Agriculture

East Gippsland in the far SE corner of Australia, has long been seen as the stronghold of many natural values including old growth and rainforests and remarkable wildlife species that evolved with and still depend on these healthy, intact habitats.

The adorable Greater Glider is in trouble. It is threatened by fire and logging and its population has crashed by over 80% this century ... VicForests – a logging company owned by the government – wants to clear much of what’s left of the Greater Glider’s habitat.

A female shearer is encouraging young people to consider taking up the profession as the country continues to face a shortage spurred on by the pandemic ... While Ms Doll had never expected to spend her working life in a shearing shed, the 29-year-old now couldn’t imagine her life being any different.

Over 30 attendees turned out for the land reclassification public hearing on February 3. Lot 1 DP1267277, Gonn Road, Barham is the proposed site for Barham’s new micro-abattoir ... While the hearing was focused on the land reclassification, topics raised by speakers were broad, from the benefits of the development to those who felt a lack of consultation and concerns over the process.

GrainCorp has a vast geographical footprint, with operations not only in Australia but in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the Americas, south-east Asia and China ... "I’m very proud that GrainCorp China has made great progress over the past five years. The sales of Australian commodities have gained high reputation among our Chinese customers": David Cui.

A report released by GRDC, Australian Grains Baseline and Mitigation Assessment, has found that the Australian grains industry exhibits low greenhouse gas emissions for each tonne of grain produced compared to other grain producing regions and countries, including the EU, USA, Canada, Russia and Ukraine.

All the fun of the fair at Koorawatha - competitions, Tug.A.War., horse events, cattle, sheep, prince/ princess competition, woodchopping, music, markets.

Cases of Bovine Ephemeral Fever, also known as three-day sickness, are being seen in cattle on the NSW North Coast. The disease has been confirmed via laboratory testing in a herd within the Kyogle shire, and there have also been reports of clinical signs of the disease in the Tweed and Brunswick shires. It is expected that the disease will move south as the season progresses.

Attractions include the Eastend Bus Service Rodeo, free activities for children, Hot Air Balloon Rides on the Defence Force Balloon, Wood Chop, Beaut All Vehicle Show, Dog Show in Victoria Park, Young Farmers Challenge, Farm Livestock, Birds & Poultry, Horse Events, Pavilion Displays, Australian Wildlife Park Display, Side Show Alley, Live Entertainment including Step Up Dance Academy. Darsharni & Tayvin Martins, and the Moosic Man, the Mad Bucking Cow, Mid-Western Regional Council Mobile Library, and Captain Awesome.

Abalone fishers took advantage of the third fishing hour of the West Coast Zone abalone fishing season, including at Yanchep Lagoon. Yanchep Surf Life Saving Club and Marine Rescue Two Rocks volunteers were at the lagoon this morning keeping a watch on fishers searching for the reef-dwelling mollusc.

With a large percentage of Queensland experiencing summer rains and continuing La Niña conditions, Queensland sheep and wool producers are being urged to remain vigilant for conditions favouring flystrike.

Australia’s agricultural sector is set for another profitable year ahead, with the gross value of agricultural production on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth in 2021/22, Rabobank says in a newly-released industry report.

A massive, stunningly beautiful former grazing property will soon belong to Queenslanders as the state’s newest national park. “The Lakes”, north of Hughenden, will increase Queensland’s protected area estate by 35,300 hectares, with the Palaszczuk Government now finalising the multi-million-dollar purchase.

Gralyn Estate has added to its trophy room winning the 2021 ANZ Boutique Wine Show for their Gralyn Estate Artizan Rare Muscat NV, the 11th  trophy win for the storied wine. Adding to that, Gralyn Estate was awarded  a double gold medal at the Global Fine Wine Challenge  and a score of  95 Points and Gold at the Melbourne Royal Wine Awards, further  cementing Gralyn Estate as a preeminent name in Australian fortified winemaking.

Following on from the disappointment of cancelling last year’s show, Act-Belong-Commit Darkan Sheepfest is all set to navigate double vaccination entry requirements for events in regional Western Australia and is aiming for show success.

Many farmers in the Narrandera area agreed with NSW Farmers Grains Committee chairperson Justin Everitt that this year's harvest had resulted in a ''bumper'' year. Mr Everitt said the "end result" had been positive despite the challenges farmers had faced with worker shortages, high prices for supplies, a mouse plague and wet weather.

"During COVID, supply chains almost ground to a complete halt and exposed Australia’s reliance on the import of key inputs including urea. Many Australians would be shocked to learn the nation imports 90% of its urea, the most commonly used fertiliser in agriculture. Without urea, crop production would fall 30-40%" : National Farmers Federation Chief Executive, Tony Mahar.

The Australian Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has committed $255 million for critical infrastructure supporting the Perdaman Urea Project in Western Australia. The $4.3 billion project located 20 kilometres north-west of Karratha will convert Australian gas into approximately two million tonnes of urea per year.

Strike Energy Limited has been granted Major Project Status for Project Haber, its $3 billion urea manufacturing facility in the Narngulu Industrial Area, near Geraldton, Western Australia. The project will produce up to 1.4 million tonnes per annum of urea from clean hydrogen and natural gas.

The fresh produce sector and supply chain in Queensland has agreed on four key fields of strategic interest to pursue over the first two years of its new industry plan, Future Fields.