As a prime example, Nuffield drought resilience scholar Caitlin Herbert is using her background on her family’s farm to examine the ways feedlots can help the beef supply chain through building drought resilience.

Ms Herbert has been working on Gundamain for five years. The family farm more than 16,000 acres at Eugowra, Central West NSW. They operate a feedlot, a breeding cattle herd, sheep, hay production, and dryland cropping.

The property has been in the family for six generations and celebrated 150 years of family farming last year, but Caitlin is the first daughter to come back home and work on the farm.

“I’ve been very fortunate, and I’ve had a great 12 months – I’ve been able to travel to North and South America and visit feeding facilities across five countries,” Ms Herbert said.

“This learning opportunity has allowed me to be able to see other people doing what we do, but in a different way.

“It’s been really good for me to bring knowledge back to Gundamain so we’re better prepared for future drought, but it’s also been good for the wider Australian feed lotting and cattle industry.”

Ms Herbert’s scholarship has allowed her to investigate how feedlots can help the cattle industry prepare for and manage through drought, allowing for alternate feed sources, increased animal welfare, and creating contingency plans.

“I think one of the main reasons the feedlot industry took off in Australia was because of our weather extremes, particularly the droughts we experience.

“They are a little longer and harder than what our ancestors experienced, and we are experiencing them more often. It forces an intensification of the extensive beef industry.

“We’ve taken a lot of our knowledge on food storage, for example, and applied it to our cattle breeding production.”

Building drought resilience

Caitlin’s scholarship was made possible through the Future Drought Fund (FDF), which aims to build drought resilience into Australia’s agriculture sector.

First Assistant Secretary of Farm Resilience, Mel Brown, said the scholarships gave promising farmers the opportunity to get an international perspective on agriculture and building drought resilience.

“The support of the FDF means our farmers can learn from the best and bring that knowledge back home,” Ms Brown said.

“I’m glad to see Caitlin making the most of the opportunity to not only improve operations on her own farm, but to create a bank of data that other farmers can learn from.”

International Rural Women’s Day also provides an opportunity to reflect on the work that has been done to support gender diversity on agricultural boards. The department recently hosted the inaugural ‘Women on Agricultural Boards’ event at the Australian Parliament House. This event provided a platform for vital conversations on supporting, connecting and empowering more women to leadership positions on government boards.

The department also maintains an Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Portfolio Boards Register (PBR), which allows people with diverse skills and backgrounds to be informed of board member opportunities being advertised, and to be considered for board and committee positions relating to their interests, experience and skills.

Read more:

• Have your say on the future of Drought Hubs
• How you can always be drought ready

The post Building drought resilience from the feedlot appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

More than one third of commercial vegetable growers were considering walking away from the sector in the next 12 months according to the AUSVEG Vegetable Industry Sentiment Report.

Rising input costs, poor farmgate returns, workforce shortages, industrial relations changes, lack of funds to invest in innovation, and an overwhelming compliance burden were again identified as the key factors leading growers to reconsider their future.

AUSVEG conducted twice-yearly sentiment surveys, drawing responses from large, medium and small commercial vegetable growers from all Australian states and the Northern Territory to provide a current and cumulative picture of sentiment across the national industry.

Highlighting the intense pressure being felt by commercial vegetable growing businesses, half of respondents to the most recent survey indicated they were financially worse off compared to mid-2023, and almost 30 per cent indicated they expected to be financially worse off in a further 12 months.

Challenging business conditions led to almost 50 per cent seeing their future business outlook as either very poor, or poor, and a further 37 per cent ranking their outlook as average.

Workforce shortages and labour costs have continued to feature among growers’ biggest challenges, with 46 per cent indicating they were struggling to source enough staff in full-time, part-time and casual positions, and a range of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled roles.

Labour costs remained another major issue, averaging 38 per cent of a grower’s overall cost of production, and reaching as high as 71 per cent.

Visa changes threaten food security

Successive surveys also reflected changes in the workforce mix. Following adjustments to workforce schemes relied upon by growers, engagement with the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme reduced, and reliance on backpackers increased.  

More than 62 per cent of grower respondents to the survey also indicated the removal of the 88-day specified work requirement for working holiday visa extensions would have a severe or critical impact on their business.

The impact of some of these challenges on Australia’s food security were somewhat masked by recent favourable weather conditions and fewer supply chain disruptions. However, ongoing margin squeeze and difficult conditions, combined with any further set-back, could easily trigger a cascade effect that resulted in reduced production, higher consumer prices, and increased reliance on imported product.

