Agriculture

Deep anger, fear and resentment has been exposed during the first public meeting at Newlyn to discuss the proposed Western Victorian Transmission Network ... The Western Victorian project is earmarked as the first of eight across Australia, including Victorian Government plans to ‘grid the state’. “Locals are very alert that the fight for their rights and livelihoods is being watched by communities across the nation. These residents are setting the precedent,” Mrs McArthur said.

The new 2019-20 Primary Industries Scorecard is out now, outlining the resilient performance of South Australia's primary industries which generated revenue of $14.1 billion. It highlights the critical reliance on the primary industries and agribusiness sector to keep the South Australian economy moving, despite a number of challenges including drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Red imported fire ants are one of the world’s worst invasive species due to their devastating economic, environmental and social impacts, They are a danger to people and our way of life, destroy agricultural and domestic infrastructure, and are a serious environmental threat."

Rabobank. Rabobank expects that 2020 would have been the sixth straight year for land price growth, which according to ABARES data, is an increase of 41% nationally over the six-year period. While price growth has been sharp, and strong, we expect prices are sustainable at these levels, with a downward correction very unlikely.

The milko is back — the clinking of glass bottles, the layer of cream at the top of the milk — harks back to a time long gone. Dairy farmer Shane Hickey delivers fresh bottled milk straight from his Jersey cows to homes around Kyogle ... Shane said bypassing the supermarkets meant people could connect to a farmer who “farmed in a way that was ethical and sustainable”.

Rabobank. The long price surge in Agri commodities markets subsided last month, as la Niña weather worries eased and South American crop advances pushed frenzied speculators to catch their breath. Wary consumers start to think of the most consequential US summer harvest in the last eight years. Then, as now, high US acreage and inputs will be no panacea; corn and soy must also yield well to keep corn and soy stocks from falling into scarcity.

NAB. Solid rainfall across many previously dry areas of Queensland over the last two weeks is expected to spark a short-term resurgence in young cattle prices, as many producers turn from sellers to buyers. In NAB’s March Beef in Focus Report, the bank’s forecast for the Eastern Young Cattle Indicator (EYCI) has been revised up slightly to 850c/kg for Q2 of 2021 on the back of recent rain.

Just a ‘toilet roll' incident is an interesting metaphor to use in respect to the critical timber shortage occurring within the Australian and world-wide construction industry.

Forestry Corporation of NSW is about to commence small-scale strategic hazard reduction burns in up to 2,000 hectares of State forests near Narooma and Eden to protect against wildfires. Autumn is one of the key times to reduce the forest’s fuel load and help protect communities and the environment against bushfires, said Forestry Corporation Protection Supervisor, Julian Armstrong.

A record-breaking 2020-21 harvest and rising prices across all agricultural commodities have seen the NAB Rural Commodities Index rise 2.6% in February to now be 1.8% higher than the same time last year.

The NSW Government has provided another $50 million in relief to the State’s farmers who are still feeling the effects of drought by waiving Local Land Services (LLS) rates for the third year, Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall announced today.

John Lloyd, Agribusiness Australia. This is not a critique of the National Farmers Federation’s laudable $100 billion aspiration. Agribusiness Australia’s own ambition is built on continuity with the NFF platform, and also to ensure it becomes reality. But it’s just a matter of seeing trend against target.

NSW Farmers and the Country Women’s Association of NSW (CWA of NSW) are alarmed by a proposal that would stifle community consultation on the Inland Rail project. It comes as the NSW Minister for Planning the Hon Rob Stokes MP has issued an order declaring the construction of the Inland Rail in NSW as a critical state significant infrastructure project.

Australian farmers are forecasting another productive and profitable year ahead, with rural sentiment still at historically-high levels thanks to “perfect” summer conditions in much of the nation’s east and exceptionally strong commodity prices.

Researchers at The University of South Australia have developed a cost-effective new technique to monitor soil moisture using a standard digital camera and machine learning technology.

Consumers are being warned of inferior fruit due to arrive for the first time from Taiwan. Growcom, the peak industry body representing the Australian pineapple industry, has today voiced concerns about reports that six tonnes of fresh pineapple are to be imported into Australia from Taiwan in May.

For the first time, researchers have established a baseline understanding of the prevalence, cause and cost of kid loss in the Australian goatmeat industry through a project funded by MLA.

Demand will take the driver’s seat in 2021, as global dairy markets look towards a “palpable return to familiar consumer patterns” by mid-year, the latest Rabobank global Dairy Quarterly report has found.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has applauded the Federal Government’s announcement on the extension of the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to 30 September 2021.