<b style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Final Tasks to Complete the Yards</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We arranged for the local welding
specialist to call again and weld some lengths of 50 X 75 RHS onto the front of
the crush together with lugs to act as anchor points for the two gates in
parallel leading to the sliding gate where the loading ramp will go in time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The land where this sliding gate goes
was lower than desirable so we moved some blue metal that had been left near
the water bore site in the Arch Paddock onto the spot and </span><span style="line-height: 20px;">leveled</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"> it off.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">There were a couple of other tasks necessary
to get the crush in working order:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Installation of a length of rope that
when pulled releases the lock on the front doors</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Spraying of WD 40 on all of the
moving parts</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">We are very pleased with the overall
set-up and found that the yards worked to expectation when marking calves
yesterday morning. The only unexpected challenge came from having two of our
calves who have no fear of us, and we found the size of their flight zone to be
smaller than our own area of personal space!</span></div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-50347650347113418192013-01-01T07:57:00.001+11:002013-01-01T07:57:19.388+11:00Comparing Electricity and Gas Offers in NSWIn recent times we've been assisting a close family member reduce electricity charges via installation of a grid-connect solar system and selection of a new electricity supply retailer. The latter action proved appropriate when we discovered post installation of the solar system that existing retailer (Country Energy) does not give any of its customers a feed in tariff (payment for any surplus electricity fed into the grid) for installations post cessation of the Solar Bonus Schemes.<br />
<br />
A replacement electricity retailer (Origin Energy) was selected based primarily off 3 factors:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>They do pay a feed in tariff - presently $0.06 per kilowatt hour</li>
<li>Their overall pricing seemed reasonable. Certainly no worse than Country Energy.</li>
<li>They are a strong and well known brand, who also happens to be in the process of assuming the operations and activities of Country Energy.</li>
</ul>
<div>
Our close family member rang and obtained a written offer (Agreement) from Origin Energy which we've been reviewing to make sure it is OK prior to the end of the 'cool off' period. Right near the very end of the 'Customer Disclosure Statement' from Origin Energy is a reference to a website owned and operated by the <a href="http://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal</a> (IPART) that provides excellent information on electricity and gas supplies and suppliers in New South Wales; including a calculator that helps compare offers current between energy suppliers. The website is titled My Energy Offers and here is a <a href="http://myenergyoffers.nsw.gov.au/" target="_blank">link</a> to it. The website is a fantastic place for anyone living in NSW to start research on energy supply matters and offers.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
We are still reviewing the offer from Origin Energy and have yet to decide whether to accept or otherwise.</div>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-8382101118721889522012-12-09T16:10:00.000+11:002012-12-09T16:10:12.689+11:00Dung Beetles Now Active In Cattle ManureIn the past couple of weeks we've noticed quite a deal of dung beetle activity in the manure pats from our cattle. This<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dung_beetle" target="_blank"> link</a> takes you to the Dung Beetle article on Wikipedia. The article explains that there are three main types of dung beetles:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>'Rollers' who are called such because they roll the dung into balls</li>
<li>'Tunnelers' because they tunnel under the dung and bury it in the the tunnels they make in the soil</li>
<li>"Dwellers' because they basically live or dwell in the dung</li>
</ul>
<div>
In our dung we've observed two different species. One is quite small at about twice the size of a house fly or half the size of a blow fly. They other is much larger at around 2/3rds the size of Christmas Beetles. Based on the activity we can see in and below the dung at least one of these is a tunneler; which to be honest is our preferred type as we are very keen to see the beetles assist in the build up of organic matter in our soils.</div>