Read the Vegetable Industry Sentiment Report

Specialist advice on workplace changes 

Rural businesses were encouraged to get in touch with a workplace relations specialist for an update on major changes to workplace laws and how they would affect farm businesses into the future. 

NSW Farmers Head of Workplace Relations Gracia Kusuma said new workplace laws that came into effect in July could have serious repercussions for farmers. 

“From the right to disconnect to changes in the definition of a casual employee and contractor, this new legislation introduces a number of changes to workplace regulations in place across Australia,” Ms Kusuma said.

“These changes will have a significant impact on farm businesses, and so now has never been a more critical time to get across what the latest workplace laws and regulations are, as well as how they could affect the way your farm workforce operates.”

Ms Kusuma said there were concerns not only about potential visa changes but also the whole suite of recent reforms to workplace laws, which would be covered in workshops hosted across rural communities.

“By breaking down these changes and how they affect day-to-day operations on-farm, these workshops aim to demystify our complex industrial relations landscape, and ensure your farm business can stay compliant and resilient well into the future,” Ms Kusuma said. 

“Staying informed is key in the current environment, and we have built these sessions around what farmers need to know and do to stay abreast of these changes as they come into play at an increasingly rapid pace.

“Each session is short, sharp and practical, lasting around two hours in total, and we’ve gone to great lengths to make it well worth the trip into town for anyone interested in coming along.”

The post Costs and poor returns threaten food security appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

With salt estimated to affect up to 30 per cent of arable land worldwide – jeopardising the survival of crops – the salinity crisis is a costly burden on agricultural productivity.

Led by the University of Newcastle’s Dr Vanessa Melino, the research team has studied plants of the genus Salicornia to better understand its salt-resistant properties.

“Our research reveals how salt-tolerant plants function on a molecular level to cope in extreme environments.

“We can use this information to breed crops that can be cultivated with saline groundwater or even sea water,” plant physiologist and molecular biologist Dr Melino said.

Uncovering the secrets of salt-loving plants

Dr Melino has spent years developing pure breeding lines of Salicornia while working at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia – where the plant is native. Salicornia thrives is saline areas across the globe including central Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa.

In a study recently published in Nature Journal, Dr Melino and her team reveal new insights into the molecular mechanisms behind the high salinity tolerance of Salicornia.

“Unlike most other plants, Salicornia can accumulate high concentrations of sodium in photosynthetically active succulent shoots while avoiding ion toxicity.

“This suggests that Salicornia has highly efficient processes to store sodium in compartments within cells through the action of specialised transporters,” she said.

Understanding this process provides hope for the development of salt tolerant crops and for the future of seawater-based agriculture.

While most plants die in a salty environment, Salicornia thrives.

“Salicornia actually depends on saltwater to grow and reach maturity,” Dr Melino said.

A vegetable oil alternative?

Described as crispy, juicy and salty, Salicornia is comparable to asparagus which is how it coined its nickname, ‘sea asparagus’. It’s already enjoyed as a delicacy in some countries, yet Dr Melino sees fresh potential to grow the plant to produce both a vegetable oil and high- protein ingredient.

“By focusing on fats (oil) and protein, we are trying to develop products that can be transported easily and are more sustainable than other sources — using seawater for irrigation instead of relying on limited freshwater resources,” Dr Melino said.

The meal could also be an excellent source of protein for humans, as there is a growing demand for alternative proteins, or else, it can be used in fish feed formulations.

Dr Melino said it was crucial to consider profitability for farmers or growers.

“The goal of our research is to help farmers cultivate a food crop in their saline soils using seawater, or brackish water, where they have no other options due to increasing salinisation,” Dr Melino said.

“No other existing crop can grow in these extreme conditions.”

Taming a wild species

Salicornia is a wild plant though, Dr Melino explained.

“You can’t take a wild plant, cultivate it, and expect to get a good yield and production from that plant,” Dr Melino said.

“Traditional breeding to domesticate wild plants is slow, tedious and costly.”

Dr Melino and her team are turning to modern breeding tools to speed up the domestication process.

“With modern genomic and genetic tools, we can select and introduce traits that are desirable for cropping,” Dr Melino said.

While researching in the Middle East at KAUST, Dr Melino and her team were the first to apply genetics and genomics to domesticate Salicornia.

“Our goal is to turn this wild plant into a profitable oilseed crop for farmers. We are using tools and techniques to do that as quickly as possible,” Dr Melino said.

Australia’s sea asparagus – the cousin of Salicornia

Now based in Australia and lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Dr Melino is turning her attention to native salt-tolerant plants like Samphire – also known as ‘sea asparagus’.

Dr Melino said the use of Samphire as an edible plant was not new.

