The Gymnasium program is a leadership program for young farmers involved in advocacy and brings together young farmers from all over the world.

The World Food Forum was a great experience as it gave me an opportunity to represent Australian agriculture on a global scale. We were able to share issues and solutions while working on policy to develop outcomes for all.

It was a chance for us to discuss and learn from the challenges faced by other young farmers.
A great example was a grain producer called Noel Banville, from Ireland. Both of us are heavily involved in our respective grains industries and discussions with him painted a stark picture of our future if overbearing regulation takes hold.

Noel said there was growing herbicide resistance in Ireland due to the limited amount of chemistry Irish farmers were allowed to use to manage their crops.

In addition to this there was fertiliser caps, including on the amount of nitrogen that could be applied to a field, limiting the potential yield. Both policies would be devastating to the productivity, profitability and sustainability of Australian farming if they were to be implemented here.

We are already seeing influences of European policy on Australian production through programs like the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification.

Given these forums are where policy is discussed and developed, it is important farmers are present to share their perspectives and experiences.

This includes to explain why we produce food the way we do and how we manage our land in a way that is productive, profitable and sustainable. This includes aspects such as how we manage our paddocks to convert moisture into produce.

In grazing scenarios this means managing stocking densities and paddock rotation, while in cropping we need access to a broad range of chemistry to effectively manage weeds and maintain our stubble cover.

Without being present at these events, we can’t explain and demonstrate why we produce food the way that we do and how enforcing European Union-style restrictions would actually increase the risk to the landscape.

If growers aren’t allowed a range of appropriate tools for weed control, there may be an increase in ploughing.

This would not only exacerbate moisture loss and reduce yield potential, but would also expose the soil to more erosion, further degrading our soils. The same applies to fertiliser restrictions. If we do not apply enough fertiliser to replace the nutrients we are exporting with produce, then we are mining our soils of nutrients and degrading them.

These are the stories I shared during my time at the World Food Forum. I had the opportunity to share them through being involved with NSW Farmers, National Farmers Federation and the WFO. If we want to protect our industry, then as growers we need to be involved.

The post Why young farmers need to get involved appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

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.

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.

“It’s good for the deer. It’s good for the trees. And it’s free food.”

That’s Jeremy Clarkson justifying the hunting of wild deer on his 400ha Oxfordshire farm, Diddly Squat, as one of his “farming the unfarmed” schemes.

Clarkson says his farm has become overrun with deer, which caused enormous damage to young trees and that he, along with other farmers, had been asked by the UK Government to reduce their numbers. Enlisting the help of the British Deer Society to humanely hunt deer on the farm, he then turns his kill into venison hotdogs for sale at the Diddly Squat farm shop.

Elsewhere on the farm, he forages for blackberries to make jam and nettles to make soup in his mission to unlock the potential of half his farm. An old war bunker is transformed into a mushroom growing tunnel, Clarkson moves his free-range pigs into the woodlands, and he buys goats to control woody weeds.

While the nettle soup idea turns out to be a disaster, the free-range pigs and Lion’s Mane mushrooms prove to be profitable, and Clarkson has since joined calls for venison to be put on UK school menus.

Your average Australian farmer does not have an unused bunker for growing mushrooms or have the financial resources of Clarkson, but the need to diversify a farm business to make it viable is relatable.

Native foods and botanicals, for example, are a growing niche market, that some farmers in NSW have tapped into on their unfarmed land. Strawberry gum, lemon myrtle, anise myrtle, and wattleseed are all now hot items for distilleries to add unique Australian flavours to gins and other spirits.

Clarkson says it was lot of hard work, but farming the unfarmed did prove profitable.

The Clarkson’s Farm series is an honest portrayal of life for British farmers, and its limits of regulatory red tape, input costs, weather and farm profitability would ring a bell for Australian farmers.

Diddly Squat’s traditional cropping operations also made a profit, however Clarkson’s consultant, ‘Cheerful’ Charlie, takes all profits to buy seed and fertiliser for the following year, leading Clarkson to sum up the realities of running a farm as a business.

“I’m in the fortunate position of having other income streams,” the TV veteran says. “But if you’re a normal farmer and this is your full time and only job and you get two years when you don’t make any money, you’re screwed.”

• Read more: Biosecurity Commissioner to be appointed in 2024

Bringing venison to the menu

An estimated two million deer roam the British countryside, which is roughly the same as the feral deer population in NSW and Victoria.

Clarkson has been widely applauded by UK farmers and land managers for shining a light on the environmental impact of wild deer and the potential for producing a feral animal food product.

NSW Farmers similarly won broad support for an advocacy campaign that led to the removal of the protection status for deer in 2019. That allowed hunters in NSW to shoot deer, with landowner permission, on private land and send carcasses to licensed abattoirs for processing.

