The Editor

More nitrogen isn’t always better – especially in a drier year – when producing quality hay is the key to farm returns. That’s according to research funded by AgriFutures Export Fodder Program as part of the National Hay Agronomy (NHA) Project ... The NHA project is a four-year investment by the AgriFutures Export Fodder Program and aims to address current knowledge gaps in the Australian export fodder industry.

Almost $1 million of footpaths have been constructed throughout the region thanks to a joint project between the State Government and Rockhampton Regional Council. As part of the State Government’s Works for Queensland Round 3 program nearly 2.5kms of footpaths have been added over the last 18 months.

Kevin Tolhurst, Jerry Vanclay. Some ecologists and conservationists, opposed to timber harvesting, are trying to use bushfire disasters as a lever to stop native forest harvesting, but their case is based on opinion, beliefs and selective science. A 2016 study of over 1 million hectares burnt by wildfire in the 2003 fires in Victoria, showed that fire severity across the landscape was driven by weather conditions, slope aspect, fuel levels, atmospheric stability, and the scale of the fires. There was no discernible impact of timber harvesting on fire severity at the landscape scale.

The Victorian Government’s long-deferred decision to announce more National Parks in the West of Victoria last week dodges the real challenges of managing and conserving these forests. The Mt Cole – Pyrenees, Wombat, and Wellsford forests have all been re-assigned after an investigation by the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC) completed in June 2019.

John O'Donnell. After the large bushfires impacting on towns and cities in recent years, it is opportune to review potential bushfire protection opportunities for towns and cities across Australia ... The focus of this document is on exploring all opportunities to best protect towns and cities from bushfires, optimising resident safety and optimising firefighter safety.

The Manna Gums on the Malmsbury-Daylesford Road in Daylesford is the site for an Aboriginal Peoples Memorial Avenue, opened at the conclusion of NAIDOC Week. Mayor, Cr Lesley Hewitt, said the memorial is an opportunity to honour the loss of lives, the sacrifice and suffering inflicted on Aboriginal people during the frontier wars.

The National Farmers’ Federation welcomes the courageous moves by the United States Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy that will prohibit unfair practices perpetrated on chicken growers by American chicken meat processors, practices that are also rife in Australia’s poultry sector.

Expect to be taken on a journey of resilience and recovery, a celebration of life and community at the upcoming exhibition Woven that begins on 21 July at The Centre Beaudesert.