You might remember late last year Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud announced he would veto big business buying up large tracts of farm land for carbon offsets. The concept has received a damning response from Australia’s Carbon Market Institute (CMI). CEO John Connor spoke to Libby Price.

Government veto over carbon plan canned

Adam McClure was an all round larrikin of the western District - not only a shearer but a singer songwriter, past boxer, footy player and devoted Dad to two beautiful Girls Annabelle and Frankie. Adam sadly passed away on the 3rd of December in a tragic car accident near Beaufort and  his friends, family and the community of Coleraine in the Western District have rallied behind his girls to set up a trust. February 19 at the Coleraine showgrounds a quick shear and Music night will be held to raise money and also mourn Adam. Emma Clark spoke with family friend Ashley Lambert about Mr McClure and the kind of all round great bloke he was and the reason for the event.

The last 50 stroke event

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to dominate the headlines. Bunnings is the latest to take a stand. It's decided to stop selling Russian timber. Australian Forest Products Association CEO Ross Hampton has told Country Today's Monique Taylor despite current supply shortages it's the right move.

Bunnings bans timber from Russia

Nutrien Ag Australia Managing Director Rob Clayton talks about the company's bold plans to move into carbon trading and its soil sequestration program in the US on an area of 250 000 hectares. He spoke to Libby Price.

Nutrien making moves in carbon trading

The rising price of agricultural land has made succession planning more important than ever, and for some families, this issue is more complex. Agriculture business consultant Paul Blackshaw spoke to Libby Price about the Ag Victoria webinars being held next month.

The workshop series is free and available for 20 people. Fire-affected landholders in North
East Victoria and East Gippsland are encouraged to register for this program.
Session 1 – Tuesday 3 May, 7pm-8pm
Reality check: Is there enough farm to share between everyone?
Session 2 – Tuesday 10 May, 7pm-8pm
How do we know what each individual wants and how is this achieved?
Session 3 – Tuesday 17 May, 7pm-8pm
Matching business capacity with family requirements. Do you sell all or some of the farm?
Registration is restricted to 20 people. A free one-on-one session with Meridian Ag is also
available to those who attend at least two webinars. Register at: https://successionplanning-essentials.eventbrite.com.au.

Soaring land prices complicate succession planning

We head to the cropping zones of the Wimmera/Mallee. Libby Price spoke to John Ferrier of the Birchip Cropping Group and then Ouyen farmer Ian Hastings.

Autumn Break - Victoria's Mallee

China's tariffs on the wine industry continue to impact red wine growers - while meantime white wine remains strong. However shipping containers aren't as readily available as growers would like. Country Today's Tom English spoke to Mallee grape grower John Ward on the struggles facing growers.

Red wine grape growers hit hardest by China tariffs

A James Cook University study has examined road deaths between 2006 and 2017. It found deadly crashes are five times higher for people living in very remote areas, compared with their city counterparts. Sophie Clarke caught up with lead researcher Hannah Mason.

People in regions five times more likely to die in car crash

More fossilized footprints have been found along the Great Ocean Road. An Apollo Bay couple, Tim and Kate Wagstaff, made the discovery at Skene's Creek, with the Melbourne Museum now working along the coast to gather more information. Country Today's Kris Seabert spoke to Apollo Bay Marine Biologist and author Tim Godfrey.

Fossilised dinasour print found on Great Ocean Road

The National Wild Dog Action Plan has set its strategic direction for 2023 but there has been a call for more industry support. VFF representative on the National Wild Dog Action Plan Peter Star spoke to Libby Price.

Call for MLA to give more funding for wild dog control

The Australian Sheep and wool show returns to Bendigo on July 15 to 17. Margot Falconer CEO spoke to Libby Price.

Australian Sheep and Wool Show back with a bang

To another in our series on farmers of the future featuring students at Marcus Oldham College at Geelong. And today’s guest is Jack Jordan-Hill, Winchelsea VIC, second year Bachelor of Business (Agribusiness). Marcus Oldham's annual open day is this Sunday 31 July.

