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29 Apr 2005 | AWS spurns Mariner offer for Woolmark
Australian Wool Services has rejected a proposal from Sydney based private equity investor Mariner Financial to purchase the Woolmark Company’s entire assets. ...... FULL STORY
29 Apr 2005 | Cane growers welcome WTO limit of European sugar subsidies
Canegrowers, an industry lobby, said it expected Australian sugar producers could expect to earn between $60 - $80 million a year more in export revenue following a ruling by the World Trade Organisation ...... FULL STORY
29 Apr 2005 | ABARE models cost of foot and mouth outbreak
A severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease in Australia would probably lead to the death of six million cattle, sheep and pigs and lead to a loss of $3 billion in production, a study by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics found. ...... FULL STORY
28 Apr 2005 | Mixed reviews for cotton crop
Australian cotton growers are harvesting high-grade cotton, coupled with high yields this season, despite drought holding back overall production levels. ...... FULL STORY
28 Apr 2005 | Iraq wheat exports in limbo
Wheat exporter AWB has been forced to offload 8,000 tonnes of wheat in Kuwait after the grains board in Iraq, the AWB’s fourth-largest export market, rejected Australian shipments earlier this month, claiming they contained iron filings. ...... FULL STORY
28 Apr 2005 | Mackay Sugar will crush cane at four mills
Mackay Sugar changed its mind and said it would crush cane at all of its four mills this season, in spite of expecting only a small crop. ...... FULL STORY
27 Apr 2005 | Woolgrowers divided over marketing plan
The International Wool Textile Organisation said wool processors, brokers and exporters were expected to match the $7 million in marketing funds surprisingly made available by Australian Wool Innovation, a research and development organisation. ...... FULL STORY
27 Apr 2005 | Mill negotiations turn sour
Cane farmers negotiating with CSR say they would be prepared to withhold cane supply from the major sugar mill rather than sign an agreement that locks them out of a reasonable share of the profits from value adding. ...... FULL STORY
27 Apr 2005 | Slow moving US beef farmers open the door to Australian exporters
A study by investment group Rural Management Partners said the US was likely to resume beef exports to Japan and Korea this year, but said US exporters may take 10 years to recover their market share. ...... FULL STORY
27 Apr 2005 | Grape glut crushes grower profits
This season's wine-grape harvest is all but complete, with this year's crush expected to come in at 1.96 million tonnes, or 2 per cent more than the record crush in 2004, and 7 per cent more than the earlier forecasts. ...... FULL STORY
26 Apr 2005 | Campaspe irrigators stressed by water caps
Some irrigators in the Campaspe region in north central Victoria fear financial ruin if they cannot receive an additional allocation of water. ...... FULL STORY
26 Apr 2005 | AWB makes final payment on 2004 wheat pool
AWB will make final payments this week to 20,000 wheat growers on their 2003/04 wheat crop. ...... FULL STORY
26 Apr 2005 | Grain buyers exercise market power over growers
Wheat and barley farmers are getting less for their product because of the lack of competition among the nation's food manufacturers, a study by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation found. ...... FULL STORY
22 Apr 2005 | Anderson lobbies again on ethanol subsidies
Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson said that "it's time for an end to the procrastination" on ethanol, and will seek further government intervention to promote use of the sugar extract as a fuel additive or fuel substitute. ...... FULL STORY
22 Apr 2005 | Mariner makes surprise bid to take over Woolmark
A private equity fund associated with Mariner Financial group may be bidding to buy the assets of Woolmark, the marketing company funded by licence fees. ...... FULL STORY
22 Apr 2005 | Western Queensland cattle stations destocked
Consolidated Properties has undertaken a major sell down of stock from its drought-affected Nockatunga and Isis Downs properties. ...... FULL STORY
21 Apr 2005 | Wealthy cattle farmers consolidate their holdings
Family companies make up 55 per cent of the land holdings of the top 10 per cent of beef producers, according to a study by Rural Management Partners. ...... FULL STORY
21 Apr 2005 | Olive oil glut in sight
Olive oil producers in Australia are headed for over-supply in three to four years unless they lift exports, a study by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation concluded. ...... FULL STORY
21 Apr 2005 | Three more branch railway lines closed in NSW grain belt
The New South Wales government said it would "suspend", meaning close, three more railway branch lines that carry grain in western NSW. ...... FULL STORY
21 Apr 2005 | Bureau model predicts El Nino event
The Bureau of Meteorology said its ocean and atmosphere model indicated that an El Nino event was developing, with sea temperatures rising in the Tasman Sea. ...... FULL STORY
20 Apr 2005 | Glut leaves grapes withering on the vine