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Below is a sequence of photos showing different aspects of the beetles and the dung at different stages. NB: The photographs are not all of the same dung pat, but rather a range at different stages of dung beetle impact.</div>
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<h4>
Untouched / fresh dung pat</h4>
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From what we understand this is a pretty good 'shape' for a dung pat in that it contains good moisture whilst maintaining reasonable structure. Given that we are now in the non-growing season due to the extended dry period (we've not had a rainfall event of in excess of 25 mm since July) we recently recommenced giving our cattle daily Distillers Condensed Soluble as a supplement, together with a small quantity of some other minerals and grains.</div>
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<div>
It is important to note that whilst some of the sheep manure has dung beetle activity it is much less in percentage terms of the total number of deposits. Almost all of the cattle manure pats have some level of beetle activity which we deduce is as a consequence of the greater critical mass of the cattle pats. They take comparatively much longer to dry out and have a higher initial moisture content.</div>
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<h4>
Early Stages of Dung Beetle Activity</h4>
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Here you can see evidence of the tunneling activity on the edge of the cattle pat.<br />
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<h4>
Tunneling Through the Dung</h4>
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<br />
The above photograph was taken of the preceding cattle pat after most of the top was moved away. Clearly evident is one of the tunnels through the manure, as is one of the beetles (partially covered). We've been able to flip over some of the pats at this stage and have seen entrances to the tunnels that are in some cases every 2 to 3 cm or so, quite evenly spread.<br />
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<h4>
Dung Tunnel Close-up</h4>
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Here's a photo in macro of the same dung tunnel.<br />
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<h4>
Dung Beetle in Close-up</h4>
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<br />
Here's a better picture of one of the species of dung beetle. It's similar in appearance in some ways to a Christmas beetle and about 2/3rds the size.<br />
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<h4>
Pat as Dung Beetle Activity Subsides</h4>
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Here you can see that the cattle pat has lost most of its structure due to the dung beetle activity.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Pat After Dung Beetle Activity Has Ceased</h4>
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<br />
Here you can see just how well the dung has been dispersed. Eggs will have been laid in the below-ground stores of dung. Aside from assisting in enhanced mineral cycling the beetles also dramatically reduce the scope for flies to lay eggs in the dung.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-67332374352370075332012-12-08T16:05:00.000+11:002012-12-08T16:05:41.632+11:00Trampoline Mat ReplacementThe mat on our family trampoline needed replacing. A web search identified the Gold Coast based business called <a href="http://www.topline-trampolines.com/" target="_blank">Topline Trampolines</a> and checking of the website suggested they were reputable with reasonable pricing. They have some excellent pages on the website which enables customers to accurately determine the size and type of mat to order. Here's a <a href="http://www.topline-trampolines.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=61" target="_blank">link</a> to the page for what we were after, given our trampoline is rectangular in shape. After looking at our trampoline and doing some measurements we determined that ours is a "Hills" with 54 springs: 17 along each side and 10 along each end.<br />
We placed our order online which was straightforward and the very next morning received an email advice letting us know that the replacement mat had been dispatched. Excellent service!<br />
The mat arrived yesterday and we installed it straight away. The size was spot on.<br />
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Close observation of the replacement (see photo above) reveals two key differences between the old (on top) and new (on the bottom) mats:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The overlap in the new mat is about 1 cm less than the original meaning that the stitching is closer to the edge. This is not a big drama but does make it more difficult to install the wires from the old mat into the new.</li>