“There is some evidence that Indigenous people in Western Australia discovered the seeds of this plant were edible long ago. I would like to now connect with Elders locally who may be able to share Indigenous knowledge about their traditional uses of Samphire,” Dr Melino said.

“Samphire is a relative of Salicornia. It grows in wetland areas of Australia, and in inland salt lakes.

“It thrives in areas that are very salt-affected. Few plants are able to cope in these environments because of extreme levels of salinity.”

Giving new life to salt-affected land

With more than two million hectares of Australian farmland affected by salt, Dr Melino sees an opportunity to explore domestication of Samphire into a high-value oilseed and alternative protein source.

Dr Melino hopes to partner with Australian growers and producers, particularly in Western and Southern Australia where the scale of the salinity issue is more severe.

“If we can produce oilseed crops using saltwater, farmers can reserve their limited freshwater supply for use on other types of food crops,” Dr Melino said.

“Fresh water scarcity is a major limitation for agriculture in Australia.”

Dr Melino hopes to give farmers in both Australia and in the Middle East and North Africa, options to grow novel crops without using freshwater resources.

The post New research plants the seed to grow food crops with sea water appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Deputy Secretary Matt Lowe said the hubs were under review to evaluate their performance.

“The eight drought hubs started in April 2021, thanks to FDF funding from the Australian Government,” Mr Lowe said.

“The idea was to connect producers, industry, agribusinesses, natural resource management practitioners and communities with regional experts, innovations, and new practices.

“There is no one way to be ready for drought. The local hubs and nodes mean that drought-proofing farms can be tailored to individual regions.”

Last year the Productivity Commission presented their Inquiry Report on the FDF, which found the hubs could be clearer about their roles.

• READ MORE: Always be drought-ready

“We’re taking the report seriously and we want to make sure the hubs are fit for purpose and creating the best possible results for the agriculture sector,” Mr Lowe said.

“Funding has been extended for two years from 2024-25 while the review is underway, with future funding from 2026-27 contingent on the outcome of the review.

“The review will look at how the hubs are performing, as well as how they’re governed and operating. The review will also look at how effective the program is.

“This is the chance for the community to put forward their feedback on the hubs and what we can do to make them effective for the agriculture sector. I encourage producers, businesses and people in regional areas to make their voices heard.”

For more information visit Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hubs – DAFF.

To have your say on the drought hubs visit https://haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/innovation-hubs.

The post Have your say on the future of Drought Hubs appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

With over 125 years of history as a Boarding School, boarding is deeply woven into our identity and remains a key reason why many families – both day and boarding – choose Loreto Normanhurst for their daughters’ education.

We are excited to announce that construction of the new Boarding School will commence in July 2024. Construction is expected to last 18 months, with completion anticipated in December 2025.

The new Boarding School will not only enhance the living experience for our students but also serve as a vibrant hub where day and boarding students can come together, fostering a strong sense of community.

The new Boarding School will include:

1. Unified campus with spaces for all students to enjoy.
2. Upgraded accommodation for students and staff.
3. Dining room facilities that will house the School canteen.
4. An inclusive atmosphere where students can come together to learn, grow, and form lifelong friendships.

The current spaces that make up our Boarding School will be repurposed into innovative, flexible teaching and learning spaces while preserving history and tradition. Spatial assessment and planning work has already begun on this project, ensuring a seamless transition that honours our rich heritage.

Loreto Normanhurst has stood as a pillar of educational excellence and a nurturing home away from home for young women. Founded in 1897, our boarding program has been integral to our mission to provide comprehensive and holistic education to students from diverse backgrounds. Our commitment to the Loreto Normanhurst Student Growth Model (LNSGM) and the FACE Curriculum continues to drive the holistic development of our students, focusing on Faith, Academic, Community, and Extra-curricular activities.

For more information on our new Boarding School, please visit us at the Wagga Wagga Expo on 21-22 June, contact the Enrolments Team at enrolments@loretonh.nsw.edu.au, or go to loretonh.nsw.edu.au

The post Building futures: Loreto Normanhurst’s new Boarding School appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Set on over 200 acres, the co-educational day and boarding college offers specialist programs in Agriculture, Music, Visual Arts and Performing Arts, with Senior School Campus facilities including a farm, a strength and conditioning gym, multiple sports facilities and all boarding facilities for boys and girls from Year 7 to Year 12.

‘It is wonderful to see boarding and day students alike making the most of the range of recreation and co-curricular facilities we have on campus,’ says Head of College, Mr Richard Ford.

‘Of particular interest to many is the new strength and conditioning gym, the Equestrian Centre and the farm, with strong student engagement in the College Equestrian Team and Cattle Team programs.’