A glut of grapes means that that thousands of tonnes will be left to wither on the vine. ...... FULL STORY
20 Apr 2005 | Processors and dairy farmers clash over milk price cartel
Milk processors and supermarkets are seeking to block a bid by dairy farmers in Western Australia to form a cartel to negotiate prices with processors. ...... FULL STORY
19 Apr 2005 | Iraq’s wheat whinge may be price ploy
Wheat exporter AWB said it was confident it would maintain sales to Iraq despite threats by Iraq’s importers that they would not award any new wheat contracts. ...... FULL STORY
19 Apr 2005 | Rain adequate for AACo
Australian Agricultural Company said it expected to increase output this year, and that only two of its 25 properties were affected by the dry conditions. ...... FULL STORY
19 Apr 2005 | Dairy Farmers Co-op cuts retail arm
Dairy Farmers Co-operative said it would sell its 14 Dairy Farmers Co-op Rural Stores in Queensland and NSW as going concerns, and cut 53 support staff jobs. ...... FULL STORY
18 Apr 2005 | Inland rail corridor may win funding
The federal government said it wants to facilitate construction of a freight rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane via Parkes, but has not said where funding for the $3 billion project would come from. ...... FULL STORY
18 Apr 2005 | Iron dust contaminated Iraq wheat exports
Iraq said the AWB exported contaminated grain, and said it would suspend a new order for 500,000 tonnes of Australian wheat. ...... FULL STORY
18 Apr 2005 | Horticulture in favour as tax year nears end
A new crop of managed rural investment projects hopes to attract up to $1 billion in investment from high income earners with tax breaks in mind. ...... FULL STORY
15 Apr 2005 | Feds ease paperwork for drought relief
Federal and state agriculture ministers said they would simplify the process for the determinaiton of whether a farming region qualified for drought assistance. ...... FULL STORY
15 Apr 2005 | Farmers reluctant to cap basin bores
Fewer farmers are willing to cap their water bores throughout the Great Artesian Basin, potentially exacerbating the present decline in water pressure in many bores, and adding to fears that water is being consumed at an unsustainable rate. ...... FULL STORY
15 Apr 2005 | Murray River water storages dwindle
Water storages along the Murray River stood at around 3,800 gigalitres at the end of February, about 1,800 gigalitres below the average. ...... FULL STORY
15 Apr 2005 | Backpacker’s offered extended working visas
The federal government will offer tourists a second working holiday visa as an incentive to spend at least three months in fruit-picking or other agricultural or horticulture work. ...... FULL STORY
14 Apr 2005 | El Nino predictions premature and unreliable
Warnings in the last week of an emerging El Nino weather event in Australia may be unreliable. ...... FULL STORY
14 Apr 2005 | Warrnambool dairy expands
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter said it would increase cheese production capacity at its plans in south-western Victoria by 50 per cent, to cater to the increased availability of milk supply in Victoria. ...... FULL STORY
14 Apr 2005 | Iraq won’t buy Australian wheat
Iraq said it stopped imports of Australian wheat, saying it was "investigating Australian practices". ...... FULL STORY
13 Apr 2005 | Cattle farms quarantined in northern NSW
The NSW Department of Primary Industry said 52 cattle properties in the north of New South Wales have been put in quarantine after an outbreak of deadly tick fever. ...... FULL STORY
13 Apr 2005 | El Nino pattern likely to develop by mid 2005
The University of Southern Queensland said the chance of an El Nino pattern developing in the Pacific Ocean in the middle of this year was now about 50 per cent, compared with 20 per cent in most years. ...... FULL STORY
12 Apr 2005 | Fonterra seeks alternative dairy investments
Fonterra said that selling the co-operative’s 19 per cent stake in National Foods to San Miguel would effectively pay for some of Fonterra's alternative expansion plans in Australia. ...... FULL STORY
12 Apr 2005 | Biological shearing now a commercial prospect
Animal health company, Merial, has finally begun to market a protein, or epidermal growth factor now known by the brand name Bioclip, that CSIRO research first showed 30 years ago would lead to "biological" shearing of sheep. ...... FULL STORY
12 Apr 2005 | San Miguel at forefront of dairy marketing
Philippines-based San Miguel will control almost half of Australia's fresh milk market and a quarter of its cheese sales after the group beat a New Zealand cooperative in the takeover struggle for National Foods. ...... FULL STORY
12 Apr 2005 | Lamb exports reach a new record
Lamb exports reached record levels in March 2005 quarter. ...... FULL STORY
11 Apr 2005 | Mackay Sugar may mothball Pleystowe Mill
Mackay Sugar has yet to decide whether to operate all four of its sugar mills this season. ...... FULL STORY
11 Apr 2005 | Red wine glut hurts producer profits
The oversupply of grapes is eroding revenues and profits on some segments of the value chain in the wine industry. ...... FULL STORY
