Historic Australian Winery Comes to an End Article by: Hari Yellina As the Drayton family’s nearly 170-year career in Hunter winemaking draws to a close, a remarkable storey of backbreaking labour, initiative, and fortitude in the face of adversity and tragedy emerges. Drayton’s, which, like Tyrrell’s, has remained in the hands of its founding family, […]
Fingerlime Grower Awarded Nuffield Scholar A recent horticultural Nuffield Scholar’s goal will be to achieve consistent fingerlime fruit quality. AgriFutures Australia has awarded Jade King, director and owner of Green Valley Fingerlimes on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, a scholarship. According to Ms King, consistency is critical to developing the market for the native Australian fruit both […]
AWI Shares Shearing Technology to Senate Article by: Hari Yellina For the first time, Australian Wool Innovation has stated that it is considering establishing a shearing technology centre to help address the industry’s labour difficulties. AWI chairman Jock Laurie told the Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee on Tuesday night that the […]
Special Loans Granted for First Farm Buyers Article by: Hari Yellina In the face of rising land costs, National Australia Bank has created a new loan to assist farmers in purchasing their first properties. The NAB’s Future Farmer loan, designed to help farmers fund their first farm or manage succession, has lower equity requirements and […]
Record Harvest Bigger than what was Predicted Article by: Hari Yellina According to one top private grains specialist, Australia’s record-breaking winter harvest in 2021-22 may be considerably larger than previously predicted. IKON Commodities announced new production projections for 2021-22, which were significantly higher than those released by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics […]
Wheat Farmers Wary of Ukraine Tension Article by: Hari Yellina Grain farmers in Australia are gearing up for the main sowing season as global wheat prices hit decade highs over fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine disrupting global trade. Because Russia and Ukraine account for over a third of all grains and oil seeds […]
Farmers Fight Back Against Oyster Rustlers Article by: Hari Yellina Although oysters are unlikely to be on most criminals’ hit lists, some farmers are losing thousands of dollars each year to marine crime. While each theft was tiny, oyster farmer Paul Wilson told AAP that he had likely lost tens of thousands of dollars over […]
Orchard Pickers Awarded with GPS Picking App Article by: Hari Yellina With the development of an innovative automated GPS-based picking software in collaboration with a Riverland citrus grower, an Australian fresh produce labour management tool is extending to the tree crop business. AgPick Orchard, a new version of the well-known AgPick smart harvest technology, aims […]
A Flying Robot Apple Picker? Oh Yes! Article by: Hari Yellina After an Israeli start-up company, Tevel Aerobotics Technologies Ltd, began creating an autonomous robot that could pick fruit, orchards may soon have aerobotic technology on their arm to replace some of their labour. Kubota Corporation, which has been encouraging innovation through partnerships with external […]
National Flock Set to Increase by Millions In 2022, Australia’s national flock is expected to increase by 3.5 million head to 74.4 million, the greatest level in nine years. The national flock will rise by 4.9 percent, according to Meat & Livestock Australia’s 2018 Sheep Industry Projections, led by the strength of the NSW and […]
The Soybean Crop in a Spot of Concern Article by: Hari Yellina In South America, soybean output cuts are continuing, as a very mild La Nina event has a significant impact on yield prospects in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. As a result, China has turned to the United States for its soybean needs, pushing Chicago […]
Wheat Market still Tumultuous due to Black Sea Tensions Article by: Hari Yellina The monthly report from the United States Department of Agriculture released last week contained both positive and negative news. The bad news was that US wheat stock forecasts were elevated, owing to slower export sales, which resulted in a fall in expected […]
Major Glyphosate Concerns after Bayer Calls Force Majeure Article by: Hari Yellina The crop protection industry is keeping a tight eye on worldwide glyphosate supplies after Bayer was forced to declare a Force Majeure event after one of its raw material suppliers had a significant technical failure in its facility. Force majeure is a legal […]
Freight Trains Back in Service after 24 Days Trains have resumed service on the flood-damaged railway line, reopening important freight ties between the east and west coastlines. Today, nine freight trains are planned to use the rebuilt Trans-Australia network, bringing relief to Perth and the northern link to Darwin. After historic flash floods in the […]
Strengthening ALP’s Farm Labour Policies Article by: Hari Yellina This week’s events have proved if it wasn’t already clear, that federal politics is firmly in campaign mode ahead of the May election. The stakes are great, as they are in most elections. The next several months will be crucial, first in identifying a winner, and then […]
Australia Still Has a Long Way to Go Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) It is an established fact that Australia is a developed country. While the nation has gone a great way in the 230 years since colonisation commenced, recent highway and rail disruptions in rural South Australia revealed that there is still a long way […]
Forrest’s Plan to ‘Light Up’ with Farm Renewables Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest has revealed grand plans for a large renewable power station to be built over two of his cattle ranches in Western Australia’s north. It is estimated to cost around $10 billion. To power Fortescue’s large facilities in the […]
Further Urea Developments in Western Australia Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) The Renaissance of Australia’s urea manufacturing industry continues with the announcement of another project in Western Australia to produce the nitrogen fertilizer. The Perdaman project in Karratha has received $255 million from the federal government’s Northern Australian Infrastructure Fund. With all of the […]
Vertical Farms Bags Huge $155 Million Agricultural Contract Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) A $55 million contract has been formed between a Canadian producer and an Australian vertical farming technology business to build an automated leafy green production facility. Vertical Farm Systems (VFS), situated on the Sunshine Coast, creates fully automated growing systems that […]
Global Blueberry Industry in High Demand Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Blueberries continue to be popular around the world, a trend that could benefit Australian growers. Consistent Quality is the New Blue, a recent Rabobank analysis, presents a rosy picture of the worldwide blueberry business, projecting that fresh blueberry exports would continue to grow […]
