Research

Narrandera Shire, along with Hay, have recorded the highest unemployment rates in the Riverina, according to the latest unemployment data released by the National Skills Commission, whilst neighbouring Lockhart has recorded one of the lowest ... Regional Development Australia Riverina chief executive officer and Director of Regional Development Rachel Whiting says it's no cause to celebrate because the Riverina has more jobs than people to fill them.

Australia’s agricultural sector can expect to contend with elevated ocean container shipping costs and ongoing supply disruptions for at least another year before a ‘normalisation’ of the global ocean freight system, according to new research from Rabobank.

A new project is underway to assist Western Australian sheep enterprises to adapt to a changing climate and build more resilient and sustainable businesses ... The three year project will assess the impact of projected climate scenarios for 2030 and 2050 on the productivity of key WA sheep producing regions, including Bruce Rock, Kojonup and Wagin.

Movement sensors used for human sleep assessments have been applied successfully to sheep to predict lambing dates and potentially enhance the precision of flock and farm management strategies. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) tested the sensors on 416 Merino ewes and nine rams during mating at its Katanning Research Station, as part of a collaborative trial with Murdoch University and Australian Wool Innovation.

Part 2 of a three part series of reports from the conference by Philip Hopkins ... “It’s time for the fire management sector to band together and argue the case for a massive increase in the budget across fire research. Up to 97 per cent of spending is on response and rebuilding during and after events, and only three per cent on preparation and mitigation. That mismatch needs to be turned around but not at the expense of insufficient current operational budgets”: Climate Councillor, Greg Mullins.

AgriFutures Australia invests in research, development and extension and has partnered with the industrial hemp industry to support the industry reach the annual GVP target of $10 million by 2026. Central to this was the establishment of the Industrial Hemp Variety Trials (IHVT) which seeks to provide producers with a clear understanding of the optimal industrial hemp grain (seed) or dual purpose (seed and fibre) varieties for Australian conditions and provide growers the best opportunity for success.

Casey Dunn. Australian agritech startup, Bee Innovative is revolutionising the centuries-old practice of commercial pollination. Its groundbreaking technology gives growers a real-time insight into how well bees are pollinating a crop, enabling interventions that boost yield, quality and profitability ... And the recent detection of Varroa ... further demonstrates the importance of cutting-edge technology in the early detection, tracking, and eradication of incursions ... BeeID utilises advanced facial recognition technology ...

New data collected in the 2021 Census has revealed South Australia’s veteran population is more than double the figure previously on record ... This is the first time a comprehensive snapshot of the current and former serving population in South Australia has been developed, following the addition of a targeted question about military service history in the 2021 Census ... Approximately one-quarter of the former serving community is in regional South Australia, mainly in the South-East of the state encompassing the Limestone Coast, Fleurieu Peninsula, Kangaroo Island and the Murray and Mallee regions.

The Threatened Flora Seed Production Garden will grow the Island’s at-risk species before collecting the seed for banking and biodiversity recovery projects ... The garden ... will enable landholders and community organisations to access rare and threatened plant species following fires, droughts and floods.

Peak industry organisation CANEGROWERS is ready and willing to lead the way to a more profitable and diversified future for sugarcane outlined in a new roadmap. “This document has been two and a half years in the making. It is exciting as a cane grower to be at the starting point of a new chapter in our sugarcane industry’s story,” CANEGROWERS Chairman Owen Menkens said. “We are ready to lead the transition, working with existing and new investors.”

Organisations representing the Australian sugarcane industry will form a series of working groups to implement their first whole-of-industry vision and roadmap. The Sugar Plus vision released at the Developing Northern Australia Conference, positions the industry as Fuelling the Future of Food, Energy and Fabrication.

“The sugarcane industry has identified an exciting and transformational future of sustainably producing sugar and bioproducts at the heart of regional communities. The roadmap outlines opportunities for a substantially larger industry. A growing bioeconomy industry will enable Australia to become increasingly self-sufficient, improving economic resilience and national security”: Anne Stünzner, CRCNA CEO.

Identification and development of novel hard seeded pasture legumes teamed with cost reducing management practices and dedicated extension efforts are heralding a revolutionary change for growers in South Australia and Victoria’s low to medium rainfall regions.

Lowering methane emissions through the use of Asparagopsis seaweed as a feed supplement has become a reality, following its first commercial sale in early June, according to Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and FutureFeed. The first commercial sale of Asparagopsis feed supplement in Australia by CH4 Global is a significant step forward for the industry.

A new study led by the University of South Australia indicates tens of thousands of wind turbine blades will end up in landfill by the end of the decade unless end-of-life programs are established soon. The study, led by  Professor Peter Majewski, highlights the challenges of recycling wind turbine blades, which are made of either carbon fibre or glass fibre composite material, both of which are expensive to break down, with the recovered materials having minimal market value.

The NSW country town of Leeton is about as far removed as possible from Afghanistan – geographically, culturally, politically and religiously – but it has set the gold standard for how Australia can successfully integrate refugees into local communities.

The risk of an FMD outbreak in Australia has been given a probability of 9% (1%/19%). The advent of FMD in Indonesia increases the likelihood of an incursion into Australia. We should not have waited until FMD or any disease was close to bring attention to the risk of exotic diseases ... In the event of an outbreak of FMD, we would immediately lose a large number of our premium livestock markets. The longer an outbreak takes to be controlled, the longer we are shut out of premium markets.

Extreme fire weather days have increased in Australia by 56 per cent over the last four decades, according to new research from an international team of scientists, including CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency ... CSIRO researcher, Dr Pep Canadell, said an increase in fire weather trends translated to an increase in the number of Australian bushfires.

The first of a three part series by Philip Hopkins. Sharing information globally about the causes and impacts of destructive bushfires in an era threatened by global warming drew about 360 people to an international conference in Melbourne in June. Fire & Climate 2022, presented by the International Association of Wildland Fire in partnership with Natural Hazards Research Australia, concentrated on the most significant forces shaping wildland fire today.

A recent CSIRO study has found that Australians are more likely to support the use of gene drive technology for feral cat management if there was a perceived problem of invasive species in one’s local neighbourhood ... "Feral cats are an ideal candidate for gene drive research given that their reproductive rates are up to three litters a year, which greatly outpaces conventional measures" : Dr Owain Edwards.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has a team visiting Narrandera this week to conduct aspects of koala research in the Narrandera Reserve ... Dr Joanne Connolly from Charles Sturt University's proposed research will involve further steps in the research proposal to establish a koala research centre in Narrandera and will complement and build further on the data being collected by the team from the Koalas Biodiversity and Ecological Health Branch of NPWS.

“Comparing soil health in sugarcane growing districts to soil health in pasture, horticulture and cropping regions shows just how unique those sugarcane soil systems are. Many cane growers may not have measured their soil health before but with commodity prices remaining strong in this regulated market, we’re seeing cane growers becoming increasingly interested in soil health" : Rob Dwyer, Incitec Pivot Fertilisers agronomist.