Business

Australia has not just a skills shortage but a worker shortage of any skill when it comes to finding people in the bush who actually want to work. Out there in the real world there is no longer a shortage of mechanics or tractor drivers — it’s the whole backbone of the trades. Builders, sparkies, plumbers: the people who keep farms, houses and small towns from grinding to a halt. 

NIOA Santa Gertrudis GM Shannon Gardner rated the 2025 draft as "the best line of bulls we've had by far." Forty-two sons of $250,000 Yarrawonga Spartacus S316 (P) and $160,000 Riverina Roland Sanchez R88 (PP) headed up the 68 catalogued Classified S bulls.

The scent of blooms and blossoms — coupled with longer, warmer, sunnier days — signals the start of spring and for many, a change in mood ... And while Health Direct, an Australian government-funded source of health advice, reckons that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is rare in this country, there might also be a sense that wintry depression is starting to drift away.

Australian milk production is set to fall again in the current season, as ongoing feed shortages and a smaller milking herd in drought-affected areas continue to impact, Rabobank says in newly-released research. This comes as global milk supply surges, with production increasing across other key dairy-exporting regions across the world.

Darling Downs Bank has opened a new branch in Toowoomba with a launch party to welcome customers held on Monday of this week. The branch is located at Toowoomba Plaza and, being at the southern end of Ruthven Street, it is easily accessible...

New figures show capital city residents moving to regional Australia outnumbered those heading in the opposite direction by 26 per cent ... Rachel Whiting, CEO of RDA Riverina, said the data mirrors what communities in southern NSW are seeing on the ground.

A 30-strong platoon of volunteers recently completed a significant planting project at Playles Hill Park in Corryong. In seven days, the industrious group amassed more than 280 hours of work ... One hundred locally extinct and critically endangered Banksia canei have also been included in the plantings.

Gus van Hart. The knives are sharp and the butterflies are real as Hayley Pattison counts down to the Australian Meat Industry Council NSW butcher apprenticeship competition in Sydney on 11 September, banking on paddock-to-plate know-how to set her apart.

A new drone test flight facility in the Northern Territory will give manufacturers the chance to test their technology in some of the most diverse terrain and extreme weather conditions in the world. The North Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems (NACAS), based out of Charles Darwin University (CDU), has launched its Airspace Integration Research Facility (AIR-F), the only purpose-designed and built Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) test flight facility based in northern Australia. 

If there was ever a year to "step into good sheep," this is it, says Grant Hausler of Janmac Studs. "The team of rams you buy this year will hopefully take you into a good season and good prices, and what you purchase now is going to sire 150 lambs or more, that's a pretty good investment," he said.

Drivers using the Bluff Point ferry at Lawrence are waiting up to an hour to cross the Clarence River, with a school bus getting stuck when boarding the ferry last Thursday sparking panic in parents.

Phillip Island is revving up for an action-packed month of October, packed with marquee events across Bass Coast, including the Rip Curl GromSearch Phillip Island, the Australian SUP Titles, and the headlining MotoGP™ from 17 October to 19 October 2025 at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Donald’s booming industrial precinct has caught the eye of Hindmarsh Shire Council, with Mayor Ron Ismay and five councillors touring the estate last week, alongside Economic Development Manager Mark Fletcher. The group, led by Ismay – a respected businessman from Rainbow – was on a fact-finding mission to explore how Donald’s model of small business growth could be replicated in Hindmarsh.

Success leaves clues everywhere—if small business owners stay curious, borrow smart ideas from inside and outside their industry, and consistently apply the little things, they’ll create the edge that fuels growth.

Premier Chris Minns says it’s unthinkable that koalas are at risk of extinction. He’s spot on. Koalas are not now and never have been at risk of extinction ... Environment Minister Penny Sharpe says the Great Koala National Park has been a dream for more than a decade. Indeed. The Great Koala Park is the culmination of a campaign by NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to extend their empire ... Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty says the Government is committed to a sustainable forestry industry in NSW. I think her ministerial title gives the lie to that.

Clarence Nationals MP Richie Williamson has slammed the Minns Labor Government’s announcement of the 476,000-hectare Great Koala National Park, describing it as “a massive kick in the guts” for regional communities across the Richmond and Clarence valleys and the wider North Coast region.

Forestry Australia, the nation’s leading body representing forest scientists, managers and growers, expresses its dismay at the New South Wales State Government’s decision to create a Great Koala National Park without a clear, science-led plan to deliver measurable outcomes and avoid negative flow on consequences.

The Minns Labor Government has confirmed the next major step delivering on an election commitment to protect koalas in the wild, announcing the proposed boundary for the Great Koala National Park, alongside a comprehensive plan to support workers, industry and local communities ... The park will reserve 176,000 hectares of state forest and connect with existing national parks to create a 476,000-hectare reserve – one of the largest in NSW.

NSW border town of Albury experienced a 16-fold increase in net migration from capitals in the year to June 2025. Regional Australia remains a strong draw for city dwellers, with 26 per cent more people relocating from capital cities to regional areas than vice versa, according to the June Quarter Regional Mover Index (RMI).

A groundbreaking 26-megawatt hybrid renewable energy system has begun full operations at a New South Wales mine site, marking the first time an off-grid solar and battery system has powered a mining operation in the state.

Sam Marwood, the Founder and Managing Director of Cultivate Farms, reports on the information session held at Malanda Dairy Centre in the Atherton Tablelands. ARR.News found out some more about the sharefarming concept from Sam ... "The ultimate aim is to empower aspiring farmers to own profitable farms, revitalise regional communities, and create sustainable, profitable agriculture across Australia."

Tucked away in the rolling hills of Central Victoria, Maldon is a living slice of Australian history - a place where the gold rush era still echoes through cobbled laneways and heritage shopfronts. But this is not sleepy museum town. Maldon is full of colour, culture, community and country charm.