Agriculture

Thousands of jobs are up for grabs as the South Australian agricultural industry braces for a bumper harvest. The jobs, based in regional South Australia, are typically filled by interstate or overseas workers, but due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, companies, like bulk grain handler Viterra, are calling on locals to fill these roles.

NFF Chief Executive, Tony Mahar has welcomed remarks by Minister David Littleproud at the  United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in a session devoted to leader's statements.

Widespread global disruption to supply is set to see Australian farmers again move to lock in fertiliser and other inputs early for the season ahead, Rabobank says in a recently-released report. This is despite global fertiliser prices at near-decade highs and expected to remain elevated in the short to medium term.

The World Fisheries Congress might be over, but all of the presentations will be available online for another six months, so it’s not too late  to register. In the meantime, if you missed it, here are some spoilers for you.

Continuing COVID border restrictions are making life difficult for farmers and harvest workers at the start of a bumper season. For the second year in a row, farmers are scratching their heads on how to harvest fields full of crops with limited access to workers and COVID testing facilities that have limited hours of operation. NSW Farmers Grains Committee Chair Justin Everitt said there needed to be a coordinated effort from governments to make sure the season wasn’t wasted.  

There is much debate within the scientific community regarding the relationship between bushfire and forestry but what is not debated is the overwhelming impact climate change is having on the frequency and intensity of severe weather events and resulting bushfires. In the past 50-years there has been a 40% increase in very high fire danger days, and this is set to triple in some parts of Victoria by the end of the century according to the International Journal of Wildland Fire.

More than 200 farmers, industry and government representatives have united to chart a way forward against a spring surge in mice activity as the state looks to reap the benefits of a record harvest. Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall said it was invaluable to have all stakeholders together for the latest updates and to discuss key issues with farmers ... Listen to the recording.

The Pattisons, from 'Minmi' at Burraboi, market their beef directly through the Pattison Pastoral brand, tapping into consumer demand for sustainably raised beef with provenance. Hayley is excited by the opportunities the new micro abattoir will bring. “It will do wonders for my brand to have local processing ... With my paddock to plate business, the welfare of the animals is so important."

As a producer in our highly competitive industry it's important and difficult to keep up with the market. For over 20 years we tried to sell Rose. We made different styles, different grape varieties, fancy packaging. Our Rose wines won numerous show awards. We tried targeting various markets: women, young  people, the gay market. But we were pissing into the wind. So we gave up. Then Rose took off. Wrong place, wrong time.

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Agriculture has sold Nerrima Station for more than $30 million, and a further two pastoral stations Ruby Plains and Sturt Creek ... The 203,000ha Nerrima Station, 480,000ha Ruby Plains and 316,000ha Sturt Creek in Western Australia’s Kimberley region were put on the market after Hancock Agriculture and S. Kidman & Co revealed in November last year plans to sell its pastoral holdings comprising eight properties spanning 1.9 million hectares.

Fund manager Gunn Agri Partners has picked up an avocado orchard in northern NSW, looking ahead to higher retail prices for the popular fruit after this year’s massive harvest. The group has paid $11 million for the orchard despite avocado prices plunge from as much as $4 to just $1 each this year as strong seasonal conditions in Western Australia particularly created a bumper crop ... Gunn Agri bought the asset for a European institution with a mandate to invest in permanent Australian crops assets.

Strong month-on-month price increases for most commodities saw Australian agribusiness industry conditions rise to record levels, according to Rabobank, and key drivers are expected to hold out to the December quarter. The latest Rabobank Rural Commodity Price Index rose by another 3.26% in August to its highest-ever reading.

Scott Bates and family of Wallumbilla have paid $15.5 million for the fully exclusion fenced Plevna Downs East in south west Queensland, with the Augathella property selling at a record rate of $2,474 per hectare.

A Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) investment has identified the importance of combining cultural weed management tactics with robust herbicide packages in driving down the weed seedbank.

Images beamed back from space are helping Territory farmers plan their harvests including to predict the equipment and number of staff that may be needed. The 3-year trial is winding up this harvest and has studied images of mango trees at different stages of growth to help estimate whether farmers are in for a productive season.

High cattle prices and the housing crisis have led to changes at the casino Food Co-op. Shifts have been reduced and the co-operative plans to build worker cottages on site. Chief executive Simon Stahl said the price of cattle was too high for the meat processing plant.

The NSW Sugar Industry has just passed the half-way point for the 2021 cane crush, having enjoyed favourable weather conditions, reliable transport and factory operations and a positive sugar price outlook. To date, the three North Coast mills have processed some 850,000 tonnes of locally grown cane.

The Australian Government has announced an additional $15.1 million investment to deliver bushfire-affected softwood to underutilised timber mills, and increase supply of structural timber to the housing and construction industry. Minister for Agriculture and Northern Australia David Littleproud said the government had listened to industry’s concerns to keep product moving.

The WA State Government is working with the Western Australian cattle industry to reduce the regulatory status of Johne's disease cattle strain (C-strain) after infection was confirmed on a cattle property in southern WA.

NSW Farmers told the Senate Inquiry into Definitions of Meat and other Animal Products that alternative proteins will be part of our future, but the word "meat" needs to be protected and that plant-based proteins should be banned from using words like "meat', "beef", "lamb" and "milk".