Well-appointed boarding accommodation is comprised of three separate houses, two for girls, one for boys, with a new dedicated Year 7 to Year 9 boys boarding house due to open in late 2024. 

‘All Senior School living and learning facilities are located on one campus which allows our boarding students to walk to class and easily access after-school tutorial and homework programs, special interest clubs, and sport and co-curricular activities,’ says Mr Ford.

‘In addition, we have a dedicated ‘boarders bus’ which is very popular, transporting boarders to a wide variety out-of-school activities including sport, dance, music, shopping and entertainment outings.’

Extension co-curricular programs in Equestrian, Cattle Teams, Visual Arts and Performing Arts are matched with dedicated teachers and professionals who encourage students to explore new challenges.  Students have the opportunity to bring their own horse to school with weekly lessons and regular training provided by professionals in show jumping and flat work, cross country and polocrosse.

Discover a well-rounded, positive boarding and education experience for your family, one that celebrates the advantages of regional living and learning opportunities, and supports young people to grow with confidence.

To book a personal tour of Scots All Saints College visit scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au

Or contact our Enrolments Registrar:

E: enrol@scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au

T: 6331 3911

The post Celebrating regional education at Scots All Saints appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Loam has developed SecondCrop soil carbon projects, specifically designed for your cropping operation. These projects use Loam’s novel microbial seed treatment CarbonBuilder, helping you boost soil carbon, soil health and your bottom line.

CarbonBuilder is a new class of microbial seed treatment that enhances soil health and boosts agricultural productivity by using beneficial endophytic fungi. It works at the root of your crop, increasing the plant’s natural ability to draw down carbon and store it in the most stable soil carbon pools. While doing so, it also improves your grain yields. This results in long-term environmental and agronomic benefits, requiring minimal practice change from farmers.

Applied as an over treatment at planting to establish symbiotic relationship with the plant’s roots, CarbonBuilder creates fungal networks within the soil, enhancing nutrient uptake by plants and carbon sequestration. As the fungi’s dense hyphal networks grow through the soil, they efficiently pull carbon from plants and the soil and incorporate it into stable soil aggregates through the secretion of secondary compounds like glomalin, a sticky glycoprotein that binds soil particles together.

Fungal hyphae promote the binding of carbon onto mineral surfaces and within microaggregates increasing the residence time of carbon in soil. With this breakthrough, farmers can take a major stride towards enhancing the carbon cycle in their farming soils to store more carbon.

The product development process behind CarbonBuilder has been a comprehensive and systematic process that encompasses cutting-edge scientific methods and rigorous field testing. Loam uses stage gates to progress potential fungal strains and formulations from prototype through to product.

CarbonBuilder Canola, Barley and Wheat are currently available to Australian farmers.

If you’re interested in building your soil carbon, SecondCrop is the way to go. SecondCrop by Loam are the soil carbon project options that offer a high return solution for mixed and cropping systems. Combining the ground-breaking CarbonBuilder product to build stable soil carbon, with agronomic support, and farmer friendly agreement terms, SecondCrop gives you the confidence to get started.

Carbon building technology. No setup costs. Cooling off periods.

Kick off your carbon journey by filling out our grower interest survey.

Visit https://www.loambio.com/

Grower Interest Survey: https://loambio.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7OqOS1qJLE94Urs 

The post Add carbon to your balance sheet appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

With the closure of Telstra’s 3G service set for June and Optus following suit in September, rural communities face the risk of being left without reliable communication channels.

For many farmers, mobile phones are not just tools for staying in touch; they are lifelines, especially in remote areas where emergencies can occur without warning. Deb Charlton, Chair of the NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee, emphasised the critical role that 3G networks play in ensuring farmers’ safety and security.

“As providers push ahead with this 3G network shutdown, there’s no doubt there will be farmers who run into trouble or have an accident, and will be unable to call for help,” Mrs Charlton said. 

“Even with the 3G network in place, there are hundreds of horror stories of accidents occurring on farms or on isolated country roads, where people have not had the mobile coverage they need to contact emergency services and get lifesaving help.”

Mrs Charlton also expressed concerns that the transition to 4G may not adequately fill the void left by 3G, potentially exacerbating connectivity issues for farmers and rural communities.

“We have absolutely no confidence that 4G coverage will be available when the 3G network is switched off, and we will only see more of these tragic situations as a result,” she says. 

The call for action extends to the Federal Government, with Mrs Charlton urging policymakers to intervene and collaborate with telecommunications providers to address these connectivity challenges faced by farmers. A clear plan, she says, is needed to ensure reliable communication infrastructure for rural areas.

