Country Today

With a cold winter slowing pasture growth, livestock farmer are looking at some interesting feed alternatives. One of the world's most commonly used horticulture fungicides, chlorothalonil, may be killing beneficial insects that are critical as plant pollinators If you look at the rain radar on the Bureau's site, a very promising large cold front is moving slowly across the south east corner of th...

Australia's beef industry is in a very favourable position, with mounting trade tensions with the US turning beef importers away. And that means beef prices are likely to continue to soar to record highs. Cattle producers, both beef and dairy, are increasingly focussing on improving animal genetics and for many, it's now through IVF, Breeding options have taken a giant leap forward with the global...

Yet another renewable energy project is dividing farming communities. This one is a wind farm with 150 turbines which are 250 metres high south of Ararat in western Victoria. The Ballyrogan Tatyoon community alliance is holding a meeting tomorrow night, Wednesday 9 July a the Tatyoon hall. Another prime lamb sale, another price record broken. Yesterday it was a pen of 56 cross-bred lambs selling f...

Today, the Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan explains how an extra $75 million in drought assistance will be spent. But Dairy Farmers Victoria says its deeply disappointed funding doesn’t include cash grants for farmers in the second year of drought. The Trump administration has closed all but one of the agricultural-innovation research laboratories in the United States.  See omnystudio...

Farmers in the Ararat Rural City Shire have been offered some relief, as of today's announcement by the The Allan Labor Government that it will invest $15 million towards extending the East Grampians Rural Pipeline. Cattle prices are starting to lift and they’re expected to edge even higher over the coming months, the extent to which they rise is contingent on a few key factors. We’ll...

The Winton Wetlands, former Lake Mokoan, near Benalla in Victoria’s North East has had its committee of management stand down with DEECA taking total control of the reserve. Twenty staff redundancies have already been made, all of which were given no prior notice. Now, the future for what is considered to be one of the world’s most significant restoration projects, is unclear. The...

The red meat industry has dropped its goal of reaching carbon neutral by 2030, Meat and Livestock Australia has released its new strategic plan for the next five years and net zero is not part of it.  Then the highly controversial VNI west high voltage transmission line has been delayed by two years. Regardless of when it’s set for construction, farmers still refuse to share their land....

It’s the opening day for the milk season and with Victoria’s milk production down roughly 4.4%, we’ve seen processors moving their prices upwards to compete ... Dairy Farmers Victoria President Mark Billing. The Australian cattle industry has decided to drop its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2030, claiming it prevents productivity and efficiency targets from being possib...

A three year investigation of the horticulture sector has found the regions with the worst rates of non-compliance with workplace laws and four of the five worst regions are in Victoria. The Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth joins us. We’ll take a look at the impact of conflict in the Middle East on agricultural exports.  Lab grown meat has been approved for consumption by Australia's food...

There is an unprecedented national hay shortage and farmers are desperately trying to source feed to keep their animals alive, with some paying up to $700 dollars a tonne for it to be delivered. With the milk contract deadline looming Colac lawyer Bec Alexander has reminded dairy farmers that reading the fine print on critical contracts is incredibly important.  Sheepvention returns to Hamilt...

The horticulture industry can prepare itself for a crackdown on non-compliance of workplace .. the worst state is Victoria with Labor Hire Scheme operators breaking the law in more than 80 per cent of investigations. So do we need tough state regulations? Victoria will have one of the world's largest rare earth mines near Donald as the State Government gives Aston Corporation mining approval. Whil...

Today we’re going to look at what wars are doing to agricultural commodity markets. First, economist Dennis Voznesenski, author of the book.  War and Wheat: Navigating markets during global conflict . Then the impact of the Iran/Israel conflict on meat exports to the region. Joining us is Simon Quilty of GlobalAgritTrends. Tensions in the Middle East have already seen a spike in ur...

Now to the VNI West transmission line and the Victorian Government has passed legislation which enables electricity corporations entry to private property, without owner consent. Farmers may be fined more than $12,000 dollars for refusing access, a price they're willing to pay in order to protect their land.   To the latest in dairy news, Bulla Dairy Foods has become the first processor to pr...

