Business

Luv-A-Duck was founded by the late Art Shoppee back in 1968, when he started out with just 20 ducklings. Today it grows and supplies 5 million ducks annually for food service and retail markets within Australia and overseas ... To support the growth plans, current Family Directors, Theresa Sfetkidis and Kim Shoppee-Lynch, are in the final phase of choosing a business partner, to take a major stake in the business.

Kaniva’s Doyle’s IGA supermarket was recently crowned community award of the year at the IGA retail Excellence Awards held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne. Doyle’s IGA was nominated in three categories, small format Meat Department of the year, small format Grocery Department of the year and the Community Award.

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) has confirmed an impeccable line up of 15 Indigenous fashion designers and wearable art makers from across Queensland whose collective response to the 2023 theme ‘Woven’ will tell a powerful story marking 10 years of fashion performances.

Growers and mouse bait retailers are being reminded about new reporting procedures that have been introduced and need to be followed, to enable access to double strength (ZP50) mouse bait products and support best practice application ... This permit allows continued access to the new ZP50 mouse bait products, supplied by the various manufacturers listed on the permit, enabling stronger control options to help safeguard crops.

The Shire of Gingin says councillors were made aware when the Gingin council dealt with the Guilderton caravan park tender process that chief executive officer Aaron Cook had prior dealings with Belgravia Leisure’s WA state manager when Mr Cook was the Narrogin CEO.

The annual Sustainable Seafood Awards held by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council in partnership with the Marine Stewardship Council were held ... at Melbourne Zoo, showcasing the Aussie heroes of responsible seafood farming and sustainable fishing practices in Australia ... The winners were a fantastic mix of organisations and individuals who have made significant contributions to responsible aquaculture, from retailers to producers and even an inspiring young person in the industry.

After steep falls in late 2022 and early 2023, many Australian agricultural commodity prices have stabilised, according to the NAB March Rural Commodities Wrap released on 27 March 2023. While the NAB Rural Commodities Index* was down 1.2% in February, almost all of the downside was driven by falling cattle prices as the industry faces parallel challenges of higher turnoff, processor constraints and tough global conditions.

The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie will launch the national Regionalisation Roadshow in Stawell this week – helping local leaders of Northern Grampians tackle the issues holding their country towns back ... As a member of the RAI, the Northern Grampians offered to host and be the first location in regional Australia to ignite a place-based lens on the framework – focussing on areas including job vacancies, education, and housing.

Australia is negotiating amendments to the Australia-European Community Agreement on Trade in Wine (Wine Agreement). As part of the negotiation the Australian Government is running a public objections process on wine geographical indications (GIs) proposed by the EU.

The Federal Labor Government has been forced to admit it won’t reach its target of 24/7 Registered Nurses in all Aged Care homes, which is an acknowledgement for battling smaller regional aged care facilities. Earlier this week, Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells, revealed to media not every facility would be fully staffed by July 1, following months of pressure and advocacy from the Coalition on behalf of smaller aged care facilities.

The proposed closure of the Bank SA branch in Kingston will have a devastating impact on the township, its neighbouring communities, and businesses that rely on rural banking. This was the sentiment echoed by almost every member of the public who attended the committee consultation on the future of Bank SA organised by the Kingston District Council on Wednesday.

The 2023 Coonawarra Vintage was declared open in smashing fashion on Thursday 16th March, with a crowd of over 60 people gathering at the iconic Coonawarra Siding to herald in the new season. The occasion was marked with a traditional grape stomp and bottle smash, to signify the new vintage and bid farewell to the season past.

The frequent claim by police that it cannot act on street kids unless they are committing a crime does not seem to hold water for the person in the street when they look at Territory legislation ... These issues have been broadly discussed in Alice Springs for years, including in an ongoing campaign by Tourism Central Australia (TCA), representing the region’s economic lifeblood. “If a child is on the street at 2am or even later, they should come under the care of the Government,” says TCA’s CEO, Danial Rochford.

Quentin Kennedy, owner of the successful Greenmount organic food producer, Kialla Foods, believes the Federal Labor government’s decision to abandon domestic regulation of organics is handicapping his ability, and those of other Australian organic producers, to grow their export markets because lack of domestic regulation results in a dual system that is unworkable and costly.

Ross McGuinness. Only three elements of Denmark’s railway exist today nearly 60 years since the closure of the line. Two are still clearly visible while the third, the historic 1897 turntable, is now mainly covered. The turntable and adjacent engine pit, sometimes referred to as the ash pit, are located on the bridge end of the station site.

Harvest Moon has arrived in Narrandera and is ready to commence operations. The company has settled at Glenfyne Farm after 18 months of looking for suitable land in the Riverina in order for their business to branch out into New South Wales ... "We are excited to finally be in the Riverina," Harvest Moon Compliance Manager Tundra Howe said. "It’s a great part of the country and we believe there is huge potential and scope for our future plans."

Labor has failed to dispel misconceptions around the use and overseas imports of kangaroo products, allowing the United States to stick the boot into the kangaroo industry. It comes after shoe brand Nike announced it would stop making any product with kangaroo leather by the end of 2023 ... Leader of The Nationals and Member for Maranoa David Littleproud said the Federal Government had been missing in action and had failed to fight for the industry.