<li>The new mat has only two rows of stitching V four on the old mat. We suspect that the life of the new mat will be considerably reduced as a result and are a little concerned that the mat will be less able to handle use by other than small children. Hopefully the cost reduction approach by the manufacturer does not translate into reduced safety.</li>
</ol>
<br />
We are very happy with the service from Topline but a bit disappointed that the quality of the product seems less than the original. Time will tell.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-51485950783538681252012-12-08T15:27:00.001+11:002012-12-08T15:27:15.859+11:00Excellent Stockmanship Book"Stockmanship: A Powerful Tool For Grazing Lands Management" by Steve Cote is as good a book around that explains the principles and techniques behind the low stress stockhandling methods we use here on Ochre Arch. We don't, though, profess to be across or proficient in all of the techniques.<br />
<br />
Most of the principles and practices were developed by Bud Williams who recently died from cancer. He has certainly made a huge difference to many livestock managers, to the benefit of the welfare and wellbeing of the animals they manage.<br />
<br />
A free copy of Steve Cote's book can be downloaded from this<a href="http://www.blm.gov/or/programs/nrst/files/Stockmanship_Book.pdf" target="_blank"> link</a>.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-28082293675916674932012-11-19T08:49:00.000+11:002012-11-20T07:12:31.999+11:00Local Big TreesOn Saturday Jacqui Mitton hosted Derek McIntosh (who runs the <a href="http://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/" target="_blank">National Register of Big Trees</a>) around the local area (with us being part of the group out of general interest) looking at local big trees identified through local knowledge and contacts during the planning for the day. In all we looked at and recorded 6 trees each of different species. All are within an area where Grenfell is considered to be the local town. Grenfell is within the NRBT's designated region of Central NSW.<br />
<br />
<h2>
'Biggest' trees and Points Allocation</h2>
The biggest trees of a particular species are given 'champion' status and this can be at Region, State and National levels. To enable consistent comparison between all trees regardless of species points are calculated based on the trunk circumference at 1.4 metres from ground level, tree height and average crown spread. The formula for determining total number of points for each tree is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Trunk circumference (girth) at 1.4 metres from ground-level in metres multiplied by 39.37 PLUS</li>
<li>Tree height in metres multiplied by 3.28 PLUS</li>
<li>Average crown spread in metres multiplied by 0.82</li>
</ul>
<br />
The resultant total from the above process enables direct comparison with trees listed in both the Australian NRBT and the American Forests register. The calculation process gives primary weighting to the girth measurement, secondary weighting to height and tertiary weighting to crown spread.<br />
<br />
<h2>
Biggest Trees in Australia and the United States of America</h2>
To give perspective to the size of our local trees:<br />
<ul>
<li>The largest tree presently listed on the Australian NRBT is a Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans) located near Geeveston in Tasmania. Its total points are 1,087 calculated off the tree's circumference of 20.45 metres, height of 81 metres and crown of 20 metres</li>
<li>The largest tree on the <a href="http://www.americanforests.org/" target="_blank">American Forests</a> register is a Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) located in Sequoia National Park, California. Its total points are 1,321 calculated off the tree's circumference of 25.9 metres, height of 83.5 metres and crown of 32.6 metres.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h2>
Local Trees we Visited on Saturday 17 November 2012</h2>
All 6 of the trees we checked out on Saturday are listed below in the order seen. All are on private property and we were grateful to the owners for giving us permission to access their land to see, photograph and measure the trees. The names of the owners and their properties are not shown below in the interest of privacy.<br />
The following is given for each tree:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Common and scientific name</li>
<li>Location listed by Parish, Locality and Shire</li>
<li>Photograph NB: The photographs unfortunately don't do real justice to seeing these trees 'live'</li>
<li>Measurements in metres: Circumference, height and crown</li>
<li>Points</li>
<li>Status in terms of the National Register of Big Trees</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h3>