While COVID-19 restaurant lockdowns slowed wild venison’s uptake, an increasing number of chefs are putting it on the menu and championing it as a sustainable protein source.

“Australia has a unique scenario where we have millions of invasive deer causing harm that are incredibly nutritious and delicious to eat. Farmers want to see them removed just as much as conservationists do,” says Discovered Wildfoods Cofounder Tara Medina.

Discovered Wildfoods were one the first businesses to supply wild caught venison following the regulation changes and have taken and whole of supply chain approach to getting it on restaurant tables.

They process up to 5000 wild caught Sambar deer a year at two facilities in Albury and Beechworth in Victoria and work closely with professional hunters to harvest animals from private land.

“We would like to grow that number significantly because the latest estimate in Victoria alone is that there is over a million feral deer,” Tara said.

“90 per cent of our customers are in the food service sector, but the goal is to eventually have venison available as an affordable product at supermarkets for the wider consumer.

“It’s awesome to get recognition from chefs, but it’s a bigger accomplishment to get people to cook it at home and be excited by it, not intimidated by it. “

Tara, who is based in the Northern Rivers, said they focus exclusively on Sambar deer, meaning the only harvest area NSW is the southeast region.

“We think it’s the best eating venison and we set up a network of harvesters who are properly equipped to deal with a heavier animal. Fallow deer, which are more common in the rest of NSW and Queensland, are a lot lighter and lot gamier,” she said.

“A Sambar deer can be up to 250 kilograms and have more closer meat quality to beef. The number one hurdle you have to overcome is people perception of game meat.

“Venison from Sambar deer is a red meat protein source that is unrecognisable in terms of gameness.”

Tara said they get a 40 per cent carcass yield on human consumption cuts and the remaining bone and offal is used in the petfood industry.

The post Farming the unfarmed appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Sphere Drones, a major Aussie drone technology company, has recently received a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Area Approval for a site near Wagga Wagga, granted by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. This approval will allow Sphere Drones to spearhead the adoption of commercial drones in businesses across Australia, boosting the economy and streamlining commercial operations in several vital industries. 

Unpacking drone technology 

According to Airservices Australia, commercial drone flights are predicted to increase by 20 per cent every year, resulting in 60 million flights by 2043. This leap has been aided by development in the industry, partly in response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. While technological barriers previously limited industry capacity, recent prototypes and tests highlight the headway being made in drone manufacturing. 

According to the report, “drones are mostly used in the agriculture and mining industries, and for surveying properties.

“Industry growth will be enabled by continued incremental technology advances like increased battery life and payloads that help overcome Australia’s unique challenges of population dispersion and geographical scale.” 

Airservices Australia estimates that by 2043, farmers will have made 500,000 drone flights to monitor and support their crops, the mining industry will be responsible for half a million flights, and over 3.5 million flights will monitor protected areas, coastline and wildlife. This highlights the massive potential in the industry, supported by the BVLOS approvals which allow for increased drone operations across the country. 

In another report, published by the National Centre for Transport and Mobility Research alongside the University of South Australia, it was found that several industries would greatly benefit from increased drone use. In fact, the emergency services sector would see a productivity increase of 10 per cent by adopting drones, resulting in a $460 million net boost to the national economy. Drones can also improve delivery and transport services in hard-to-access communities. 

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King says that embracing drone technology could result in significant benefits.

“Drones present unique opportunities for a range of different sectors to operate more cheaply, safely and in an environmentally friendly way,” she explains.

“This includes in life-saving sectors such as emergency services and disaster management, where drones have the potential to help us undertake critical functions such as early fire detection – while unlocking productivity gains and economic growth.”

Implications of BVLOS approval 

In the past, drone operations have required spotters or trained observers to remain on-site for the duration of the work. However, the recent BVLOS approval for Sphere Drones means more freedom for companies to employ drones in their services, while also allowing businesses in industries such as mining, agribusiness, utilities, emergency services and construction to gain BVLOS approvals more quickly. This will increase drone operations, meaning businesses will see sustainable efficiency gains and cost savings on major operations.

Chief Remote Pilot of Sphere Drones, Elliot Cummins, says “it’s a big step to obtain your first BVLOS approval which includes extensive processes and procedures to prove safety and sufficiency in your technology solutions and redundancies. 

“It’s fantastic news for us as a business, our clients and the wider industry. We’re proud to have achieved this approval, it’s the first of many to come.”

Sphere Drones will focus on using its HubX technology in drone operations over the coming months. This self-sustaining, off-grid mobile drone platform captures aerial data in hard-to-reach locations typically found in mining, agribusiness and emergency response. It uses solar technology to reduce carbon emissions, and is designed to withstand the harsh Australian climate.  

