Agriculture

According to a recent survey by Farmbot of farmers across Australia, their two primary concerns are poor phone reception and a need to manually check water points ... ARR.News asks a few questions of Andrew Coppin, founder and CEO of Farmbot, provider of remote water monitoring solutions.

The President of the Yass Show Society Anne Hazell said that the Yass Show, held on Saturday 19 March 2022 as a one day traditional agricultural show with the theme of showcasing the local region, was a great success.

Small native mammals including bandicoots, antechinus and Bush Rats are showing remarkable recovery two years on from the Black Summer fires, long-term camera monitoring in State forests south of Eden shows. Forestry Corporation of NSW Senior Field Ecologist Rohan Bilney said Forestry Corporation of NSW has been monitoring wildlife at 40 sites in State forests south of Eden since 2007 as part of the Southern Brown Bandicoot Species Management Plan, and every monitoring site was impacted by fires in 2019-20.  

Exports of Queensland-bred Calypso ® mangoes to China have increased this season despite the many recent challenges faced by growers, including unpredictable weather events and freight disruptions.

Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party have affirmed their decision to remove another 450 gigalitres of water, in addition to the 2750 gigalitres already removed via the Basin Plan, from productive use in NSW and Victoria. Most, if not all, of this water will be sourced from The Riverina and northern Victoria.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has warned that jobs across regional Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia will be lost if Anthony Albanese’s policy for water recovery is implemented under the Murray Darling Basin Plan. VFF President Emma Germano said Federal Labor’s five-point policy showed a total misunderstanding of the Basin Plan and a total disregard for jobs in regional communities.

Our show this year will be a little different, we are holding a horse only event.

The global wine sector is facing significant disruptions in different links of the supply chain. The common assumption was that these issues were transitory. Now there are increasing signs that some of these changes are structural and could even get worse, requiring more strategic responses.

Water allocation prices in the southern Murray–Darling Basin are likely to remain low for a third consecutive year, according to the latest ABARES Water Market Outlook.

Serena Kirby. Mark Parre is busy passing on his skills and knowledge to the next generation because, after nearly 30 years with the Shire of Denmark, retirement looms ... “The work is the greatest reward and when I revisit a site I planted up years before and see the diversity of flora and fauna it really makes my heart sing.”

A man as been fined $15,000 by the Cooktown Magistrates Court over the felling of 113 old-growth trees in the Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park. In 2020, a timber export company entered into an agreement to log Cooktown Ironwood trees (erythrophleum chlorostachys) on two Cape York stations that border the national park.

The burgeoning northern Australian spice industry has moved from concept to impact with the first orders secured to replace 100 tonnes of imported kalonji seed ... “We’re currently contracting farmers in Queensland to supply seed to meet this first order, and we’re looking for more farmers to work with us as we build this industry across northern Australia to tap into the booming demand for spices around the world”: Lewis Hunter, AgriVentis Technologies.

Australia signs an historic trade agreement with India, the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement, that will further strengthen our relationship while making Australian exports to India cheaper and creating huge new opportunities for workers and businesses.

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.

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 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.

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.