Western Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa)</h3>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Maudry / Ooma / Forbes<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC1BdITJck9py8XHL9SOpSDiqt2I14sOzVtnYEjYASlukPh85l5TNNtcelcGHOdqpa2tGMLTdSIiO2i-HDSN7yPEA-DObLFic7gfBV810lzyCUvQiaCWpPrNBAvWqY0sBRQXsPg/s1600/r003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQC1BdITJck9py8XHL9SOpSDiqt2I14sOzVtnYEjYASlukPh85l5TNNtcelcGHOdqpa2tGMLTdSIiO2i-HDSN7yPEA-DObLFic7gfBV810lzyCUvQiaCWpPrNBAvWqY0sBRQXsPg/s320/r003.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Trunk circumference: 5.3 metres<br />
Height: 26 metres<br />
Crown: 26<br />
NRBT Points: 315<br />
NRBT Status: New National champion<br />
<br />
<h3>
Red (Mugga) Ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon)</h3>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Maudry / Pinnacle / Weddin<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
Trunk circumference: 5.61 metres<br />
Height: 21 metres<br />
Crown: 26<br />
NRBT Points: 311<br />
NRBT Status: New National champion<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
White Cypress Pine (Callitris columellaris)</h3>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Maudry / Pinnacle / Weddin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMc7eAdtM0qTAxLvsvs8J8ee3fSxNLTcHqYWucWBvWMRvaIYml-wTyH_ddYQ-obwYau-zcjf0BmVazVp_Xc3cxKybjCNyJ2VOjJic0epD2CF3OILNg8Tj8oK-yV45GS_360QgpQ/s1600/r006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCMc7eAdtM0qTAxLvsvs8J8ee3fSxNLTcHqYWucWBvWMRvaIYml-wTyH_ddYQ-obwYau-zcjf0BmVazVp_Xc3cxKybjCNyJ2VOjJic0epD2CF3OILNg8Tj8oK-yV45GS_360QgpQ/s320/r006.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Trunk circumference: 3.71 metres<br />
Height: 17 metres<br />
Crown: 18.2<br />
NRBT Points: 217<br />
NRBT Status: New National champion<br />
<br />
<h3>
Lemon-Scented Gum (Eucalyptus citriodora)</h3>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Yuline / Glenelg / Weddin<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZjfYRnz9QgzrxGMFTM6wyczi93O-gMv5nJyej2kNdRvEc_qGHYvQ835kCQYCYeHR59DVSL22sEH2zwGbHJqcp75C95Yxw6Oun3qyTXpxNT_Oo12vVaAT-TCEYjczCtcmEjcccw/s1600/r007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVZjfYRnz9QgzrxGMFTM6wyczi93O-gMv5nJyej2kNdRvEc_qGHYvQ835kCQYCYeHR59DVSL22sEH2zwGbHJqcp75C95Yxw6Oun3qyTXpxNT_Oo12vVaAT-TCEYjczCtcmEjcccw/s320/r007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Trunk circumference: 4.38 metres<br />
Height: 22 metres<br />
Crown: 26<br />
NRBT Points: 265<br />
<br />
<h3>
Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus)</h3>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Bimbi / Bimbi / Weddin<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoKw7Pe0dpuC3Wp0BY32L87ZHHoAaxXFuf5KsrXumdhIxyx4ttbpvxRszAaDVKVftsaZBr8e4u568Vav8VIc7a4eR197OnNLKDNdQyage3AP3Gjmr80miqpyre25K0xMeplksEg/s1600/r013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoKw7Pe0dpuC3Wp0BY32L87ZHHoAaxXFuf5KsrXumdhIxyx4ttbpvxRszAaDVKVftsaZBr8e4u568Vav8VIc7a4eR197OnNLKDNdQyage3AP3Gjmr80miqpyre25K0xMeplksEg/s320/r013.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Trunk circumference: 5.16 metres<br />
Height: 16 metres<br />
Crown: 26<br />
NRBT Points: 277<br />
NRBT Status: New National champion<br />
<br />
<h3>
River Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)</h3>
<div>
Location (Parish/Locality/Shire): Yambira / Bumbaldry / Weddin</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<br />
Trunk circumference: 8.1 metres<br />
Height: 30 metres<br />
Crown: 29<br />
NRBT Points: 439<br />
NRBT Status: New Central New South Wales champion<br />
<br />
<h2>
Equipment Used by Derek</h2>
Here's a list of the equipment used by Derek as part of his process of recording details of the trees:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Pen and notebook</li>
<li>Digital camera</li>
<li>GPS device</li>
<li>Distance calculator, which includes the ability to calculate the height of a tree</li>
</ul>
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-41631379011189752892012-11-11T08:43:00.001+11:002012-11-11T08:43:23.978+11:00Distinguishing Bees V Flies V WaspsFor a while yesterday morning we were watching honey bees foraging in one of the flowering Kurrajong trees near the sheep yards. The tree has a very heavy load of flowers and in this photograph is a single honey bee accessing pollen and nectar:<br />
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<br />
We noticed another species of insect being quite aggressive to the honey bees, and managed to capture the image of one of them ... below:<br />
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<br />
