IT WAS almost an act of mercy by the people of NSW yesterday to put Labor out of its misery.

Barry O’Farrell has a huge mandate and plenty of good will to make change.

However, the result also puts the pressure on the Coalition. While it will not be hard to perform better than Labor in recent years, the size of the win brings with it equally big expectations.

Things will need to improve, and it will be interesting to see how long the people of NSW’s patience lasts.

NSW problems will not be fixed quickly and they will take some tough decisions. Those decisions will cause pain and O’Farrell will need to use up much of the political capital he has developed if he wants to make a lasting difference.

The big challenge for Labor will be to form a workable opposition from so few MPs.

While things can only improve at the next election, it will be some time before Labor has enough numbers to be in any realistic position to even think about forming government again.

The size of the swing against NSW Labor should not be taken as a sign of things to come for the federal party. While political parties will always try to blur the lines, voters recognise the difference between state and federal governments.

It won’t stop Opposition Leader Tony Abbott enjoying some reflected sunlight off O’Farrell, in particular after the Coalition attempted to make the proposed carbon tax an issue as if the people of NSW had not decided on their votes a long time ago.

If anything, the result could be a good thing for Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Voters have had a chance to take out their anger, so the simmering resentment at the Labor brand should begin to fade.

And some of those tough decisions O’Farrell faces will be starting to bite by the time of the next federal election.

Questions must be raised about whether there was any message for the country Independents. Rob Oakeshott’s successor, Peter Besseling, lost the seat of Port Macquarie on a big swing, as did Peter Draper in Tamworth, which sits near Tony Windsor’s New England electorate, and the Nationals are already lining up both federal seats.

Once again, the Greens have not polled as well as they hoped. Expectations were high they would win their first lower house seat, but so far it looks like that won’t come to pass.

Mexican feather grass

By Biosecurity Queensland

Mexican feather grass.

Mexican feather grass causes severe environmental damage to native grasslands and has no grazing value for animals as it is low in protein and high in fibre. Mature plants can produce up to 120,000 seeds that can be spread by flooding, on clothing and the fur of animals and can remain in the soil seed bank for 4-5 years.

Mexican feather grass Nassella tenuissima has been mislabelled and sold in 2008 through Queensland nursery and landscape outlets asStipa capriccio. Landscapers have planted the grass in gardens or other areas as part of landscaping projects. People who have recently bought grass feature plants are being asked to take the time to check if they have unknowingly purchased this pest.

If you think you’ve seen this grass, contact Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23. Do not attempt to remove the plant yourself.

Find out more about Mexican feather grass.

Gestation period tables of stock animals

Livestock husbandry and management requires a working knowledge of animal breeding cycles and the size of the mature animal. The mature size of an animal can help in determining the amount of feed an animal requires.

A landholder’s experience with CAE & GOATS

By Dulcie Richards, Glen Warri Goat Stud, Queensland

1980 – This goat is dying from CAE. At this stage she could not sit or lie down because of the pain in her knees. She coughed continuously as her lungs were full of fluid. Courses of antibiotic injections did nothing. She was put down by my vet.

Caprine retrovirus or CRV (formerly known as caprine arthritis encephalitis) should now be part of dairy goat history. Unfortunately CRV is still ruining goats´ and peoples´ lives. CRV directly caused hundreds of goat keepers to leave the then Goat Breeders´ Society of Australia, and an unknown number, possibly thousands of dairy goats to die of the disease. In my opinion the society has never fully recovered.

From the early 1960´s, CRV caused tremendous problems, but we did not know then what it was or how to manage it. Now we do. In my small stud 42 goats died or were put down from 1968 to 1980 because of CRV. Rod Maclure´s remarks, August 2006 Australian Goat World page 8: “Seventeen positive reactions to CRV from four different farms were extremely disappointing. Compared to other diseases, CRV is relatively easy to eradicate. The industry has been battling with this problem for years and it is hard to understand the problem still exists.” This comment is from an exporter.

Will we ever learn?

Those of us who have been through it and out the other side will never forget the torment our goats had to endure when CRV reached the clinical stage. If not put down, they died in agony. I wish to thank sincerely those people who donated diseased goats for research, also the veterinary profession, the State Departments of Primary Industries and Murdoch University, WA, all who conducted so much research into the disease.

The cost issue is sometimes raised about testing for CRV. I can assure breeders the cost of losing your herd and coping with the disease is far greater than the cost of a blood test for each goat. The loss of bloodlines is beyond price.