Data from the Airservices Australia report reveals that 70 per cent of industry respondents are excited by the potential of expanding drone operations as a means of revolutionising industries and streamlining workloads. 

According to Sphere Drones, “as Australia embarks on this skyward journey, the commercial drone industry is set to redefine not just the nation’s airspace but also its approach to logistics, environmental conservation, and technology adoption.”

To learn about the roadblocks faced by electric vehicles in the bush, click here.

The post Preparing for the mass commercial adoption of drone technology in Australia appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Tough roads, the risk of breakdown or crashing into wayward animals, an inadequate supply of vehicles and a dearth of fast charging stations are some of the many reasons electric vehicle uptake has been slower in regional and rural areas.

There are also concerns that the Federal Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Scheme (NVES), due to be phased in from January 1, 2025, will inadvertently penalise people who live and work outside metropolitan areas. 

While the peak body for car manufacturers, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), says it strongly supports the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard, it also has warned of price hikes of up to $13,250 for popular diesel or petrol 4WD utes and large off-road SUVs that are essential workhorses for farmers, tradies and agribusiness. 

Reg Kidd, who chairs the NSW Farmers Energy Transition Taskforce, says the federal government appears to be rushing into a one-size-fits-all approach that would disadvantage people with a genuine need for a diesel or petrol ute, or large SUV.

“They’re not really thinking about what people in rural areas tend to drive and the distances they cover,” he says.

“They’re going to be severely disadvantaged unless we get some more transparency from the government about what they’re actually talking about.”

Mr Kidd says he’d also like to see critics stop arguing that rural people do not care about the environment or were ‘backward’ for not adopting electric vehicles.

There are many reasons rural people choose a diesel or petrol 4WD single or dual cab ute for work and a Toyota Landcruiser or Prado for the family, for example. These include:

• Significant distances travelled on dirt, gravel and rough sealed roads or offroad on-farm or at construction sites

• Space for passengers and storage for tools, equipment, luggage, and large quantities of groceries

• Towing capacity for trailers or horse floats

• Sturdy reliable vehicles that can be serviced by many mechanics

• Availability of spare parts

• Strong vehicles that provide greater protection to occupants in a collision with wildlife or wayward livestock

• Large fuel tank capacity (800-1000km) and the ability to be fitted with long-range tanks or carry drums or jerry cans of extra fuel 

• Most towns have at least one service station where diesel or petrol vehicles can be quickly refuelled

Mr Kidd says none of the electric vehicles currently available in Australia fit the bill.

The sole electric ute, the LDV eT60, is rear wheel drive only, can tow up to one tonne and has a maximum range of 330km – which drops when fully loaded and falls further at speeds of more than 70km/h – but at more than $92,000 costs more than twice the price of the diesel LDV T60 Max Pro 4X4.

“I think it’s got to be a two-tiered approach here,” Mr Kidd says.

“The truth is they’re trying to force people out of fuel vehicles into electric vehicles, but the electric vehicles that we’re talking about? There’s none suitable for farming, or those in trades at the moment.”

Mr Kidd, an agricultural consultant, and former mayor of Orange, racks up a lot of time on the road. In the week he spoke to The Farmer, he travelled to Nyngan, followed by trips to Warren and Cassilis. All up, he drove more than 1300km across two days. 

“Where would I top up if I had an EV, if there was one available?” he says. “And then I thought about the roads that I was on… what would happen if I broke down? So, I think the technology has got to improve dramatically, the availability of charging spots and how rapidly you can charge also has to increase dramatically. And it will.”

There are no chargers at Warren, Narromine, Gilgandra, or Cassilis, so the same journeys to Nyngan, Warren, and Cassilis in a battery-equipped EV (BEV) would have taken Mr Kidd almost 1400km and an extra three hours or more. 

Possibility of price hikes

The FCAI’s figures on the impact of an emissions standard on vehicle prices have been widely publicised since their release in February.

Liberal and Nationals politicians seized upon them, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claiming in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the proposed new car and ute tax could increase the cost of “Australia’s favourite family cars by up to $25,000”.

During a later joint interview with Angus Taylor and Michaelia Cash at a Toyota dealership in Perth, Mr Dutton said people would pay $14,500 more for a Hilux under the NVES.

“If you’re living in a regional area, or if you’re living here in Perth and you’re driving out to work each day as a tradie or as a farmer, if you want a heavier vehicle with a bull bar, for example, because you’re driving late at night and you’re worried about animals on the road, you just need a 4WD because you’re going onto a farm or into a work environment where you need a heavier vehicle. You shouldn’t be paying an extra $15,000 or $25,000 for that vehicle, as Mr Albanese is proposing,” Mr Taylor said during that interview.