Farmers of the Future - Jack Jordan-Hill

With heavy rain forecast in the next week and storage dams at capacity, farmers in the southern basin fear heavy flooding is inevitable. NSW Farmers Conservation and Resource Management Chair Louise Burge farms on the Edward River near Deniliquin. The property experienced catastrophic flooding in 2016. But, Louise Burge told CT's Andrew Johnston, this year looks to be even worse with authorities not having done enough to mitigate the risk of flooding.

Warning floods could be worse than 2016

The phasing out of Victoria's native timber harvesting could cut almost a quarter of all full time jobs in the small Gippsland town of Orbost. Local resident and timber industry consultant Gary Squires spoke with CT's Tom Gannon.

Loss of native timber logging impact on Orbost

One of the increasingly popular aspects of regenerative farming is the use of cover crops. Grant Sims has started a business Down Under Cover supplying a range of seed mixes for farmers looking at growing cover crops. He spoke to Libby Price.

Down Under Cover

On Country Today we’ve been featuring keynote speakers from the Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society Annual Conference in Canberra this week. Today we’re joined by the Crawford Fund keynote speaker, Professor Jonathan Rushton who leads the University of Liverpool Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Food Systems, MOVING AWAY FROM 'FOOD AT ANY COST' TO RESTORE OUR FOOD SYSTEM BALANCE

The real 'cost' of food

An effective effluent management system can be like gold for dairy farmers, but what are some of the options that are available to them? Efflu8 is an Australian owned natural bacterial solution, Country Today's Pat Gordon spoke to General Manager Murray McCallum.

Efflu8 - managing dairy effluent

As we’ve heard on Country Today, some of the renewable energy projects are not winning favour with farmers. There’s mounting opposition to large scale solar farms, and to renewable energy transmission lines running through properties. And it’s confirmed by a new study showing that strong community bonds can hinder rather than help environmental initiatives. University of Sydney’s Associate Professor Petr Matous led a study examining local community opposition to such projects.

Strong communities hinder green projects

This week Federal Parliament tackled the pressing issue of improving grain freight efficiency during a meeting of the Parliamentary Friends of Trucks, Trailers, Transport, and Logistics. Country Today's Kathryn Hallinan spoke to Grain Growers Chair Rhys Turton about the importance of investing in transport infrastructure to support the $31 billion Australian grain industry.

Infrastructure investment needed for grain freight

To the dairy industry, and while most of Australia’s dairy cows live in pastures all year round, there’s a growing trend toward housing cows as is more commonplace in the US and Europe. Dairy Australia estimates within 20 years, forty per cent of our herd will be housed. Libby Price spoke to Northern Victorian dairy farmer Dehne Vinnecombe.

Trend to housing dairy cows

Keep an eye out for the latest TV ad promoting the sustainability of wool. It’s pretty spectacular. There’s no dialogue. It’s just people trying to travel through a city having to dodge what looks like ghosts in synthetic clothing in a wild wind storm.  That’s its title,  wear wool not waste, and it’s produced by Australian Wool Innovation subsidiary, Wool Mark. Libby Price spoke to AWI CEO John Roberts.

Wear Wool Not Waste campaign

The weekly Weekly Times report. Libby Price spoke to editor James Wagstaff about funding cuts at Parks Victoria and a fall in price for store cattle.

The Weekly Times report

If you're passionate about making a difference in agriculture, the Zanda McDonald Award applications for 2025 are now open. The award provides opportunities for future leaders from Australia and New Zealand to experience a tailored mentoring program, learning from the best in the industry. Jade Egan reports.

Zanda McDonald awards

Australia is looking towards harvesting a “marginally larger” winter crop this season, despite significant weather challenges. In its winter crop forecast, Rabobank says the nation is on track to produce an estimated total winter crop of 47.1 million tonnes, up one per cent (0.5 million tonnes) on the previous season, but down a significant 13 per cent on the five-year average. Conrad McLean spoke to RaboResearch analyst Vitor Pistoia.

