Farming

The Grains Research and Development Corporation says the decision by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority means grain growers will continue to have access to the herbicides, paraquat and diquat, under new restrictions.

The Masters Family, owners of Dalrymple View Honey at Allora have been dealing with the Varroa Mites. According to Sharon Masters, we've now got to learn to live with Varroa. For beekeepers this means testing for the mites, every couple of weeks.

Early signs of reduced fungicide performance in barley loose smut have been detected in key grain growing regions across Australia. While there is no cause for alarm, growers are reminded to remain proactive in disease management.

The Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) welcomes the Queensland Government’s reintroduced Regional Planning Interests (Condamine Alluvium) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 (the Bill), which has adopted the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee in full.

The new One Nation MP for Farrer has blindsided families and farmers, by voting with the Teals and Greens in Parliament House against Australian regional jobs and communities. The amendment, moved by a Teal MP, demanded the Labor government cap the fuel tax credit – a scheme which allows for a rebate to businesses that use heavy machinery for the fuel tax they pay.

In a Western Australian first, 1.5 kilograms of white truffles have been unearthed from the soil of Australian Truffle Traders’ farm in Manjimup. Family business Australian Truffle Traders discovered the bianchetto white truffles, known scientifically as Tuber borchii, on their Southern Forests farm yesterday.

The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) has delivered its long-awaited regulatory decision on the herbicides paraquat, and diquat. The APVMA announcement of the decision, together with the responses collected here, from Grain Producers Australia, Parkinson's Australia, Graingrowers and NSW Farmers, show that the decision has been neither universally approved nor condemned.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) says Victoria’s $25b dollar agriculture sector must not be forgotten in the face of a rapidly expanding data centre infrastructure boom sweeping the state. The VFF has today released an issues paper outlining the scale of potential development and competition for resources like land, water and energy. 

The Albanese Labor Government is helping to keep Australia’s farmers farming and our food production system strong, with the first shipment of urea locked in with industry and the Indonesian Government arriving in Australia today. Docking in Brisbane, this shipment of 47,250 tonnes of urea is part of the 250,000 tonne supply deal between Incitec Pivot and PT Pupuk Indonesia, supported by the Australian and Indonesian Governments.

Bird flu in Esperance? All of the latest from Fiona L Fox from ARR, plus we catch up with Sam Starcevich from Esperance for the latest news on FAB (Farmers Across Borders), and all of your farming weather for the week with Super Jess (Jessica Lingard from the BOM).

The Federal Court has determined that a Territory law allowing the retrieval of livestock that strayed onto a neighbouring property operates concurrently with the NT Land Rights Act.

Labor must do more to stop China’s 55 per cent imminent tariffs on Australian imports, in what has been described as a major blow to the Australian beef industry. Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said from tomorrow [22 June 2026] , China will start its 55 per cent tariff, after Australia exhausted its 205,000-tonne annual duty-free beef quota.

Farmers for Climate Action has produced a report ‘Energy Sovereignty for Regional Australia: Protecting Farmers, Powering the Future’ arguing that Australia's transition away from diesel should be accelerated through electrification, subsidies, infrastructure investment and changes to fuel tax arrangements ... When did advocacy become less about persuading people to voluntarily embrace change and more about finding another group to pay for it?

The Albanese Labor Government’s latest $430m Murray-Darling Basin water buyback will take more productive water out of agriculture and put more pressure on families already struggling with grocery prices, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster said today. The deal involves the Commonwealth buying almost 86GL of water entitlements for environmental use at a cost of more than $430m.

The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to expand access to a key Capital Gains Tax (CGT) concession, describing it as one of the most consequential wins for the NFF and its members following sustained advocacy on behalf of farmers.

Carey Brennan. Tuesday night’s VicGrid Community Reference Group meeting of impacted farmers, council officers and VicGrid employees was disrupted by around 60 farmers and concerned community members at Charlton Park. Claire Flanagan-Smith, of RMG Consulting, chairing the meeting, called a halt to proceedings and refused to let it continue with the farmers present.

Researchers at RMIT have found that high-power ultrasound can help extract protein from discarded cauliflower leaves, opening up a potential new use for a vegetable by-product ... ARR.News found out more about the process and potential opportunities from Kinjal Furia, the study's lead author and RMIT PhD candidate.

Ian Musgrave. Paraquat is one of the world’s most widely used herbicides. It’s also highly toxic and some research points to a link with Parkinson’s disease ... Let’s see what the evidence says about paraquat’s toxicity and any link with Parkinson’s disease.

Sentiment among Australia’s agricultural producers continued to track lower this quarter, with concerns about cost pressures in the wake of Middle Eastern tensions remaining top of mind for farmers across the country. The quarter two Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey, released today, found national sentiment at its lowest point since November 2006 as it dropped to a net reading of - 48 per cent.

Mallee’s food exporters face huge spikes in Commonwealth export fees after the shock release of data under the cover of a quiet Friday after sunset. The Albanese Government’s final Export Cost Recovery Implementation Statements confirm fee increases of up to 384 per cent on agricultural exporters.

The Albanese Labor Government has secured another three shipments of approximately 98,500 tonnes of additional urea for Australian farmers through the Government’s $7.5 billion Fuel and Fertiliser Security Facility. The Albanese Government has partnered with Incitec Pivot, CSBP, and Summit Fertilizer to support the purchase of these additional fertiliser shipments, which are expected to arrive in Australia in the coming weeks. 

Following ABC Landline's profile of the pollination impacts of Varroa mite, the NFF Horticulture Council and the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) are jointly calling on horticulture producers to plan now for a future where reliable, managed pollination can no longer be taken for granted.