Agriculture

Australian wheat growers are on track to benefit from one of the best combinations of price and yield in Australian history, according to the NAB October Rural Commodities Wrap released.

Angus Taylor was quoted in The Australian saying, “no affordable, practical and large-scale way exists to reduce [methane from agriculture] other than by culling herd sizes” ... Researchers found cows belched out 82% less methane after putting a small amount of seaweed in their feed for five months. Recent trials of Tasmanian red seaweed - Asparagopsis - show methane can be reduced by up to 98%.  

Entering the market after almost 30 years, an expansive citrus farm and vineyard in the New South Wales Riverina region is ripe for picking, in the country’s largest citrus-growing and NSW’s largest wine producing region.

Two landholdings in the Mornington Peninsula’s Boneo are anticipated to whip up a competitive sales campaign with all kinds of buyers expected to be drawn to the offerings. The premium landholdings at 410-430 Jetty Road and 107 Grasslands Road when combined span around 84-hectares, making the properties amongst the largest holdings to be listed in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula in years.

The Tasmanian Government welcomes the announcement by the Federal Government to help grow and incentivise the plantation estate and support jobs in Tasmania ... unlocking the carbon farming market ‘water rule’ in the South of the State will help encourage private forester participants to fully participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) across the State, including making the market more accessible to small scale landholders.

The Mulloon Institute says the Prime Minister’s plan to include Soil Carbon Sequestration in the 2050 Carbon Neutral roadmap is a critical element to reducing emissions and reducing the impact of global warming. Chairman of the Institute, Gary Nairn AO, says soils hold three times more carbon than the atmosphere so has huge potential, through photosynthesis, to sequester (draw down) carbon.

NSW coastal farmers and landholders can currently store 10 per cent of the rain that falls on their properties, yet they will soon be able to better drought-proof their properties as the NSW Government increases their harvestable right to 30 per cent. Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey said these changes would improve water security for property owners and assist with reducing bushfire risk for coastal towns.

In July 2020, the Government simplified access to carbon funding for forestry projects across five plantation growth regions. The Government is expanding access for four new regions in Tasmania, Gippsland (Victoria), the Green Triangle (Victoria) and Kangaroo Island (South Australia).

Australia’s commercial plantation estate stood at 1.8 million hectares in 2019-20 according to statistics released by ABARES. ABARES Acting Executive Director, Dr Jared Greenville, said the report shows the softwood estate remained relatively stable at about one million hectares. “However, the hardwood estate declined by about 200 thousand hectares compared to the previous estimate for 2014-15," Dr Greenville said.

NSW Farmers is calling for better long-term national fuel security as higher fuel prices take their toll during a tight harvest season. It’s the latest hit to the grains and horticulture sectors, which have been crying out for better access to harvest workers for several weeks. Not only will farmers be frantically trying to find labour, they will also be frantically trying to secure fuel before the price blows out.

Event 5 Tasmanian Championships Rd 1 CopRice Ch Ch Series.

In the past decade, we have been able to sell our wool from unmulesed sheep direct to Norway and the UK (Yorkshire), as our wool meets all their requirements. As with food, the ethical provenance of fibre is becoming an essential marketing tool.   At a basic level - we give the customer what they want.

As Queensland grain growers start thinking about what  to plant next season, based on how crops performed this year, the latest Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) sowing guide could help inform their decision making. The newly released GRDC 2022 Queensland Winter Crop Sowing Guide contains the latest information for wheat, barley and chickpea varieties.

Australian Wool Innovation will spend an extra $950,000 to accelerate research into flystrike genomics and new extension workshops on breeding for natural flystrike resistance ... "Evidence of increasing blowfly resistance to chemicals and the shortage in shearers are extra reasons why AWI will speed up this work:” AWI Chairman Jock Laurie.

The 2021 Clare Show was a brilliant success with more than double the tickets sold than in previous years!

Finish, in partnership with Rural Aid and supported by Coles, will be delivering water tanks to Australian farmers in need over the next six months, to help ensure that any rain that falls now will be captured for future use to help farmers become more secure against drought ... The first water tank delivery took place in Dalma, west of Rockhampton, where farmer Julie Sheehan welcomed both a 22,500L water tank and water delivery to her property.

WA Forestry Minister Dave Kelly has introduced a Bill to amend the Forest Products Act 2000, which will allow the Forest Products Commission (FPC) to trade in carbon assets ... Carbon capture or sequestration in trees such as renewable pine plantations, is one of the most effective ways to remove carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases causing climate change, from the atmosphere.

NSW Murray, Victorian Murray and Goulburn have both hit 100% allocations. The news is a welcome relief to farmers. Despite the increase in allocation, water prices remain firm. Victorian Resource Manager, Dr Mark Bailey, said, “The sustained flows into the Murray system have provided enough resource to repay all of the borrowed Barmah-Millewa Forest environmental water allocation and announce the 100% allocation.  

The Australian Mohair Marketing Organisation’s (AMMO) auction at Narrandera last Friday achieved exceptionally high prices against a slightly downward trend in South Africa. There was a 100 per cent clearance and another Australian record average price of $34.65 /kg which was $4.60 higher than the previous best auction average.