To appease our curiosity in determining the species of the aggressor we sent an email to members of the team room set up post attendance of the natural beekeeping course in Sydney earlier in the year. We asked whether any of the members knew what it was and attached the above photo. Within a couple of hours Louise Y responded saying that it was some type of hover fly and shared a hyperlink to the Queensland Government Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries publication titled "<a href="http://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Asian-honey-bee-ID.pdf" target="_blank">The Asian Honey Bee - A Guide to identification</a>" located on the Animal Health Australia website. The document in fact is an excellent summary of the main things to look for in distinguishing bees from flies and wasps. Some information about Rainbow Bee-eaters is also contained in the publication, including the fact that they have communal roosts in the same location each night.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-89807099136075806802012-11-10T19:16:00.000+11:002012-11-10T19:16:15.427+11:00Big Trees on Ochre Arch<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In yesterday’s
local paper (The Grenfell Record) there was an article submitted by Jacqui
Mitton alerting readers that next weekend Derek McIntosh, Co-ordinator,
National Register for Big Trees was going to be in the area and will be looking
specifically for large White Box (<i>Eucalyptus albens</i>) or Western Grey Box
(<i>Eucalyptus macrocarpa</i>) to place on the register. We checked out the <a href="http://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/about_us.php" target="_blank">Register website</a>, learned
the <a href="http://www.nationalregisterofbigtrees.com.au/tree_measurement.php" target="_blank">measurement guidelines</a> (NB: we used method 1 to determine tree height ... quite a bit of fun, actually) and headed off around the farm
to see what we could find that might be suitable for registration. One of the
biggest challenges in the process when it comes to identifying possible
eligible eucalyptus trees is finding ones that are still a single stem at the
stipulated circumference measurement height of 1.4 metres. Our guess is that
only one in ten on our place meets this criterion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Below are
the biggest trees of the main species we have on our farm. Given that ‘size is
all relative’ the ones we’ve listed may well be dwarfed by same-species trees
on other properties; especially given that much of our farm has been cleared
since white-fella occupation of the area and the fact that our soils are
comparatively light and low in fertility. That said we reckon our White
Cypress-pine tree would give others a fair run for their money! </div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kurrajong (<i>Brachychiton populneus</i>), NE corner, Amphitheatre Paddock</span></b></h4>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 3.3 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
12.7 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
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Average
Crown Spread: 15.5 metres</div>
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</div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">White Box (<i>Eucalyptus albens</i>), Gully edge near southern boundary, White
Box Paddock</span></b></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNkBkStnqNhyphenhyphenDDxxqWc-576dK7XcIa6_bW2S96iqdaU-N_Eswq1AWe4d81UGNsjB5ciAmhNiVPCCBtSPbNm22gEEMCXhUUpyCRJd_xINTaGbtx_aXPuFYhJ1-MAN7ondr6vnLIw/s1600/r016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNkBkStnqNhyphenhyphenDDxxqWc-576dK7XcIa6_bW2S96iqdaU-N_Eswq1AWe4d81UGNsjB5ciAmhNiVPCCBtSPbNm22gEEMCXhUUpyCRJd_xINTaGbtx_aXPuFYhJ1-MAN7ondr6vnLIw/s320/r016.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 1.5 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
19.3 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Average
Crown Spread: 12.3 metres</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blakely’s redgum (<i>Eucalyptus blakelyi</i>), West of track 1/3 way from entrance
gate, White Box Paddock</span></b></h4>
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJC3RZ2PnkTMzN1x3HIWatq7vEjS3zsjAFSmZv5yWDTJOLcdXR3ErejI5KOkmGKnGvl_Y8svZq6UbMLnjNMItisj_zQBSXmC3hjoX9NC8c8LfL1HfEdDAs7Ic9_xJKqFmQkgmkg/s1600/r019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJC3RZ2PnkTMzN1x3HIWatq7vEjS3zsjAFSmZv5yWDTJOLcdXR3ErejI5KOkmGKnGvl_Y8svZq6UbMLnjNMItisj_zQBSXmC3hjoX9NC8c8LfL1HfEdDAs7Ic9_xJKqFmQkgmkg/s320/r019.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 1.8 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
18 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Average
Crown Spread: 14.7 metres</div>
<br />
<br />
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</div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Western Grey Box (<i>Eucalyptus macrocarpa</i>), near tourmaline site, Lookout