The publicity caused a storm amongst FCAI members, with EV makers Tesla and Polestar resigning and Volkswagen withdrawing from the FCAI’s policymaking council in March.

Tesla also referred the FCAI to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, expressing concern that the FCAI had repeatedly made claims that were demonstrably false and “engaged in behaviours that are likely to mislead or deceive Australian consumers”.

ABC Fact Check investigated the Opposition’s claims, finding the NVES was not a new tax, and an FCAI spokesman told the unit that industry modelling the claims were based on did not relate to consumer prices.

The spokesman told Fact Check that FCAI modelling looked at scenarios “on penalties and credits that may apply to (car) brands” under the proposed standards.

“This is not a forecast on price impacts,” he said in an email. 

“Price and how penalties/credits are carried forward will be a matter for each brand and how they are impacted under the scheme.”

Government analysis released in February found there had been little or no impact on the retail price of vehicles from the adoption of fuel efficiency regulations overseas, in places such as the United States, European Union and New Zealand.

“The intention of the NVES is to require vehicle suppliers to include more modern fuel-saving technology in the new cars sold to Australian consumers, and for suppliers to provide an increasing range of hybrid variants and EVs,” the report said.

As a nation of drivers, the report said Australians were being denied access to low- and zero-emissions technology, and new passenger cars in Australia use an average of 20 per cent more fuel than new cars in the US.

Miles to go 

NSW motorists are gradually adopting hybrid and electric vehicles, with the proportion of vehicles registered in the state rising from 1.42 per cent in 2021 to 2.64 per cent in 2023. 

Four of the top 10 vehicles sold in Australia last year were 4WD utes or large SUVs, as were three of the 10 most popular vehicles sold in NSW. The top two in both cases were the Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger.

A spokesperson for Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the Opposition had mounted a baseless scare campaign.

“We know utes are used differently to passenger cars. It’s why the Standard has a separate category with different targets for light commercial vehicles, accounting for the size and weight of these vehicles,” she says. 

“It’s up to Peter Dutton and the Nationals to explain why they want Australian farmers locked out from making choices that could save them thousands of dollars every year in petrol.”

More fuel-efficient versions of some of Australia’s most popular cars are available overseas, including those with better internal combustion engines that use less fuel, or hybrid versions such as the Toyota Hilux Hybrid 48V and Ford Ranger Plug-in Hybrid – due in Australia next year. 

The Isuzu D-Max EV is in development and Isuzu UTE Australia has asked the Federal Government to give manufacturers more time to produce lower emission vehicles, as well as reducing fines for exceeding the emissions cap, or risk brands quitting the Australian market.

“Globally, Isuzu’s transition to low- and zero-emission vehicles is underway, with the brand committed to introduce an electric ute” the brand said in a statement. “However, the reality is that due to the infancy of zero-emission technology in light commercial vehicles, it will take more time to develop zero-emission utes and large-SUVs that are both affordable and fit for the specific needs of Australians, including the ability to travel extensive distances, carry a load and tow.” 

Isuzu warned car makers might have to increase vehicle prices to cover fines.

“Vehicle brands that cannot increase vehicle pricing to cover the penalties may be left with no option but to exit the Australian market,” the statement says.

Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales and Marketing Sean Hanley also says ute and large 4WD buyers will likely face price hikes under the NVES, which would punish “middle Australia”.

Mr Hanley says the proposed transition was too quick and more time was needed to make the necessary adjustments.

“It simply doesn’t recognise the technical hurdles, the lengthy time and the substantial cost that will be required to deliver commercial (battery EVs) that are practical, that are capable and, above all, are affordable,” he tells CarExpert.

“Unless the final scheme is less aggressive, it will have a profound negative impact on regional and rural Australia that will reverberate throughout the Australian economy.”

Mr Kidd says everyone, especially farmers, was in favour of improving efficiency, and people would adopt it once the technology was proven and available.

“Once they see something that works, it’s efficient, and it’s effective then people go for it,” he says.

“That’s how people buy things. Some people have the wrong idea and think that these utes and the larger SUVs are luxury vehicles. To people in rural areas, they’re not – they’re workhorses and they’re essential vehicles for where they live.” 

What is the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES)

The New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is part of Australia’s strategy to improve supply and access to new cars that use less fuel, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. 

From January 1, 2025, car companies will be given targets for average CO₂ emissions per kilometre across their new vehicle fleets. 

This CO₂ target will increase over time, forcing companies to provide vehicles with lower or zero emissions to meet stricter targets. 

Companies will still be able to sell new vehicles with heavier fuel consumption, but they’ll need to offset them with more fuel-efficient models.

