Research

Emma Pritchard. A new variety of soybean developed in the Clarence Valley will significantly boost productivity and profitability for growers across the state ... the new variety called Gwydir is an early maturing plant which provides greater crop security and is well suited to a variety of climates ... Gwydir is also the first variety in NSW which is resistant to soybean leaf rust.

The author has set himself an enormous task to survey in depth the history of the Surrey Hills district of north-west Tasmania. Fires, Farms and Forests represents the culmination of much detailed and careful research, combined with the author’s extensive personal experience as a forester, and, in particular, his role managing the native grasslands and buttongrass moorlands on Surrey Hills. All this enables the author to weave a story which encompasses both general history as well as specialist insights into the management of land and forests.

A Charles Sturt University researcher hopes to conserve wombat populations and minimise road accidents by exploring the use of ‘virtual fences’ ... “Virtual fencing implemented in regions that have high wombat roadkill rates may aid in reducing road deaths and  species conservation”: Dr Hayley Stannard.

“Book 7 focuses on the impact, expression, diagnosis and management of water repellence in agricultural soil, supported by evidence-based case studies and farmer experiences”: SoilsWest co-director and Murdoch University Associate Professor Frances Hoyle.

In summer 2007, I planned and supervised the establishment of a research thinning trial in regrowth jarrah (E.marginata) forest about 15 km east of the Western Australian town of Jarrahdale ... The trial consisted of eight plots, each one hectare in size, thinned to various densities of trees ... Some six months after thinning, in November 2007, the whole area was treated with a prescribed burn ...

Australia wheat farmers can expect increased farmgate prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although the local impact is not expected to match that seen globally. Together, Russia and Ukraine make up nearly 30% of global wheat exports. Ukraine’s military has suspended commercial shipping at its Black Sea ports, which is tipped to disrupt the supply chains of grain and oilseeds exporters.

Innovative research at the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority has produced a world-first blue kangaroo paw (anigozanthos masquerade) that is now available to be purchased by Western Australians at local retailers.

Managing Director of AgriFutures Australia, John Harvey, says a safety mindset needs to remain front and centre across Australia’s agricultural sector.

New research funded by AgriFutures Thoroughbred Horses Program and Racing Victoria aims to reduce workplace health risks by changing the way a jockey is monitored after a concussion to better inform their recovery and return to the track.

Overgrown forests are one of the key contributing factors to the current wildfire crisis in the West. The new Forest Service strategy on Confronting the Wildfire Crisis outlines the agency’s plan for increasing fuels and forest health treatments to create healthier forests and reduce the risk to communities.

ABARES Executive Director Jared Greenville said the latest ABARES Insights report: Snapshot of Australian Agriculture 2022 demonstrated that while there have been fluctuations, the agriculture sector was still on an upward trajectory.

The Russia Ukraine conflict will have large ramifications for global and Australian grains and oilseeds markets, and particularly wheat, according to agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank. The loss of access to all Black Sea wheat exports has not occurred in more than 100 years.

The numbers are in on the accelerated escape from the city trend, with quarterly migration from capital cities to regional areas over the past two years up 15% on the two years prior to the global pandemic. According to the latest Regional Movers Index, produced in partnership by the Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the December quarter index showed net migration to the country’s regions is more than double what it was in the two years pre-COVID.

Robert Onfray looks closely at the history and status of this apex predator in Australia and considers our options for living together.

Minister for Resources and Water Keith Pitt has announced that new light will be shed on the potential for additional groundwater resources in the upper Darling River region ... Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with the NSW Government, will commence an airborne electromagnetic survey across this section of north-west NSW to better understand the location of groundwater resources and their movement beneath the floodplain and its surrounds.

Researchers at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, have developed a technique that addresses the challenge of transporting temperature-dependent vaccines, which researchers hope may increase access in rural and remote communities in Australia and developing countries.

Cairns is now home to one of the most sophisticated energy R&D hubs in Australia with the arrival of Ergon Energy’s Microgrid and Isolated Systems Test (MIST) Facility.

New research into ironstone gravel soils in the western and southern regions of Australia is working to unlock potential and increase the yields of crops planted on this challenging soil type.

Demand and prices for fine and mid-micron wool are forecast to pick up as workers return to offices around the world, according to a report by agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank ... Rabobank agricultural analyst Dennis Voznesenski said while consumer confidence is waning in the world’s two largest markets for wool, the US and China, there are positive factors that will push prices higher.

For a second, I thought I had stumbled into the mellow haze of Woodstock, but this pungent aroma had no buzz or medicinal properties. It was all about fibre and the seed. Western Murray Land Improvement Group’s 7-hectare flood irrigation trial had over 70 attendees from as far away as Queensland. Five varieties were included in the trial to see what grows best in our region.

New data released by Hort Innovation shows Australians are producing and consuming more potatoes than ever. Developed by Freshlogic, the annual Horticulture Statistics Handbook launches today and includes the latest available data on 75 different categories across fruit, vegetable, nut, nursery and cut flowers. And this year, potatoes were top performers in volume growth.

Geoff Helisma. Volunteer environmental organisation, Clarence Valley Environment Centre (CEC – established 1989), has released the results of a survey it commissioned, “to undertake koala scat detection [using a specifically trained] dog … in the Shannondale area, [in order] to assess koala presence/absence after the droughts, fires and floods”.