Business

Launch of ground-breaking new first aid app, the All Hands Lifesaver app. “We wanted to put access to immediate help in every parents' pocket across Australia, removing some of the barriers rural and regional people face when it comes to both first aid education and access to emergency healthcare”:  Grace Larson, co-founder of charity The Sisterhood Project and paediatric intensive care nurse.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said the Trump Administration’s comments, following Labor’s decision to allow US beef born and raised in Canada or Mexico to be imported into Australia, seem to have validated his concern that a deal was done before the biosecurity protocols were finalised.

Birchip Cropping Group (BCG) organised leading experts in fields of sensor technology, weed management and automation support, including interactive panels with leading tech-savvy growers to answer any questions that arose on the day. Peer-to-peer learning was a key focus of the day, as discussion between farmers turns knowledge into practical insight ...

Mount Alexander Shire Council (MASC) has been keeping play a priority; it has featured as a key agenda item at its recent council meeting and in the recently released budget. It comes as school starts back again, after a holiday period that saw local children and visitors looking for wintry activities in regional small towns.

The final days of the Maldon in Winter Festival and the school holidays resulted in some interesting sights around Maldon ... On Thursday 17 July, the mythical Knight in Shining Armour became a reality for participants in a drawing session with Greg Nash, who is a professional jouster from Kryall Castle (one of only two in Australia, guess where the other one works?).

Quill. Featuring in local news this month has been the 150th anniversary of this very publication – the “Buloke Times” ... Amidst the 150th celebrations has been a special visit from ABC Landline journalists, Tim Lee and Andrew Alltree-Williams, covering the history of our humble paper from its first edition as the “Donald Times” on July 29, 1875, right up to its current bi-weekly publication as the “Buloke Times”.

Former Donald resident, Mary Raynes, was among speakers at the 2025 AEGIC Australian barley seminars in China, early this month. The daughter of Donald’s Peter and Colleen Raynes, Mary was the leader of the delegation representing the Australia barley supply chain delivering the two major seminars.

NSW Farmers have backed calls for an independent scientific panel to review federal authorities’ decision to lift biosecurity restrictions on US beef imports into Australia. NSW Farmers’ President Xavier Martin said there was no room for error when it came to biosecurity and said a review was vital to ensure confidence that US beef imports would comply with Australia’s biosecurity and food safety standards.

The Australian Lot Feeders’ Association (ALFA) acknowledges the Australian Government’s announcement to reinstate access of beef processed from the United States of America into Australia. This follows conclusion of a science-based risk assessment process undertaken by the Australian Government since 2019 to determine whether beef processed in the USA sourced from cattle from Canada or Mexico can meet Australia’s biosecurity and food safety requirements. 

Queensland’s inland fishing program, the Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS), was introduced in 2000 and has since grown from 25 dams to 63 impoundments. To celebrate, the “SIPS 25” fishing competition will be held in the September school holidays at SIPS destinations across the State.

Towong Council workers have launched historic industrial action over what they consider an "unfair" pay offer and rising charges for residents. For the first time in the council's history, its workers have commenced are taking protected industrial action in response to a wage proposal that workers say fails both staff and the local community.

The body of a pilot missing after his plane crashed in the Snowy Mountains near Khancoban has been located in the debris. A rescue helicopter located the plane near Khancoban ... after it went missing on a flight from Wangaratta to Moruya with pilot 74-year-old Bega man, David Stephens, on board.

Territory Mangoes, NT beef, local barramundi and Kakadu plums are among the Northern Territory’s major exports – but once they’re on the plate, how many people ponder the origin of these products? A new PhD project at Charles Darwin University (CDU) will help the Northern Territory become synonymous with its food produce, providing much needed marketing support for food NT producers and manufacturers. 

A new report from Hort Innovation and the Centre for International Economics has today revealed that high adoption of productivity enhancing innovation would benefit the Australian industry by about $1 billion annually in additional value added, reaching $22 billion in 2040.  

Narrandera District Community Radio Spirit FM 91.1 prides itself on prioritising community needs and strong connections ensuring listeners are well-entertained and are up-to-date and informed about district and community events. Spirit FM volunteers, for nearly 21 years, have enjoyed working hard to deliver quality uninterrupted radio listening. 91.1 is on-air 24-hours and can be streamed from anywhere in the world playing tunes from an over 80,000 song library.

Bendigo Bank has hit the headlines for closing 10 branches shortly followed by an announcement it was getting rid of all of its regional agencies but there are another 90-odd Bendigo-branded banks that have been shut over the past five years it has managed to keep quiet. Many of these were community franchises that have been disappearing in the dozens, with both regional and metropolitan areas impacted.

Leading agronomic researcher and consultant, Mick Faulkner from Agrilink Agricultural Consultants (South Australia), will present groundbreaking findings at the upcoming Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) Annual Conference held on the Gold Coast from Tuesday 22 July to Thursday 24 July 24, 2025. Mick’s presentation, titled “Evaluation and positioning of dual-purpose cereals for the export hay market”...

Sebastian Calderon. A historic fire truck which serviced the Renmark district for two decades now has a new home at a local museum. The vehicle will share space alongside a Garford fire appliance from the early 1900's, as a key exhibit at Olivewood museum, aiming to honour the region's rich firefighting history.

Sebastian Calderon. A Loxton-born news presenter has been awarded one of the most important journalism accolades in Australia, for his work on the true-crime podcast 'Just Married: The Anthea Bradshaw Mystery'. 9News Adelaide's Ben Avery has been named the Journalist of the Year at the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance 2025 South Australian Media Awards.

A quiet revolution is set to transform how Riverina sheep farmers manage their flocks, as advanced AI-based facial recognition technology rapidly moves from research to real-world application. This cutting-edge innovation could soon mean the end of traditional ear-tagging, offering a more efficient and humane way to identify and monitor individual animals.

Police officer Ashley Sterchow, from Hay Police Station, stars in the most recent social media campaign of Country Change. Country Change is a project of Riverina RDA (Regional Development Australia).