If companies meet or beat their CO₂ target, they’ll receive credits from July 1, 2025. If they miss it, they can either trade credits with a different supplier, make it up in the following two years, or pay a penalty.

The government’s preferred option, Option B, would cut emissions from new vehicles by 60 per cent over the next five years.

Under that option, companies would be penalised $100 per gram/kilometre over their set CO₂ target.

There would be two CO₂ caps: one for passenger vehicles and many SUVs; the other for utes and vans, which would be classified as light commercial vehicles. In response to negative polling and public campaigns, the Federal Government announced it would classify large 4WDs such as the Landcruiser, Nissan Patrol, Ford Everest and Isuzu MU-X as light commercial vehicles.

Sources: Cleaner, Cheaper to Run Cars: The Australian New Vehicle Efficiency Standard Consultation Impact Analysis, Grattan Institute, CarExpert, SMH.com.au, Joint media release: Catherine King and Chris Bowen.

To read about the possibility of renewable diesel, click here.

The post Electric vehicles face roadblocks in the bush appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

In September 2023, the University of Sydney opened the International Centre of Crop and Digital Agriculture (ICCDA) in Narrabri in the North West Slopes of NSW: the administrative centre of the second richest farming shire in Australia. Recognised for the production of some of the world’s best wheat, cotton, lamb and beef, the $15.2 million investment now also places Narrabri at the global forefront of agricultural research. 

The state-of-the-art facilities include digital, genetic and soil laboratories, teaching and industry briefing spaces and robot workshops. It lies adjacent to a 2000-hectare experimental farm where researchers will produce improved crop varieties and develop farming systems with enhanced resilience and adaptive capacity to climate change. The ICCDA will also promote digital and robotic technologies for use by farmers to make their businesses more productive and profitable.

“The research that will occur at this facility in Narrabri will be a game-changer for the industry,” said NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty at the opening ceremony. “Using the high-tech facilities, researchers will focus on adapting crops for drought-tolerance, providing food security solutions and boosting the productivity of farmers.”

NSW Wheat Research Foundation chair Rob Long says the ICCDA offered a massive boost for grains research. “These new facilities complement the research farm which plants over 40,000 irrigated plots every year on Narrabri’s rich vertosol clay soils,” he says. “What an enticement for postgraduate students, national and international researchers and industry leaders to come together in Narrabri to improve crop performance for Australian farmers.”

Identifying the most profitable cropping systems

For the past six years, CSIRO researchers at four experimental sites in Wagga Wagga, Greenethorpe, Condobolin, and Urana have been sowing and monitoring crops to identify the most profitable and least risky cropping rotations for grain growers in southern NSW.

“Our investigation delved into diversifying canola-cereal systems with different legume options, conservative and optimistic yield-based nitrogen fertiliser strategies, and earlier versus timely sowing with and without crop grazing,” says CSIRO chief research scientist Dr John Kirkegaard. In January, the national science agency published the findings of research initiated by farmers seeking comparisons between traditional cropping systems and alternative systems that incorporate legumes with canola and wheat. 

At all sites during the first three-year phase, some farming systems were $200 to $300 per hectare more profitable, had stable or declining weed and disease burdens, lower average input costs, and consistently overperformed compared to the baseline canola-cereal farming systems. 

In the second three-year phase when there were much wetter conditions, systems with more canola tended to increase in profit and those with legumes declined. For mixed systems, the most profitable alternatives were wheat and canola with a higher nitrogen fertiliser strategy.

“The value of this to the industry in terms of increased productivity and profitability is significant,” says Delta Agribusiness consultant, Tim Condon. “It is delivering positive actionable outcomes to grain growers.”

However, more long-term research is needed to further improve grain production in the state. “Systems research takes many years and patience for the full effect of the treatments to emerge over time. It also allows for the effect of variable seasons on measurements to be captured,” says director of Lott Rural Consulting, Peter Lott. “This is how low-risk, productive, economic and sustainable farming systems evolve.”

Measuring the genetic value of cattle

It comes with a hefty price tag of $7.3 million, but as the largest ongoing beef cattle research project in Australia, the Southern Multi Breed (SMB) project promises to be money very well spent. It will allow cattle farmers in NSW to measure the genetic value of different breeds for the first time. This in turn will allow them to make better-informed decisions to improve their herd. The information will also prove invaluable for commercial cattle breeders.

A collaboration between the NSW Government, University of New England and Meat & Livestock Australia, the SMB Project is taking place at five research stations and a research feedlot between 2020 and 2025, and focuses on six different breeds: Angus, Hereford, Shorthorn, Wagyu, Charolais and Brahman.

