Agriculture

Eurobodalla District Show Society

Hay Shire Council and Hay Lions Football and Netball Club joined forces once again for their much-anticipated annual native fish restocking event in the Murrumbidgee River at Hay late last month. Around 6600 Murray Cod fingerlings were released near Sandy Point, marking another significant step in enhancing the local aquatic ecosystem.

Hugh Schuitemaker. Senior Riverland politicians have questioned the potential benefits of a multi-million dollar environmental plan to use treated wastewater – rather than Murray River water – to water public areas and “to supply some industries”. The Federal and State Governments last month announced $20.9m in funding to build infrastructure allowing local governments to substitute Murray River water with storm water, treated wastewater or other alterna-tive water sources.

Henry Tan discusses with ARR.News his project to identify effective food safety and biosecurity risk controls in the production, and processing of chicken meat that will result in a reduction of consumer exposure to Campylobacter, the leading cause of foodborne illness in Australia.

Roger Underwood. I had an email from a Queensland mate the other day. “I recently took a train trip from Brisbane to Charleville” he told me, “and there were huge piles of concrete sleepers beside the line to the Toowoomba Range and elsewhere.” I knew exactly what he was talking about. In September 2024 I travelled by train from Perth to Adelaide, from Ballarat to Melbourne and from Melbourne to Sydney. Alongside every railway line along this trip were piles of “used” concrete sleepers.

The transcript of proceedings of the Independent Forestry Panel in teleconference with the Independent Koala Expert Panel on 1 November 2024 was released on Friday 20 December, at the end of the last working week before Christmas. The Forestry Panel will oversee the destruction of sustainable forestry in NSW to ‘save’ koalas.

As a second Trump presidency looms on the horizon, one pressing issue for America's and Australian farmers remains unresolved: the unfettered right to repair their own agricultural machinery. With both groups at loggerheads with the big farm machinery manufacturers over who gets the right to access software locks to repair complex tractors and headers, what happens under Trump could impact where this long running debate finally settles.

The Betts/Barbour/Hume family’s 157-year-old agricultural and biodiversity conservation property is at a critical point. It may not survive this latest challenge to its viability. If it fails, it will take with it decades of labour and investment expended on protecting an extremely environmentally, historically, agriculturally and culturally important area.

New and improved agricultural levies legislation will replace the existing framework next year, making the levy system more user friendly for participants and making it easier for them to understand their obligations. More than 50 pieces of legislation governing over 110 levies and charges – across 75 commodities and 18 bodies that receive levies – are being streamlined into five Acts and subordinate legislation.

Introducing rules surrounding earlier indicative pricing and accepted tonnages would benefit Riverland wine grape growers, according to senior local politicians in attendance at a recent industry inquiry ... Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone said suggested changes surrounding a mandatory code – including the earlier release of indicative prices – would provide growers with more business certainty before annual vintages.

CFA is reminding farmers about the risks of improper hay storage after two devastating haystack fires destroyed at least 1700 hay bales in separate parts of the state recently. A fire in Coonooer West on Tuesday (10 Dec) claimed 1,200 bales, a hayshed, and several pieces of machinery, while just last week a fire in Naring saw another 500 bales destroyed.

Rachel Hagan. From farmhand to company director, local entrepreneur Tyson Adams went out on his own, taking a big financial risk, to bring his new career and mobile app FarmTrak to life ... Gulfview Grain’s Todd Woodley was one of Tyson’s first clients and has now fully subscribed to the app because of how effective it was to keep on top of his seed and storage inventory.

Qld and WA farmers reported improved optimism heading into the end of the year, while sentiment was more subdued in other states, the latest Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey has found ... on a national basis farmers were becoming increasingly cautious about the outlook for the agricultural economy, with nearly half (47 per cent) attributing their concerns to dry seasonal conditions, while rising cost pressures are also a worry.

Scott O’Keeffe. Around 15 years ago, people living in the Maleny area of Southeast Queensland noticed a decline in the health of some large mature bunya pines (Araucaria bidwillii). The crowns of the trees began turning brown, quickly followed by foliage well below the crown. Within a short time, all foliage would be shed, branches cast, and the affected tree would be dead ... Araucarian Dieback (AD) is on the move.

Forestry Australia has welcomed a new study published in Australian Forestry peer-reviewed journal by the former chief research scientist at the CSIRO, Dr John Raison. The paper, titled "A review of the impacts of sustainable harvesting, non-harvest management and wildfire on net carbon emissions from Australian native forests", investigates the science behind claims that timber harvesting increases greenhouse gas emissions.

Twenty-seven years and 2.2 million boxes later, Sharon Drabsch has called it a day. Shaz, as her colleagues call her, ends her 27-year career as a box maker at the MiniJumbuk in Naracoorte at the end of this month. The 46-year-old with special abilities is not only a box maker but also a beacon of hope to those with special needs in the community.

“The Victorian Government’s approval of two mineral sands mines yesterday through Environment Effects Statements isn’t the end of the matter,” Member for Mallee Dr Webster said on Wednesday. As farmers learned of the two Mallee mines, the Member for Mallee lamented that Victoria’s prime agricultural land and the health of farming communities are not considered as significant as environmental grounds when assessing mining projects.

In weather that could only be described as tropical, around 30 people attended a very hot and humid Murray Plains Meat Co-Operative open day on Friday December 6. After nine years of advocacy planning and cooperation with Murray River Council the micro abattoir has come to life.

The highly anticipated Costello Rural Upper Murray Christmas Cattle Sale saw an excellent yarding of more than 950 locally bred, grass-fed cattle at the Corryong Saleyards, with strong buyer competition both on-site and online via Auctions Plus.