Research

Australian researchers have discovered a set of unique and potentially durable resistance genes from exotic barley lines and landraces that breeders can use to develop crops with more stable resistance to powdery mildew.

A second consecutive year of good seasonal conditions and high commodity prices is helping shield Australia’s farm sector from the broader economic uncertainty of COVID-19, with farmer sentiment surging in recent months, according to the latest quarterly Rabobank Rural Confidence Survey. The survey reveals Australian farm sector confidence is at one of its highest levels in the survey’s history due to ongoing positive seasonal conditions and exceptionally-high commodity prices, with more than 90 per cent of Australian farmers expecting the current conditions to continue or improve further over the coming 12 months.

The agricultural sector is looking at another record-breaking year, with the gross value of production (GVP) forecast to reach $73 billion in 2021-22. ABARES Executive Director Dr Jared Greenville said if the forecast in the  Agricultural Commodities: September Quarter  report proves to be accurate, then it will be the first time the agriculture sector has been valued at over $70 billion."

Three major new missions from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, will grow Australia’s agriculture and food sectors targeting $20 billion by 2030. The $150 million investment from CSIRO, government and industry will tackle drought, the food export market and growing the protein market.

Mark Knowles. The wilderness of Cape York is one of the last refuges for Australia’s rarest bird of prey, the Red Goshawk, according to findings emerging from the most comprehensive study of the bird to date. The study, a collaboration between the Queensland Department of Environment & Science, Australian Wildlife Conservancy and Rio Tinto, commenced following a sighting of a Red Goshawk nest on a mining lease near Mapoon in 2015.

A new multidisciplinary Australian Research Council Research Hub for Smart Fertilisers at the University of Melbourne will develop a new class of fertilisers and inhibitors for Australian farmers.  

Strong increases in nearly all commodity prices saw the Rabobank Rural Commodity Price Index lift by 3.26 per cent in August to its highest level on record. This includes going beyond the Covid-induced commodity price surge of March 2020.

Forests across all tenures are declining and/or exploding from lack of sustainable management. A miniscule proportion is available for logging. Logging can have a beneficial effect on local fire behaviour, but no effect on a regional scale. The bushfires and logging debate is a dangerous distraction from our real major environmental issue – sustainable fire management.

Sawfish - one of the world's most endangered rays - have lost over half of their habitat worldwide and largely disappeared from the entire east coast of Australia. A collaborative study by the University of Southern Queensland and Sharks and Rays Australia will endeavour to fill in gaps in information about the ray’s ecology, biology and distribution.

The ACIAR Annual Operational Plan for 2021–22 sets out the context and objectives of the work program throughout the Indo-Pacific region for the year ahead. ACIAR CEO Andrew Campbell says that it describes how we will continue to build the partnerships, knowledge and capacity required to achieve more productive, sustainable and resilient agrifood systems in our region.

Richard Segal. The Lord Howe currawong is one of the most recognisable and commonly encountered native bird species on Lord Howe Island. They are often curious about people and always keen for a sultana or two. Until recently, little was known about the currawong, including where they prefer to nest and how many of them are breeding. For example, do all birds nest each year or only some of them? Do they nest across the island, or do they favour certain areas?

In southern Australia, whether native forests are subject to harvesting or left untouched, if appropriate landscape scale forest fuel management is not undertaken, high intensity bushfires at a mega scale can occur in any summer, particularly when there are two or more years of below average rainfall. Any climate change effects are a reason to do more mitigation by fuel reduction.

We have a fire problem in Australia that is not being addressed. And it has nothing to do with climate change. Nor is logging a major contributing factor since very small areas are available for harvesting each year. It is about the decisions in the 1990s across most states, but particularly in NSW and Victoria to lock up millions of hectares of forest into national parks and manage them by benign neglect and allow the fuel levels to build up.

Frog scientists are concerned about a large number of sick, dying or dead frogs across eastern Australia. The mass deaths in NSW, Queensland and Victoria may be an indicator of a known fungal pathogen or a new strain.

The study, published in Ecosphere, analysed the severity of Australia's 2019-2020 bushfires by examining the amount of damage to vegetation. Co-author Professor David Lindenmayer said weather had a large effect on the fires. "However, forests also burned at very high severity when they were between 10 to 40 years old. Young forests regenerating after logging were particularly susceptible to very high severity fire," he said.

A new resource is available to queen bee breeders to help improve stock of queens, leading to more productive and profitable hives.

Developing a blood test to predict the stress of aquatic species and help industry develop a more sustainable fish economy is the focus of a new research project at The University of Western Australia in collaboration with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

Covid-19 has focused our attention on a serious underlying fragility that goes well beyond health. This fragility stems from the fact that our health, energy, finance, and food systems are all connected. There are clear lessons to be learned for Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry sector about how supply chains that cross multiple borders are vulnerable to a host of intersecting economic, social and environmental risks associated with Australia’s participation in global systems, markets and supply chains.

John O'Donnell. Real data gathered from almost 60 years of historical data from the forests of south west WA unequivocally shows that when the area of prescribed burning trends down, the area of uncontrolled bushfires (wildfires) trends up. There is a simple explanation: bushfires are more difficult to put out in long unburnt, heavy fuels ... New technology is assisting in increasing the safety and efficiency of prescribed burning programs.

Australia could turn carbon dioxide waste into a valuable revenue stream according to a new report from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO.

Excellent seasonal conditions and strong prices are fuelling a positive outlook for Australia’s cotton sector, with expectations next year’s crop could be one of the largest on record, according to  agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank.