Western current advice

Current advice for farmers in the Western region

Landholders in the Western region are experiencing high variability in conditions, and while much of the region remains in the NSW Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) non-drought category, other areas continue to manage the impacts of long-term rainfall deficits.

• Barber's pole worm in livestock — We are asking landholders to be vigilant for Barber’s pole worm and proactively test, with our District Veterinarians reporting recent faecal egg count and larval culture submissions from sheep and goat producers show Barber’s pole worm accounting for more than 90% of identified worm burdens.
• Free test kits - To support farmers to plan feed budgets and manage livestock health, free water and feed test kits are available from LLS offices. Find out more about water quality testing and feed testing. 
• Plants poisonous to livestock — As conditions continue to be variable across NSW, there could be an increased risk for livestock to toxic plants. Pastures are more likely to contain potentially toxic plants during drought and following periods of high rainfall, so we are reminding producers to keep an eye on what plants they are seeing and are emerging in their paddocks.
• New tool to assist growers - To assist growers dealing with significantly higher fertiliser and fuel costs and general uncertainty, LLS and Agripath have constructed a gross margin tool that allows growers to adjust the price of nitrogen fertiliser and diesel and see the impact upon gross margin per hectare for a range of crops in NSW. Find out more about the gross margin calculator. 
• Fox baiting - Landholders have the opportunity to access subsidised fox baits for spring 2026 and autumn 2027 through the fox baiting incentive project. Find out more about the fox baiting incentive.