Farming

Stock agent Darren Perkins from George & Fuhrmann has said the agents will not sign Richmond Valley Council’s agreements to let them sell cattle through the Northern Rivers Livestock Exchange. “Council is saying they’re not backing down. We agents are not going to sign the agreements, we are not backing down and if we have to, we will send cattle to other centres – even if it takes till Christmas,” Mr Perkins said.

Australia’s first raw sugar shipment to the United Kingdom under the new Australia-United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement (A-UKFTA) was loaded in Townsville on 10 July 2023, opening an important new market for the Queensland sugar industry. Under the new agreement, which came into place on 31 May 2023, tariff-free raw sugar exports to the UK have resumed for the first time in 50 years...

Pine Rivers Show Society

It’s getting harder and harder to find large animal veterinarians, farmers say, amid calls for increased training and targeted skilled migration. Shane Kilby, a cattle producer from Dubbo, will take the issue to the NSW Farmers Annual Conference next week.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has expressed concerns about misleading information being provided to farmers who may be impacted by the proposed VNI-West transmission project. VFF President Emma Germano said the Australian Energy Market Operator (which is planning the project on behalf of the Victorian Government) had released information to landholders designed to pressure them into signing away access to their land.

Kununurra Agricultural Society

One of the world’s fastest and most iconic bowlers, former Australian cricketer Brett Lee, is taking Australian avocados to consumers in India. Hort Innovation has announced that the popular sportsman, at home and across the globe, has signed up as the new Australian Avocados ambassador.

The decision by the Federal Government to establish a Community Engagement Review to maximise engagement around electricity transmission and renewable energy developments has been welcomed by GrainGrowers as a positive step forward ... Mr Turton said the GrainGrowers National Policy Group had recently considered the issue of agricultural land use and had called for meaningful engagements with landholders and communities about proposed development sites.

Training fruit pickers using virtual reality equipment, employing robots to move fruit containers and wearing exoskeletons to support physical labour are all possibilities being considered by Australian berry growers to boost labour efficiency. Delivered through Hort Innovation and led by The Growth Drivers in consultation with berry growers, the research aimed to identify practical technology-based solutions to address one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

Sheep and cattle farmers are planting hundreds of thousands of an elite variety of Oldman Saltbush across Australia’s southeast this winter to supplement feed during dryer conditions heralded by a potential El Nino. Anameka Saltbush is a specially selected variety of the drought-tolerant native shrub, developed over 15 years by CSIRO.

AgriFutures Australia is proud to announce the release of its latest report: "Listen up: Young people’s perspective on the future of Australian agriculture and rural industries" – a compilation of thought-provoking perspectives and provocations from the future leaders of the agriculture sector ... The report highlights the crucial role that young people play in shaping the future of Australian agriculture and emphasises the need for industry and government to invest in, listen to and collaborate with this vital demographic.

New analysis released by ABARES examines Australian Agriculture’s extensive sustainability credentials—and the importance of demonstrating them to consumers and investors in the future ... “Compared to other significant agricultural producers, Australian farmers use less fertiliser, have better nutrient balances on their land and use more sustainable cropping practices”: ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville.

Rural Bank’s Australian Agriculture Mid-Year Outlook 2023 report finds that favourable seasonal conditions and strong production over the first half of 2023 ensured strong winter crop establishment and pasture growth, particularly on the east coast, but despite a positive start to the year, softening commodity prices are now impacting Australian farmers following several seasons of strong prices.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has written to Commonwealth Water Minister Tanya Plibersek this week following a key document setting out the socio-economic criteria under the Murray-Darling Basin Plan being removed from the government’s website. VFF Water Council Chair Andrew Leahy said farmers should be concerned by the Commonwealth’s moves to walk back from the socio-economic test for recovery of the 450GL up-water target.

The final report of the Trials Review, Information and Genetics (TRIG) project, has been released along with advisory information and updated data. According to TRIG Steering Committee Chair, Dr Kevin Harding, the project sought to leverage the past work of Victoria’s farm forestry sector by accessing legacy information and datasets to ultimately deliver new, updated tools and information for the next generation of farm forestry plantings.

Some of our district’s leading farmers rolled into the Naracoorte Town Hall recently, eager to hear the latest about cyber security, farm finance, carbon farming and livestock health. Additionally, motivational speakers included Naracoorte raised Jess Stenson, a Commonwealth Games gold medallist, and her brother Jack Trengrove, a former AFL footballer who found success within the finance industry.

Information that is relevant, accessible and trusted is critical to those farmers seeking to adapt their agricultural businesses to changes in climate according to a study which examined the results of surveys taken by the North East Catchment Management Authority (CMA) while working with approximately 1800 land managers in the region during the past four years ... A significant majority of the land managers surveyed (88%) believed the local climate and weather patterns in north east Victoria had changed.

Representatives from the farming community and food manufacturers have united to express their concerns about Commonwealth water buybacks meeting with the Victorian Water Minister in Echuca on 28 June 2023. The meeting convened by the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) with Minister Harriet Shing included representatives from Northern Victoria’s major food processors...

The system which protects and manages Aboriginal cultural heritage in Western Australia will be modernised and improved from July 1 to prevent another incident like what occurred at Juukan Gorge. The improvements include new practical exemptions and a simpler, fairer system to manage activities that may harm Aboriginal cultural heritage across WA ... The State Government has also announced the appointment of four new members to the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Council, including former Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister and respected Yamatji and Wongi Elder Ken Wyatt.

The average price of broadacre farmland per hectare has almost doubled over the last three years, increasing by 93 per cent from 2020 to 2023 ... Median farmland prices have grown most in the high rainfall zone, increasing by 125 per cent over the last 3 years to almost $9,000 per hectare.

The new WA Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws will have far reaching consequences to the farming community, many of which are only just coming to light as the WA Department of Heritage workshops the changes across the State. This is how WAFarmers responded to one of the workshops in the central Wheatbelt.