The Editor

National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson: "This election, the NFF was looking for ideas and funding commitments to propel the farm sector’s growth trajectory and to give the support regional Australia needs to reach its potential. Unfortunately, all parties have fallen short ... The NFF was shocked and frustrated, when at the eleventh hour this week Anthony Albanese put a red pen through the $500 million Regionalisation Fund. This announcement was not included in Labor’s official response to the NFF." The Coalition’s regionalisation plan also falls short of the $4.1 billion ask from the NFF.

John O'Donnell discusses the significance of a graph showing areas burnt by bushfire and by prescribed burning across Australia since 1960.

A Charles Sturt University early childhood education expert asks where in the 2022 election campaign is the commitment to big investment and to big policy ideas that ensure free and accessible early childhood education for the long-term? Dr Leanne Gibbs tells ARR.News how the challenges in workforce supply and retention in the ECE sector are even greater in rural, regional and remote areas within Australia.

The Australian Rural & Regional News webinar held on 21 April 2022 is now available for public viewing.

The outlook shows 2022/23 may be the first year since 2012/13 in which the world has to consume less grain than the previous year – due to high prices and low supply, says Rabobank senior commodities analyst Cheryl Kalisch Gordon.  “This is forecast to be a drop of only 0.1%, but that compares to average annual growth of 2.1% over the past decade,” she said.

In an election campaign of hits and misses for farmers and regional Australia, the National Farmers’ Federation has revealed how the major parties stack up against its election priorities, rating them in a Policy Voting Guide.

Gates open at 9.00am.   $15 per adult, 16 and under free.   No dogs permitted. Free Parking.

He beat the cloud of dust into the ute. 'Useless bastard!' Through the windscreen all he could see was an ocean of woolly arses bobbing away into the stubble. His black and white bitzer was smiling and drooling all over the tray of the utility ...

“We’re off to the Landor Races” ... “Where is Landor?” ... “About a 12-hour drive away. The nearest town is Meekatharra, some 270 kilometres away from Landor” ... “So what’s at Landor?” ... “Nothing, just the racetrack.”

This timber reserve is located just west of the Boddington townsite , on the eastern fringe of the jarrah forest in Western Australia ... The infertile, lateritic soils that initially spared the MTR from clearing by farmers were its ultimate downfall ... An important question to ask is “How much bauxite mining is enough?”