Farming

Australia is now grappling with a labour shortage across multiple sectors including health, aged care and agriculture. And our policymakers seem to continue to overlook retirees as part of the solution to the crisis.

Tasmania's feral deer population is costing the state more than $100 million a year. The peak body for farming in the state, the Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association, says the deer population in Tasmania is exploding.

Just some of the entertainment at this year's Mackay Show includes : 

The nation is on track to plant an impressive 23.48 million hectare winter crop this year – up slightly on last year’s crop area – Rabobank says in its newly-released 2023/24 Australian Winter Crop Outlook ... overall harvest totals are forecast to be lower than last season, with expectations of drier growing conditions due to the likely transition to an El Nino climate cycle, the specialist agribusiness bank says.

Mount Larcom & District Show Society

A new partnership is taking action to promote greater awareness, vigilance and understanding of the different farm biosecurity risks caused by the current ‘explosion’ in pest animals – especially pigs ... (t)hese serious concerns are being addressed in a new campaign that’s taking positive action on biosecurity protections, with Grain Producers Australia (GPA) joining with the Sporting Shooters’ Association of Australia (SSAA National).

South Australia’s tourism industry is well positioned to target the nation’s $17.4 billion Agricultural Tourism market – leveraging its reputation for premium produce to attract more visitors ... The State Government through the South Australian Tourism Commission is launching the South Australian Agritourism Sector Plan 2025 ... A number of demand-driving agritourism experiences already exist in South Australia, including pick-your-own experiences at Beerenberg Farm...

Northern Grampians Shire Council is appalled that widespread community opposition has had no material impact on Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) final recommended alignment for the controversial VNI West power transmission project ... “Landowners need clear and concise answers to the questions they have asked and not simply to refer them to some other arrangement as a reference to how it might work here": Mayor, Cr Kevin Erwin.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has slammed the Andrews Government’s decision to steamroll ahead with transmission developments in Western Victoria following the announcement of a new corridor for the proposed VNI-West project. VFF President Emma Germano said Victoria’s Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio is using extreme powers to come over the top of farming communities and force transmission towers to be built on their land.

Farm fertiliser "affordability" is starting to improve across the globe, with a likely recovery in application in some regions in 2023, Rabobank says in a recently-released report ... The report, titled Improved Affordability Ahead, says global fertiliser prices had begun to trend higher in 2021 due to supply chain constraints resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Autumn is the time of year that breeders start bringing in the foals born last season and assessing the development of those from the previous year. Foal shows provide an opportunity to not only give the youngsters some ring experience, but for the humans to meet up and have a natter as well.

Money ... It's time to pull stumps on Metronet and accept we are not New York or London ... Power ... exploring the unforeseen consequences of over-investing in renewables ... Guns ... no logic in capping firearm numbers for recreational shooters, sporting shooters or primary producers ...

Did you know: If you poured all the grain—canola, lentils, hay and silage—produced each year in the Buloke Shire into the MCG it would overflow? The BCG Buloke Farm Tours, launching this August, are a new initiative to showcase the produce, passion and dedication of farming communities in the Buloke Shire. 

So far in May, the S&P GSCI Agriculture Index has declined a modest 0.6% amid the renewal of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) and ample grain and oilseed supplies ... Losses across most G&O markets (-2.6% on average) were largely offset by gains across softs (+2.2%).

South Australia’s biggest saleyards, the Naracoorte Regional Livestock Exchange (NRLE), is set to increase the footprint of its undercover cattle section by 40 percent in a multi-million-dollar upgrade. An expanded roof, a revamp of the unloading ramp area and truck wash modifications form part of the improvements that will see around $2 million spent at the facility.

The Queensland Rural and Industry Development Authority is offering loans to help growers build small-scale rural workers’ accommodation. QRIDA Regional Area Manager for South East Queensland Brian Coe said providing accommodation for workers could give farm businesses a competitive edge with Australia’s low unemployment rate and rural housing shortage.

A landmark report by the National Farmers’ Federation and KPMG released on 25 May 2023 has underscored the need for better engagement to unlock the economic potential of Indigenous agriculture. The Realising the Opportunity report, released at an NFF forum in Darwin on 25 May 2023, aims to strengthen the economic and cultural empowerment of Indigenous Australians through accessible and collaborative pathways in agriculture.

The state’s peak agricultural body says mandatory electronic identification tags for sheep should cost no more than $1 per tag, setting a clear target for state and federal governments ... farmers were still worried about how much the scheme might cost their businesses, and made it clear there must be financial support to implement traceability reform.

In-demand workers are facing soaring rents and dwindling vacancies in rural and regional areas, creating an “unsustainable” situation for the agricultural sector. Tenants are paying at least 10 per cent more than last year for the majority of areas, with Upper Hunter rents the worst – jumping by 22.9 per cent.

Victoria’s State Budget reveals that regional Victorians and farmers are being unfairly forced to pay the price of the Andrews Government’s infrastructure cost blowouts and years of fiscal mismanagement in Melbourne. VFF President Emma Germano said regional Victorian’s were being made to pay as a consequence of the government’s decisions.