Agriculture

Farmers for Climate Action has produced a report ‘Energy Sovereignty for Regional Australia: Protecting Farmers, Powering the Future’ arguing that Australia's transition away from diesel should be accelerated through electrification, subsidies, infrastructure investment and changes to fuel tax arrangements ... When did advocacy become less about persuading people to voluntarily embrace change and more about finding another group to pay for it?

Ready, Set, Esky: Scenic Rim Eat Local Month’s much-loved Winter Harvest Festival returns to Kalbar on Saturday 27 June, bringing together the region’s farmers, growers, producers, Food Ambassador chefs and artisans for one unforgettable day of food, farming and country hospitality. 

The Albanese Labor Government’s latest $430m Murray-Darling Basin water buyback will take more productive water out of agriculture and put more pressure on families already struggling with grocery prices, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said today. The deal involves the Commonwealth buying almost 86GL of water entitlements for environmental use at a cost of more than $430m.

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to expand access to a key Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concession, describing it as one of the most consequential wins for the NFF and its members following sustained advocacy on behalf of farmers.

The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is urging the Riverland community to report deer sightings following the detection of a sambar deer in an orchard near Loxton North, captured on a remote trail camera. Sambar deer are a large species, reaching up to 1.6 metres tall and 300 kg, and can pose risks to people, road users and horticultural operations.

The MCi Carbon plant takes carbon dioxide captured from ammonia production and turns it into materials used in concrete, plasterboard, glass and paper. 

Carey Brennan. Tuesday night’s VicGrid Community Reference Group meeting of impacted farmers, council officers and VicGrid employees was disrupted by around 60 farmers and concerned community members at Charlton Park. Claire Flanagan-Smith, of RMG Consulting, chairing the meeting, called a halt to proceedings and refused to let it continue with the farmers present.

Researchers at RMIT have found that high-power ultrasound can help extract protein from discarded cauliflower leaves, opening up a potential new use for a vegetable by-product ... ARR.News found out more about the process and potential opportunities from Kinjal Furia, the study's lead author and RMIT PhD candidate.

Australia’s co-operative and mutual sector has again proved its resilience, recording an 8.4 per cent increase in annual revenue, against a backdrop of recurring domestic and global economic challenges. The latest National Mutual Economy Report published today by the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) reaffirms the sector’s robust health despite the impact of ongoing inflationary pressures in Australia and abroad.

Ian Musgrave. Paraquat is one of the world’s most widely used herbicides. It’s also highly toxic and some research points to a link with Parkinson’s disease ... Let’s see what the evidence says about paraquat’s toxicity and any link with Parkinson’s disease.

Sentiment among Australia’s agricultural producers continued to track lower this quarter, with concerns about cost pressures in the wake of Middle Eastern tensions remaining top of mind for farmers across the country. The quarter two Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, released today, found national sentiment at its lowest point since November 2006 as it dropped to a net reading of - 48 per cent.

Mallee’s food exporters face huge spikes in Commonwealth export fees after the shock release of data under the cover of a quiet Friday after sunset. The Albanese Government’s final Export Cost Recovery Implementation Statements confirm fee increases of up to 384 per cent on agricultural exporters.

The Albanese Labor Government has secured another three shipments of approximately 98,500 tonnes of additional urea for Australian farmers through the Government’s $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility. The Albanese Government has partnered with Incitec Pivot, CSBP, and Summit Fertilizer to support the purchase of these additional fertiliser shipments, which are expected to arrive in Australia in the coming weeks. 

Following ABC Landline's profile of the pollination impacts of Varroa mite, the NFF Horticulture Council and the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) are jointly calling on horticulture producers to plan now for a future where reliable, managed pollination can no longer be taken for granted.

A slowing in global milk production - following an intense period of growth - is set to see global dairy markets headed back towards supply and demand ‘balance’, Rabobank says in its newly-released Q2 Global Dairy Quarterly. The report, by the international agribusiness bank’s RaboResearch division, says the rate of global milk production growth finally began to slow in quarter two this year.

Australia’s farmers are embracing new income streams to remain viable, but the nation’s tax system has not kept pace, according to new research ... by AgriFutures Australia. The report, Assessing the Implications of Emerging Farm Income Streams for Primary Producer Tax Policy, shows modern farm businesses are increasingly hosting renewable energy projects, participating in environmental markets and managing land access agreements...

Murray Industrial Hemp (MIH) is thrilled with news the NSW Government has granted $10 million for a new hemp manufacturing business in Barham ... MIH will use the government funding, along with investments from local and national shareholders, to build industrial hemp processing and block manufacturing facilities in Barham.

Carwyn has an idea that could stop shark attacks in their tracks. Plus your weekly farming weather and your regional news with Fiona L Fox from ARR.News.

Queensland farmers are warning that the State’s quick-fire series of legislation amendments aimed to facilitate projects considered strategically important to Queensland have the potential to provide negative consequences to the future protection of agricultural land and regional communities.

On writing this, urea had slipped back below $1,000 a tonne and oil had fallen under US$90 a barrel. The headlines had moved on, the politicians were congratulating themselves, and the market was once again telling us that everything was under control. Problem solved. Move along. Nothing to see here. Except that is exactly what people said after the last fertiliser shock, and the one before that, and the one before that.

The Cook Labor Government has granted an aquaculture licence to Fremantle-based company SeaStock Pty Ltd for Western Australia's first commercial scale, land-based seaweed production facility, now under construction in Oakford. In recent years, algae aquaculture markets have developed significantly both locally and abroad for a type of red algae known as Asparagopsis.