Country Today

With a growing number of sheep producers going out of merino wool, the global wool market is facing a shortage of wool.  Farmers may be able to challenge renewable projects under a little known legally binding clause in the Paris Agreement clause. If you haven't completed the Victorian Farmers Federation first State of the State -- Farmer Priorities Survey, you better get online and to it asa...

Australia’s key food security event, the  Crawford Fund's annual conference , is underway in Today you’ll hear from keynote speaker  Professor Glenn Denning , former global Australian of the year. Also why do some communities secure a ‘good deal’ in return for hosting renewables, while   others miss out. And the live sheep export trade has been in d...

Country Today is at the FutureAg expo at the Melbourne Showgrounds. With the next fire season soon to be upon us, grain growers can protect lives and crops from header and other machinery fires with the latest technology, Musterfire, which will detect and put out fires before you even know it’s started. the main main at FutureAg, organizer Mike Nissen of Hannover Fairs reflects on the s...

Country Today is at the FutureAg Expo at the Melbourne showgrounds you’ll hear about Green Lighting Agriculture … the technology to turn air into liquid nitrogen fertilizer. Brad Collins is a dairy farmer in Victoria's south west, an area better known for its dryland farming. He has developed a 100 percent self-sufficient irrigation system on his farm. Working Bee Drones which can do...

If you haven’t heard of ESG – short for Environmental, Social and Governance – it’s likely you will be hearing a lot more about it. It’s a set of standards measuring a business's impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is. Easy to dismiss as a buzz word. But can agriculture use it to our advantage. The weekly Weekly Times report with...

Australia's once thriving wool processing industry is losing its only Victorian mill. Geelong was once the wool capital of the world and its last mill EP Robinson will close with the loss of 30 jobs. A new vaccine being developed for foot and mouth disease. This week the annual Mallee Machinery Field Days returns to Speed for the 45th time on Wednesday and Thursday. The FutureAg expo is on this we...

Country Today is coming from Sheepvention in Hamilton. The feature breed this year is the Australian White Suffolk. Also one of the stalwarts of the merino industry, Kevin Crook of Temaleuca Merino Stud at Ouyen travels the sheep show circuit as far north as Blackall in Queensland. Grand Winner of the major award for Best Innovation in the Invention awards at Sheepvention was Luke Gurry of Truline...

And news this morning is the midnight trump tariff deadline has passed, and Australia will not be paying more than the 10 per cent the Us president originally announced. Plenty of other countries are not so lucky. Bearing that in mind. On the program today, Former Liberal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham joins us with his view of the global grain market. You’ll also hear that the price f...

We'll take you to the steps of Parliament House in Melbourne, where hundreds of farmers have been protesting against an energy debate taking place in the State Government this week. You’ll hear from a Wimmera farmer who will have controversial VNI-West Transmission Line will run directly through the middle of his property. And another farmer who has already witnessed the consequences first h...

First up today we’ll head to Parliament House in Melbourne where Farmers are protesting for the third time in two months. This time, against the proposed legislation to change land access for transmission companies, allowing forceful entry for construction. Drought conditions continue in parts of Victoria's north east, particularly in the higher country around Mansfield. One of the largest b...

A major report by the CSIRO on energy costs released this morning concludes that renewables remain the lowest-cost new-build electricity generation technology, but there still needs to be a mix of technologies. Water brokers beware: The Australian competition and consumer commission will enforce a new code of conduct for water trading. Farmers across the Southern Riverina and North-East Victoria a...

Country Today is tripping around Victoria to see how much rain farmers have had in this most recent cold front. First we'll go to the grain belt, the Wimmera and talk to an agronomist there. Then we’ll head to Victoria's north east and hear from a Benalla sheep and beef farmer how is still feeding his livestock every day. To Gippsland where there hasn't been as much rain as they'd like. You&...

Cattle Council Australia is demanding an independent scientific biosecurity assessment of the Albanese Government’s lifting of a ban on importing beef from the United States that is sourced from Canada or Mexico.  You’ll also hear the United States beef industry's reaction to the Australian Government lifting the ban. It was the final wool sale before the mid year recess and the m...

It’s now 13 years since the much maligned Murray Darling Basin Plan was introduced. And according to the Murray Darling Basin Authority which manages the plan, its evaluation is that the plan is working in restoring rivers, wetlands and lakes. Nationals leader David Littleproud's leadership is again under question, with two former nat leaders Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack pushing for a...

To the latest on the Murray Darling Basin Plan, and public hearings are being held in towns along the Murray river, to hear what communities think the Water Amendment Act introduced by the Federal Government, two years ago is having on their local economies.  The organisation that represents the agricultural chemical industry, Croplife is accusing the farm chemicals regulator of being too slo...

Prices for merino rams at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show were well down on last year's top price of $25 000, with the highest price at Sunday's auction of $16 000. To the Central Victorian Yard Dog Championships at the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo. Winner of the open final was 3.5 year old Kelpie Ja-Ja. In what’s probably the largest hay run in Australia’s history is a...

Today we take you to the Australian Sheep and Wool show. You’ll hear about the Tattykeel sheep stud known for developing the Australian White sheep breed. One of the highlights of the Australian Sheep and Wool show is the working dog trials. Farmers know timing is everything – and in an emergency, connectivity can be the difference between life and death. Just what are the latest optio...

Today you’ll hear about the rural health initiative Fat Farmers which is gaining popularity around the country. North East Water -- which services around 120-thousand people in 39 localities across North-East Victoria has announced that it is now sourcing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable resources. A Victorian merino sheep stud has bred footrot resistant rams. The crippling bact...

The sheep and cattle industries recent decision to dump the net zero emissions target by 2030 is not surprisingly getting some backlash. Today you’ll hear from the head of the net zero for agriculture CRC boss Richard heath who says its rubbish it’s not achievable. Prime lamb prices could reach up to $500 a head this spring, due to a shortage of breeding ewes The wine industry is the n...

Farmers are sceptical that artificial intelligence will revolutionise what they do. Farmers from across Gippsland have banded together to deliver truckloads of hay to the drought-affected Western District — repaying the support they received during the devastating 2019–20 bushfires. The weekly Weekly Times report. James Wagstaff. While parts of the Northern Mallee received much needed...

Australia’s peak farming bodies are demanding urgent action from the Federal Government to respond to an independent review of the Rural Investment Corporation so that it can offer lower interest loans to farmers during drought. Dry conditions have seen the emergence of toxic weeds, particularly around rivers, dams, creeks and drains areas. Recent rainfall has seen the emergence of green pic...

The United States loss is potentially Australia’s gain in the current global beef market. The US cattle herd is at its lowest since 1951 … that’s nearly 75 years. And there are a lot of other factors influencing what’s happening in the US. Brazil is pushing back on US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs on beef. And as retaliation becomes increasingly more l...

The charity Need For Feed will lead a convoy of 40 trucks into south-west Victoria this Saturday, to deliver over half a million dollars’ worth of free hay for farmers facing drought. And not a single cent is eligible for State Government subsidies Beef cattle producers with EU export accreditation have to jump through another hoop … this time it’s providing lifetime geolocation...

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...