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31 Aug 2005 | Mid-sized farms squeezed out by the richest owners
It’s the same old story down on the farm. The number of farms is falling, while the biggest farms become steadily bigger. ...... FULL STORY
31 Aug 2005 | Irrigators made to pay more for water
Irrigators can expect to pay the full cost of watering their crops under plans to reform water pricing by the Queensland Government. ...... FULL STORY
31 Aug 2005 | Livestock producers fret over ethanol plans
Livestock producers are worried about a permanent rise in the cost of grain in the event that the federal government mandates a mandatory blend of 10 per cent of ethanol with petrol. ...... FULL STORY
31 Aug 2005 | Cane farmers leave the land
The Australian Bureau of Statistics found more than 10 per cent of sugar cane farmers left the sector over the last five years. ...... FULL STORY
31 Aug 2005 | Dairy farmers take the bait and quit the market
More than 1500 dairy farmers have left the industry in Victoria since it was deregulated in 2000. ...... FULL STORY
30 Aug 2005 | Tassie potato growers urged to adapt
Potato growers and other big-volume producers should seize the opportunity to overhaul their industries while the Tasmanian economy was strong, ANZ Bank’s senior economist Saul Eslake said. ...... FULL STORY
30 Aug 2005 | South Australian farmers dream of the good times
Agribusiness Association of Australia sees only good times for farmers, with a a new golden era similar to the boom years of the early 1950s due to the growing appetite for imported food from India and China. ...... FULL STORY
30 Aug 2005 | Fresh milk on the price escalator
There may be no let-up in the competition for milk supplies this season. ...... FULL STORY
30 Aug 2005 | Citrus growers cranky over canker compo
A citrus “rescue package” aimed at stamping out exotic citrus canker disease appears unlikely to secure agreement from sufficient stakeholders. ...... FULL STORY
29 Aug 2005 | Malaysia takes hard line on halal certification
Malaysia said it withdrew halal certification from 15 Australian abattoirs and processing plants. ...... FULL STORY
29 Aug 2005 | Diesel price hikes a farm headache
Further diesel price hikes may be in the offing. The rising price of diesel is fast overtaking drought-related issues as the top-of-mind headache in the lead up to spring planting and harvest. ...... FULL STORY
26 Aug 2005 | Plantation investor diversifies into beef
Great Southern Plantations, promoters of tax-effective agricultural schemes, said sales increased by 53 per cent and profit by 33 per this year. ...... FULL STORY
26 Aug 2005 | EG Green reopens with shorter shifts
Producers who sell livestock to the administrator of embattled beef processor E.G Green and Sons will be guaranteed payment, and will not join the list of creditors. ...... FULL STORY
26 Aug 2005 | Saudis suspend barley purchases
Saudi Arabia's biggest importer of Australian barley has suspended an agreement with marketing alliance Grain Australia, blaming WA's special export licensing system. ...... FULL STORY
26 Aug 2005 | Graziers turned off Chowilla floodplain
The South Australian government said graziers could no longer use the Chowilla floodplain in the Riverland district. ...... FULL STORY
26 Aug 2005 | Farmers markets growing but still a tiny niche
Of the 70 or so farmers markets operating each month in many suburbs and towns, two thirds of them have been operating for less than two years. ...... FULL STORY
25 Aug 2005 | US lifts sugar quota
The US increased its quota for raw cane sugar for the current financial year by more than 76,000 tonnes and reallocated another 53,000 tonnes from countries that will not be able to fill their quotas. ...... FULL STORY
25 Aug 2005 | McGauran feral over breakaway wool growers
Federal agriculture minister Peter McGauran attacked the Australian Wool Growers Association for signing an agreement with a controversial animal rights group. ...... FULL STORY
25 Aug 2005 | NAB sets agribusiness bankers free
National Australia Bank said that its agribusiness bankers now had more authority, and claimed that “in many instances, this will literally be 'on-the-spot'.” ...... FULL STORY
25 Aug 2005 | SAFF wants a further levy on farm income
Farmers in South Australia could be funding projects from next year if 80 per cent of farmers approve proposals for a voluntary commodity levy. ...... FULL STORY
24 Aug 2005 | McDonalds won’t budge on potato contract
Fast food chain McDonalds said it would not reinstate a potato chip contract with farmers in Tasmania, but the company agreed to look at new products from the state's farmers. ...... FULL STORY
