Failure to tackle unfair contracts criticised: NSW Farmers
The state’s farmers are disappointed the federal government has failed to crack down on unfair contract terms. A Bill aimed at delivering fairness for small business by making UCTs unlawful was introduced in early February – but has not been progressed by the federal government.
2022 Budget: Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association
When it comes to the big-ticket items for Tasmania the federal budget doesn’t meet Tasmania’s needs for agriculture. The infrastructure spend on water and roads only provides small change for Tasmania. Water is 0.18% of national spending and roads are 0.55%.
GrainCorp, CSIRO and v2food partner on $4.4m plant-based protein research
GrainCorp has partnered with Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and leading plant-based food producer v2food on a $4.4million research project in the fast-growing plant-based protein market.
Growing Abundance is back!
Growing Abundance helps minimise food waste in our community by organising volunteers to help pick the fruit that isn’t able to be harvested by the owners. We are doing a call out for anyone who has excess fruit on their trees that they are willing and wishing to get help harvesting and distributing.
Macquarie wrap up Australia’s largest cotton station
Australia's largest irrigated cotton property, Cubbie Station, is back in local hands after Chinese textile giant Shandong Ruyi sold its remaining stake to co-owner Macquarie Asset Management. Cubbie Station is responsible for around 10% of the country’s cotton output and is now entirely held by the Sydney-based company.
Cattle station sets district record
Southern Queensland cattle country has been snapped up by neighbouring owners for a district record price of about $9.5 million. The West family from Silver Valley are the new owners of the 2,023 Tamarang property, about 50 kilometres south east from Roma and within the Maranoa region.
Producers prepare for setbacks
Gabrielle Duykers. Food and beverage producers from across the region will be meeting to discuss the impacts of drought and climate change to help bolster their preparedness for such events. The Limestone Coast Food and Agribusiness Cluster, established in December 2021, will run a series of webinars and networking events to help foster a better understanding of the risks posed by drought and varying climates.
More cases of Japanese encephalitis in SA piggeries
There have been two more detections of Japanese encephalitis (JE) in South Australian commercial piggeries. This brings the total number of cases in South Australia to six. The latest detections are in the local government areas of Clare and Gilbert Valleys and Goyder. This is in addition to existing detections in the following local government areas: Loxton Waikerie, Murray Bridge and Coorong.
New trial explores almond orchard recycling in Australia
Scientists are working with a Victorian almond grower to trial an orchard redevelopment practice that is reducing the industry’s carbon footprint in the United States. ‘Whole Orchard Recycling’ involves chipping trees and incorporating them into the orchard soil prior to planting new trees. It replaces the traditional practice of burning the trees once they have been removed from the orchard.
Illegal dumping on cane farms must stop
Peak sugarcane organisation CANEGROWERS is seeking urgent discussions with local government amid an escalation of people using Queensland farms as dumping grounds ... ARR.News asked some further questions of CANEGROWERS on this costly problem.
Goomeri and District Show March 2022 – The event in pictures
Goomeri and District Show March 2022 - The event in pictures
Warwick Show & Rodeo, March 2022 – The event in pictures
Warwick Show & Rodeo, March 2022 in pictures.
Worral Creek tipped to fetch over $400m
More than $400 million is expected for the Worral Creek Aggregation in Queensland, which is tipped to account for over 10% of this year’s Australian cotton crop. The Reardon family is bringing the 26,855 hectare aggregation in the Border Rivers region to the market as record crops and commodity prices attract more investors into the agricultural sector.
Restdown’s sustainable tourism recognised
Jo and Don Hearn from Restdown Winery and Jungle Lane Beef Co and their business were recently recognised as part of Tourism Australia’s new international marketing campaign on sustainable tourism, and Tourism NSW has also included them in the top 10 things to do along the Murray River, alongside the iconic Mungo National Park.
Riverina farmer and teachers sought to live and work in Tanzania
A farmer, a pre-school teacher and a secondary school teacher are sought to live and work for a year or two in the Meru District, Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania in East Africa. Father Andrew Mutubusi is visiting Griffith from Tanzania to learn about local irrigation methods in the hope of supporting the peasant farmers in his community back home.
Can prescribed burning assist in the control of wildfire? Frank Batini
... these disastrous wildfires have also given land managers and fire services a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get on top of the bushfire situation. By the end of this year, the fuels in the NSW and Victorian 2019/2020 fire areas will be three years old. The next few years will be a wonderful opportunity to break up these large areas of contiguous fuel by widespread prescribed burning, safely, with minimal chance of escapes. It is a chance that must not be missed.
What the Minister and CEO FCNSW did not say!
On 15 March 2022, NSW Budget Estimates Portfolio Committee No 4 saw Justin Field MLC and David Shoebridge MLC once again argue the closure of selective harvesting of native forests in NSW.
Carbon credit profits as primary production income – Carbon Count CEO Phil Mulvey’s view
"The latest government announcement about primary producers being able to claim their carbon credit profits as part of their primary production income looks positive indeed. What is important to understand however is that this development, whilst positive, is only benefiting those primary producers that have already started a carbon farming project and are soon ready to sell. What this development doesn't doesn't do is incentivise farmers to take up a carbon project in the first place; the key issue we need to overcome to meet our netzero2050 targets. What we need most now are governmental incentives that mitigate the financial barriers of entry for farmers and enable them to get started fast": Phil Mulvey.
NFF backs changes to recognise carbon credits as farm income
The National Farmers' Federation has praised Federal Government changes to see Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and biodiversity credits treated as farm income ... NFF Chief Executive Tony Mahar said the change was due recognition that income related to carbon and biodiversity were part of the farm business. It is also consistent with policy analysis the NFF has progressed under the Australian Agriculture Sustainability Framework (AASF) project.
Tax changes for farmers to bolster land stewardship: Littleproud, Taylor, Sukkar
The Morrison Government will apply concessional tax treatment to primary producers that generate revenue from the sale of Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) and biodiversity certificates. This will encourage carbon abatement activities and help Australia deliver on its net zero emissions target by 2050.
Sustainable forestry continues to achieve positive outcomes: Forestry Australia
International Day of Forests 2022 – “Forests and sustainable production and consumption” ... “Forests are one of Australia’s greatest natural assets, and Australia has the first-class forest management skills, experience and people needed to manage our forests. However, as a nation, we must do more. We need to manage this precious resource actively and adaptively across all land tenures including National Parks, State forests and private land to achieve best outcomes now, and into the future" : Bob Gordon Forestry Australia President.
Ocean-based Carbon Markets Australia and New Zealand – webinar, 28 March 2022
Researchers, Investors, Project Developers and industry participants all play an important role to scale up ocean carbon project development that will bring new innovation to enable large scale emissions reduction, plus many co-benefits such as biodiversity and jobs.