Rock Paddock</span></b></h4>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKxQdqIdYY4S6RVYamYxWdRG04EwGhp5bpPlvErGpusVrdqeREB6KtVAhngGafHVbBIHQ4fybAwhsi6soY1Sz6UspXrH2WK5r5Yem3o7dq4lAD-ouHYAZ720MJ4jA2W9Tgab_gQ/s1600/r021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgKxQdqIdYY4S6RVYamYxWdRG04EwGhp5bpPlvErGpusVrdqeREB6KtVAhngGafHVbBIHQ4fybAwhsi6soY1Sz6UspXrH2WK5r5Yem3o7dq4lAD-ouHYAZ720MJ4jA2W9Tgab_gQ/s320/r021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 2.2 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
21 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Average
Crown Spread: 15.3 metres</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yellow Box (<i>Eucalyptus melliodora</i>), centre southern boundary, Valley
Paddock</span></b></h4>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YPcwbu5wlFfhYnBszshEM5ACuAYNnipX3JcDw2Yw5AfysCgZjkoIyGOd6bpUE_YXFCZcfIcTRs1MXILzfpxf_MzCxYFNIqgB24hzklZJ82zyrtaWOi9HIwc30ljd3nu7I1hoCA/s1600/r025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YPcwbu5wlFfhYnBszshEM5ACuAYNnipX3JcDw2Yw5AfysCgZjkoIyGOd6bpUE_YXFCZcfIcTRs1MXILzfpxf_MzCxYFNIqgB24hzklZJ82zyrtaWOi9HIwc30ljd3nu7I1hoCA/s320/r025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 3.9 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
27.8 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Average
Crown Spread: 17.7 metres</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<h4>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">White Cypress-pine (<i>Callitris glaucophylla</i>), centre west, Big Pine
Paddock</span></b></h4>
<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Trunk
Circumference: 3 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Tree Height:
19.3 metres<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Average
Crown Spread: 15 metres</div>
<br />
Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-3041069474861944802012-10-09T11:18:00.001+11:002012-10-09T11:18:11.400+11:00Comments on Ochre Archives PostsThe Ochre Archives blogsite profile is set up in such a way that any comments on posts come through to us for moderating. We then categorise each comments as being one of the following:<br />
1. Publish. The full text is then visible at the bottom of the post to all who access and read the article.<br />
2. Delete. The comment is deleted and does not appear on the blogsite.<br />
3. Report as spam. The comment does not appear on the blogsite and we assume the administrators of Blogger keep a record of the item and suspect that they would in time prevent users who are reported multiple times from making any further comments on posts created by bloggers.<br />
<br />
By far and away the greatest number of comments we receive on Ochre Archives posts are generic comments (unrelated to the actual post they are commenting on) that contain a hyperlink to a website the person making the comment wants to promote. We moderate these and any other comments that are simply trying to encourage people to go to their preferred website as spam.<br />
<br />
A couple of days ago a comment came through that was different. The comment (posted anonymously) was basically an attack on a business, its proprietor and an associated family member who were connected with one of the posts we made last year. The person making the comment had clearly had some unsatisfactory experience with the targets of the comment and we suppose might argue they were just trying to pre-warn others. After much deliberation we decided not to publish the comment for several reasons:<br />
a) The comment was posted anonymously which makes it impossible for those who might read the comment to make further inquiries and seek clarification<br />
b) Some parts of the comment were not sufficiently specific to be constructive.<br />
c) Whilst the intent of Ochre Archives is to share information it is not our intent to post material that could be considered offensive.<br />
<br />
Having said the above we do welcome comments and are open to constructive feedbackPhillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-34013799920549015012012-08-16T11:55:00.002+10:002012-08-16T11:57:36.456+10:00"Bud Pen" videosWe are presently designing new cattle yards and are intent of incorporating a "Bud Pen" to assist with cattle handling. The "Bud Pen" or "Bud Box" was the brain-child of American cattle handling guru Bud Williams. Here's a link to his website: <a href="http://stockmanship.com/">http://stockmanship.com/</a>. In Australia there are a couple of businesses that teach the low stress stockhandling methods. We attended a course a few years ago run by Grahame Rees and Rod Knight who are part owners of a business called Low Stress Stockhandling: <a href="http://www.lss.net.au/">http://www.lss.net.au/</a><br />
Here are a couple of videos that help explain the principles behind "Bud Pens" and some actions shots of them being used:<br />
<b>1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRKAhexGG_A/" target="_blank">Bud Pen being used to load cattle onto a truck</a></b>. NB: It's important to bear in mind that the resultant density of the cattle that end up in the truck is not low stress i.e. there are too many for actual transport in a low stress manner.<br />