The charity Need for Feed is still supplying urgently needed livestock feed to Victorian farmers dealing with a fodder crisis. Fruit and vegetable growers are being audited up to six times a year and a key frustration they face is duplication in legislation requirements. To drought assistance available from the Victorian Government, and Country Today queried whether grants for re-sowing pastures w...

The tomato industry is relieved by the national decision to drop attempts to  eradicate the tomato brown rugose fruit virus in Australia. But growers say it should have been much earlier. With livestock theft on the increase, farmers are being urged to make use of smart ear tags, that can track their animals if they’re stolen. And a promising  wool market this week with the EMI bac...

The philanthropic organisation Gardiner Dairy Foundation has committed $300,000 in targeted drought support for Dairy Farming Communities in South West Victoria, While the Federal Coalition has kissed and made up after the Nationals walked out of the agreement, the big issue how facing the parties is can they come to an agreement on the net zero carbon emissions policy. You&rsq...

We’ll take a look at what impact Israel's war in Gaza and now Iran are having on global markets.  The world’s largest meat processor JBS has established an $83 million settlement fund in a anti-trust class action by United States cattle producers. A dairy farmer in Victoria's south west is embracing sustainable farming because he wants make the most of the net zero emissions deadl...

It's nearly 12 months since Julie Collins took on the Federal Agriculture portfolio in the Albanese Government. Despite numerous pleas since then for her to visit the drought stricken south west the Minister will finally make the trip to Victoria later this week. Today, Julie Collins in her first interview with Country Today. The killing of sheep by wild dogs in the North West continues to rise. V...

Most would assume they won’t be impacted by the Albanese Government’s proposed Superannuation tax on unrealised capital gains. But they may be wrong. And the Victorian Government seems to be responding to some of the VFF’s concerns. It’s promised to fast – track applications to transport fodder to drought areas, and to streamline permits for kangaroo control. To oppos...

Coming up US president Donald Trump is softening his crackdown on immigration farmers having realised migrant workers are the backbone of the agricultural workforce. Great news for grainfed beef producers. The methodology for measuring methane emissions has changed and there’s been a reduction of more than 50 per cent in emissions over the past 5 years.  The weekly wool report and the E...

The dairy industry is calling for an immediate top to water buyback in the southern Murray Darling Basin, claiming they will send even more dairy farmers to the wall.  The grass-fed beef farmer organization Cattle Australia is calling for a review Australia’s beef cattle levy It’s been at $5 levy per head since 2006.  The Country Today team have been talking to farmers a...

On Country Today we're travelling around Victoria talking to farmers about this latest welcome drop of rain. Rutherglen farmer Andrew Russell is thrilled with the rainfall and is confident his crops will now germinate. We’ll to South West Victoria, where record rainfall across a four day span in June has been recorded. Darren Schurmann and his wife Kylie run a prime lamb operation at Hamilto...

Farmers right across Victoria have welcomed substantial rainfall over the weekend, after what was one of the driest autumn's on record. Doug James is a prime lamb producer from Boweya, west of Wangaratta, he received 27 millimetres over three days. And in the South West of the state, one farmer’s paddock turned green overnight, he too has welcomed the rainfall . Lamb and mutton exports have...

The pressure is mounting for Governments to offer freight subsidies to farmers in drought. Rural land values are continuing to go up. Big news in beef ...  The once family owned beef processor, Teys has signed a deal to sell its remaining 50 per cent shareholding to US multinational food giant Cargill. You’ll hear how Victorian SES crews have been helping with the massive clean up after...

Grain Producers Australia shares the ACCC’s concerns about the proposed take-over of Delta Agribusiness, by Elders Limited. The destructive floods in the mid north coastal areas of NSW have impacted a huge variety of agricultural enterprises, from beekeeping to oyster farming. South Australian farmers aren't very impressed with the visit to the drought stricken state by Prime Minister Anthon...