24 Aug 2005 | Growers hope Americans will warm to wool
The Woolmark Company will begin a planned $6.6 million advertising campaign in the US. ...... FULL STORY
23 Aug 2005 | Cattle and chicken won’t mix in Gippsland
A clash of farm cultures is brewing in the South Gippsland region of Victoria. ...... FULL STORY
23 Aug 2005 | Reform group sacks two directors but fails to win control of Grain Growers
Farmers sacked two directors of the Grain Growers Association yesterday, but failed in a bid to rein in the board's powers. ...... FULL STORY
23 Aug 2005 | EG Green will reopen next week
Beef producer EG Green and Sons is expected to reopen its main abattoir next week. ...... FULL STORY
23 Aug 2005 | Tassie potato farmers count the cost of cutbacks
Vegetable growers, and mostly potato farmers, in northern Tasmania will earn $30 million less in revenue this year, and forgo $2 million in profit because of the decision by Simplot and McDonalds to buy fewer spuds. ...... FULL STORY
22 Aug 2005 | EG Green may resume trading next week
The board of Western Australian meat processing company EG Green and Sons appointed Martin Jones of Ferrier Hodgson as administrators of the company on Friday, a week after the company suspended operations for two weeks. ...... FULL STORY
22 Aug 2005 | Australia’s organic farms seek help
The organic farming industry is now the fastest-growing agricultural industry sector in the world, but Australia's organic sector is lagging the trend. ...... FULL STORY
22 Aug 2005 | Wheat yields look promising in most states
Queensland’s wheat crop this season is likely to be above average, and higher than for the rest of Australia. ...... FULL STORY
22 Aug 2005 | GrainCorp dissidents take aim at board
The tensions that have been brewing in the east coast grain industry are coming to a head today as farmers attempt to shore up their control of GrainCorp. ...... FULL STORY
19 Aug 2005 | Second abattoir suspends operations
The O'Connor beef plant in Pakenham on Melbourne’s outskirts said it would suspend operations for six weeks, citing reduced livestock supply and high prices. ...... FULL STORY
19 Aug 2005 | Live sheep exports subjected to new trial
A ban on winter live exports of pastoral sheep from Port Adelaide could be lifted. ...... FULL STORY
19 Aug 2005 | Fortunes fade for longline fishers
The operators of one Australia’s largest fishing fleets has fallen into the red. ...... FULL STORY
18 Aug 2005 | Telstra forced to separate ahead of T3 share sale
Telstra will be split in two, with distinct network and retail divisions that must occupy separate premises and have separate management but may be owned under the same company structure. ...... FULL STORY
18 Aug 2005 | AWB wheat forecast slips, but higher prices in sight
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics said a decline in global grain production will translate into higher prices for grains such as wheat. ...... FULL STORY
18 Aug 2005 | ER Green stressed for some time
West Australian beef processor EG Green & Sons was believed to have traded at a loss for the past four years before suspending operations "for a period of two weeks" at the end of last week. ...... FULL STORY
17 Aug 2005 | Rail operators want track upgrades and few granaries
Australasian Railways Association told the Agriculture Australia conference in Melbourne that train operators would "walk away" from the rail system if track upgrades, grain handling and storage efficiencies were not made in coming years. ...... FULL STORY
17 Aug 2005 | Part-timers the growth segment in farming
There are fewer farms in Australia today than 10 years ago, but the types of farms are far more diverse. ...... FULL STORY
17 Aug 2005 | AWB loses half of Iraq grain sales to US traders
Subsidised American wheat growers have won a half share of the latest grain purchase by Iraq, a traditional market for Australian wheat. ...... FULL STORY
17 Aug 2005 | WorkSafe targets farm machinery
Work safety authorities in Australia are set to launch a four-month blitz against sales of dangerous farm machinery. ...... FULL STORY
16 Aug 2005 | Liquidity crunch sends Green & Sons to the brink
WA's biggest meat processor, E.G. Green and Sons, blamed the company's compounding liquidity shortfall over the past few months on new reporting systems that did not provide timely and accurate reporting of its position. ...... FULL STORY
16 Aug 2005 | Police and ASIO checks in sight for many farmers
Farm groups say that new regulations on “security sensitive ammonium nitrate”, or SSAN, are overkill and that farmers will have to bear the implementation costs. ...... FULL STORY