So how does it work? Researchers at the SMB project are creating datasets using BREEDPLAN traits that allow breed comparisons irrespective of hide colour. At the same time, they are creating genomic values with higher accuracy than what is currently achieved, and building a reference for hard-to-measure traits like meat quality, methane production, immune competence and age at puberty. 

The research is expected to improve beef productivity and product value by improving the fertility rate, weaning rate, feed efficiency, sale weight and, at the same time, reducing the mortality rate of cattle. The research will continue until the end of next year, though principal investigator Brad Walmsley believes actionable data may be in farmers’ hands only a few months from now. 

“The data we have that is of sufficient quality for BREEDPLAN evaluations, we’re currently in the process of making available for within-breed evaluations for use within the next 6 to 12 months,” Walmsley told Beef Central in September last year. “We’re beginning to analyse data that will benefit the industry. However, there are a series of steps that need to be followed to ensure the integrity of the data is maintained.”

When an experiment goes wrong

Ten years ago, Italy’s Ferrero Group – the world’s fourth largest confectionery company and makers of the popular Nutella spread – started planting 1 million hazelnut trees on a 2,700-hectare research farm near Narrandera in the NSW Riverina that had previously been used to grow potatoes. 

The pilot project, which received millions of dollars of financial support from the Federal and NSW Governments, aimed to provide a counter-seasonal supply to the northern hemisphere crop. It was also meant to supercharge the sector by increasing Australia’s relatively small annual hazelnut harvest from 400 tonnes to 5500 tonnes per year, excess stock that had been slated for processing at Ferrero’s factory at Lithgow.

Locals had warned the project was always going to struggle because of its location – and they were right. Earlier this year, Ferrero announced the experiment had not even achieved minimally acceptable yields and that it planned to mulch the trees into wood chips and sell the farm. The Italians blamed adverse weather, specifically dry arid conditions that proved unsuitable for growing a type of tree that originated in the cool climate of northwest Europe.

“I thought they were very brave,” Basil Baldwin, a hazelnut farmer in Orange who helped write the NSW growers manual, told the ABC. “I thought maybe if you did certain things, you might get it to work, like shading the whole orchard, just for example, which would be very expensive.”

Ferrero said it was disappointed with the project’s demise but that it had nevertheless produced valuable data and insights that the company is presently sharing with hazelnut growers in Australia. “This will support better-quality nut production with the benefit of the research conducted on different soil,” a company spokesperson said. 

The moral of the story? There’s no such thing as wasted research.

To learn about more innovation in the agriculture industry, click here.

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For almost four decades, Varroa mite has devastated European honeybee colonies around the world, reaching Australia in June 2022. These tiny invasive pests slowly debilitate colonies by puncturing bees’ exoskeletons and feeding on their bodies, while also transmitting harmful viruses that can result in deformed and wingless young bees.

Treating infestations of Varroa has proven complex and costly. By September 2023, the attempt to eradicate Varroa in Australia had cost the Australian government $100 million, with over 30,000 hives and 1 billion bees lost.

Synthetic chemicals have been used widely in attempts to treat infestations. Although showing short-term effectiveness, the chemicals ultimately leave residue in the wax and honey. Varroa mites have also developed resistance to certain chemicals, and pesticides can affect the broader environment and ecosystem.

The Bee Gym and Bee Gym Slim, developed in the UK by inventor and bee enthusiast Stuart Roweth, has long been popular with beekeepers who prefer to manage their hives using fewer chemicals – and recent research by a specialist group in the UK has shown that these devices are effective in allowing the bees to control Varroa mite populations themselves through natural grooming behaviours.

The very bee-ginning

Stuart Roweth has been developing the Bee Gym since 2013 and has refined the idea and product over the years by studying his own chemical-free test hives.

“I was shocked when I first saw the size of a mite in comparison to a bee and it occurred to me that mechanical removal through grooming was the way to go,” says Stuart. “There are no suitable surfaces within modern hives, so I felt a device was needed to overcome this.”

The Bee Gym and the Bee Gym Slim are unique in that they take advantage of the bee’s natural grooming instincts, and can be used in any modern hive type with a mesh floor. The Bee Gym is made up of a framework of wires which enable bees to scrape varroa mites off their backs, together with flippers and scrapers that help the bees to remove mites from their abdomen. Dislodged and damaged mites fall through the wire mesh at the bottom of the hive or onto a plate coated in Vaseline, preventing them from reentering.

The Bee Gym is positioned on the floor of the hive, while the Bee Gym Slim is suspended between active brood frames when the beekeeper is performing a hive inspection.

Putting the Bee Gym Slim through its paces

From May to September 2023, the Bee Gym Slim was tested by the Devon Apicultural Research Group (DARG): an organisation which was set up over 40 years ago to raise the level of understanding of bee health through rigorous and robust research.

