CATEGORY

Research

Lookout sign sends mixed messages

A reader has questioned the appropriateness of the place name ‘Munyang’ in relation to the Snowy Mountains, as referenced on the new sign at Farrans Lookout on the Great River Road ... "My research goes back to notes I discovered in the Mitchell Library in Sydney written in 1838, a few years after Europeans first entered the district": John Murphy.

Holiday homes ‘not to blame’

Serena Kirby. Private homes rented as holiday accommodation are not the cause of Denmark’s housing shortage. The finding was revealed in Denmark Futures’ research over the past 18 months and presented at a community forum last month.

MLA to launch environmental credentials pilot for grassfed beef producers

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is seeking grassfed beef producers to take part in the piloting of an online platform that is under development in the Environmental Credentials of Australian grassfed beef project ... The platform covers five environmental themes: tree cover, ground cover, carbon balance, biodiversity stewardship, and drought resilience.

Floating sea farms – an ingenious solution to feed the world and ensure freshwater by 2050: UniSA

The sun and the sea – both abundant and free – are being harnessed in a unique project to create vertical sea farms floating on the ocean that can produce fresh water for drinking and agriculture. In what is believed to be a world first, UniSA researchers have designed a self-sustaining solar-driven system that evaporates seawater and recycles it into freshwater, growing crops without any human involvement.

Graingrowers report finds change is required to unshackle dependence on overseas fertiliser supply

Targeted co-investments and favourable policy settings promoting the establishment and retention of new domestic fertiliser operations are required to unshackle Australia from its dependence on overseas supply, a GrainGrowers report has found.  The Fertilisers of the Future Report examines in depth the so-called big three fertiliser inputs – nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium...

Backing Portland as a renewable fuel manufacturing hub: Shing

Minister for Regional Development Harriet Shing announced the new study for a renewable fuel manufacturing hub in the portside city ... The feasibility study will be led by Portland H2 – a subsidiary of HAMR Energy - – towards establishing a plant converting plantation forestry residue to green methanol.

Australian farm fertiliser outlook: a recovery in demand and application rates: Rabobank

Improved affordability of agricultural fertiliser is set to prompt a recovery in demand and application rates by farmers next season, Rabobank says in a recently-released report. In its Australian Fertiliser Outlook 2024/25, the specialist agribusiness bank says Australian farm fertiliser consumption had declined 20 per cent in 2022...

AgriFutures Australia reveals trailblazing insights from its Carbon Initiative Program

In a monumental leap towards a greener future, AgriFutures Australia proudly presents the outcomes of the Carbon Initiative Program, a $2 million commitment fueling 15 pioneering research projects. The 15 projects have not only enriched current industry-specific endeavours towards a net-zero future but have also forged new frontiers in cross-industry carbon research.

Intergenerational Report 2023

This report projects an outlook for the economy and the Australian Government’s budget over the next 40  years. It examines the long-term sustainability of current policies and how demographic, technological and other structural trends may affect the economy and the budget.

Regional Renaissance – New data unveils dynamic change in Australia’s demographic landscape: RAI

A surge of millennials leaving Australia’s capital cities for country communities is helping drive a regional renaissance, new research from the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) has found ... The report shows Local Government Areas (LGAs) such as Dungog (NSW), Loddon (VIC), Blackall Tambo (QLD), Tumby Bay (SA) and Chapman Valley (WA) all saw significant net migration rates for the millennial cohort.

Project Kingfish

With help from recreational anglers, long term tag-and-release programs ... have revealed a level of connectivity of kingfish between states across mainland Australia, as well as offshore sites such as LHI and NZ. However, the frequency of such long-distance movements and the whereabouts of spawning-sized kingfish ... between release and recapture remain a mystery ... Project Kingfish aims to fill these knowledge gaps.

Social Anthropology research presentation

Sally Montgomery. Thank you to everyone who joined me at the Community Hall to hear about my Social Anthropology research on the Island. It was wonderful to have the Hall packed with those that could make it – it meant a lot to be able to share it and thank so many of the people who have been involved ... The following is a summary of the presentation for all those who couldn’t make it ...

Sustainable aviation fuel opportunities for Australia: CSIRO

With the rest of the world transitioning to sustainable aviation fuels to meet their own net zero goals, how can Australia develop its own successful sustainable aviation fuel industry? Aviation is one of the most challenging industries to decarbonise, contributing 2.5% of the world’s total carbon.

New release – Bush Tragedies

These are the crimes, murders and tragedies from across western NSW that made headlines around Australia decades and decades ago but are long forgotten – until now. A new book to hit the shelves today, Bush Tragedies, is a compilation of short stories from dark pockets of Australia’s history, recorded in stark, descriptive detail by award-winning journalist Bill Poulos.

Wattle Day: Robert Onfray

Today is the first day of spring in Australia, a day we celebrate as national Wattle Day ... we use today to celebrate a wonderful species that is, with a few exceptions, unique to our landscape. But to professional foresters, a recognition of wattles only reminds us of the deleterious effects of changed land management practices after millions of hectares of actively managed state forests have been converted to reserves since the 1990s. The effects have been compounded by massive wildfires that have occurred over that time.

Hotter, dryer summers bad news for farmers

The latest Federal Intergenerational Report suggests crop yields could be up to 4 per cent lower by 2063. Reduced yields are expected due to increased frequency and severity of extreme weather, including droughts, as well as most crops producing less in higher temperatures.

Forester Frank, science and French folly: David Jefford Ward

Although my qualifications lie in other fields, I know Frank Batini as a modest, well mannered, well qualified, and experienced forester. His recent article about his past work on water supply from Wungong Dam, near Perth, has raised concerns with me about the management of water supplies in Western Australia ... Instead of following scientific advice, they seem to have switched their beliefs to the thinking of other kinds of experts, without any qualifications in forestry, fire, or hydrology, but expertly politically aware and active.

How Polish agriculture supports Ukrainian patriotism

For a month of seasonal agricultural work in Poland, Ukrainians can earn as much money as they receive in 10 months in Ukraine. This is so profitable that poor Ukrainians prefer to spend their holidays on the farmer's fields in Poland, and not in the resorts. Diligence enables Ukrainians to save their own country. ... Oksana Pitchenko told us what seasonal agricultural earnings are in reality.

Citizen scientists help to unveil the secret world of Murraylands and Riverland Fungi: Landscape SA

Citizen Scientists have helped to develop better understanding of regional biodiversity by taking part in an initiative to record local fungi and lichen species. FungiQuest is a national event that encourages citizen scientists to share their fungi sightings via a smartphone app.

Magpie swoops in to claw first place

The beloved magpie has ruffled the feathers of kookaburras by claiming top position as Australia’s favourite animal sound. The magpie’s warbling has won over the nation, taking out number one in ABC’s search for Australia’s favourite animal sound.

Fungicide resistance detected in Qld barley

Early knowledge could be the key to keeping Queensland’s barley crops thriving according to research by University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) Centre for Crop Health Senior Research Fellow Dr Noel Knight. Dr Knight has been conducting research monitoring for fungicide-resistant diseases in barley plants across southern Queensland, and the results have shown resistance is more common in Queensland than growers might have suspected.

Transition to net zero not one size fits all: Victoria University

New research from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute has painted a clear picture of how Australia’s Net Zero by 2050 transition will impact regions and industries and recommended how to harness and mitigate the human cost ... In early May 2023, the Federal Government established a National Net Zero Authority to support Australia’s transition...

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