Agriculture

Launched earlier this year, the trial of the $26.2 m bubble plume project is already making a positive difference by creating warmer temperatures throughout the Severn River’s Pindari Dam storage ... “This project aims to re-establish more natural water temperatures below dams for native fish breeding and growth. The project also ensures that water temperatures from environmental flow releases enhance the health of the river downstream”: Tara Moriarty.

Aussie Helpers Brekkie in a Bag program is providing practical support for the remote families quietly struggling under mounting pressure ... “This year, with the school runs and soaring fuel prices, it’s just not affordable to clock up an extra 100 km each day”" Valerie Galipo ... “Just knowing they’ve had something to eat and can start their day ready to go is a real comfort.”

The Nationals will fight to stop the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West (VNI West) by scrapping Labor's net zero agenda, which has driven the reckless renewables rollout across regional Australia. Speaking after a Farmers' Forum in St Arnaud last week, Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said farmers and the local community had made clear the disastrous impact Labor's net zero agenda was having on regional Victoria.

Plus road train owner operator Zac Anthony gives a real on the road update on diesel prices, plus your weekly farming weather and all of your rural news with Fiona L Fox from Australian Rural and Regional News.

“It’s no longer a level playing field. Farmers trying to secure water to grow food and sustain communities are competing against taxpayer-funded buybacks and major investment entities with access to massive amounts of capital”: VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy.

Hamish McIntyre. The National Farmers’ Federation is disappointed the Federal Government has introduced its tax reform legislation without explicitly committing to review the outdated small business Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concession thresholds. In introducing the legislation, the Government signalled that this is the first tranche of legislation, with more consultation to come on small business and further legislation required for implementation.

I’ve just returned from a two-day National Farmers’ Federation members meeting in Canberra and the mood is dark. It is increasingly clear this Government has little affection for the productive capitalist class and is hunting for revenue, regulation and control from wherever it can extract it.

Burdekin Show, 24 June 2026.

The Crisafulli Government is delivering $300,000 to support two local agronomy projects, helping shore up the future of agriculture in Far North Queensland after the local collapse of sugar cane when the Mossman Mill closed in 2024.   

The peak body for Tasmanian farmers has released its Rushy Lagoon Land Use North-East Community Impact Survey. TasFarmers said it had received concerns from numerous members regarding the proposed sale of Rushy Lagoon, and federal government support allowing a foreign-owned entity to purchase the property and convert it to a pine plantation.

The Albanese Labor Government continues to secure essential fuel and fertiliser to keep Australian agriculture moving, with around 80,250 tonnes of additional urea now locked in through the Government’s $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility. Through Export Finance Australia, the Government has partnered with Incitec Pivot to support the purchase of two shipments of urea from Indonesia.

Australia is set to plant a reduced winter crop this year, as the nation’s grain growers contend with mixed weather conditions and the impacts of significantly-higher farm input costs, Rabobank says in its 2026/27 Australian Winter Crop Forecast. The specialist agribusiness bank estimates Australia’s winter cropping area will come in at 23.1 million hectares for the season – down eight per cent on last year and 4.3 per cent below the five-year average.

Almost three months since the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, the federal government continues to issue statements couched in confident language about fuel and fertiliser "secured" and "shipments" and "cargoes" headed our way ... Australian Rural & Regional News put out some feelers to many of the Australian farmers' associations this week ... your story from on the ground out there is wanted.

Public claims that timber harvesting increases bushfire risk are based on narrow and contested evidence, and should not be generalised across Australia's diverse forests, according to a new evidence review released by Forestry Australia. The review, Contested Evidence About Timber Harvesting and Bushfire Risk in Australian Landscapes, examines claims that timber harvesting increases forest flammability and bushfire risk.

South Australian farmers received $4.7 million in tag discounts and rebates during the first year of mandatory electronic identification (eID) for sheep and farmed goats. The state’s farmers continue to implement a national roll-out of individual eID tags for sheep and goats to strengthen our world-leading livestock traceability systems and support rapid responses to biosecurity threats.

If you ever wondered why so few of our political class appear genuinely effective, the answer can largely be explained by three principles that govern human organisations everywhere: the Pareto Principle (1890s), Price’s Law (1960) and the Peter Principle (1969).

Renowned environmentalist Bob Brown made his ‘little bit' of contribution recently to preventing ‘pyromaniacs' from burning a national treasure – the Walpole-Nornalup National Park tingle forests. He joined the Tingle Action Group and WA Forest Alliance to see both the beauty of long-unburnt tingle forest, thriving as it has for centuries, and the impact of prescribed burning, which has felled hundreds of ancient tingle trees.

The Animal Health in Australia (AHiA) Annual Report 2025 and the Animal Health in Australia System Report (Second Edition) are now available.

Grain Producers Australia (GPA) has secured a national emergency permit allowing grain growers to access stronger mouse bait as significant mouse numbers plague several states. Australian grain growers have been desperately calling for permits to access stronger mouse bait to tackle the growing problem, with the standard available bait proving inadequate. 

On the show today, Jessica Lingard talks you through how she puts your farming weather together, plus Fiona L Fox answers that burning question, what is a Dingo?

Queensland’s 2026 sugarcane crush will officially get underway this week, with harvesters rumbling into life across the state’s far north. Tableland crews will fire the starter gun on the 7 month harvest, with the first rakes of cane due to go through the rollers at MSF’s Arriga mill on 18 May.