16 Aug 2005 | Telstra ratings improve in the bush
Telstra customers in the bush appear to be pretty happy with the quality of services. ...... FULL STORY
15 Aug 2005 | Bank forces Green and Sons to suspend trading
EG Green and Sons, Western Australia’s biggest meat processor, shut its meatworks at Harvey for two weeks on Friday pending a complete "financial and operational" overview of the business. ...... FULL STORY
15 Aug 2005 | Rising meat prices offsets falling demand for live exports
Australian live cattle exports for the 2004/05 financial year fell by nine per cent to 624,202 head – the lowest level in 10 years. ...... FULL STORY
15 Aug 2005 | Telstra seeks increased subsidies for bush broadband
The federal government is considering whether to establish a $1billion fund to subsidise the cost of investment in internet blackspots in country areas. ...... FULL STORY
15 Aug 2005 | Canker outbreak avoidable
A Federal Senate inquiry heard that attempts to survey citrus orchards in the Emerald district for citrus tristeza virus in 2002 were abandoned.... ...... FULL STORY
12 Aug 2005 | Tassie farms win concession on imported food
The cavalcade of Tasmanian and other vegetable growers has secured a government promise of tougher country-of-origin labelling. Food Standards Australia New Zealand will publish a new draft standard improving some labelling for imported products. ...... FULL STORY
12 Aug 2005 | Booyong co-op shuts pig meat facility
The Northern Cooperative Meat Company said it would shut its pig meat abattoir at Booyong in northern New South Wales. ...... FULL STORY
12 Aug 2005 | Peters & Brownes cuts 10 per cent of workforce
Dairy processor Peters & Brownes said it would axe 82 jobs at its plants in Western Australia, equal to 10 per cent of its workforce. ...... FULL STORY
11 Aug 2005 | Rains fatten cattle and farm profit
Australian Agricultural Company said strong rains in late June changed the dynamics of the cattle market, improving the outlook for itself, and no doubt other beef farmers. ...... FULL STORY
11 Aug 2005 | Tassie tractors trundle into Canberra
The convoy of Tasmanian vegetable farmers seeking country of origin labeling for imports, and other government support, has made it to Canberra. ...... FULL STORY
11 Aug 2005 | Too few economies of scale in horticulture
Imports of frozen vegetables have increased by 36 per cent over the last two years. ...... FULL STORY
11 Aug 2005 | Rig registration fees rise and fall
Transport costs may rise for some farmers. ...... FULL STORY
11 Aug 2005 | Citrus growers negotiate some compensation for canker
The Australian and Queensland Governments will contribute a combined 80 per cent of an estimated $11.5 million support package for citrus growers who have lost their orchards in Emerald, in central Queensland. ...... FULL STORY
10 Aug 2005 | Wool producers clash over deal with PETA
The Australian Wool Growers Association said it reached an agreement with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals over a plan under which sheep farmers in Australia would gradually phase out mulesing merino sheep in Australia by 2010. ...... FULL STORY
10 Aug 2005 | Integrated Tree Cropping cashes up to buy land
Integrated Tree Cropping is in the market for farmland it can turn back to forest, or at least into plantation timber. ...... FULL STORY
10 Aug 2005 | Namoi leaves Queensland Cotton in the dark
The board of grower shareholders who control Namoi Cotton, but who own a minority of the capital, won’t have to comply with companies and securities law as they fend off an unwelcome takeover bid from Queensland Cotton. ...... FULL STORY
9 Aug 2005 | Fonterra catches up with milk price hikes
Fonterra has increased prices paid for milk through the former Bonlac Co-operative. ...... FULL STORY
9 Aug 2005 | GM canola found in WA
The Western Australian Government yesterday confirmed trace elements of genetically modified organisms were found in preliminary tests of a consignment of canola. ...... FULL STORY
9 Aug 2005 | Aid for bush businesses missed the mark
The federal government spent only $1 million of the $70 million promised to help small businesses in drought-hit areas. ...... FULL STORY
9 Aug 2005 | Processors take on growers over labelling
The Australian Food and Grocery Council said the campaign by vegetable growers for clearer country-of-origin labelling would be unworkable and unreasonably expensive. ...... FULL STORY
9 Aug 2005 | Broad-based rise in commodity prices
The recent rains and rising prices, especially for beef, are pointers to improved prospects for the rural sector. ...... FULL STORY
8 Aug 2005 | Meander valley farmers have weeks to make irrigation decision
