Business & Farming
Retail
Tough times take a toll on small business
A mainstay of the Corryong CBD will close its doors at the end of the month. Hobie's Sports Store has been an iconic business in the town's main street for 75 years but changes in people's purchasing habits over recent years and the current economic climate has forced the hand of owners Mick and Kerrie Butler ... Ron Hoban purchased the hairdresser and tobacconist shop in the early 1950s, at the height of the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Critical minerals - Vic
Minlaton farmers
Local farming family named finalist in national awards
Caitlin Menadue. Minlaton's Michael and Rebecca Thompson have been named finalists in a national cropping award recognising excellence in Australian agriculture. The recognition places the Yorke Peninsula pair among some of the country’s leading producers, with winners to be announced at a gala ceremony in Melbourne on February 13.
Methane
Vytelle launched commercial, cost-effective cattle methane monitoring at CattleCon
Vytelle last week announced the commercial release of Vytelle SENSE™ Methane, a methane phenotyping system that costs a fraction of available systems and enables concurrent measurement of intake and sustainability. The technology was featured at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association CattleCon in Nashville on February 3, where producers saw live demonstrations.
Leadership & You
Silence is acceptance
Silence in leadership is never neutral — when issues, standards, or confusion go unaddressed, people interpret that quiet as permission.
Aquaculture
Australia’s Oyster Coast expands farming footprint with Far South Coast acquisition
Australia’s Oyster Coast (AOC) has commenced 2026 with positive momentum, announcing the acquisition of an oyster farm at Pambula on the NSW Far South Coast. The purchase deepens the company’s geographic footprint, strengthens its Rock Oyster supply capability and reinforces its position as Australia’s largest Sydney Rock Oyster producer.
Leadership & You
A sense of pride requires achievement
Pride is earned through effort, resilience and achievement. As Australia Day invites reflection, it reminds us that our national identity has been built through generations of quiet, hard-won progress.
Lord Howe whisky
Seven years in the making: Rise Whisky arrives on Lord Howe Island
After seven years of patience, persistence and a fair bit of experimentation, Lord Howe Island Distilling Co. has released its very first whisky - Rise ... For founders Anthony Riddle and Christian Young, the launch marks the end of a long journey that began not with whisky, but with a shared idea: that Lord Howe Island could produce spirits that reflected its unique environment, history and character.
Tourism
Allora Heritage Weekend draws bumper crowd
2026 saw another successful Allora Heritage Weekend. President Graeme McMillan said the committee was happy with the event. Crowd numbers were up even though the weather was very hot. More trucks and cars were on show this year...
Energy rating
Polish home now in Denmark
Patricia Gill. A thermally-efficient house put together from insulated panels and triple-glazed windows shipped in five sea containers from Poland is expected to be occupied in May. Though not a certified 'passive house', Christine and David Lovell's home ... will rate 9.3-9.4 stars in the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme.
Tunnelling
Snowy visit connects heritage and hi-tech
Australia's largest renewable energy project has received the seal of approval from an international tunnelling giant and Germany's top diplomat in Australia. Tunnelling pioneer Martin Herrenknecht and German ambassador Beate Grzeski recently enjoyed a quintessentially classic Australian flat white at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma and toured the Snowy 2.0 Marica worksite, outside Kiandra.
Research - carbon farming
Tailoring carbon farming can realise greater co-benefits: Matthew Harrison
Without agriculture, hundreds of millions of people would go hungry every day. Yet modern agriculture is increasingly judged not just on how much food it produces — but on how well it stores carbon, protects biodiversity, and reduces emissions. Farmers are being asked to deliver food, climate solutions and conservation outcomes, while still running profitable businesses.
Bushfire recovery
Powering up
Ausnet repair crews have been acknowledged by the community for the rapid response in rebuilding the electricity network in the wake of the Walwa-River Road bushfire despite facing tough terrain, high temperatures and even lightning and hailstorms.
Equine therapy
From the Rockies to home: Mikaela Hurst’s global journey on horseback
In the dusty yards of a local feedlot, on a horse twice her size, Mikaela Hurst effortlessly moves cattle under the unrelenting Australian summer sun. But beneath the wide-brimmed hat and even wider smile lies a specialised skill set that is rare.
Leadership & You
Pressure is a privilege, but stress is an illness
Pressure sharpens performance and signals purpose, but when left unmanaged it quietly becomes stress—an illness that erodes people, teams, and leadership from the inside out.
Regional populations
Centenary of Canegrowers
The meeting that changed Queensland’s sugar industry: Canegrowers
One hundred years ago this week, sugarcane growers from across Queensland met in Mackay to take a defining step that would change their industry forever. CANEGROWERS was born. At the time, sugar was one of Queensland’s most important industries, so central to the state’s economy that it featured on the Queensland coat of arms.
Research
Potential for satellites and AI to help tackle critical invasive species problem: Charles Darwin University
Satellite imagery and artificial intelligence can detect with high accuracy two invasive weed species in Australia, posing a new opportunity for defense against these pervasive plants. Research conducted by Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Charles Sturt University (CSU) explored the potential for SkySat satellite imagery and AI algorithms to detect and map African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) and bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata).
