Farming

Outgoing NSW Farmers President James Jackson says there is a great future ahead for Australian agriculture if governments and the public support the vital sector ... “Australia as a nation lags behind on backing farmers, with a government paper on food security this week revealing we have one of the lowest levels of agricultural support across the 37 OECD member countries – and when compared to major emerging economies."

Learn more about Foot & Mouth Disease/ Lumpy Skin Disease + Q&A

For farmers across Australia the boundary between the home and the workplace is blurred. This is further complicated for those raising children when trying to balance the freedom that comes with living on lots of space with enforcing lifesaving safety precautions ... This Farm Safety Week, Farmsafe Australia is highlighting the importance of mitigating the risks that arise when home and workplace are intertwined.

Expected but also dreaded, the Varroa mite that has decimated hives overseas has been detected in Australia ... If it turns out that the mite is here to stay and we have to live in a ‘new normal’, as our counterparts overseas have had to do, it will be a sad time for beekeeping in Australia ... Lindsay Callaway, of Warral Maldon ... is receiving daily updates on the situation from those on the front line.

Ian Sauer, TFGA President believes that it is time for an independent or parliamentary review into legislation such as Land Acquisition Act 1993, Irrigation Company Act 2011, Hydro-Electric Corporation Act 1995 and other associated legislation, which allows for the authorised acquisition of land for the purpose of infrastructure ... An irrigation scheme was fully sold before the relevant GBE approached the Scott-Youngs’ and informed them they would need to acquire around 5 per cent of their land to locate a dam. This parcel included 20ha in the middle of the farm. Right outside their front door.

Jane Richter. The early onset of cold weather in Queensland coupled with great rains in the last 12 months means there is a bumper crop of newly maturing ginger being harvested right now. And shoppers should get the benefit ... if only the retail giants would pass on the huge cost cuts that they have been enjoying for at least the last month ... The wholesale market sale price in Sydney recently dropped to below $7 per kilo for fabulous fresh large-sized mature ginger, and yet the product is still being sold at $45 or more per kilo by the major retail chains.

Farmers are finding caravans, gas cylinders, washing machines and even a swimming pool washed into their fields since the floods. Fire and Rescue NSW crews are using drones to help spot and clear this leftover flood debris in cane fields.

Key members of the rural sector joined the NSW Government at Sydney International Airport to send a message to travellers to do their bit to keep the highly contagious Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) out of Australia.

The Nationals Leader, Shadow Agriculture Minister and Member for Maranoa, the Hon David Littleproud MP has claimed the Federal Labor Government’s response last Thursday to foot and mouth disease (FMD) is inadequate and leaves Australia vulnerable. Following a briefing from the Department of Agriculture, Mr Littleproud said Labor’s new protocols to respond to the threat of FMD failed to go far enough to protect against a disease that could cost the nation almost as much as JobKeeper.

Installing wind turbines in just five sites in State owned pine plantations could generate up to 2.5 gigawatts of energy a year, a registration of interest process has revealed, prompting Forestry Corporation to formally call for Expressions of Interest to develop renewable energy generation and storage in plantations near Oberon, Sunny Corner, Bondo, Orange and Laurel Hill ... “Wind farms successfully operate in softwood forests overseas .. " : Gavin Jeffries.

Emma Pritchard. Aussie Hay Runners have partnered with Feed for Friends and the Rotary Club of Melton to transport 1000 bales of hay and several pallets of hard feed from rural Victoria to the Clarence Valley in support of local producers and small hobby farmers who have been adversely affected by the unprecedented flooding which devastated communities throughout Northern NSW earlier this year. A convoy of 31 trucks arrived in Grafton over the weekend.

Pine Rivers Show Society

Promoting export opportunities across  the Middle East and North Africa to regional Victoria. Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AACCI) is the proud partner of the Global Victoria Trade Alliance Program being delivered across five regional centres in Victoria.

Casey Dunn. Australian agritech startup, Bee Innovative is revolutionising the centuries-old practice of commercial pollination. Its groundbreaking technology gives growers a real-time insight into how well bees are pollinating a crop, enabling interventions that boost yield, quality and profitability ... And the recent detection of Varroa ... further demonstrates the importance of cutting-edge technology in the early detection, tracking, and eradication of incursions ... BeeID utilises advanced facial recognition technology ...

The South Australian apiary industry pollinates agricultural and horticultural crops valued at an estimated $1.7 billion and produces more than $11 million worth of honeybee products ... I can advise that PIRSA has set up an Incident Management Team to stop the spread of Varroa mite into South Australia ... There are nearly 3,000 beekeepers registered with Biosecurity SA and approximately 61,000 hives in South Australia.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has welcomed the Federal Government’s new biosecurity measures announced following the spread of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) to Australian tourist hotspot, Bali ... “We would also like to see an increase in frontline biosecurity officers at return airports and ongoing reviews into the appropriateness of additional intervention methods such as footbaths”: NFF President Fiona Simson.

Biosecurity officers are boarding planes on arrival and playing a new biosecurity message on all inbound flights from Indonesia, reinforcing Australia’s strict biosecurity measures and providing FMD-specific advice to travellers. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Murray Watt said the Albanese Government is very serious about keeping this devastating disease out of Australia.

NSW Farmers President James Jackson has slammed government officials for being wishy-washy on biosecurity controls such as foot baths ... “The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry says they can’t have antiseptic foot baths at airports because a child might fall in them,” Mr Jackson said.

Sarah Booth is heartbroken about the small hobby farmers who don’t have enough feed for their animals since the floods. “I don’t have cattle but all I could see was heartbreak,” the Wyrallah woman said. Ms Booth has 60 families waiting for animal feed for cows, horses, pigs, goats and sheep.