Business

The National Aerial Firefighting Fleet is now in position and ready to respond when disasters hit, as Australia gears up for the 2025-26 Higher Risk Weather Season ... These aircraft are primarily used for firefighting, but can also contribute to supporting Australian communities across the country...

Much needed rain yesterday put smiles on farmers' faces and also gave them a reason to head along to the opening of the new A-G Warehouse Store in Corryong along with local residents. More than 20 supplier partners were onsite ranging from seed, harvest supplies, fencing, animal health, farm supplies, workwear and stockfeed companies.

Riverside Park Barham was bustling as the Veteran Car Club of Australia took over the park ... with the stunning Barham Bridge built in 1904 making an appropriate backdrop ... The day was a feast for the eyes!

A record 2,600-plus entries made last Thursday’s Nhill Show a standout, with strong fields across art, craft, photography, cooking, LEGO, metalwork, wool, grains, shearing and horses. (Last year drew about 2,200.)

A Riverland man is searching for answers after his wife died on the Renmark airport tarmac, while waiting hours for a critical air ambulance last month. After suffering a heart attack on the evening of September 20, on the family's Renmark fruit block, 76-year-old Jane Logos was taken to the Berri-based Riverland General Hospital and waited until nearly 4am for an attempt to transfer her to Flinders Medical Centre (FMC), before tragically passing on the tarmac.

Australian livestock producers have been facing an unprecedented period of market volatility over recent years, with swings in cattle and sheep prices reaching record extremes, Rabobank says in new research. In the report Managing increased volatility in Australian livestock markets … volatility has long been a feature of livestock markets, both the scale and frequency of price swings have intensified significantly over the past five to 10 years.

As community excitement begins to grow as fast as the purple petals on the famous jacaranda trees which line the streets of Grafton start to blossom, thousands of visitors from across the country and overseas will journey to the Clarence Valley over the next two weeks to share in the history of the annual festivity while immersing themselves amongst local attractions and jollities throughout an exuberant 10 day program.

After six months in the role, Kelly Westell has made a big impact as the new CEO of Naracoorte Lucindale Council, bringing in a new way of communicating with the community. Her probation period has ended “and it’s all good news” with strong support from both the council and the community.

James Oxenham, CEO, HRIA ...Australia's agricultural equipment market reached $7.8 billion in 2024, with rental and leasing models experiencing significant growth as farms increasingly choose to hire machinery during peak seasons rather than commit to outright purchases. This shift represents a fundamental rethinking of how Australian farmers approach their operations, and it's reshaping the industry from the ground up.

Country Mayors Association of NSW Chairman, Mayor Rick Firman OAM has commended Westpac Bank for opening a new Regional Service Centre in Moree, in north-west NSW and for what appears to be a vastly improved attitude towards servicing country NSW communities.

Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump this morning signed a USD$100m equity investment in the Arafura Nolans rare earths project at Aileron, 135 km north of Alice Springs. "Once operational, this project will produce 5 per cent of global rare earths - essential for energy security and defence," says a statement from the Prime Minister.

North west Victoria hosted some of the nation's leading agricultural researchers last week when 17 senior CSIRO scientists visited Birchip for a three-day think tank with the Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) focused on driving the next wave of innovation in broadacre farming.

Animal cloning never became a popular or profitable business. However, this industry has made human cloning a reality. For better or worse, all that remains is to legalise it. The first animals that were cloned in Australia were a sheep named Matilda ...

Great leadership isn’t fuelled by grand gestures — it’s sustained by the one small thing you do consistently to restore your energy, focus and spark.

Matt Canavan’s exposé at the recent Senate Estimates, which had the Department of Agriculture’s executives sweating in their seats, deserves wide circulation ... “There’s lots of talk about the need to increase reforestation—effectively, the conversion of agricultural land to forests ..." ... If Matt Canavan is the Senate’s zealot hunter, then Western Australia’s Senator Matthew O’Sullivan is its Maremma the Sheepdog that protects its flock ... In committee, O’Sullivan’s questioning tore open the government’s $139.8 million Sheep Industry Transition Assistance Package ...

Built in 1928, the former Norco Butter factory in Kyogle is up for auction on-site on Saturday, November 8. It wasn’t just butter that was churned at the factory, as can be seen in the above article from Trove, there was a bacon department too ... Who will buy this and what could they do with it?

Australia is forecast to harvest a larger winter grain crop this year, with Rabobank estimating total volumes to reach 62.8 million tonnes in its just-released annual 2025/26 Australian Winter Crop Forecast.

Supply Nation ... announced a new national milestone with members recording a total of over $5.83 billion in procurement spend with verified Indigenous-owned businesses in the 2024-25 financial year ... Supply Nation’s recently released report The Sleeping Giant Rises found that for every dollar of revenue produced by Indigenous-owned businesses, $3.66 of positive economic and social value was generated into the Australian economy.

His first attempt at the Mount Tarrengower Historic Hillclimb was too long ago to remember (“I think about 20 years ago”) but Hein Otten is still excited to race in the 2025 competition, which takes place over this weekend of Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 October. In fact, it was this unique event that brought Hein to the area.

On their recent visit to Allora, Queensland State Politicians - Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie and Member for Southern Downs James Lister MP were impressed with Allora’s Sports Museum. As a treat they were allowed to take a seat in Doug Partington’s Wikner Ford Special.

The Allan Labor Government is supporting an Australian luxury skincare brand working to in-house 100 per cent of its manufacturing by the end of the year, after relocating to Kyneton ... RATIONALE, a Victorian-owned skincare product manufacturer, invested $7.8 million to relocate its headquarters from Melbourne to Kyneton in 2022...

Get ready to join Australia’s biggest pre-loved treasure hunt—the annual Garage Sale Trail is next month! Happening over two weekends, November 8-9 and 15-16, the trail is returning to Whyalla, and we already have sales registered, offering an incredible range of items to browse.