International

The Australian Diamonds are 2023 Netball World Cup champions, defeating England 61-45, in Cape Town ... Australia only dropped one match for the championship, going down by one goal to their fellow grand finalist in the last stage of the preliminary round. Sarah Klau, Yorketown, played ...

The decision by China to remove duties on Australian barley is welcome and opens the way to rebuild a $1.2 billion annual trade flow, grower representative body, GrainGrowers, said on 4 August 2023. GrainGrowers said dialogue between the Australian and Chinese governments had delivered an outcome in the longer-term interests of both countries and Australian growers.

Shuttle stallions are highly valuable, male thoroughbred and standardbred horses who are ‘shuttled’ between the Northern and Southern hemisphere to mate and produce valuable offspring for the racing industry. Renowned for their race-track performance and historic pedigrees, these stallions will mate with some of Australia’s top broodmares.

Maldon local Melody Goldsmith woke up one morning and informed her husband that she needed to walk the Camino Trail - alone ... Already a member of the Nordic pole walking group in Castlemaine, to further prepare herself physically, Melody began walking up Mt Tarrengower.

Australian Rural & Regional News finds out first hand from Sarah Watson what it was like to compete at international level in the triathlon championships in Hamburg and learns how she made it to this standard, and with a smile too.

The Denmark WA women’s soccer team watched their European namesakes beat China 1-0 in their opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on July 22. The Denmark WA side saw Denmark’s s national side secure a last gasp 1-0 in a match which capped off a memorable week for the up-and-coming West Australian footballers.

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 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.

Australian carriage drivers are preparing to take on Great Britain in a world-first “stay-at-home international” ... The teams will be led by two equestrian legends; the British team by multiple European and World Champion and Olympian David Broome and Australia by multiple World Champion and World Cup Champion Boyd Exell.

In the 1980s, Iconic Australian synth-pop band Real Life earned widespread recognition and international success with their 1983 chart-topping synth-pop single 'Send Me an Angel'. And next Saturday 5 August, you have the chance to hear them perform live as part of the Goldfields Gothic Festival.

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".

CBOT (Chicago Board of Trade) wheat prices soared eight per cent overnight, after Ukrainian ports were hit by Russian missiles and Russia’s Ministry of Defence warned that all vessels travelling to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. This was the highest trading level of CBOT wheat since a spike in mid-June and previously in February this year, Rabobank senior grains analyst Dennis Voznesenski said.

With significant planning work and extensive market soundings completed, it is now certain that the cost of hosting the Regional Victorian Commonwealth Games will exceed $6 billion – more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring our state. In the face of these numbers, the Victorian Government has made the decision not to proceed with hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

Over the past week, two delightful Lions Exchange Students have been making their home in Nhill as part of their month-long visit to Australia ... although it is a privilege to show visitors such as Alia Mostert and Sara Kuntner our country, it is actually a "double blessing" ... It has been a joy to learn about their home countries, but it is especially rewarding to view our homeland through new eyes.  

Global grain prices will continue to be volatile until the market is able to decipher the end impact of Russia withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to Rabobank senior grains analyst Dennis Voznesenski. The deal – which has allowed wartime Ukraine grain exports across the Black Sea – expired overnight Australia time after Russia confirmed it would not agree to its renewal.

Warooka’s John Dalla had another successful showing at this year’s World Shearing Championships ... An 11-time national title holder, Mr Dalla finished this year’s competition, held at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a fifth place in the individual event and fourth in the teams event ... "There’s nothing similar to the sheep in Scotland here in Australia, so it’s actually really difficult to train for."

Black bears, moose, woodpeckers, lynx and beavers – just some of the wildlife Tim Wishart and Nick Whatley encountered on their recent deployment to Canada to fight fires. The Cohuna men were part of a team of 46 Victorians from Forest Fire Management Victoria and the Country Fire Authority which spent 35 days providing relief to exhausted Canadian fire crews fighting the Kimiwan complex near Peace River in Alberta.

Narrandera harness racing trainer Ellen Bartley now features in an American Harness Racing Update (HRU) publication. Born in Kyabram, Victoria, Bartley now resides in Narrandera and currently has 18 horses that she and her partner Blake Jones own and train.

Playing games on horseback is not just for kids. The 37th World Championships for Adult Mounted Games will be held at Werribee Park from October 8 to 15, with 18 nations competing. Most would know the story of how Mounted Games were created by Prince Philip as a competition for children who could not afford an expensive, purebred pony and that in 1957 the Horse of the Year Show staged the first Mounted Games Championship for the Prince Philip Cup.