A comprehensive test method and schedule were devised by DARG, with 110 beekeepers across southwest England taking part in the trial. Beekeepers were supplied with the product and the results measured and recorded every week.

Data collected over an 18-week period demonstrated that the hives using the Bee Gym Slim showed a clear increase in the number of mites dislodged from the bees.

As stated in the report: “The trial clearly showed a distinct difference between the control and test sides of the hives which, after eliminating other possibilities, can only be attributed to the presence of the devices… As a non-chemical management tool, there is clearly a place for it in the beekeeper’s arsenal especially if combined with resistant or tolerant strains of honeybees and with open mesh floors… As its mode of action is mechanical rather than chemical, it is not possible for resistance to develop as it eventually would with chemical control measures.”

This is a huge boost for farmers who want to use the Bee Gym as part of an Integrated Pest Management Strategy to manage Varroa in a chemical-free way.

“For many beekeepers, chemical treatment is an absolute no-go area,” says Stuart. “The Bee Gym and Bee Gym Slim are biomechanical control devices; they can be used as part of an Integrated Pest Management approach to Varroa control – and this study shows that they make a big difference. Fighting Varroa can be an uphill struggle, so getting bees to help themselves can only be a good thing.”

If you enjoyed this piece, you may like to keep updated on the recent outbreak of tick fever in NSW.

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Charles Sturt University is driving agricultural innovation with a new research facility to shape lamb feedlots, investing more than $50 million into projects which include developing a “Feedlot of the Future” for sheep in Wagga Wagga.

Commonly used only by cattle, the new sheep feedlot investments, facilitated through Charles Sturt University, the Agrisciences Research and Business Park (AgriPark) and key industry partners, will build on the existing investments in agricultural research.

Charles Sturt University’s Red Meat Innovation Centre was helping develop the new system, which aimed to pioneer advancements in lamb feedlots. The facility was in the midst of setup and would soon house spring lambs.

According to Charles Sturt University, key initial research would focus on enhancing nutrition to boost digestion and productivity, lowering carbon footprints, and exploring renewable energy technologies, particularly waste-to-energy conversion.

With an investment of approximately $2.5 million, the facility was unique due to its full automation and strong industry support. The facility would also serve as an educational resource for Charles Sturt University students, offering them opportunities to engage in research or observe a commercial feed operation intertwined with significant research and trials.

NSW Farmers Sheepmeat Committee chair Chris Kemp congratulated Charles Sturt University on the initiative. He claimed there was a huge variation in the professionalism in lamb feedlots, but the industry was undergoing some much-needed changes.

“There has been a lot of capital expenditure of lamb feedlots that’s happened over the past five years, so there’s no doubt there’s been considerable changes in the industry. Now we have these larger feedlots that are not significantly impacted by the weather,” Mr Kemp said.

“Before feedlots, lamb feeding used to rely more on the seasons, whereas lamb feedlots take some of those climatic conditions out of the equation and allow a good product to be produced on a year-round basis.

“We welcome any innovations that are brought into this space to improve productivity and the welfare of the animals. So, anything that Charles Sturt University can do in terms of research and trials to improve our process of feedlotting is very welcome news.”

Other Charles Sturt University investments include:

• $22 million over three years for various projects at the Global Digital Farm, an integrated digital learning, innovation, and research environment working within a full scale, commercial, mixed farm operation.
• $20 million over three years for various projects in the Renewables in Agriculture program, including bringing the first hydrogen tractor to Australia.
• $10 million across various projects in the Cool Soils Initiative, which supports farmers in exploring their practices to improve the health of their soil, increase their yield, and reduce on-farm greenhouse gas emissions. This program is being expanded into Western Australia for the first time.
• 8 million towards a circularity Centre of Excellence being developed in Wagga Wagga.

Charles Sturt University Vice Chancellor Professor Renée Leon said the investments would help unlock opportunities and push the national agricultural industry towards its goal of exceeding $100 billion in farm gate output by 2030.

“These investments mark a significant step towards realising the vision of a more sustainable, innovative and resilient Australian agriculture sector,” Professor Leon said.

“Charles Sturt University is at the forefront of innovation across the board, but our agricultural research is truly leading the way on a global scale. By collaborating with sector-leading partners we are able to better leverage our researchers’ cutting-edge innovations to serve the needs of primary producers and the industry as a whole.”

Professor Renée Leon, Charles Sturt University Vice Chancellor

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt congratulated CSU on the investments.

“We know that climate change is impacting the profitability and productivity of farms around the country,” Mr Watt said.

“So, it’s fantastic to see more serious investment to help advance the development of technology to help farmers reduce their emissions. Initiatives such as this are good for farmers, good for Australia and good for our economy.”

