Land & environment

Meat & Livestock Australia has announced the successful completion of an MLA Donor Company AgTech project that has demonstrated reliable and affordable two-way satellite connectivity for livestock and on-farm Internet of Things sensors across Australia. The project was led by eSAT Global, with Smart Paddock providing on-farm visualisation and Viasat delivering satellite connectivity.

Students at Rushworth P–12 College are helping restore wildlife habitat across fire-affected parts of northern Victoria, building more than 100 nesting boxes for native animals displaced by recent bushfires. Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP recently visited the school’s HOPE (Hands-On Practical Education) program to see the project underway and meet students working alongside volunteers from the Rushworth Field & Game Club.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council’s Disaster Dashboard is now even better equipped to help the community handle whatever Mother Nature throws our way. Council’s Disaster Management team has launched a brand-new Flood Cameras page on the Disaster Dashboard – further bolstering our preparedness in times of disaster.

All of the Central Wheatbelt weekend lawn bowls results with Doug Kelly from Bowls WA, and long haul road train driver Zac Anthony drops by to give as update on the fuel situation...

What can we learn from the meteorological conditions and extreme fire behaviour at the 2019 Currowan fire in New South Wales and 2021 Wooroloo fire in Western Australia? Join us for the March Hazardous Webinar: Fire case studies to hear from fire and meteorology experts about the Fire case studies project and perspectives from the end-users who will use the project outcomes.

Matthew Harrison. It’s widely promoted for its environmental benefits. But how does it actually affect farm profitability and greenhouse gas emissions? Evidence remains limited. One reason is that regenerative agriculture is usually presented as a bundle of practices...

There's been spirited debate and productive discussion about the Murray–Darling Basin Plan Review (the Review) at the 2026 Basin Leadership Summit. Nearly 200 senior leaders from across communities, agriculture and tourism industries, environmental groups, First Nations, government and science converged in Brisbane over two days to discuss the future management of the Murray–Darling Basin.

Christine Webster. Heatwave conditions at the start of the 2026 Riverland vintage, followed by recent heavy rainfall in some parts of the region, are causing headaches for many wine grape growers. The Oxford Landing Winery’s regional viticulturist Glynn Muster said the long spell of hot weather in late January and February had initially caused heat stress to some vineyards.

New research has revealed past land clearing is increasing the vulnerability of native Australian forests to the invasive myrtle rust disease — with regrowth forests emerging as hotspots for impact.

A controversial proposal from an anti-farming environmental group risks handing control of private land to government under the guise of conservation. NSW Farmers’ Conservation and Resource Management Committee Chair Bronwyn Petrie said the Wentworth Group of Scientists’ “Blueprint for a Healthy Country and Thriving Regions” to farmers was deeply disingenuous.

How does a tree survive hundreds of years? The three Ls of Luck, Location and a Little bit of help from friends ... And the three Ls might also be the case for a few large pre-colonial trees that have recently been identified at Maldon Golf Course by Bev Phillips of the Maldon Urban Landcare Group (MULGA).

Four years on from one of the biggest floods in living memory across the Northern Rivers region that was also Australia’s biggest natural disaster, people, homes and businesses are still feeling the impact ... On the four-year anniversary of the floods, Deputy Leader of the Federal Nationals, Member for Page Kevin Hogan slammed what had been done to help Lismore recover and rebuild.

Adaptation to climate change is happening at ground level amongst the vines in Australia. One winemaker in the vanguard is Mudgee winemaker David Lowe, who, in 2021, made a major decision in pivotting his certified organic and biodynamic estate away from "delicate French varieties" and towards hardy Mediterranean styles better able to handle a hotter, more volatile future.

The Albanese Government has ... tabled the annual Murray–Darling Basin First Nations water report for 2024–25. This report provides an overview of the progress made in 2024–25 by the Albanese Government to strengthen First Nations peoples’ leadership, knowledge and self determination in water management and planning decisions across the Murray–Darling Basin...

A tremendous lightning display preceded the weekend's significant rain event, with areas in the district recording more than 4 inches of rainfall between Friday evening and Tuesday morning ... The only thing to top a show like that was the much needed downpour that followed, drenching the entire region with steady, soaking rain.

Beneath the agreeable language embedded in regenerative agriculture — soil health and sustainable ecosystems — sits a more consequential proposition: that modern, input-intensive agriculture has overshot its optimal point and that government policy should now encourage a structural shift toward lower-input systems. That is not a trivial adjustment. It is a claim about the production frontier of Australian agriculture. Claims of that magnitude ... warrant far more rigorous empirical scrutiny than they have so far received.

The Carp Herpes Virus (scientifically known as Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 or KHV) is a biological control agent proposed by the Australian government to combat the invasive common carp. Since its introduction in the 1800s, carp have decimated Australia's freshwater ecosystems, with experts estimating they make up 80 to 90 per cent of the fish biomass in the Murray-Darling Basin.

Hugh Schuitemaker. A well-known Riverland West farmer's face is looking different – and much more optimistic – following the weekend's heavy rainfall across the region. Lowbank-based farmer Tim Paschke was earlier this week able to cut his beard, which he committed to growing until his property received at least a 25mm rainfall event.

Australian agriculture is set to reach a record $101.4 billion in grosspproduction value in 2025-26 before easing in 2026–27, with both prices and output expected to soften. ABARES is forecasting combined agriculture, fisheries and forestry value to top $107.4 billion in 2025-26 – also a record - underscoring the strength of Australia’s primary industries.