Advice for farmers over telephone

Press, 19 November 1982, Page 25

Advice for farmers over telephone

The Advisory Services Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Canterbury has established an answer-phone service to assist growers and farmers. The Ag Phone service will disseminate detailed in- ' formation on a variety of set topics, which will be changed at least weekly. The subjects upon which more detail is available by ringing the Ag Phone number — Christchurch 66-887 - will be publicised in the Farm and Station pages of “The Press” and in other places. According to 1 Mr Grant McFadden, senior farm advisory officer, the Ag Phone is stage two of an informa-tion-sharing project begun with the publication of the Plant Health Monitor in these pages every two weeks during spring and summer. Plant Health Monitor con-

centrates on pest and disease intelligence from the Plant Health Diagnostic Station of the M.A.F. at Lincoln College.. (“The Press” also publishes a monthly Livestock Monitor, which draws on contributions from private and Government veterinarians and farm advisers). . “We realised the need to give farmers more technical information to act upon, but we know. that the advisers are not always in the office when requests come through,” said Mr McFadden. The new service will have a trial period of two months from November 22. “It is appropriate that the trial should be over the Christmas period, when farming problems don’t stop and advisers are sometimes hard to get hold-of,” said Mr McFadden. Information on the

answer-phone will come under the broad- topics of pasture, animal husbandry, cropping, horticulture and apiculture. The first topics from • November 22 onwards will be:

• Grassgrub and porina flight behaviour and the implications for subsequent management control. • Bacterial blight in peas. * • The newly observed rose grain aphid, what it looks like, damage potential and

how to control it. • Post harvest dipping to remove/kill thrips and other insects on export asparagus. • What is happening in the wheat crop, including stripe rust status. The M.A.F. will be looking

for feedback from farmers on the usefulness of the service and has urged farmers to discuss this with their advisers or speak to Dave Phillipps or Ray French in the Christchurch office, 794100.