Australia's leading provider of specialised training to rural industries

The NSW Government has requested that students who have visited China in the last two weeks not attend College and training until 14 days have lapsed from their date of departure from China. This request also extends to teachers and anyone who works or seeks to visit Tocal College and NSW DPI facilities. For more information about the virus and symptoms, select the image above to view the NSW Health Fact Sheet (2019-nCoV) or visit the following URL: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/factsheets/Pages/novel-coronavirus.aspx

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Local Land Services are providing assistance to fire affected landholders with emergency fodder and water, animal care, livestock or animal assessment, and where necessary euthanasia and burial. Producers can report stock losses and infrastructure damage, or request animal assessment, or emergency fodder or water for stock, by calling the Agricultural and Animal Services Hotline on 1800 814 647. People without phone access can send a direct message via the NSW DPI Facebook page.

At the 40th Annual Tocal Beekeeper's Field Day a very special book was launched. Honey and Pollen Flora of South-Eastern Australia is the most significant book for beekeepers in decades. The book describes over 500 flowering plant species found in South Eastern Australia. Each species is mapped, and their nutritional value to bees is rated. The book has taken its author, NSW DPI’s Dr Doug Somerville, many years to write, and at 680 pages, the publishing process took close to 12 months. Beautifully designed, filled with full colour photos of every species, and bound in hard cover, this book will be a treasured tool for Australian beekeepers for decades to come. The book is available to be preordered, and orders will be shipped when the book is in stock in November.