CSU also recently announced it would lead the AgriTwins project as part of CSIRO’s Next Generation Graduates Program. The University’s Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Futures Institute (AICF) and the AgriPark will spearhead a new era in Australian agriculture through the education of 11 research students, eight PhD students, two master’s students, and one Honours student in the fields of advanced artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

The project was a $1.59 million dollar collaboration between nine industry, four academic partners, and CSIRO to recruit students to specialise in digital twins and agriculture.

For more information: https://agripark.csu.edu.au/innovation/red-meat-innovation-centre

If you enjoyed this article on research and development into sheep feedlots, you may like to read about the new landmark initiative to bolster Australian biosecurity.

The post Sheep “Feedlot of the Future” to be developed by Charles Sturt University appeared first on The Farmer Magazine.

Australia’s biosecurity system is set to be strengthened with the launch of a pioneering initiative, Catalysing Australia’s Biosecurity (CAB). The strategy is designed to leverage cutting-edge technologies and digital innovations to protect indigenous species, agriculture, and the food supply chain.

CAB is set to receive an initial co-funding of over $55 million across six years, provided by the CSIRO, along with government, industry bodies, and various collaborators.

This funding is part of a larger commitment that includes an additional $1 billion allocated to biosecurity over the next four years, as announced in the Federal Government’s 2023-24 Budget’s Biosecurity Sustainable Funding Package.

In partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF), the CAB initiative seeks to achieve extensive growth and improved integration, focusing on better coordination and alignment within the National Biosecurity Strategy, especially in terms of research, development, and extension outcomes.

NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair Ian McColl welcomed the new initiative, after years of calling for biosecurity improvements, but warned technology alone wouldn’t eliminate risks.

“We need to handle biosecurity in better ways, due to the ever-increasing amount of goods and people that are entering Australia and the level of risks we’re facing as agricultural industries,” Mr McColl said.

“It’s great to see there’s now a focus on new tech to help biosecurity in the long term, but the reality is that we’ve had some significant near-misses in recent years.”

“For example, a member of the public found the notorious Khapra beetle in his kitchen in Canberra. This beetle has the potential to shut down our grain industry – yet it managed to make it through security, via a container of white goods from overseas, and into someone’s house – this is a huge concern.”

Ian McColl, NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair

“Likewise with the Chinese fur beetle which was found in Tasmania two months ago by a member of the public, who found the beetle when they bought a new bed from overseas,” Mr McColl said.

“So, my question is – will these new technologies ensure that the Khapra beetle and Chinese fur beetle don’t turn up in Australia?”

CSIRO Chief Executive Dr Doug Hilton said the initiative, which fell under the CSIRO Missions program, was critical to safeguard the nation.

“Biosecurity is on the frontline of keeping Australia and Australians safe – it means protecting Australia’s unique biodiversity, ensuring our food security and minimising the risk of the transmission of infectious diseases,” Dr Hilton said.

“Our biosecurity defences, processes and protections have to be robust; they have to be world class and they must be science-based, which is why CSIRO is part of this initiative.” 

DAFF Secretary and Director of Biosecurity Adam Fennessy said the CAB initiative would help transform research and innovation in the existing biosecurity system.

“This groundbreaking initiative between CSIRO and DAFF is a significant step towards achieving the National Biosecurity Strategy’s (NBS) long-term outcome of a connected, efficient and science-based biosecurity system,” Mr Fennessy said.

“Our recently launched NBS Implementation Plan highlights the need for integration supported by technology, research and data.”

CAB’s initial suite of innovative projects include:

• Investing significantly to prepare for emergency animal diseases such as the Japanese encephalitis virus and lumpy skin disease;
• Trialling BeeRight and eDNA technology to detect Varroa mite in bee hives;
• Delivering a real-time biosecurity alerts service in partnership with Atlas of Living Australia;
• Deploying advanced pest management systems at the crop and landscape scale in collaboration with Hort Innovation; 
• Developing an Australian Biosecurity Research Database to guide strategic investments and decision-making.

The initiative will draw on developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, decision support platforms, genomics, robotics, drones, remote sensing, big data analytics and next-generation biological solutions, like advanced therapeutics and genetic control options.

According to government, CAB also had the potential to enhance regional prosperity and security, particularly through providing new funding opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Mr Fennessy said protecting Australia’s biosecurity was a shared responsibility that demanded innovative solutions and strong partnerships.

“CAB is a testament to the power of partnership, with cross-sectoral efforts representing a significant step forward in our collective efforts to safeguard Australia’s agricultural industries, environment, and communities for future generations,” Mr Fennessy said.

If you enjoyed this piece on Australian biosecurity, you may like to read about the appointment of a Biosecurity Commissioner in 2024.

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