A New Boost to Australia’s Biofuels? Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) With no subsidy, tax credit or mandated usage, biofuels usage in Australia is a small percentage of the overall fuel pool. However, new fuel standards starting in 2022 could significantly increase the ethanol blend rate, according to a report from the US Department […]
Farmers End 2021 Successfully but a lot to be Achieved Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Farmers today farewell 2021 having pocketed record prices for beef and strong prices for milk, however, it has not been plain sailing for all. The value and volume of Australian agricultural produce were tipped to reach record highs this year, […]
Horticultural Prices on the Rise due to Covid Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Prices for fruits and vegetables may be up but the sectors are still feeling the drag of increased costs due largely to sourcing labour. ANZ’s latest Agri Commodity Report says since just prior to COVID in 2020, retail vegetable prices have […]
Organics Regulatory Framework up for Debate Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) The organic industry’s regulatory framework is up for discussion with a consultation process underway. Consumers, organic farmers, food manufacturers and exporters are encouraged to provide input to the consultation which will focus on potential regulatory or non-regulation options across all players in the […]
Innovation: The Gamechanger in Agriculture Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Innovation will play a critical role in boosting Australian agricultural revenue according to the managing director of farm innovation accelerator Farmers 2 Founders. Christine Pitts said she was upbeat about the prospects of agriculture in coming years, but said to unlock its full potential […]
Saving Essential Resources for Walnut Cultivation Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Over the past few years, walnut cultivation has specialized and thousands of hectares have been planted. The need emerged, for suitable sprayers that are efficient while saving both water and active principles. For products such as walnuts, the right sprayer is needed to […]
Weather Predictions 2022: Agricultural Insight Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Hot and dry are the words most likely to wrap up most of Australia’s introduction to 2022, with limited rainfall expected across the nation. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said Queensland and the Northern Territory will see some rainfall, but nothing more than […]
Regulations for New Agricultural Workers Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Health industry groups are questioning the decision not to provide rapid antigen tests free or at least heavily subsidised to Australians. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced after the national cabinet on Thursday, changes to COVID-19 isolation periods, the definition of close contact and a […]
No New Workers Allowed on Agriculture Visa Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) A new visa introduced to attract migrants to work in agriculture around Australia is yet to bring any additional workers into the country as the government continues negotiating to sign countries up. The agricultural worker visa (AgVisa) was created in October during […]
Case Tractor Turned into Simulator 22 Controller Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) A New Zealand video gamer has taken a farming video game to a new level by converting a tractor into a game controller. New Zealand’s Rudeism (Dylan Beck) wired up a fully functioning Case IH Magnum 310 tractor, weighing close to 10 tonnes, to use as […]
Fruit Growers Urge Victorians to take up Fruit Picking Jobs Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Victorians are once again being asked to step up to fill in the labour gap to ensure the state’s fruit gets picked this summer. Fruit Growers Victoria is pushing its PickGV campaign, with concerns growing over the significant lack of workers for […]
Agricultural Output Positive Despite Shortage of Labours Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Somehow, someway, Australian horticulture has managed to not just weather the lack of workers over the past year but maintain output levels. Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) show in 2020-21 Australian horticultural farm […]
DroneDeploy Beginning to Aid Farm Owners Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) What does the future of farming look like? For DroneDeploy CEO Mike Winn, he imagines a world where drones are able to autonomously monitor farms from the sky and collect data. This data can be compared to previous days in order to identify […]
Fertiliser Prices Shock Australian Farmers Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) In Australia, it is hard to get a handle on fertiliser pricing data, so it is best to analyse a model to work out what roughly fertiliser pricing should be in Australia. As far as we are aware, Thomas Elder Markets there is that […]
Trying Out a ‘Rainbow Diet’ Good for Health Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Dieticians are urging Australians to eat a “rainbow” diet to boost nutrition, and new colourful breeds of vegetables are becoming available to make that task easier. Fresh Select grow purple cauliflowers in the Werribee food bowl, 30 kilometres southwest of Melbourne’s CBD. Chief […]
Processing Plants Saved from Almond Husk Combustion Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Fire crews are expected to extinguish an almond hull fire today which has been burning in northwest Victoria since Sunday night. It is estimated that around 5,000 metric tonnes of hull caught fire at Select Harvests Carina West site. The outer cover of […]
Avocados Australia Places PASE Grants Towards Export Assistance Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) The ability to access overseas markets has been made a little easier for avocado growers on the back of some federal government funding. Avocados Australia has used $109,176 in grants under the Package Assisting Small Exporters (PASE) extension program to help complete two projects […]
Onion Industry to Begin Strategising to Capture Domestic Markets Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Other nations could be chomping down on more Aussie onions in the future, with growers back home set to benefit as well. The onion industry has released a new export strategy detailing a strategic roadmap to guide the industry’s export […]
Sugar Sector Welcomes UK FTA Certainty Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) Australian sugarcane growers welcomed the news of the official signing of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) saying it creates certainty for growers and could lead to industry growth in terms of diversification of potential buyers of Aussie products. Once the FTA comes […]
Stonefruit Trial Flourishes in the Pilbara Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech) The Pilbara may be an unlikely future stonefruit-producing corner of Australia. A crop of stonefruit was harvested in the eastern Pilbara as part of a proof-of-concept trial by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD). While the Pilbara is renowned for its extreme […]
