Research

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”.

John O'Donnell. A collection of dramatic and informative photos of the 1952 bushfires.

A Charles Sturt University research project into planned burning ignites possibilities for conservation and restoration of critically endangered grassy ecosystems.

Gabrielle Duykers. In the latest addition to her many accolades, Cath Kidman of Wynns Coonawarra Estate has been crowned Viticulturist of the Year at the recent 2021 Women in Wine and Spirits Awards. Ms Kidman was one of 50 finalists to win one of the 18 award categories, with recipients spanning across 12 countries and regions around the globe.

John O'Donnell. The Mangoplah bushfire burned an estimated 390,000 hectares. Property damage included 37 houses; 203 sheds and dairies; 1,841 km of fencing as well as 110,000 sheep, with financial impacts estimated at $18 million adjusted to 1970 CPI.

A report released by GRDC, Australian Grains Baseline and Mitigation Assessment, has found that the Australian grains industry exhibits low greenhouse gas emissions for each tonne of grain produced compared to other grain producing regions and countries, including the EU, USA, Canada, Russia and Ukraine.

“Sea spurge is now reappearing in NSW, this time in more regional and remote areas of NSW, and we suspect it’s spreading from Victorian and Tasmanian beaches .... A spraying program is underway, using a highly specific biocontrol agent of sea spurge, a fungus, which is native to France" : James Griffin, NSW Environment Minister.

Cape York may have been the latest location of a meteor air burst, a phenomenon that lit up the sky and caused an airborne aftershock that rattled buildings across the Peninsula. Residents in Weipa, on Cape York cattle stations and on the east coast at Portland Roads have all reported seeing the sky light up in a turquoise-like colour at 5.50am on Friday.

A damning report into the workplace culture of Rio Tinto has revealed that almost half of the miner’s global workforce have been bullied, harassed, or racially discriminated against. Alarmingly, more than 30 per cent of Indigenous employees that responded to the independent review reported being confronted with racist behaviour in the workplace, and almost 30 per cent of women reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

Australia’s agricultural sector is set for another profitable year ahead, with the gross value of agricultural production on track for a fourth consecutive year of growth in 2021/22, Rabobank says in a newly-released industry report.

The fresh produce sector and supply chain in Queensland has agreed on four key fields of strategic interest to pursue over the first two years of its new industry plan, Future Fields.

Fortescue Future Industries is acquiring an interest in Sparc Hydrogen Pty Ltd, a company which has an exclusive licence to develop and commercialise next-generation green hydrogen technology created by the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. Sparc Hydrogen is researching technology which would see green hydrogen produced by only sunlight and water (photocatalytic water splitting coupled with solar radiation), instead of renewable energy and electrolysis.

Geographical location is no barrier in experiencing the sounds of the Murrumbidgee wetlands, thanks to Charles Sturt University researchers ... To celebrate World Wetlands Day on Wednesday 2 February, researchers are presenting the public with the opportunity to eavesdrop on the sounds of the Murrumbidgee wetlands.

Charles Sturt University is running a survey for landholders to share their experience of carbon farming and drought planning. The insights from this research will be used to inform a formal guideline for carbon farming participants to help them plan and include drought resilience into the design of their carbon farming project.