Farming

Victorian farmers will descend on Parliament House in Melbourne next Tuesday 15 August for the ‘Stop the Towers’ rally, in response to the proposed VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects.

NSW Farmers Energy Transition spokesman Reg Kidd says upgrading existing powerlines would short-circuit community pain over transmission projects. A proposal from the Victoria Energy Policy Centre to use existing powerline easements to house 80-metre-high pylons and high voltage powerlines was worth investigating for NSW as well, Mr Kidd said.

"A damning new report has laid bare the cost blowout and waste of the Western Victoria energy transmission project, threatening prime Mallee farmland," Member for Mallee, Anne Webster says. The Victoria Energy Policy Centre’s (VEPC) "No Longer Lost In Transmission" report highlights the VNI West) costs are understated by the AEMO and already reliant on outdated data.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has launched a petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for the VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission projects to be stopped. VFF President Emma Germano said the petition seeks to make the state’s political leaders take notice of decisions that are impacting Victorian farmers and their communities.

A groundbreaking animal growth and welfare monitoring, detection and notification system has been awarded the annual AgriFutures Research Award for 2023 ... the runner up, DryRice research, focused on enhancing rice genotypes and ensuring sustainable development in the rice industry.

Member for Benambra, Bill Tilley, fears farms in the Upper Murray will again be under constant threat from wild dogs if the rules for trappers are watered down. On Tuesday night in the Victorian Parliament, Mr Tilley called on the Agriculture Minister to visit the region and hear from the landholders who lived through the carnage of the early 2000s.

Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty met with the New Zealand Minister for Agriculture Damien O’Connor last week to discuss issues of mutual significance during her trip to Wellington NZ for the Food Ministers Meeting. Ms Moriarty said biosecurity was top of the agenda given that both NSW and New Zealand are exposed to the increasing threat of outbreaks from exotic incursions that are rising in volume, complexity, and severity.

Beef producers can expect a two-year holding pattern on cattle prices as drought conditions widen, processing sector labour shortages persist, and a huge stockpile of meat in Asian freezers start to thaw. While lightweight heifers will take the biggest price hit, the emerging El Nino may mean business opportunities for producing heavy Jap ox and heavy feeder steers, according to market analyst Simon Quilty, of Global AgriTrends.

Given the presence of the disease in Indonesia, positive results in Australian cattle post arrival are not unexpected ... Importantly, trade is and can continue to Indonesia from 28 Australian export establishments, however, there are 4 export establishments in Northern Australia who are working with the government to further ensure they are disease free.

The State Government has announced extended recovery support to cane farmers to help remove dangerous flood waste found in cane paddocks at the beginning of the cane harvest. The NSW Environment Protection Authority has agreed to work with local cane farmers to remove the waste at no cost to the farmers.

Projected high industry growth, an appetite for expanded trade and increasing sustainability priorities have driven the new Hort Innovation Strategy 2024-2026. Released on 31 July 2023, the strategy was informed by feedback from growers across the nation through farm visits, surveys and advice garnered through industry advisory panels and meetings.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has been advised by the Indonesian Agriculture and Quarantine Agency (IAQA) that Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) has been detected in a small number of Australian cattle exported to Indonesia—after those cattle had arrived and spent some time in Indonesia. “Australia is and remains free from lumpy skin disease, as confirmed today by Australia’s Chief Veterinary Officer,” RMAC Chairman, Mr John McKillop, said.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) welcomes the Albanese Government’s decision to extend the timeframe for implementing the Murray-Darling Basin Plan. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said common sense had prevailed following Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement to allow efficiency projects to progress and be counted towards the Plan’s targets.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has entered a strategic alliance with plant nutrition company RLF AgTech, financing an innovative pilot program that aims to generate soil carbon credits ... RLF AgTech, a specialist in plant nutrition, has launched a soil carbon pilot program with Australian farmers who will utilise its Accumulating Carbon in Soil System (ACSS) technology.

NSW Canegrowers are annoyed and frustrated by government inaction and the failure to utilise the $5 million dollars allocated to the Northern NSW Drainage Reset Program in February this year. "Governments are very good at coming into disaster areas and promising money for recovery, but are extremely poor on delivery," Chairman of NSW Canegrowers Association Ross Farlow said.

WAFarmers met with the Western Australian Minister for Heritage recently. We had an interesting discussion on the roll out of the State's new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Laws. The Minister clearly believes that the new laws won't impact farmers the way our lawyers tell us it will; in his view the roll out is smooth and all it needs is some tweaking ... Minister, some more advice.

Ukrainian chicken producers have made a good marketing move. Thanks to this, the retail price of boneless chicken meat is about US$3 for one kilo. This is the most affordable meat in Ukraine. Beef and pork producers have yet to strike back ... Private entrepreneur Lyudmila Koloshko speaks about how profitable it is to sell "Leg meat".

The latest agricultural lending statistics provided by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) show an increase in aggregate lending to the farm sector of 9 per cent in 2021–22. ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said the cumulative value of loans outstanding has increased from $100.7 billion at 30 June 2021 to $109.9 billion at 30 June 2022.

John Hassell, President WAFarmers. Sheep farmers in Western Australia have been told by the Federal Labor Government that we have lost our social licence for live exports ... If it was a rash decision then it's time to reverse it and accept that the industry has done everything it has been asked for by the Government and should be allowed to continue.   If not then this decision marks the end of agriculture in Australia as we know it and the Government should tell us.

The George the Farmer story began in 2012 when founder Simone Kain was trawling the internet looking for farming books and apps for her farm-obsessed son George ... "I quickly discovered there wasn't a human farming character globally who was telling sequential stories about life on the land for children, let alone a modern Aussie farmer telling real, relatable yarns," she said.

Yeppoon in Central Queensland will host Australia’s pineapple industry this week for their annual Pineapple Field Days. Organised by Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) on behalf of Australian Pineapples, the two-day event brings together growers, government, researchers, and supply chain members to showcase the latest research and development occurring within the industry.