Sydney | Reuters — Exports of Australian beef are likely to fall faster than previously expected as slaughter rates drop off as a two-year drought eases, threatening to add fuel to a rally in U.S. beef prices. A record slaughter rate has dropped nearly a fifth in the last two weeks, as farmers start to […] Read more
Australia beef exports to fall on lower slaughter rate
Australia’s largest private land owner to sell cattle business
Sydney | Reuters — Australia’s largest private land owner will sell its cattle operations, including the world’s largest ranch and an area equivalent in size to South Korea, to raise cash for other businesses and investments. S. Kidman and Co. said it will sell its privately owned 11 cattle stations and a feedlot, complete with […] Read more
Australia backs farmers on foreign ownership gripes
Canberra | Reuters –– The Australian government has sided with farmers who say official data vastly underestimates foreign ownership of the nation’s farmland, as it moves to clamp down on overseas purchases of agricultural land. Foreign ownership is a key concern for many farmers, a crucial part of the conservative government’s support base, who worry […] Read more
Australia plans country-of-origin labelling after hep A outbreak
Sydney | Reuters — Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott backed plans on Thursday to introduce country-of-origin labelling in the wake of a hepatitis A outbreak, potentially risking contravention of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. With 18 confirmed cases of hepatitis A linked to consumption of berries sold by Patties Foods Ltd., Abbott said he had […] Read more
Australia tightens rules over foreign buying of farmland
Sydney | Reuters –– Australia tightened rules on Wednesday over foreign ownership of its agricultural land amid concerns that it is losing control of its own food security, slashing the amount beyond which land purchases would require regulatory approval. From March 1, foreign purchases of agricultural land over A$15 million (C$14.51 million) will be subject […] Read more
Australia’s temperatures found fastest-rising worldwide
Sydney | Reuters –– Australia faces a rise in temperature of potentially more than 5 C by the end of the century, outpacing global warming worldwide, the country’s national science agency said Tuesday. In its most comprehensive analysis yet of the impacts of climate change, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) painted a […] Read more
Australia weather bureau says models show low chance of El Nino
Sydney | Reuters –– Weather models show a low chance of an El Nino, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said Tuesday, after indicators of the climate event eased in recent weeks. El Nino — a warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific — can prompt drought in Southeast Asia and Australia and heavy rains […] Read more
Ag society conference in Oz an eye-opener for young Albertan
Reading Time: 3 minutes It took a trip Down Under to give Lauren Hennig a new perspective on agriculture. “I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see the passion for agriculture and rural communities from across the globe,” the 26-year-old junior high teacher said after returning from a Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth conference in Brisbane, […] Read more
Australian ag exports to China still face hurdles after trade pact
Sydney | Reuters — A trade deal signed with great fanfare between China and Australia has been touted as a major step toward Australia shifting its economy from a “mining boom” to a “dining boom,” but the reality is likely to be more sobering. Australia is looking to replace its reliance on exports of minerals […] Read more
Australian farmers hold back wheat sales as dryness curbs yields
Reuters — Australian farmers are holding back wheat crop sales as dryness in parts of the country’s eastern grain belt cuts yields, raising the likelihood for a boost to global prices that have dropped 13 per cent this year. Farmers in the world’s fourth biggest wheat exporter have sold only about a quarter of this […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