<b>2. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP7aNhKCZwQ&feature=related/" target="_blank">Bud pen being used for cattle processing</a>.</b> NB: This video explains more about the benefits from the animal's perspective in going through the processing set-up.<br />
<br />
<br />Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-59293883952769809362012-06-01T13:01:00.001+10:002012-06-01T13:01:38.799+10:00Protecting Air Release Valves from CattleIn the next week or so we expect to receive the small herd of cattle we've agreed to buy from a neighbour. Whilst we both remember our parents having cattle in our youth we have never directly owned or managed cattle. What we do know is that being much larger than sheep they do have a reputation of being harder on farm infrastructure and it is with this in mind we have a few small projects underway to try and avoid major issues arising.<br />
<br />
There are a total of 3 air release valves along our farm water scheme that are out in the open and very exposed, one of them is in the photo below:<br />
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<br />
We contacted our trusty farm water scheme advisor, Phil Wells, and sought his advice on how best to protect the valves from cattle in a cost effective manner. Aside from letting us know that the height of our air valves should be much lower than they are (should be no more than about 30 cm from the ground) Phil had four suggestions:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Locate the air release valves on the fence-line</li>
<li>Install a stable / solid post adjacent to the stem leading to the air valve</li>
<li>Install the air release valve at or below ground level and place a steel box or cap over the top</li>
<li>Surround the air release valve with either a rock mound or old tractor tyre</li>
</ol>
<div>
We figured the easiest method for us was to source some old tractor tyres. It transpired that our local Beaurepaires store in Grenfell had 3 old tyres they were happy to give away. Apparently it is now very expensive for them to take old tyres to the tip due to landfill implications, so we really were doing them a favour.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Yesterday we called and collected our 3 old tyres. Fortunately at the time the Beaurepaires team had a forklift on loan and it was a simple process to load the tyres on the back of our ute. Here's a picture of the loaded vehicle after we drove it home.</div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It proved to be a simple process for the two of us to unload and locate the old tyres over each of the air release valves. Here's a photo of one of the 'finished products':</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVyfHb8hVsuMavykwEKD4SGI-dopwVUzGahfTNn3lFF7jtUUDViUNXpBFMADUO3DmOMYqkID4XRdqEjy9LDaYNRkFiGXajEyfEolXJEM58w8tnMo2sWJ7mUD42605S6M9ksAM1w/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVyfHb8hVsuMavykwEKD4SGI-dopwVUzGahfTNn3lFF7jtUUDViUNXpBFMADUO3DmOMYqkID4XRdqEjy9LDaYNRkFiGXajEyfEolXJEM58w8tnMo2sWJ7mUD42605S6M9ksAM1w/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How effective the tractor tyres are as guards remains to be seen. The environmental impacts of using the old tyres seem to be:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Reduced landfill, although of course there are companies who recycle tyres</li>
<li>Additional edge-effect ... creating new micro-climates around the air release valves. It's possible that water will collect in the tyres and could be a place for mosquitoes to breed. If this proves to be the case and a problem it will not be difficult to temporarily remove the tyres and drill holes through the walls of the tyres</li>
<li>There is a risk that some species of fauna could get trapped inside the tyres ... and especially kangaroos given the shape of their legs</li>
<li>Phil has forewarned us that some reptiles do like to 'hang around' old tyres ... especially snakes!</li>
</ul>
<div>
We'll keep an eye on the effectiveness of the tyres and make adjustments if necessary. One thing's for sure ... sourcing and installing the tyres as guards was quick, low cost and easy to do.</div>
</div>Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26887145.post-24914690072604097342012-05-10T23:01:00.000+10:002018-12-30T10:01:31.176+11:00Australian Konsortium / Multi Purpose Merino Services WebsiteScott Heeney is the bloke we work with who classes our ewes and selects our rams for us. He recently set up a new business name and accompanying website. Here's a <a href="http://www.konsortiummerino.com.au/" target="_blank">link</a> to Scott's Australian Konsortium / Multi Purpose Merino Services Website.Phillip Diprosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13212350470500325004noreply@blogger.com0