Smart Farmer's poultry expert Bruce Pattinson takes a further look at what makes good feed for chooks.

Weather affects just about everything you do on a farm and is a major topic of conversation with any group of farming people.

Apiarists help in the fight to protect against pest and disease

Established to raise awareness of the vital role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, World Bee Day is celebrated globally as well as locally across Australia.

Bruce Pattinson often gets phone calls about new birds being bullied, getting feathers pulled and even the other birds drawing blood which can be a real problem, especially in smaller backyard flocks.

Tocal Field Days has grown over the years to become the premiere agricultural event in the Hunter Valley. The event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID restrictions, making it all the more exciting for Tocal Field Days to be back.

Over the years, Bruce Pattinson's experience with the really great breeders is they only have a maximum of three breeds or a few colour varieties within one breed.

To make one kilogram of honey, female worker honey bees may visit around 1 million flowers, collectively flying around 144 000 kilometres. They fly in search of flowers, like I flew from Silicon Valley where I grew up to Australia in 2013 in search of beekeeping work.

There is obviously no one best breed of poultry as all the breeds have been designed for different purposes in particular areas.

It has never been as easy for people to participate in study and formalise skills as now with the increase of diverse programs, more options to access funding and interactive online delivery.