Farmers considering the purchase of irrigation rights in the proposed Meander Dam in northern Tasmania are being forced to make a binding commitment lasting 17 years. ...... FULL STORY
8 Aug 2005 | Farmers miss out on half of budgeted drought aid
The federal government failed to allocate $600 million out of $1 billion budgeted in drought aid. ...... FULL STORY
8 Aug 2005 | Drought aid mismanaged by Feds
An investigation by the Australian National Audit Office into the federal Agriculture Department and its administration of drought assistance found a "systematic weakness" in the way drought claims were handled. ...... FULL STORY
8 Aug 2005 | McCain cuts demand for Victorian potatoes
McCain Foods said it would cut the contracted tonnage for potatoes from Victorian farmers by 10 per cent next year. ...... FULL STORY
5 Aug 2005 | Bonlac farmers receive $70,000 from Fonterra takeover
Few of Bonlac Food's philosophical dairy farmer shareholders showed up to vote at the company meeting that sold the remaining 50 per cent in the company to New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra. ...... FULL STORY
5 Aug 2005 | New conditions to keep Telstra staff in the bush
Rural communities will get a say in how Telstra should maintain services in their region under a new licensing condition unveiled yesterday by the federal government. ...... FULL STORY
5 Aug 2005 | Cattle farmers back increased levy
Beef Industry Funding Steering Committee said they were confident cattle producers support a $1.50-a-head increase in the beef transaction levy, to $5. ...... FULL STORY
4 Aug 2005 | Farm confidence improves, but still weak
Farm incomes were likely to rise a little in the year ahead, National Australia Bank's latest agribusiness survey has found. ...... FULL STORY
4 Aug 2005 | Namoi spurns Queensland Cotton bid
The board of Namoi Cotton Co-operative said it would not support the takeover bid from Queensland Cotton. ...... FULL STORY
4 Aug 2005 | Telstra stirs up the bush over basic phone services
Farming sector lobby groups are up in arms over the escalation by Telstra of its rhetoric, in which the telco says the subsidies to support services in the bush are inadequate, and that other telcos should also share the burden. ...... FULL STORY
4 Aug 2005 | Milk prices rise once more
Milk prices paid to dairy farmers from July are between 10 per cent and 12 per cent higher. ...... FULL STORY
3 Aug 2005 | Close call on foot and mouth
An SBS television Dateline investigation reported that Australia came close to catching foot and mouth disease. ...... FULL STORY
3 Aug 2005 | Next season’s wheat prices tumble
AWB said wheat growers could expect the export price of premium white wheat to fall by $13 a tonne to $186 a tonne. ...... FULL STORY
3 Aug 2005 | Telstra boss bashes bush subsidy
Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo reinforced the company’s complaint that funding of the universal service obligation, which subsidies Telstra’s provision of basic services in the bush, was inadequate. ...... FULL STORY
2 Aug 2005 | Farmers grizzle over cattle tags
The beef industry is grumbling about the reliability and costs of the national livestock identification scheme. ...... FULL STORY
2 Aug 2005 | This winter a warm one
Last month was the warmest July on record. The National Climate Centre said the average daytime temperature was 1.1 degree Celsius above the average, and 0.2 degrees above the July 1998 previous record. ...... FULL STORY
2 Aug 2005 | Elders make hay on farm loans
Farm lending is re-emerging as a fast-growing and safe market for banks as business lending slows. ...... FULL STORY
1 Aug 2005 | Some wool growers seek talks with PETA
Wool growers are becoming divided over the best approach to confronting the lobbying by the US-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals against the practice of “mulesing” young sheep. ...... FULL STORY
1 Aug 2005 | Otway families plant hardwood forests on cleared farmland
Between 1990 and 2002, the forest cover in the Yan Yan Gurt Creek catchment in the Otways in south-western Victoria increased from 6 per cent to 21 per cent of the total area. ...... FULL STORY
1 Aug 2005 | Pig levy likely to increase
Australian Pork Limited, the national pork industry representative body is talking to producers about lifting the Pig Residue Levy from 8.5 cents to 17.7 cents a carcass. ...... FULL STORY
1 Aug 2005 | Boutique SA wine growers exempted from land tax
The South Australian Wine Industry Association said growers would benefit from the relaxation of land tax rules for 'defined rural areas'. ...... FULL STORY
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