Agriculture

Rising input costs combined with fears of a foot and mouth disease incursion have weighed heavily on optimism in Australia’s farm sector in the latest quarter, according to the Rabobank Rural Confidence survey. Despite extraordinary strength in farm balance sheets and the overall health of the sector following more than two years of high rainfall and exceptional commodity prices, more farmers now believe conditions are set to worsen over the year ahead rather than improve.

Some older farmers will remember the Australian superphosphate bounty of $12/tonne that was on offer between 1964 to 1974.  Some might have even been at this Perth rally when farmers roughed up Gough Whitlam after he said he was pulling the plug on the bounty ... more hard policy decisions should have been made to cut tariffs and industry support right across Australia to put an end to the endless drip of governments ...

Located in the Central West of New South Wales, Tullinga White Dorpers was established in 2005.

"These new nature reserves provide an important ecological link to other reserves in the area supporting our native species. Through the upcoming release of the draft Forest Management Plan 2024-2033, the community will get the chance to have their say in caring for the health of our forests" : WA Environment Minister Reece Whitby.

Global dairy market fundamentals have shifted course in Q3 2022, from extreme tightness to visible but modest loosening. A  potential collision between supply growth and demand is  approaching, with Q4 year-on-year milk supply growth, weak Chinese import demand, and broader demand rationing in developing countries weighing on forecasts, according to the latest international dairy market report from Rabobank.

Kristin Murdock. While foot and mouth disease (FMD) remains active in Indonesia, officials there say they hope to bring the outbreak under control by the end of the year thanks to a rollout of vaccinations. The country’s FMD Task Force spokesperson, Professor Wiku Adisasmito, said there had been more than 450,000 cases of FMD confirmed or suspected across 22 of the country’s 37 provinces.

In the summer, Ukrainian farmers adapted to work in wartime. However, Ukrainians will have to forget about fruits and vegetables in winter ... With the onset of winter, many Ukrainians will stop buying vegetables. Farmers won't be able to grow it. The reason is the lack of gas or the high cost of gas.

The current timber supply shortages in Victoria brought about by vexatious legal action against VicForests is causing anguish among the people of Orbost, where 37% of its workforce faces the axe ... Forest & Wood Communities Australia went to Orbost last week to speak with what we thought would be a few families to get an idea of what they are going through ... FWCA MD, Justin Law, said the heart-breaking situation in Orbost was unnecessary.

Yanco Agricultural High School celebrated its centenary and family day at the college grounds last weekend ... Our speciality in developing students with a focus on agriculture, with students having the opportunity to work as an integral part of the school's sheep, cattle and show stock teams, as well as our equine program, is what makes us most proud": Principal Marni Milne.

It’s show time in Northampton, with local markets, food trucks, carnival rides and live entertainment all day!

Climate change threatens our forests, but it is not necessarily an existential threat, according to a leading Australian scientist. “It’s not necessarily the case that we will be wiped out by wildfire. The existential threat of fire can be mitigated, but we must use ALL knowledge,” Mark Adams, Professor of Bioscience and Innovation at Swinburne University of Technology ... This included indigenous people’s use of fire as a management tool.

The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA), through the Tasmanian Red Meat Industry Steering Committee (TRMISC), proudly announces the launch of the AgCard Managing Livestock for Red Meat Production certificate unit in collaboration with the Tasmanian Government and Primary Employers Tasmania (PET). This certificate is funded through the $1 million Tasmanian Government commitment to support the development of the red meat industry.

Exceptional growing conditions and high global prices are continuing to benefit Australian agricultural production and exports. The ABARES September quarter Agricultural Commodities Report is forecasting agricultural export earnings to climb to a record $70.3 billion for 2022-23 – almost 50% more than what it was 10 years ago after accounting for inflation.

Minister for Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio visited a business in Werribee South which is turning surplus vegetables into powders ready for supermarket shelves ... The powders – on shelves soon under the label Nutri V - can be added to smoothies, sauces, soups and used in muffins, cakes, breads and other baked goods to boost vegetable intake.

The resistance of  green peach aphid (Myzus persicae,  GPA)  to numerous chemical mode of action groups makes it an ongoing management challenge. In Australia, GPA has evolved resistance to synthetic pyrethroids, carbamates, organophosphates, neonicotinoids, and quite recently, to sulfoxaflor. And now, Australian researchers have found populations of GPA with resistance to spirotetramat, the active ingredient in Movento ® 240 SC Insecticide, as well as several generic products containing the same active ingredient.

111th Moora Show, 17 September 2022

Serena Kirby. WA College of Agriculture Denmark’s open day last weekend also marked 80 years since the school was established. To commemorate, education dignitaries were on hand to unveil an old collegians society plaque ... Principal Rebecca Kirkwood said she was proud of the school’s achievements as it was now widely known for its excellence in cattle and dairy programs.

WA College of Agriculture Denmark student Ella Smith won the Junior Paraders title at the recent Beverley Show ... In Junior Paraders, students lead heifers, bulls and steers and are judged on their ability to control the animal which can be a 600kg bull.

Rick Powell has made the drive from Belyando Crossing to Camooweal for the last 20 years and he says he'll keep coming until he's no longer able to. "I just love it," he said from the Camooweal Drovers Festival on Friday afternoon ... While droving has disappeared from the Australian bush lifestyle, Rick said the festival must live on.