The success of the EBL control scheme in dairy cattle was due largely to the efforts of the processors in insisting on sourcing milk from clean herds. All farm animals have health requirements to control their diseases and goats are no different.

Since the Australian Goat World issue February 2008 and the interest shown in the CRV articles it contained, I have spoken at length with the Queensland DPI about CRV. Thank goodness I live in Queensland. The CRV Accreditation Scheme advises on attendance at Shows and how to avoid infection from other non-accredited goats at the same show. This gives us confidence in this state, and is a definite boost for the export market to know of these requirements. If members of the DGSA (Dairy Goat Society of Australia) wish to know how to become accredited, your state DPI officers are the people to contact. My own state officers are very supportive and helpful.

After infected milk, goat shows must be the main source of transmission. I had never used pooled milk from outside and I am convinced that my stud contracted CRV at shows during the 1960s. Many of the goats on show in those days had enlarged knees and persistent coughs, which we know now to be symptoms of CRV affecting the joints and lungs. We know that cough vapour travels many metres. At that time there were no health requirements for goats attending shows in Queensland.

My Glen Warri Stud was destroyed by CRV. I lost 42 goats to CRV from 1968 to 1980. I tried separate herds but that failed.

With the help of Dr Sandra Baxendell, my own vets and the Queensland Department of Primary Industries CAE Vet, Robert Morton, I started again. My stud became accredited in 1989.

Horses on agistment: Who is responsible?

By Greg McDougall, Animal Welfare Unit

Horse grazing in a paddock.

Under the Animal Care and Protection Act 2001, if you are in charge of horses you have a legal obligation (a duty of care) to provide for the horses´ needs.

This includes providing appropriate:

• food and water
• accommodation
• treatment for disease and injury
• opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour
• handling.

When agisting a horse, both the owner of the horse and the owner of the property may have a duty of care to the horse. If you are currently agisting or considering agisting a horse it is important to understand your responsibilities.

Find out more about duty of care and agistment.

Glossary of livestock terms

When you start to look at buying stock or dealing with people in the industry you can hear a lot of words/names that may be foreign to you.

Here are a few handy terms to know that might assist you when you are around the saleyards or talking to old hands about stock and rural related things.

Wean To remove calf from cow to stop cow lactation

Box To mix different classes of stock

Draft To separate different classes of stock

Cull Identify animals for sale/destocking based on poor production, conformation etc

Bangtail The name given to a horse or cow in which the long hairs on the tail are sheared off horizontally; in the horse, level with the hocks. Done partly for show, in cattle it is mainly a mark that they have been handled and the usual operations have been performed; e.g. castration, dipping, or to mark them as counted for transportation

Dressed weight Carcase wt, weight of animal after slaughter when head hide feet and gut removed

CFA Cast For Age – an animal identified as too old due to loss of teeth or culling criteria of a given age

Stag Poorly castrated or with remaining testicle or cord causing the animal to show male characteristics

Rig (Cryptorchid) A horse with only one visible testicle, the other being up inside the abdomen or inguinal canal. Rigs that are partially gelded retain the characteristics and behaviour of stallions but are infertile, unless the retained testicle has almost descended

Cut To castrate a male animal

Stranger Term for stock that have strayed onto a property and mixed with owned stock

Downer cow Cow that is lying down and can´t get up

Cracker cow Aged cow at the end of productive life

Cleanskin Unmarked and unbranded cattle that have eluded mustering until adult

The lead Stock that walk at the front of a mob

Wing The side of a mob of stock

Killer Animals kept for on-farm consumption

Ration The quantity and mixture of feed given to stock in feedlots and supplementary feeding systems

Drench Liquid given orally for the control of intestinal worms

Dip Process of running stock through a below ground vat of chemical solution to control external parasites

Dry Females not lactating

Agistment Grazing animals on other people´s land at an agreed cost

Handle/break-in Quietening of stock through introduction of halters and ropes.

Tailing Controlling stock (often on horses) to train stock for mustering and moving quietly

Mulesing This involves surgically removing the skin around the breech (backside) to prevent wool growth which reduces the risk of fly strike caused by blowfly

Inoculate/vaccinate To introduce a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into the body of an animal, especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease

Pour-on Method of application of vet chemicals where the correct dose of chemical preparation is applied along the back line of stock

Acaricide A substance or preparation for killing mites or ticks

Store Animals which have been grown slowly so that their skeletal development is not impaired, but muscle tissue is slightly below the animals potential and fatty tissue is not developed

Marking Process where castrating, branding, ear marking, vaccinating and possibly other husbandry procedures are carried out