News

Australian shoppers may have noticed a steep price hike on some of their favourite fresh fruit and vegetables over recent months, but profits from higher retail prices are not reaching farmers.

Government and industry representatives, businesses, agribusinesses, community members, advocates and anyone with an interest in this field are invited to attend the Activating the Low Carbon Economy in Regional Australia forum online on Thursday 19 August 2021 to learn more about embracing this developing industry and the opportunities it offers.

Australia’s leading rural charity, Rural Aid, has closed applications for its $1 million mouse plague fund, with 1000 farmers set to benefit from the support. Rural Aid opened the fund in June for farmers from many parts of the country whose livelihoods and incomes had been affected by the devastating mouse plague.

Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall has released the NSW Animal Welfare Reform – Discussion Paper as the next step in the NSW Government’s commitment to modernise animal welfare legislation.

The $7 million Tweed Organics Processing Facility will turn organic material, collected in green kerbside bins from across the Tweed, into useful compost. Up to 25,000 tonnes of food and garden organics can be processed annually on site – with the compost soon to be made available to households, farmers and businesses as well as being used on Council-maintained parks and gardens.

WA Water Minister Dave Kelly has announced the official completion of the Albany to Denmark pipeline, securing Denmark's long-term water supply in the face of climate change.

Emma Pritchard. One of the most popular attractions at the museums reopening was a local blacksmiths display by Don Shannon along with husband and wife team Joel and Jess See of Fortis Creek Forge. Visitors watched with interest as they demonstrated with seasoned precision, the skills and workmanship which made blacksmithing such a valuable resource to several early industries.

Geoff Helisma. Tenterfield Shire Council voted unanimously at its June meeting that it “does not support” Clarence Valley Council’s (CVC) decision “to oppose mining in the Clarence River catchment”. The Tenterfield council was responding to CVC’s correspondence, which was sent to “adjoining councils that have responsibility for areas draining into the Clarence River catchment, requesting that they support council’s stand and … oppose mining in areas affecting the Clarence River catchment”.

Lover's Point is a rocky headland in Yamba that juts out into the ocean. It is located 1.5km south of the breakwall. Access is via Ocean Street, and also Pippa Beach. Waves can be big when accessing from the southern side. It is a 600m walk out to the point.

Liina Flynn. Before he headed up North Coast Community Housing, John McKenna spent his childhood growing up in public housing. ... With 3000 families currently on the region’s wait list for social housing, John was proud to announce that a new social and affordable housing development project will be built this year on Callistemon St in Casino.

The cost of a decent steak has risen. Not nearly as much as it could have – given the price of beef on the hoof today. Producers may be getting the best price for their beef but if they’re restocking the herd, they’re paying top dollar for any bought animals. This is a beef boom that doesn’t benefit the beef food chain and the meat processors and consumers are the ones bearing the brunt of the high cattle prices.

Seven sets of brothers make the Richmond Range rugby team a force to reckon with. Saturday’s 30-nil win over Iluka Cossacks means the team is set to play Byron Bay in the President’s Cup major quarter final.

The latest ABARES Water Market Outlook report indicates water allocation prices in the southern Murray-Darling Basin are likely to remain low in 2021–22.

Soil carbon farming has been mooted as one of the key strategies for offsetting Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, with the ancillary benefit of improving soil health and farm productivity. This new Occasional Paper by Professors Robert E White, Brian Davidson and Richard Eckard from the University of Melbourne, explains in simple terms the procedures for a landholder to participate in the Emissions Reduction Fund.

The Clifton community is at the receiving end of some positive news with recent quality testing of the town’s Great Artesian Basin (GAB) bore returning good results.

The Toowoomba Region’s economy has weathered the twin challenges of a prolonged drought and the more recent effects of the Coronavirus pandemic to emerge as the third largest regional economy in Queensland, based on a range of economic indicators drawn from industry and government data.