Farming

Australia’s leading rural charity Rural Aid has today delivered hay to farmers battling the ongoing mouse plague. Two road trains carrying 144 bales of hay arrived in Narromine on Thursday 24 June. Rural Aid CEO John Warlters said most farmers receiving the hay had their stockpiles decimated by mice.

In this issue of The Winemaker, Bill talks about some of the different ways family wine companies, from famous dynasties to smaller private companies, might handle adversity and succession.

Gabrielle Duykers. An Edenhope trained kelpie fetched more than $35,000 at a recent auction for his superb herding abilities, smashing the world record for the purchase of a working dog. The two-year-old dog named Hoover was sold to a Victorian sheep and cattle grazier at the Casterton Kelpie Association’s 25th Annual Working Dog auction on June 13.

Last Wednesday a group of 40 local sheep producers attended a Lamb Marking Best Practice workshop organised by Western Murray Land Improvement Group (WMLIG) and Central Murray Sheep Producer at “Glenbar” in Mallan. The workshop was facilitated by Geoff Duddy from Sheep Solutions who has dedicated the last 30 years to improving sheep producers’ and enterprises’ skills and knowledge base across all areas of sheep production. Whilst recent wet weather has not been ideal for marking, the dry day offered up the opportunity for farmers to learn and recognise best practice.

Thousands of new jobs and significant infrastructure builds in regional NSW will be delivered through the 2021-22 NSW Budget, supporting the recovery and future prosperity of regional communities following drought, bushfires, floods, the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently the mice plague.

Through more than $875 million in new measures supporting South Australia’s regions, the Marshall Liberal Government will build key infrastructure, drive economic growth and recovery to ensure our regional communities thrive.

For the first time ever, Costa, Australia’s leading fresh produce grower, have sent a shipment of their premium Lovocados to Singapore by sea freight. The order of 3200 trays left Brisbane in May and arrived in Singapore in June, and there have since been twelve more containers shipped to locations across Asia including Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Indonesia.

Australia’s leading rural charity, Rural Aid, has announced a $1 million fund to assist mouse plague affected farmers across the country. Rural Aid has today opened applications for a $1000 emergency support payment, to assist affected primary producers with recovery.

Food Agility CRC invites you to join us for our free June virtual seminar Crop Design for Adaptation to Variable Production Environments with Professor Graeme Hammer (Queensland University of Technology).

Western Australian Farmers Federation (WA Farmers), Media Release, 20 June 2021 Coming up this week at the Muresk Institute! Full programme available here : https://mcusercontent.com/ed5615f2f2dcdae89984e60d1/files/2e17dbc9-1d62-087c-c8f9-0110d9c4af29/FINAL_WAFarmers_Muresk_Programme.pdf

[Meat & Livestock Australia] The Australian red meat industry today welcomed the announcement in London by Prime Ministers Morrison and Johnson of agreement in-principle regarding the parameters of the Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement. The agreement will see Australian beef and sheepmeat access to the UK liberalised over a 10 year transition period.

[NSW Farmers] Farmers in NSW will benefit from the ‘in-principle’ trade deal between Australia and one of its oldest trading partners. The proposed deal with the United Kingdom includes the introduction of Ag Visa for UK backpackers and tariff and quota free access for a range of produce grown in NSW.

[National Farmers' Federation] Australian farmers are applauding the ‘in-principle’ trade deal between Australia and the United Kingdom announced by prime ministers Scott Morrison and Boris Johnson in London overnight. The proposed deal is the first trade agreement reached by the United Kingdom following its separation from the European Union last year, and will guarantee tariff-free, quota-free access to the UK market for all agricultural products, after phase in periods of up to 15 years.

Australia's alpaca producers are well positioned to develop new export markets following the opening of trade in alpacas with Chile ... "Health certification requirements are the foundation for trade in animals and this agreement means we can continue to build on trade opportunities as we work to revitalise our primary industries."

Yamaha Motor Australia Director Tom Okamoto today announced the Yamaha Motor group has entered into a joint development agreement with Australian smart agriculture technology company The Yield. The development partnership will see Yamaha and The Yield working towards a goal of improved global agricultural productivity through the utilisation of digital technology and robotics.

Preliminary results from a Western Australian research project suggest some grain growers are under-estimating herbicide resistance levels in cropping system weeds present on their farms.

The 2020-21 brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) season is wrapping up and Australia’s measures have again remained strong against this serious pest ... BMSB is a serious threat for Australia’s agriculture industries and environment, because of the damage it can do to vegetable crops and fruit and ornamental trees.