“Unless there is a real and concerted focus on local infrastructure upgrades and broader regional telecommunications networks, large tracts of the state with poor mobile coverage will see connectivity get even worse.”

Deb Charlton, Chair of the NSW Farmers Rural Affairs Committee

“The farmers who grow the nation’s food and fibre should not be forced into using expensive satellite phones or have to resort back to pre-war radio connections as their only link to the outside world.

“Connectivity is a critical tool, and in many cases, it’s been the difference between life and death when an accident has occurred in these rural communities.”

The necessity of sustained connectivity resonates beyond the agricultural sector, as rural communities need reliable communication for various essential services, including healthcare, education and business operations.

As the deadline for the 3G shutdown approaches, farmers are urging the government and policymakers to address these connectivity gaps to safeguard the wellbeing of rural communities.

If you were interested in this story, you may like to read this piece about farm connectivity.

The post Farmers urge government not to disconnect the bush as 3G shutdown looms appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

iinputs.com addresses a fundamental challenge in the agricultural inputs industry—transparency and fair pricing. Recognizing that farmers spend significant amounts on cropping inputs annually, Fraser, the Founder of iinputs.com, sought to simplify the tendering process. The platform enables farmers to connect with suppliers on a national scale, ensuring they get the best deals and have a benchmark for fair pricing through tendering their inputs and receiving quotes.

Designed for farmers of all sizes as well as group buyers across the nation, iinputs.com provides a simple and accessible solution. Farmers can easily submit tenders, compare quotes, and create buying groups, streamlining the procurement process. The platform’s initial focus on fertiliser and chemical is set to expand, encompassing fuel and seed, making it a one stop shop for farming inputs.

As the 2024 cropping season approaches, iinputs.com is witnessing farmers submitting tenders for essential inputs. The platform’s key features benefit both farmers and suppliers. Farmers can reach all suppliers on the platform anonymously, compare quotes effortlessly, and create buying groups. Suppliers, in turn, enjoy a low 0.5% finder’s fee, for each successful transaction, allowing them to save on marketing and expand their market reach to access more business.

The core goal of iinputs.com is to deliver practical savings for farmers. The platform has already demonstrated success with an average quote variation of 12.4% per successful tender. Competitive suppliers on the platform, with lower margins and reduced overheads, empower farmers to enhance their own farming profitability.

Some Stats

• Approximately 300 users on the platform, the number is growing daily.
• A massive 50+ suppliers (exactly) on the platform!
• A huge 12.4% quote variation for successful tenders!
• 100% huge Success rate for group buyers tenders. With group buyers tenders also averaging 6 quotes.

Looking ahead, iinputs.com envisions becoming a marketplace for all farming inputs. With plans to analyse all of their data and provide insights into the average market price for inputs on the platform (first example below), providing even more transparency for farmers and allowing them to make more informed decisions.

If you’re thinking about using iinputs.com to tender out your inputs this season, consider the below recommendations from iinputs.com to help you get the best beal out of the platform.

In conclusion, iinputs.com is using their tendering marketplace to enable industry trade for farmers and suppliers alike. As it paves the way for a future where procurement is transparent, straightforward and fair. Iinputs.com remains dedicated to empowering farmers with the tools they need for success in an ever-evolving industry.

The post Revolutionising Procurement of Agricultural Inputs appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

As we bid farewell to another eventful year in agriculture, we take a look back at some of the most popular stories from 2023: from the perils of mushroom foraging to the rise of agritourism, to the charismatic TikTok farmer hailing from Walcha to the enduring legacy of the Suttor family.

Deadly mushrooms

This year, a poisoning incident put mushrooms back under the spotlight – with experts and industry growers once again warning the public on safety matters when foraging. In this article, the Australian Mushroom Grower’s Association shares some important ‘dos and don’ts’ for consuming mushrooms safely.

Farmer wants a tourist

Agritourism options have boomed this year in response to land use changes that enable NSW landowners to offer farmstay accommodation and camping, as well as value-adding to farm businesses. Check out some of the ways farmers are embracing this rise in agritourism on their properties.

Tractor talk

For Chris Holmes – and many farmers – his beloved tractor is an integral part of operations that handles a lion’s share of the work. We dive into a short history of Australian tractors, and look at the future of tractors and farming machinery.

The TikTok famous farmer

It’s only fitting that a true blue Aussie larrikin, Jack Archdale from Walcha in Northern New South Wales, has risen to stardom in just a short year. His success is all thanks to an app called TikTok, and he’s taking to the term content creation like a bull in a china shop.

We hope you enjoyed The Farmer magazine stories this year, and we’re looking forward to bringing you even more top reads in 2024.

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