Winter harvest well below 5 year average

It's no secret that farmers in the southwest district have been having a tough year, but one agronomist from the Hamilton area says there's reason to be optimistic. Conrad MacLean spoke to Gabby Redpath, a pastures agronomist at Elders in Hamilton to find out more.

Plentiful rain predicted after record dry

Is Australia too reliant on China for our agricultural exports? Episode 3 analysts  have gone through a decade of various commodity export figures. Libby Price spoke to Matt Dalgleish.

Is Australian agriculture too reliant on China?

With mounting opposition to  solar and wind farms being built on prime farming country, the NSW Government has responded by announcing a $1.3 million dispute resolution service which will be conducted by the Energy and Water Ombudsman. But does that mean projects could be stopped? Country Today's Kathryn Hallinan spoke to NSW Farmers Energy Transmission Taskforce chair Reg Kidd.

NSW Energy Ombudsman to resolve renewables disputes

The Victorian Farmers Federation president, Emma Germano, is yet again being accused of making a unilateral decision and not consulting the organisation's own commodity groups. The VFF 'Submission to the Victorian Transmission Plan Guidelines', includes a map, highlighting the farmland that should be protected and avoided...in red. But the entirety of North West Victoria, which is the farmland controversial VNI west will be going through, hasn't been included in the red zone. Jade Egan spoke with VFF Grains Group vice-president, Ryan Milgate.

VFF members at odds over "red zones" for transmission lines

 To solar farms, and a rather different take. A study of sheep grazing under solar panels on a large scale solar farm in NSW shows an improvement in wool quality. Stud merino producer Tony Inder says the benefits of running his sheep under solar panels are a lot better than he anticipated. He farms at Gollan east of Dubbo. He spoke to Libby Price. 



Sheep grazing under solar panels perform better

 How do farmers quantify their greenhouse gas emissions? Farming systems scientists at the University of Tasmania, Matthew Harrison has just produced a video Carbon cycling, climate change and practices for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.





New video explaining carbon emissions and ways farmers can measure them

Listen to Emma Elsom talking to David Spencer about his Shorthorn cattle which will be on display at the Royal Melbourne Show.

Beef Shorthorn at the Royal Melbourne Show

Huge demand for fodder has seen prices continue to climb, with no end in sight. Eddie Summerfield speaks to Chair of the Fodder Industry Association, Frank McRae.

Fodder crisis

Lameness in cattle is a huge cost to for our farmers. An expert in the field from New Zealand will be the guest speaker at the UNDERSTANDING LAMENESS  forum in Warrnambool at the end of the month. Lois Chislett caught up with Phil Keegan from the Warrnambool Vet Clinic to find out more.

No hoof, no cow

The wool market fell further this week to below the magic $20 kg. Libby Price spoke to wool technical officer with AWEX, Kate Brann.

Wool falls below $20 kg

The Sheep Cooperative Research Centre concludes its research in June. Libby Price spoke to the CEO Professor James Rowe about how the genomic research leads the world in sheep genetics.

Huge leap forward in sheep genetics

85 year old Fergie tractor collector and restorer Ken Bibby of Warracknabeal talks to Libby Price about his passion for the little grey tractor.

Fergie fanatics at Sungold

How’s that home schooling going? Need a bit of help? Help IS at hand with an online learning program. thelearningcurveathome. Libby Price spoke to Sophie Walsh who's using her father-in-law's program with her two children on a farm out of Wagga.
https://learningcurveathome.com/

Help with home schooling

Albury based business Plastic Forest is recycling agricultural plastic to make fence posts. Andy Walker spoke to David Hodge from Forest Plastics.

Recycling farm plastics into fence posts

NSW seems to have unintentionally created a crisis for its first decent grain harvest in years. Many farmers are reliant on the big boys to harvest their crops, the large contract harvesters who are stuck in Victoria. Libby Price spoke to Dan Bingham of Bingham Agriculture.

Libby Price

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