Agriculture

As this final newsletter of the year demonstrates, rural health does not pause for the festive season. While many Australians take a well-earned break, rural, regional and remote communities continue to carry extraordinary responsibility—for food production, harvest, emergency response, service delivery and the steady functioning of our economy and society.

A radiata pine grown in a Southern Highlands State forest is taking pride of place in the foyer of Government House continuing a grand NSW Christmas tradition. For decades, real Christmas trees selected from State forest pine plantations have delighted guests and visitors at the Governor’s residence ... Forestry Corporation has also supplied a 3.5-metre pine to feature at Vaucluse House.

The peak body for Tasmanian farmers, TasFarmers, is today calling for an inquiry and full analysis of Australia’s food supply chain, from farm gate to supermarket shelf, after revealing that fresh produce is now cheaper in London than in Launceston.

Export market demand has supported elevated prices for Australian lamb, mutton and beef through much of 2025, with favourable market conditions expected to continue into the new year, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. In its Global animal protein outlook 2026, the bank’s RaboResearch division says high cattle inventories will maintain elevated Australian beef production, while sheepmeat production takes time to recover.

After requesting a buyback offer of up to $20 million for fishermen to exit the industry, the Clarence Prawn Trawl committee say NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's offer is embarrassing. Last Wednesday afternoon, CVI was contacted by Minister Moriarty's office with news that the NSW Government would commit $4.5 million toward buybacks for the prawn trawl industry.

The Kaniva A&P Society conducted another successful crop competition in November attracting a good variety of entries from across the district ... There were 21 crop entries: 3 Durum, 7 Heavy, 8 Mixed, and 3 Light. The judging covered a wide area, from Lawloit through to the Border, ensuring full representation of the district.

Normanby Aboriginal Corporation and Esparq Ventures have announced they have raised $600,000 as part of their mission to raise $10 million to commercialise, launch, and nationally scale their innovative and sustainable enterprise, Bush Beef ... ethical, climate-friendly food sources are in growing demand ... ARR.News found out more from Dominiqe Bird of Esparq Ventures.

Five Riverina growers and one labour hire provider have been issued compliance notices following surprise inspections by the Fair Work Ombudsman, with combined back payments totalling $5,710 ordered for four employees. The Fair Work Ombudsman conducts unannounced workplace visits across Australia to verify that employers are paying correct wages and overtime rates, issuing proper pay slips and providing information about employee rights.

The Americans had Apollo. The Soviets had Soyuz. The Chinese have Tiangong. And Australia? We now have the world’s first taxpayer-funded attempt to guide space exploration using songlines ... The real culprit here is modern academia, which now treats all “knowledge systems” as equal. They are not. Knowledge that is testable, repeatable, measurable and falsifiable is superior to knowledge that is not.

With the first day of the 2025-26 abalone season underway on Saturday fishers, who are no doubt keen to get their hands on the delicacy, are being asked to keep safety front of mind ... Surf Life Saving WA (SLSWA) has reported an increase in incidents over the past few years, with their lifesaving services performing 118 rescues during the four hours of fishing last season and 101 rescues the previous year.

In the latest installment of NDF we're joined by Dr Jessica Kracht an RFDS Dr, she describes what happened in a bird strike she personally experienced!

Historic sale achieves $170K mare, equal Australian record $110K gelding, and exceeds $8 million for first time. The 51st Annual Dalby Australian Stock Horse Sale has cemented its position as the world's premier Stock Horse sale, delivering a historic weekend that shattered records and exceeded $8 million in sales for the first time in the event's history.

A study tracking not only the forces that drive drought but the damage it leaves behind has revealed that droughts have lasted longer in Australia in recent decades, especially in areas with the most people and farms. UNSW researchers analysed drought trends across Australia between 1911 and 2020 based on rainfall shortages and falling river and dam levels.

Gus van Hart. A young angler has landed the catch of a lifetime off the Cohuna pier, reeling in a metre-plus Murray cod that has kids around town asking him how to fish. Personal trainer Jye Hill, who recently turned 20, was only a few minutes into a session at the popular Cohuna spot when his rod suddenly came to life.

AgForce General President Shane McCarthy, appearing with Mr Perrett and Mr Weir at Wyreema last week, said the implementation phase will determine how the reforms function in reality. "What happens in the implementation phase will decide whether these laws support environmental outcomes or unintentionally restrict the routine land management that keeps Queensland landscapes healthy, productive and safe."

Somerset Regional Art Gallery welcomed agricultural show enthusiasts and art lovers for the opening of two new exhibitions on Saturday, 6 December. Nine talented Somerset artists produced artworks for ‘The Show’ a new exhibition capturing the sights, sounds and atmosphere of the region’s agricultural shows.

Farm communities and landscapes cannot continue to be vandalised in the state government’s sledgehammer approach to powering the nation, NSW Farmers says. As renewable developers bulldozed rural landscapes, NSW Farmers' President Xavier Martin said it was clear the Minns Government was ignoring farm communities and the damage inflicted on them by their industrial scale developments.

Bendigo Bank’s 2026 Australian Agriculture Outlook report provides an in-depth perspective on supply, demand, and price outlooks for Australia’s major agricultural commodities for the first half of 2026.

Australia’s almond sector is entering a new era, as it begins large-scale orchard replanting to enable future growth and satisfy increasing local and global appetite for the popular nut, Rabobank says in a newly-released report. In its Australian Almond Outlook: Replanting for growth beyond 2030, the specialist agribusiness bank’s RaboResearch division says the Australian almond industry is "entering a pivotal transition phase"...

Cameron Keane explains how mine tyres can be recycled into pretty much free energy and fishing banned in WA? Fiona L Fox delves into this contentious law in your regional news.

Negotiations to create a new western Queensland national park on Vergemont Station have been finalised ... The proposed 300,000-hectare national park ... will form part of a 1.5 million-hectare protected area corridor. ARR.News asked the department some further questions.