11 Apr 2005 | Hunter valley vineyards seek a new image
Winemakers in the Hunter Valley fear the area faces losing its reputation as a serious wine region. ...... FULL STORY
11 Apr 2005 | Drought intensifies in southern Australia
The weather bureau has warned that rainfall deficiencies in north-western and central Australia were expanding and now extend across the continent in a band... ...... FULL STORY
11 Apr 2005 | Moratorium extended on brake lights deadline
The NSW Farmers' Association negotiated an extension of the moratorium to fit brake lights on grain harvesters, but are yet to persuade the state government to introduce an outright exemption. ...... FULL STORY
8 Apr 2005 | Grazing cereals displace canola in winter plantings
Grain growers in New South Wales are turning their backs on canola this season in favour of pulses. ...... FULL STORY
8 Apr 2005 | US imports blamed for decline in pigmeat prices
Imports of pork from the US increased to 1.1 million kilograms, more than double the volume of imports in January. ...... FULL STORY
7 Apr 2005 | GM crop bans harm farm returns
The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation argue in a report authored by two University of Adelaide researchers that Australia risked becoming a niche supplier if it persisted with limits on genetically modified crops. ...... FULL STORY
6 Apr 2005 | AWB wheat export monopoly confirmed
AWB will retain its monopoly over Australia's bulk wheat exports for a further five years after the federal government endorsed a review that concluded the monopoly boosted the earnings of wheat farmers. ...... FULL STORY
6 Apr 2005 | Farmers seek exemption for new work safety laws
Farmers are seeking exemptions from workplace safety laws that include fines of up to $1.7 million, and potentially jail, if workers are injured or killed on their properties. ...... FULL STORY
6 Apr 2005 | Cattle breeders face higher marketing levy
Cattle producers face a rise of almost 50 per cent in the levy they pay every time they buy or sell a beast in order to fund a marketing effort of Australian beef in both domestic and foreign markets. ...... FULL STORY
6 Apr 2005 | Milk production slumps outside Victoria
Milk production in Australia fell in February to the lowest in seven months as dry conditions reduced supplies of cattle feed. ...... FULL STORY
6 Apr 2005 | Cash grants may replace interest rate subsidies for drought relief
The federal government is considering a change in the formula for drought relief. ...... FULL STORY
5 Apr 2005 | Feds promise grants to regional food processors
The federal government will allocate $12 million in subsidies to small and medium-sized food processors in regional Australia. ...... FULL STORY
5 Apr 2005 | Murray ministers agree to release half of planned environmental flows
The Murray Darling Ministerial Council finally agreed to activate the “Living Murray” Plan. ...... FULL STORY
5 Apr 2005 | Income payments and interest rate subsidies extended in north and central Victoria
The Agriculture department declared a region that includes parts of Swan Hill, Gannawarra Shire, Moire Shire, Campaspe Shire and Loddon Shire in northern and central Victoria as eligible assistance under an exceptional circumstances declaration. ...... FULL STORY
5 Apr 2005 | Storms savage potato production in WA’s south-west
Severe storms in the south of Western Australia killed more than 100,000 sheep and caused about $8 million in crop and stock losses. ...... FULL STORY
4 Apr 2005 | Wet season fails for central Queensland cane growers
Cane growers in central Queensland have endured the lowest rainfall on record in February and March. ...... FULL STORY
4 Apr 2005 | Queensland cattle stations earn prime returns for investors
Prices for grazing properties in Queensland have doubled in the past four years on the back of continuing strong demand for beef, and also due to the flow on affect of urban property price rises. ...... FULL STORY
4 Apr 2005 | Abattoirs bleed due to lack of labour
Too few people are willing to slaughter animals, leaving meat processors suffering a shortage of labour. ...... FULL STORY
4 Apr 2005 | Graziers in a huff over buffel grass
Northern cattlemen are cranky that the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management labelled buffel grass a 'fire-weed'. ...... FULL STORY
1 Apr 2005 | Tomato growers face the chop by SPC
SPC Ardmona said it was unlikely to renew tomato supply contracts with four of its 17 grower suppliers next season. ...... FULL STORY
1 Apr 2005 | Live sheep trade strangles merino flocks
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics estimates the merino ewe population in Australia at around 40 million, with the national sheep flock at about 96 million head. ...... FULL STORY
1 Apr 2005 | Toad poison research wins funding
The Queensland government said it would provide $1 million in funding to a project to find a poison to eradicate cane toads. ...... FULL STORY
1 Apr 2005 | Fertiliser prices tumble
Prices for fertilisers including urea and MAP (or phosphorus) have dropped by between $50 and $60 a tonne over the last two months. ...... FULL STORY
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