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.
Inland Rail modelling reveals need for state-based investment
The state’s peak agriculture body says the federal government’s multi-billion-dollar freight project needs more work to fully benefit agriculture and the regions. Adrian Lyons, head of the NSW Farmers Inland Rail Taskforce, said new modelling from the CSIRO revealed cost savings were not built in for the state, and more interconnectivity was needed.
Strengthen fuel security now says VFF
The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is calling for urgent action from the Federal Government to strengthen Australia’s fuel security in response to global volatility and uncertainty.
Monitoring the effects of wildfire on water, vegetation and biodiversity: Frank Batini
The very large wildfire in the Perth hills catchments in January 2005 had the potential for severe consequences on water quality in domestic water supply reservoirs ... full recovery will take some decades. This large fire was eventually contained when it reached areas that had been prescribed burnt and carried low fuels.
Activists campaign to determine the future of the native forest industry in NSW: South East Timber Association
Peter Rutherford. The article published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on 15 March once again highlights how activist networking paints native forest harvesting as THE threat to the sustainability of NSW native forests. Like many reports advocating for the closure of the native forest industry, the article contains a mix of academic opinion, anti-native forest harvesting rhetoric from a green politician, creative accounting, words to trigger outrage, such as "woodchip exports," and opinions from an activist non-government organisation, that monetise the outrage to generate more outrage and a reporter to join the dots.
Forrest buys WA station from UK investor
Mining billionaire Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest continues to invest in Australian agriculture, snapping up his second cattle station in Western Australia in a month for an estimated $70 million. The circa 604,430-hectare East Kimberley-based Springvale Aggregation sits around 70km north of Halls Creek and is speculated to include 35,000 cattle across four pastoral leases, Springvale, Mable Downs, Alice Downs, and Texas Downs.
Merriwa expects strong harvest from cropping enterprise
More than $10 million is expected for the large-scale Merriwa Pastoral Company cropping portfolio in Victoria’s Mallee region, at a time of strong seasonal conditions and commodity prices.
Ukraine conflict will reframe global trading relationships: Agribusiness Australia
New Agribusiness Australia analysis shows a rapidly evolving global trading environment, with profound, radical implications for grains production and markets. Major consumers of grains and oilseeds are in urgent need of supply and are being forced to compromise to maintain food security.
